Dear blog, I am sorry for neglecting you. I will not make excuses for my behavior. Just know that I am sorry.
I read 76 books in 2009, and now, almost halfway through 2010, I'm up to around 30. Here's the best so far, January through May.
1.
Going Bovine by Libba Bray. This book won the Printz award this year, and rightfully so! I laughed, cried, sang
Man of La Mancha, and gained new respect for yard gnomes. Libba talks about the book
here.2.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Teens fight to the death in a gigantic arena. Dystopia, scifi, romance all in one, plus it's a trilogy, so the amazingness is not confined to one book! The third in the trilogy,
Mockingjay, comes out in August. Kudos to Suzanne for not drawing this series out longer than it needs to be.
3.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Another YA dystopia novel. Actually, this whole list is YA because that's one of the courses I took this past semester, and YA literature is AMAZING right now. In this one, there is a terrorist attack and San Francisco becomes a police state. Marcus, a tech-saavy teenager, has to bring down the Department of Homeland Security. There is a lot of tech-speak in here, but it is fascinating. Cory Doctorow allows his book to be
downloaded for free and this guy Bill Clementson has created a
hyperlinked version of the bibliography which you will appreciate once you finish the book!
4.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Two of the greatest YA authors + two boys named Will Grayson + a chance meeting = GOLD. I so don't want to give anything away, so I won't, but go read this nownownow.
5.
Gentlemen by Michael Northrop. I feel that this book has flown a bit under the radar, but it's definitely one of the best I've read so far this year. What would you do if you thought your teacher had murdered your best friend? The three protagonists of this book suspect their English teacher of kidnapping their friend and stuffing his body in a barrel after the teacher starts acting strangely toward them. The power of suggestion looms large in this mystery. A great read.
I went to BookExpo America (BEA) for the first time today. It was amazing. So many people and authors and booooks. Highlights: author breakfast with John Green, Chris Colfer, Lois Lowry, and Khadir Nelson. John Green being totally sweet and signing 2 copies of TFiOS for me, one for me and one for the library. Maureen Johnson who is just as awesome and funny as I expected if not more so. Chris Colfer who was hilarious at the author breakfast and looked so overwhelmed at the signing-- we're not at McKinley anymore! And the epic Libba Bray, who is sweet and charming and rad.
