Two Book Memes
So, I appropriated a couple of 2011 reading memes from ladyadeone and meltintall3, and have been working on them off-and-on for several weeks. Then I decided that I should finish them today because they're rather overdue and because I should really be working on homework.
The first one is from Mel. (And the font is weird throughout because lj is being difficult and not letting me make it all the same...)
The first book you read in 2011:
Out of the Woods by Lyn Gardner.
The last book you finished in 2011:
The Guns of Providence by Douglas Bond.
The first book you will finish (or did finish!) in 2012:
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Your favorite "classic" you read in 2011:
Depending on how you count classics and not counting rereads, let’s say Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie.
The book series you read the most volumes of in 2011:
At 27 volumes, the winner is definitely FullMetal Alchemist by Hiroma Azuma.
The genre you read the most in 2011:
Young Adult. If you try to subdivide that into Fantasy, Mystery, Sci Fi, Dysotopian, etc., then you get into trouble.
The book(s) that disappointed you:
Top one would be Car Trouble by Jeanne DuPrau---it sounded like an eventful but fun car trip story, but it was really very thinly-veiled propaganda for alternative energy sources. :P Also probably worth noting are Manalive by G. K. Chesterton (almost everyone I’ve talked to loved it, but though I understood the points Chesterton was trying to make, the story and characters were just too absurd), Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (interesting premise, but way too heavy on kind of weird/cheesy romance and I didn’t like the conclusion), Chime by Fanny Billingsley (again, interesting premise but when both the hero and heroine drive you crazy and their ‘selling points’ aren’t selling them to you, it’s not going to work), Hawksmaid by Kathryn Lasky (A young Maid Marian keeps hawks and tries to run around with Robin’s Merry Men---sounds good. Up until Marian practices a Vulcan Mindmeld, more or less, and becomes one with one of the hawks. o_O), and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (I would’ve been okay with a creepy school story, or a time-traveling one, or just an adventure. But this book was a mix between them all and never really decided on what it wanted to be. That, along with some weird romance and coarse language, kept me from really liking the story).
The book you liked better than you expected to:
Sword Song by Rosemary Sutcliff. I’ve only read one other Sutcliff and while I liked it, I had an impression of it also being kind of slow and slightly boring. I was quite happy when I read Sword Song, though, and despite the occasionally slow pace and unsatisfying conclusion on Christianity, found it to be an enjoyable story.
The hardest book you read in 2011 (topic or writing style):
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams. The book covered a very dark and disturbing topic, and although it ended on a bit more of an upbeat, it still didn’t offer true hope. Also, it was written in poems, which was interesting if not too difficult.
The funniest book you read in 2011:
It’s a toss-up between Quick Service by P. G. Wodehouse, Vets Might Fly and Vet in a Spin by James Herriot, and Cloaked by Alex Flinn.
The saddest book you read in 2011:
Apparently I didn’t read very many sad books. ;)) But, I guess I’ll say either Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings or Crispin: The End of Time by Avi. Neither of them are particularly sad in and of themselves, but the former touches on how an “We didn’t mean any harm” action can be devastating (actually kind of thought-provoking and a pretty good read), and the latter is just the end of a kind of a series that is kind of depressing/sad simply because it’s set during the Middle Ages (apparently they didn’t really have happy endings then… ;) ).
The shortest book you read in 2011:
I’m not actually sure what this one was---I read a lot of novellas and/or shorter middle-school/YA books this year. However, I found one in my list that I’d wished was longer, so let’s say The Adventures of Jack Lime by James Leck.
The longest book you read in 2011:
I’m pretty sure it was either Lamplighter or Factotum by D. M. Cornish.
A book that you discovered in 2011 that you will definitely read again:
Rereads are rather uncertain with me. Often, I will leave books I really want to reread alone for ages, and reread books I never really thought that much about reading again. However, I’d say that the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy has a pretty good shot of being reread at some point, particularly Factotum.
A book that you never want to read again:
Probably The Rose and the Beast by Fransesca Lia Black. It was a collection of short fairy tale retellings---they were dark, gritty, depressing, and, depending the story, sometimes downright offensive.
This second one is from Adeona.
General:
Best books you read in 2011?
*coughs* All the books I keep bringing up---most of the books I list here, earned kind of a special place or were fairly memorable. So, unless I said I didn’t like them, it’s probably a good guess that I liked them.
Most disappointing book/Book you wished you loved more than you did?
Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson. I wanted to like it, especially since I didn’t like the other book I read by her, but the whole feel of the story kind of changed midway through and the twist/solution to me seemed like a huge cop-out. That and a romantic attraction I really disliked made me not really fond of the book.
Most surprising (in a good way) book of the year?
Stand Tall by Joan Bauer. I was expecting a mediocre middle-school story about a boy going through difficult times, and it was really a lot more. For one thing, it was pretty funny, and I liked the characters
Book you recommended most to others in 2011?
Probably Foundling (since it is the beginning of Monster Blood Tattoo), though it hasn’t really done that much good since none of them has read it yet…
Best series you discovered in 2011?
Let’s go with a three-way tie between Monster Blood Tattoo, FullMetal Alchemist, and The Heroes of Olympus.
Favorite new author you discovered this year?
Probably either D. M. Cornish (for the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy) or Wendy Mass (for her middle-grade birthday series, namely Finally. A girl learns that growing up isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be, especially when you’re as accident-prone as she is---absolutely hysterical and something that all of my sisters and I loved. I’m sure that makes the series and the book sound very boring, but they’re not.)
Best book that was outside your comfort zone/a new genre for you?
I read both Miracle at Carville and No One Must Ever Know by Betty Martin, which are kind of medical biographies---the story of life for those diagnosed with leprosy during the early to mid-twentieth century. I wasn’t really expecting to read them, but I picked them off the shelf during the spring semester while I was supposed to be studying (I usually sit in the medical book stacks while trying to get studying done as the books there aren’t usually tempting enough to distract unless I’m really, really bored), and started reading. Next thing I knew, I’d checked them out and read them as quickly as I could. :D
Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2011?
Good question. As far as “I’m staying up way too late to read this because I don’t want to stop” goes, it’d probably either be The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan or Factotum by D. M. Cornish. I know there were other books I had trouble putting down, but I read those in a day and just pushed school off (such as Birthmarked). ;)
Book you most anticipated this year?
Well…once I read the preceding book in the series, probably The Son of Neptune. Alternatively, the last few volumes of FullMetal Alchemist probably count too.
Details:
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?
Also of note are the following:
(This scene was my favourite part of the book. It also was pretty much the only notable part of the book for me...)
The cover was far cooler than the book sadly.
Most memorable character?
There were a lot of memorable characters, I think (almost the entire cast of FullMetal Alchemist was memorable). But Rossamund, Therondy, and Europe from the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, and Leon and Gaia from Birthmarked particularly stick in my mind.
Most beautifully written book in 2011?
Well, McKillip almost always has beautiful writing, so either Ombria in Shadow or Factotum (I found some of Cornish’s descriptions and dialogues quite lovely).
Book that had the greatest impact on you this year?
That’s really hard to pinpoint. :D Probably one of the books I’ve brought up repeatedly.
Book you can't believe you waited till 2011 to finally read?
Ignoring series, it would either be The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan or Ombria in Shadow. Otherwise, I mainly hadn’t heard of them or they hadn’t been released.
Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2011?
It’d probably be something from the last couple of chapters of Factotum, meaning it’d be terribly spoilerish. Barring those, then it’d probably be a line from Ombria in Shadow---I have a couple in mind, but I didn’t write them down and don’t have access to the book. So, I’m going with one of the few quotes that struck me this year and that I actually wrote down. This is from Lynne Rae Perkins’ As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth:
"We could have died," he said. "We could have kept going out into the ocean and never landed."
"But we didn't," said Del. "That's what makes it a happy story instead of a sad story."
Book that you read in 2011 and is most likely to be reread in 2012?
The Son of Neptune.
Book that had a scene that left you reeling and dying to talk to someone about it?
There were a couple of scenes in Factotum, especially the end scene. Also, the ending portion of Birthmarked, some scenes in Ombria in Shadow, and large parts of FullMetal Alchemist.
Looking Ahead:
One book you didn't read this year that will be your #1 priority in 2012?
Well, based upon my log, it was either Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin or Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton.
New book you are most anticipating for 2012?
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, third book in The Heroes of Olympus series. *coughs* And I don’t really pay attention to when books come out, and that’s one of the few series I’m in the middle of reading. I’m sure I’m anticipating other books, but I don't know their release dates.
The first one is from Mel. (And the font is weird throughout because lj is being difficult and not letting me make it all the same...)
The first book you read in 2011:
Out of the Woods by Lyn Gardner.
The last book you finished in 2011:
The Guns of Providence by Douglas Bond.
The first book you will finish (or did finish!) in 2012:
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Your favorite "classic" you read in 2011:
Depending on how you count classics and not counting rereads, let’s say Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie.
The book series you read the most volumes of in 2011:
At 27 volumes, the winner is definitely FullMetal Alchemist by Hiroma Azuma.
The genre you read the most in 2011:
Young Adult. If you try to subdivide that into Fantasy, Mystery, Sci Fi, Dysotopian, etc., then you get into trouble.
The book(s) that disappointed you:
Top one would be Car Trouble by Jeanne DuPrau---it sounded like an eventful but fun car trip story, but it was really very thinly-veiled propaganda for alternative energy sources. :P Also probably worth noting are Manalive by G. K. Chesterton (almost everyone I’ve talked to loved it, but though I understood the points Chesterton was trying to make, the story and characters were just too absurd), Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (interesting premise, but way too heavy on kind of weird/cheesy romance and I didn’t like the conclusion), Chime by Fanny Billingsley (again, interesting premise but when both the hero and heroine drive you crazy and their ‘selling points’ aren’t selling them to you, it’s not going to work), Hawksmaid by Kathryn Lasky (A young Maid Marian keeps hawks and tries to run around with Robin’s Merry Men---sounds good. Up until Marian practices a Vulcan Mindmeld, more or less, and becomes one with one of the hawks. o_O), and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (I would’ve been okay with a creepy school story, or a time-traveling one, or just an adventure. But this book was a mix between them all and never really decided on what it wanted to be. That, along with some weird romance and coarse language, kept me from really liking the story).
The book you liked better than you expected to:
Sword Song by Rosemary Sutcliff. I’ve only read one other Sutcliff and while I liked it, I had an impression of it also being kind of slow and slightly boring. I was quite happy when I read Sword Song, though, and despite the occasionally slow pace and unsatisfying conclusion on Christianity, found it to be an enjoyable story.
The hardest book you read in 2011 (topic or writing style):
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams. The book covered a very dark and disturbing topic, and although it ended on a bit more of an upbeat, it still didn’t offer true hope. Also, it was written in poems, which was interesting if not too difficult.
The funniest book you read in 2011:
It’s a toss-up between Quick Service by P. G. Wodehouse, Vets Might Fly and Vet in a Spin by James Herriot, and Cloaked by Alex Flinn.
The saddest book you read in 2011:
Apparently I didn’t read very many sad books. ;)) But, I guess I’ll say either Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings or Crispin: The End of Time by Avi. Neither of them are particularly sad in and of themselves, but the former touches on how an “We didn’t mean any harm” action can be devastating (actually kind of thought-provoking and a pretty good read), and the latter is just the end of a kind of a series that is kind of depressing/sad simply because it’s set during the Middle Ages (apparently they didn’t really have happy endings then… ;) ).
The shortest book you read in 2011:
I’m not actually sure what this one was---I read a lot of novellas and/or shorter middle-school/YA books this year. However, I found one in my list that I’d wished was longer, so let’s say The Adventures of Jack Lime by James Leck.
The longest book you read in 2011:
I’m pretty sure it was either Lamplighter or Factotum by D. M. Cornish.
A book that you discovered in 2011 that you will definitely read again:
Rereads are rather uncertain with me. Often, I will leave books I really want to reread alone for ages, and reread books I never really thought that much about reading again. However, I’d say that the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy has a pretty good shot of being reread at some point, particularly Factotum.
A book that you never want to read again:
Probably The Rose and the Beast by Fransesca Lia Black. It was a collection of short fairy tale retellings---they were dark, gritty, depressing, and, depending the story, sometimes downright offensive.
This second one is from Adeona.
General:
Best books you read in 2011?
*coughs* All the books I keep bringing up---most of the books I list here, earned kind of a special place or were fairly memorable. So, unless I said I didn’t like them, it’s probably a good guess that I liked them.
Most disappointing book/Book you wished you loved more than you did?
Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson. I wanted to like it, especially since I didn’t like the other book I read by her, but the whole feel of the story kind of changed midway through and the twist/solution to me seemed like a huge cop-out. That and a romantic attraction I really disliked made me not really fond of the book.
Most surprising (in a good way) book of the year?
Stand Tall by Joan Bauer. I was expecting a mediocre middle-school story about a boy going through difficult times, and it was really a lot more. For one thing, it was pretty funny, and I liked the characters
Book you recommended most to others in 2011?
Probably Foundling (since it is the beginning of Monster Blood Tattoo), though it hasn’t really done that much good since none of them has read it yet…
Best series you discovered in 2011?
Let’s go with a three-way tie between Monster Blood Tattoo, FullMetal Alchemist, and The Heroes of Olympus.
Favorite new author you discovered this year?
Probably either D. M. Cornish (for the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy) or Wendy Mass (for her middle-grade birthday series, namely Finally. A girl learns that growing up isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be, especially when you’re as accident-prone as she is---absolutely hysterical and something that all of my sisters and I loved. I’m sure that makes the series and the book sound very boring, but they’re not.)
Best book that was outside your comfort zone/a new genre for you?
I read both Miracle at Carville and No One Must Ever Know by Betty Martin, which are kind of medical biographies---the story of life for those diagnosed with leprosy during the early to mid-twentieth century. I wasn’t really expecting to read them, but I picked them off the shelf during the spring semester while I was supposed to be studying (I usually sit in the medical book stacks while trying to get studying done as the books there aren’t usually tempting enough to distract unless I’m really, really bored), and started reading. Next thing I knew, I’d checked them out and read them as quickly as I could. :D
Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2011?
Good question. As far as “I’m staying up way too late to read this because I don’t want to stop” goes, it’d probably either be The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan or Factotum by D. M. Cornish. I know there were other books I had trouble putting down, but I read those in a day and just pushed school off (such as Birthmarked). ;)
Book you most anticipated this year?
Well…once I read the preceding book in the series, probably The Son of Neptune. Alternatively, the last few volumes of FullMetal Alchemist probably count too.
Details:
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?
Also of note are the following:
(This scene was my favourite part of the book. It also was pretty much the only notable part of the book for me...)
The cover was far cooler than the book sadly.
Most memorable character?
There were a lot of memorable characters, I think (almost the entire cast of FullMetal Alchemist was memorable). But Rossamund, Therondy, and Europe from the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, and Leon and Gaia from Birthmarked particularly stick in my mind.
Most beautifully written book in 2011?
Well, McKillip almost always has beautiful writing, so either Ombria in Shadow or Factotum (I found some of Cornish’s descriptions and dialogues quite lovely).
Book that had the greatest impact on you this year?
That’s really hard to pinpoint. :D Probably one of the books I’ve brought up repeatedly.
Book you can't believe you waited till 2011 to finally read?
Ignoring series, it would either be The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan or Ombria in Shadow. Otherwise, I mainly hadn’t heard of them or they hadn’t been released.
Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2011?
It’d probably be something from the last couple of chapters of Factotum, meaning it’d be terribly spoilerish. Barring those, then it’d probably be a line from Ombria in Shadow---I have a couple in mind, but I didn’t write them down and don’t have access to the book. So, I’m going with one of the few quotes that struck me this year and that I actually wrote down. This is from Lynne Rae Perkins’ As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth:
"We could have died," he said. "We could have kept going out into the ocean and never landed."
"But we didn't," said Del. "That's what makes it a happy story instead of a sad story."
Book that you read in 2011 and is most likely to be reread in 2012?
The Son of Neptune.
Book that had a scene that left you reeling and dying to talk to someone about it?
There were a couple of scenes in Factotum, especially the end scene. Also, the ending portion of Birthmarked, some scenes in Ombria in Shadow, and large parts of FullMetal Alchemist.
Looking Ahead:
One book you didn't read this year that will be your #1 priority in 2012?
Well, based upon my log, it was either Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin or Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton.
New book you are most anticipating for 2012?
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, third book in The Heroes of Olympus series. *coughs* And I don’t really pay attention to when books come out, and that’s one of the few series I’m in the middle of reading. I’m sure I’m anticipating other books, but I don't know their release dates.