Favorite Books I Read in 2015

Well, it's that time of year again. (Kind of. I'm late.) I read a total of 56 books in 2015, and while some disappointments are leading me to change what/how I read in 2016 (aka, less forcing things I'm not in the mood for and making sure I'm really interested in the synopsis/I have similar tastes to whoever recommended it), I read some great books that I'd like to share. Because they vary so much, I can't bear to rank them and instead I'm splitting them by market category.

Middle Grade
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness ("short thoughts" review): Aside from just being a gorgeous book, the story was so wonderful and important. It's about how children are capable of emotions that adults might not realize, and we should address that instead of making it seem like everything is okay. Bonus points for use of storytelling.


Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (review): My anticipation for this book did not disappoint, further solidifying Rebecca Stead as one of my favorite writers (especially for middle grade fiction). The main character's experience with and curious but anxious thoughts about a first-time maybe-sorta-possible relationship reminded me of myself in middle school a lot. Additionally, the friends have this amazing support of each other, and it tackles some issues facing girls without painting them as black and white.

I also reread Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (thoughts: 1, 2, 3, includes some spoilers), which I fell in love with when I was 11 and 12, but I never reread the third book and hadn't thought about it for a while until Jen Campbell posted a very interesting video and then hosted a readalong, which I joined in on. It left me with a lot to think about and I enjoyed noticing a lot of the symbolism I hadn't seen before. (Also, yes, I love the mulefa.)

Young Adult
 I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (review): This was such a lovely ride. The meta ending, while a bit odd at first, I found to raise interesting questions.

I Crawl Through It by A.S. King (review): Another new release that didn't disappoint my expectations, though the surrealism isn't for everyone. However, I was engrossed and seemed to understand what was going on even if it was very weird, and I could relate to the overwhelming pressure of academics and having the "correct" answers.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (some sort of review/discussion forthcoming): I loved this for personal reasons I'm still not sure I want to talk about yet. Suffice to say, I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting and I think that the main character's choice at the end is one of the most important things, and I felt the same way as he did. The satire was also fun.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera ("short thoughts" review): I loved the way this was crafted and it had a lot to say about memory, sexuality, homophobia, and so much more. It left me thinking.

Adult/Literary Fiction/Modern Classics
1984 by George Orwell: I could've done without the 30 pages of textbook stuck in the middle, but other than that I found this very engaging. Definitely one of the best dystopian worlds I've read (not everyone has to be indoctrinated, only the people who have power!), and it had plenty of interesting things to say. Plus, I'm a sucker for hopeless endings.


A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: I enjoyed the different styles these stories were written in. They were both funny and sad, all centering around the passage of time, and seeing the characters woven throughout in different stories was really well done.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: I thought this was a complex exploration of racism and very interesting; it focuses a lot on beauty, especially from a female perspective, and I love the exploration of the psychological impact a lack of representation has (relevant to today!). I also enjoyed the writing style as well.

Books I Want to Read in 2016

2016 may be a crazy year for me, but it's one I'm excited for in regard to reading because I'm changing things up a bit. In addition to reading what I've got on hand (except anthologies/reference/collected works books which are more of a "read as needed" and "lifetime reading list" type of thing), I want to finally get around to those that have been on my reading list forever, and I want to start a project of reading children's/middle grade classics (and newer releases) that I never got around to. My library and its Overdrive service are going to become my best friends, because I realized that buying them for the purpose of having a good children's collection is not necessary right now and something I can always do later on. Ultimately, by knocking out some of these titles I've wanted to read for a long time, I hope to feel really accomplished with slashing down my reading goals. (Next year: reading more classic YA?)

So! Without further ado, here are books that I'm (very probably) going to read in 2016, accompanied by others of course that I'm not going to plan for. There are a lot more here than I would like, but the middle grade books are short and shouldn't take that long. I'm also not including books that will be released in 2016, as I don't buy most new releases and I'm going to make a separate post about that (I'm excited though!). Chances are one or two might be read next year, though!

Middle Grade

• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights? by Lemony Snicket
• Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle
• A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
•  A House Like a Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
• Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
• Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman (I've had this for a long time but I don't think I ever read it)
• The Truth About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente
• Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

 And if I have time, I might reread L'Engle's A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

Young Adult

• More Than This by Patrick Ness
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by  Sherman Alexie
• Winter by Marissa Meyer (I don't think I'm going to bother to read Fairest)
• UnWholly by Neal Shusterman
• Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

(And possibly: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman, None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio, Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, Falling into Place by Amy Zhang, and/or more of the Unwind books.)


Adult/Literary Fiction/Classics 

• Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
• The October Country by Ray Bradbury
• A collection of George Orwell essays
• The Celebrated Jumping Frong and Other Stories by Mark Twain
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

 Nonfiction/Other 

• Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
• Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
•  Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

May 2015 Wrap-Up

So, things are going to be a little bit different from now on, because I need to figure out what my priorities are and focus on them. I'm only going to be writing reviews for books where there is something personal and/or something larger to discuss, or it's one of my most anticipated reads for this year and I'll probably be excited and want to talk about it as much as possible. This is because I need time for other things.

That said, I'm hoping to finally finish writing about Broadchurch because I had things to say about both seasons when I watched them two months ago, and I'm also planning to blog more about writing eventually. (Also, I'm watching Fringe at a ridiculous pace and so I don't think I'll be doing very in-depth writings about it yet since I've already blown through two seasons, but there may be short metas here and there.)

As for now, I'm going to try to do monthly wrap-ups. In the fall these may become scarce, but hey, it's better than getting behind.

1. Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead: If you aren't aware, Stead's When You Reach Me has been one of my favorite books for a while, and in preparation for her new book coming out this year, I decided to read the one novel from her I haven't read. It's not the same puzzle mystery where everything clicks into place as When You Reach Me, but it packed much more of an impact than I originally anticipated. Plus, it even dealt with some bullying issues. Basically, Stead is my favorite middle grade author and I think she had the ability to connect to kids of that age.
2. Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman: This was a pretty fun collection, though some I was not in the mood for and may benefit from rereads. Still, there were quite a few I enjoyed--especially the Ray Bradbury tribute.
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Um, I didn't actually love this. I think I may have enjoyed the reading experience more if I was more familiar with the story beforehand, but as it was written there were just so many characters to keep track of and I can't say any of it really interested me. I hope I enjoy some of her later novels though. I did like the more satiric elements.
4. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: I liked the historical context of this and it was certainly important and well-written; I don't have too much to criticize. But frankly it lacked something more personal for me to connect to, and I wasn't really gripped by it. It did feel uneventful and predictable, which made me less emotionally involved by the time I got to the end.
5. Pride and Prejudice Graphic Novel (from Marvel): There was no point in this being a graphic novel. It is only dialogue, and I'm still ambivalent on the story itself.

For June I am hoping to read Eon (which I've started but haven't gotten into yet), its sequel Eona (unless I don't get to it in the month after these),  Glory O'Brien's History of the Future, and A Tale of Two Cities.

What I've Been Reading #2

I haven't done one of these in a while, so here's what I've read since my last post. All but the first were read in December and January. Reviews are linked where I go much more in depth. I'm only including star ratings as obligatory, because I find any system of ranking frustrating. (They tend to fluctuate and change.)

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer: I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to. Even though I felt some of it was underdeveloped, it was very entertaining and I'm hooked on this series--the first time this happened to me with a YA book in the whole of 2014. 4 stars.

2. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin: This was a small but very charming read, and that's kind of just what it was. Simple but nuanced, and heartwarming. 4 stars.

3. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King: Not as original as Everybody Sees the Ants, and at some points it seemed to attempt to mimick the stylistic choices of the latter, but still enjoyable.  I admire King's willingness to include flawed and often unlikable characters, as well as consequences. Somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars. (No, I'm not going to even bother with breaking the stars into quarters at this point.)

4. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King: This one took me a little while to get into, but oh man, I ended up loving it. This one has more magic realism and narrative tricks (a pagoda narrates some small sections, for instance), and even more screwed-up characters...but I loved where it headed, for some reason. Somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars.

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: This was easier to read than I expected it to be, and I found myself really enjoying the middle section. It certainly has its place in the literature canon for its depiction of the constraints of women in that society, but it personally didn't work its way into my heart to become a favorite or anything. In other words, it was just a pretty good books. I do want to read Jane Austen sometime; this sort of genre does not personally appeal to me, but it's still enjoyable and important and I want to give Austen a shot. 4 stars.

6. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury: Of course, I have to continue reading Bradbury's major works. This was is yet another collection of short stories and vignettes, perhaps the most similar to The Martian Chronicles. However, it did have mostly shorter stories which I don't enjoy as much as the longer ones, and it didn't form as much as a coherent narrative as I had hoped. Still, when it worked, it worked, and it was magical. 4 stars.

7. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: Oh, this book. Currently, it escapes me. You see, it was so easy to read, as it's composed of short snippets thrown together non-linearly, and the writing is pretty basic--at times hilarious, at times a bit too monotonous. There were bizarre parts, there were tragic parts, there were a few funny parts. But I'm not sure what became of it; it just seemed to slip away. I think I may have read it too fast? I understood what it was doing, but it wasn't cohesive to me, and I think a large part of that was how quickly I sped through it. Sigh. Here's to Cat's Cradle captivating me more. 4 stars.

8. 1984 by George Orwell: This one sucked me in, and I loved it. Sure, the characterization is simplistic and it's obvious that Orwell prefers to focus on the politics, but he created such a fleshed-out dystopian world that I was amazed. On the other hand, it was probably not to include a 30-page excerpt of a in-universe book which tells the history of that world. (I won't lie, I skimmed through most of it.) Still, it was gripping, and the ending was marvelous and right up my alley. I still prefer Fahrenheit 451 for other reasons, but I think I found a new book to add to my favorites list. 5 stars.

9. Animal Farm by George Orwell: I didn't get as involved with this one, though of course it gets its point across well and I loved the ending. 4.5 stars.

10. Throne of Glass by Sara J. Maas: This was an incredibly average read for me. I found myself reading it, not disliking but also not particularly liking it. I did enjoy the climax and where it appears the series will be going, however, though that meant it felt more like a prequel than anything. 3 stars.

11. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams: I started out loving it--Adams is witty as ever--but my attention waned as it went on. It seemed oddly structured and the humor and critique was not as prevalent as I thought it would be. I hope this one improves with age and maybe a closer reading, but right now I'm a little disappointed, sadly. 3 stars.

12. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: I went into detail in my review, but this was my first audiobook. I loved the narrator, but I discovered that audiobooks weren't for me and it would have been much better if I read it it in print, because it would have felt more concrete to me. Still, it was quite enjoyable, although the futuristic Earth continues to be underdeveloped. 4 stars.

13. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams: I feel the same way about this as the first Dirk Gently book I personally preferred the storyline in this one, but still...bit disappointing. 3.5 stars.

I read a lot more than I expected in these months, but vacation helped. Still, I think I may try toning it down in February because I don't want it to become overwhelming and I don't want to miss important things!

Favorite Books of 2014

I was originally going to attempt to fit all the books I read this year into categories, but that got kind of long and boring. So in simple form, here are my top 10 favorite books that I read in 2014. Order is a bit difficult. The top 3 immediately made my all-time favorites list; the next two were added in retrospect and are practically tied for placement. After that choosing books were difficult. Number 10 was very difficult to decide because I had run out of books that had completely stood out in my memory.

1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
2. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
3. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (technically started in 2013)
4. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
5. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
7. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáen
8. Cinder by Marissa Meyer 
9. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King 
10. Le Petit Prince d'Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (in French)

NEW YEAR THINGS
In the new year, I'm probably going to be reading more classics that are difficult to review because there isn't much new to say about them. I probably only will make a post if I feel like I really have something to say or it means a lot to me. However, I still plan to intersperse light reads in between to keep me from burning out, and I'll hopefully catch up with some other ideas I've had instead of reviews.

Other than that, here is what will hopefully get done in the New Year on this book blog (TV stuff will be mainly on tumblr):

• I'll finish my analysis of Obsidian (on whether it is a good critique of Twilight), I promise.
• I want to catch up/finish The Lunar Chronicles, because that was the one YA series I found entertaining and interesting. (I probably won't read Fairest though.)
• I'm really excited for A.S. King's 2015 release, I Crawl Through It, which is her usual surrealism (but possibly more surreal?) about kids trying to escape from standardized tests. I also want to read Reality Boy, but I'm on the fence about Glory O'Brien.
• I might try out some writing advice, or at least musings on writing.
• I do have some things to say about ways to interpret and our personal experiences in regards to stories, including television, and that will probably appear here as well.
• THE BIG ONE: I planned to run a series of posts about the most influential books in my life and how they shaped my reading and writing habits. I've got the first of these written and would love to work on them and run them weekly at some point in 2015.
• Also, I want to do retrospective reviews of books I love and why I love them. I had started rereading The Things They Carried, actually...

What I've Been Reading #1

I decided to stop doing wrap-ups strictly by month because that was preventing me for reading how I wanted to. That said, nearly all of these books I began in October.

1. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury: This is actually a collection of disconnected stories, which I wouldn't have thought would have appealed to me, but I'm so glad I read it! I liked it more than The Martian Chronicles and it's about on par with Fahrenheit 451 for me. There were two stories in a row that made me cry; I love how there is something hopeful about Bradbury's work, but the endings are never quite happy. I immediately added this to my favorites list, and I think it will stay there! 5/5 stars.

2. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout: I read this because I got the Kindle ebook for free and it was supposed to be a commentary or deconstruction on Twilight. I'm currently stalled on writing an analysis of it with that angle, where I will talk about in more in depth. I do believe that is the best way to enjoy it; while it was clever at times, the love/hate relationship got quite repetitive, and it isn't anything spectacular. 3/5 stars.

3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: I don't really have a good gauge for a rating on this one so I'm not going to give it a star number (I gave it 4 on Goodreads, but it might be 3.5, but it's not the same 3.5 as others...). I didn't really have any problems with it, although I fell into the bad habit of not focusing enough when the narrative focused on another character than the protagonists. I thought it was lovely and I loved the sort-of-twist at the end. It was cute. I've started the movie too and enjoyed it so far...but they gave away the twist already!

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: I loved the satiric tone and the concepts, but then it became a bit baffling. I've since came up with a good analysis as to why many of the characters did not change, and I've come up with a great thematic theory that explains the ending. But overall it's a case of liking it in theory, but the actual reading experience did not have as strong of an impact. Still though, that beginning... 4/5 stars.

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: I could have done without the really long chapter full of historical details of what he was stealing, but overall I really enjoyed this. I loved the atmosphere and the twists, and Dorian's inevitable but still shocking decent to madness. I definitely recommend. Still, it's not my absolute favorite (yet),. 4.5/5 stars.

6. The Golden Apples of the Sun/R is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury: The edition I read was not exactly the same as you can find separately in stores, as it was in an omnibus so it removed stories that had been in The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man and added five more in their place. I enjoyed it for the most part, but the stories were much smaller so I didn't get as attached to them. There were some good ones, but I didn't feel a sense of continuity. 3/5 stars.

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: I loved the first 100 pages or so, but after that I seemed to be distanced from it. It just didn't move me as much as it did some others; I felt a little bit manipulated, actually...especially with his ease at becoming a published author. Also, he was practically an outsider in Afghanistan the whole time (especially later, where you may even call him an American tourist), which felt was a bit convenient for marketing to and hooking American readers. I don't mind the foreshadowing or the plot convenience, but there was something between me and the novel. Maybe it's just the hype. 4/5 stars.

And here is what my TBR looks like!

• Currently I'm in the middle of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, because it's about time I did some YA to review, and I won't spoil it but I'm really enjoying it! Maybe I won't give up on that market quite yet.
• I just bought Frankenstein and Jane Eyre.
• I still have The Da Vinci Code, and in ebook format I have The Warrior Heir, Throne of Glass, and The Darkest Minds, which I will get to eventually for review.
• I also plan on getting to Around the World in 80 Days and Great Expectations by the end of next year!
• Otherwise, I am patiently awaiting Christmas gifts.

September Wrap-Up/October TBR

No reviews to link this time because I am going to review the first and last books together soon.
Here is how my reading went this month!

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: They didn't lie, her writing is absolutely fabulous and it is effortlessly imaginative, even if the actual story underneath the world isn't too original. I just fell into the beautiful world; truly remarkabale fantasy, but many elements of the real world are retained to make it releatible, even if it's just everyday life in Prague. Of course, it did really feel like a set-up to a larger story and it is structured a bit strangely (I liked the first half better than the second, personally). The romance wasn't overbearing and there are explanations for it. I'm not sure it's my favorite because it didn't have that rare personal connection for me, but it is head and shoulders above most YA fantasy and a great way to spend my time. 4.5/5 stars.

2. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite novels of all time, and I recently realized I hadn't read anything else from Bradbury's impressive bibliography and made an agreement with myself to read as much as I can eventually. Like much of Bradbury, this is a collection of loosely collected short stories. I didn't fall into it as easily as Fahrenheit, but it was compelling and became more so as it went on. It's somber, bizarre, amusing...it's all about the human experience (more social than scientific, for example), and I should've seen the Cold War twist coming. 4.5/5 stars. (I really hate ratings.)

3. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells: I've been trying to read this on my Kindle for a while and I finally got going and finished it (the public domain Kindle format is very frustrating). It's definitely influencial and it does have a foundation in real science (something you don't see with SF nowadays), but I think it's my least favorite Wells novel. It doesn't have many other quandaries in it to think about (in contrast to the future split of humanity in The Time Machine and the lack of adhering to morals when invisible in The Invisible Man), and I just felt distanced from it. Of course it is pretty creepy, but isn't an all-out action blockbuster (which I don't mind). I just feel like it doesn't offer much beyond its concept, and since its concept has been so common in more recent storytelling, the bare bones is kind of underwhelming. Also, those aliens were really focused on the small part of the globe that is Great Britain. 3/5

4. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor: I was kind of on a Bradbury hangover during the first half of this book and I was also splitting my time between reading the War of the Worlds ebook, so it didn't grab me as much as the first book and I wasn't paying attention as much as I should have. However, I really enjoyed it after that, and I just love how different and immersive and beautiful this is. I figured I would like the war book more than the romance one, and I think it has a better structure as well. They're both very different, but they're both gems. More thoughts later. 4.5/5 stars.
It felt like I didn't read as much as I wanted this month, but I read some great books and it worked out in the end. Here's what I'll probably be reading next:

• I am currently reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for school and it's fabulous.
• On my Kindle (where I got it once for free) I'm about 25% of the way through Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This isn't really the book I like to read and the writing feels a little bland to me, but I'm mostly intrigued by (and going to review it for this purpose) the fact that it's pretty much an intentional parody/attempt-to-be-better-than Twilight. It's actually pretty successful so far...every time I think it's gone to far, the main character talks about how he's a jerk and she wants to be better than him.
• The Illustrated Man and The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury: of course
• I still have The Da Vinci Code.
• And on my Kindle (because they were cheap) I have Cinder, Throne of Glass, The Warrior Heir, and The Darkest Minds.

August Wrap-Up and September TBR

I previously just did this on tumblr to display all the links to my reviews, but I think I'm going to also do it here, especially because I'm not planning on writing a full review (at least not anytime soon) for To Kill a Mockingbird. So, here is a summary of my reading this month because I don't write a review for everything, but if I did, I'll link it. I'm also attempting to put ratings but I've got to say, I'm bad at them.

 Overall this was a pretty good reading month considering my time became limited by school.

1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (review has spoilers): I can't say this is going to be a tip-top favorite of mine or anything, but I really enjoyed reading it. I personally thought it was a much quieter story than the hype suggested, and so while it wasn't what I expected I was actually pleasantly surprised by what it really turned out to be. 5/5


2. "Nothing O'Clock" by Neil Gaiman: This is that Doctor Who ebook short story written for the 50th anniversary and is the last one featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond (in really early pre-Rory travels, actually). It's Neil Gaiman, Doctor Who, Eleven and Amy, and less than 50 pages, so how could I resist? It was really fun to read and I loved how creepy and abstract it was (really just tradition Gaiman, though). 5/5

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: I don't know if I'll actually write a review for this one sometime. I'm still puzzled. This was one of the more widely-loved classics, even among the younger crowd. And yet...I didn't really feel it. Certainly very important points were made, it was well-written, and I loved the courthouse scene, but I wasn't a fan of the ending and how it handled childhood. Scout hardly developed and consequences weren't addressed, with the end seeming to imply that it's okay, you're just children, and you're going to stay that way. I guess I was expecting the punch-in-the-gut feeling I get from good books, especially about the growing up subject matter, and I didn't get it. 4/5.

4. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (review to come): Definitely a new favorite. This was my first read of King's and while it may be the consensus best, I'm going to be checking more out. I really wish her books (or at least this one) was more popular. This one is about bullying, problems with parents and relationships with others in general, and a loved one who has been forever MIA from the Vietnam War. I am going to be writing a full review, so for now I will just say that I loved the themes, the nuanced portrayal of the adults, how the relationship spanned and alternated between more than one kind of love, the plot/character twists, and the amusing description of the metaphorical ants. 5/5.

As for the books I'm planning on reading next month/the future:

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: I've just started reading this. I also have the sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, which I expect I'll be reading afterward.
•  Brave New World by Audious Huxley: I'm going to be reading this one for a class.
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: Because I still have it on my shelf and haven't gotten around to it.
• I'm going to Barnes and Noble in a few to pick up their leatherbound Ray Bradbury edition, because I adore Fahrenheit 451 but haven't read anything else by him, but they really intrigue me. It is an omnibus of The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and The Golden Apples of the Sun, though they are all short story collections anyway.
• On my Kindle I have barely started reading two ebooks that were free when I had downtime: War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
• This month I have also acquired Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas because they were cheap on Kindle, and I hope to get to them eventually.