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26 April 2014

Weekly wrap-up: April 20-26

Lately I've had a difficult time finishing books. At the beginning of the week, I had all three of this week's completed reads in my currently reading as well as at least three other books on Goodreads. I've just been skipping around like a leaf on the wind. But then on Thursday, my day off, I decided to truly take the day off. I'd planned to drive down to Austin for an event (which would have been 7-8 hours in the car), but I stayed home and read and relaxed instead. Definitely the right choice, even though I'm sad that I didn't get to meet Ann Brashares. Maybe some other time. I finished three books in a row and started in on DoGaM. Glorious! How was your week?

PS I also hosted the first meeting of the book club my roommate and I are trying to start with the women in our church congregation. I picked Cinder. Everybody really liked it, but it's hard to discuss a book when only three of us have read the book in its entirety. The other seven girls present (including my sis) haven't finished (or even started *cough*sis*cough*). Most hadn't even gotten to the part with the Lunars so the fact that it's a series called the Lunar Chronicles was totally lost on them. Book club mainly consisted of me giving them lots of background info on the series and a discussion about identity. Overall, I would call it a success, but now the hard part is picking another book people will like just as much!

Completed:
My Not So Super Sweet Life (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #3) - Rachel Harris: 4 stars. Not my favorite of the series, but I really enjoyed Cat and Lucas's story. I really, really hope Rachel continues the series with Lorenzo or Reyna or Ransom or Cipriano or somebody!
Camp Payback (Camp Boyfriend #2) - J.K. rock: 3.5 stars. I enjoyed much of this book, but I had a hard time relating to either Alex or Javier. Also, I'm just not a fan of the Munchie Manor girls. I know they're Lauren and Alex's friends, but they're so disingenuous and not loyal at all. As I said in my Camp Boyfriend review, loyalty is a trait I admire greatly so it makes my heart hurt to read about unsupportive friends. I am greatly looking forward to Camp Forget-Me-Not because we'll get to spend a little more time with the girls in the Diva's Den.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys... #1) - Jenny Han: 5 stars! Loved this book. Love, love, love. This is a book that is not realistic so much as it's just real. I can't wait for #2!

Reread:
Belles (Belles #1) audiobook - Jen Calonita & Julia Whelan: 2 stars. I am not a fan of Julia's weird, affected southern accents. As a born-and-bred southerner, I accept the varied accents of my fried-food-loving neighbors, but that doesn't mean I appreciate a narrator faking it in an audiobook. Boo.

Currently Reading:
Camp Boyfriend - J.K. Rock. I'm doing the Camp Boyfriend Readalong hosted by Fluffy Reads. I didn't relate very well to Alex so it's nice to be back with Lauren, Matt, and Seth!
The Mark of Zorro audiobook - Johnston McCulley & Val Kilmer. This audiobook is more like an audioplay. It's not a direct adaptation. Each character is read by a different actor, which I'm okay with, but they took out much of the description and all the dialog tags to make it more like a play or a movie. It's very different from audiobooks I've listened to before. At least Zorro is voiced by Val Kilmer, who I love!
Dreams of Gods & Monsters - Laini Taylor. I'm not very far into it yet. I think this will be one to savor over a couple weeks at least. Partially because I don't want the series to end, and partially because this book is over 600 pages!

New to my bookshelf this week:
Library:
Mila 2.0 - Debra Driza
Twilight audiobook - Stephenie Meyer
The Mark of Zorro audiobook - Johnston McCulley
Lips Touch Three Times audiobook - Laini Taylor & Jim di Bartolo. I'm a little nervous to see how this one turns out. I'm sad because obviously in audio, Jim's beautiful artwork is rendered moot!
Pants on Fire audiobook - Meg Cabot

Bought:
My Not So Super Sweet Life - Rachel Harris

2 comments:

  1. I've become a huge fan of audiobooks... Thanks for reviewing them!

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  2. Hope to see more of your thoughts on 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before'! I want to read it, but one of my friends didn't like it, so I'm hoping after your review, it'll give me more of a reason to read it.

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