A Reader of Fictions

Book Reviews for Just About Every Kind of Book

Sunday, August 26, 2012

On My New Arrivals Shelf (18)

Hey y'all! My haul was pretty great this week, thanks to an epic Goodwill trip. Holla! Hope you all got awesome things!

Bloggers Mentioned:

Hannah of The Book Vortex
YA Books Central
Lenore of Presenting Lenore

For Review:

The Dark Unwinding - Sharon Cameron

The Song of Achilles - Madaline Miller

Won:

The Forsaken - Lisa M. Stasse

Purchased:

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye - Deb Caletti

When It Happens - Susane Colasanti

The Fellowship: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright & the Taliesin Fellowship - Roger Friedland & Harold Zellman

Pattern Recognition (Blue Ant #1) - William Gibson

The End of the Affair - Graham Greene

Skylight Confessions - Alice Hoffman

State of Wonder - Ann Patchett

Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Surrender, Dorothy - Meg Wolitzer

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (Alfred Kropp #1) - Rick Yancey

NetGalley:

Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan - Robin Maxwell

36 Comments:

Kara_Malinczak said...: So glad to see The Dark Unwinding there. Please update me when you are reading it with thoughts! I loved it so much.; August 26, 2012 at 12:31 AM
Alessandra said...: I'll be waiting for your review of The Song of Achilles! I'm very intrigued by that book. It looks like the rights for the Italian edition have already been sold, so now I'm trying to find out who bought them...

And yes! Percy/Perseus! He's gorgeous. He looks like he had his stripes painted!; August 26, 2012 at 3:33 AM
kara-karina@Nocturnal Book Reviews said...: Please, like The Dark Unwinding, Christina! ;) I want to read this book too! ;) Jane looks fab as well, fantastic haul as usual! Enjoy, and have a lovely week ahead of you!; August 26, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Nori said...: So many awesome books! I can't wait to read The Dark Unwinding and Forsaken. I actually impulse bought Forsaken from a certain magical bookstore. As you noticed, it just looks so cool!; August 26, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Melissas Midnight Musings said...: You got a ton of books!

I'm curious to see your thoughts on The Help and Super Sad True Love Story. I really liked The Help. Super Sad True Love Story...not so much.

Happy reading.

Sunday Post on Melissa's Midnight Musings; August 26, 2012 at 9:40 PM
Lilian said...: Since I haven't commented...in a week. I'm comment now...in the middle of typing my essay at the university library (I AM SO HARDWORKING I AM AT SCHOOL ON A SUNDAY! PRAISE ME!), because writing about art is a whole lot more boring than making it.

I WILL JOIN YOU IN THE PARTY THAT DIDN'T READ THE HELP!
I have the paperback edition on my bookshelf for...half a year now.

I LOVE THE FORSAKEN'S COVER TO BITS. Too bad the book got mied review. So I went from super excited for it...to ehhhhh.

I saw Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart on someone's best of 2011 list. The cover style reminded me oddly of I Love You Beth Cooper, which made me cringe: the story was okay, but the illustrations made me want to throw the book across the room in disgust. I d hope to pick up Super Sad True Love Story some day though. But my idea of some day equals a century later.

On the other hand, this library is way too cold! My nose is getting drippy and I am disturbing people with my sniffing! AHHHH.; August 26, 2012 at 10:39 PM
Christina said...: Will do/have done. I'm almost done now.; August 27, 2012 at 9:10 AM
Christina said...: I'll be starting The Song of Achilles pretty soon. I hope it's amazing. Also, I love the paperback cover so much more than the hardback. Yay for Italian rights! Do you prefer to read books in the original English or translated if you can get them?

Thanks! He's my sweet boy!; August 27, 2012 at 9:11 AM
Christina said...: I do like it! Be excited without fear! It's probably a 4 for me.

Thanks!; August 27, 2012 at 9:11 AM
Christina said...: It does. I've heard mixed things about The Forsaken. If I don't like it, I can always give it away, though. :-p; August 27, 2012 at 9:13 AM
Christina said...: I did. Thanks to me. *revels in my own genius for buying ALL THE BOOKS*

Glad to know you liked The Help. I am sad about Super Sad Love Story, maybe even super sad. The cover makes me happy, so I expect the book to do so as well. Faulty logic, you say? Surely not!; August 27, 2012 at 9:14 AM
Christina said...: You've been at school for like a week and already with the essays! They should give you a break! That was the nice thing about history/english/theology. We usually only had a couple bigger papers per course. Of course, they would all come due at once and there would be a couple weeks of hell. Why did I not right some early so that wouldn't happen? What? That doesn't make sense. NOT procrastinate?? I think not.

I'm sure my hardback will sit on my shelves for years before I get to it.

That's how I feel about The Forsaken too.

Uh oh. I have a copy of I Love You, Beth Cooper. :/

YOU CARRY THE PLAGUE. This is scary since I just finished Masque of the Red Death. *stay away!*; August 27, 2012 at 9:17 AM
Lilian said...: I would love a break too. I don't even know why I am so busy. I've been scrambling around campus either buying textbooks/art supplies or running between campus (professors just LOVE to talk that they leave me out five minutes late...so I can't get to my next class on time! EWWWW).
One of my art classes is a writing intensive course, and to prove it, my professors assigns at least one paper a week. *sigh*

But it's just art that is annoying, with all the humongous canvases/supplies/glass palettes I have to carry around.

Still, lovely cover. Good for display purposes even if the story does end up lackluster.

EWWW. Just close your eyes when you get to the illustrations. ugh.

WHAT PLAGUE? So I need to be all steampunk-like and put weird metal contraptions on my head (plus a gas mask) now to prevent the plague from spreading?; August 27, 2012 at 6:25 PM
Alessandra said...: Do you prefer to read books in the original English or translated if you can get them?

It depends from the book and the translation. For "easy" novels aimed at YA, or genre fiction, I can read the English without problems or strain. More complex books (literary fiction, or using difficult words) are easier for me to read in translation - it's demanding to read in a foreign language all the time. Some translations are so good I get totally engrossed in the prose. In others, I notice some awkward usage, some Italian sentence that doesn't sound "right" and start wondering what the original was. So I lose my focus on the story, and it's a bit annoying.; August 27, 2012 at 7:07 PM
Christina said...: Oh noes! I totally thought the benefit of being an art major would be LESS papers. That is odd. I guess I'm finally glad I don't have any artistic talent, as I would have been very sad to learn that.

Well, then I guess you shouldn't have wanted to be an artist. Or, you should be a digital artist.

Based on the cover, I see what you mean. He's all popping pimples and stuff.

YES. OTHERWISE WE WILL NOT BE FRIENDS WITH YOU, WE BEING EVERYONE EVER.; August 28, 2012 at 8:53 AM
Christina said...: Hmmm, on the ones that don't sound right, do you ever get the English too and compare the trouble sections? That would be an interesting study to do. You could totally judge the translator. Do you read Jane Austen in English or Italian?; August 28, 2012 at 8:55 AM
April (BooksandWine) said...: Oh, I love When It Happens, it's quite an adorable book. I hope you like it too!

Also, I am quite curious about Song Of Achilles.

Happy reading :-D; August 28, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Heather said...: Look at all of this awesomesauce!

I read Super Sad True Love Story earlier this year, and all I can remember about it is that it was kinda strange. haha. Let me know when you read it :); August 28, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Christina said...: Like I ever don't let you know when I read things! :-p; August 28, 2012 at 1:10 PM
Christina said...: Sweet! Good to know. I've heard some meh things about Colasanti, but I could not pass it up.; August 28, 2012 at 1:11 PM
Lilian said...: "I totally thought the benefit of being an art major would be LESS papers."
ha. They want to make sure you know the conceptual stuff behind art..theories...compositional rules. *sigh* So every time you put a stroke down, you better come up with a good reason to have done so, lest you stand up there speechless when questioned by the professor. Apparently "because I like it" doesn't count as a good answer.

I want to be a book cover designer, if I can afford to be that exclusive. But all digital art has to stem from a good foundation. If you can't paint with a canvas, you won't be any better on a computer (except you will never have to worry about dishing out 80bucks for oil paint).

It's even worse towards the end of the book. UGH.

WHATTTTTT??? HOW SHALLOW! All because of a stupid plague. psh.; August 28, 2012 at 2:08 PM
Christina said...: Even though I'm pretty sure 'Because I like it' or 'Because I can get money for it' are actually the main reasons artists make things. Sure, if asked, they can bullshit about the deeper meaning, but they probably also just thought it was pretty.

80 BUCKS? Fuck that. If you make book covers, you should totally hire me as a consultant. If you make something stupid, I will laugh at it until you fix it. YOU NEED ME.

Eesh. I hope they don't have sex in awkward pictures.; August 28, 2012 at 2:11 PM
Lilian said...: "Even though I'm pretty sure 'Because I like it' or 'Because I can get money for it' are actually the main reasons artists make things."
Those artists must not have gone through a university. If you are doing it for money, then they should just go through a technical school, where they teach you how to use the tools.

In my case my answer would be: "because you assigned it." or "because this is what I think you want for me to get a good grade."
But then again, there are rules to art and design. If you break them, you better know what they are before breaking them (lest you want to be stared at like an idiot), and not just breaking him out of ignorance (or laziness). Like having bad grammar then claiming it's a sign of your innovative writing skills and how you are breaking the boundaries of writing or something.

IF I become a book cover designer, I should just have you read the manuscripts for me and tell me what's up with the story since you are such a fast reader. Just so I don't make a cover than has nothing to do with the book. Can you imagine To Kill A Mockingbird with a dead bird on the cover done in the style of "The Idiots Guide to..." style? Or Clockwork Orange with an orange?

No, there's no sex. There's just the guy becoming more and more disgusting.; August 28, 2012 at 4:51 PM
Christina said...: Hmmm. You're telling me when you draw something, you think through the theory first, rather than just having an idea and making that idea?

That was my reason for doing everything in school. Good point. Stupid people with bad grammar.

Lol. As long as you're making covers for things I like, I will TOTALLY do that for you. It's a deal.

Eesh.; August 28, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Lilian said...: When I draw something, I plan it out. Because if I didn't I'd have a person as tall as the Hulk because I was too lazy to lay out my perspective lines. Oh, and the tilting buildings too.
The theories are always floating around in the back of my head.
It's not like I constantly think "i before e except after c...except in science, neighbor, weigh...weird...and so on" when I am typing. But I would be like "OMG! THAT WORLD DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT! OH NOES! LET'S GOOGLE SPELL CHECK THIS THING!"
^Same thing in art/design.
"OH FUDGE, WHY I AM TALLER THAN THE BUILDING? I MUST RE MEASURE THESE STUPID LINES!"

I will hold you to that deal. Because anything you say on the Internet is permanent. SO SAYS THE RULES OF THE INTERNET.; August 28, 2012 at 5:23 PM
M.A.D. said...: Christina - I just *drooled* all over my keyboard lol
Awesome book haul, girl ... my daughter just finished reading The Help, my turn next. She enjoyed it and I hope you do, too :)

Mary DeBorde M.A.D.; August 29, 2012 at 2:06 AM
Christina said...: Tilting buildings COULD be awesome. You could justify it by saying it represents how society isn't built on as solid of foundations as it thinks it is. BOOM. Giant man = humanity's inflated sense of their importance in the world.

Oh man, it is THE WORST when you spell something correctly, but it looks funny to you. Urgh. The more you look at a word, the less sense it makes.

IT IS SO.; August 29, 2012 at 9:01 AM
Christina said...: Sweet! Glad to know that one might not just be over-hyped.; August 29, 2012 at 9:28 AM
Lilian said...: In a foundation drawing course where you have to draw what you see...that would be not following directions. You'd be surprise how un-creative and rigid drawing actually is and how much it tests your patience. I actually dreaded drawing my first year because it was basically standing for three hours (there weren't enough chairs, so the professor was like "NO CHAIRS FOR EVERYONE JUST OT BE FAIR!!!") drawing on a canvas.

"The more you look at a word, the less sense it makes."
ditto.
Or I just have horrible spelling. There was one time I thought a word looked wrong..but I brushed it off thinking it was this "I stared at it too much!" effect. But it was actually wrong. *sigh*; August 29, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Christina said...: WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST BUY MORE CHAIRS? That sounds boring. Also, I can't draw, so the point is moot. But not being able to argue that the painting you dashed off in five minutes is brilliant because of some philosophical BS totally sounds like the best part of art to me.

Yup. It's a trap. Either way, you lose.; August 30, 2012 at 8:57 AM
Lilian said...: I DON'T KNOW. APPARENTLY ALL THE MONEY GOES TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES! AND ALL THE MONEY THAT'S LEFT IS THROWN INTO CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BUILDINGS.
My older sister told me of the time she was painting whatever in her painting class and the professor loved it...while her peers all knew she rushed it in 5 minutes. The sad fact about art, you can spend five hours and it still might not be as good as the one that took 5 minutes.; August 30, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Christina said...: Yup. There's way too much talent required. The same is true of studying though. I know there were times in the past where I would study for like fifteen minutes (skim the chapter) and get way better grades then people who really tried.; August 30, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Lilian said...: This was exactly what I felt during my Chinese quiz yesterday, I was done in like 2 minutes (literally.)
And when I looked up everyone was still mulling over stuff, to the point I kept flipping my paper back and reread instructions "was there an essay prompt in here I missed?? WHY IS EVERYONE STILL WRITING?"; August 30, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Christina said...: Bahaha. That's how I almost always felt during tests. I was that guy that would finish with a bunch of time left, look around, notice that no one else was done, and then just stare at my test until someone else turned their test in. Every time, I had so much fear that I finished so quickly because I was missing something. Nope, I think others are just slow.

In college, I almost never reached the staple in my blood book on tests. Some people would get a SECOND one. I don't even know how.; August 30, 2012 at 11:40 AM
Lilian said...: ME TOO. I would never have enough guts to be the first one standing up. And I also panic when a bunch of people finish before me. "NOOOOOO!! WHY IS EVERYONE DONE?? AM I STUPID? BUT I'M WRITING THIS STUFF AS FAST AS I CAN!"
So it never works out for me either way.

I..I...have no idea what you are talking about. WHAT ALIEN LANGUAGE ARE YOU SPEAKING? I went as far to google "staple in blood book." no results. So I can't even feign understanding.; September 1, 2012 at 3:01 PM
Christina said...: Pretty much, although I was rarely in the group still writing.

BLUE BOOK. OMG. STUPID TYPO!; September 4, 2012 at 9:29 AM

A Reader of Fictions

Book Reviews for Just About Every Kind of Book

: Name: Christina; Location: Norcross, GA, United States

I am a librarian in my twenties. I got my MLIS at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010, and, through the vagaries of the job market, ended up working at a software company, rather than a librarian. I still very much consider myself to be a librarian, though.

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A Reader of Fictions

Sunday, August 26, 2012

On My New Arrivals Shelf (18)

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