This is now the fourth David Levithan book I've read (yeah, I'm keeping count).



This was truly a lovely, relatively quick read.
( To feel such a longing for his own life, even as he's living it - he wonders what that means. )

I haven't written one of these in a while, and I don't know when I'll write one again (I'm referring to my soon-to-be-busy life as an English grad again).  That's mostly because I've kept my book-buying to a minimum lately, as I'm saving up my money for semester Spring '10.  But I couldn't resist getting a $5 paperback version of Jane Eyre (and my dad even ended up spotting me for it - sweet!), which I swear has been there for at least my last four visits.  Add that to the growing number of classics on my to-read list.

Encourged by this find, I took a long time scrutinizing the YA section in hopes of finding a second read.  I saw many of the book series, both good and blah, that I've seen before - Uglies, The A-List, Private, and the old standbys, Gossip Girl and The Clique.  Then mine eyes beheld the horror of two classics with new covers that made them look like Twilight coypcats: Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice.  Does Heights really need to be known as "Bella and Edward's favorite book"?  And Pride as "the one that started it all"?  Started what?  Great writing?  Stories about women who stand up to snobby men?  Oh, please don't let "it" mean "the Twilight series." (Although it so happens that I helped an older man find the last book, Breaking Dawn, which was obviously on his daughter's Christmas list.  It made me feel good to help this guy out, knowing that his daughter would be getting exactly what she'd been expecting.)

Anyway, I did see several books that piqued my interest.  There's a large paperback titled It's Kind of a Funny Story, which I've also seen there often; that new Frank Portman book, Andromeda Klein, looking more intriguing than last time; and Kissing Kate, a different-sounding book from Lauren Myracle.  I hope to try all of these soon, now that I've take note of them.  I saw the Luxe series, but at $10 a pop I've decided that it's just not worth it; they'll be at my library the next time I come home.

On an unrelated note, I need to start checking out the adult fiction section more often.  I think I'm missing out on a lot of good stuff, and I don't want to get distracted ... right now, anyway.

 





I hesitate giving this book a review, mostly because it's been so well-reviewed for such obvious reasons, but I'd listed it on a reading list and I have to cross it off now.
 

I literally spent the whole afternoon with my nose in this book.  Years ago, back in fifth grade, my teacher had read this out loud to my class during reading time. (I wonder if, given the controversy surrounding the book, any parents of my classmates had complained.  She got to finish it, so I guess not.) Embarrassingly, I'd forgotten most of the story, save for one incredibly heart-breaking scene that has stayed with me - and one I relived this afternoon.

( He did not know what his selection meant. He did not know what he was to become. Or what would come of him. )

 





In my mind, I promised to get this posted before the week was out.  

This is the hardcover version which, while perhaps underwhelming, reflects the theme of the book better than the paperback version, which is more generic.  I was surprised to see that this is published in part by Disney; does this mean we can expect to see a made-for-TV movie starring Selena Gomez soon?  Well, I don't know about that.  
( Makeover. Dev's term for it was reinvent the brand, but I understood what it really meant. )

 





So. It's been a little while since I last posted (a hint of what life might be like once I'm in grad school). But that doesn't mean I haven't been reading! It just means that between decorating, buying presents, and generally getting into the Christmas spirit, things are kinda busy.


But this book was a surprisingly engrossing read, which is why I finished it before Little Women and The Market.  It was a recent purchase, a cheap treat for myself courtesy of Half-Price Books. It'd caught my interest months ago, and stuck out primarily because this seemed to be a Meg Cabot book that dealt with fantasy. ( I couldn't believe this was happening. And yet, at the same time, I sort of could. Which seemd to be how my life was going at Avalon High. )