I was really good about documenting my reading, then I started grad school and that's fallen off. I do read, although not as much as I'd like. So I think I'm going to forego the amazon links (if you'd like them, please use the search box above and I'll get a portion of your purchase which will buy me school books).

And away we go in no particular order except the order in which I remember them.

The Ruins by Scott Smith. So I saw a preview for the film version around Christmas time and got this just in time for my Iowa trip. I read it on the way there and ugh, what a pain. Third rate suspense, characters I had no sympathy for. It may have colored my crappy mood when I arrived in Iowa.

The Learners by Chip Kidd. A follow up to The Cheese Monkeys, but easily stands alone (although I'd recommend the Cheese Monkeys just so you aren't blindsided by the appearance of Himillsy Dodd). It takes something you learned in High School psychology and shows the other side. Redemption, guilt, all that fun stuff. I loved it, and was glad to have Happy back in my life for a short time.

The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn't Actually Do, but Could Have, and May Yet by Jill Conner Brown and Karin Gillespie. Do we really need this? This reminds me of when you were in junior high and you thought it would be SO FUN! to write about your real life friends and how you wish things had happened. It's almost like fanfiction, but in a way I can't possibly explain. I like the SPQ books, but this was unnecessary. Next!

Suburban Legends by Sam Stall. A collection of weird-but-true stories from Suburbia. I love stuff like this and I needed something to cleanse my cranial palate after writing a 16 page paper for class. It's the kind of book you can keep in the bathroom for, ahem, longer trips.

Duma Key by Stephen King. I commented ages ago in an entry about The Colorado Kid that he's gotten a heart. Boy, has he ever and BOY do I like it. He builds the suspense so slowly but you're never bored. The body count gets high and emotional but the ending is satisfying. King is getting better with age, and this book seems very personal (the main character is recovering from an accident that leaves him with physical and mental impairments). He needs to talk to his son Joe Hill who wrote...

Heart Shaped Box about which I heard very mixed reviews but decided to try it for myself. I couldn't believe it was a real book based on the synopsis I read, and on top of that I kind of wanted to see what Stephen's kid had in him. It reminded me of the period where I just couldn't finish King's books due to the ridiculousness. I did finish, though.

With the gift card I will have more later.

Labels: books