Sunday, January 10, 2010

Cybils Young Adult Fiction Finalists - a Round-up of Reviews

I'm currently in the process of reading the seven Young Adult Fiction finalists for the Cybils award and am really enjoying them. All of the books that I've read thus far deal with major ISSUES, like alcoholism or suicide or abuse. In order to combat the heaviness, I've been reading light, frothy, non-Cybils books in between. This helps me clear my head before moving on to the next book. Unlike last year when I read over 90 nominated novels as a first-round panelist, this year I only have to read seven so it's nice to be able to take my time and savor each book instead of feeling like I have to rush immediately into the next one.

Enough about my reading style though...I promised to post other bloggers' reviews of the finalists, since I can't actually review any on my blog until after the winner has been announced. Below are reviews that have come to my attention in the last week. If you've reviewed one of these books and you're not on this list, leave me a comment and a link to your review and I'll add it. (p.s. I have no idea if these are positive or negative reviews. I didn't read them before posting because I didn't want other reviews competing with my own thoughts as I read these books.)

Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney
Reviewed by:
Sarah at YA Librarian Tales
Sarah at Sarah's Random Musings
Alea at Pop Culture Junkie
Norah at TeenReads

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Reviewed by:
Sally at Reading Junky

Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers
Reviewed by:
Tirzah at The Compulsive Reader
Sophie at So Many Books
Sarah at Sarah's Random Musings
Jocelyn at Teen Book Review

How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford
Reviewed by:
Tirzah at The Compulsive Reader
Erin at Forever Young Adult
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
Reviewed by:
Sarah at YA Librarian Tales
Sarah at Green Bean Teen Queen
Shelf Elf
The Book Muncher

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Reviewed by:
Tirzah at The Compulsive Reader
Priya at Book Crumbs

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Reviewed by:
Tirzah at The Compulsive Reader
Jenny at Forever Young Adult
Priya at Book Crumbs
Megan at SimplyMegan
Sally at Reading Junky
Amanda at A Patchwork of Books

Sunday, January 3, 2010

My 2010 Book Wishlist

A new year means tons of great new books. Here are some that I'm looking forward to reading (and buying) in 2010.

The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart (already read and loved!), Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan, Every Little Thing In the World by Nina de Gramont (already read and loved!)

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong, Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (already read and loved!)

What's on your 2010 book wishlist?

A note about buying books...
Between my job and this blog, I get a ton of books for free, but I also buy a ton of books. I've already read three of the above books in advance reader copy form. However, when those books hit the shelves, I will buy at least one copy of every one. Why? Because I love books and I think it's important to support the authors of my favorite books. As Beth Kephart recently said on her blog, "I believe in books, and I will pay to keep them coming." Of course, this also means that I'm doing a good job of keeping the bookshelf manufacturing companies in business, too. :)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Favorite Books of 2009

One of my favorite things to do in January is to look back at some of the best books from the previous year. Below are some of my favorite reads in 2009...

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Blackbringer by Laini Taylor
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart
Fire by Kristin Cashore
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker
Lips Touch by Laini Taylor

Last year, my blog resolution was to read 200 books. For the second year in a row, I am proud to say that I read over 200 books. This year, I am not going to set a reading quota; instead, my goal is to read more diversely. In addition to the young adult books you see reviewed on this blog, my list of 200 books was filled with adult fiction and a handful of non-fiction. In 2010, I want to read more non-fiction and I also want to work towards my goal of reading all the Man Booker Prize winners. Usually I read 2-3 of these a year, although in 2009 I only read 1--The Gathering by Anne Enright, a thoroughly depressing book.

However, when all is said and done, my only real New Year's Resolution is to pet my cat more. ♥
Em's Favorite Books of 2007 and 2008