My February Books

Back in January, I joined the Book Vixen's "Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 2011". I pledged to read at least 25 books this year. Now I have joined the Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge and pledged to read at least 30 books. So far, I think I’m doing well! I read three books in January, and I started three books in February but only finished two of them during the month. (I’m about 100 pages away from finishing the third “February” book.) And to match my last book post entry, I will give my opinion on the next two books I have finished reading.

“The Hound of Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: I really liked the darkness and mystery wrapped up in this book, but in traditional Victorian-style, it tended to drag a bit in places. It was filled with great details, but sometimes I could have done without such specifics and the repetitiveness. Though once I made it to the last few chapters, I couldn’t put it down. The story suddenly started coming all together and the mystery quickly revealed itself in an action-paced conclusion. Of course, the setting and characters were my favorite part. Recommend if you like a good mystery or a classic tale.

“The Hunchback Assignments (The Hunchback Assignments #1)” by Arthur Slade: I loved this book! I was drawn to it by its steampunk style, unique characters, and adventure-mystery story-line. And I wasn’t disappointed though I was a bit skeptical once I started reading it. It was dark and twisted, almost to the point where I feared where it was going. It’s a YA novel, so the main characters are young teenagers and I tend to shy away from books where bad things happen to young people. (I work with kids and teenagers.) But in the darkness of the story, there was hope. In the grotesque, there was beauty. It turned out to be a lot different than I was expecting (in a good way). The book is also the first in a series: the second is “The Dark Deeps” and the third is to be published later in September. Recommend if you like the steampunk genre or enjoy an adventure story told in a darker tone with a different sort of hero.

I’m currently reading “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman, and I’m enjoying it so far. Though it is also not quite what I expected. The book is the story of Nobody “Bod” Owens as he grows up being raised by ghosts in a graveyard, and each chapter is a different tale from his life. The first chapter is the tale of his “birth”, where another is when he is about 5 years old and another yet is when he is 11 years old. I’ll posted more about it once I finish it though. And after this one, I still have a long list of books to make my way through. (Especially the ones I checked out from the library that are due back in three weeks.) Wish me luck in my reading adventures!

~Namárië

P.S. Yes, I have remodeled my blog once again. The last design I had with the flowers was too busy and had way to much pink in it. I am a purple girl, so I searched long and hard for another purple themed design.  This one caught my eye, so I'm giving it a try. Hopefully I'll stick with this design! =)