Sunday, August 02, 2009

Sunday Salon: July in review

The Sunday Salon.com A few weeks back, a lot of people were throwing the question out there, 'how does summer affect your reading habits?' I thought about it and didn't come to any great conclusion. Until now. I can look at the books I read in July and just know that my attention span over the summer shrinks to the bare minimum. I'm only picking up short, quick (albeit emotional) children's books. I have one adult book on my list and as it's a Meg Cabot, I'm thinking it almost doesn't count! Favourite book of the month? Tough one.

1. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
2. Lottery by Beth Goobie
3. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
4. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
5. The Savage by David Almond
6. Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers
7. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot
8. Are We There Yet? by David Leviathan
9. Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers
10. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
11. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
12. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
13. Ways To Live Forever by Sally Nicholls
14. Jake's Tower by Elizabeth Laird
15. Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones
16. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
17. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
18. Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton

The thing with these books is that I'm finding them hard to review. Have y'all noticed that this blog has not been updated very regularly of late? No? Well, it hasn't been. Partially due to a looming deadline for my latest assignment, mostly laziness, but also a huge dip in my enthusiasm for blogging lately. So maybe you could do me a great favour? Previously on Weekly Geeks, they've asked readers to submit questions about certain books to be answered in a review. Please, please do ask questions. Anything I've read this month that I haven't reviewed. I did review seven books already, but still. Eleven books to choose from, there must be one book there that you want to know more about, right? (Also, if you could help me out with questions for the following books, that would be awesome)

Small Island by Andrea Levy
Falling Man by Don DeLillo
Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

Also, did you notice that I've read four Sarah Dessen novels this month? She's my latest favourite author. Can't get enough of her. I'd be hard pushed to answer which has been favourite so far. I'm leaning towards Just Listen or This Lullaby. I don't know. I flip-flop between them all. I'm thinking that maybe I was overly harsh on That Summer and might go back to give it another chance.

That Summer
Someone Like You
Keeping the Moon
Dreamland
This Lullaby
The Truth About Forever
Just Listen
Lock and Key
Along For the Ride

So, how did you do reading-wise in July?

Please help me out by asking me questions about the 10 books I haven't reviewed this month! Which is your favourite Sarah Dessen novel? Who's your latest favourite author?

9 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about your blogging-slump, although I must admit that I have felt the same for some weeks now. I also find it very difficult to review anything, and I always end up thinking that my reviews are cra*. But anyway, a question for you to get your reviewing going again:

    I have Falling Man on my TBR. I like to switch between genres and do not mind switching from one to another. Which genre does Falling Man belong to? And was it complicated to read?

    Louise

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  2. I have just picked up my first Sarah Dessen book from the bootsale today. I need to see what everyone else is talking about!

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  3. Did you really read Just Listen twice? I loved Wes in The Truth About Forever. I'm reading Along for the Ride today and it's very good. This will be my 3rd Dessen, but I have Just Listen and two others in my piles.

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  4. My enthusiasm for blogging seems to wane now and then too. Especially lately. I'm not familiar with Sarah Dessen's books at all.

    I've been really curious about The Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. I'm so terrible about thinking up questions. LOL About the most complicated I can do is, "Did you like it?" Terrible, I know.

    I'd be curious to know more about the relationships between the sisters and if the book goes into their individual relationships with their father at all? Do you think the characters are developed well? Is it as funny as the reviews suggest?

    I wish I was better at thinking up questions. :-(

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  5. Louise - I *always* feel like my reviews are poor. I'm definately my own worst enemy. Thank you for your question, I will use it in my review.

    Vivienne - which one was it? Hoping it wasn't That Summer, as I didn't find it to be very good. I will give it another try, but the others are so much better!

    Literary Feline - thank you for your questions, I will do my best with them. I'm not good at asking questions when other people have asked either, but you did well! :)
    Lisa - thanks for pointing out my mistake, it's fixed now. It should have been Just Listen and This Lullaby.

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  6. Tractors was a bit of a disappointment to me. I'd expected a lot from a book with a great title like that.

    What about you? Were you disappointed? If so, why?

    Okay, there's my attempt at a question to provoke a review!

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  7. debnance - thanks for the questions! Will try to answer them shortly.

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  8. Dessen's novels are amazing. I wish they were around while I was growing up. Have you checked out her blog? If not, stop by. What strikes me the most is her likability factor.

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  9. Christina - You know, I think I realised she had a blog, but I hadn't read any of it until you mentioned it. Thanks for that. Have now also followed her on twitter. I keep forgetting twitter.

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