Wednesday Scrolls -- May Review!

When I, Persy, said we were back, I MEANT IT. Here we are to give you a summary of our May reading!

In May, I read 12 books, 6 of them being manga and 1 a collection of comic books I considered to equal a graphic novel. All of this added up to 2788, which really is quite good for me these days.

Best May Book: This ends up going to Volume 6 of Skip Beat! by Yoshiki Nakamura. I just love this series so much. Even if you don't like Manga, you should read it or watch the anime, 'cause it just makes me happy.

Honorable Mention(s): Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Other Stories by Truman Capote, The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, and Volume 14 of Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori (of course).

Worst May Book: Volume 6 of Corpse Party: Blood Covered by Makoto Kudouin. Really it's not that bad, but it's hardly art, y'know? Mostly pantie shots and gore. It just ends winning this award because I didn't read anything truly bad this month.

Dishonorable Mention(s): There isn't one!

So far my June has been pretty good, and don't forget that July is RYFBM! Reread Your Favorite Book Month!

--Persy


Welcome back, guys! Or maybe I should be saying that to Persy and myself. Oh, well.

In the month of May, I read 13 books. One of them was a two-shot manga and one was a comic collection. As usual, I'm lazy, and don't keep track of page count - I just count 13 to be pretty good for being out of the country for a week!

Best May Book: It's really a tie between the fairly new Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson, and the ever-classic Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. It should probably go to Alif, though, since everyone knows that Cyrano is amazing. And Alif was fantastic! Go read it!

Honorable Mention(s): Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson and How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster.

Worst May Book: Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes. Sigh. Incredibly generic for a pretty well-promoted YA serving, and the ending was an inch shy of preposterous.

Dishonorable Mention(s): Mordred by Vivian Vande Velde was a shocking departure for the generally super-quality Ms. Velde. Boring, and barely even about Mordred, really - more about OCs and a disappointingly-drawn Nimue than the angst-ridden titular character. Sigh again.

Get ready for RYFB Month - July will be here before you realize it!

--Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- March Review

My how time flies. But here we are in April, and here I, Persy, am to start off the review of March!

In March, I read 7 books (two of them being manga...) totaling 1811 pages. Not all that impressive, but still better than February, so I'm content.

Best March Book: It's gonna have to go to Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. Such classic. Such awesome.

Honorable Mention(s): Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning was fantastic, as was Volume 10 of Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori.

Worst March Book: I suppose Dayhunter by Jocelynn Drake. Honestly it wasn't bad, just kinda tedious.

Dishonorable Mention: There isn't one! I had a pretty good month!

Pretty excited for April!

--Persy


Welcome to April! Arty here.

In March, I did a bit better than in February - 13 books in total. Lucky thirteen!

Best March Book: Probably How To Betray A Dragon's Hero, by Cressida Cowell, the eleventh book in the How To Train Your Dragon series. Let me tell you - I never expected this kind of plot progression when I read the first book. It's still hilarious but simultaneously heartbreaking - and there's actually a death in this one.

Honorable Mention: Tossup between Coaltown Jesus and the first volume of Nabari No Ou. Coaltown Jesus was a very short poetry-book about a young boy who, after his older brother overdoses on drugs, gets visited by Jesus. For real. The first volume of Nabari No Ou is, well, Nabari No Ou, the anime for which I adored and the manga of which is so far just as adorable as the beginning of the anime was.

Worst March Book: Civic Agriculture by Thomas Lyson. As the title implies, it is a treatise on civic agriculture, which I read for honors class. It was... difficult.

Dishonorable Mention: Divergent. Sorry - wasn't quite my taste.

Here's to an even more successful April!

--Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- February Review

So my plan to get back on the ball with reading hasn't really succeeded. Of course, I'm keeping up with my actual goal for the year, but I was hoping to exceed that goal by quite a few. Oh well. Persy here, ready to admit some more embarrassing book figures.

In February of 2014 I read 5 whole books with a total of 1731 pages. Eheh.

Best February Book: I'd have to say Singularity by William Sleator. Love me some time travel.

Honorary Mention(s): Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling and Lord Sunday by Garth Nix.

Worst February Book: The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. A very disappointing sequel to Life As We Knew It.

Dishonorable Mention: There isn't one. I just didn't read enough in February. Yikes.

Here's to March being better.

--Persy


My February was about as dismal as Persy's. I have 7 books on my Goodreads account, and one of those I didn't actually finish. I fail.

Best February Book: My Most Excellent Year, by Steve Kluger. Great, funny, sometimes devastatingly emotional - yeah, definitely the best.

Honorary Mention: Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor. I mean, it's Flannery O'Connor. Obviously.

Worst February Book: Well, if I can count the one I didn't finish, then Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Didn't get quite 60 pages into it before I fell asleep.

Dishonorable Mention: I had to read Human Ecology: A Theoretical Essay and unless you're into ecology, it's about as dismal as it sounds. (Though there were still one or two interesting snippets that made it less dishonorable than Shiver.)

Maybe this year just needs a bit of time to pick up speed. Here's to March!

--Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- January Review

I'm honestly not sure when we last did one of these. Maybe...2012? Well, whatever. It's a new year, and I've made it my goal to get back on this kind of stuff (and my my partner do it too). Persy here, with the January review!

In January, I read a total of 14 books counting 3 graphic novels/anime, adding up to 3206 pages, which is actually really good considering 2013 as a whole.

Best January Book: Definitely The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard. It's just really hard to beat Winnie-The-Pooh and the gang.

Honorable Mention: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was the second time reading it, and it's still as beautiful as it was the first time.

Worst January Book: The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning, third book in her Highlander series. I hate it when people mess up time travel.

Dishonorable Mention: Cleanup by Norah McClintock. It was just really boring and too short to actually be an interesting mystery.

My school schedule still hasn't settled (snowmageddon?), so I still don't actually know how much reading time I'll have on a weekly basis. But I'm pretty hopeful. I might even get to start going to the local library. Dang, I miss libraries.

--Persy

Better late than never, right? Don't answer that.

January saw a grand figure of 10 books read, two of which were manga. Sigh. Oh well.

Best January Book: Probably The House of Hades, just because Percy Jackson and Nico. And Annabeth. And Leo. Percy Jackson, man.

Honorable Mention: The two manga I read, the first two volumes of Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan. The art is (if I may say so) kind of a struggle to look past, but the story and characters and world are all fascinating. (Armin Arlert forever.)

Worst January Book: Nevermore, the final (thank goodness) Maximum Ride book. It's about as good as you could expect it to be, which is not very.

Dishonorable Mention: Not to say I didn't like it, but The Lord of Opium, sequel to the breathtakingly wonderful House of the Scorpion, was kind of a letdown after the masterpiece that came before it. It just... didn't have the same mystical quality. 

Stick around for the upcoming February review and (hopefully) a normal review this Saturday!

--Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP Requiem AKA July Review

Last year, RAMFAP was quite a momentous occassion. I read so many books. Had so much fun. Not that I didn't have any fun this year either... 

 

For RAMFAP 2013, I read a total of 7 favorite books, with 1,612 pages read not counting an unpaged manga and an unpaged children's book. I actually read a total of 11 books in July, with 3,328 pages read, but not all of those were for RAMFAP. Honestly, I don't think I did too shabby considering all the stuff I've been busy with.

 

Here's my favorites book list from RAMFAP 2013:

 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr, John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George

Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce

Maid-Sama! Vol. 6 by Hiro Fujiwara

Night Gate by Isobelle Carmody

 

It's interesting to note that Night Gate is the only book that has been in both RAMFAP lists so far -- I tried to keep this year's priority list limited to the books I didn't get to last year, but Night Gate snuck to the top anyway.

 

How did y'all do, if y'all participated? I'm hoping for a good August!

 

--Persy


Arty here.  Yes.  The Arty who hasn't written a review in ages.  COLLEGE, GUYS. *lame excuses*

For RAMFAP... I reread one book.  And it turns out I probably shouldn't have, because The Angel Experiment, the first book in the Maximum Ride series, was a lot better when I was thirteen than it is now.  I still really like the story, but... sorry, Max, you're just not one of my favorites anymore.  Except for maybe nostalgia.

I did get to read around thirteen other books - what can I say, July caught me when my to-read stacks were high and I had succumbed to multiple library temptation.  Some of them were pretty lame - the Supernatural tie-in novel, One Year Gone, was disappointing, as was Mortlock by Jon Mayhew (it had black page edges - black page edges!) - but some of them were pretty dang fantastic and destined to end up on the next RAMFAP list.  Such Wicked Intent, the second book in the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series by Kenneth Oppel, and Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection by Matt Dembicki are destined for my favorites shelf.

August is already looking pretty good - hope you all have similar prospects!

-Arty 

Wednesday Scrolls -- November Review

Yeeeah we're late again. Not quite sure what our problem is this month, but I promise, we're not dead. Or at least, Persy isn't. I can't speak for that other reviewer... *pokes Arty with stick curiously*

 

Soooooooo in the month of November I read (brace yourselves) a total of 10 books, counting 4 manga/graphic novels, and 1897 pages. Eheh. Did awesome. Not really. Worst month this year. Depressing. But -- I had the amazing experience of finishing the entire Death Note series. Wow.

 

Best November Book: I'll have to go with Finis, Volume 12 of Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Man that was intense.

 

Honorable Mention: The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Nothing even came close to being this good.
 

Worst November Book: Battle Royale Vol. 2 by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Tayuchi. I finally dropped the stupid series after finishing this volume.

 

Dishonorable Mention: Aldo's Fantastical Movie Palace by Jonathan Friesen. I just feel sorry for this book.
 

I would like to say I'm hoping December will be an improvement, but since I've read, erm, very few books since December 1st, I wouldn't get my hopes too high. BUT -- I've already completed my 2012 reading goal and have officially read more books than I did last year! YAY!! Let's see how high I can get my count!

 

--Persy


So I'd like to take this opportunity to say I FAIL AT DEADLINES.  I have excuses but 1) you're not interested and 2) they're not very good ones anyhow.

November was also dismal (though not quite as dismal as this month, for which reason I'm glad we're not reviewing December).  I read 11 books.  Le sigh.  But on the other hand, most of them were very good and I did enjoy what little reading I did.

Best November Book: Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  One of the popular books that really deserves the hype.  Not perfect but still really, really fun.

Honorable Mention: A tie between A Study In Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.  Both amusing for very different reasons, I enjoyed Princess Ben more (Scarlet was half backstory that was rather dull) but Sherlock. Holmes. and. John. Watson.

Worst November Book: Probably Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke.  It wasn't bad by any means, but it just wasn't as much fun as I was hoping.  Too much human-hating.

Dishonorable Mention: ...Again, there's no real dishonorable mention because I enjoyed the rest of them too much.  Odd.

Well, auld lang syne and here's to 2013 and hopefully a better reading year.  Cheers!

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- October Review!

Happy Halloween! Okay, so maybe I'm a bit late, but hear me out... my poor computer, Kal, picked a very inconvenient time to crash (is any time convenient?) so we're a bit late on our monthly review. I'd like to claim the blame (ha! I'm so poetic) on the missing book reviews as well, but that would be Arty's fault, not mine.

So yeah, Persy here, finally. How was your October? I actually did okay, with 14 books read, 3 of them manga, and a total of 4295 pages, which is actually pretty good for me. I'm surprised because I have very little time to read these days. For instance, 7 of my October books were actually for school. Yikes.

Best October Book: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. I can't believe it's taken me this long to read such an amazing classic. Same goes for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Honorable Mention: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Plus Around The World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne and Deletion, Vol. 10 of Death Note, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

Worst October Book: I suppose Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock. Honestly, there weren't many duds this month, so I wouldn't really label this book as a bad book.

Dishonorable Mention: ...I guess there isn't one. Wowza.

November's not looking too shabby! Hoping to keep it up!

--Persy

Arty here.  Yeah, yeah, I let you guys down.  I'm sorreh.  Busy weekends.

Anyway... October has been a really, really bad month for me.  I read a paltry 11 books.  Excuse me while I go cry in the corner.

Best October Book: Hard to tell.  Probably Bunnicula, by James Howe, which has been a favorite of mine for ages.  I read it for Halloween.

Honorable Mention: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, a Peter Pan retelling, was terrifically dark.  And then there was The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland (who can write a Norse myth even if he can't write Arthurian legend), and Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan, and Runt the Brave by Daniel Schwabauer. (Who has a terrific Adventure Novel writing curriculum that everyone should go out and buy right now.  Kthxbai.)

Worst October Book: Probably The Vindico by Wesley King.  It wasn't bad, per se, but it just wasn't particularly gripping.  Just a lite read.

Dishonorable Mention: ...Well, like Persy, I liked all my others too much for them to be here.  So huzzah.

At least they were all pretty good, even if I didn't read much.  Oh well.  Here's to November being better.

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- September Review!

Welcome to October! I, Persy, had a rather pathetic September, with a meager 2815 pages read and 15 books completed. The number is better than I was expecting, but it gets super depressing when I remember that only three of those books were fictional novels read for pleasure. The rest were history and British literature books or manga.

Best September Book: I guess I'll have to go with The Importance of Being Earnest by the one and only Oscar Wilde. Also, The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex.

Honorable Mention: Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey and Romeo and Juliet (Manga Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare, Richard Appignanesi, and Sonia Leong.

Worst September Book: Cantarella Vol. 5 by You Higuri. The series started off okay and just went downhill. Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman by Patricia and Fred McKissack is also terribly written.

Dishonorable Mention: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Sorry, just didn't like it at all. And, unfortunately, the first volume of Millennium Snow by Bisco Hatori was pretty bad too (but I can't help but be a fan because of Ouran).

Maybe I'll get a bit more pleasure reading done this month.

--Persy

Hi.  Arty here.  September was also a rather dismal reading month, with just 22 books read.  In my defense, I finished writing a book!  But... well, that was pretty early on.  So anyway.

Best September Book: Either Myths of the Norsemen by Roger Lancelyn Green, or Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer.

Honorable Mention: The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman was really great (who's surprised?); also, Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

Worst September Book: Probably Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.  Sigh.  I held out hopes...

Dishonorable Mention: Worldshaker by Richard Harland.  It stared out fantastic, but by the time it ended, I just wanted to throw everybody over the edge of the ship.

So there you have it.  Here's to better books and more reading time for the Month of Halloween!

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- August Review!

Hello September, goodbye August! That's right, yet another month has passed away, and the crew here at the MLU (all two of us) are here to give you our personal best and worst of the month.
 

I, Persy, read a total of 16 books and 4,676 pages, which is way better than I was expecting. It also felt like I got no reading done because ballet started back, so when I'm not dancing or working, I'm scrambling to get school done. I'm honestly usually too tired to read by the time everything else gets done.
 

Best August Book: Since I still had a stack of favorites left over from RAMFAP month, I read a lot of awesome books this month. But I think the best would have to be Unwind, by Neal Shusterman. This book still gives me chills and makes me really think. Shusterman never disappoints.
 

Honorable Mentions: Like I said, I read a lot of good books last month. So the Honorables are Happenstance Found by P.W. Catanese, The Prophecy of the Stones by Flavia Bujor, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen, and I Am Here! Vol. 1 by Ema Toyama.
 

Worst August Book: Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. *shudders*
 

Dishonorable Mention: Rifles For Watie by Harold Keith. I am so sick of the Civil War right now.
 

Let's hope I can find some energy and time for reading this month!
 

--Persy


Gosh, September already.  Arty's favorite month.  I hope it'll be better than August, because I only managed 14 books.  And that was while I was on vacation!  Sheesh.  Oh well.

Best August Book: I actually read a whole lot of good books, even if there weren't many, so it's hard to choose, but I have to go with Sapphique, the sequel to Catherine Fisher's Incarceron.  MY GOSH SO GOOD.  I can't even explain how terrific of a sequel this is.  It does everything a sequel should.  AND JARED.  JARED IS BEST EVERYTHING.

Honorable Mention: Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer.  Aaaugh so good.  Also The Elder Edda, translated by Andy Orchard.  Beeeeautiful.  Thrymskvida and Loki's Home-Truths.  Good stuff.

Worst August Book: Probably The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong.  Oi.  Boring.  Believe it or not, I got it as a school book.

Dishonorable Mention: The Alchemist and the Angel by Joanne Owen.  An import straight from England (it has its worth in pounds on the back).  Sadly, the intriguing premise and the beautiful inside art were not enough to save a dreadfully static writing style and not-very-fleshed-out characters.

So that was the month of August for me.  Here's hoping September will be better!

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP Roundup AKA July Review

That's right, folks, RAMFAP is over. Sad.

Except that I finished with an epic 22.5 favorite books completed and 7,031 pages read! I deserve a reward!

Instead of our usual Month Review format where we highlight best and worst books, I figured I'd just give you a rundown of everything I got read, since obviously, all the books were amazing and none of them were awful.

When I first invented RAMFAP month, it was because I wanted a good excuse to reread all the Harry Potter and League books in one month, but, as you might've noticed, the idea grew a little since then. So instead of getting through all seven of the Harry Potter books, I just got through the first three. But I'm determined to finish the last four by September! I also got all the League books read, except for the last one that only just came out (that's actually getting read by September too).

Here's a list of the other fabulous books I read: Hana-Kimi, Evil Genius, Night Gate, Sabriel, Graceling, Dragon Slippers, Ouran, Alice In Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass, Fire, Brightly Woven, Bad Kitty, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nightlight, The Comedy of Errors, and Jabberwocky & Other Poems. I also got halfway through The Prophecy of the Stones.

It was definitely a good month, but I'm looking forward to going back to a more leisurely reading pace and discovering brand new wonders and horrors in the world of literature. I will keep you posted.

What about you? How did y'all do on RAMFAP month, if you participated?

--Persy




Arty here, coming it at 21 books read.  But... I have a small confession to make.  Only 11 of those were actually very-favorites. I know.  Shame on me.  If I could show you a picture of my To-Read Stacks, you'd understand.

Still, that's 11 favorites revisited!  Eleven favorites that include The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (of course), Dread Locks by Neal Shusterman, The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan (RANGER'S APPRENTICE), Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (ARTEMIS FOWL), Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, the whole Books of Umber trilogy by P.W. Catanese (which EVERYONE should read, I kid you not), the first two books in the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine, and The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter.

What you might appreciate: in the month of July, I read the first and last Artemis Fowl books.  Yep, I got The Last Guardian for my birthday.  And it was... well.  The ending.  The ending was... oh, just read it.

Like Persy, I'm ready to dive back into the unstable world of new books. (Actually I already have, since it's the second, but anyway.)  Happy August and good luck with your new stuff!

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- June Review!

Hey guys, and welcome to our review of the month of June! This is Persy talking.

So in the month of June, I read a total of 15 books and 3244 pages. Strangely, the page count isn't very good, but the book count is. I read a lot of short books though, mostly because I was in Ireland for half of June and didn't get much reading time.

Best June Book: I guess it's Sir Thursday by Garth Nix, book four in his Keys To The Kingdom series. Very rarely does a fourth book become a favorite book, but I really think it is one of the best "Keys" books. Agh, it was just so much fun. Also, The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. It's a cool little anthology of different short stories based on Rumpelstiltskin, and all the stories are great.

Honorable Mentions: There's kind of a lot, but... I Am Here! Vol. 2 (Ema Toyama), The Titan's Curse (Rick Riordan), Replication (Jill Williamson), and Eyes of the Desert Sand (Edwin Wolfe) are all good enough to get a quick mention.

Worst June Book: Among The Dolls by William Sleator. That's right, Sleator got on the worst list. But the book really wasn't very good. It was an excellent, creepy idea, but very poorly executed.

Dishonorable Mention: Eyes of the Desert Sand by Edwin Wolfe. I know, it also got on the honorable mentions, but hear me out. The story and world of "Eyes" is amazing. The writing, however, is atrocious. Seriously, that's the worst writing I've ever seen. *shudders*

We're almost two weeks into RAMFAP month! I'm about to finish my sixth book (I know, I'm a little behind, but I'm catching up). How are y'all doing?

--Persy




Arty here, the reason we're a week behind.  Lost my record book and I haven't updated my Goodreads profile in ages, darnit.

Anyway, in June, I read 36 books, 10 of which were manga or graphic novels.  Wow.  These months just keep getting better and better.

Best June Book: Runemarks by Joanne Harris steals first place.  A Norse retelling - well, not really retelling, but it has the Norse pantheon (since we all know Arty is a Norse freak) - that's over 500 pages long and has an adooorable Loki?  Yeah.  So first place.

Honorable Mention: So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev, which is the last book in the Theatre Illuminata trilogy, was really great (though as confusing as she usually is) and the ending with Ariel nearly had me in tears.  But As You Like It - the graphic novelization/mangazation by Chie Kutsuwada, that is - was also really good (beautiful art) and the first two Pandora Hearts volumes by Jun Mochizuki are fantastic.

Worst June Book: Probably Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck.  Amazing premise, reeally poor execution and a dumb-as-rocks heroine.  And annoying love interests.  Because eeeeveryone loves them love triangles.

Dishonorable Mentions: Kin, the first book in the Good Neighbors graphic novel series by Holly Black, was really weird and just kind of... well.  Weird.  And not in a good way.  I really thought I'd like Holly Black, but I'm starting to think she may not be my type.

There you have it, June summed up.  I'm nine books into RAMFAP - not great, but not bad, either.  Hoping it picks up later on.

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls -- May Review!

Hey guys! This is Persy talking. Ready for our review of May?

I read a total of 17 books (7 of which were manga/graphic novels) and 4704 pages! My best count this year! Which is good, 'cause I know I'm going to do awful in June due to my being out of the country for half of the month.

Best May Book: It's a tie between World War Z by Max Brooks and The One And Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. World War Z is a work of genius, intense and terrifying and wonderfully written. 'Ivan' is adorable, charming, and wonderfully written. I love them both in completely different ways.

Honorable Mention: Also a tie. Volume 1 of I Am Here! by Ema Toyama is amazing, as is A Benjamin Franklin Reader compiled and annotated by Walter Isaacson.

Worst May Book: Rogue by Rachel Vincent. Stupid, stupid chars. Unfortunately, the plot is very good, so I can't label this book as a complete failure.

Dishonorable Mention: I suppose it would be the first volume of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Tayuchi (it's very meh).

Like I said, I'll be gone for half the month of June, so my book and page count will be considerably lower than this month. But after that, it's RAMFAP!!

--Persy




Hola, chaps.  Arty here.  I actually got a lot of reading done in May - 32 books, and I'm rather proud of myself.  Though three of those were manga and two were comic books/graphic novels.  Still, that's pretty good.

Guess what, guys!  I got a Very Favorites Bookshelf!  It's awesome and prettyful.  I painted it green and black and silvery-gold.  So technically it's a Loki As A Slytherin-Style Very Favorites Bookshelf.  But for brevity's sake I'll just call it Jon.  It's got room for aaaall my Very Favorites, as well as my collections of Shakespeare, Diana Wynne Jones, and Robin Hood. (Completely random?  Yes.  Completely awesome?  HECK YES.)

Best May Book: Genius Wars by Catherine Jinks has to take this, just for breaking my heart and stomping on the pieces.  Not a lot of books make me feel so dang much, and they always end up on my Very Favorites Bookshelf.

Honorable Mention: Tie between Swear To Howdy by Wendelin Van Draanen and D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire.  Swear To Howdy is sweet and funny and a little bit agonizing.  Norse Myths is just FUN.  I mean, stop stampeding towards Greek and Roman tales for entertainment and read about Asgard.  You will not go back.

Worst May Book:  Probably The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig.  It wasn't bad - none of my May books were really bad at all - but it just wasn't overly interesting.  Which makes me feel bad, because it's technically a biography.  But still.  I can't wait till I finish up all my history books...

Dishonorable Mention: ...Probably Escape From Warsaw by Ian Serraillier, which is... another school book.  Gosh.  Maybe I should stop counting these.

Here's to another great month of June reading!

-Arty

April Review!

Hola, everyone - Arty here, starting off April's review!

I did even better in April than I did in March, at 25 books, six of which were manga. 

Best April Book: While I liked most of the books in April, not a whole lot of them really jumped out of me as terrific.  So the best book was probably The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, the second book in the popular dystopian Maze Runner trilogy.  The Maze Runner was interesting but not thrilling.  But The Scorch Trials was really, really good.  It even managed to horrify me at a few points, which is not an easy thing to do.  And the ending was a beautiful cliffhanger.  This is how you write the middle book in a trilogy.

Honorable Mention: That would probably have to be A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz.  This is an absolutely terrific little book, retelling a bunch of the Grimm fairytales as if Hansel and Gretel were the main characters throughout.  It's way better than it sounds.  Read it.  It's not long.

Worst April Book: Why, what do you know, another book from my history curriculum makes the Worst list.  Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor is a classic, which is probably why I disliked it.  I never quite understood the characters, and the latter half of the book was one big massive depression-fest.  Especially the ending.  I'm all for realism, but not for books that end without giving you a little hope.

Dishonorable Mention: A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn.  After the mild disappointment with Beastly, I still expected more from this retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  Instead, I just cared less and less and less as the last pages draaaaaaaagged on.  It started great, but ended with a whimper.

Pretty good stuff - can't wait to see about May!

Hey, it's Persy's turn. Yaaay. I'm a little tired right now.

I only read 13 books in April (four were manga/graphic novels), but my page count adds up to 3,589, more than March, so I'm okay with it. Lots of books were pretty good, but really only one was made of pure awesome (see below).

Best April Book: House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Wowza. READ IT, Y'ALL (don't let it's popularity deter you).

Honorable Mention: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Hana-Kimi Vol. 3 by Hisaya Nakajo, and A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde.

Worst April Book: No books were really awful this month, but I suppose Wallflower Vol. 6 by Tomoko Hayakawa was a bit of a disappointment.

Dishonorable Mention: ...I don't have one (cue shock and awe) *is shocked and awed*

Looking forward to May (and school ending)!

--Persy

Wednesday Scrolls - March Review!

Hey, guys, Persy here. Ready for some March Madness?

I read seventeen books in March, with a total of 3,117 pages. A bit lower than February's, but that's okay (and actually, there were a few graphic novels I read that didn't have page numbers, so I've actually read 3,117+ pages).

Best March Book: Dallas by Gabriel Ba and Gerard Way, the second Umbrella Academy graphic novel. This is so much better than the first one! Time travel done perfectly.

Honorable Mention(s): Castle In The Air by Diana Wynne Jones, also a sequel, this one to Howl's Moving Castle (this was the first review ever written on this site!); Can't Kiss The Ring by Tite Kubo (also a sequel, strangely); and Dying To Meet You by Kate and M. Sarah Klise. Okay, so I had a lot of honorable mentions this month.

Worst March Book: Snitch by Allison van Diepen. I didn't finish it because Allison van Diepen is a total snob and also a really bad writer.

Dishonorable Mention: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth-Grahame Smith.

Let's see how April goes!

--Persy

Hola, all! Arty here.

Well, March was significantly better than February. It cheers me up just thinking about it. I read 21 books this month, four of which were manga.

Best March Book: This is a really hard choice - seriously. But, by virtue of the spectacular ending, which had me crying in front of my mother and brother, my favorite book is A Tale of Two Cities by, of course, Charles Dickens. If you read any book by Dickens - or even any classic at all - read this one.

Honorable Mention: Where do I begin? The 21st volume of Fruits Basket was amazing. A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde (look for a "special" coming up on this book). To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, another really classic classic. And Lives of Christopher Chant, by my writer-hero Diana Wynne Jones.

Worst March Book: No Promises In The Wind by Irene Hunt. Another history book. Just... boring. The main character was annoying. And what was up with Howie, I have no idea.

Dishonorable Mention: Matched by Ally Condie. I only got a hundred pages into it before I pretty much fell asleep. Nothing. happened.

Here's hoping April is even better than March!

Wednesday Scrolls - Belated February Review

Perhaps we should just call these monthly reviews "belated" and not stress about getting them on time. Because they're never on time. Then again, nothing we ever do is on time. You'll just have to get over it.

In case you didn't recognize the bleak writing style, this is Persy, here to tell you all about the month of looooooove.

Best February Book: Circle of Blood, story and art by David Mack. The whole thing, story and art, is absolutely beautiful. I mean, holy crap. It's beautiful.

Honorable Mention(s): ...I have a few. Ouran High School Host Club volumes 5 and 6 (I'm sorry, but they just stay awesome) by Bisco Hatori, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, Fruits Basket Vol. 6 by Natsuki Takaya, and Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs.

Worst February Book: Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year by Amy Belasen and someone else I can't remember. I'd actually managed to forget this entire book until I went to look back at my unfinished books of February.

Dishonorable Mention: Deathstalker by Simon Green. It was particularly bad, just so long and monotonous that it wasn't worth finishing.

And all I can say for this month is... Beware the ides of March!

--Persy

Konnichiwa, everyone! Arty here for your conflicting dose of cheer. Except that I had another blah month. So... now I'm sad and have no cheer for you. Excuse me while I go mope in my hamster home.

Best February Book: The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones. Jones is a master - so read the review. Better yet, read the book.

Honorable Mention: Halt's Peril by John Flanagan. It's Ranger's Apprentice... about Halt. Can you get better? Also, Fruits Basket is getting even better with its 17th and 18th volumes. Action!

Worst February Book: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. A book for history, I would have never, ever read this on my own. It's just a miserable book. Maybe it got some health standards passed back in the day, but that doesn't make it good literature.

Dishonorable Mention: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. Sorry, Mr. Riordan - while I adore Percy Jackson and the Olympians... the other stuff just hasn't done it for me. I think the disappointment did this book in more than anything.

So now one of my favorite authors made the Dishonorable Mention list. Excuse me, I need to go update my hamster home. Hope February was better for you than it was for me!

-Arty

Wednesday Scrolls - Belated January Review

January already feels like fifteen years ago, but here am I, Persy, to tell you about the best and worst of the first month of 2012! In Janury, I read a total of 22 books and 3726 pages! I'm definitely off to a good start (I'm not going to say anything about February, though...

Best January Book: I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Go read this book. Right now. It'll take you five seconds.

Honorable Mention: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and Marco's Millions by William Sleator (out of 22 books, of course I'm going to have multiple honorable mentions).
Worst January Book: What Happens In Vegas, Dies In Vegas by Mark Everett Stone. All the characters were the same, and...need I really get into the completely bizarre time travel?

Dishonorable Mention: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. Stay far away. I'm getting my wisdom teeth plus four premolars surgically removed tomorrow, so stay tuned for a probably late and senseless review by me this weekend.

--Persy

Konnichiwa, everyone! Arty at your service. This January, I read 20 books, three of which were manga.

Best January Book: The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan, the eighth Ranger's Apprentice book. RA is like How To Train Your Dragon for me... only ten times worse. I'm an addict.

Honorable Mention: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (don't look at me like that - I like the books, okay?) and Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner.

Worst January Book: Behind The Gates by Eva Gray, the first Tomorrow Girls book. The Hunger Games for tweens. Just... don't. Unless you're having trouble sleeping.

Dishonorable Mention: I... really don't have any other books that I particularly disliked. January was a rather lukewarm month.

And that was my literary January. (Whoa, that almost rhymes. Almost.) Next Wednesday I hope to have another Scrolls up, but we know how that goes. Sayonara!

-Arty

2011 In Hindsight

I'd say welcome to 2012, but Persy already took care of that.  We didn't have fireworks.  And I was ill-ish for the first two days.  But I've read some awesome books since then, so everything is juuuust fiiiiine now.

But that's for the end of this month.  

In 2011, my goal was 250, and I read 256 books.  Go me!  Anyway.  Thirty-three of these were manga.  This is all adds up to about 66,223 pages. (I say 'about' because I used Goodreads to see how many pages I read, and some of my books are different editions and therefore have different page numbers.)

The first book I read was Mere Christianity, by the inimitable C.S. Lewis. (It was awesome.) On the complete opposite of the spectrum, the last book I read was Fruits Basket Volume 15, by Natsuki Takaya. (This was also awesome.)  The longest book I read was Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia.

Unlike Persy, I managed to narrow down my best books quite easily.  On the other hand, it took ages to narrow down my worst books.  2011 was a rather lousy year.  But the books that are on this list are definitely the kind that make you shout "YOU'VE JUST BEEN AWESOMED!" So take notice of these 11 books.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.  It's a long book, and sometimes it can feel really. really. slow.  But it's really. really. awesome.  Definitely a thought-wired book.  Ender is one of the best MCs ever.  READ IT.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen.  Boy meets girl, girl loves boy, boy terrified of girl.  Then chickens.  Lots of chickens.  READ IT.

Mira, Mirror by Mette Ivie Harrison.  A dark continuation of Snow White, from the Mirror's perspective, with a bit of Beauty and the Beast thrown in.  READ IT.

A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare.  Two sets of twins who don't know each other exists in the same city - by Shakespeare.  The funniest guy who ever lived.  READ IT.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George.  A fantastic story about dragons, embroidery, and shoes.  READ IT.

Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon.  Absolutely awesome continuation of Twelfth Night by Shakespeare.  All I have to say is: jesters.  READ IT.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.  A "character-driven dystopian/sci-fi" novel that totally wins at everything (except maybe the ending, but it's not that bad).  Drugs and mind control.  So awesome.  READ IT.

Enchanted Glass by the amazing, awesome, uber-talented, and sadly late Diana Wynne Jones.  A young orphan escapes to an old house, in hopes of getting help from the old man there, while the new keeper of the said house struggles against the old servants still working there.  And then magic comes in.  Diana Wynne Jones is not an author to miss.  READ IT.

Heroes of the Valley by the also amazing Jonathan Stroud.  Something like a retelling, something like an expansion, and something like an improvement on old Norse mythology.  Jonathan Stroud is another author not to miss.  READ IT.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  Oh my goodness.  It's long, but it's so, so, so worth it.  For once a book has earned the hype it gets - honestly, it doesn't have ENOUGH hype.  I can't sum it up, but there is one thing to mention: it's narrated by Death.   Yes.  It is awesome.  READ IT. 

The End of Time by P.W. Catanese.  I'm cheating because this is the third book of the oh-so-awesome Books of Umber trilogy.  But it's - yes - SO AWESOME.  I can't even begin to describe it, because you really need to read the first two books.  But that's okay, because they're all awesome.  As an incentive, you should know that I am not a crier.  I don't cry at anything.  But I sobbed thirty minutes straight after finishing this book.  READ. THE. TRILOGY.

And now for the worst-of.  Seriously, stay away from these.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  A really boring, really annoying continuation of Cinderella.  Haddix is a good author, but every author has their bad days.

Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren.  A romance book that could have been interesting had not the main three characters been such BORING IDIOTS.  

Fallen by Lauren Kate.  Yet another YA Paranormal Fauxmance where the bad people are the good guys and the good people are the bad guys.  Not to mention it was boring as heck.

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick.  Again, YA Paranormal Fauxmance where NOTHING. HAPPENED. except that the heroine angsted about her twu wuv.  Who, really, is as bad as he admits to being and she should just get rid of him once and for all.

The Princess And The Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison.  Interesting how one author can be on both lists, eh?  Anyway, there wasn't really much wrong with this except that... nothing happened.  I really don't remember what it was about.  Except a princess and a hound and a prince.  

My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent.  Just another, yes, Paranormal Fauxmance with the Requisite Bad Boy somehow knowing 'she's the one.'  And a stupid villain.  

Reckless by Cornelia Funke.  Yes, Cornelia Funke is on the Worst Books list.  I'm sorry, Ms. Funke - maybe the problem was in translation - but this was a really unemotional book.  None of the characters were fleshed out.  So you really didn't care what happened.

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.  I know Persy said it wasn't bad, but... ugh.  SO BORING.  And insta-romance.  And predictability.  Sigh. 

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  Same old, same old.  Boring paranormal fauxmance.  To be honest, it's better than most of its descendants, but it's still not worth reading. 

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia.  OH MY GOSH WHEN IS THE INSTA-LOVE TREND GOING TO EEEEEEEEEEEEEND.  And over 550 pages for... what?  Ethan girly-angsting about Lena?  Good GRIEF.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike.  I don't have enough negative things to say about this.  Not enough.  Horrible heroine, horrible love interests, horrible plot, horrible messages, horrible villains.  Just... STAAAAY AWAAAAAY.

I'm going to cheat again.  Here are my top five series to read:

- Fruits Basket manga by Natsuki Takaya.  A family cursed by the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, who turn into their respective animals whenever they're hugged by a member of the opposite sex.  So funny and so awesome.

- The Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer.  Great little time-travel series with awesome characters.

- Fullmetal Alchemist manga by Hiromu Arakawa.  Sort of an alternate-reality, sci-fi/fantasy, almost dystopian kind of manga with, yes, AMAZING CHARACTERS.  So awesome.

- How To Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell.  First two or three books are good, nothing special.  Then you get into it.  It's so good.  There are nine books now, though only eight are released in the US (Cowell is British).  Read all of them.

- The Westmark Trilogy by Lloyd Alexander.  Alexander is more well-known for the Chronicles of Prydain, but I prefer this trilogy head and shoulders over Prydain.  Even with his signature quirky characters, it's much more mature than the rest of his books, and he's very good at mature.  Read them all.

So that was my 2011 in books.  Love any of the nominees?  Hate them?  (Not that I care if you hate them - you just have bad taste, then - but anyway...) 

Wednesday (Almost) Scrolls - Best And Worst of November, 2011

Arty here. Well, how was your Thanksgiving? Awesome, I hope. Personally, I ate way too much. But then that goes without saying.

Anyway, it's time to evaluate our reading months.

In the month of November, I read 19 books and one manga.

Best November Book: Oh, so The Book Thief. I read it in about five days (I'm a busy girl) and completely abandoned everything else to finish this awesome work. I almost cried at the end. Read it - I can't summarize it. Just read it.

Honorable Mention: I read a lot of good books this month. I think the second best one, on purely entertainment purposes, was How To Break A Dragon's Heart by Cressida Cowell. Notice that this series has made it onto both of my Honorable Mentions? Because this series is like ICE CREAM, PEOPLE. It's just insanely fun. And Alvin is the BEST VILLAIN EVAR.

Worst November Book: Particularly Cats by Doris Lessing. Nonfiction about, of course, cats. Didn't realize it was quite so... realistic. Not my cup of tea.

Dishonorable Mention: Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Historical mystery/ghost story... thing. Just strange, though it does have the unique privilege of grossing me out. Not much grosses me out.

Arty

'Ello, Chaps! Persy's here! That was my British accent, in case you hadn't noticed. Yeah, I had weird dreams about John Simm and underground airports last night, don't ask.

November was a bad month for me. I read only 9 books, and that's counting 2 manga. My page count totalled up to a measly 1817. Sad. I'll do better this month (did I say that about November? Hm..)

Best November Book: I'll have to go with How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. I didn't really read any super amazing books this month, so this one wins easily.

Honorable Mention: Born of Ice by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 3 by Bisco Hatori. Yeah, so there's two honorable mentions, what are you going to do, sue me?

Worst November Book: Alexander The Great by John Gunther. A poorly written nonfiction book about, well, Alexander the Great.

Dishonorable Mention: There really isn't one. "Alexander" was the only book of November that I really didn't like. Whoohoo.

So there you have it, our best and worst of November. This weekend there'll be a new review and we'll return to our regularly scheduled Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck next week (maybe)!

--Persy