Wednesday Scrolls -- RYFBM!!

It has literally been a year since the last post on this blog. Please forgive us, we are both poor busy college students.

Even though it's summer, we're both still rather busy, but I got the urge to review a book (look forward to it this weekend), plus it's almost July! No matter how busy I am, you know I'll never miss...

RYFBM!!

Yes, in the past it went by another name. RAMFAP. But... okay, so I'm in college and... y'know. That could be taken another way. I'm sorry.

So it is now Reread Your Favorite Books Month! Not quite as catchy, but it still gets the point across. Plus it's actually easier to say.

Anyway, it's my favorite month of the year. I get so stoked for this. I've got my list all planned out, and it took a lot of self control not to go ahead and get all my books out in a neat orderly stack.

I hope you take this opportunity to reread a few of your favorite books, and I hope you forgive us for being so MIA all the time!

--Persy

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

Persy -- 2014: We're Back

So did you like how neither of us were here at all in December? And most of November too? We planned that. Really. Okay, so we suck, get over it. We're busy college students. BUT we've been talking and we're both hopeful to get more reading done this year and write more about what we're reading. Hey, I'm even sucking up my pride and showing you exactly how badly I did in 2013...

My reading goal for 2013 was to read more books than I did in 2012, so 187 books. How many did I read? 56. 15,764 pages. Almost a 4th of what I read last year. I am ashamed. But I'll do better this year!

The first book I read in 2013 was Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, and the last book I finished was the 9th volume of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya.

Because I read so little this year, it was painfully easy to narrow down the Best Of list to 14 books. And most of them were during RAMFAP month, and have thus been mentioned numerous times already... but I'm sure y'all can get over it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKS

The Grace Effect by Larry Taunton

Maybe I'm biased (I know the Tauntons), but this is such a good book. Mr. Taunton skillfully weaves the story of Sasha into the effects of Christianity and grace, and I was never bored by the story or the lessons. Definitely a book to study in detail a second time through. Nonfiction/Religion

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Easily the best war novel I've ever read. Not only is it interesting, but I also found it enjoyable. The writing is amazing, and the story gripping. What really makes it brilliant is the fact that it's told by German soldier. Historical

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

It's both serious/thought-provoking and funny/light-hearted. The light tone is maintained all throughout the story, whether the main character is discussing philosophy or bugs. Definitely a book I'll read again and again, always finding something new. Science fiction

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Oh my gosh this book. OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK. Classic

A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken and C.S. Lewis

Normally I don't get super excited about biographies and memoirs, but this is simply beautiful. Vanauken's writing is gorgeous and I'm pretty sure he's kind of brilliant. Anyone who has been or is in or thinks he/she's in love should read this. Nonfiction/Autobiography

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

I think I've mentioned this book before. Zombie/Romance

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

I just don't get tired of Shenfu and Mara and Egyptian revolutions. Historical

Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George

While it doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of Dragon Slippers, the sequel is still pretty dang good. Getting to meet a bunch of cool new dragons basically saved the somewhat ridiculous plot, and let's not forget Jessica Day George's magical ability to write perfect endings. Fantasy

Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce

I love almost everything about this book, especially the world and the characters. How can you not like a pudgy, lazy, pacifistic 12-year-old main character? And I'm still shouting for a movie with Gary Oldman as Hotspur. Fantasy

Night Gate by Isobelle Carmody

Everyone knows this is one of my all-time favorite books. Fantasy

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Another old favorite. Road trips, Norse gods, punk angels, mad cow disease . . . this book is basically irresistible. Fantasy/Surreal

How To Make Friends and Monsters by Howard Boward and Ron Bates

Yet another book that everyone has heard me talk about. Franklin' adorable, that's all I have to say. Fantasy

The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes

A very very old book on depression and grief in the Christian life. It's amazing and beautiful, and I wish it was more well-known because I think everyone should have access to this. Nonfiction/Religion

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

I wasn't sure what to expect from the third book in the Seven Kingdoms series, but I was not disappointed. In fact, I was seriously scared, and could not put it down. Kristin Cashore amazes me yet again. Fantasy

**HONORABLE Mentions**

Ouran High School Host Club series (Bisco Hatori); The Passage (Justin Cronin); The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom); Maid-Sama series (Hiro Fujiwara); I, Claudius (Robert Graves); Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters (Lesley M.M. Blume); Fruits Basket series (Natsuki Takaya).

BOOKS TO VIOLENTLY AVOID READING

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

Eh, y'all remember this absolute gem, I'm sure. Fantasy

Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier

Boring. Not painful to read, but only because it's an easy read. Basically, it's just boring as heck. Historical

Ancient Rhetorics by Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee

Well, it's a textbook. And it's not written overly well. And it was for a writing class. Nonfiction

I seriously hope your 2013 was better than mine.

--Persy

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 

Persy - Wednesday Scrolls - RAMFAP 2013!!

It's that time of the year again, folks... Yes, it's back. Are you ready?

 

For RAMFAP 2013!!!!!!

 

A quick recap of what it is: Reread-As-Many-Favorites-As-Possible month! And it's as easy as that. All you have to do is reread a minimum of one favorite book. I like to make it a challenge and see how many I can squeeze into the month of July, but that's definitely not a requirement. All it is is one month devoted to favorite books. Other than that, it's open to everyone's unique interpretation.

 

I honestly wasn't sure I would participate this year, because my reading kind of fell behind due to ballet, school, and college prep. We were in a week into July when I realized how ridiculous I was being. Heck yeah I'm gonna participate! And you should too! There's really no excuse not to pick up a favorite novel and give it another read!

 

So please, if you do participate, let us know! Start a conversation! Both Arty and I will gladly talk for hours on the subject of literature (as you've surely discovered by now). What book(s) are you reading this month?

 

--Persy

Arty -- Books of 2012

Hi.  Arty here.

I am the reason why this is painfully late.  Yes.  Tomatoes are provided at the door; I'll be waiting over by those stocks.  Plaster me with as many veggie-fruit-delectable-spheres-of-red-deliciousness as you want.  I DESERVE IT. #dramallama

Seriously, I had an insane January (I WENT TO KANSAS) and then it seems I've been halfway ill all through February.  None of which are very good excuses.  But I take them where I can get 'em, right?  Just... know that Persy did hers on time and I failed as miserably as a piece of charcoal trying to learn astrophysics. (Or as miserably as that simile did.)

Okay.  If my Goodreads stat thing is to be trusted (I failed miserably at cataloging my books near the tail end of December; I chalk it up to running a business) I read 240 books in 2012!  Not bad!  I mean, my goal was 250, but ten behind is not bad at all, especially considering the almost complete lack of reading I did in the autumn months.  So yeah.  A pat on the back for me.

The first book I read in 2012 was Fruits Basket #16 (go manga!) and the last book I read was... wait.  Well.  The last book I have recorded for December was The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle. (We're just going to pretend that I surely read something between December 14th and the next book I read on January 6th this year.)

Now.  Onto my BEST BOOKS OF 2012.  I'm going to try to keep it down to fourteen.  We'll see about that!

The Fruits Basket manga by Natsumi Takaya.  Yeah, guys, I know it's so cheesy and so cutesty but - but - but it's just amazing anyhow.  The characters.  The art.  AAHHH.  It makes me happy inside and that's what counts, right?  Manga.

The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan.  I've read the first half or so of this series multiple times, but I'm adding it here because I finished the series in 2012.  And it just deserves to have its name in bold.  The plots continually get a little less fantastic but it's the characters that give this series a place on Jon (my Extra Super Tiggerific Favoritesness Bookshelf Whose Title Keeps Changing Because I Can't Remember It).  Fantasy.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  SYDNEY. FREAKING. CARTON.  S'all I have to say except that it made me cry in front of my family.  Not many books can do that.  A classic well-deserving of its title.  Classic.

A Tale Dark And Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.  A super-easy read combining a lot of fairytales so that Hansel and Gretel are the main characters, this was a clever, totally entertaining fairytale mashup that I need to reread at least once a year.  Fantasy.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  If you read my review on it, you'll probably remember my mixed emotions for this book.  But when just the thought of reading a book like The Night Circus gives you twirly butterfly flutters in your stomach, I think it deserves a place on the AAHHH TWO-THOUSAND-TWELVE BOOKS OF AWESOME list.  Urban fantasy. (?)

The Genius series by Catherine Jinks.  Continually amazing, continually heartbreaking, continually (in a small way) thought-provoking, and finally throw-the-book-at-the-wall worthy, these books also have a proud place on Jon.  (No idea how to categorize these.  Urban sci-fi?)

Swear To Howdy by Wendelin Van Draanen.  Van Draanen of Sammy Keyes fame can write no wrong.  Tiny book, huge impact.  Read it.  Genreless.

Runemarks by Joanne Harris.  A huge book with a huge fantastical story with the huge Norse gods.  I read this when I was in the throes of my Norse obsession, which has by now faded somewhat, but thinking about it still makes me go SQUEEEEEEEEEE.  In a totally rational way, of course.  Fantasy.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding.  Shiver.  That's the best way I can put it.  Disturbing, fascinating, thought-tugging... another classic that deserves to be called such.  Classic.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer.  Another quick genreless read, it's possibly even better than Swear To Howdy.  Hope (I reiterate) is one of the best heroines I've ever read.  Genreless.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.  It's a bit of a slow start but once you get reading... WOW.  Things just keep unfolding and unfolding until it ends in this suck-your-breath-out-of-your-tubes finale.  (Not sure how to categorize this one either.  Urban... science... fantasy...?)

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson.  Dark, depressing, heartbreaking... not how you think you'd classify a book narrated by Tinker Bell.  But this Peter Pan reimagining is just fantastic anyhow.  Fantasy.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst.  Desert gods instead of Norse or Celtic make this book a lot more entertaining than most.  I liked the heroine, and the love subplot was superbly handled.  Durst makes me a happy reader.  Fantasy.

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle.  A thoroughly original and completely enthralling look at trolls, elves, and the fey world in general.  Marrak is a fantastic love interest-slash-villain, Kate is a great heroine, and the relationship building between all of the characters just... makes me happy.  Historical fantasy.

I also need to have a list of series that I finished in 2012, even if they were started in 2011 or prior.

-Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher.  Holy molehills of amazing prose and characters.  READ THEM.

-The Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White.  Fluffy YA paranormal romance, but I daresay they're worth reading anyhow.

-The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley.  I've been reading these for at least three years and I still love them, cheesy or no.  The last book was a bit of a letdown but the last couple chapters made up for it completely and totally.

-The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.  IT'S OVER.  MY GOSH IT'S OVER.  It went out with a bang.  I love you, Artemis.  Colfer: you'd better have a series spinoff planned.  TAKE MY MONEY.

-The Theatre Illuminata series by Lisa Mantchev.  So Silver Bright was a lovely end to a rather shapeless, oft confusing, but still beautiful trilogy populated by amazing characters.

-And, of course, the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.  I wrote a whole blogpost on why I love the series while ever mindful of its various and sundry weaknesses.  Paolini, though well-versed in the art of disappointment, didn't fail to leave me satisfied on the shores of Alagaesia.

(I'm sneaking in another plug for my favorite trilogy of all time, which I reread in 2012 - The Books of Umber by P.W. Catanese.  Seriously.  I can't come up with enough synonyms for BLINKING FANTASTIC to suit these books.  They're God's gift to bookworms.  Read them.)

And here are some Honorable Mentions.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer; The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith; Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan; The Cocktail Party by T.S. Eliot; Myths of the Norsemen by Roger Lancelyn Green; Wonder by R.J. Palacio; The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman; The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner; The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks; The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner; A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde; To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee; The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby; The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones; and Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner.

And now my other favorite part.  THE BAD EGGS.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.  Classic.  History book.  Two terms that never go well together.  This book was written as propaganda and it shows, gods, it shows.  (Sorry, Persy.)  I call emotional blackmail.  Classic.

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling.  Again, apologies for any stepped-on toes, but this book was just one boring blah.  I'm not really a fan of Kipling, anyhow.  Classic.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  Cool concept, bro; needs actual character development and writing skills behind it.  Though the photos were spiffy.  Fantasy.

No Promises in the Wind by Irene Hunt.  DEPRESSION.  I don't even remember what happened in this book, just that none of it was good.  Everyone is miserable.  The end.  Historical/youth.

A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn.  Flinn was pushing the boundaries of unlikable with Beastly but this one just skipped over the line and went sailing into the sea of stupidity.  A more applicable simile might be that it was on a south-bound roller coaster - it just kept getting worse.  Fantasy/fairytale.

The first two Infernal Devices books by Cassandra Clare.  Clare.  You are recycling the already annoying characters of Mortal Instruments and making them EVEN MORE ANNOYING.  Historical fantasy.

And the poor sad Dishonorable Mentions, not even bad enough to get a rant or caps or anything.

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke; Inside Out And Back Again by Thanhha Lai; Worldshaker by Richard Harland; The Alchemist and the Angel by Joanne Owen; The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong; the first two Everworld books by Katherine Applegate; The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig; Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin; and Behind the Gates by Eva Gray.


And that was 2012!  Here's to a new year of plundering libraries, finding new favorites, and reading those hilarious one-star reviews of books that always have funny gifs to illustrate the review-writer's hatred!

-Arty

Persy -- A New Year (OF BOOKS)!

Welcome to a new year! Congratulations on surviving 2012! Hurrah yippee boom etcetera! I hope your first day of this exciting new year has gone well (mine's been rather exciting).
 

My reading goal for 2012 was to read more books than I did in 2011, so 181 books. I am happy to say that I SUCCEEDED EASILY way back at the beginning of December (maybe that'll excuse my terrible reading job that month)! In fact, I read 186 books and 43,977 pages in 2012! Curiously, that's less pages than in 2011, but I chalk that down to the fact that I read more manga and graphic novels these days. In fact, 51 of my 186 books were manga or graphic novels.
 

The first book I finished in 2012 was The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. The last book I finished in 2012 was Big Annie of Calumet by Jerry Stanley (darn those history books).
 

I tried as hard as I could to narrow down the Best Of list to a respectable number, but I could not get past 14. Sorry. There are just too many good books.
 

BEST BOOKS OF 2012!! OMGSOMUCHGOODNESS!!
 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. An exhausting book, but totally worth it. It took me a while to read, BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT. It all seems so realistic and terrible and yet...there always seems to be some tiny glimmer of hope, even if you can't identify the source. Scifi.
 

I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Who says children's books can't be incredibly awesome? NOT ME. This book is fabulous (as is the sequel). It'll take about five minutes, so read it. Children's.
 

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Another exhausting read, but also totally worth it. It has an amazing main character and a plot that begs to be read again and again. Dystopia.
 

World War Z by Max Brooks. Zombies. War. Phenomenal writing. Boom. Apocalyptic.
 

The One And Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Possibly the most charming book ever written. An adorable, touching, and awesome story about a gorilla. Inspired by a true story.
 

Replication by Jill Williamson. Scifi and Christianity collide in this awesome book set in Alaska about a genuinely intelligent teenage girl and a curious clone. Scifi/Religion.
 

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The whole thing is a classic in my book, and the whole thing is meant to be read again and again. It's pure magic. Fantasy.
 

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. One of my favorite classics. I can't get enough of Wonderland. Classic/Fantasy.

 

Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe. Even the second time through, this book practically had me in tears because I was laughing so hard. Jaz and her merry band of friends are certain to win you over. Humor/Mystery.
 

Unwind by Neal Shusterman. The master of storytelling brings you one of the most disturbing and though-provoking novels I've ever read. You know it's serious when I call a book "thought-provoking." Dystopia.
 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. This is one of those children's books that's not quite as simple as it seems. Some of the lines in this book burn with truth and wisdom. Classic/Fantasy.
 

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Another "children's" book that is full of depth and wonder. A surprisingly disturbing story of an eternally young boy who basically kidnaps children. Classic/Fantasy.
 

The Death Note series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I finished the whole series in 2012, and boy is it a ride. There are few wimpy volumes in between, but don't let that stop you from reaching the final volume. Manga--Shonen/Supernatural.
 

Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Another book that makes me actually laugh out loud. A book seemingly about nothing (even less than The Great Gatsby), but still one of the best books I've ever read. Classic/Humor.
 

**Repeats** These are books that were on the Best Of list last year. I didn't want them taking the place of a new book, but I still wanted to mention their awesomeness.
 

Graceling (Kristin Cashore); Fire (Kristin Cashore); Dragon Slippers (Jessica Day George); Ouran High School Host Club series (Bisco Hatori); Nightlight (The Harvard Lampoon); the League series (Sherrilyn Kenyon) Jabberwocky & Other Poems (Lewis Carroll).

**Honorable Mentions** And, of course, there are plenty that just wouldn't fit. Poor souls!
 

Hamlet (Manga Shakespeare); Wonders Never Cease (Tim Downs); A Benjamin Franklin Reader (Benjamin Franklin); Beauty Sleep (Cameron Dokey); The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde); This Is Not My Hat (Jon Klassen); Circle of Blood (David Mack); Marco's Millions (William Sleator); I Am Here! series (Ema Toyama); The Prophecy of the Stones (Flavia Bujor); Life As We Knew It (Susan Beth Pfeffer); In The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Carrie Ryan); Night Gate (Isobelle Carmody); Hana-Kimi series (Hisaya Nakajo).
 

BOOKS TO FLEE FROM IN TERROR. REALLY.
 

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. I find it humorous that so many people hate this book. But it is well-deserved. Terrible heroine. Urban Fantasy.
 

What Happens In Vegas, Dies In Vegas by Mark Everett Stone. Oh my gosh, just through random supernatural investigators through a time vortex and have them meet JRR Tolkien and fight the Nazis and that'll about sum up this novel. A train wreck. Supernatural.
 

Battle Royale series by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi. Mindless gore. Few panty shots. Yuuuuuuuuup. Manga--Shonen/Dystopia.
 

Heaven's Wager by Ted Dekker. Didn't finish this one, because it's awful. Writing is just awful. People assured me that normally Dekker is better than this, and I certainly hope so. Religion.
 

Hummingbird Heart by Robin Stevenson. Geez, this is just awful. It's freaking miserable. And the main character doesn't exactly do anything about it. She just moans about being miserable and how much she hates everyone. Whiner. Contemporary/Misery/Whatever.
 

**Dishonorable Mentions** because there were even more bad books this year.
 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith); Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) Across Five Aprils (Irene Hunt); Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe); Snitch (Allison van Diepen); Rifles for Watie (Harold Keith).
 

So how was YOUR year? What was your favorite book? What was your least favorite? How much did you read? Did you reach your goal? What are your goals for this year? LET ME KNOW and GOOD LUCK!
 

--Persy

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

Persy -- Author Interview featuring Robert Paul Weston!

This Wednesday Scrolls, I am privileged to bring you all an interview with Robert Paul Weston, writer of poetry and prose, and author of novels Zorgamazoo and Dust City. Zorgamazoo is written entirely in verse, and is strongly reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. Dust City is prose, and I'll let its label say it all: "When your dad is the wolf who killed little red riding hood, life is no fairytale."

Robert Paul Weston was born in Dover, England, and after living in various places (Canada, Japan...), he now resides in London, England. For more info about him and his books, check out his cool website.

And now, please give him a warm welcome!

1. When did you first start writing?
I started writing seriously when I was nine years old. For Christmas, I gave my 4th grade teacher a "novel" about two boys at a private school, who find a portal to another dimension in their closet. No idea what happened to that story, but I hope Mrs. Urch still has it (wherever she is).

2. Do you have a special "writing place"?
When I lived in Toronto, I rented shared office space with other writers, but now I live in London and the rents are a bit too steep! These days I write at a study carrell at the library, or else on the couch at home.

3. Is it hard to switch from verse to prose when writing?
It's not hard to switch from verse to prose; it's the switching back that's a killer. It always takes me a couple days to get into the rhythm of writing in verse.

4. Which do you enjoy writing more, verse or prose?
Difficult to say. Both have their ups and downs. With prose, because it's so wide open, it's easy to steer off the path and write yourself into a corner. With verse, on the other hand, I nearly always stick to the plan. You can't afford too many detours. I like the freedom of prose and the intense fulfilment that comes from finishing a long stretch of form poetry.

5. What is your favorite book(s)?
Right now, my favourite books for young readers are Skellig by David Almond and Momo by Michael Ende. My favourite book adults is The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill.

6. What if you could go anywhere in history?
I love reading about history, but I feel like I can get a lot out of a really thorough history book, so please send me to the future—anytime after Thursday, September 13, 2063 (according to TheDeathClock.com, this is when I kick the bucket). That way, I'd get a rare peek at what becomes of the world after I'm gone.

7. Can you tell us what you're working on now?
I'm writing two new books. The first is an "upper teen" coming-of-age novel about music (and other things). The second is a middle grade fantasy novel, in prose this time. If I'm lucky both should come out in 2013, which is shaping up to be a very busy year for me.

Thank you, very much, Mr. Weston! I'll be keeping an eye out for the new titles next year!

--Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP is almost over!

That's right, there's onle one week left of RAMFAP month! How many of you have participated? What books have you reread? How maany more do you hope to squeeze in?

I'm not doing as well as I'd hoped, but I still feel pretty proud of my accomplishments. I'm on my fourteenth book. I got off to a very bad start, but I've been slowly catching up as my life quiets down and I have more time just to read. My last class of summer ballet just ended today, so I'll have even more time for this last week of RAMFAP, so I've got a lot of rapid reading planned!

Don't let RAMFAP escape you! Don't put it off! Go grab that favorite book and read it! I strongly recommend some frozen hot chocolate or a tasty milkshake to go along with it (it's way too hot to go without)!

Look forward to a review from Arty this weekend, and next Wednesday we'll sum up our RAMFAP adventures!

--Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP Is Closing In!

This'll be a short and sweet post, because I'm still in Ireland and I kind of need to get some sleep and journal and read some and do my Bible study and... yeah. But this is important too.

RAMFAP is right around the corner! Are you ready? I'm ready! I have Evil Genius and Graceling in my suitcase just waiting for July 1st. What books are you going to start RAMFAP off with? How many books do you hope to read?

I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing on Sunday (I'll be in Dublin), but I hope a good part of it will be spent curled up somewhere with a favorite book. And then Monday I'll have the whole 8 hour flight to read as well!

So what about YOU?

--Persy

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

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP MONTH!

Okay, so maybe it's not as important as the caps make it out to be. At least, it's not life-threatening. Just very very cool, and very very important.

I have decided to make July the OFFICIAL Reread-As-Many-Favorites-As-Possible Month! RAMFAP Month, for short. This is going to be a thing FROM NOW ON. And you all have to participate, so don't leave me alone in this.

It's simple. Around now, you start picking what books to put in your lineup. If you're anything like me, you'll realize that there's waaay too many to read in just one month, but don't let that stop you! Just put your priority favorites at the top and see how far you get. We can even make it a competition: who can read the most favorites in Ramfap Month (should we shorten it even more to RM?)? Or if you want to be more relaxed, don't sweat it and just read one or two favorites. The important thing is to reread A favorite.

I'm going to make this an open Facebook event, and I'm also talking about it in my book vlogs. So here's what I want YOU to do: "join" the event on Facebook (just search for RAMFAP Month and if you can't find it, let me know); make a video response to my vlog about MY favorites with a list of the favorites YOU'RE going to read in July or post here or on the Facebook event about what favorites you're going to read; tell aaaall your friends; and GET EXCITED.

You guys really can't leave me alone in this, because it's going to be AWESOME. And I really want to know what your favorites are!

--Persy



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