Dystopian Novels, A Favorite

I found Lauren DeStefano's book, WITHER, interesting. I put it in the caliber of most Young Adult authors, as there were things that I felt were inconsistent to the "futuristic" advances and limits placed in the book. However, I could read the novel quickly and I was not distracted by poor writing. She's beneath Suzanne Collins' THE HUNGER GAMES but miles above Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. There were obvious gaps in the story that I would have preferred to be filled in, or more development perhaps, but it was still an interesting read and I wasn't left at the end thinking that it was a waste of time. Of course, she has a leg-up since I'm a sucker for dystopian novels anyway.

Put it Down, NOW

I picked up a novel that I thought might be interesting and very helpful to me as I am working on a book in a similar scope at the moment. However, after only a few pages, I had to put the book down. It was all too disturbing for me.
I understand that what I was reading was real and is an awful, awful moment in history, but for some reason, I don't feel like reading this novel was going to be uplifting in any way. I've read other books concerning the Holocaust including other survivor accounts of Auschwitz, but this put me over the edge in a matter of pages. I doubt I will ever return to this novel, although I am sure there is a multitude of interesting and important information in those pages. It is just too dark and daunting for me to read it...especially before bed.

Going Postal: Complete

I don't know what happened for me to lose interest because I did like this book. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a little bit of a strange world and some humorous play on words. Sorry, Terry Prachett, it was funny and entertaining, I just read it in the wrong season.

Queen Hereafter

I think I'm on a little kick of learning about queens. I'm a bit of a bee when it comes to books: give me something pretty to draw my attention to and I'll probably pick it up. Once again, the cover artist needs a pay raise because I was drawn to the book by the cover art.
I wasn't disappointed with the book, either. I don't know much about Scottish history, but this lady surely seems interesting and a worthwhile research project. I can truly relate to her need to be ultra rigid with religious discipline, but hopefully I've found more of a balance than Queen Margaret ever seemed to find.
We have such interesting characters and moments in history and yet unless you are proactive about learning about such things, you would never even know.
I will be looking for Susan Fraser King's other novel Lady MacBeth because Queen Hereafter, a novel following the time period given in Lady MacBeth, was so well written. Historical fiction: YES, please!

Delta Wedding Flop

I can't say that I'm too fond of this book and yet it was the title I chose for discussion for GWBC in September. FLOP!! It's so sad because the summary sounded oh so interesting. It definitely was NOT what I thought I'd be reading. I'm one who needs continuity with characters and I don't necessarily want to know what EACH character is thinking. Choose one or two and go with it; don't hop about to everyone's thoughts. I think the same ideas could have been portrayed if the author restricted herself to an omniscient voice instead of the limited voice of multiple characters. It confused me at times for which character I was listening to and it just made it a jumbled mess, which was kind of part of the book, but more so than needed.
A dislike on this title. Sorry, Eudora Welty...and I had such hopes.

On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

My sister recommended or mentioned this title to me within a few weeks of it being chosen as the book of the month by the GWBC.
I can't say that I gained any new insight or that it impacted my life in any grand way. However, I can say that I was unaware that the Puyallup Fairgrounds were once used as a temporary internment camp for Japanese Americans. Strange. It's just so interesting how we as a people try to hide the past or make it better than it was. To view world and local history from an unbiased perspective would be truly eye opening.
Yep, and that's about it. I'm sure I would have gotten more out of it with another read, but I have such a list of wants to read that I'm spinning through other titles that I have less interest in.