15. Dreadful Dystopian YA That Will Go Unnamed

By Inexperienced Author (265 pp ebook)

Have I ever told the story about my cousin and Family Circus? She hates Family Circus because it's never funny. On Sundays someone would hold the comics section of the paper (this was 20 years ago) and say, "Family Circus is funny today." And she would say, "Let me see," and then read it and toss the paper aside and say, "No it's not. It's never funny."

WHY DO I KEEP READING THESE TERRIBLE YA BOOKS? I hear somewhere that they're good. The story elements sound interesting. And then I start reading.

First person, present tense. Weak characterization. Conflict consists of petty arguments that go on for pages. "Should we tell him?" "Don't tell him!" "Tell me what?" (repeat for 10 pages) Cliched writing: guttural cries, chills go up and down spines, stomachs clench and unclench. Plot issues are resolved by someone guessing a password or escaping an impenetrable fortress via a conveniently forgotten staircase or easily locating and administering life-saving medicine from an abandoned hospital. And scenes have details that sound like they came from watching TV or Wikipedia. Implausible police interrogations, medical procedures or military operations.

Do not recommend.

14. Fire

By Kristin Cashore (461 pp)

I read a whole book while I was at Mom and Dad's. My excuse was I had to finish so I could leave it for my sister. But this was the perfect book for a long lazy weekend. It's set in the same world as Graceling and it's a fantasy-romantic-y story which admittedly got pretty Shonda Rhimes at times, but I loved the characters and the world so much I was okay with it. (SR is the creator of Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Scandal so when I say that I mean soap opera-y.) The protagonist is a human "monster" with powers and a complicated history. She reluctantly has to use her powers to help the kingdom. Recommend.

13. The Split Worlds: Between Two Thorns

By Emma Newman (394 pp)

I was so-so about this book at first but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. It's about someone from the Split Worlds who goes missing, a human from our world who witnesses, a Split Worlds woman who wants to escape her life there, and a guy who is looking for the missing person. All the stories collide. The series is already complete but I'm thinking I might just read a summary. I have too many other books I'm trying to get to.

12. Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design

By Chip Kidd (150 pp)

Bob brought home a stack of Kidd books. He also brought home his fiction but I didn't have time to get to those before they had to go back.  This is an intro to graphic design aimed at young people but since I know squat about squat I learned a lot from it. If I had the time, I would love to study this. Just for my own fun. Some day.

11. Chip Kidd: Book One -- Work 1986-2006

By Chip Kidd (396 pp)

One of our lectures this season was Chris Ware.  He was joined by Chip Kidd. I had no idea who Chip Kidd was but enjoyed the lecture a great deal and when I got home I looked him up and wow. Look at all these book covers.  Bob brought this book home and I am in love. It's a collection of book covers, sketches, abandoned ideas and text about the projects. I read it cover-to-cover (hehe, sorry) and loved the entire thing.

10. Tales from Indian Country The Apple

By Andrew Genaille (85 pp. ebook)

I was chasing down a URL for an anthology that I have a story in, also called Tales from Indian Country and this title popped up. I'm always thrilled to see Indian writers (Genaille is First Nations, I don't see his affiliation in his bio) getting their stories out there. I liked this book a lot, great settings and characters, however I felt at times that the stories were weighed down by issues.

9. Ancillary Justice

By Ann Leckie (384 pp)

I keep starting more books and then setting them aside to start more books. I intend to finish them all but my reading-in-progress pile is out of control. I (half-heartedly) swear that I won't start any new books until I finish some books I've already started. But this book is really good.

It's sci-fi which I realize is a hard sell for a lot of people - but's also a thriller, only in space. I will admit I had a little bit of a tough time at first because the world building is so rich and you get dropped in there and a bunch of stuff is introduced. I'm not generally a patient reader and I had to go back and re-read parts but totally worth it. It's one of those, the more I got into it, the more I got into it books. I would recommend even to people who think they don't like science fiction if you like stories with political conflict and interesting culture and customs.

I don't know how to sum up in a sentence. It's about a soldier who is on a mission and nothing is quite what it seems. Recommend.

8. The Round House

By Louise Erdrich (321 pp)

I used to read everything Erdrich wrote and then I didn't like a couple of books in a row and gave up. This is the first of hers I've read in a long time and it is terrific. It is terrific in the way that a book that is tough and sad but also has funny moments can be. Erdrich manages to squeeze in a lot of information about the unique legal issues involved for crimes in Indian Country. The story is about a 13 year old Indian boy whose mother is assaulted and how their family deals with the crime. Lots of details about life in Indian Country. Recommend.

7. Graceling

By Kristin Cashore (320 pp ebook)

This book has been on my list forever and I LOVED it. It's a fantasy set in a kingdom where some people are born with graces - special abilities. The hero has the ability to be an amazing fighter and the King uses her to bully people into doing what he wants. A grandfather is kidnapped, his graced grandson appears and all kinds of adventures happen. Very entertaining and fun book.

6. The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope

by Rhonda Riley (326 pp ebook)

I wanted to like this book but it's tough to recommend. The story begins at the end of WWII and this young woman finds "someone" in mud on her farm. It's never explained but I think we're to conclude it's an alien. Initially the story is pretty interesting and seems on the verge of exploring some interesting issues. But it just turns into an events-in-a-woman's-life (who shacked up with an alien) on the farm. I never really bought the problems as being major problems. The character development is superficial and the primary characters have few flaws. The story doesn't offer any satisfying resolution.

5. I Am The Secret Footballer

By Anonymous (221 pp)

This is supposedly a peek inside professional football (soccer) from a player who has played at high level clubs in England. Since he's anonymous, we're getting the secret insider view. There are a few interesting bits but by the middle of the book my main takeaway was that the Secret Footballer is a giant weenie and this book is his opportunity to tell everyone how great he is and smarter than everyone (fans, managers, other players, everyone). It was a slog to finish. Do not recommend.

4. The Fifth Wave

By Rick Yancey (434 pp. ebook) My sister-in-law recommended this book and it wasn't what I expected but it was fun to read. It's a post-alien invasion YA story with some romance and lots of action and violence. Of course it's the first in a series and of course it's being made into a movie. I don't think I'll knock myself out continuing with the series but this was good.