This Week I finished:

Dread Nation, by Justinia Ireland. I'm sad to say this was one of my few 2 starred books. I enjoyed the characters and the premise, but the writing was weak (even for a YA) and the plot was just... weird.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green. So I expected to enjoy this book. I like Hank (and John) Green's YouTube channel, I like their thoughts, but I didn't think it was going to be a great book. Boy was a wrong. This was one of the most interesting books I've read all year and I cannot believe that it ended on THAT. I need the sequel, asap.

Currently Reading:

Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. I'm duel listening and reading the physical copy of this book. It's an absolute beast and I WILL finish it this month. I'm enjoying it so far, of course.

The Sawbones Book, by Justin and Sydnee McElroy. Okay I got this for my mom, but I love Justin McElroy so much and I will finish it before I give it to her for Christmas. A super fun book about gross medical history!

Finsihed up Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland. It wasn't bad, but it didn't live up to the hopes I had for it based on its premise. I mean, awesome premise: the dead rise up in the middle of the US Civil War. Really great idea for some alternate history! But it didn't do much for me.

Then I got started on Symphony for the City of the Dead, by M.T. Anderson. My partner has been hyping this since she read it last year. It's about Dmitri Shostakovich and his writing of the the Leningrad Symphony during the seige of the city. I'm ready for a rough ride, but it's got all the characteristics of a book I'll very much enjoy.

I've got some nice Halloween themed books this past week.

I finished:

The Anomaly, by Michael Rutger. Not the best book, but fun. I wish there was more about the Big Reveal at the end, but it was creepy and unsettling.

The Outsider, by Stephen King. My first ever Stephen King novel! I really loved it but once the monster was revealed I think it sort of lost itself... I did REALLY like how they ended it though.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. First time reading this novel and for a classic I absolutely loved it (not usually a big fan of the classics...). Creepy, interesting, and I loved the framing devices. My heart goes out for the poor monster.

A Darker Shade of Magic, by V. E. Schwab. I LOVED this book. The world, the magic system, the characters. I loved Lila, Kell, and even Rhy so much. The villains were creepy and also understandable. I picked up the sequels and her Villains series is on my Christmas list.

Currently reading:

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland. This fits for Halloween, right? I'm enjoying so far, but haven't seen any zombies.

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. Just starting this absolute beast...

Finished out The Curious Life of Krill, by Stephen Nicol. I gotta respect the guy's enthusiasm for Krill. If a geek is defined as someone with a particular interest who really, really likes sharing that interest, Nicol is a total Krill Geek. But didn't enjoy the book - for being a pop science book, it sure spends a LOT of time talking about the specifics of data collection. Though now I know that many consider whale poop to be the most foul smelling substance on the planet.

So changing gears entirely over to Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland. What happens if the dead start reanimating in the middle of the US Civil War? Pretty fun alternative history premise, so I'm rolling with it.

I'm a teen librarian so I read 99% YA books.

Finished in the last week:

Muse of Nightmares, by Laini Taylor

This is the sequel to Strange the Dreamer, and it was everything I could have hoped for and more. Absolutely nothing I thought was going to happen actually happened, and it continually surprised me as I read. I hunted down an ARC and read the whole thing in under 48 hours. I would have finished it in a day but I had to travel for a huge chunk of Saturday and couldn't read.

Summer of Salt, by Katrina Leno

A very nostalgic feeling YA magic realism novel that reminds me of Practical Magic quite a bit. This book reminds me of YA from 20+ years ago and feels uniquely teen instead of teen but actually marketed to 20- & 30-something year old women. It was a quick and short read, but a nice break from all the "new adult" I've been reading.

City of Heavenly Fire, by Cassandra Clare

I listened to books 1-4, skipped 5, and listened to this book (6) to finish this series. The first trilogy was fun and fluffy, the second not so much. 6 was better than 4, where absolutely nothing happened. I missed nothing by skipping 5 and just reading the plot synopsis. This book ties in a lot of characters from other series in the Shadowhunter world and so is less wholly focused on Clary/Jace and their whiny bullshit.

Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare

This series is already infinitely more interesting than The Mortal Instruments series. The characters are less annoying, the story is less vampires vs werewolves, and there's a cool steampunk edge to it that I like.

Currently Reading:

Sadie, by Courtney Summers

Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (I'm listening to this one, and I kind of hate it. I may DNF. The author is not my cup of tea - see problematic issues on Goodreads and Twitter in regards to white people not being allowed to give her books less than 4 or 5 stars because this not being your favorite book ever is clearly racism /s - and treats Native Americans abominably in the book.)

I'm a teen librarian so 95% of what I read is teen stuff.

Last week I finished Sea Witch, by Sarah Henning - it was a pretty great darkish Little Mermaid retelling, with a lot of historical detail set in the real world. If you read To Kill A Kingdom earlier this year, this is very different, though I enjoyed both books.

I also listened to both City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare and City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare - nothing mind-blowing, but fun and fluffy fantasy to listen to while I'm doing chores or my jigsaw puzzle.

This week I am in the middle of Save the Date, by Morgan Matson and I am listening to both Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland and City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare. My next physical book I'm starting will probably be my ARC of Sadie, by Courtney Summers just because it has a lot of hype/starred reviews and I like to at least try to read titles that have a lot of buzz because of my job.

I didn't finish any books last week but I am chugging along with Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland and Vicious, by V.E. Schwab

I am really enjoying both so far, I really enjoyed the A Darker Shade of Magic series so I hope I enjoy this one just as much.

I finished:

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte -- 5/5, I absolutely adored this book. I was constantly surprised by how funny Charlotte's writing is and there are so many lines that are just breathtakingly beautiful. It's a little surreal being done with it; I'm already planning a re-read in the future when I get the penguin drop caps edition. Jane is absolutely one of the best characters ever written, hands down. I also really loved the depth the first-person narrative gave to her perspective. It felt like you got to know Jane so intimately by the end.

Love Poems, by Various -- 3/5, I wanted something short after getting through Jane Eyre, so I picked up this pocket poem collection that B&N was selling for $5. It's pretty much just a collection of the most famous love poems ever written. I'd say it was fine, I like reading poetry and it was a pretty solid collection.

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland -- 3/5, This is a YA historical fantasy I've seen get a lot of hype. It's speculative fiction about what if zombies rose up during the civil war, which honestly sounds like a really silly premise, but I like the way the book handled it. It's not super camp-y like you'd think; it's more focused on how a situation like that would affect race relations in reconstruction era America. It was super fast paced and a fun enough read, but the prose wasn't really anything special. I had a couple other problems with it despite being an overall enjoyable read, which is why I gave it a 3.

I started:

Dubliners, by James Joyce -- Enjoying this so far, but I have to re-read a lot of the stories in order to feel like I "get" them. Definitely a welcome challenge though, and I'm excited to get to the final story, which I hear is amazing.