It was a very busy fall semester for me as I returned to full-time studies. Even so I was able to read quite a few books from October onwards and am finally finding the time to write about them. One thing I have confirmed is that reading teen fiction makes my life less stressful. I'm sure that soon I will read them and think "Their problems are so trivial," and put the book down never to finish it but for now I read them and think "Phew, I'm glad that's not me... must continue reading!" for their teenage woes amongst ridiculous scenarios always provide me with a chuckle or two. Of course I threw a few more "grown-up" books into the mix, I put grown-up in quotation marks because it's all relative, right? I mean some people may think a biography is a joke, not grown-up at all, but in comparison to my regular regime of teen fiction post-apocalyptic dystopias they seem pretty grown-up to me.
With the passing of Steve Jobs I was amongst the masses who swarmed book stores to nab a copy of his biography. As an avid user of technology in general (I'm not really an Apple loyalist or anything) I just had to read it. Steve Jobs revolutionized the way consumer electronics are made, packaged, marketed, even used in society today and you have to respect a man who could achieve all that in one lifetime. At times amusing and others just plain exasperating this biography showcases all the character flaws and brilliance of man that shall be well remembered.
If you have never read anything by Diana Wynne Jones you are sadly missing out on a great adventure. I continue my journey through her wonderfully fun worlds by reading the second book in the Chrestomanci series: The Lives of Christopher Chant. In this installment we head back in time where Christopher is just a boy and soon to begin training to be the next Chrestomanci. Through trials of his ethics and intellect he more than proves himself worthy of the title. I cannot wait to bug my pal Allison for the next book in the series.
I am a big fan of reworkings of mythological stories and find myself extremely satisfied by Margaret Atwood's take on The Odyssey. As often is the case, mythology is told from the perspective of a man and the view of the women in the tales are just not well represented or overlooked completely. In The Penelopiad we see things from Penelope's perspective which is quite amusing since she is telling the story from Hades in 2005. Having spent many a years munching on asphodel and watching the world progress Penelope gives a very interesting retrospective of her time of warding off suitors while Odysseus was off playing.
Clockwork Prince was the sequel in The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, a prequel series to her The Mortal Instrument series. An excellent novel to fulfill my need to read teen fiction for all its drama and my love for steampunk. Who doesn't want to read about guys kicking monster butt, but while wearing suits and top hats! Throw in a little bit of romance, a pinch of girl empowerment and I'm hooked. If you are looking for a fast and easy read with plenty of time to read two parallel series then you should pick up all of her books, that is if you haven't already taken my advice and started reading them.
Next a dangerous thing, the first book in a new series. I was hooked by the title, Matched, read the back cover and waited painstaking (might be exaggerating a bit) months for it to be released in paperback. I ate it up like I hadn't eaten in days. I seem to exist to read post-apocalyptic dystopias and this did not disappoint. I had been nursing a void since reading Divergent and waiting for its sequel to come out. As a debut novel I feel Ally Condie did a fantastic job; I found the idea of arranged marriages to promote natural selection a clever theme to base a series off of. And now I must wait for Crossed to come out in paperback, gotta pinch my pennies so that I can buy even more books!
Over the break I took the time to read through Kelly Cutrone's second book, Normal Gets You Nowhere, and found that I enjoyed it for much the same reasons that I did her first. She has a no-nonsense attitude, telling it like it is, encouraging you to find yourself and whatever else there is out there to find. Not necessarily a book that all will enjoy but if you are looking for a new direction in your life or simply trying to better your career it could be a great help.
The last book I read in 2011 was Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. Another teen fiction novel along the post-apocalyptic dystopia genre where people are either trapped inside a giant prison known as Incarceron or in the Realm where they are forced to replay a period accurate life of a medieval style. On either side people think they trapped, constantly searching for an exit from a life that is unfulfilling and at times hazardous. Full of adventure and some creepy giant red eyes (very Hal-like) I found myself glued to this book.
Overall 2011 was a year full of lovely reads and I cannot wait to get reading this year!!! Oh wait I already have haha, yeah I have already finished a few books this year :)
Walter Isaacson
Diana Wynne Jones
Margaret Atwood
Cassandra Clare
Ally Condie
Kelly Cutrone
Catherine Fisher
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