I swear I posted my last wrap-up a week ago. Is May over already? Is it summer yet? In a weird way, May was so busy that it almost felt like it didn't happen. LOTS of things happened, so I didn't have as much time for reading (or blogging, as you can probably tell). So we'll start with the life updates, since that's where I actually got things done.
Biggest thing first...I committed to college! I'm officially part of the Smith College Class of 2020! (I technically did this in April, but it's going in this wrap-up anyway.) This decision took me a long time, and I am so glad that I'm officially done with the entire college application/admission/decision process. I'm very excited about going to Smith, even though it means some big changes - I'm currently in California, and Smith is in Massachusetts! (For those of you who don't know U.S. geography, California is on the West Coast and is fairly warm all year and Massachusetts is on the East Coast and has actual seasons.)
I'm not quite done with high school yet, though - my school goes until the middle of June, which means that I'm not free to spend 100% of my time reading until then. This month was especially chaotic, since I had all of my AP exams and most of my final exams. Why did I have most of my final exams a month before graduation? Who knows. That was one big reason that I didn't have quite as good of a reading and blogging month as I would have liked to. But things are looking up for June!
May is also my birthday month! I'm 18. I'm an adult. Somehow. And I got lots of great books as birthday presents, which means that I obviously have to show them off in another post coming soon.
As I said, I didn't have the best reading month, but I did read a few books that I really liked.
THE BOOKS:
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume 2 - Macroeconomics by Yoram Bauman: I read this as a last-minute review for my AP Econ test. For that purpose, it wasn't great, because it didn't cover everything I learned and there were a lot of things I hadn't heard of. As an entertaining introduction to macroeconomics, though, I'd definitely recommend this. ★★★
Black Widow, Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmonson (Black Widow #1): This is a comic book I'd been wanting to read for a while, and it didn't disappoint. The art was beautiful, and the story was gripping, so I'm definitely excited to see where this is going in the next volumes! ★★★★½
A Tyranny of Petticoats by Jessica Spotswood: Not every story in this anthology was great, but there were a few that I did absolutely love. My top three were actually by authors that I'd never read anything by before, so I'll definitely have to check out more by them - El Destinos by Leslye Walton, Pearls by Beth Revis, and Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mitchell. ★★★★
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #2): This book was so powerful that I just had to give it a 5-star rating, even if the characters were pretty infuriating sometimes. This really made me think about politics, war, and compromise, and it always kept my interest. A definite step up from book 1. ★★★★★
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #3): I didn't like this one quite as much as the second book, mostly because it seemed a bit repetitive (especially for a book that was so long). But it was a very good conclusion to the series, and all of the different perspectives were balanced very well. ★★★★
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2): I'm definitely jumping onto the book-hype bandwagon for this one. I was a little bit skeptical - I didn't like the first one quite as much as everyone else, and I didn't really see how the decision about how great this book was could be quite so unanimous - but it really did blow me away. I can't say much, because major spoilers, but I can't wait for book 3! Thanks to Sky @ Sky's Reading Corner for letting me borrow her copy! ★★★★★
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith: This was pleasant enough to keep me occupied for a day, but I didn't think it was anything special. As with all Jennifer E. Smith books, I liked the idea behind the book a lot more than I liked the book itself. ★★★
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh (The Wrath & the Dawn #2): So maybe this book didn't quite meet all of my expectations based on how amazing the first book was, but my expectations were also kind of impossibly high, so this book was still incredible. I'm satisfied with the way everything turned out, and as much as I'd like to read more about Shazi and Khalid, this duology is great as it is. ★★★★★
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys: I really liked pretty much everything in this book...except the plot. I don't know what it was, but the plot just didn't grab me. I was entranced by how vividly Ruta Sepetys described the atmosphere of New Orleans in 1950, and I loved the variety of characters, but the plot itself just wasn't as interesting to me. (But part of the plot is that Josie wants to go to Smith! Go Smith!) ★★★½
DNFed this month:
What did you do in May? Was it a busy month for you, too? Did we read any of the same books? Tell me in the comments!
Biggest thing first...I committed to college! I'm officially part of the Smith College Class of 2020! (I technically did this in April, but it's going in this wrap-up anyway.) This decision took me a long time, and I am so glad that I'm officially done with the entire college application/admission/decision process. I'm very excited about going to Smith, even though it means some big changes - I'm currently in California, and Smith is in Massachusetts! (For those of you who don't know U.S. geography, California is on the West Coast and is fairly warm all year and Massachusetts is on the East Coast and has actual seasons.)
I'm not quite done with high school yet, though - my school goes until the middle of June, which means that I'm not free to spend 100% of my time reading until then. This month was especially chaotic, since I had all of my AP exams and most of my final exams. Why did I have most of my final exams a month before graduation? Who knows. That was one big reason that I didn't have quite as good of a reading and blogging month as I would have liked to. But things are looking up for June!
May is also my birthday month! I'm 18. I'm an adult. Somehow. And I got lots of great books as birthday presents, which means that I obviously have to show them off in another post coming soon.
As I said, I didn't have the best reading month, but I did read a few books that I really liked.
THE BOOKS:
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume 2 - Macroeconomics by Yoram Bauman: I read this as a last-minute review for my AP Econ test. For that purpose, it wasn't great, because it didn't cover everything I learned and there were a lot of things I hadn't heard of. As an entertaining introduction to macroeconomics, though, I'd definitely recommend this. ★★★
Black Widow, Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmonson (Black Widow #1): This is a comic book I'd been wanting to read for a while, and it didn't disappoint. The art was beautiful, and the story was gripping, so I'm definitely excited to see where this is going in the next volumes! ★★★★½
A Tyranny of Petticoats by Jessica Spotswood: Not every story in this anthology was great, but there were a few that I did absolutely love. My top three were actually by authors that I'd never read anything by before, so I'll definitely have to check out more by them - El Destinos by Leslye Walton, Pearls by Beth Revis, and Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mitchell. ★★★★
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #2): This book was so powerful that I just had to give it a 5-star rating, even if the characters were pretty infuriating sometimes. This really made me think about politics, war, and compromise, and it always kept my interest. A definite step up from book 1. ★★★★★
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #3): I didn't like this one quite as much as the second book, mostly because it seemed a bit repetitive (especially for a book that was so long). But it was a very good conclusion to the series, and all of the different perspectives were balanced very well. ★★★★
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2): I'm definitely jumping onto the book-hype bandwagon for this one. I was a little bit skeptical - I didn't like the first one quite as much as everyone else, and I didn't really see how the decision about how great this book was could be quite so unanimous - but it really did blow me away. I can't say much, because major spoilers, but I can't wait for book 3! Thanks to Sky @ Sky's Reading Corner for letting me borrow her copy! ★★★★★
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith: This was pleasant enough to keep me occupied for a day, but I didn't think it was anything special. As with all Jennifer E. Smith books, I liked the idea behind the book a lot more than I liked the book itself. ★★★
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh (The Wrath & the Dawn #2): So maybe this book didn't quite meet all of my expectations based on how amazing the first book was, but my expectations were also kind of impossibly high, so this book was still incredible. I'm satisfied with the way everything turned out, and as much as I'd like to read more about Shazi and Khalid, this duology is great as it is. ★★★★★
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys: I really liked pretty much everything in this book...except the plot. I don't know what it was, but the plot just didn't grab me. I was entranced by how vividly Ruta Sepetys described the atmosphere of New Orleans in 1950, and I loved the variety of characters, but the plot itself just wasn't as interesting to me. (But part of the plot is that Josie wants to go to Smith! Go Smith!) ★★★½
DNFed this month:
- The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (Lady Helen #1): I think this is the first time I've DNFed a book because I'm so unbelievably bored. I did have a couple of actual issues (such as the fact that it is a bad idea to suddenly and completely trust the guy who robbed you and probably killed his wife), but mostly, I just realized that I had hundreds of pages left and couldn't care less about anything or anyone. So I stopped.
- Total books: 9 new, no rereads, 1 DNF
- Longest book: A Court of Mist and Fury, 640 pages
- Shortest book: Black Widow Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread, 144 pages
- Favorite book: A Court of Mist and Fury
- Least favorite (completed) book: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
- Diverse reads: 5 (A Tyranny of Petticoats, Monsters of Men, A Court of Mist and Fury, The Rose & the Dagger, Out of the Easy)
- Nonfiction: 1 (The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume Two - Macroeconomics)
- Comics/Graphic Novels: 2 (The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume Two - Macroeconomics, Black Widow Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread)
What did you do in May? Was it a busy month for you, too? Did we read any of the same books? Tell me in the comments!
Congratulations on Smith!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm very excited!
DeleteOh wow, congrats on making your college choice!! :D That must take a bit of stress/pressure off, right?!?
ReplyDeleteAnd ahhhh I'm so super glad that TR&TD was good!! Although I'm actually currently procrastinating it because it's like the eeeend and I thought it was going to be a trilogy. I'M NOT READY FOR THIS TO BE OVER. AGH. (also I have Lady Helen and so far have been avoiding it because it looks dull as anything. 0_0 I'm glad I've made the right choice there!)
May has been a busy month for me too!! June is looking to be just as crowded. AGH. XD I need more hours in my day!!
Thanks! It DEFINITELY takes some stress off, since that process has kind of been consuming my life since last August. But it's over now! I'm free!
DeleteI definitely get procrastinating TR&TD. But don't wait too long and deprive yourself of reading an amazing book! And Lady Helen was really boring. I read the first page and thought I was going to really like it and then it was just...ugh. It took me WEEKS and I barely finished half of it.
COngrats on your college choice. Great news. My summer would consist of binge reading A court of rose and thorns and A Court of mist and fury. As well as Wrath and Dawn and Rose and Dagger. I wish there was more time for books.
ReplyDeleteThank you! All the books you're planning to binge-read are AMAZING, so I think you're going to have a great time with that. More time for books would always be appreciated.
DeleteCongrats on college!! I remember how exciting AND intimidating that all was. Praying for a smooth transition for you!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Thanks! It's a little bit intimidating, but I think I'm ready for the change.
DeleteCongratulations on committing to college! I hope you like Smith. I'm in New Hampshire and yes, the weather is very different from California but it's very rewarding. Wishing you the best!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've experienced of East Coast weather, I love it (except for the really humid parts of summer). I have family in a few East Coast states, so I've been there when it's cold, but I've never experienced an entire actual winter before. I'm looking forward to it!
DeleteCongratulations on making your college choice, Clara! I hope you like Smith and being in Massachusetts. And a belated happy birthday! Getting a lot of books is always excellent, and yay for reading plenty of good books too! I've only just finished ACOTAR, and I'm still in line for ACOMAF at the library. I don't think I loved ACOTAR as much as a lot of people do, but glad to hear that the sequel lives up to the hype!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I didn't like ACOTAR as much as a lot of people, either, but I still LOVED ACOMAF. It took me a while to get into it, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.
DeleteSmith is a great school, congratulations! I went there for one year for a graduate program and I loved being in Northampton. All the seasons are beautiful - in winter it can just be more difficult to get around.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm definitely looking forward to it.
Delete