March 2013 Reading Update

March was another good month for books. I found I had more free time to read than February, and got to make it through many books. My overall reading list remains infinite, but I'm happy with my progress. Every month should be like this.

If February was the month of new beginnings, I'm not quite sure what March is. I continued 3 series (Gone, Delirium, Ruby Oliver), and returned to adored authors (Austen, Green, Valente). Maybe it'll be the month of comfort and familiarity.
Instead of new beginnings it's like an old friend.

As usual, I'll list the books in the order finished, followed by a few sentences on my feelings toward each book. I won't summarize all of them, since that will take up a lot of time. So, instead, I provided links for you to read the summaries yourself in you're interested.

And without further ado, here is my reading update for March!

Every Day- David Levithan

Great, great book. After I read this book I could not get it out of my mind. It made me think about my day every morning when I got up and every night when I went to bed. Definite recommendation to everyone. I also read the novella companion, "Six Earlier Days."

Links: Amazon | Goodreads






Paper Towns - John Green (reread)

It has been a couple years since I've read this book and I don't know why it took me so long to pick it up again. I found rereading it incredibly revealing and it was great to re-experience some of my favorite past moments. As of right now, I'm still unsure how I rank it to AAoK. I keep going back and forth...

Links: Amazon | Goodreads





Requiem - Lauren Oliver

Last installment of the Delirium trilogy. Overall, I think it was a good last book. Pretty consistent with its predecessors. Full review here.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads







The Treasure Map of Boys - E. Lockhart

Third book in the Ruby Oliver Quartet. With every book I read from this series I like it more and more. Ruby Oliver feels like a good friend that I happily return to with each installment.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads







Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

For a while, I thought I might like this book more than Emma, but alas, I don't think so. I still really enjoyed it though. Fanny was a great character (even though many don't like her). And Austen's writing is always beautiful. (Current ranking of Austen novels, most to least favorite: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey). Persuasion is next on my list!

Links: Amazon | Goodreads




The Host - Stephenie Meyer

Fun read. Very entertaining and revealing if you allow it to be so. Full review here.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads








Fly On the Wall - E. Lockhart

E. Lockhart is becoming one of my favorite authors. She writes with such a great voice and always leaves me with a smile on my face. This particular novel is about a high school girl who turns into a fly. Sounds odd, but is very funny and probably one of my favorite YA contemporary novels to date. Full review here.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads





Six-Gun Snow White - Catherynne M. Valente

Western version of the Snow White fairytale. Even though I'm not generally interested in western-centric things (movies, books, history), it was an interesting take on the original. I almost wouldn't have been able to tell it was supposed to be Snow White if it weren't for the title and chapter names. Surprisingly sad read. 

Links: Amazon | Goodreads





Legend - Marie Lu

Action-packed dystopian novel with a touch of romance. Much in the light of The Hunger Games and the Divergent Trilogy. However, of the 3, I would say this is my least favorite. I couldn't put the book down because the action was engaging, but when I finished I was left with that "meh...what should I read next?" feeling. Full review here.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads




Hunger - Michael Grant

Second installment in the Gone series and a very decent sequel at that. Same amount of action. Good character development. Entertaining read in general. Full review coming soon.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads







As far as a progress update on my 2013 Reading List goes, I was able to read another Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park, and the last of the Delirium Series, Requiem. I've been able to cross of 2-4 books a month from that list. At that rate, I technically should be able to complete all of them by the end of 2013. Fingers crossed!

As usual, here are the title awards.

 After some deliberation, I settled on the runner-up for Book of the Month to be..

Jane Austen's Mansfield Park!

I enjoyed Mansfield Park a lot. Jane Austen never fails me when it comes to creating a cast of lovable characters. I adore her clever writing and can't help but be overwhelmed with warmth and happiness every time I read a novel of hers. As stated above, Pride and Prejudice is still my favorite, followed by Emma, but I liked Mansfield Park a lot as well.


As for Book of the Month...


I cheated. I couldn't pick just one Book of the Month. So I picked two. These two novels, while both in the genre of YA contemporary, are very different to me, which is how I justified picking two.
And the two are...

E. Lockhart's Fly On the Wall & David Levithan's Every Day!!

Fly On the Wall is a book that I predicted to be funny and enjoyable, but did not expect to become a favorite. It was just cute, funny, heartwarming, and touched on mature topics that I didn't see coming.

Every Day was one that I knew would be a favorite by the time I was halfway through it. It was a shoe-in for Book of the Month until I read Fly On the Wall and found it compelling in a different but equally strong manner.


Well, I hope you enjoyed this reading update.
Time to start thinking about what I want to read next month!