April Reading Wrap Up 2011

26 books this month for the fourth time in a row in 2011.

1. Underground: A Novel- Antanas Sileika (April 2 2011)
2. Double Shadow- Carl Phillips (April 3 2011)
3. Better Living Through Plastic Explosives- Zsuzsi Gartner (April 4 2011)
4. The Summoning- Kelley Armstrong (April 4 2011) 
5. Stay- Deb Caletti (April 5 2011)
6. The Awakening- Kelley Armstrong (April 6 2011)  
7. Wake- Lisa McMann (April 7 2011) Audiobook
8. The Reckoning- Kelley Armstrong (April 7 2011)
9. The Lipstick Laws- Amy Holder (April 8 2011) 
10. The Pun Also Rises- John Pollack (April 9 2011) + Author Guest Post
11. Fade- Lisa McMann (April 10 2011) Audiobook
12. Small Mechanics- Lorna Crozier (April 11 2011)  
13. Separate Kingdoms- Valerie Laken (April 11 2011)
14. Small Memories- José Saramago (April 13 2011) 
15. Bees: Nature's Little Wonders- Candace Savage (April 16 2011)
16. Wrecker- Summer Wood (April 18 2011) + Author Interview
17. Folk- Jacob McArthur Mooney (April 19 2011)
18. The Sky is Everywhere- Jandy Nelson (April 22 2011) 
19. Bird in a Box- Andrea Davis Pinkney (April 22 2011)  
20. Two Kisses for Maddy- Matthew Logelin (April 24 2011)
21. Anatomy of a Disappearance- Hisham Matar (April 25 2011) 
22. Promise Not To Tell- Jennifer McMahon (April 25 2011)
23. Russian Winter- Daphne Kalotay (April 28 2011)  
24. Origami Dove- Susan Musgrave (April 28 2011) 
25. The Peach Keeper- Sarah Addison Allen (April 29 2011) 
26. Far To Go- Alison Pick (April 30 2011) 

Some April Stats:

• Adult Fiction: 7/26
• Memoirs: 2/26
• Non-Fiction: 2/26
• Young Adult: 9/26
• Short Story Collections: 2/26
• Poetry: 4/26
• Audio Books: 2/26
• Favourite Adult Book of the Month: Wrecker by Summer Wood
• Favourite Poetry of the Month: Small Mechanics by Lorna Crozier
• Favourite YA of the Month: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
• Nearly Favourite Books of the Month: Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong, Separate Kingdoms by Valerie Laken, Bees by Candace Savage, Promise Not To Tell by Jennifer McMahon, Origami Dove by Susan Musgrave, The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

It was a good though unusual month reading wise. I read mainly YA at the beginning after getting hooked into two series (Darkest Powers by Armstrong and Dream Catcher by McMann) and I also made sure to pick up some more poetry in honour of National Poetry Month. I read two short story collections, including the first one I really enjoyed so far this year (Separate Kingdoms), but fewer normal novels than any other month. Most of those were outside my normal genres, but a couple like Promise Not To Tell (mystery) and The Peach Keeper (magical realism/romance) really surprised me with how much I enjoyed them and I will definitely be picking up other books by the authors. I also picked up two non-fiction and learned quite a bit, I especially enjoyed Bees, it being full-colour certainly didn't hurt, and I'll definitely be reading more by Savage in the future.

In terms of May, I have my largest review stack ever so I'll definitely be focusing on that although they are all books I am looking forward to. My only concern is that I'm also the furthest behind on reviews I've been in as long as I can remember, right now I have ten where I have finished the book but not written the review yet which is almost half the books I read this month... so I'll definitely have to put down the books and catch up on reviewing very soon, possibly today.

How did April treat you reading-wise? Any plans for May?

March Reading Wrap Up 2011

Apparently 26 is my lucky number. Here it is for the third month in a row. 

1. The Postmistress- Sarah Blake (March 1 2011)
2. Die for Me- Amy Plum (March 2 2011) 
3. Wither- Lauren DeStefano (March 4 2011)
4. Lysistrata- Aristophanes (March 5 2011) 
5. The Raising- Laura Kasischke (March 5 2011)
6. The House on Salt Hay Road- Carin Clevidence (March 8 2011)
7. The Uncoupling- Meg Wolitzer (March 10 2011) 
8. This Gorgeous Game- Donna Freitas (March 11 2011) 
9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being- Milan Kundera (March 12 2011) 
10. As Long as the Rivers Flow- James Bartleman (March 13 2011) 
11. Imaginary Logic- Rodney Jones (March 15 2011)
12. The Needle- Jennifer Grotz (March 16 2011) 
13. Is- Anne Simpson (March 17 2011) 
14. Boyfriends with Girlfriends- Alex Sanchez (March 18 2011)
15. The Long Goodbye- Meghan O'Rourke (March 18 2011) 
16. A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman- Margaret Drabble (March 19 2011)
17. New Selected Poems: 1984-2004- Carol Ann Duffy (March 20 2011)  
18. The Beauty of Humanity Movement- Camilla Gibb (March 22 2011)
19. The Running Dream- Wendelin Van Draanen (March 23 2011)
20. The Gathering- Kelley Armstrong (March 25 2011) 
21. Hotel Iris- Yoko Ogawa (March 26 2011) 
22. Blood Magic- Tessa Gratton (March 27 2011) 
23. Nobel Genes- Rune Michaels (March 27 2011)
24. House Rules- Jodi Picoult (March 29 2011) Audiobook
25. A Fierce Radiance- Lauren Belfer (March 29 2011)  
26. The Adults: A Novel- Alison Espach (March 31 2011) 

It was a decent month when it came to reading. In particular I loved getting a chance to read some poetry again, I plan to pick of a lot more poetry books in April for National Poetry Month, I've already got about 10 to choose from on my shelves. I managed to stay caught up pretty well, I'm less than a week behind since I still have to review the five most recent reads. I was also really excited to finally finish House Rules, an audiobook that is about twenty hours long, just in time for March to be over. I am officially sticking to shorter audios from now on since I only listen to them when I am doing something repetitive at work like preparing soil and I didn't like how long it took to finish this one. With that in mind I'm planning to listen to the Wake/Fade/Gone by Lisa McMann in April, each of which is only about 5 hours or less. 

Some March Stats:

• Adult Fiction: 11/26
• Memoirs: 1/26
• Young Adult: 8/26
• Short Story Collections: 1/26
• Poetry: 4/26
• Plays: 1/26
• Audio Books: 1/26
• Favourite Adult Book of the Month: The House on Salt Hay Road by Carin Clevidence
• Favourite Poetry of the Month: The Needle by Jennifer Grotz
• Favourite Memoir of the Month: The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke. I realize it is cheating because I only read 1 this month but it was incredible and deserves a place here anyway. 
• Nearly Favourite Books of the Month: Wither by Lauren DeStefano, Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton, Lysistrata by Aristophane, The Raising by Laura Kasischke, The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb

Overall it was a good month for reading and I'm already excited to delve into April's offerings. How was your March reading-wise? Feel free to leave recommendations in the comments.

February Reading Wrap Up 2011

Even though it was the shortest month of the year, I still managed to get in 26 books, exactly the same number I managed last month. They were:

1. So Much Pretty- Cara Hoffman (February 1 2011)
2. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running- Haruki Murakami (February 2 2011) Audiobook
3. Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide- Linda Gray Sexton (February 2 2011) + Author Guest Post
4. Beatrice & Virgil- Yann Martel (February 3 2011) 
5. The Lover's Dictionary- David Levithan (February 3 2011) 
6. The Tempest- William Shakespeare (February 4 2011) 
7. Shadow Tag- Louise Erdrich (February 5 2011) 
8. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love- Raymond Carver (February 5 2011)
9. The Dream of Perpetual Motion- Dexter Palmer (February 6 2011)
10. Delirium- Lauren Oliver (February 8 2011) 
11. The Properties of Water- Hannah Roberts McKinnon (February 9 2011) 
12. The Paris Wife- Paula McLain (February 12 2011)
13. Beastly- Alex Flinn (February 13 2011)
14. Where She Went- Gayle Forman (February 15 2011)  
15. I Am The Messenger- Markus Zusak (February 17 2011) Audiobook
16. The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus- Margaret Atwood (February 18 2011) Audiobook
17. The Fifth Servant- Kenneth Wishnia (February 19 2011)
18. Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens (February 20 2011)
19. The Other Life- Ellen Meister (February 20 2011)
20. Between Shades of Gray- Ruta Sepetys (February 21 2011)
21. What Comes After- Steve Watkins (February 22 2011) 
22. The Source of All Things- Tracy Ross (February 23 2011)
23. The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus- Sonya Sones (February 24 2011)
24. Bumped- Megan McCafferty (February 25 2011)
25. So Much For That- Lionel Shriver (February 26 2011)
26. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother- Amy Chua (February 28 2011)

Overall it was a pretty good collection of books. Unfortunately I haven't been keeping up with my reviewing as well as I would have liked, I still have six unreviewed books left from February. Hopefully that is something I'll be better at keeping up with in March, even if it means cutting a little into my reading time.

Some February Stats:

• Adult Fiction: 14/26
• Memoirs: 4/26
• Young Adult: 8/26
• Audio Books: 3/26
• Short Story Collections: 1/26
• Plays: 1/26
• Favourite Adult Book of the Month: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
• Favourite YA Book of the Month: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
• Favourite Memoir of the Month: Half in Love by Linda Gray Sexton
• Nearly Favourite Books of the Month: So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer, The Other Life by Ellen Meister, Where She Went by Gayle Forman
• Books Purchased: None! Although my January purchase did arrive. Total amount of money spent on books so far in 2011 is only $15.76. I do have a coupon and some books I've been lusting over that will likely be purchased in March. 

How was your February reading-wise? Did you read any incredible books this month? I'm definitely open to recommendations.

January Reading Wrap Up 2011

January was a fantastic month for me reading wise, and with the start of a new year I have decided to attempt monthly summary posts to share what I have been reading. This month I read 26 books:

1. The Metropolis Case- Matthew Gallaway (January 4 2011) 
2. The Memory Palace- Mira Bartok (January 6 2011)
3. The Lotus Eaters- Tatjana Soli (January 8 2011)
4. The Mother Who Stayed- Laura Furman (January 9 2011)
5. XVI- Julia Karr (January 10 2011)
6. Henry's Demons- Patrick Cockburn and Henry Cockburn (January 12 2011)
7. The Girl in The Green Raincoat- Laura Lippman (January 12 2011)
8. Crazy Beautiful- Lauren Bartaz-Logsted (January 13 2011)
9. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand- Helen Simonson (January 13 2011)
10. Twelve- Nick McDonell (January 14 2011)
11. An Exclusive Love- Johanna Adorjan (January 15 2011)
12. Angry Young Man- Chris Lynch (January 15 2011)
13. Cryer's Cross- Lisa McMann (January 16 2011)
14. The Woman in White- Wilkie Collins (January 17 2011)
15. Once Dead, Twice Shy- Kim Harrison (January 18 2011) Audiobook
    
16. Super Sad True Love Story- Gary Shteyngart (January 19 2011)
17. Cloaked- Alex Flinn (January 19 2011)
18. Under the Mercy Trees- Heather Newton (January 20 2011)
19. Darkness Becomes Her- Kelly Keaton (January 21 2011)
20. Small Wars- Sadie Jones (January 23 2011)
21. Bride of New France- Suzanne Desrochers (January 24 2011) 
22. Early to Death, Early to Rise- Kim Harrison (January 26 2011) Audiobook
23. History of a Suicide- Jill Bialosky (January 26 2011)
24. Wench- Dolen Perkins-Valdez (January 27 2011) 
25. Lonely: Learning to Live with Solitude- Emily White (January 29 2011)
26. Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join The War- Deb Olin Unferth (January 30 2011) 

Most of these do not have reviews posted yet, but with the exception of the last 3, I have already pre-written and scheduled all the reviews to post. I also finished up all my 2010 reviews which was a good feeling to have, and they have all been posted except The Weird Sisters for which my tour date is in February. I also participated in my first readalong this month for The Woman in White, and loved it so much I've got another one lined up already- even though it happens to be Dickens.

Some January Stats:

• Adult Fiction: 12/26
• Memoirs: 6/26
• Young Adult: 8/26
• Audio Books: 2/26
• Short Story Collections: 1/26
• Favourite Book of the Month: The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
  
• Nearly Favourite Books of the Month (Another Six I Really Loved): Revolution, History of a Suicide, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, The Metropolis Case, The Woman in White, Under the Mercy Trees
• Books Purchased: Only ONE. I'm really proud of this. I bought The History of History which I am very excited for but which hasn't arrived yet. I spent $15.76.

I have a ton of great books lined up for February and I am excited to delve into them.

How did January treat you reading wise? What was your favourite book of the month?