Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades #2) by E. L. James

In this sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, Ana and Christian reunite at Jose's art gallery opening. They realize how much they care for each other and Christian will do anything to keep Ana, even give him his Red Room of Pain. Ana then starts a job at SIP, the publishing house. Her manager is Jack and he keeps making passes at her and hinting that they need to go get drinks. Christian is very aware of Jack's past history with his assistants, with none lasting longer than three months and is concerned the same will happen to Ana. Eventually, Jack corners her in the kitchen and makes his proposition quite clear. But Ana, whose dad Ray is ex-army, knows how to defend herself. Jack loses his job and Ana takes it, elated. Meanwhile, Christian and Ana grow closer, with Ana meeting with Dr. Flynn to find out more about why Christian is the way he is. The book continues to reveal snippets of Christian's past, making the reader understand more about him. I am so glad that Fifty Shades Freed is waiting for me at the library since the ending leaves you hanging!

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel by Robin Sloan

I think, in general, I appreciate books that are based in the same city that the author resides since it gives an "authentic" feel to the book (or sends me searching for information on something I read since it sounds neat). Sloan is from San Francisco, which is where this book is based. Google is often discussed, along with their hierarchy and how working at Google really is. I am not sure if he worked at Google (it doesn't appear to be that way from his website) or knew people who did, but it still has at least a realistic flavor since Google is so well-known for being one of the best places to work. I also recently (in the last three months) visited San Francisco and really enjoyed my stay. But I digress.

 

Clay is unemployed and happens by Mr. Penumbra's bookstore, where he is hiring for a night clerk. Clay applies and accepts the job, quickly realizing that this bookstore is not like your typical Barnes and Nobel. Instead, it is divided into sections. One section is for normal, albeit mostly outdated/older books. The second section is in the back and Clay is "forbidden" by Mr. Penumbra to look in the books. One night, one of Clay's friends comes into the store and looks in one of the "forbidden" books and finds out that it is all in code. This becomes immensely intriguing since the patronage of the store are...misfits. Clay tries to up the store's presence by offering a very targeted coupon online. A Googler finds it and comes into the store while Clay is working on a 3-D animation of the store. With this animation, he is trying to track what books people are checking out based on the notes that all the clerks are required to take. The Googler, Kat, sees what he is doing and offers the help of her resources at Google to help figure out what is going on since there is a method to the books being checked out. This is only the beginning of a mystery at this store. What do the books say? Why are people checking out only specific ones? Clay quickly finds that this runs deeper than he ever suspected.

New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change by Winifred Gallagher

I thought this book was very interesting. Gallagher presents information on neophobes, neophiles, and neophiliacs. Neophobes shun technology. One can think that only the older generations are neophobes, but I know that isn't the case from personal experience with a decidedly older gentleman asking about how e-books work. Neophiliacs are all about the latest and greatest thing. If it's new, they want it. Neophiles are able to find a balance between the two: they know when to use technology, but aren't addicted to it.

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E. L. James

With all the hype around this book, I knew I had to read it. Ana, a soon-to-be college grad from WSU-Vancouver, interviews Christian Grey for her sick roommate, Kate. From this interview, they become quite taken with each other, but Christian tries to resist, since he knows he has problems that Ana probably can't handle. They find each other anyway, and Ana gets introduced to his alternative BSDM lifestyle. I thought that the book would be heavy into the BSDM (maybe that comes in the next book?), but it seemed quite gentle in that regard. More focus was given to Christian and what sort of past he has and why he doesn't do the "girlfriend thing." He is an awful hard nut to crack, but will Ana do it with gentle prodding? Will he be able to have a relationship that includes the "girlfriend thing"?

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

This book was supposed to be one of the best books of last year, so I was really looking forward to reading it. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I have concluded that it is a very character-driven book, very much like Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan. There isn't much to plot, but it does have more than Maine did. The story goes that there is an ill American actress who goes to stay in a hotel on the Italian coast. The innkeeper there, Pasquale, is immediately taken by her. The story hops around a great deal. One chapter will be 1962 Italy, the next is present day LA, then it will be 1990s Europe. It is easy to stay caught up, but it was not much of a page turner and I didn't find the characters that great or memorable. However, Jess Walter is from Spokane, so I did enjoy the Washington references.

Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie

This is the third book in the Matched trilogy. The Rising has come and to win followers, they released a deadly flu virus into the Society's water. They have a vaccine and everyone who gets it is healed, but soon the virus mutates and they do not have a vaccine against the mutated form. It becomes a race against time to find a cure and it becomes even more urgent when Ky falls ill. But there are people working against the Rising to make sure as many people as possible die. Will a cure be found in time to save Ky?

The Stand by Stephen King

The Stand begins when a man escapes his government job carrying a deadly flu virus (unbeknownst to him) and goes home to his wife and daughter. He packs them up and they head out of California and go east, eventually dying from the virus and spreading it to innocent bystanders. Quickly, in a matter of weeks, most of the population has been wiped out by the virus, except for a select few that have a natural immunity to it. These few are scattered throughout the United States and slowly find each other. All of them have had dreams of a black woman in Nebraska and also of a strange individual they call the "dark man," who they know is evil or at least a representation of it. This story follows the groups of people on their quest to find one another and the mysterious woman who appears in their dreams. Who is the woman? And who is this "dark man"? This book is supposedly Stephen King in his finest hour, but I think Under the Dome is much, much better.

2013: reading preview

For 2013, I have a goal of reading 40 books. This will be a bit more manageable than 2012 when I had the goal of 52 books. I did come very close and finished my 47th book on December 31, 2012, but I felt like it was limiting in some aspects since 1Q84 seemed to break my stride a bit since it was 1,026 pages long and still only counted as one book. I think 40 books will allow for the longer books I am wanting to read, such as Stephen King's The Stand, which I started on January 1, 2013. This is the uncut version and clocks in at 1,439 pages.

 

I have other books in mind to read this year, as well, such as finishing the Matched triology (Reached by Ally Condie), An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and the second in the Razorland trilogy by Ann Aguirre, Outpost.



 

For non-fiction, my readings in feminist literature will continue with works such as Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy, The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners Is Transforming Sex, Love and Family by Liza Mundy, and The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf.

There are also a few books from 2012 that are supposed to be very good, at least according to the editors at Amazon. These include The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, and The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker.

 

The year will most likely end how it began: with another Stephen King book! But this time it will be 11/22/63, a book I have been wanting to read ever since it came out! 

 

 

Have a suggestion of something I might like? Leave it as a comment and I'll see if I can work it in. Just because my goal is 40 books doesn't mean I can't overachieve! 

reading roundup: 2012

I did not meet my goal of reading 52 books this year, but I came in pretty darn close at 47. And I even blogged about them all! Here is a rundown:

Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu
Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie
Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Room by Emma Donoghue
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Catfight: Women and Competition by Leora Tanenbaum
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Taft 2012 by Jason Heller
1Q84 by Hiruki Murakami
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Odds by Stewart O'nan
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston
Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti
The Boyfriend List (15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, and Me, Ruby Oliver) (Ruby Oliver #1) by E. Lockhart
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away by Eric Wilson
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It by Charles Duhigg
Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions by Matt Richtel
A Little F'ed Up: Why Feminism is Not a Dirty Word by Julie Zeilinger
MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search For a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche
What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by Ransom Riggs
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
The Selection (Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Uglies (Uglies #1) by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties (Uglies #2) by Scott Westerfeld
Specials (Uglies #3) by Scott Westerfeld
Extras (Uglies #4) by Scott Westerfeld
Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the Economy by Joseph Stiglitz
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay

I wish I had this book when I turned 20.

Jay discusses how the 20s are an important development period of everyone's life and how 30 is not the new 20. She discusses how in your 20s, you make some of life's most important decisions: what you will do, who you will marry, and whether or not you will start a family. She explores each of these topics in turn and uses vignettes from her clients (she is a counselor) to highlight certain aspects of work, love, and biology (what happens to your mind and body in your 20s). Jay emphasizes that the 20s are meant to be a building block of the rest of your life: where your career begins, who you will love, and how your body changes during these years. I think I will be talking this book up to all of my friends.