My goal of reading 40 books this year is off to a strong start! This month was kind of a hodgepodge. I had two standalone YAs, two Sherlock Holmes novels, and a middle grade. I bought an anthology of every Sherlock Holmes novel and short story, so I’m going to be working my way through that this year. I’m also going to be working my way through A Series of Unfortunate Events, one of my favorite series.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I reviewed this one [here], but I’ll do a quick recap. I loved the characters and Cath’s relationships with her family, roommate, and friends. It was sweet and sad and everything that freshman year is: terrifying but exhilarating.
Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
I also reviewed this one [here]. I was a little disappointed in this book, it definitely felt like it was a bridge between books one and three. Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, just not as good as the first. There was a serious cliffhanger, though, and I’m really excited to see where this goes.
Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
This one I didn’t review because I couldn’t decide how I felt about it. I still can’t. I enjoyed the book, it was a really fresh take on vampires. In this world, vampires spread a virus when they bite. Once bitten, you are “cold” and can either (agonizingly) wait for the infection to take its course, or drink blood and become a vampire. Colds and vampires are quarantined in Coldtowns. There’s a centuries-old feud between vampires, a girl whose mother went cold, and all sorts of drama ensues. That being said, I was overall kind of underwhelmed by the book despite my enjoyment. I thought some of the character development was iffy, and some of the plot elements didn’t make a lot of sense.
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
This one I reviewed last week. I loved the introductions of all the characters, I was less enamored of the surprise western adventure.
The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I liked this one better than Scarlet. It was just Holmes, Watson and Mary Morstan with only a few other characters. The mystery was exciting and Mary was actually a pretty progressive female character: she’s smart and brave, even if Watson’s response/description of her isn’t so progressive. Overall, I’m enjoying working my way through the original canon.
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
I read these as a kid, so it will be interesting revisiting them as an adult. There were some quirky in-jokes that I didn’t notice the first time around, like Mr. Poe’s son Albert. I must say, I recently watched the movie and I forgot how much more grim the books are. The movie is dark but in more of a Tim Burton way, the books have much less of the humor than I remember. I still love the little asides of “a word which here means….” I cannot describe how much of my vocabulary I owe to Snicket’s use of high-level vocabulary and his little built in dictionary.
This month went well for being back and school and work. Hopefully in February I will finish Jane Eyre and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and whatever else I may throw in. I may finally crack and read The Fault in Our Stars (which I have been putting off partially because I do not like to be unhappy, and partially because I have enjoyed John Green’s novels but never fully understood all the fuss).
ErinKwed 