Books for January

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to try to read more. I thought it might be fun to keep track of the books I read on here. I read three books in January and two of them came from the library! Technically I read three and a half books, but you'll have to wait to hear about the fourth one once I finish it in February.

1. Fire by Kristin Cashore: Graceling was my absolute favorite book I read in 2013, and I think I liked this companion just as much, if not more! The world of Katsa and Fire is a very interesting and well put together one, and the characters are fascinating. I found Fire to be slightly too perfect, as her only flaw was arguably a strength (finding it in herself to defeat her father and thus save countless others from his cruelty). The monsters were a fascinating and very creative concept, and I enjoyed both of the male characters that made up the requisite love triangle to be very engaging and three-dimensional. My only real issue with the book was the author's need to shoehorn Leck, the villain from Graceling, into this book as well. I don't think he was needed and it took away from the main story for me. The ghost of Fire's father was plenty villain enough. Looking forward to reading the third installment next month!

2. Son by Lois Lowry: The final piece to The Giver universe series of books. The Giver is my #1 young adult novel of all time, and sadly, the subsequent novels have never come close to measuring up to that one. But I think I liked this one best of the other three (Gathering Blue and The Messenger being the other two). Part of that was because a good portion of the book took place in the original community from The Giver. I liked getting some alternative perspective to The Giver story. I also felt a strong connection to the main character because the plot hinged on her undeniable and enduring love for her son, a subject I am obviously invested in. I was a bit annoyed by the ending, but Lowry ended The Giver on a similarly vague and dissatisfying note so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.

3. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling): I'm not usually a fan of mystery or crime novels, but Rowling is a great author (obviously) and this novel kept my attention fairly well. I didn't guess the murderer until right up until the end, and I enjoyed the interaction between the detective and his assistant. I get a bit bored with all the investigation and clue-discovering, but that's all a part of crime novels, so I can't hold it against the story. Crime novels still aren't really my cup of tea, but I'd probably read another Strike novel once one appears.

Sigh, only three books in a month? A decade ago, I would have been very disappointed in myself, but I'll take it. I'm also pleased that two of these came from the library! I've also got the online reservation system figured out now, so I'm hoping to get some really good stuff next month, as opposed to just the closest book I can grab that looks somewhat interesting while I am trying to keep Hurricane Lucas from disrupting the entire library.