What Have I Been Reading?

February has been kind of a stagnant month for me with reading. I have a bunch checked out from the library, some that look so good when I check them out that a few weeks later I look at again and think, "why did I want this?" So, I decided to read by the due dates and I picked up Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (this after having four others on my currently reading list that I just couldn't get into) and I whipped through it. I loved it! I couldn't put it down until my eyes shut themselves last night. Then I had to finish it this morning over breakfast. I have always loved "witch" stories, starting with Jennifer, Hectate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg, which I read in probably fourth grade and then proceeded to pretend I was a witch for the rest of my elementary years. So, a good witch story is always welcome to me and this one did not disappoint. I loved Tamsin and her budding romance with Gabriel was wonderful. This will be a fun series to follow.

I also read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver for the Barnes & Noble First Look Club. I was delighted to get the opportunity to do this, but I have such a had time following and adding to discussions on boards. This is one reason I dislike online courses because you have to log on and comment--it's part of your grade. If I was sitting in a class I wouldn't comment so why should I have to on a board. Likewise, I dislike book clubs because I dislike discussing what I have read (or seen with people I go to movies with). So, I am not sure why I signed up, but I really like the book. I was glad I read it because I might not have if I'd just seen it in a store. It is such a good concept and idea, reliving your last day, trying to get it all right. There is so much an author could do with this and this author did it just right.

I also read The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry. I will "review" this later, but suffice it to say, is there any genre Lois Lowry can't write? This past year I have read The Willoughbys and Gossamer (which on the outset could not be more different, but actually are about people finding each other) and Looking Back: a Book of Memories (which is fantastic and funny and I recommend to any kid who has to read a biography). Everything is so different and yet everything is so easy to read and engaging. She is an amazing author. The Birthday Ball was so much fun and Jules Feiffer illustrations were perfect.

So, I did have some reading successes, but all I can say is thank goodness for the Olympics or this would have been one boring, gray month (like the weather here).