Can you believe it? We’re halfway through 2012! Who knew? 
A little update on my book-reading life: my theme right now is hype. First, I shotgunned The Hunger Games 2 and 3. Then the first two in the Fifty Shades trilogy. I still have to post my review of Fifty Shades Darker. I just came from the True Blood season 5 red carpet premiere and all I see is Alexander Skarsgard as Christian Grey. What can I say? Hype can be a powerful thing. Also, I’m thinking of starting a sort of a personal reading challenge slash series where I try to complete a book series. What do you think?
Guh, my last “look-back” post was back in February. Slacking! There are just two more after this so we’re still good. Good news is I’m commuting to and from work now so I have more time to read. And as you know, traveling on trains is my favorite reading situation. It’s choosing the next book that is getting more and more difficult.
So for this bunch of books… out of all of these, I only bought two. All the others, I got for free. Some, I even got paid to read and review. I mean, I’m still going to say it like it is whether you pay me or not. It’s all fun and exciting for me regardless.
37. Effie at the Wedding by Tracy Marchini *
Self-published work – whether they be a full novel or a short story – is often hit or miss. This one is a hit. It’s a cute read and I could definitely see Effie in a series of short stories about going through her life.
38. Dirty Little Secrets: Breaking the Silence on Teenage Girls and Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen *
I was so disappointed with this book. I loved Cohen’s first book, Loose Girl. But this one I found so preachy and I was having none of it.
39. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan *
I loved this. LOVED THIS. I am not the biggest fan of young adult literature and The Hunger Games but man, please tell me the 2nd book is as good (or better) than this one.
It’s not the best parody/comedy type book but it was entertaining.
41. Blaze of Glory by m. garzon *
Having the opportunity to speak with an author about her book is always a wonderful thing. Miss Garzon has been kind enough to exchange some e-mails with me. I genuinely liked her book very much. It’s one of those silent, under the radar books that a lot more people should read.
42. The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate *
For the life of me, I can’t remember much about this book. But I remember it being a fast read and quite emotional.
43. A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis by Irene Woodbury *
Ah. This book I remember very well. I was pretty harsh on it. This was one of those “review jobs” but I found it so bad that even with the pay, I could not give it positive marks. Just… don’t even bother.
44. Department Thirteen by James Houston Turner *
Think along the lines of the Bourne series, especially with the newest one coming out in August. I enjoyed this one. I haven’t really been into the espionage books but this made me want to dig in further.
45. Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom by Yangzom Brauen *
I saw this book at B&N the day I posted my review. What I have is an ARC and it didn’t have pictures. I would’ve LOVED to have gotten the photos too. I love memoirs and biographies and this did not disappoint.
46. Criminal Minds: Jump Cut by Max Allan Collins *
It’s the first in the CM book tie-in series. I always enjoy looking for parallels between the page and the screen. Max Allan Collins captures the TV characters so well that I can picture this as an actual episode. Also, this is one of the two books that I actually bought in this batch. I saw it at my local bookstore and I just had to have it.
47. Ziggy Two Step – Courier Extraordinaire by Mark Goodwin *
I can’t remember how I came across this book but I remember that my review for this gave me the most views on my blog to date. Actually, I made the GoodReads entry for this book just so this can count as one of my “reads”. Again, the author was very pleasant to talk to and was open to what reviewers had to say.
48. Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita by Barbara Conelli *
This is one of my favorite “read jobs”. And Miss Conelli is such a joy. Her enthusiasm about her work and about Italy is infectious. Her weekly emails and freebies are so much fun. The experience does not stop when the book ends. She makes sure you get to live Italy and love Italy.
49. Transfection by David Gaughran *
This is one of those short stories you read when you’re in between books. Nothing much to say really. It was a fast read and it was rather interesting.
50. Progenitor by Christopher John Chater *
Same as above. I think I was trying to make a dent on my LibraryThing list.
51. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick *
Whenever I start with something, movies or books, they always start out with a rating of 5 stars. Then as I progress, I shave off points. This lost stars right away and fast. I wanted this to be good but it wasn’t.
52. Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters *
Here’s one of those fun reads from our friends at Quirk Books. It’s another good one. I even lent this to my mom and she liked it also.
53. The Nanny Diaries by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin *
This was a ball of fun. I read this after seeing the movie and it was still fun. So much so that I bought the sequel, Nanny Returns, also in hardcover.
54. Breaking the Code: A Daughter’s Journey into Her Father’s Secret War by Karen Fisher-Alaniz *
I loved this. Memoir, military history. It was heartfelt.
*****
I made a mistake. And I only noticed it as I was halfway through the thing. I skipped 18 books. I screencapped my GR shelf and I completely forgot about the screenshot that came before this one. Ohwel. No biggie.
