It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (July 2, 2012)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


I had a great week this past week. I attended the Scholastic Reading Summit with my friend Bev and enjoyed the sessions and the keynote speakers. Gordon Korman talked a lot about his various books. I hadn't remembered that he wrote his first book as an assignment in seventh grade. It was published when he was a ninth grader. Pam Allyn also gave a moving talk about encouraging reading.


I managed to do some reading of my own last week too. As usual, I alternated between adult books and young adult books. Here are the adult books I read last week.

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold is an eARC that I got from Baen Books. I love this series and this author. There was no way I could wait for November to read the finished book - which I have already pre-ordered. I will be writing a review (or more likely a love story) when the book is nearer its publication date.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters was in my mailbox at school when I happened to stop in last week. This is an unusual mystery because it is pre-Apocalyptic. Who will still be solving crimes when suicides are common and a huge asteroid is slated to hit the Earth in a matter of months? Besides being an entertaining mystery, the speculation about what would happen to society is also fascinating. This book will be released on July 10 and my review is scheduled for July 11.

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost was released this week and jumped to the head of my reading line. I love this author's urban fantasies. She has heroes to die for and heroines who are easily their match. This new series will feature one of the side characters from her Cat and Bones series. My review will be posted on July 19.

Hidden (A Bone Secrets Novel) by Kendra Elliot was an Amazon Vine pick that arrived last week and jumped to the top of the review stack because it will be published on July 17. It was a well-done thriller with just enough romance. My review will be posted on July 14.

Here are the four young adult novels I finished this past week.

Before You Go by James Preller was a contemporary novel that I got from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. I found it well-written but hard to read because I felt so sorry for the main character who is going through some very hard times. This one is so much about grief and loss and is a heart-breaking story. My review will be posted on July 12 for this July 17 release.

I needed something lighter after the last book and chose Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis which is a middle grade historical fantasy with a wonderful main character. I loved the first book in the series and loved this one just as much. My review will be posted on July 14.

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan almost fell through the cracks at my house. I got it from Amazon Vine and forgot to add it to my review spreadsheet. Luckily, I started seeing reviews for it and remembered that I had it too. This was an extremely entertaining vampire story with a marvelously quirky main character. My review will be posted on July 4 for this July 3 release.

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson was another Amazon Vine pick. This one was less successful for me because of the slow start with large info-dumps that slowed down the pace of the story. It did pick up speed later in the book but I don't think I found it engaging enough to look for the next book in the series. This one was released on May 22. My review will be posted on July 9.

I am currently reading a book that has been sitting on my TBR mountain for way too long. I am finally getting to The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I have heard so many good things about this one and I love Maggie Stiefvater but somehow couldn't find the time to read it until now.

Next week I plan to read two adult books and two young adult books all from my review stack. The adult books I plan to read are:

Dragon Justice by Laura Anne Gilman which is the latest in her PUPI urban fantasy series. I got this one from NetGalley and need to post my review before the book is released on July 24.

I am scheduled for a blog tour post on July 24 for The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane. This is a thriller which is in her Forensid Instincts series and sounds amazing. I haven't read anything else in the series though which might be a little strange. This one was released on June 26. I hope it stands alone well.

I'm not sure what I will be reading after those four. I'm not expecting any new books to arrive. Maybe I'll get a chance to dig into the baskets of books I brought home for the summer. My adult books one is heaping over. 

What are your plans for the week?