128 books down, 94 days to go.

Justi again!  Cousin, where are you?!  Anyway, we're now in the double digits.  Aah!
So I finished up the Everworld series...I can't say I liked the end.  The last book was small, however, so it's not going on the official account.
Betrayals, book two of Strange Angels...if you recall, I read the first book about a month ago...was okay.  Lili St. Crow, the author, maintains her writing style that makes me want to groan.  She's a good author, but the climatic bits are dulled by interludes of details; the characters keep a surreal feel, very hard to relate to.  I'm continuing the series, not for her writing, but for the conceptual ideas she created.  They've got me hooked.
The Space Between Trees is a sad little novel, with a disappointing but realistic denouement.  A body is found in the woods, and when Evie makes a new friend, she becomes entangled in a different life.  It's thrilling, realistic, and, at this age, it's easy to connect with the characters involved.
Into the Wild.  This isn't a novel...well, in the loosest sense of the word, it is.  In 1992, Chris McCandless walked into the Alasken frontier--his body was found a few months later.  The author, a reporter, is piecing the young man's life together.  I read this for my English class--I've no idea why.  It isn't my type of read, but, nevertheless, it was interesting.



So, three more books down!  Now, the random fact of the day...try it!

Take the last two digits of the year you were born, and add the age that you will be in 2011...whatever you'll turn to.  The sum will always be 111.
Example: 94+17=111.

125 books down, 101 days to go

Four more books from Justi.
Two more books from Everworld, Understand the Unknown and Mystify the Magician.  Only one more book to go in that series, so I'm excited.  I've got no clue how it's going to end, so I'll try not to spoil anything when I get to that post!
'I'll Get There; It Better be Worth the Trip' is a book about a young boy.  It's easy to relate with him; however, pitying him makes it hard to see any faults he may have.  Warning to all: do not read this book lightly.  Please don't.  I made that mistake, and I almost ruined a touching story.  Don't put it down when you realize what's happening--just keep on reading.  I'm sure you'll understand the title when you get to the end.
The Beast of Noor was a 500 page book about a fantasy world in which a wolf-like beast haunts a family.  Pure adventure, no mystery or other edges to give this book a proper sendoff.  Hanna and her brother, Miles, must fend for each other as they try to survive in a magical world.  If you love fantasy, this would be good; as it were, a lot is left hanging.  However, I have a feeling there's a series to this, so I'll be looking that up.

More than 80 spelling variations are recorded for Shakespeare's name, from “Shappere” to “Shaxberd.

Love from Justi!  Elizabeth, are you still reading?

121 books down, 108 days to go.

Three more books for Justi, and a pile waiting on my bookshelf to be read!  Elizabeth, you still there?
I read two more books in Everworld, Brave the Betrayal and Inside the Illusion.  First time I'm able to post for this series, really--each book is usually less than 200 pages.  But they're getting a bit longer.  Basically, four kids are in this strange world that the gods created thousands of years ago.  They've given up getting fully home--when they fall asleep, they're home enough.  But now they need to survive, and that's harder than it sounds in a place of gods and magic...
Crave was the other book I read.  It's the first vampire book I've read in a while that I really loved.  Shay is the Sick Girl, with an unknown blood disease.  She knows she's dying.  But then she starts to get Gabriel's blood...who and what is he to her?  I can't wait for the next book of the series to come.  It's thrilling, makes you love both characters, and it's predictable in a way that keeps you anticipating more.
So, 108 days to go, with 121 books down!

118 books down, 118 days to go.

Two more books down. =)
Echo is a confusing book about a young girl trying to figure out her life.  Tons of view shifts, and I suppose if you like reading depressing books about modern LA and Hollywood, and even New York, it's good.  For me, despite the references to fantastical creatures, it didn't hold anything special.
The Amaranth Enchantment, on the other hand, is a must read.  I feel like I'm trying to sell something here...anyway, Lucinda lost everything when her parents died.  Ten years later, the past comes back to haunt her.  A complete spin-around of a fairy-tale, with bits and pieces of all of the most well-known stories.  The ending was what sold it for me.  The author is more than willing to put her characters in embarrassing situations, and yet make you smile all throughout the last page.
So, 118 books down, 118 days to go...same number.  Ironic, to say the least...keep on reading!

116 books down, 120 days to go.

Three more books.  Yeah, I wanted more, but I was, um, busy.  This is Justi, btw.
The Poison Apples was a cute read, following the tale of the evil stepmothers and going one step further--getting payback.  It isn't hard to sympathize with the characters, and even without too much fairy tale allusion, this book has a surreal feel to it, along with that notion of the difference between fairy tales and real life.





I also read Tattoo, and its sequel, Fate.  Four best friends get superpowers when they put on temporary tattoos..and unravel a plot about the Sidhe, a race of fairies from Celtic legend.  I had recently gotten fascinated with the Sidhe, so I was happy to find a book that expanded on both Greek and Celtic mythology.  The ending of the second book was a little...well, not as climatic as I thought it should have been, but the first book makes you want to be one of the friends.