Monday, December 26, 2011

The Best Kind of Christmas Presents

First off, MERRY CHRISTMAS. 

Here's my gift for you: 

This year for Christmas I asked my parents to order me the books I've always wanted that aren't stocked at my local bookstore. Combine that with the books I bought at Goodwill over the last week and the couple I've already bought since I've been home, I have these two awesome stacks of books to bring back to school:

Hardcovers: 

An Off Year by Claire Zulkey
What It's About: a girl who takes a gap year between high school and university
Why I Wanted It: I'm very interested in any and all books about university. New Adult is going to happen, damn it! 

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King
What It's About: a girl who's best friend dies
Why I Wanted It: good reviews and good writing

Hooked by Catherine Greenman
What It's About: teen pregnancy
Why I Wanted It: I always find pregnancy to be an interesting teen issue; I also think this story will be a little different since it deals with characters entering university. 

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
What It's About: all the in the moment decisions people make and how that affects us.
Why I Wanted It: Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Outliers were both fascinating. 

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
What It's About: a girl's decision to wear a hijab
Why I Wanted It: it has a unique, controversial premise. Plus, the book starts with a major Friends reference--I simply couldn't resist. 

L. A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
What It's About:...something about hollywood. Does it really matter?
Why I Wanted It: I read an excerpt from it in Teen Vogue when it came out, and always wanted to try it. Something different. Light reading. A different perspective. Hopefully. You never know. 

Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson 
What It's About: a girl's summer on a ship
Why I Wanted It: I enjoyed Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, as well as Johnson's story in Let It Snow

Play Me by Laura Ruby
What It's About: a guy who films reality tv
Why I Wanted It: I love books about reality tv, and this book puts a different spin on it, telling the story from the director's perspective rather than the star's perspective. 

Softcovers: 


Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
What It's About: boring British stuff...something about Mr. Rochester...I don't know...Mia referenced it a bunch in one of the Princess Diaries books I think...
Why I Wanted It:...I didn't. It's book I have to read for my British lit class next semester. Kill me now. 

Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
What It's About: a girl who spies on boys
Why I Wanted It: I just finished the Ruby Oliver series and really enjoyed it. And the premise sounded fun. 

The End of Education by Neil Postman
What It's About: the education system in the US
Why I Wanted It: I'm going to be a teacher!

The Half Life of Planets by Emily Franklin and Brandon Halpin
What It's About: a romance between a girl and a boy with Asperger's syndrome
Why I Wanted It: good writing and an interesting premise. 

Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande 
What It's About: a battle between evolution and creationism! Yay! And hopefully some romance! 
Why I Wanted It: I loved Brande's Fat Cat, and I think this could be a really interesting exploration of beliefs and science vs. God. 

Pledged by Alexandra Robbins
What It's About: sororities
Why I Wanted It: I liked Robbin's Overachievers, and, since watching Greek, I've become fascinated with Greek life. 

Quarterlife Crisis by Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner
What It's About: life in your twenties.
Why I Wanted It: I'm about to enter my twenties. And it looked interesting anyhow. 

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusack
What It's About: A cab driver? A robbery?
Why I Wanted It: AMAZING reviews, including John Green's endorsement (very valuable). And it seems like a different kind of book. 

I Love You Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle
What It's About: a guy who confesses his love for a girl he barely knows at graduation. 
Why I Wanted It: it seemed funny. 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
What It's About: two guys who have the same name. 
Why I Wanted It: I am in a little bit of a John Green phase (read: complete obsession. Vlogbrothers. Nerdfighters. Scoodilypoopers. I've finished Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and even Let It Snow. Now I just need to finish off his back catalogue, and I'll be ready for The Fault in Our Stars in January) and I like and respect David Levithan's writing. I think these two together has the potential to be AMAZING. 

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
What It's About: See title.
Why I Wanted It: good reviews, good writing, interesting structure. Not a terribly original premise, but I can get past that. 

Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
What It's About: high school drama
Why I Wanted It: I really, really liked Sales's Past Perfect. I don't really want to read about high school drama right now, but I think this might be worth it. 


Isn't that the best Christmas ever?


P. S. I took those photos with my new iPhone, another awesome part of Christmas (but not as good as the books of course :) 

2 comments:

  1. Wow! What amazing, amazing presents! There are a number of books on your piles that I have read and really enjoyed. And some title I am adding to my TBR pile. I really should get cracking on reading a John Green novel soon, right? I don't why I keep putting it off!
    I liked An Off Year- and I agree that there needs to be more university-set books out there! Please Ignore Vera Dietz is pretty amazing I think, so I hope you enjoy it.

    Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  2. YES, READ JOHN GREEN! I promise, you won't regret it. I wouldn't recommend starting with Looking for Alaska--I think it's a little overrated. I think Paper Towns is much better.

    I'm bringing Vera Dietz to school with me so I can read it. Can't wait!

    Happy reading to you too!

    ReplyDelete

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