A Year in Review: 2009-2010

So today is the day!  I have been blogging here on YA Lit- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly for TWO years now!  Time has really flown.

Let’s take a look back and see what I’ve done this past year…

I started off my second year slowly and didn’t post a review until January!

January

Sold- Patricia McCormick

February

Twilight- Stephenie Meyer

March – NO REVIEWS!

April

New Moon- Stephenie Meyer

May

Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer

June

Push- Sapphire

how i live now- Meg Rosoff

July

Speak- Laurie Halse Anderson

August

Postcards From No Man’s Land- Aidan Chambers

September

Number the Stars- Lois Lowry

Love That Dog- Sharon Creech

October- NO REVIEWS!
Well, I’m ashamed.  10 reviews for the year.  Last year in my “year in review” post I reported that I had reviewed 45 books and hoped to do more this year.  BLOGGER FAIL.  Though I will say that one of the ways I read so much that first year was by substitute teaching and having many many days off.  It’s still no excuse and I plan on picking up the pace.  But before I leave you I do want to pat myself on my back because there are some things that I’ve accomplished that I’m pretty proud of!

I have:

55 reviews, 132 Posts, 179 Comments, and 10, 447 hits!

In just two years.

I have no idea if this is really good or bad or anything, but I feel happy with this.  People are coming across my site and hopefully finding it useful.  I have gotten a lot of insightful comments throughout this journey and hope that you all continue to provide your thoughts.  I see this blog evolving more as time goes on and becoming even more education and classroom based.  I hope you stay along for the ride!

Twilight Poll Results

I did not get too many people to vote, but I promised that I’d post the results in a week so here they are.  I am leaving the poll open though for people to continue voting on!

What was your favorite Twilight book?

Twilight 37.5% (3 votes)
New Moon 0% (0 votes)
Eclipse 25% (2 votes)

Breaking Dawn 0% (0 votes)

Hated them all equally 25% (2 votes)

Loved them all equally 0% (0 votes)

I refused to read them! 12.5% (1 votes)

Total Votes: 8

Twilight Poll

I will summarize the results in a week!

Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer

At last, my review of the 4th and final book in the infamous Twilight saga!

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I was SUPER excited to get my hands on this book.  I started reading it on my car ride back from Cheboygan, Michigan over July 4th weekend- but I was using my friends copy.  So, in the airport on my way to Tahoe, I put down twenty three dollars, and bought the hardback copy to take with me.  (In hindsight, this was a poor choice due to the pure weight of this book.)  Each day of my vacation I read just a little more until I finally finished it!

I have to say I was not sure what to expect.  I knew that this book has Edward and Bella becoming more sexually active- and some of my friends felt that the descriptions of their love making was too graphic.  I however disagreed.  I felt that especially since they waited till after Bella was 18, and they were married that it was dealt with quite tastefully.  There is no description of intimate body parts so I feel like most students/teens could handle it.

Sex aside, I’m not 100 percent sure how I feel about this installment of the series.  I felt like it drug on at times and I found myself waiting for the “big event” and when that event came, I was left wanting.  I wish there was more action in this book like there was in Eclipse (the movie for which I have STILL NOT SEEN!).  Overall though I felt this book tied up some loose ends and closed out the saga nicely.

Overall, what did you think of the Twilight saga?  Hmm… maybe I’ll post a poll soon!

Summer Reading Update: 7/14

Just as a reminder here is the list of books I set out to read this summer.  It has been growing as I find more books to read.

1. Breaking Dawn /Stephenie Meyer
2. Maus/ Art Spiegelman
3. Maus II/ Art Spiegelman
4. Catching Fire/ Suzanne Collins
5. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
 (Own but haven’t read yet!)
6. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson
7. 13 Reasons Why/ Jay Asher
8. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
9. Push / Sapphire
10. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld
11. Number the Stars/ Lois Lowry
12. How I Live Now/ Meg Rosoff
13. Double Dutch/ Sharon M. Draper
14. Postcards From No Man’s Land/ Aidan Chambers
15. Prom/Laurie Halse Anderson
16. Daniel X/ James Patterson
17. Lord of the Flies/ William Golding

I’m pretty happy with my progress.  As you can see I have read 6 books.  My goal was 25 but if I finish at least 15 I think I can consider myself successful.  Now I just need to catch up on my reviews.