Book List for July

I cannot remember a moment in time when I did not love to read. Books have always been preferable to t.v., to movies, and sometimes to people. Books have always been my escape, my pleasure, my obsession. July was the first month when I have actually kept track of the books that I have read. Since this was the first month of record keeping, I cannot say whether this is a standard or usual amount of books for a month for me. I will say that a couple of these books were started in June and finished in July. Also, my boyfriend was taking night classes this month, so I did not see him during the week. This left a lot of time to fill with books.

1. Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead: This is the first book in what will be a series of books about a succubus living in Seattle just trying to live a normal life, until something starts killing angels and demons in the area. (343 pages)
   
2. Greywalker by Kat Richardson: Harper is a small time private investigator whose client tries to kill her. When she wakes in the hospital, she starts seeing weird things and learns that she has become a Greywalker (a person who can move between our world and the ghostworld). This story features witches, vampires, necromancers and ghosts! (341 pages)
   
3. Sweet & Deadly by Charlaine Harris: First off I love all of Charlaine's novels! This was her debut novel about a slightly strange woman in a small town who stumbles upon a body and discovers that people are just not what they seem... (179 pages)
4. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews: Set in a magical world were magic is winning over technology. Kat is a mercenary whose guardian is murdered and she is determined to find out who did it. Featuring lots of magic, vampires, necromancers, shapeshifters, and more! The book is left with the possibility of sequels to come...(260 pages)
   
5. The Scent of Shadows: The First Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson: The story of a girl who metamorphoses into a sort of superhero. The story of who and what she is. And whether she will chose to be of the Light or the Shadows. (455 pages)
6. The Taste of the Night: The Second Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson: The continued journey of Joanna and the fulfillment of a prophecy. Joanna must decide whether she can give up her individual vengeance for the greater good of society. (440 pages)
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: This was a reread for me. I just wanted to have the book fresh in my mind before seeing the movie. (870 pages).
8. Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), A House With Eleven Thousand Rooms, And a Red Dog by Ysabeau S. Wilce: As the title may suggest this is a fantasy book. Fourteen year old Flora Fyrdraaca, whose mother is the Warlord's Commanding General and Whose Father is mad, kindly helps her house's magical-and long banished - butler, unaware that he draws strength from the Fyrdraaca will. I enjoyed the beginning and the end, but the middle was sort of a bore for me. ( 431 pages)
   
9. Knitter's Stash edited by Barbara Albright: This is a pattern book that I've wanted to go through for awhile. It includes 33 patterns and various tips from yarn stores across the US. It also includes little bios of yarn stores along with their patterns. I'm glad I only borrowed this from the library, because there were not any patterns that I particularly wanted to make. (174 pages)
10. The Quickie by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge: This is the story of a NY detective who thinks her husband is having an affair and then decides to get even with him by having an affair of her own. She then witnesses her husband killing her lover. The story goes on to her covering the crime and her realization that she really does not know her husband at all. When I read books like this with two authors, I always wonder how much writing each author did. Is James Patterson's name on it just to sell more books, or did he actually write it to? I really really really prefer his books (the ones he is the sole author of) much more then any he co-authored. And yet I keep reading these dual author books...I should stop! (357 pages)
11. Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman: One of the most famous knitters ever and one of her most famous books. I don't know that there is all that much that I can say about this! I have not knit any of her patterns yet to see if I can actually follow them (I'm a bit worried that I am a stupid knitter, that I need everything spelled out for me!). (120 pages).
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling: If you haven't read it, I don't want to spoil it. Harry's world gets a little darker. This book makes me cry every time I read it, every single time. (652 pages)
    
13. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang: This a biography (and autobiography) of three generations of a Chinese family. It shows China during Mao's reign, and gives an idea of everyday life. It is filled with violence and tragedy, and still manages to be inspirational. (517 pages)
14. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: The story of Henry DeTamble a librarian with a "genetic condition" that makes him involuntarily travel through time. Henry meets and loves Clare. This book is beautifully written. It's described as being "dizzyingly romantic." To me, however, this book was so melancholy. I enjoyed it, but it saddened me. Maybe it's one of those questions is it better to have loved and lost or never to have loved at all? (537 pages)
15. Oxymoronica by Dr. Mardy Grothe: a collection of self-contradictory statements that on the surface appear illogical, but at a deeper level are true. This is a collection of paradoxical quotations from a variety of sources separated into chapters based upon subjects (love, politics, marriage, etc.). (227 pages)
16. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison: A fun fantasy book of a world with vampires, weres, and witches. Rachel is a bounty hunting witch who quits her job and suddenly has a contract on her head. Funny and entertaining!(416 pages)
17. The Beekeeper's Daughter by Janice Carter: a light romance novel about a beekeeper's daughter and her developing love for a transient ex-firefighter. (296 pages)
18. Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn: (259 pages)
19. Kitty goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn: (339 pages)
20. Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn: The Kitty books are an ongoing series of books about a werewolf radio DJ and her coming out to the world as a werewolf. The usual supernatural characters are all present including weres of all kinds, witches, and vampires. The books are a fun read and Kitty is a very likable character. (303 pages)
21. Minnies: Quick knits for Babies and Toddlers by Jil Eaton: a book filled with knits for babies, everything supposedly a quick knit, hence the title. There were a few patterns that I thought were ok, but most of the patterns did not appeal to me. The pictures are nice and clear. I do not think I've ever knit an Eaton pattern, so I cannot speak as to the clarity of the patterns. (109 pages).
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: (759 pages).
23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: Yes, I read it twice. Nope not going to include an spoilers. I liked the book. Some of the things in it were shocking. Some of the things in it, I wished had been different. Altogether I am satisfied with the ending. But I do wish it hadn't ended. (759 pages).
24. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer: when 17 year old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human. This is a young adult romantic vampire book. Throughly enjoyable, it was sweet and irresistible! (498 pages).
25. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer: a continuation of Bella's story. Her beautiful vampire boyfriend Edward decides that he must leave Bella (for her own good). Bella suffers a nervous breakdown. When she starts to recover from her heartache she becomes best friends with a werewolf, and trouble ensues. (563 pages)