It's been a month, but I decided to come back and post here after all, for a couple of reasons.
One: I got a blog award! It's so pretty, isn't it? ^_^ I put it on the very top of my sidebar. I don't think I've ever gotten an award like this! I've been kindly mentioned on a couple other sites in the past (which you can see very close to the bottom of the sidebar), but haven't gotten an honor like this before.
If you read the nice comment she left me, you'll see that in addition to giving me this award, she offered to interview me as an avid reader. Can you believe it? I couldn't when I first read it. ^,^
So yeah, I agreed to the interview and have, since then, submitted my answers to her questions. Dierdra told me that she'll post my interview on her blog on July 21st. I unfortunately won't be around at that date, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for it yourself.
Who knows? Perhaps as I result of my interview, I'll get a few more readers on my blog.
Two: I've read a few books that I actually really want to review! I decided I didn't want to let down any potential new followers, so I'm going to try making a come-back in reviewing. Lucky for you guys, I've had my hands on some pretty good reads. ^_~ You're welcome.
Books 3 through 6 of the Maximum Ride series = total awesomeness! This James Patterson series is truly fantastic! I couldn't rave enough about his writing. I finished reading "Fang" just today, which is why I thought it was high time I get back to book blogging ASAP, before I forgot how I felt about this series.
I am so in love with the characters! Max, Fang, Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel are all incredible kids with full-fledged personalities that shine through-out the pages of the books. Max, the titular character, in particular, is one of my favorite bird-kids. She masterfully led me through the story, narrating most of the Flock's adventures (sometimes Patterson goes out of her head and writes in 3rd POV for the plot's benefit), and I hung onto her every word.
There's a little bit of everything in these books. Action, suspense, mystery, drama, humor, even a bit of romance. You've got kick-butt fight scenes, a love triangle (well, that was only introduced in the last book, but still), unexpected revelations, a good message about global warming, and a constant driving desire to just keep turning pages!
I wasn't able to before, but just now I reserved the next book, "Angel", from my library. Hopefully it will get here quickly! I hear it's the second to last novel in the series, followed by "Nevermore", which is slated for February of next year.
I said in my last post that I'd wanted to read a couple of Dan Savage's other books, and I did. They were just as great as "Skipping Towards Gomorrah" had been. First I read "The Kid", which chronicled how Dan and his boyfriend Terry adopted their son. It was another fascinating look into the life of a gay person, as well as a peek into the world of adoptive parents-to-be. A wonderful true story that I sincerely recommend.Next, I read "It Gets Better." I absolutely loved it. Dozens and dozens of touching short stories, essays, and interviews by the LGBT community (as well as a couple celebrities and politicians), assuring the reader that life isn't as hopeless as it might seem to some. True, the aimed audience is for gay teens, but I think this should be required reading everywhere, for every age. It's a truly inspiring message that I've stood wholeheartedly behind since the day I first learned about it. It's a message that I hope never, ever dies. It does get better. By the time you finish this book, I'm sure you'll believe it, too.
So there you go. Bettina's Book Club is back in business. ^_^
Happy reading!
I'm sorry guys. I don't think I'll be able to do the book reviewing thing anymore. And I mean it this time. I still love reading, more than anything else, but when it comes to reviewing them... if I get lazy just once, I start getting backed up on a whole line of books! I just want to keep gobbling books! I can't keep going back into the one I just read. I'm hungry for more!