This Past Week...

I've done nothing but read pretty much all week long, so here are the books I've read and quick thoughts on them:

Last Saturday:
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
The Barnes and Noble lady said I should get this, and, on a guilt trip, I did. I read the whole thing on the plane to Utah. I really liked it. The whole idea of checking random things or magic things out seems like a good one and more logical than most things you read.

Monday:
Hero.com: Rise of the Heroes by Andy Briggs
I checked this out because I had seen it and Villain.net: Council of Evil on a display together at the library several months back and checked out the latter first, only to go back to find this one gone. The book was okay, but the names of the main characters were so generic that I couldn't remember who was who.

Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock
I saw this at the library at East but never got around to reading it until now. It was very good, well executed, and I liked the little tidbits from other fairy tales that showed up without full acknowledgement of their existence.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
The author was a guest on Writing Excuses and I thought I'd give her work a try. She reminded me a lot of Patricia C. Wrede and although I got a few nice surprises, it isn't the best thing I've ever read. I haven't given up on the author, though, and will see how the rest of the series turns out one of these days.

Tuesday:
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
I had to finish the series. It was more centralized in location, but it did move around a little bit, which was nice. I was satisfied with all the character climaxes, especially for one in particular (but I won't say who here!)

Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld
I've read this author's work for Battle and I read the first book in the Midnighters series while at college. I liked what he did with this book quite a bit. He gave the characters more individual problems to deal with that didn't get as many in Book 1.

Wednesday:
Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld
I had to finish the Midnighters series, so I picked up this one immediately. The author gave this one more far-reaching consequences than the first two books did and resolved things well enough for my tastes.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Another guest on Writing Excuses, the way she described her book made me want to read it far more than seeing it on the shelf did. I really like how she made her worldbuilding much more scientific than most fantasy novels. The gradual change to a more fantasy and less science-based setting was a tad annoying, but understandable.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Previous roommates recommended the series to anyone and everyone, so I tried it. The first two books were good, but not addicting. This one was both. Although there was a lot more death in this book than the previous two by a longshot, it dealt with the psychology of what it does to a person in an amazing way. Much of the prose was simply beautiful. Of course, I also couldn't wait for discovering which love interest wins (I was always okay with either, but was very satisfied by the end).

Thursday and Friday:
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Each book in this trilogy has been difficult for me to read. For some unexplainable reason, whenever I start one I feel like falling asleep. The books aren't really that boring, but it's the way it's been. I liked how the character arcs turned out and recognize that the author truly does has a gift. I sometimes forgot that everything in it was made up.

So, that's it. I did more Internet browsing today rather than book reading (and helping people move in), but am satisfied with what I have done. I do believe I have officially caught up on my summer reading.