This is a problem I've been going through lately, and I'm hoping some of you might be able to help me out. Recently it feels like every book I read is mediocre, and I just went through a string of DNFs that didn't exactly help. It's as if all the amazing books in the world suddenly disappeared and I'm just having bad luck now...
So, what do you do when you experience reading fatigue? Do you have any recommendations for me of awesome books that should burst me out of this?
Waiting on Wednesday (67)
This week, I'm waiting on...
Then You Were Gone by Lauren Strasnick. Here's what Goodreads has to say: Two years ago, Adrienne’s best friend walked out of her life. One
week ago, she left Adrienne a desperate, muffled voicemail. Adrienne
never called back.
Now Dakota is missing. She left behind a string of broken hearts, a flurry of rumors, and a suicide note.
Adrienne can’t stop obsessing over what might have happened if she’d answered Dakota’s call. And she’s increasingly convinced that Dakota must still be alive.
Maybe finding and saving Dakota is the only way Adrienne can save herself.
Or maybe it’s too late for them both.
Now Dakota is missing. She left behind a string of broken hearts, a flurry of rumors, and a suicide note.
Adrienne can’t stop obsessing over what might have happened if she’d answered Dakota’s call. And she’s increasingly convinced that Dakota must still be alive.
Maybe finding and saving Dakota is the only way Adrienne can save herself.
Or maybe it’s too late for them both.
Glitch: Review
Author: Heather Anastasiu
Release Date: August 2012
Published By: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 308
Goodreads Rating: 3.64 stars
Review: Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, but when Zoe starts to glitch, she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. As Zoe struggles to control her new telekinetic abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitcher, and together, this growing band must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.
GLITCH opened with an interesting enough premise, but there wasn't enough to it that really made it stand out among dystopian novels these days. The concept of a government-extremist-controlled utopia has been around for a while, and there weren't really any new spins on the idea to make it more original. What bothered me a little is that there are enough books like this that reading it makes it sort of blend in with the others.
I also found the love interest in general to be cliche. It's of the insta-love variety with a love triangle that made me groan a bit, and as with the premise, nothing new was really brought to the table. The book would have been better off without the romantic sub-plot because it didn't contribute much to the storyline and in fact I would argue it detracted from the overall experience of reading the novel, especially with Zoe's needless and disturbing toleration of Max's actions.
However, I don't mean to suggest that this book was all bad, because this definitely was not the case. Apart from my frustration regarding her romantic situation, I enjoyed Zoe's character: she was brave and smart, yet still had the same human flaws everyone did. Her emotional scenes were very well-written and allowed the reader to truly experience what she was going through, and I certainly was rooting for her the entire story.
All in all, GLITCH was a decent read that just didn't stand out as much as it could have. When it comes to the mass of dystopian novels being published, it does rather blend in, and the romance is lacking, but the characters were well-written. If you don't like dystopia in general, this may not be for you, but for hardcore dystopian fans, this may be another book for your collection.
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Covers: 172 Hours on the Moon
I've seen a couple of these floating around so I thought it'd be fun to examine each of the alternate covers of 172 Hours on the Moon.
This is the final American cover, and I really like this one. It's simple but striking, with the combination of the creepy eye and dusty moon landscape. The black background is perfect, along with the not-overdone text.
The UK cover has nice text and a neat tag, but I don't like much else about it. The girl just looks depressed, and the image along seems a lot more like something you'd see in a contemporary rather than horror/sci-fi-ish novel.
Here are two alternate covers that were ultimately not chosen. I like the landscape with earth on the left but the rest looks too-homemade. The one on the right is very cool, and I especially love the contrast between the "172" and the prints, but it comes across as more science-fiction and less horror.
Two more alternates! The left is simple and neat, and the more I look at it, the more I like it. The only downside is that it's just not as creepy as it could be. The one on the right is a neat concept, especially after you've finished the book, but it's not as elegantly creepy as the original final, if that makes sense.
All in all, my favorite is the first cover. What's yours?
This is the final American cover, and I really like this one. It's simple but striking, with the combination of the creepy eye and dusty moon landscape. The black background is perfect, along with the not-overdone text.
The UK cover has nice text and a neat tag, but I don't like much else about it. The girl just looks depressed, and the image along seems a lot more like something you'd see in a contemporary rather than horror/sci-fi-ish novel.
Here are two alternate covers that were ultimately not chosen. I like the landscape with earth on the left but the rest looks too-homemade. The one on the right is very cool, and I especially love the contrast between the "172" and the prints, but it comes across as more science-fiction and less horror.
Two more alternates! The left is simple and neat, and the more I look at it, the more I like it. The only downside is that it's just not as creepy as it could be. The one on the right is a neat concept, especially after you've finished the book, but it's not as elegantly creepy as the original final, if that makes sense.
All in all, my favorite is the first cover. What's yours?
