The Beginning of the End

Long time, no see, right? However, I refuse to regret the lost time, for in the space of these couple of weeks, I have finished my summer reading (Wuthering Heights was slightly less insufferable the second time); went on a beautiful, wonderful, blissful, all together way-too-short vacation to Central Oregon (SunRiver Resort=heaven); and started my senior year in high school.

While I do mourn the loss of my beautiful and fantastic AP English class of yesteryear, I do think that this new one is going to be crazy fun, as well, even if it is my first period of the day. It'll just have to wake me up then. :) And while it is rather large, as opposed to my intimately acquainted Junior English class, that is because it is the ONLY class currently offering AP Senior English, so we're all stuffed in. How lovely is that? It's only a matter of time before we start seeing ideas bouncing around the classroom and smacking people in the brain. And my new English teacher is pretty cool, too. After the sudden departure of our now-retired AP Senior English teacher in June, I am happy to see that we have found someone just as qualified as she was to fill her place. :)

Anyways, want to hear what I've been reading? Mainly just rereading, because it's nice to be able to come back to those few that you love so dearly. For me, it was Tamora Pierce's Trickster's Duo: Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen. Out of her magnificent fantasy canon, this is my second favorite series, the first being the adventures of the Beka Cooper trilogy (the last book of which comes out on October 25th, ten days after my bday). I also read the newest Alex Flinn fantasy, Cloaked, which I found entertaining, and, after many recommendations from my best friend's Mom, I read Janet Evanovich's One for the Money, which I didn't find interesting at all (In truth, I found it kind of gross. But I felt obligated, so I finished it).

So, that's what I've been up to in my extended absence. Don't worry, I'm back now, and more ready than ever to start blogging, big-time. I find beginnings are one of the best places to set a challenge, so here's a challenge to myself, for which you may hold me accountable: By the end of this school year, I shall have read at least 50 books. Hopefully, this will force me to update more frequently, so I'm setting the bar at one blogpost a week as well. So, with the start of the school year, I start my 50. Let's go!

#1. Alex Flinn's Cloaked. Utilizing her talents for transforming traditional fairy tales into teen fantasy, Flinn brings some of the Brothers Grimm's not-so-famous stories into the light of a modern romance.

#2. Janet Evanovich's One for the Money. Out-of-work Stephanie Plum attempts to make some fast cash by catching court-date evaders for her cousin's bail-bond business, but this proves difficult due to a possibly-innocent old flame, and a dangerous stalker.