26, 27, 28, 29) Four Completely Different Books -- just read this.

Haven't been updating lately, but have done a little reading.  Not nearly enough for the challenge I've set for myself, but considering I read about 7 books over the March Break this year I'm hoping I can catch up over these two summer months off from work (well, off from teaching -- I have a nannying job, but I'll still have plenty of time for reading in between my nannying hours).  Anyway, here are some of the books I read but didn't blog about!

26) Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
This is the fourth book in Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA series.  I love this series, A LOT, and really enjoyed reading this installment.  Percy and his friends find themselves on a new quest -- into the Labyrinth, to stop Luke from raising Kronos and taking over Camp Halfblood, and eventually Olympus.  It's got lots of adventure and fun, and it really sets things up for the conclusion of the series (or, what I'm fairly certain is the conclusion -- book five, The Last Olympian, which Scooter and I haven't bought to read yet).  If you haven't given these books a try, but you like books such as Harry Potter, I'd definitely read them.

27) Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse #9) by Charlaine Harris
I am so cheap and refuse to buy these books hardcover, so I only just now finally read the ninth Sookie Stackhouse novel; number ten is already on bookshelves but it's still hardcover itself so I'll be waiting until next spring for that one too.  Book 9 was another great Sookie story, and I'm in love with these characters.  I also watch the television series, "True Blood" (which is probably what helps me be able to wait to read the new books in soft-cover, it sort of bridges the gap by having a TV Sookie in my life).

28) Angels by Marian Keyes
I am a huge fan of Keyes' Walsh family.  I've read these books completely out of order, but have read three of the four books that each feature a different Walsh sister (I read Rachel's Holiday first, then read Is Anybody Out There? which is Anna's story, and then read Angels, which about Maggie Walsh and comes before either of the other two I read -- the only one I haven't read yet is Watermelon, which is Claire's story and is actually the FIRST of the Walsh sister's books).  The good thing is?  It doesn't really matter TOO much if you read them out of order, as I've found.  I'm eagerly waiting for Helen, the youngest of the Walsh sisters, to have a book featured about her soon too (since I'm sure it's inevitable).  My favourite of these books is Anna's story (Is Anybody Out There?), but any of them so far have been great.

29) Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA by Ellen Meister
I picked this up off of the 80%-off shelf at Chapters (a frequent place for my book-buying, since $4.99 is a sweet price for a novel).  It was actually not bad, a good beside-the-pool read.  The characters are all going through some relationship issues, and there are some affairs/potential affairs/weird moments, but it wasn't a bad story and it had nice pacing.  The characters were likeable enough -- if a little sex-obsessed at times.

Alrighty, 29 down and ... oh.. hmm.. you know, only 71 books left to read this year.  HA. HA HA HA. /crying on the inside.

18) The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

I'm still enjoying the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  I've just finished Book #3, The Titan's Curse.  This one was a really great adventure, I liked it better than Book #2 (Sea of Monsters).  I know I'm slightly older than the target audience for this series, but I really enjoy the storyline and I highly recommend it.  I just liken it to adults enjoying the Harry Potter series when it first came out -- it really is a good story for all ages.  Scooter just finished reading Book #4, so I'll soon read that one as well.

18 down, 82 to go!

9) The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Having enjoyed the young adult novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, I've decided to continue to read the series.  My 11-year-old brother is reading the books first, then he passes them to me.  It's quite an enjoyable series -- I think anyone who likes Harry Potter or similar would enjoy these stories.  They're also full of Greek Mythology references, which I enjoy because I love Greek Mythology.

The film version of The Lightning Thief was also pretty good.  I took Scooter to see it last week.  It was different than the book -- an example being that Percy and Annabeth were clearly high school aged teenagers in the movie, but in the book they`re only in the sixth grade -- but it had enough details to keep the story on track enough that it didn`t feel overly changed.  Sure, there were missing characters and a few different locations of some of the events, but mostly it was pretty good.  I`d continue to see the films if they continue to make them.

This second story in the series, The Sea of Monsters, finds Percy and Annabeth on another perilous adventure -- this time to the Sea of Monsters to face a Cyclops and attempt to rescue Grover and obtain the Golden Fleece.  It`s a good little adventure.  I liked the first book just a bit more than this one, but this one has a great twist ending that should make book three pretty interesting.

It`s a good series, definitely check it out if you were a Harry Potter fan or sometimes like reading some of the novels that are written for the younger crowd, but are still entertaining for adults.  If you have a kids in your family, ages 10 or so and up, I definitely recommend these books.

9 down, 91 to go!

4) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I finished this last week but didn't have the opportunity to post before today.

BOOK FOUR!  FOUR! I read FOUR in January!  That's about... half of what I need to read each month, so I will need to play catch up later on.  Instead of worrying about that though, let me tell you about this really awesome book.

So, I read Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief which is by Rick Riordan.  I bought this book for my 11-year-old brother for Christmas, knowing that he likes the Harry Potter series (which we've been reading together over the past few years -- yes, years, our schedules don't always line up for reading together, haha) and other adventure stories too.  I also knew that a film version was coming out soon, so I figured we could see the movie together if he liked the book.

Needless to say, he LOVED the book.  So much so that he read it in a week's time at school (that's pretty fast for him), and he asked me to take him to Chapters to buy Book 2 in the series (with his own money, he's growing up so fast!).  This is a kid who likes reading but isn't necessarily the type to ask to go to the book store, so the book definitely left a great impression on him.

He made sure to pass the book to me next, and I also really enjoyed it.  I've always liked Greek Mythology, so the subject matter appealed to me from the outset, and it was a good little adventure.  The characters are likeable, and I also look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This is a Young Adult series, probably meant for 8-12 year-olds, but like Harry Potter or the Twilight series, it is definitely fun for adults too.  I think both young boys and girls will enjoy this book, but especially if you have a son and you're looking for a new series for him to enjoy, I recommend this one.  I'm looking forward to taking Scooter to the theatre for the film adaptation, and will review the movie too once I see it.

The Lightning Thief is available online on Amazon.ca.

4 down, 96 to go!