Crossing off my Reading Challenge! Part One (and a half)

As everyone might remember, in April I posted my Reading Challenge for ya'll to see. I've since made progress (as one should hope, seeing as we're halfway through the year now - scary!) and here it is - Update One-and-a-Half (having already shown my undying love for cat warriors in my 'first' update).

Alright! What have I read so far?

A book published this year - First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (Published January 20th, 2015)

As we already know from a previous post before I thought to make my challenge public, First Frost is by my very favourite adult fiction author, Sarah Addison Allen.
The Waverly family is plodding along nicely, until suddenly everyone loses spirit. The first frost is coming, and everyone is uneasy. Claire doesn't know if her magic is working - or if she even had any to start with, and Bay, her niece, is trying to make her way through high school after her powers make a huge mess of her reputation with the one person who matters.

I cannot possibly explain how much I love her books, but just take my word for it. Apparently, they're similar in style to Diana Wynne Jones (says a well-read friend) which I haven't read (yet) so if you're a fan of hers, these books might be for you. When I finally could get my mitts on this latest one from SAA, I read it in one go - not hard, as this ones quite a bit shorter than her others - and loved it, as I expected.

A book with a number in the title - Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why is about a teenage girl who, before committing suicide, records 13 'reasons' of why she came to the conclusion to do so, and then sends them to the people 'responsible' for her death. The main character, Clay, receives them one morning in the mail, and slowly listens to why the girl he thought he was possibly in love with killed herself.

It's a morbid read that does well in showing how suicide and depression is still taboo and 'ignored' - despite how common it is and sheds some light on why that can't happen anymore. In that way, I respect it. I just didn't think it was for me - not because of content/themes, but because the main guy, Clay, got on my nerves a little.

A book with non-human characters - Black Wings by Christina Henry

Maddy is an Agent - someone who leads the dead to the after-life. She's also broke and in need of a flat-mate to help pay her rent. Enter Gabriel, a hunky guy who just happens to know about her past and her mother's death, and who inadvertently brings a whole bunch of demons knocking on Maddy's door. She has to fight or die, and with Gabe's help, she finds she is much more than just an Agent.

A paranormal/fantasy romance. Angels, demons, 'Agents', titan-like beings that like to mess stuff up. A fun read that was easy to get through, but not for if you're wanting some serious thinking to go on - so it's like most of the books I read, haha.

That New Book Smell

Ahh, that moment when the book you've finally been waiting for comes in. It's brand spanking new and shiny and perfectly covered. The pages aren't marked and it still smells​ of new book. And then sometimes, you get the book you'd long forgotten you'd even wanted. It's a favorite authors book and you've been waiting in line for it for months.The hold you put on, oh, what, late last year? It's finally come in! You pick it up and you think about it for a second - a memory niggles the back of your brain, and then BAM! It's exactly what you needed. Past you knows you so well. You hold it in your hands and you know that the instant you get home, you'll be unreachable to all others until you've at least finished the first 100 pages. That's the perfect moment and definitely one of my favorite things as a book-lover. 

You take that baby home, devour it in one, two sittings, and then afterwards you feel a mixture of excitement, contentment and sadness at the face that it's over so quickly. But it's okay! You're rejuvenated, you're ready for the next one. Hop on our webpage and put more holds on the latest additions, and hopefully beat the rush and get first in line.

If you're like me and you love to take out new books, check out our New Titles tab on the Auckland Libraries website. It has all the books the library has just bought this month (as well as a couple of previous months if you want to look back), plus the links to every one of them on the catalogue. (If you're not sure if we're going to get a book you're looking forward too, you can always suggest it for purchase, too).

Some of my favourite 'new' books that have just come in were these treasures -

Displacement - Lucy Knisley
A travelogue from one of my favourite authors and comic artists, Lucy takes us with her on a cruise... for the elderly. She volunteers to go with her grandparents when her family gets worried, and ends up being run around mad while trying to come to grips with mortality and the hard work of watching the ones you love get older.

First Frost - Sarah Addison Allen
My absolute favourite author. This is the second book in the Waverly Sister series (the first being Garden Spells), but is entirely fantastic as a stand-alone novel as well. The Waverly women are known for their powerful but obscure family magic. Claire starts to doubt her cooking magic which she has always been so sure of, while Sydney (hair magic) tries to understand her teenage daughter, Bay, the way most mothers do. Lovesick Bay knows where things belong - but doesn't know what to do when the person she belongs with doesn't think the same. A lovely, endearing story all aglow with magical realism.

In Real Life - Cory Doctorow, Jen Wang
A simple but thoughtful fiction graphic novel that looks at the way poverty and gaming come together in the form of gold farming - the act of collecting valuable items in-game to sell in real life to wealthier players. Anda, new player to the MMO taking the world by storm, starts out by taking out these gold farmers - until one of them stops to talk to her and an unlikely friendship begins.

And some I've just put on hold now, from browsing through the New Titles list (again)!

Cut, fold & hold : unique cardboard projects for the home - Petra Schroder & Dirk von Manteuffel
I love love love looking at craft books. I don't often make the things in them, but they inspire me nonetheless - especially ones to do with papercraft. 

"This book is filled with detailed photographic instructions on how to create amazing items from cardboard. Everything needed to complete the projects is outlines in the first chapter, and a vast majority are typical household items many people already have lying around."

Sound of a Woman - Kiesza

Yep, even the recent CDs that the library has bought are available to see on the New Titles page. I am a huge fan of what little I've heard of Kiesza and am totally stoked to hear what's on her album past the singles released on the radio. Check out her music and the rest of what we've recently got!

It's always interesting to just scroll through our catalogue and see what has popped up. And now that March has officially started, it's time for me to get requesting... Just joking, I already did on the very first of the month.