Series on My List

I don’t like it if I don’t have spare time to read. I hate that. I feel like something is missing—no hyperbolistic, it’s real. But, I can’t just read and read without doing anything else. So little by little I use my spare time to read—sometimes I read in office hour, too.

I’m collecting good novels, most of them are in series. now, I was thinking they’re to long in my list. So I’m gonna finish reading them as soon as I can.

Series I’m gonna finish in 2010:
1. Inkspell and Inkdeath (Inkworld)
2. The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood and The Diamond of Darkhold (Book of Ember)
3. Queste and Syren (Septimus Heap)
4. School’s Out Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, The Final Warning and Max (Maximum Ride)
5. The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemys’ Gate (Bartimaeus Trilogy)
6. The Titan’s Curse, the Battle of Labyrinth and The Last Olympian (Percy Jakckson and the Olympians)
7. The Lost Colony, Time Paradox and Atlantis Complex (Artemis Fowl)
8. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials)

A lot of books, huh?! Though I say so, I can’t close my eyes from other good series. So, meanwhile I’m finishing my old series, I’m gonna start new ones.
Series I’m gonna start:
1. Blue Blood Saga by Melisa de la Cruz
2. Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong
3. Faery Courts by Melissa Marr
4. Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson

And honorary mention to In Death Series by J.D. Robb. I will keep on reading that series—I’ve read 4 books so far.

2010 Resolutions

This is a must do when new year is around. My resolutions are simple.
Here they are:
1. Finish series I read and start new one
2. Continue my writings—2 books on schedule
3. Read more books –I hope I’m gonna hit 60
4. Be more creative and better in getting ideas and writing

Septimus Heap: Physik, a novel by Angie Sage

When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made magyk and flyte so memorable.

A little difficulties here. When Septimus trapped in Ancient Time, the language changed to Old Language. I felt dizzy reading those. Old Language is far difficult with it’s words, spellings. And I think the accent, too, if I listen to audio book of this Physik book. Aargh! My brain have to work twice harder than usual.

Half book is set in Ancient Time. It’s fun imagining this that our protagonists are know but yet not know. I mean they were in their own town with passages and places from their Time. They can walked everywhere they wanted because they knew the way. But the Ancient people and the language got them frustrated. Near the climax, the story is more fun. I like it.

As previous Septimus Heap books, I feel bored in the first few chapters, because I don’t know where the story will take me. But after the middle of the book, the Septimus’s adventure became interesting.

Other thing that made my forehead creased. The title “Physik”. Physik was not took part in most of the book. It was told almost at the end of the book. I think “Alchemie” suit well.

Indeed, giving title is a difficult thing. I appreciate Sage for giving unique words in this series. Physik instead of Physic, Darke instead of Dark, Magyk instead of Magic. I don’t know if these words are in old languages.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, a novel by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson's seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get...well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy's friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.

On few pages I realized, the story was moving fast. Or is it just my thought? And it was like reading narrative story. But, after several chapters, it is getting interesting.

Riordan mix Greek mythologies with a little science. The Sea of Monsters where Polyphemus, the Cyclopes lives and the origin is on Mediterranean, now is on Bermuda Triangle. Genious trick to show us the mystic about Bermuda and Polyphemus’ habit: anything comes around Bermuda is missing because Polyphemus eats them.

Sorry for you guys, who haven’t read this book yet. A liitle spoiler: the climax is not too tempting. I can’t feel the up and down. The adventure to the Sea of Monsters is plain and have just a few thrilling parts. But the best part is the ending. Riordan gave us a surprise!

Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception, a novel by Eoin Colfer

His memory wiped, Artemis remembers nothing from his previous adventures.
But now he needs his memories back. A certain evil pixie is out for revenge and Captain Holly Short is on the run, charged with murder. To save her, he'll have to prove her innocence and break a kleptomaniac tunnel dwarf out of jail. Even then, there's still the pixie and her henchfairies to deal with. Everyone is depending on Artemis Fowl.

And he's depending on a flatulent dwarf.

I felt a little difficult reading this. The language was went in circle so I had to read it couple of times. Plus, many sophisticated gadgets without images (of course no images because it is a novel, not a comic book, stupid me!) so made me think harder to imagine how they looked like.

Each chapter is longer than in other books. Though this book is 200 pages, I can finish it in just, say it, below 5 hours. But I don’t read it all in once. I have to do other things. Besides, I’ll hurt my eyes and neck. Believe me, you won’t stop because the story flowed fast. It’s so intense. Without realizing, I was on the middle of the book. And the next time I continued, I can finished it.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, a novel by James Patterson

Strap yourself in for the thrill ride you'll want to take again and again!

From Death Valley, California, to the bowels of the New York City subway system, you’re about to take off on a heart-stopping adventure that will blow you away...
Your faithful companions: Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel. Six kids who are pretty normal in most ways - except that they're 98% human, 2% bird. They grew up in the lab, living like rats in cages, but now they’re free. Aside, of course, from the fact that they're prime prey for Erasers - wicked wolf-like creatures with a taste for flying humans.

First, I thought the book is awesome. Kids with bird’s DNA (they have wings and can fly!) and they have to fight an institute to find their origins. But it’s not that awesome. Very good (Patterson’s writing always good) but not too superb. The adventures are thrilling. I could feel their blindness finding out the truth. Didn’t know where to go, what to do. But the existence of mutant wolfs are not scary enough. The fighting are too soft. On the climax, Ari died in a sudden (ups, SPOILER!).
One character I like the most: Fang. I always like character with his style and personalities (no matter he or she). Cool, talkless, dark skin and eyes, a little mysterious. It’s as if s/he has a bad side or on the gray area.

Straight Talking, a novel by Jane Green

Meet Tasha—single and still searching. A producer for Britain’s most popular morning show working under a nightmare boss, Tash is well-versed in the trials and tribulations of twenty-first century dating. She and her three best friends certainly haven’t lived the fairy tale they thought they would: there’s Andy, who’s hooked on passion, but too much of a tomboy to have moved much beyond the beer-drinking contest stage; Mel, stuck in a steady but loveless relationship; and Emma, endlessly waiting for her other half to propose. Their love lives are only complicated by the sort of men who seem to drift in and out: Andrew—suave, good-looking and head over heels in love . . . with himself; Simon, who is allergic to commitment but has a bad-boy nature that’s impossible to resist; and Adam—perfectly attractive, but too sweet to be sexy.

A little confusing. I don’t know which part is the present, which part is the flashback. Green used the first person point of view and the funny thing is, Tasha – the main female character – talks to readers.

Boring in the first half of the book, but the tension is higher when Tasha acted like a moron. Cheating when you have someone beside you. Fool Tasha. Besides, Adam is the best for her. Who else loves her with what she have?

On the last part, Green taught readers with many morals. I like it. That happens to all of us and we can learn to avoid it after we read this.

Tell It to Naomi, a novel by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Dave Rosen has a secret. “Naomi,” the wise, witty, always-on-target, female writer behind his high school’s hit advice column, is, well, him. A native New Yorker who likes secondhand CD shops, The Simpsons, and meatball heroes.

A kid like him doesn’t have all the answers. He doesn’t even have most of the answers. Dave only got himself dragged into this fiasco to help out his older sister, the real Naomi—and because he let himself be convinced that it might, in some lunatic way, enable him to meet his dream girl, the senior who gets his weak little sophomore heart racing: Celeste Fanucci. If he could get Celeste to write in and open up her soul to “Naomi,” he could use this secret knowledge to transform himself.

He could bridge the unbridgeable chasm between sophomore boys and senior girls. It’s a grand, grand scheme. And it’s about to go haywire.

This is teens story with adult language and thought. I mean, not the vulgar and negative one but in a good way. This book is about teenager with the way of thinking like an adult. The story is serious. I don’t think teenagers like this book. It’s because of – maybe – Dave is different than other boys. He talks and thinks like girls’.

On the other hand, the story is good. Typical teens problem with a little thinking reading. How to look good in front of someone they like, how to start talking to them. Problems like that in boys' heads.

Bras and Broomsticks, a novel by Sarah Mlynowski

What if all your wishes could come true? Blink your eyes, drink a fizzing pink potion, and poof! Life is perfect. That’s Rachel’s situation. Except she’s not the one who suddenly has magical powers. Her younger sister is. And as Rachel would tell you, spellbooks are wasted on the young!

Yes, yes, of course world peace and cures for horrible diseases are important. But so is dancing without looking like she’s being electrocuted, winning back her best friend, stopping her dad’s wedding, and finding a date for Spring Fling.

Rachel’s not bewitched. Yet. . . .

Teenlit books is so easy to read. The main characters usually non-popular girls, have no breast, have a crush on popular and cute boy, have problems with the parents. It is so cliché. But, it makes me laugh. Sometimes when I feel bored, I read one and it can make my mood up again.

This is the first book of Rachel Weinstein. It is written in her perspective. How she socialized with her friends, how she rejected her father’s new engagement, how she face her school and love life.

It is the same with other books, but Mlynowski wrote it with her style. I like it and I can’t wait to read the second one.

Bartimaeus Trilogy: The Amulet of Samarkand, a novel by Jonathan Stroud

Nathaniel is eleven years old and a magician’s apprentice, learning the traditional arts of magic. All is well until he has a life-changing encounter with Simon Lovelace, a magician of unrivaled ruthlessness and ambition. When Lovelace brutally humiliates Nathaniel in public, Nathaniel decides to speed up his education, teaching himself spells way beyond his years. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all and summons Bartimaeus, a five-thousand-year-old djinni, to assist him. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace’s greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.

This book is some kind of diary, of Bartimaeus and Nathaniel. On Bartimaeus chapters, he gave the footnote of what happened before to the same situations or anything that give extra explanations. And I thought of same thing in Nathaniel chapters. Apparently, not. Nathaniel chapters wrote his story before meeting Bartimaeus until working together with the djinn, in first person point of view. Often, when I was on the beginning of the book, I had to read it carefully to understand.

Bartimaeus is a cunning, funny and strong djinn. I like him. I think of one djinn for one magician for a life time. But I was wrong. Everyone can summon him, or other djinn. When one task is done, magician can free the djinn and the djinn can be summon by other magician. It’s weird.

The second weird thing. Apprentices of magicians won’t allow to remember his/her names. They have to forget all the past and they will be named with new one after twelve. In the mean time, their master call them with just “Boy” or “Girl”. Other magician can call them with their master’s last name.

Tarothalia, a novel by Tria Barmawi

Eventhough she has been fired for three times and hasn’t found a suit job yet, Thalia never think of using her sixth sense to get money. But Bella’s persuasion and her terrible financial condition make her thinking it more. She says OK to Bella who is going to make her an executive psychic.

Out of plans, not only successful, that job changes Thalia to a new celebrity because most of her clients are actresses. The problem is, Thalia never want to become a celebrity.

Now, Thalia stucks in the middle of a pile of problems. Too arogant clients, strict working schedules, complicated love life and her own heart rejection…

Choosing is never easy, even to someone who has sixth sense.

It feels like I read my own story. Some of Thalia’s life have similarities with mine. But not the sixth sense one (I don’t have it and I don’t wanna have it). Thalia and I had wrong major in college and it’s bad to place us in marketing division. We don’t like to beg to customer to buy our products.

This book is not too funny like the previous one, Lost in Teleporter. But it’s still good. I like how Barmawi wrote Thalia’s changing from nobody to somebody. It’s very natural. Most people ever face that. I hope that happen to me, too.

Too bad Thalia broke up with Cassio. I think Cassio is her Mr. Right, but the writer wrote it other way. The playboy met the playgirl and Thalia was the third person. Ugh, that’s bad. And the twist (sorry), finally, Thalia is married with a guy that show up in the last chapter of the book. Poor husband.

Because She Can, a novel by Bridie Clark

Life is really looking up for Claire Truman. In a New York minute, she lands a plum job at a top publishing house, catapulting her out of editorial assistant status and tripling her salary. In the same stroke of good luck, Claire goes from loser magnet to girlfriend of her decade-long crush: the fabulously successful and gorgeous Randall Cox (who's a nice guy, to boot). The perfect guy, the perfect job...it seems like Claire's dreams are all falling neatly into place.

Enter reality. It doesn't take long before Claire realizes she's working for the publishing world's worst tyrant: the outrageously abusive Vivian Grant, a woman who churns out New York Times bestsellers with the same frequency as she sends traumatized assistants flying out of her office in tears. Soon Claire is in staff meetings that feel more like war zones, at a book party thrown at a strip club, and watching Vivian run her employees into the ground and into therapy.

As Claire's job steals more and more of her time and soul, her relationship with Randall begins to feel the strain. It doesn't help that Claire's been spending overtime with Luke Mayville, a handsome, brilliant novelist whose career she's helping to launch.

With her love life at a crossroads and her work life driving her crazy, Claire can't help wondering if her future will have a happy ending. Her career may be on the fast track, but does she like where it's taking her... and who she might turn into?

I can't imagine I have boss like Vivian Grant. Genius, she is, but her tongue is poisonous. She'll make you crazy even if you do the right things. Claire is so lucky she hasn't crazy, yet. She doesn't catch a flu with working rhythm like that. If that happens to me, I must be in the hospital and ask days off for a couple of months.

It's interesting Clark wrote from the climax then back to introduction. Flashback in other way than we usually use. Clark make us hate Vivian successfully. And will stuck in our head longer than we can imagine. All of the negative personalities are given to her, include the positive ones. Completely in one figure. Maybe Vivian Grant is worse than Miranda Priesly from Devil Wears Prada (I don't read that yet).

Luke is a good name for good person. That name is used in Shopaholic series as main male character and he is very angelic (according to me. I want one if there is a Luke in real life). But Luke's portion is too small here. I want to read him growing in Claire's mind. That's too bad.

Reading this book, I know how complicated publishing houses are.