Summer Reading

One of the beauties of summer vacation (to me, anyway) is that I can read. Read read read. During the school year I stick to doing crossword puzzles before bed, out of fear I'll stay up until 3 in the morning reading.

This is not exactly a problem during the summer. The only problem was that when I assembled my summer reading list, there were 99 books on the list. Yes. Ninety-nine. Oops.

So far, since school let out in June, I have read...

White Night by Jim Butcher (no. 9 in the Dresden Files series)
Priceless: how I went undercover and rescued the world's stolen treasures by Robert K. Wittman. Wittman used to the sole undercover FBI operative rescuing stolen art around the world. This is a fantastic true story, and one I highly recommend.
Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost! by Cornelia Funke. The first in Funke's Ghosthunters series. It's very cute, very silly, and the illustrations are hysterical.
Small Favor by Jim Butcher (no. 10 in the Dresden Files)
Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz (a companion novel to her Blue Bloods series)
Changes by Jim Butcher (no. 12 in the Dresden Files). OMG. My jaw dropped with this one. Just when I thought Butcher could not come up with any more twists, turns, and general mayhem ... he proved me wrong. Again. Wow. I'm still in shock. I can't wait until Ghost Story is released in March.

Derby Girl by Shauna Cross. SO AWESOME. Now I want to go to an actual roller derby. And see Whip It. Also - Derby Girl has been renamed Whip It. So you can search for this book under both titles.

Uncle Andy's Cats by James Warhola. Did you know that almost all of Andy Warhol's cats were named Sam? I didn't. This is yet another adorable cute picture book about James Warhola's famous uncle.
Remembering Crystal by Sebastian Loth. I'm surprised I wasn't bawling. This is a very gentle book explaining death. I would say it is appropriate for the toddler-set.
Broker, trader, lawyer, spy: the secret world of corporate espionage by Eamon Javers. Several years ago I read Confessions of an economic hitman, and since then, I've been interested in corporate espionage. Javers traces the history of corporate espionage from the Pinkwater agency to today, tracing ethics, legalities, and types of spy gadgetry.
It's raining cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder. My one problem with this is that I feel the ending was rather abrupt. Then again, I'm not the target age of reader (think 10 to 14 year old girls).
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. This is the steampunk version of Alice in Wonderland --- or, the real story of Alyss Heart.
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath. I finished this book in one day ... and squee! Loved, loved, loved this! Primrose has hair the colour of carrots in an apricot glaze. Every chapter ends with a recipe, and yay and happiness and squee and joy. This is the written example of what my students refer to as, "Miss F. is spazzing out." I call it the written version of the happy dance, usually performed when a book is super exciting and excellent.