Remember Those Summer Readings Lists From High School?

Yeah, this isn't one of those lists.

As requested by a relentless McGone and an inquisitive Likalia, I've done my best to list the books I read over the last month. To be perfectly honest, as I was making this list my memory came up short of about 5 books. I'm not sure if it's because they were too long ago, or if they were just not that memorable. (I promise I'll tell you about the other five if I ever remember. Unfortunately I've already hit the used book store and traded them in for the next batch.) So, instead, I stuck in some books that I know I've read recently. I debated pretending I'd read very lofty and meaningful books, but, heck, it's summer, I'm allowed to read fluff.

So, here, not particularly in the order I read them, are the books I read from July 1st to August 6th, 2007. The books for which you owe money to charity!

Drumroll please:

Night Watch - by Sergei Lukyanenko.
This was absolutely my best find. I bought it because I like reading books that get turned into movies and I'd wanted to see this movie when it was released. I love love LOVED this book and recommend it. It's science-fictiony, which may be my favourite genre. Awesome book. Awesome. Read it.

So B. It - by Sarah Weeks.
This was recommended to me by a teenager I know. It was fine. It's about a young girl trying to find out more about her mentally disabled mother.

Artemis Fowl The Opal Deception - by Eoin Colfer.
I first read Artemis Fowl a few years ago when it showed up on the young adult Bestseller lists. Since then, I've kept up with the series. This one might have been my second favourite. I certainly enjoyed it more than the last couple. Pretty good fun, but you need to have read the others first, I think.

I am A Taxi - by Deborah Ellis.
Another youth book. Recommended by a friend. I found it rather depressing. Deborah Ellis is known for writing about the impact of war on children in other countries, or the plight of kids growing up in places where the lifestyle is very different from ours. This book is the story of a boy growing up in jail where his parents have been detained. :(

Day Watch - by Sergei Lukyanenko.
I loved Night Watch so much that I went right back out and bought this one. I didn't enjoy this one as much. You should go read Night Watch already.

Ender's Game - by Orson Scott Card.
I was trying to save money (I tend to spend a lot on books, who would have guessed?) and looked through my books at home for an old favourite to re-read. Ender's Game won out. Another simply fantastic book. Also sci-fi. Luckily for me it'd been a while since I read it and I got to re-enjoy it. Read this if you like space type future sort of books at all.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof -all by Emily Giffin.
These were picked up along with a couple more on a book run through Costco. I find Costco tends to have decent chick-lit summer reads. Plus, they're cheaper. Something Borrowed and Something Blue go together and were decent romantic comedy types and I quite liked them. Baby Proof was hard for me to read as it centered around a couple who married not wanting kids and what happened to them when one changed their mind. Right as I started reading it, Smith and I had a big fight about if I wanted kids or not. Life imitates art imitates life. Or something. *sigh* Baby Proof was probably my least favourite of the bunch, but they were still fine.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - by J.K. Rowling.
I re-read this to get ready for Book #7 coming out. I cried. Again.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - by J.K. Rowling.
Yay! No spoilers here, but I did cry.

Swapping Lives - by Jane Green.
Also a Costco buy. I wanted to throw it across the room most of the time. Not a terrible book, it just rubbed me the wrong way. Wouldn't get going. Might have been a waste of my time. But what do I know. Maybe you'll like it.

Before I Wake - by Robert J. Wiersema.
Recommended to me by a woman at Costco as I was staring at its cover. I very much wanted to not read this one once I started. It bugged me even more than Swapping Lives. I read them one after the other and was terrifically grumpy at the time. That may have contributed to my desire to throw this one across the room too. Surprisingly, this was set in Victoria. Which also annoyed me as I felt the need to mentally check every detail for accuracy. My friend is currently reading this and likes it, so maybe it was just me. *shrug*

The First Time - by Joy Fielding.
Please don't read this book. Please. I couldn't stop crying during the end of this book, it was SO DAMN DEPRESSING, even though I knew what was going to happen. I didn't enjoy the writing. I've been born with this strange thing that doesn't let me stop reading a book once I've started. I wish I had never picked this one up. Recommended by my sister in law. Did not like. Seriously.

Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shopaholic takes Manhattan, Shopaholic Ties The Knot, Shopaholic and Sister, and The Undomestic Goddess - all by Sophie Kinsella.
The Shopaholic books were recommended by C (she who introduced Smith and I). I didn't really get into the first one, but once you learn to love the main character, you get hooked. The shopaholic books are great fun, and while I'm not a big shopper, I could totally get behind the idea of a super rich boyfriend. Heh.
The Undomestic Goddess is not in the same series but is by the same author and I loved it! So much fun. And, very much like me as I can barely boil water. I'd totally recommend Sophie Kinsella. She writes good, fun chick lit.
This group of books, by the way, is in the place of whatever other five books I read and can no longer remember. I think I read these back in June so these'll do, right?

One for the Money - by Janet Evanovich.
This is the last book I read. Again, recommended by C. It was a fun romp about a chick who becomes a bounty hunter. An amusing read.

So, there you go. A rather romantic-chick-lit-happy-ending heavy list, I know. It's why I didn't particularly want to share. Maybe soon I'll sit in front of my bookshelves and pick out my long term faves to tell you about. For now, if you're looking for some books to read out of this list? Go with Night Watch, Ender's Game and the Harry Potter series if you like sci-fi or fantasy. Go for something by Sophie Kinsella if you're into light fluffy girl type fun.

Now, go donate already!

Updated to add: There was a David Eddings book in there somewhere. I just found it in the bottom of my closet.