Sunday, August 4, 2013

More Reviews: I'm With Stupid & The Bronte Sisters



I am reading several books right now, and yet I keep getting distracted by the titles of other books. That's what happened with these two. I had requested Geoff Herbach's I'm With Stupid, and of course it came in when I was in the middle of three other books. But, I was dying for more of Felton's story. So I picked it up and read it within a few days.

Felton Reinstein is one of those character's you can't forget. His story started with Stupid Fast, continued with Nothing Special, and in the final book of the series, I'm With Stupid, he is as funny, troubled, confused, and real as ever. Felton is in his senior year of high school and he's got some big stuff to contend with: being aggressively recruited by colleges, a strangely uninvolved mother, his father's suicide coming back to haunt him. He's also got all of the normal high school stuff, girlfriend troubles, figuring out who he really is, who his friends are, how to have fun, blow off steam and just get through another day.

There's something about the staccato, stream of consciousness writing that really puts you in Felton's head. He's a character you have to root for, when he's screwing up, when he's flipping out, and when he's getting it right. All three books are well worth reading, but you wouldn't have to read them all to enjoy I'm With Stupid.



I don't know why I go to the library when I have an abundance of reading material. But, last week I was overwhelmed with the desire to read some of Audrey Vernick's picture books. They were all checked out - good for her, not so good for me - but that's when Catherine Reef's biography of the Bronte sisters caught my eye. The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne is a gorgeous book full of heavy, glossy pages and plenty of photographs. I'm not a big reader of biographies but this one held my interest from start to finish. It's technically a YA book, but it was shelved downstairs in the children's room, and I found it completely captivating. What I enjoyed most about it was being able to see where each of the sisters drew from their real lives in creating their stories.


Now I hope I can ward off further distraction long enough to finish Khaled Hosseini's And The Mountains Echoed before the library has to hunt me down to get it back.

I never realized I was so fickle. Do you ever stop reading one book to start another? 


25 comments:

  1. I had no idea "overwhelmed with the desire to read some of Audrey Vernick's picture books" was a thing that happened anywhere ever. Thank so much for thinking of me. I'm sure the books will be back next time you go to the library (when you already have an abundance of reading material).

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  2. Wow, I really have to find that biography--I love biographies, and that sounds particularly amazing.
    Don't worry...I think a lot of us are fickle readers...Luckily I finished two books last night, so now I'm reading two at once instead of four! :)

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  3. Yes, definitely! I have a stack of 6 books from the library and I've started them all. :)

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  4. Yes! Right now I am ready 3 different books, depending on my mood :).

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  5. My son and I heard Geoff speak (he's a local-to-us author) when Stupid Fast came out. My son enjoys this series!

    Recently I've begun not finishing books I start if they're not grabbing me. There are so many other great books to spend my time in!

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  6. I haven't heard of any of those, so thanks for the recommendations! And yes, I stop books to read others. It all depends on the mood and when certain books become available.

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  7. Wouldn’t you love, for just a day, to be a fly on the wall at the Bronte Home? Of course this is only possible in fiction, as it requires time travel AND transmutation...
    You are not fickle, Ruth, to jump from one book to another. I jump and never come back, so this makes you downright persistent.

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  8. Oh I'm fickle too... I drop books and start new ones ALL the time!!!!

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  9. I read through the books by the Bronte sisters on long summer. Some were not my thing. Some were so to the point. Not sure I want to read the BIO though. I may have to ponder that.

    ctny

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  10. I enjoyed I'm With Stupid.

    I'd love to read The Bronte Sisters.

    I'm always starting on new books. I wish I could stop and focus on a few at a time.

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  11. I haven't read any of the books in the I'm With Stupid series, but they sound like they must be great if you keep reading them.

    The book about the Bronte sisters sounds fascinating.

    I usually read one book at a time- unless I stumble upon something that I must read right away.

    Happy Reading!
    Jess

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  12. I'm such a sucker for silhouette covers, so gorgeous!

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  13. Thanks for the book recommendations, Ruth - they're new to me. I do switch books that I'm reading, but rarely. Usually it's been due to me losing interest in a book, so sometimes, I never finish the original book. Hope your summer's been swell!

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  14. When a book I've been dying to read lands in my hands, I always stop reading to start it I can't help it! I'm impatient that way. BUT if the book I'm reading is too captivating I don't. ;)

    I hadn't heard of this "Stupid" series, but it sounds interesting. Might just have to look it up! :) Thanks for the recommendations.

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  15. May have to check out some of these titles. Thanks for the info! So many books, so little time...:) I currently have several books going and I keep shifting from one story to the other. :)

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  16. Ooooo. . .the Brontë Sisters book looks like a winner! I'm putting it on hold in our library. Thanks!

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  17. Sounds great! I'm reading Jane Austen's Aunt Behind Bars.

    Nas

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  18. I usually go to the library and always come back with a stack of books. I'm currently reading like 10 books at once right now. I do this all the time. At least I know it's not just me who does this. :)

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  19. YES--I have decided my time is too valuable to read an entire book if I am not into it by the time I am 1/4 through. Thanks for the great reviews, Ruth! = )

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  20. I'm almost always reading two books at the same time. Sometimes three!

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  21. Hmm, I think it would be interesting to read about authors and the source of their inspiration.

    Lately, I've been reading one book until I'm finished. My tighter schedule makes finding time to read a challenge.

    Blessings,
    Susan :)

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  22. Yup, sometimes I interrupt one to start another and then go back to the first one. Sometimes, of course, I don't. I can read any number of nonfiction books plus one novel, but I seldom read two novels at once.

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  23. I do it a lot lately, and I always feel guilt for putting certain current-reads on hold! (I have to tell them I haven't ditched them and will get back soon.) The Bronte Sisters sounds interesting. I've only read one novel of one of the sisters (Charlotte, Villette) and that was a good one. So I reckon I'd pick out this one. Happy reading, Ruth!

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  24. I <3 the character name Felton. I have a PB I'm working on with the same name. Great recommendations. :D

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