Sunday, December 30, 2007

My Top Books of 2007

Alright, I've read 105 books, comics, & manga this year and I've gone through them again to try and decide what my top books are. This is really hard because I read so many great books this year. I don't think there were any I didn't like.

In order of when I read them, because I doubt I could rank these. I'm including first reads only.

Children's
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney -- My little brother was reading this and forgot it at home one day, and I picked it up. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. This book was hilarious! And the way Kinney wrote it, half journal-half comic, was inspiring and made the story move along easier. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages.


  • Young Adult
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by JK Rowling -- This is my favorite book of the entire Harry Potter series, which I read at the very beginning of the year. The plot of this book is fabulous and the entire scene in the Department of Mysteries was amazing. Do not judge this book by its movie because the movie doesn't even begin to compare in my opinion.

  • Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier -- The fabulous first book in the Magic or Madness series which poses an interesting choice: use your magic and die young, or ignore your power and go insane. It's really cool to see the story told by three different and unique characters from two different continents.

  • Twilight, New Moon, & Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer -- I usually don't go for the "vampire in love with a mortal" books, but my friends finally got me to read this series & I really like it. I'm not really a fan of the main character, but its the action & vampires & werewolves that keep me going. New Moon is definately my favorite, and shows Meyer's unique style the best of the three.

  • Magic's Child by Justine Larbalestier -- the amazing last book in the Magic or Madness trilogy. I loved the ending of this series, very interesting! But I won't spoil anything, you'll have to read it for yourself.

  • 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson -- I love Maureen's books first off, and this is one of my favorites. I love the odd coming-of-age adventure, it keeps you interested the whole way through. The ending was unexpected, and splendidly done. And Maureen's characters are always the best part of her books.

  • Devilish by Maureen Johnson -- My favorite of Maureen's books. This book is very adventurous & interesting. Johnson's style of writing in this book amazes me. I wrote down one of the scenes in my notebook to look back on it every now and again as an example of great writing.

  • Feed by MT Anderson -- I love this book. These characters seem real, because they talk like teens, even if it would be offensive to some readers. The story is fantastic and I love Anderson's style. Absolutely love it.

  • Extras by Scott Westerfeld -- The sequel to Westerfeld's Uglies series. This one happens after the events in Specials, in a new area, with a new character. Honestly this is my favorite in the entire series. I think it was the change of main character, because I never really liked Tally, whereas I really like Aya. And this book gets extra points from me because the whole face-rank system is interesting & satorical.


  • Adult
  • The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare -- A classic play that I ended up falling in love with, despite my preconceptions of it. It was hilarious and amusing with its odd take on a love story. Seeing this play performed shortly after I read it was great too.

  • The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger -- This book blew me away, seriously. I'm glad to finally find a book that represents time travel as non-changing, because I'm tired of "let's go back in time & change it" stories. The disjointed way of telling this story works so well for this book & the characters are fabulous.

  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison -- This book is so different from anything else I usually read. Honestly, it disturbed me most of the time, but the funny thing is, that's why I liked it. It was real, unlike most books out these days--even the nonfiction stories. Morrison doesn't worry about what's acceptable or not, she just writes what's real and holds nothing back.

  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman -- I love this book. So much. I took a chance on this book, taking advice from one of the leaders of a local book club. Another book that doesn't hold back. The story stayed interesting every bit of the way, and nothing written wasn't important, no matter how small it seemed at first. And Gaiman's style and characters are astounding.
  • 6 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Glad you told me about American Gods; I was debating on whether I wanted it or not.

    Jez said...

    Dodi, I highly recommend American Gods. The only thing is what Mrs. S originally told us about it: the explicit sex scenes. Oh, and a bit of swearing too. But overall, I think that it's definately worth it. It's like Feed, the swearing makes the characters more believable, and if you can get past the curses, you find a simply amazing book.

    Anonymous said...

    ah, but there was one book I know u didnt like! Marked, by P.C. and Kristen Cast... I liked it but I remember u saying u hated the MC *shrugs*

    I've read so much this year, I really don't know if I can name my top...

    YA
    Peeps by Scott Westerfeld -my most recently finished book easily makes one of the most memorable. The facts and the story line were both interesting and gripping.

    Vampire Beach (all 4 books) by Alex Duval -I was not expecting to make it through the first one, but they were all amazing, beginning to end I couldn't believe how fast the plot moved. It was also refreshing to read something from a guys perspective (read this before Peeps)

    Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine -I love this author. After accidently reading 50% of one of her books on amazon I fell in love with her Morganville vampire series, the third one was just as good as the first two and I am eagerly awaiting the fourth.

    Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer -honestly I wasn't sure I'd like this series at first but its amazing. Just the difference in writting style then what I'm use to as well as the main character being well normal... minus the vampire as a boyfriend thing ;P shes a lot like me at times and I can relate. Also a fun fast read.

    Adult
    Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder -it was an amazing sequel, not all can be as good as the first one but this one was. I couldn't put it down half the time and as in the first one the ending surprised me. (first one being Poison Study)

    Kushiels Chosen by Jacqueline Carey -(sequel to Kushiels Dart) Her unexpected plot twists always get me, and its one of the few times I'll actually pay attention to anything remotely political. I love the main character Phedre as well as her Joscelin (he is so diverse and amazingly well rounded for not being the MC!)

    Blood Legacy 1 & 2 (The story of Ryan// The House of Alexander) by Kerri Hawkins -I reread them this year and they are still amazing. I didn't expect the second to be as good but it was in a very unusual manner. Her science bound facts mixed with an entirely asexual set of beings makes for an ever entertaining and unexpected read. You don't mess with Ryan Alexander, and I can't wait for the third (which is finally being written after years of waiting!)

    I read a lot this year... but I think thats a good list for now XP

    Jez said...

    Haha, you have a point Jess. I forgot about that because I did this off my reading list (the post before this one) & I don't list books I didn't finish. So yeah, that would definately rule out Marked because I simply could not finish that book.

    Peeps-I love this book. You know that.

    Anonymous said...

    Yeah, I know what you mean about Twilight! Three of my friends, including one not-so-bookish one, are crazy over that series. So Clare lent me Twilight last night... shamefully enough, I'm done it already. *wince* Its not normally something I'd pick up.

    *squee* You had The Giver over on the sidebar!! Woot!! That book is AMAZING. Best evar.

    Jez said...

    Pearlsie-- Exactly! The "Bloody Tears" genre (as its called on bldg98, the vampire/mortal thing) is really not my thing at all. Usually I can't stand them. But Meyer managed to win me over anyway.

    OMG! I LOVE the Giver! It was so close to making my top books overall, but just know it's in my Top 10 for sure. It's just like Gatsby where I discover a new layer every time and don't think I'll get it all. We read it in school in like 3rd grade, and it was a cool story. Then I re-read it last year and I was like "OMG Perfect Communism!!" and it kind of blew my mind how different the reading was between the years.

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