More Summer Reading!

I'm doing well on the quest to read 50 books, probably because I'm supposed to be editing, and I'm reading for inspiration, otherwise known as procrastinating. (I'm exaggerating a little--I made it to page 50 today and am going strong. But for some reason, I read more when I'm editing than when I'm drafting. Anyone else out there do that?) If you missed it before, I'm hoping to read 50 books before the kids go back to school in September. I posted about the first two last week, and I made a LOT of progress this week. Here's what I've been reading.

#3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
I enjoyed this quite a lot--the Russian inspiration felt new and different to me. I'll admit that some of the plot threads I was most hoping to see developed, like a lot of the political bits about the Grisha status and the king and queen, didn't get as much page time as I hoped. But there's always the sequel, and I'll definitely be picking it up! It has just hit the shelves; pick it up and let me know what you think!

#4. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Holy crap so good. Why haven't people been gushing more over this?!? It's like a YA mashup of Silence of the Lambs and Dexter, and that's a sentence I never thought I'd have reason to say. It's creepy and freaky and so so awesome. Please be forewarned that this is one of those endings in which there's less resolution and more sequel set up. But I was so happy to learn that there would be a sequel that I didn't freaking care.

#5. Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies by James Marshall
I just couldn't resist. And really, from the never-ending WTFBBQ first sentence all the way through the equally WTFBBQ ending, it's quite a ride. But it's a VERY politically incorrect, no holds barred satire--you have to read it with your tongue firmly in cheek. And if you're anything like me, you will laugh hysterically and feel vaguely guilty over it and wonder if maybe there's something wrong with you. It reminded me of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, in which he satirically suggests that poor people should eat their children and the best ways to cook them? It's that kind of humor. I'm still vaguely stunned.

#6. Deadline by Mira Grant
This is the third book in the Newsflesh series, which is the best zombie series I've ever read. If thou hast not read it, thou shalt stop reading this and GET A COPY ALREADY. I do think I liked the first two books better; I don't want to go into spoilery details, but I felt like it ended so fast and I just wasn't ready for it to be over. But then again, I probably wouldn't EVER be ready for it to be over, so there's that. Seriously, I cannot even begin to explain how good this series is. And she's doing a cryptozoology series under her real name, Seanan McGuire, and I am ALL OVER THAT.

So there's that. I'm trying to get a nice variety--some YA, some adult, some MG. A smattering of genres--right now I'm reading a historical mystery, which is nice, and then I think I'm going to pick up a YA fantasy. I've heard it said that it's important to read outside your genre, and I totally agree. So I'm going to get back to it!