Books, Books, Books

I've dropped the ball once again. I've been so busy over the summer that I haven't had time to even consider writing anything. I have a few things lined up though. I went to the TFA educators conference 2 weeks ago and I came back with such a renewed sense of urgency for my career. I was starting to feel like I was in an educational pit of despair, but the conference, along with the people there, fed my spirit in a way that I hadn't even known I needed. But more on that later.

What I have been able to keep up with all summer is my reading!

And setting up my bookcases in a way that makes me SUPER happy! This is what I do. I'm on track with my good reads challenge.

Hahzah!!

Now on books 26 and 27 (because I can't just read one at a time apparently). But this pretty good progress!

This is my current obsession!

What are you reading right now?

"Dorothy Must Die"- A Retake on my Old Favorite

Where to begin? I'll start by saying that this novel stayed in my to read shelf for about 6 months before I actually pulled the trigger. I am an AVID reader of old school rewrites so I wanted to give it a fair shake even though the reviews were pretty all over the place. I wasn't disappointed, but as someone who is a serious lover of all things Wizard of Oz related, I felt it could be better. 

What I liked: 

The concept was fabulous. Wicked Dorothy. Wicked Galinda (notice I used the "Wicked" spelling). Sounded like a match made in heaven for me. 

The whole bad is good theme was great. Loved the wicked witches being the good ones. Loved to see the lion being such a thug. 

Old characters from the other Oz novels making their way into the books. 

What I didn't like:

Amy in general. I just didn't love her. She seems to just HAVE to do the opposite of everything she was told. 

Dorothy wasn't evil enough. I expected some serious evil shit. I thought she was going to be chopping off fingers and popping out eyeballs. The novellas that went along with the story line were actually really good.  There was more violence and murdering. But I had to remind myself that this is a YA (very YA) novel. Which leads me to my second point. 

The writing was too YA for me. That's sounds so ridiculous doesn't it. This is no reflection on the author. It is clearly a book for young adults, but it's a little too basic for my tastes. I like more creative language. I like when I have to go to the dictionary to clarify. 

Imagery was lacking. There were a few times when Amy "couldn't find the words to describe" what she was seeing. That felt like a cop out to me. I wanted, yearned for, that description. It's funny because I'm reading the short novellas and they are much more vivid. I didn't feel like I had a picture of the scene because of the lack of details. 

What was the last book you read? Have you checked out this series?

Update: I've read all three of the novellas and The first two were pretty good. That last one left something to be desired. I have just downloaded "The Wicked will Rise" and I will update with my thoughts on it.