Weekly Book Roundup (Feb #1)

Hurray for the postal service1!

IMM:

I won the following books from Sara of YA Vampire Books. She gave away $16 to spend at The Book Depository, and after much deliberation I chose...

For Zack Thomson, living in the Nicholls Ward isn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange and severe allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after. As strange as it was, it was home. He could watch as much television as he wanted; his best friend Charlie visited him often enough; and Nurse Ophelia--the prettiest no-nonsense nurse ever--sometimes took him bowling. Of course, that didn't mean he had it easy. His allergies restricted his diet to strawberry smoothies, and being the only kid at the hospital could get lonely. But it never once crossed Zack's mind to leave...until the night someone crashed through the front doors and told him to run. Now he's on a race for answers--about his past, his parents, and his strange sickness--even as every step takes him closer to the darkest of truths.

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant Ace Detective - Snappy Dresser, Razor–tongued Wit, Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton —as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Valkyrie Cain, a very unusual and darkly talented thirteen-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.

I'm really excited to read both of these books! Skulduggery Pleasant is one of my favorite series; Landy is a riot! And Night Runner has been on my wish list for quite some time now. Thanks, Sara!

Library:

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling: Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

When a meteor hits the moon, Miranda must learn to survive the unimaginable . . .

Bindy Mackenzie is the smartest girl at Ashbury High. She memorizes class outlines to help her teachers. She records transcripts of everything said around her. She offers helpful critiques for her fellow students. And she wears crazy nail polish to show she's a free spirit.
But then Bindy's life begins to fall apart. She can't stop feeling sleepy and she fails an exam for the first time ever. And--worst of all--she just doesn't care. What could be the cause of all these strange events? Is it conspiracy? Is it madness? Is it . . . murder?
Lots of people hate Bindy Mackenzie--but who would actually want to kill her? The answer is in Bindy's transcripts. The detectives are her fellow students. But Bindy has made every one of them into an enemy . . . and time is running out.

In Other News:

>It's February 6 and I've only finished one book! Curse you, Say Yes to the Dress and Golden Girls! You are seriously cutting into my reading time! Oh, well. I read 13 books last month, so that gives me a little wiggle room this month. I just can't believe it's Feb already. Le sigh, time doth fly when you're reading good books. Here's how my many reading challenges break down so far:

-Support Your Local Library Challenge: 3
-Bottoms Up Challenge: 2
-Debut Author Challenge: 01
-100+ Reading Challenge: 14
You can see the official list, find links for reviews, and see how far behind I'm falling on my challenges here. For a good laugh, click here. For a chance to cast your vote in an age old debate, click here.
>J. D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye, one of my favorite books, passed on a week ago. I don't know what else to say on this matter except that we, as book lovers, have suffered the loss of a man who loved books as books. He spent 60 years fighting off Hollywood, protecting Catcher from having the life and soul sucked out of it in a movie. To honor the memory of this great writer, I'm going to reread Catcher and boycott the movie, if it comes to that. I really hope it doesn't get made into a movie, it just wouldn't be right. Firstly, Catcher isn't movie material. It's best read, not seen. Secondly, it was practically the man's dying wish that it not be put on film, so it would be just plain wrong to indorse that action with our patronage. Thirdly, I don't want to see Zac Efron or Taylor Lautner as Holden Caulfield. That just ain't right!

Question: What are your thoughts on Catcher (possibly) being made into a movie?3

footnotes___________________________________________________
1  Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting th IMM meme!
2  Shame on me! I really should be farther along on this cheallenge.
3  I'm gonna ask a question at the end of my IMMs from now on to get things going in the comments. I got the idea from Good Golly Miss Holly, and decided to adopt the practice.