YAFic for a Break

I opted for a slightly lighter read after Atlas Shrugged (which I’m still thinking about; it was that good). The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos was lighter in that it was a young adult novel, but really not all that light. The book tells the story of a girl with a curse that causes her to love her mother obsessively. Her neighbors, the two odd Rumbaugh twins (one of whom is actually her father), also had the curse and actually performed taxidermy on their own mother to keep her ‘alive’.
The book was weird, to say the least. It was also surprisingly well written, in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure. However, after reading Atlas Shrugged, tLCotR seemed too short and under-developed. Still, it was a good YA novel. A little gothic, a little creepy, a little below my reading level, but still pretty good. 7/10.

January 10th is Alaska Young Day; so of course, I had to reread Looking for Alaska by John Green. It was my third time reading it, and I loved it just as much, if not more, than I had before. There are soooo many great lines, and the overall message is both complex and amazing. Plus, as I read, I can hear John’s voice in my head.
I didn’t cry this time; I suppose because some of the emotion has worn off since my earlier reads. But, I still felt a little teary. I loved Alaska, although she was certainly a flawed character. She reminds me a bit of myself: her complexity, her love of books, her secrets. I find myself wishing I was as cool as her, yet I sometimes question myself. Yes, she was cool, but she was also tortured, and unfair, and unpredictable. I love her, but I think I only love part of her, or the idea of her, just like Pudge.
I really think that Looking for Alaska may be my favorite YA novel of all time. I think that I’ll make it a tradition to reread it every year on January 10th. Ironically, January tenth, the day that before changed to after, is also my half birthday. So her anniversary coincides with the opposite of my own. I guess I just find that interesting. 9.5/10

I'm finishing up Thus Spoke Zarathustra today. It was recommended to me by a friend, and the juries still out. I think that philosophy books should be studied, not read like novels, so I guess I'm kind of doing it wrong. But I really want to finish, so that I can move onto The Accidental Mind, a book about brain science that looks awesome. I read the intro, and can't wait to continue. It will probably be tomorrow's book. Then, I have a few other brain-science books and one physics books on my list. Plus, I have to review A Tale of Two Cities and Macbeth for English class (woot.)

Total Book Count: 13
Total Nonfiction: 4 (30.7%, I'm slacking, I know)
Number of Books Currently Sitting Next to my Bedside Table: 6