Everything Is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger
A really interesting study on the effect of digital storage on our perceptions about reality. Also taught me everything I'd ever need to know about bar codes.
Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures by Walter MoersNumber 6 on my challenge. Another wonderful book from Walter Moers, although this one was very different from The City of Dreaming Books. The beginning was a bit slow, but once the action started, it didn't stop. This was a true action-packed adventure story filled with sword fights, monsters that are born from blood, and evil mechanical villains. Moers is really successful at crafting characters that creep into your heart without you realizing it. Rumo, though he says little and kills a lot, turns out to be quite a lovable character. I've got another Moers book sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read.
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
Read for book club, but I'm still going to count it as #7 on my challenge. My first Vonnegut, and it was highly recommended, but I still have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts that I loved, but I had some problems with Vonnegut's writing style. It didn't leave me exhilarated, but overall, it was mostly enjoyable. I'm not itching to pick up another Vonnegut book in the near future though.
The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
These count as numbers 8-11 on my challenge. I read the first book in the series (The Lightning Thief) a couple months ago. I enjoyed the book enough to read the rest of the series this summer, and I'm glad I did. The second book (The Sea of Monsters) had some of the same problems that the first one did--a bit slow and predictable--but the last three were very fun. Really excited, more complicated, but still filled with all those modernized mythical characters that made the first book funny and entertaining. These books were really quick reads (I'm talking 2-3 hours each). I'd recommend them for both older children and adults.
