Monday, September 19, 2011

Page Turner Panic

[sighs dreamily]

Soooo... I just finished another fantastic page turner, peeps! And I am going to tell you what it is. Why? Because I am a good friend, and want you to partake in the goodness also... did I mention that I'm such a good friend? I am.

[pats self on back]

Hehe. Just kidding. About the self glorified friend part. Not about telling you the book. Which I will....now:

Ally Condie's Matched.

Eeeeeeek!! SUCH a good book!

Today, as I was preparing to post about this awesome book (aka: while I was retrieving an suitable image off of Google), I read on a (coughTOTALLYLAMEcough) website, someone comparing this to book Twilight. Not that I don't like Twilight [TEAM EDWARD!!], but I actually had to stop and think about what this person was saying when they were comparing it to our beloved sparkly vampire/werewolf fantasy.

Then it clicked. [Light bulb!]

Ohhhhh.... riiiiight. The love triangle.

I get it. Any boy/girl/boy love triangle from now until the end of time will probably be compared to Twilight. But honestly? I didn't think Matched was that similar. A) Because this girl is much more assertive than Bella. And B) because there was no wishy-washy Bella-can't-make-up-her-mind-which-man-she-wants nonsense...

...wait... those are kind of both the same thing... ANY-whooo!

Although there were (admittedly) two guys forming a love triangle with said girl in this book, I didn't feel like this book was at all like Twilight. The girl [Casia] never wavered on which boy she wanted (despite there being another one in the picture). Needless to say, I didn't make the "this-is-like-Twilight" connection until that website-er pointed it out.

But then again, maybe I'm just dense.

At any rate, it is my oh-so-humble opinion that Matched falls more along the dystopian Hunger Games line that are filling the shelves these days. Some would say "saturating" the shelves... but you know what? I kinda like 'em.

And I LOVED this book! As a happy bit of news, the saga continues on November 1st with Condie's release of Crossed, the sequel to Matched [hooray!] Is there anything better than a much anticipated sequel? I think not.

However, I now have a problem: I've run out of page turners to read.

THIS is the one thing I hate about reading good books! Every time I finish one, I get that break-out-in-cold-sweat panicked feeling of knowing that the next book I pick up cannot possibly be as good as the one I just finished! I'm feelin' it right now. I'm feelin' it BAD!  

So help me out here, dear reader friends. Page turner recommendations? I'm in desperate need of a rebound book!

12 comments:

Mandi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mandi said...

Eee! You read MATCHED! *Does a pirouette!*

If you're looking for another page turner, I suggest the new novel by Erin Morgenstern called The Night Circus!!! I just picked it up two days ago and the only reason why I'm not finished with it is because I'm forced to be an adult and comply to my own responsibilities. *Deflates*

It's like Water For Elephants meets Harry Potter set in Victorian London! The language will by far take your breathe away! Ugh! I love it!

Julie said...

Mandi: NO. WAY. I totally just BARELY downloaded The Night Circus to my audible account TODAY!!

[happy dance!]

You just made me giddy with excitment to read ("listen") to it now! CanNOT wait!

Anything else? I heart recomendations!

Mandi said...

Is it considered uncool to fist pump?

Oh well! *Fist pump!*

Ooo! Who reads it?

It's been a while, but have you read the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray? Hmm...

I've got a LARGE "Book Pile" to forge through consisting of Beautiful Creatures by Garcia and Stohl and Nightshade by Andrea Cremer and Original Sin by Lisa Derochers. So I'll know more once I get through those. LOL

So far, nothing's really compared to the Hunger Games as of late. As much as I LOVED Divergent, it didn't get that "special display" that Susanne Collins received on my shelves. LOL

Mandi said...

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! JIM DALE IS READING IT?!


MIIIIIINE!!!

Bkloss said...

Eeep! I LOVED this book!! Um, and Twilight? Seriously? Yeah, I'm with you on that. I didn't think of Bella-Edward-Jacob AT ALL. Much more like Hunger Games. Can't wait for Crossed!

Page turner rec: have you read Anna and the French Kiss???? YOU MUST MUST MUST if you haven't. Read it in an afternoon :)

Julie said...

Mandi: Um.... I admit: I'm lame. Being a newbie to audio books, I must confess that I know nothing of audio book readers! Jim Dale is good, I take it?

Barb: yes, yes YES I've read it!!! I saw the fab review on your blog and got on the library hold list that day! I also went out and bought my own copy the other day, which I'm DYING to read! [Snap, crackle, POP of the new-book spine... mmmmm!]

Is there an acceptable time that must pass between book re-reads? Or do you think I can pick it up again now without mockery?

Mandi said...

Jim Dale read all of the Harry Potter books for America (Stephen Fry read for the UK) Jim filled my world with joy with his voice of Dobby! (^_^)! He's known for giving a voice to EVERY character which is why he's so good!

I also have him reading Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. :) I'd let you have it if you lived near to me. I haven't listened to it in a while, so I don't think I'd miss it if I gave it to you. *Shrugs*

I felt that Ilyana Kadushin was okay for Twilight's Bella but when they cast Matt Walters to do Jacob's book, he was PERFECTION!

I want to try the Hunger Games on Audio. Do you have those? I know Caroline McCormick reads them, and she has read a lot of James Patterson's books which her voice seems appropriate for, but for a young girl of 17? I'm a bit hesitant... I think I'll go and check it out from the Library first...

FYI: You have to be careful when buying audio books and always try to listen to the preview tracks. Some people who read them are about as dull as watching paint dry (I've yet to find a GOOD Pride & Prejudice audio). Before I buy, I try to check them out from the library first. Since my library is awesome and normally has the CD's and I can pop the book onto my iPod for easier listening.

DISCLAIMER: If I like it, I buy it. If I don't, I delete it. (-_*) I don't want crazy people chasing after me telling me I'm a pirate! LOL

Oh! And sometimes it's cheaper to get the MP3 files from Amazon or BN.com and then make your own CDs. Like 70% cheaper. :)

Christa Desir said...

I also liked MATCHED. I loved:

1. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
2. Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
3. Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Julie said...

Mandi: EXCELLENT advice! I actually haven't branched much into audio book BECAUSE of that very reason... I didn't like listening to someone else's weird voice infringing on my book reading experience! Now that I have a job, though, I had to come up with creative ways to get book time into my schedule, and audio books just worked.

So far, most of the audio books I've read have been from the library (cheap! Woot, woot!) But my hubby has Audible and loves it, so he insisted on setting me up with my own account. So far so good, but I'm with ya on the preview thing, a crappy voice can ruin the entire experience!!

Christa: amazing! I haven't read any of those three! Yesssssss! *air punch* Thanks!

Barb: put Anna by my bed. Reading again.

*sighs/swoons* St. Claire!

Mandi said...

That's why I started listening to them!

FYI- I just posted an entry about The Night Circus. It hasn't shown up on my feed yet, but I might have included you in it. LOL

Gotta go and get the rust of my rotors ground. All the rain we got this summer did them in.

Julie said...

Mandi: checkin' it out, pronto!

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