Variety is the Spice of Life

So, it turns out, I am pretty much incapable of reading one book at a time. I have to have at least two in order to be truly happy. I've been reading through all of Sarah Dessen's books, but I have also been reading the Gallagher Girl series. The Gallagher Girl series is one that is possibly on the chopping block. I love the series, but I wasn't completely sold on the ending last time I read it. I'm giving it another chance before I decide anything. I'm on the second to last book right now, so a decision will probably be made next week.

In other news, Harper Lee has a new book coming out! I'm excited and sad at the same time. I mean, I love To Kill a Mockingbird, it is undoubtedly a classic, and I really want to read something else by Harper Lee. The sadness comes from the questions that have been raised about this book. People are saying that this book may be coming out because Harper Lee is being taken advantage of. It's possible she never wanted it published. I really hope that is not the case. I think the only one who really knows what the true story is is the author, and I'm not sure we're going to get the story from her.

I'm trying to get to To Kill a Mockingbird before the new book comes out. I'm still working on reading my books in order on the shelves, so I have two whole bookshelves to read before I get to that one book. My guess is that I will end up reading it before I finish the other books, because I don't think I will be able to read all the books that are ahead of it before July. I may have to start another countdown.

The Complex World of Sarah Dessen

When I started re-reading Sarah Dessen's books, I only remembered Colby, I completely forgot about the other town where I'd say roughly half of her books take place. It's a town that is supposed to be about 4 hours away from Colby, and the characters will still interact with each other, but it doesn't happen very often. I just finished Just Listen. I feel like I'm reading the books in the wrong order. I have been reading them in the order they are on in my bookshelf, but that means the newer ones tend to be closer to the front of the line. Don't get me wrong, there is technically no right or wrong order to read the books in, but when I was reading What Happened to Goodbye, it mentions a guy and a girl talking about music, and those people are the main characters in Just Listen. I'm starting to feel like if you want all the details about everybody in one of the books, you need to start with the first book she wrote, and work your way toward the new ones. It's fine if you don't, but you may miss out on some of the connections that are ever present.

Sometimes when I read books like Sarah Dessen's, I wonder how she keeps it all straight in her head. There are so many different characters and events that all kind of intertwine. I would have to have a giant white board or something. I've decided that the next time I read her books, I'm going to try to keep track off all the different characters, and where they appear. It will probably be a while before I do that, because I'm still working on reading all of my books. Maybe I'll do it when the new book comes out. The countdown is on.