What We're Reading Part II!

Back on March 26, we delved into the eclectic reading choices of several of the Inkies. We'll follow up today to complete the list. I know I'VE found a number of books to add to my personal to-read-list. I hope you will, too!

I've been amazed by the diversity of reads! Are there any favorites" Well, several Inkies are reading/planning to read Anne Nesbit's  THE CABINET OF EARTHS.
 
ERIN CASHMAN: I am reading CABINET OF EARTHS right now and I love it!

KATE MILFORD: I just devoured in one sitting Anne Nesbit's CABINET OF EARTHS, which I read in print; it was an arc I snagged from McNally Jackson. I adored it, and immediately ordered a copy for my sister who loves fantasy a lot but loves Paris more.

LENA GOLDFINCH: I just finished Anne Nesbet's THE CABINET OF EARTHS and Erin Cashman's THE EXCEPTIONALS.
THE CABINET OF EARTHS is what I can't help calling "deliciously strange". At turns creepy, fun, tender, and deeply thought-provoking, it's filled with descriptions you want to read two or three times before continuing on. A book to be savored, not rushed through. And I fell into THE EXCEPTIONALS and didn't want to come back out.  I especially loved Claire's connection to the hawk and all the other "specials". I heard about both books through The Enchanted Inkpot blog. I'm now in the middle of CLOCKWORK PRINCE: Book Two of The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. I forget where I first heard about book 1, CLOCKWORK ANGEL, but I picked up Book Two because I loved Clare's Steampunk/Fantasy world and her characters. Though I've been reading more ebooks lately, I read these in hardcover.

AMY GREENFIELD: I've been reading some wonderful books lately, including Leah Cypess's MISTWOOD. I loved the fierce and fascinating heroine, the gorgeous descriptions of her powers, and the twisty plot that kept me guessing right up to the end. (As a writer, I also noticed the fabulous transitions, which really quicken the pace.) 
Another great recent read is Holly Black's WHITE CAT. Such a great idea: a world where magic meets the mob. I fell hard for its black humor, its brilliant characterization, and the zany but impeccable logic of the plot.I missed both these books when they first debuted because I was dealing with a transatlantic move at the time - I think I lost almost a year of my life to that move! - but they've been on my radar for a while because I had friends who raved about them. Oh, and I read them both in paperback. I have a Kindle (a gift) but I tend to use it mostly for reading manuscripts. Next up: More Inkie books I've just bought, including Anne Nesbet's THE CABINET OF EARTHS  and Cinda Chima's THE DEMON KING.

LAURA McCAFFREY: I just burned through Bill Willingham's comic, FABLES: LEGENDS IN EXILE, and I can't wait to start the next collection in the series. The setting is Fableland, the underground home of the Fables, fairy tale characters, in New York. The Fables have been driven out of their homeland by an arch-enemy, the Adversary, and though they long to return to the lives they left, they've transformed into party girls and bureaucrats, bounders and detectives. A clever read for sophisticated teens. Another sophisticated read for teens: THE WINDUP GIRL by Paolo Bacigalupi. In this dystopia, money is measured in calories, and bio-terrorism has transformed a futuristic Thailand. Definitely for older teens and adults. It took me a bit to sort out all the factions - but once I did, I couldn't put the novel down.

KATE COOMBS: Just read a new YA fantasy called THIEF'S COVENANT by Ari Marmell and really liked it. The format was print. I think I saw it mentioned on somebody's blog.It begins with a girl clinging to the rafters in the shadows above a scene of mass slaughter. Next thing we know, she has reinvented herself as a thief and is carrying a pocket god around with her. In a series of flashbacks, we find out how she came to be in that room--even as scenes in the present show her being hunted by at least three different groups. And of course, she tries to solve the murder mystery!
Next up? Probably MY VERY UN-FAIRYTALE LIFE by our own Anna Staniszewski andNatalie Babbit's new book, THE MOON OVER HIGH STREET.

LEAH CYPRESS: At the moment, I'm mostly reading adult fantasy and science fiction so I can be an informed Nebula voter. But once I've read everything I need to, my next planned YA read is Kim Harrington's PERCEPTION. Actually, I'm not sure I'll be able to hold out until I've read through all the Nebula nominees - we'll see! I loved her first book, CLARITY (and interviewed her about it here), so I'm really looking forward to PERCEPTION. I will read it in print, because that's still my much-preferred reading format.

ELLEN BOORAEM: I just finished ANYA'S GHOST, a YA graphic novel by Vera Brosgol. I loved it, and last night it kept the curmudgeon I live with--a tough sell--awake and reading way past his bedtime. I'm now enthralled with A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness (inspired by Siobhan Dowd's idea). Also YA, it's simpler and sweeter than Ness's magnificent Chaos Walking trilogy, but just as harrowing in its own way. Next up is THE DEATH-DEFYING PEPPER ROUX, a middle-grade fantasy by Geraldine McCaughrean, which looks very cool. All are print media, from the library. I learned about the Ness and Brosgol books from the online drumbeat, the McGaughrean from browsing at the library.

 
Cinda Williams Chima  is the author of the Seven Realms and Heir Chronicles teen fantasy series.  Her next novel, THE CRIMSON CROWN, releases October 23, 2012. Learn more about her here.