Lake-side Reading

I live near the ocean, but somehow I don't seem to spend much time reading on the beach, trying to keep sand out of the pages. Luckily, a week of vacation is coming up soon and I'll be spending it near a bunch of lakes, all surrounded by small but pleasant beaches. My towel, my sunscreen, my sunglasses, my stack of ARCs and paperbacks, and my unevenly tanned bod will soon be adorning those beaches - and here's what I'm gonna read, in no particular order:

Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes (May 2009) - his adult SF is terrific, so there is much potential in his first YA book (it's not SF, though - phooey)

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo (Aug 2009) - orphans and elephants and DiCamillo. Duh!

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (Sept 2009) - more Alcatraz adventures, woohoo.

The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yan and Derek Kirk Kim (May 2009)- yummy yummy YA graphic novel.

The Color of Water and The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa (June 2009)- more graphic novel yumminess.

and (drumroll, please...)

I am determined to read these two massive 2008 tomes:

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation - v. 2 by M.T. Anderson (lord, even the title is long)

Anathem by Neal Stephenson - I worship this man and everything he writes, so there is no excuse not to have read his latest masterpiece.

The loveliest bit? Almost all of these are ARCs or paperbacks, meaning I can love 'em and leave 'em.