Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I met my goal of 70 for 2012, so let's try for 75 in 2013!

1. Locke and Key, Vol. 5: Clockworks

The last of the published volumes of the Locke and Key series. Amazing, once again. Can't wait for 'Omega' to be published. This one was more of a flashback volume, showing us what happened back with the Locke kids' father and Dodge and the rest of the group. So while a major cliffhanger from Vol. 4 wasn't resolved (damn him for making me wait), it answered a lot of other questions about the keys and what Zack is up to. Another great entry in the series.

Hearing that other people love this series as much as I do...
Recording a podcast on this TONIGHT.

2. Insurgent

The sequel to Divergent, I actually liked this one a little better than the first one, although the first one was more action-packed. I think I just liked the characters a little more in this one - a little more grown-up, although they still sometimes made stupid decisions, of course. I liked the way it all played out, and the cliff-hanger is pretty intense. Very curious to see how this story is wrapped up.

3. The Prisoner of Heaven

Another excellent addition to the world of The Shadow of the Wind. I kind of wish that I had read all three of them one after the other, because there were a lot of things in this book that referenced the other books, and even though I didn't read them all that long ago there were a few things that I had forgotten. My only complaint is that I wasn't thrilled with the way it ended, wanting one storyline to be wrapped up a little better than it was. If there is another book coming, I take back my complaint, but I thought this was the last. Excellent read, though.

I definitely agree with you about Insurgent! Overall, I liked the 2nd book much better than the first because I felt like there was some actual character development (even if I didn't really like how some of them changed, haha) and she is certainly a fan of the sudden and huge cliffhangers! Only a few more month until the third is released (hopefully), I'll be curious to see how it goes!

4. Holidays on Ice (audiobook)

I love listening to David Sedaris on audiobook. This collection of stories, however, was kind of hit or miss. I really enjoyed all of the true stories and found those really funny and/or interesting, but this is my first experience with his completely fictional stories, and those, while I did laugh a few times, I found in general to be a little more serious and at times downright depressing. This collection also included a few stories that I was already familiar with from Me Talk Pretty One Day, although these repeats included 'Six to Eight Black Men', which is one of my favorites, so I can't really complain. As always, though, I recommend that if you're going to read it you should get the audiobook, at the very least to hear Sedaris sing Christmas carols in the style of Billie Holiday. Because it's awesome.

5. Cold Days

I love The Dresden Files. My favorite series of books. Really enjoyed this newest addition. All the best characters back in action, and Dresden both causing and preventing lots of trouble. Fun all around.

6. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

This is the second of Mary Roach's books that I've read, and while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (but, to be fair, I absolutely LOVED Stiff), I found this one really entertaining and interesting. For anyone who has ever been even remotely interested in how space travel works, this is a pretty cool read. I love how Roach infuses the real humor into the facts. Glad I finally got around to reading this one.

7. Because of Winn-Dixie

This was a cute story with interesting characters and a few good morals. I wanted to like it more, but of the small group of young adult books that I've read in the past year or so, this one just seemed the least fleshed out. Good characters, but I wanted a little more from all of it. Every minor character had one little bit of detail that made them interesting, but I think that the book could have been a little longer and given us a little more with the background characters. That wouldn't have been too much for the younger readers to handle. A good read, but I just feel it could have been better.

8. Life of Pi

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Some parts were really good, but a lot of parts dragged. I guess I just don't feel the love for it that so many people do, although I feel for the most part that it was a pretty good read. Just not one of my favorites.

9. Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu (audiobook)

This was my second audiobook by Troost, the first being The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific. While I think Sex Lives was maybe a little better, this one was definitely a worth-while read. I really enjoy Troost's take on life in the South Pacific - it has really changed my idea on what the area is like, not necessarily for the better, although the people mostly seem pretty cool. Not the centipedes, though. Definitely could do without foot-long, poisonous centipedes. *Shudder*. Excellent read, though. I look forward to checking out his other book.

10. The Giver

One of my favorite books of all time. I re-read this one every few years, and with the new book Son coming out recently, I decided now was a great time to pick this one up again. I just love everything about this book.

11. Life's a Beach

I don't read a lot of this fluffy, chick-lit type of book, but it was a freebie a while back, so I figured why not. Not a bad read overall. I liked the main character. It made me laugh a few times. Nothing special, but a cute and easy read.

12. A Red Herring Without Mustard

Pretty enjoyable continuation of the series. There are times when Flavia just annoys me - mostly when she's trying to get revenge on her sisters - but I like a mystery where I don't see the ending coming, and I didn't guess 'whodunnit' before they revealed it, so props there. Not perfect, but a definite fun read.

13. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I'm not sure about this book. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. It left me feeling disappointed, because I had heard such great things and ended up being underwhelmed with the book, but at the same time I didn't really dislike it either. I thought the book was very well-written and interesting, but ultimately the title is misleading because only about a quarter of the book is about Oscar. The rest is about his sister or his mother as a young girl or his grandfather. All his family, sure, but having very little to do, if anything, with Oscar's story.

The one thing that I really did dislike about the book, though, is that parts of it were written in Spanish. Sometimes dialogue, sometimes just a word or two, but it was in Spanish. It fit in with who the narrator was and made it sound like he was really speaking the story to you, which was almost kind of cool, but with a book that already made use of footnotes, why not translate the Spanish into English in a footnote? It makes no sense and alienated me as a reader.

Overall, a decent story in general, but more as a view of an extended Dominican family and not of one individual, as the title and summary indicate. Not as great as I was lead to believe, though.

14. Twisted (audiobook)

Forgot to post this one.

This book was decent, although not great. I really like the way that Anderson writes teens and deals with teen issues. This book had some excellent characters and I found the plot generally very interesting. I just felt that the issue of the main character (view spoiler)[ specifically the decision to either run away or kill himself (hide spoiler)] was kind of a throw away and resolved far too quickly. It was actually a good book, but compared to Speak, it just falls kind of flat at the end. If I hadn't read that one first, though, I think I would have liked this one a lot more.

15. UnWholly

I wasn't sure how I felt about this one when it started out, because I thought that Unwind did a decent enough job with the story that a trilogy wasn't absolutely necessary, but I was curious enough to give this one a shot. And despite a somewhat slow beginning this one ended up being, in my opinion, better than the first book. I loved the characters in this book - the old characters were better developed and the new characters were really interesting and/or I wanted to punch them in the face (because they were written to be evil bastards). And I loved the direction the plot took. Can't wait to see what happens in the last book.

16. Cursor's Fury

This book - Book 3 - was probably the best of the Codex Alera books so far. There was plenty of action, divided between three storylines, and none of the storylines made me want to strangle the main characters because they were boring or annoying me. So that's good. I really liked the development of Tavi's character in this book - he's really starting to come into his own. Definitely excited to see where the story goes from here.

17. This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection (audiobook)

I love Carol Burnett. I used to watch her comedy show in re-runs all the time when I was younger and I can rarely remember ever laughing as hard as I did when I watched her show. So I was excited to find out about her more as a person as well as listening to stories about what life was like filming the show.

I wasn't disappointed. I thought that Burnett was funny and she seemed honest in the stories she told. At times I found it a little amusing that whenever she would talk about actors or singers that she worked with they always ended up being long-time friends, but honestly, I think if I ever met her I'd want to be her best friend, too. I'm glad I picked this one up and was able to find out a little more about one of my favorite performers. Now I just want to sit in front of my computer and pull up re-runs and blooper reels of The Carol Burnett Show on YouTube....

18. Dead End in Norvelt (audiobook)

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this book. It was fine and a fun read, but considering that it won the Newbery I was expecting something with a little more substance, especially in a book that deals so heavily with death. But aside from that, it was kind of fun and the characters were interesting and there was a good moral lesson behind it about learning from history but not letting history consume you. Glad I read it, but wish it had been better.

19. The Likeness

I really enjoyed this book, for the most part. I think that I liked In the Woods a little better, but this one had a great mystery on its own plus a lot of drama. My only complaint is that Cassie was, at times, an idiot. I realize her motivation for keeping some of the secrets that she did, but she's a cop - she should have known better. Still a great murder mystery, though. Can't wait to read the next one in the series.

20. Gone Girl

Really, really good suspense novel told from two different points of view, to the point where for a while you're really wondering who to believe. When the twist came up, I was honestly surprised. A very fun story, in a "wow these people are messed up" kind of way. Highly recommended to all suspense readers.

21. Lost in a Good Book

I'm really enjoying this series. There are times when I think the humor is a bit forced, but for the most part I find the books very funny. And the author does a good deal with making interesting plots that make me want to keep reading. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in the series - I really want to know what happens to Landon!

22. The Birth House

I keep forgetting how much I enjoy historical fiction. I need to read more. This was an interesting look at a Nova Scotia town in the early 1900s and the introduction of maternity clinics and how it affected midwives and the pregnant women in the area. A really interesting topic that I never gave much thought to. An enjoyable read.

23. The Walking Dead, Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire

Finally getting back into this series. Since I've been watching the show - which is at this point far ahead of where I am in the book series - it's fun to read the comics and see what they took from the books and where they varied. Always a good read, though, and well drawn, too.

24. The Walking Dead, Vol. 5: The Best Defense

This was one awesome issue. While I'm glad they went a slightly different way with the introduction to The Governor in the TV series, the intro in the comics was kind of awesome. Can't wait to see where this goes.

25. The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life

Some awesome moments - like when they first pulled up to the prison after leaving Woodbury - and some serious tension. Rick is getting scary, though. Curious to see what comes next.

26. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter (audiobook)

A really good mystery novel. I saw a few of the twists coming, but even when I did I thought that they were good and really well done. Not an action-packed thriller, but if you're looking for a more low-key mystery that's really well-written with great characters, this is a good one to pick.

27. The Scent of Shadows

I actually quite liked this book. Not perfect by any means, but it kept me interested throughout the whole thing and I'm curious to read what happens in the next book. And I found the concept of Light and Dark sides of the Zodiac kind of new and interesting, even if the basic premise has been done. Enjoyable read.

28. Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever

This book was awesome. I love basketball, but it's not something I really grew up with, so there is a lot about the game and the players that I don't know. I was vaguely familiar with the Dream Team (obviously), but loved this opportunity to find out more about them and more about how it all came to be. Really well-written, too.

29. Under the Dome

I have been reading in June, I swear.

Okay, I can't think of the last Stephen King book that I really loved. I have felt that his more recent books have been a little sub-par, especially when compared to the great books he has written previously (The Shining, The Stand, etc.). He's still one of my favorite authors, though, so I've never given up on him. And I'm sooooo glad I didn't.

Under the Dome is probably the best book I've read this year, and definitely one of my favorite Stephen King books. Even at a daunting 1000+ pages (although it really didn't seem like a daunting task while reading, I assure you). Great characters - the lovable ones and the ones you just wanted to punch in the face - and insanely compelling drama. I was dying to know what was going to happen next. Great book all around.

30. Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries

I had heard Tyson interviewed before on TV, and he seemed like a pretty cool guy, especially for a scientist (I can say that, because I'm a scientist and I know for a fact that we are generally not cool people). More than that, though, he spoke about topics like astrophysics and quantum mechanics in a way that I could understand them. (I might have a background in science, but I am far from understanding astrophysics and quantum mechanics). Because of those reasons, I decided to pick up one of his books and see if his writing was as interesting as his speaking.

I'm happy to say that it pretty much was. While there were a few parts that still went over my head and made me feel a little stupid, on the most part I was able to understand what he was writing about. I like that he is able to write about these topics in a way that is both understandable and interesting (and at times even pretty funny). I'll definitely be checking out some of his other writings in the future.

31. Jurassic Park

This book is a re-read for me - I read it about 15 years ago after seeing the movie - and with the movie re-release I figured it was a good time to pick this one up again as well.

I have to say that, while I still really enjoyed this book, I like the movie better (which is very rare for me). I actually thought that most of the main characters were better developed in the movie version (Grant, Sattler, Malcolm, Hammond, Lex and Tim), and the jump-out-of-your-seat moments were more dramatic and/or scary in the film. There were more of these moments in the book, which was fun, but the ones that the movie put in (the T-Rex attack on the cars, the raptors in the kitchen) were just better done in the movie version.

I still really liked this book, though. Plenty of tense and scary scenes, good storyline, intriguing and novel concept (at least at the time it was written), and (mostly) interesting characters (I kind of hated Lex in the book). Definitely worth a read. Now I just have to go and dig up The Lost World, so I can re-read that one as well...

32. Break No Bones

I love this series. Usually quick, fun reads with plenty of action, drama, and science. This one wasn't one of my favorites, mostly because I don't really like Pete and because I prefer the books set in Montreal, but I still really enjoyed this one. I didn't see the twist (view spoiler)[ - the people being killed for organ theft - (hide spoiler)] coming, and I was just as confused as Brennan about who was responsible. Can't wait to keep going with the series.

33. Robopocalypse (audiobook)

I just don't know about this book. The concept was really cool, but for some reason it just didn't work for me. It could have been the audiobook (although I've read plenty of them and have never had this problem before), but I just didn't find myself caring about any of the characters. Something dramatic would happen, someone would die, and I just wouldn't care. So I don't know. Might just be me.

34. The Orphan Master's Son

I didn't have such high hopes for this book after reading some negative reviews, but I actually really ended up liking it. It was tough to read at some points - sometimes because the story got slow and sometimes because the topic got heavy - but I'm really glad that I read it. I thought that Jun Do's story and transformation was fascinating. I also really found it interesting to read about how different things are in North Korea compared to America, which especially came through in the broadcasts, which I found darkly humorous. Glad I read this one.

35. The Light Between Oceans

I can see why this book has been getting such rave reviews. I thought the book was really beautifully written and the characters were very well-developed. I want to say that I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that "enjoy" is the right word to use. It was, at times, really hard to read, once it was found out (view spoiler)[ that Lucy's birth mother was still alive (hide spoiler)]. I definitely identified more with Tom than with Isabel, and I know that if I had been in Tom's position I would have done exactly what he had done. That being said, I'm not a mother, so I can't really fault Isabel for what she did either. It was wrong, but not incomprehensible. I can't say that many women wouldn't have done the exact same thing in her position. That's what makes the rest of the book so hard. A really good read, though, and I'm glad I picked this one up.

36. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I absolutely LOVED this book. I didn't want it to end. It could have kept going for another hundred pages and I would have been completely happy. I don't read many books written in letter format, although I have read a few, and it was a nice change from what I'm used to. I adored the characters and I loved hearing about their individual experiences before and during the war. Such an enjoyable book. Glad I finally got around to reading this one.

Kate wrote: "36. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I absolutely LOVED this book. I didn't want it to end. It could have ke..."

Kate, have you read 84, Charing Cross Road, which is another story (non-fiction) told through letters? It's also very good.

Linda wrote: "Kate wrote: "36. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I absolutely LOVED this book. I didn't want it to end. It ..."

I haven't read that, Linda. Thanks for the recommend. I'll add it to my list!

37. 20th Century Ghosts

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I guess it was good, but I was hoping for scarier. I thought that Heart-Shaped Box was fairly terrifying, so I had high hopes about this one. While there were some very good stories, they were more on the creepy end and not the really scary end. And some of the stories were just kind of 'eh'. I still plan to read his other novels, though. Just hoping for something a little scarier next time.

38. Dark Places

I kind of adore Gillian Flynn. I wish I had started reading her sooner, but I'm glad I finally picked up some of her books this year. She has a way of writing that just draws me in. Like Gone Girl, this one had a conclusion that I didn't see coming, but that was entirely believable based on what had already happened in the story. While I think I liked Gone Girl a little more, I found that the plot of this one was more interesting, if that makes sense. Both excellent books, though. Can't wait to read Sharp Objects.

39. Crank

I've never been a huge fan of books written in verse, but I guess it just takes the right book to change a person's opinions. Crank is an emotional, inspired story about one teenager's addiction to meth. A great read. Will definitely read more books by Ellen Hopkins in the future.

36. I loved Guernsey so much. Reading through letters gave the book a primary source feel, as well as a window in time. The characters are vivid, real, humorous, and self sacrificing.

40. Captain's Fury

This series is really getting good. Lots of action in this one, and I loved getting to see Tavi's interactions with the Canes again. Can't wait to see what happens next.

41. MaddAddam

I liked Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. Liked, but not loved. But I'm so glad that I read them, because by reading them, I got to read MaddAddam. This is the book that I wanted Oryx and Crake to be. It had a great dystopian feel, lots of drama and action, lots of good character development, and was actually very funny at times (especially in the parts where Toby was telling stories to the Crakers). Speaking of which, I loved the Crakers in this book. We saw them in the other two books, more in Oryx and Crake than The Year of the Flood, but they played a big role in this book and they were absolutely wonderful. An amazing read. Love, love, love.

42. Burial Rites

This was a fantastic book. I'm shocked that this is Hannah Kent's debut and will definitely be looking forward to picking up anything she writes in the future. I really enjoy historical fiction, and it seemed apparent to me that Kent did a great deal of research when writing this novel. I don't know whether Agnes was, in real life, guilty or innocent, and - to be honest - I don't really care. All I know is that Kent made me care about the life of someone who I had never even heard of before. The characters were wonderfully fleshed out and the story just felt real, from the characters to the setting of Iceland in the early 1800s. A great read - highly recommended.

43. Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise (audiobook)

I would first like to say that I am not a cook. I can cook, in that I can follow recipes well enough and create edible meals. But I'm not a foodie and I don't create wonderfully elaborate meals for the world to enjoy. I think if you are one of these people, this book would appeal to you more. I don't think you have to be the kind of person has been to the restaurants she reviews, though. But having an appreciation of food would definitely help.

With that said, while I am not necessarily the target audience, I did enjoy the book as a memoir. I liked Ruth's attempts to become different people in order to go undetected in restaurants and found it interesting to see how fancy restaurants - and fancy people - treat different types of customers in these restaurants. I also thought it was kind of cool how she included recipes in the book. Didn't work wonderfully in the audiobook version, obviously, but I thought it was a cool concept. And while most of the recipes were things that I would personally never try - as I mentioned before, I am not a fancy cook - some of the recipes sounded both simple and delicious. A fun read. I'll probably pick up one of her other memoirs in the future - I liked her writing style enough that she's worth checking out again.

44. Faithful Place

The third book in the Dublin Murder Squad series. I didn't think it was as good as the first two, but part of it was because I never really liked Frank Mackey as much as I liked the previous lead characters. I thought that the mystery was pretty good, though, and I didn't see the development with Kevin coming. A pretty good murder mystery overall, but not spectacular. Hoping for something a little better out of Broken Harbour.

45. Sharp Objects

I love Gillian Flynn. Now that I've read all three of her novels, I can say that for sure. This, being her first novel, is not quite as polished as her other two, but is still a great story with some fascinating characters. While I think that Dark Places and Gone Girl are better books, I think that Camille is actually Flynn's best written and most developed character. My one complaint is that there was a LOT of sex in this book. I don't have a problem with sex in books, but I guess the way it was used so casually in this one made me a little uncomfortable, although I think it's possible that that was the whole point. Otherwise thought this was a great book. Can't wait for Flynn to come out with someone new.