Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Holes - I read this for the first time as an adult. I love how Sachar's story jumps around through time. I love the characters (even the bad ones). Great story for kids, great story for adults too.

Infidel - I read this for book group in February though I missed the meeting. I think she was very brave for writing this book and for her life choices in general and I respect that. The story/writing did drag for me at times, but all in all a good, interesting read.

Blindness - I started off listening to this on my iPod and was quickly sucked in to the characters, plot, and storytelling. When I ran out of tracks and switched over to reading the actual text, I had some difficulty reading it because of the style of writing - sentences flowing into each other without punctuation at times, no quotation marks, etc. But I made it through and enjoyed it even when I stumbled trying to figure out if the narrator was talking or a character was (and if a character, which one?!).

The Reader - This was a great, quick read. Reading the book first made the movie horribly boring by the way, so I would suggest that you take your pick (book or movie) - my guess is that whichever comes second will be a snoozer.

Holidays on Ice - I love Sedaris' short stories. Some of these I had already heard him read on This American Life or in other short story collections of his, but they were worth a re-read. This collection pulls together many holiday stories of his. Though my favorites are all the Christmas stories - well one of them I guess is partly about Easter.

I, Robot - There were definitely a few stories in this collection that I enjoyed more than others. Unfortunately, the last one was my least favorite and made it very hard to finish. The part of me that likes solving equations/problems really enjoyed the book, the part of me that would rather take an English class than a math class was not quite as excited.

Coraline - A cute story. A little slow or uninteresting at times - I had trouble getting really sucked in.

Never Let Me Go - I loved this. The narrator (protagonist) was interesting both in her own character development and in her storytelling - and I just genuinely liked her. It made me think a lot about memories versus concrete/more tangible things like objects, peoples, places. And of course about ethics and science and alienation of groups, etc.... The one part that didn't work for me much was the conversation towards the end when many of the theories and questions are cleared up - it read a bit too much like spoonfeeding - I liked the subtle delivery of "what is going on?!" throughout much more. And though the end was heartbreaking for me, I appreciate the book ending in the way it did rather than a happy sugar coated ending.

A Wizard of Earthsea - Such a fun read! I enjoyed Ged's adventures - especially the scenes with the dragon and with Skiorh.

The Cement Garden - Not my favorite read. I enjoyed moments and the writing was strong, but throughout I felt somewhere between uncomfortable and horrified and so it wasn't the most pleasant of reads.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan A Novel - A nice quick read. I found the subject matter interesting and I cared for the main characters, but the writing style and storytelling were not as strong as I would have liked.

When We Were Orphans - I would say I liked this book. I am not sure that I would suggest it to anyone. There were parts that I truly enjoyed and parts that I thought were immensely boring.

The Graveyard Book - I loved this story! The characters were interesting and well conceived and written. My fondness for Nobody Owens was never lacking, but it definitely grew throughout the book - I was thoroughly charmed by him and caring for him by the end.

The Body in the Library A Miss Marple Mystery - This isn't my favorite Agatha Christie, but that is not to say that I didn't enjoy it! Especially by the second half, I was really invested in figuring out the mystery.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Time Of Your Life - Love these! Exciting to have Fray back in the picture!

Musicophilia - eh? This was alright. I was hoping for more from what I had heard from Sacks on RadioLab. Some stories were definitely more interesting than others. I think I prefer his stories more in small doses.

The Tombs of Atuan - I loved this 2nd Earthsea book. In the first book I was mesmerized by the world that LeGuin had created (always checking the map to see where Ged was) - in this book I was mesmerized by the underground world - the tombs, undertombs, labyrinth. Tenar was an interesting new character and I was happy to read about Ged's continuing adventures.

Y The Last Man Vol. 1 Unmanned - A fun start to a series. I am excited to read more!

Fragile Things Short Fictions and Wonders - I enjoyed some of these stories, some I made it through but was fairly bored, and some I didn't bother finishing because I wasn't feeling them. October in The Chair was by far my favorite.

The Books of Magic - Next stop on my Neil Gaiman tour.... Thoroughly enjoyed this though I doubt that I will follow the series any farther. The illustrations were beautiful.

I loved this too . . .was a little disappointed by the ending -- seemed to falter in the face of a book that had been so suspenseful throughout. Have you read others/same author you'd recommend? (RE: Never let me go . . . many entries back!!)

Kate wrote: "I loved this too . . .was a little disappointed by the ending -- seemed to falter in the face of a book that had been so suspenseful throughout. Have you read others/same author you'd recommend? ..."

Hi Kate. I've only read one other - When We Were Orphans - and for me it was just ok. I'm interested in trying out some of his other books someday.

Y The Last Man Vol. 2 Cycles (21) - Love these! I read this in one sitting - did not want to put it down.

Stardust(22) - I think that seeing the movie a couple years ago hurt my enjoyment of this book (though I still liked it a lot!) - I both knew a good deal of the plot and was expecting much more excitement and/or laughs from some parts of the story. Ah well.

Y The Last Man Vol. 3 One Small Step (23) - People coming to Earth from outer space. Theater opposite of Shakespeare's time. Back and forth kidnapping. This one didn't pull me in as much as the first two, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Predators and Prey (24). I have been reading these in individual comic book form rather than the collection all in one book. I enjoy them quite a bit even though I was fully satisfied with the way in which they ended the television series. Great to see Harmony back and causing trouble.

Kindred (25) - In the running for the best book that I've read this year. Thought-provoking and emotional. Well written and suspenseful. Great first line too.

Y The Last Man Vol. 4 Safeword (26) - Not my favorite of the Y The Last Man books thus far, but still a great read with some interesting character and plot development.

The ABC Murders A Hercule Poirot Mystery (27) - A great little mystery. I love the "Not From Captain Hastings Personal Narrative" sections and how they add to the suspense.

Hi Emily, I didn't realize you were participating in this challenge! I was just reading through your first few entries when I realized which Emily you are.

Emily wrote: "Kindred (25) - In the running for the best book that I've read this year. Thought-provoking and emotional. Well written and suspenseful. Great first line too. "

Haven't long finished this myself Emily. I thought it was brilliant as well!

Y The Last Man Vol. 5 Ring of Truth (28) Surprise! I read another one! Great installment.

Leslie wrote: "Hi Emily, I didn't realize you were participating in this challenge! I was just reading through your first few entries when I realized which Emily you are."
Yes, it is me. I actually happened upon this challenge in one of your updates!

I was thinking about reading Kindred this summer - seeing all these positive comments are definitely making me think I should!

Y The Last Man Vol. 6 Girl on Girl (29) Great to finally learn a bit about Beth (history and present) - that was the highlight for me of this volume.

Olive's Ocean (30) This reminds me of the type of book that I wanted to write when I was younger. I can't believe that this book is "challenged/banned" at some schools - that is simply bizarre. Nice, simple story. Well written.

Y The Last Man Vol. 7 Paper Dolls (31) I love back stories. Nice to finally learn some more about 355. The "virgin birth" bit was interesting as well.

The City of Ember (32) A nice story. I am sure that I would have enjoyed this much more if I had read it when I was a kid. As an adult, it didn't measure up to how good I think it could have been. It also bothered me that it was never even hinted at how the humans survived without sunshine.

Y The Last Man Vol. 8 Kimono Dragons (33) The usual. Love these.

Y The Last Man Vol. 9 Motherland (34) Amazing. I was sad when I realized that this was Vol. 9 rather than 8. Just one left. Sad.

Y The Last Man Vol. 10 Whys And Wherefores (35) I'll admit. There were some tears shed on this one. I wish that it had ended differently, but I think they did well with their ending.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (36) I love Oskar. What an amazing character. Great storytelling. Touching and sad.

Emily wrote: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (36) I love Oskar. What an amazing character. Great storytelling. Touching and sad. "

My coworker gave me this one to read. Over a year ago I think. I guess I should actually pick it up and read it!

Shortcomings(37) I enjoyed this and it was a fast read. Not super eventful and the ending was a little "eh? that's the end?". Not on my list of must read graphic novels.

Parable of the Sower (38) - I read this over vacation and enjoyed it quite a bit - especially because I was on the West coast where it takes place (though much father North). I am excited to read the sequel.

Fables Volume 1 Legends in Exile (39) Fun start to hopefully an interesting series of comics. I love some of the basic story elements for the series - The Adversary, The Amnesty, Upstate Animal Farm, etc.

Fables Volume 2 Animal Farm (40) Great to make it Upstate to the farm! I love the giants and the scenes in the cave.

Runaways Dead End Kids (41) Eh? It's alright. At some moments I was really into this story, but for the most part, I was disappointed. I like the characters though and may try out another installment.

The Handmaid's Tale (42) I loved this but thought the pacing of the ending was a bit off. It left me a little confused at the ending, not because I was confused by the plot/story but because the ending felt like it came out of nowhere.

New Moon (43) I actually surprisingly liked this...until the Italy trip. I think the trick with these books is that you need to be invested in Bella or Bella and Edward as a couple, and I honestly don't care for either.