Challenge: 50 Books discussion

47. People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Competitive Crafters, Drop-Off Despots, and Other Suburban Scourges

First of all, love the title.

It's a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine to read these blogger memoirs. Fun stories from an ordinary life. It started with Jen Lancaster for me, but there are others out there, of course. I had never read the blog version of "People I Want to Punch in the Throat", so I'm not sure how much of her stuff is recycled for the book, but I really enjoyed it. And I have a few friends who are mothers of young children who I know might like it as well.

I just picked this up from the library! And, yes, because of the title.

Donna wrote: "I just picked this up from the library! And, yes, because of the title."

Hope you enjoy it!

48. Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Awesome end to the trilogy. I loved the way this book brought the minor characters to life even more and thought that the resolution was very fitting. Read the other two first, obviously, because you won't understand a thing otherwise, but then read this one, because it's excellent.

49. It

Wow, I'm far behind. Need to get reading...

I've actually been reading this book off and on for about six months now. It's a really good story, and when it was scary, boy was it scary. But there was something that I felt was a little lacking at the same time. The best way I can explain it was that while the horror aspects were good, this book almost seemed to be closer to 'The Body' (aka 'Stand By Me') than his classic horror stories. And while 'The Body' was an excellent coming-of-age story, it was also a short story. 'It' could have benefited from being a few hundred pages shorter (it clocks in at over a thousand). Still a great horror novel, though.

50! Someday, Someday, Maybe (audiobook)

This was a fun, light read. I know it's not autobiographical, but I couldn't help but feel that Lauren Graham was telling her story (probably because she read the audiobook herself). I also recommend getting the audio if you're going to read it, because it's really fun listening to Graham tell the story. Lots of humor, but a good message about not giving up your dreams. A cute story.

51. All the Light We Cannot See

This was a really well-written book about the German occupation of France during WWII, told from the points-of-view of a young German radio operator and a blind French girl. I thought that the characters were really well-developed and I love the descriptions of the world that Marie-Laure (the blind girl) gave. An excellent book.

Man, did it seriously take me almost a month to post one book? I'm in the middle of a few, but I need to get reading if I'm going to meet my goal before the end of the year. :/

I loved "All The Light We Cannot See" too. I thought the idea of the orphans listening to the clasical music and science was very touching.
Great book!

52. Bones to Ashes

I love the Temperance Brennan books. They're quick reads, but full of action and suspense. I didn't rate this one as high as some of the others, but only because the topic of this mystery is a subject matter that I don't really like reading about. But still an excellent read and I've already got the next book in the series ready to go.

53. Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II (audiobook)

This was a very interesting read. One of those true tales of survival during war-time stories. I did find the characterization a little lacking - while I was told the main characters' thoughts and motivations, they felt a little bland to me. But the story was really interesting and the audiobook was well-read by the author. Not one of the best of this genre, but certainly worth picking up.

54. The Silkworm

The second in the Cormoran Strike mystery series by J.K. Rowling, writing under her pseudonym. I really like these books, and I thought this one was a better outing than the first. Partly because the characters have had more time to develop, but also because I thought the whodunnit was a little more plausible and the pieces fit well (although I still had no idea who it was before the reveal). A really fun murder mystery series with a protagonist like none I've read before. Thoroughly enjoyable.

55. The Scorch Trials

I actually liked this book a little more than The Maze Runner. Less time had to be spent creating the world and more time could be spent on developing the characters and going into what is going on in the outside world. There are still plenty of unanswered questions, so I definitely plan on continuing the series. Hopefully things will at least somewhat make sense by the end...

Enjoyable book, though. Fun dystopian fiction with lots of action and high stakes.

56. Undivided

I thought that this was a fantastic conclusion to the series. It wrapped things up well, with a lot of twists along the way that I didn't see coming. One of the more intriguing YA dystopia series I've read. Highly recommended.

57. Smoke

This is the sequel to Burned by Ellen Hopkins. I think I actually liked this one more than Burned. I liked the dual points of view, alternating between Pattyn (our narrator in Burned) and her younger sister, Jackie.

I liked hearing Jackie's story a little more than I enjoyed Pattyn's, although Pattyn's got better as the book went on. I wasn't a fan of Pattyn's relationship with Angel, but other than that I thought the storylines were really well done.

I'll definitely be reading more of Ellen Hopkins.

*Sigh*

I have a couple books I'm working on, but none of which I will be able to finish before the end of the day tomorrow, which means that - once again - I am going to be unable to complete the challenge I set for myself this year.

Still, it was fun and I read a lot of great books. I'll set a new challenge for myself for 2015 and hope for better!