2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Hey everyone!

This year I try to write more reviews of the books I am reading, so I thought it would be nice to keep track of those reviews in this corner. I already keep track of my challenges and the books I read in my personal challenge thread, so this corner will only have my reviews. Hope my reviews will be useful for you. Feel free to jump in and talk to me, share your opinions and recommendations! ^^

#1. The Beginning Place by Ursula K. Le Guin

2 Stars

I didn't wanna give 2 stars to this book and start to the year this way, yet I really don't like when everything happens so fast that makes you say, "whoa, what just happened right now, how did you come from that to this?!" I can say that this story had potential, but having things happening so fast really disillusioned me - especially when it comes to falling in love - and ruined its potential too. Maybe I wouldn't feel this way if it was a longer book allowing me to absorb and understand the details and what is why. I was intrigued in the beginning, I was wondering what'll happen, but then the questions "What's happening?" and "What happened?" came towards the end. Nothing is explained, we don't know why the characters did what they did. I wanna say more but since the material in my hands very little, I'm afraid I'd be giving spoilers, so that's all I can say about this book, I guess.

#2. Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards

3 Stars

Well, this one was not bad, but wasn't great like I was expecting. I don't know why, I was too excited to read a Doctor Who novel, yet it didn't feel like Doctor Who much. It was a fine story, and I kept picturing Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston of course (could even hear their accents in my mind while reading - yeah yeah, I'm a Doctor Who nerd) but again, it kinda lacked something that I cannot pin down. Hope the rest of the books will have better adventures (I am planning to listen the audiobooks which were read by David Tennant - yes, my fav Doctor - as well as reading the rest of them) that will make me keep reading without putting them down.

#3. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently #1) by Douglas Adams

3 Stars

Well, I read this one before watching the Netflix series, and after seeing half of the first episode of the show (my connection was terrible, so I postponed watching it to a later date) I realized that the show won't be like the book. I mean, I guess the general air is similar, and from what I gathered from the first half of the first episode, Dirk Gently is same more or less (and has the enthusiasm of The Doctor a bit, I believe).

If I return to review the book, it started with all these characters who weren't Dirk Gently - the guy who gave his name to the book - so after some time, I kinda grew impatient and said "Where the hell is Dirk Gently, for God's sake?" Aaand yes, we don't meet him till reading the 50% of the book (I was reading from my kindle, so believe me when I say 50%). This was a bit weird for me at first, but right after I finished this one and went on reading the second Dirk Gently book, I realized that Dirk was only late to appear in the first book, just like he is late all the time, even with his scarce customers. And this thought kinda made my day, you know, thinking maybe Adams did that on purpose because his character is someone who is suffering from tardiness? :) Maybe it was not what Adams had in mind, yet thinking about this was fun anyway.

Also, the ending was like it was kinda wrapped up too quickly, maybe it was the translation, or maybe I was too tired because of my sleep deprivation - thanks to the last six days of my new kitten's constant screamings of wanting to mate - and my mind didn't wrap around it, but again, I can't say that I understood what just really happened. I had a general understanding anyway, yet was disturbed from the lack of info, so I went ahead and gave it 3 stars instead of 4. Yet, the second book seems much more promising than the first one - it took a turn which I really wasn't expecting and made me say "Oh, doesn't this remind me Neil Gaiman??" - but of course I won't even mention it, that would be spoilers, sweetie ;) (How great was River in Doctor Who? ^^)

Anyway, this was fun, and if you like Doctor Who, you'll like this one too - there was a reason that they made Douglas Adams write Doctor Who novels, after all.

#4. The Witches by Roald Dahl

4 Stars

Well, again, this was weird Mr. Dahl. Yet, was kinda sweet at the end? Hmm, I don't know. The thing with Roald Dahl is, even though he wrote children books, these books are kinda not suitable for children, since his stories has some radical opinions in them. ^^ I thought this after reading George's Marvellous Medicine too, I mean that book even made me - a 27 year old - want to mix every possible disgusting thing and think it as an elixir or a great medicine and make someone drink it. I thought what if one child would take that one too literally and kill their grannies instead of - I don't know - making them giraffes or sth? And in this one, it kinda provokes smoking cigars, not bathing at all, and - well - being a mouse. Yet, surely Dahl is a story wizard, I'd never anticipate that the story would take all those turns. ^^

Well done, Mr. Dahl, can't wait to discover your other gems.

#6. The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #6) by Lemony Snicket

4 Stars

I really don't know why all the adults in these books are so stupid and incapable, and never learn from their experiences. I mean how many times the Baudelaire children have to prove to Mr. Poe that when they say one man is Count Olaf in disguise, he IS Count Olaf in disguise, so why-oh-why pea-brained Mr. Poe never takes the children seriously and believes them the first time they say someone is Count Olaf - after letting him friggin' escape for 6 times in a row now?? It is a series of unfortunate events indeed - these poor children are living in a world where all the adults are either criminals or doofus idiots! And where the hell is police for God's sake, why an idiotic banker is responsible for finding kidnapped children and not the police?? What would be the use of Mr. Poe, even if he were to find the children Olaf kidnapped, besides watching him snatching the kids and walk away?? We need the damn police people! I'm telling ya. And why nobody is looking into the Baudelaire house fire? Was it really an accident? Did they found the bodies of Baudelaire parents? It was not an incinerator or sth, just a house fire, they should find some remains enough to throw a funeral at least. I really started to think that these children live in "Idiotcity" where no adults can manage more than breathing.

This was a reread btw., I read this one when I was 13 I guess, yet I forgot the story (which is sth I rarely do) and enjoyed reading it like the first time. That may explain why I kept wanting to punch Mr. Poe and Jerome till I beat some brains in their heads. Seriously, I don't even blame Count Olaf at this point, I mean when there are so many idiots around, just like Mr. Poe and Jerome in this particular case, a villain's gotta do what he's gotta do, that's perfectly normal. Yet, I'd like to see the Baudelaires have a Japanese or Chinese guardian in the future, who would teach them martial arts ("martial arts" in here means a very cool way of kicking someone's ass) so they would kick some Olaf ass at the end. Never mind inventing, researching and biting. Well, biting could work actually, come on Sunny, rip that nose of Olaf's and give Voldemort a pal in his no-nose villains club.

#8. The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #8) by Lemony Snicket

4 Stars

I think this was "sh*t just got real", and we saw some action, as well as we learned some new information. A bit creepy too, how much bloodthirsty a man can be Olaf? And I'm sticking with my opinion that every adult around the Baudelaire children -besides villains - are complete idiots that if breathing would not be occuring automatically, they'd simply die.

#10. Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2) by Victoria Aveyard

3,5 stars

Well, this was good, but I kinda am tired to keep seeing "let's make the heroine more and more standoffish and aloof, as she gets more powerful, so she becomes a person who even can't trust her best friend, pulls away from her love interest and don't forget to make her feel being drawn to the bad boy" kinda thing. I mean, Leigh Bardugo's The Grisha series and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone series has the same theme - hell, even Buffy has the same theme (well, she probably invented that). So once you know the theme, you pretty much can see what will happen next, and that is something I don't like about the books. I want a book to surprise me, especially if I am reading fantasy, I want that book to show me what I have never imagined, want it to keep me intrigued. I guess I'm getting tired of seeing "love, hate, battle, dilemma and a standoffish heroine who is between boys and battles and losing it all to rise mightier than before".

I gave the first book, "Red Queen", five stars because it was different, and I wasn't expecting the way it unfolded, which was a good surprise. I am giving this one 3,5 stars, because like I said, I'm getting tired of this old song - even though it is well written. Or maybe this is the destiny of the second books of the trilogies; they are usually becoming transitions between the 1st and the last book, where nothing really happens other than building up the suspense, so you can go kaboom in the final book.

Well if that is the case, hope the third book will shadow the clichés of this 2nd book.

#11. Paris Spleen by Charles Baudelaire

4 stars

Baudelaire is always amazing. There is so much power in his words. There are some little stories in this book that shook me up. Really great book.

#12.The Circle by Dave Eggers

5 stars

I'm giving this 5 stars, because it made me really live through that chaos of social media in every step.

God, it got me tired. It suffocated me sometimes, which made me put the book down. There is not a single thought to hide to yourself. No life other than social media. Everybody wants something from you. And they take what they want, along with little pieces of your soul, heart and brain. They are making you a robot. A soulless automaton. The way the Circle changes Mae is really disturbing. She becomes a total stranger to her initial self at the end. I put the book down right before I finish it to go and brush my teeth, and I noticed that I was feeling half embarrassed and half bad, like someone was squeezing my heart hard, and when thought why the hell I was feeling like this, I realized that while reading, I'm putting myself in Mae's shoes, and I was embarrassed of the way she acts - like I was her conscience or sth like that. Eggers really made me live every single thing Mae lives. So much that, when I wanted to add a comment to one of my GR friends' review, I was startled from the thought of writing a comment even.

In George Orwell's 1984, even Big Brother's cameras had blind spots, so Winston Smith could take a breath in his blind spot at least. In The Circle, there are no blind spots, not one in your mind even. Also, I respect Winston since he gave a fight for his freedom, yet Mae was so easy to be put into a mold and be shaped. I think that was why I felt embarrassment about the way she acts.

I expected the ending, saw it coming, yet the twist right before the ending was a nice one. Looking forward to watch the movie with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson too.

#14. Mom & Me & Mom (Maya Angelou's Autobiography #7) by Maya Angelou

5 stars

Angelou is amazing. Couldn't put the book down. Since I read "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" before this one, I was familiar with some events in this book, which were summarized at the beginning, yet the thought of "I have read these already," didn't turn me off. If anything, it made me wanna read the rest of her autobiography sooner.

Vivian Baxter and Maya Angelou, how powerful these women were! These two free spirits did everything they wanted, that made them happy. They never stopped discovering themselves, stretching their limits to see what else they could do in their lives. I am in awe of everything they did, I even couldn't believe my eyes when I read that Vivian wanted to be a seaman.

She said, "Oh baby, I want to see you, too, because I'm going to sea."

"To see what?"

"I'm going to become a seaman."

I asked, "Why, Mother?" She had a real-estate licence, she had been a nurse, and she owned a gambling house and a hotel. "Why do you want to go to sea?"

"Because they told me they wouldn't let any woman in their union. They suggested that the union certainly would not accept a negro woman. I told them, 'You want to bet?' I will put my foot in their door up to my hip until every woman can get in that union, and can get aboard a ship and go to sea." I didn't question that she would do exactly what she said she would do.

Reading this book, reading all these, made me think that we don't necessarily do only one thing with our lives, we can do, we can be many, many, many other things. We can try new things, things that we've always wanted to do, but couldn't or wouldn't find the time, things that we were afraid to do, thinking we couldn't do it already. I have to say that these two women inspired me to the bone, just when I am at a critical point in my life. They renewed my courage, I can say. I mean, here I was, at 27, thinking I could do nothing else with my life, and met Vivian, who became the first black seawoman at an old age, who still wanted to be sexually active with her 4th husband at the age of 75, who never lost her spirit, no matter what, and raised her daughter Maya to be one of the most influential women of the world.

So, am I gonna complain again about I can do nothing else? No. Not while Vivian Baxter and Maya Angelou are giving me courage. If you need to be encouraged at any point in your life, if you are looking for inspirations, whether be a man or a woman, you should read this book.

#15. The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events #10) by Lemony Snicket

4 stars

Didn't know even Olaf could fear from someone. Oh, and nice job with the "QQ" twist.^^

#16. Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto

4 stars

I love the serenity in Yoshimoto's writings. Even though she usually writes about deep and dark subjects - such as death, the ghosts of the dead people who were loved by the main characters, looking back to see what's been lost today and such - she always manages to create a sense of serenity, which makes me think that her themes are not focused on death, but focused on the first step of healing, after losing a beloved one. So, no matter how hard the things the main characters faces, they (and of course us, the readers) usually end up with feelings that have hope sparks in them. Maybe this is a way for Yoshimoto to tell us that life goes on, no matter what, and when the right time comes, we can and we should move on, honoring the lost beloved ones by always loving them in our hearts.

In both novellas (Hardboiled and Hard Luck) this book brings together, these themes are revealing themselves. So, even though these two stories have nothing to do with each other, they create a holistic air together. Both have strange parts, serenity, the beginning of a healing process and hope in their bases and they kind of reflect the real aspects of life. They make you face the fear of loss, yet give you hope implying that somehow you can get through things, even when you are hurt and thinking you're never gonna be the same.

It's amazing that how Banana Yoshimoto can write so close to the heart and reflect the human nature beautifully in a simple way. Looking forward to read more from her.

#17. How To Be Parisian: Wherever You Are by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, Sophie Mas

4 stars

Loved this one. It made me laugh, think about things and realize that I'm at least 55% Parisienne, because I normally do a lot of things that the authors of this book says The Parisienne does. It was weird to see I have some habits of Parisian women -even the rude ones sometimes. Yet it made me giggle sometimes, made me feel confident and amused too, hence the 4 stars.

#18. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

3,5 stars

3,5 stars.

Well, this was - weird . I mean, it was an interesting story, so different from many others and very well written - good enough to make me feel the horrors that Yeong-hye feels. The book is consisted of three different parts of one story, and after I read the first part, I really had to stop and read something else (some Terry Pratchett to chase the bad images in my head away). The imagination of Han Kang makes you see things he wrote vividly, and there is something disturbing in that. Maybe it's about personal taste, I don't know, but I carried the feeling of eeriness while I was reading. And yet, maybe this was what the author was aiming, like I said, this is a very well written book. A bit dark, maybe. And definitely haunting.

Hey everyone!

I've just joined Scribophile! If you are a member already or thinking of becoming a member, make sure to drop by and say hi to me. :) My pen name is Ecem Yucel. Hope to see you there! ^^