Puzzles Presents: Ultimate Reading Challenge 2015 discussion

Post the title, description, and your opinion of the book you read.

Fifty Shades of Grey I originally started this as my book-to-movie read and then joked about it being a book originally written in another language, but no- it fits here.

I remember when this came out a few years ago. And, having read it now, I can see all of the fan fiction moments. If you can get past the characters of the Sub-Conscious and the Inner Goddess, its not all THAT terrible.

Smut. Intriguing. Entertaining (albeit not always making any lick of sense) characters. Am I going to go out and read 2 & 3, no, or at least I can wait a while longer. But a fun beach read or a little something to warm you up in winter.

Winter's Bone

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell is the first book I have read by the author but it certainly won’t be the last. I had previously seen the film Winter’s Bone with Jennifer Lawrence, so I was very inclined to read the book. By the beginning of the first chapter, I was immediately compelled by Woodrell’s skill at describing the Ozark Mountains and the clans that reside in them. Hardship is second nature to Ree Dolly, the main character, who is tasked with searching for her father while remaining the sole caretaker of her mother and siblings. Her surrounding world is filled with poverty, drugs, and violence. You can feel the tension throughout the entire book as she raises questions about the whereabouts of her father in a community where speaking up is extremely dangerous. We meet several fascinating characters through her journey, most notably, Teardrop, her father’s brother and an unlikely ally. If you loved the movie, you will definitely love the book.

Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis

I had the pleasure of meeting CPC last year at a library conference in Mississippi. An engaging, hysterical and warm man to meet, I knew I had to read one of his books. All I can say is how disappointed I am in myself that it took this long to get to it.

Bud, Not Buddy is the story of a young African American boy growing up during the great depression. His mother passed when he was 6, and being shuffled from home to home, Bud has had to endure more things in his young life than I could even try to imagine. Finally taking matters into his own hands, Bud decides to set off and find his father, who he believes is a famous musician. Along his way, Bud encounters all sorts of people and sees what life is like outside of what he has ever known.

I am terrible at describing books, and the above paragraph is no exception. I cannot express how good this book was. The characters jumped off the page, my heart broke for that poor child and I was rooting for him to find his family until the very last page. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more.