The Book Challenge discussion

My goal for the next year is to read 40 books. It's a little modest, but I'm a college student so my reading time is limited. I'll actually be quite proud of myself if I read 40 books. Last year, I only read three nonschool books while at college! Horrible!

I am reading Moon Palace right now and I am also rereading Little Women, which I am half-way through. Little Women is going very slowly, which is why I'm double-booking. Moon Palace is a much quicker read. I was able to read 100 pages of it today.

I've decided to give the A-Z Title Challenge a try too, but I'm going to count the books I read for this challenge as part of my 40 books total for the year.

Here's my list:

A:After the Quake
B:Black Water
C:A Certain Slant of Light
D:Dangerous Angels
E:Eclipse
F:Fahrenheit 451
G:A Great and Terrible Beauty
H:Her Fearful Symmetry
I:Interpreter of Maladies
J:Journey to the Center of the Earth
L:Little Women
K:Kindred in Death
M:Moon Palace
N:The Namesake
O:Oryx and Crake
P:Play it as it Lays
Q:The Quiet Room
R:Rebecca
S:The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror
T:Twilight
U:The Unbearable Lightness of Being
V:The Vanishing of Katharina Linden
W:Water for Elephants
X:Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Y:You Belong to Me
Z:Zig Zag



Read: 26/26

Book 1: Moon Palace by Paul Auster

I loved this book! For the first 100 pages or so, I had a hard time remembering that I was reading a fiction novel because it felt more like I was reading Paul Auster's memoir. Auster is great at making extreme and coincidental circumstances seem realistic and probable.

Book 2: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

The book jumped around a lot, but I didn't mind it. Kundera set up the scenes very well and always made it clear which moment in time we were at, so I was never confused. I enjoyed the philosophy in this book very much. I always thought that I would like to read a philosophy book some day, and Kundera cemented that interest. ULOB definitely makes you think about life.

Book 3: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I finally finished Little Women!! It was great revisiting the story of the March girls, though it went by slowly. By the time I got to Part Two, I decided to double-book on it, so I wasn't able to read much more than 15 pages a day for the last 250 pages. There had been so much I had forgotten since I last read it in middle school. Much of the book seemed entirely new to me, which made me all the more glad that I reread it.

Book 4: A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

This book was nothing like what I had expected. I picked it up because I was in the mood for something fast-paced and action-packed, and I figured this was the perfect book (going off of the movie). It wasn't at all. This book was all science. There were no dinosaurs (though there were prehistoric giant sea-monsters at one point) and *SPOILER* they never made it to the center of the earth. They didn't even get one third of the way there before a volcanic eruption spurted them to the surface again after weeks of traveling.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Why in the world would I do that? Because I like the way Jules Verne writes. He kept me interested in the story even when there was no adrenaline-rush happening. I admit, if this book had been 400 pages rather than 200 I probably would have given it 1 or 2 stars. Verne can't keep me interested with science facts alone forever!

Book 5: Play It As It Lays A Novel by Joan Didion

I found this book hard to get into at first, but once I got past the first 30 pages or so I sped through it. I'm always drawn to stories of a woman's downfall into madness (The Bell Jar anyone?) I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Maria's drives to nowhere, just speeding down all the different interstates between L.A. and Las Vegas. I, myself, enjoy driving just to drive. I found it very relatable in that way.

Book 6: After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

This book was interesting and different, as to be expected with a Murakami book. I enjoyed all of the female characters, though some of the male characters were kind of dull. After the Quake got very strange in the chapter titled Super Frog Saves Tokyo, which is about exactly what the title says; a 6ft. tall frog stopped an earthquake from happening in Tokyo (by fighting a giant worm that lived underground and caused all the world's earthquakes). Every other chapter was much more logical. This book will certainly never leave my mind for a long time.

Book 7: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I liked this book a lot better than I expected to. I had read an excerpt from this book a few months ago and I thought the writing was terrible, so I decided to never read it. However, 2 weeks ago I got bored and decided to see New Moon in theaters. Somehow, I got hooked. After watching the movie Twilight online, I went to the library to check out the book and I devoured its 500-pages in less than two days. I'll definitely be reading the rest of this series soon.

Book 8: Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

I didn't really like this book. It was so repetitive and rather dull for the subject matter. This was my first book by Oates, but I'm not giving up on her completely. I'm just going to chalk it up to a bad first pick. I own We Were the Mulvaneys, which I'm sure I'll enjoy a whole lot better.

Book 9: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Once again, just a fast and easy read, which is needed at times. This book seemed to be the favorite for most Twilight fans. I thought the first book was better. I found myself just skimming a lot of the parts that were just Jacob and Bella. I knew I would think the Jacob/Bella story was boring, which was why I skipped New Moon altogether. I'm sure the movie Eclipse will be better than the book. I've been liking the movies much more.

Book 10: The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Christopher Moore

I was reading this for a December groupread, and I seem to be the only one in the group who enjoyed this book. I can understand why people would be turned off by this book. It's incredibly weird and not at all like something you'd expect from a Christmas story, but I loved the wacky humor and insane plot with zombies and a talking fruit bat and a crazy lady who thought she was a Warrior Queen. Christopher Moore is now high on my list of authors to look into.

Book 11: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

This book might very well be my favorite of the series. I loved seeing Bella as a vampire. I think it was SM's most creative work in the Twilight Saga. All of the complaints that people had about this work didn't bother me at all, especially the complaint about it having such a happy ending. I was thrilled about that.

Okay, so according to my challenge, if I read 40 books this year, including the 26 for the A-Z Title Challege, that leaves 14 books that I can read outside the Title Challenge. I'm going to keep up with those 14 here:

1. Breaking Dawn
2. Midaq Alley
3. Sarah's Key
4. The Historian
5. Bel Canto
6. The History of Love
7. Daddy's Little Girl
8. Northanger Abbey
9. The Hunger Games
10. Before I Die
11. Ella Minnnow Pea
12. A Little Princess
13. The Summoning
14. Walk Two Moons

Bonus
15. The Awakening
16. East of Eden
17. The Graveyard Book
18. We Have Always Lived in the Castle
19. The Girl Who Chased the Moon
20. Persuasion
21. Ecotopia
22. A City of Ghosts
23. Brave New World
24. Evermore
25. The Forest of Hands and Teeth
26. The Road
27. The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Book 12: Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz

This book had been on my TBR list for years. I must have built it up too much during that period because I ended up being extremely disappointed with it. I didn't care about any of the characters, and since the book was all about the characters with no plot to sustain it...

I drudged through this one.

Book 13: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Six weeks ago I had never heard of this book, and then all of sudden I was seeing it mentioned everywhere on goodreads. Needless to say, I became extremely curious about it, especially because it seemed this book was unanimously loved. I am not an exception. I loved this book too.

I was very drawn to the character of the journalist, Julia Jarmond, right from the first page. She was so well written and relatable. She reminded me of myself, or of how I imagine myself to be 25 years from now (hopefully without the cheating husband).

Book 14: Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block

My roommate loaned this book to me, saying that it was her all-time favorite series. It was unique, fantastical, strange, and wonderful. If you're looking for a book to take you out of your world for a little while, Dangerous Angels is a great choice for an escape. I immediately bought my own copy from Amazon, even before finishing all the books. I plan on rereading this series many times.

Book 15: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

I loved this book. It had very rich imagery that made it difficult to put the book down. I got so into the story that I actually found myself talking out loud to the characters as I was reading (like a person yelling at the TV while watching a soap opera). There was love, obsession, manipulation, heartbreak. It was just an amazing read, and I highly recommend it.

Book 16: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

I liked this book in the beginning. I enjoyed the decriptions of the foreign cities that the characters travelled to, but after a while I lost patience with the slow-as-molasses pace. By the time I was halfway through, I decided to just quickly skim the second-half of the book and be done with it.

Book 17: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

I kept passing by this book on the library shelves (the cover attracted me), and one day I couldn't stand my curiosity anymore so I decided to check it out. I enjoyed the book but not as much as I was hoping to. I'm on the fence about whether or not I want to continue the series. Usually, the young adult books I read are relatable by people of all ages, but Bray's YA book may only be for the suggested age.

Book 18: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

This book got great reviews and I was excited to read it. I thought that it would be very emotional, but it left me dry. I couldn't feel any of the love or warmth the characters were supposed to have for one another.

Book 19: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

This book was very frustrating to read. The constant switch between past and present narration was confusing. The present narration left me with so many questions, many of which were not answered until near the end of the book (but at least they were all answered-praise for Atwood for tying up all her loose ends). Oryx's character frustrated me to the very end, though. Her unusual way of thinking about her life never gelled with me. I wanted to slap her so many times and tell her to snap out of it (as I'm sure Jimmy wanted to do as well).

Oryx and Crake was definitely an interesting read, but I'm not sure I can handle the sequel. Who knows, though? I might get to it some day.

Book 20: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This was my first Ray Bradbury book, and it certainly won't be my last. It was a very quick read (something you could finish in one sitting), and I found many of the characters very interesting (or more like amusing). I especially loved Clarisse McClellan, who will always remain one of my favorite literary characters, despite her small part in the book. I heard many people criticizing Fahrenheit 451 because they disliked the ending, but I thought the ending was very suitable to the story and it was not entirely depressing. We were left with hope.

Book 21: The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness by Lori Schiller

Schizophrenia is such an unusual illness and difficult to understand. This was an interesting look into the mind of schizophrenic, which began at the very start of her break down up through the present time when she is nearly recovered. I say nearly because schizophrenia is incurable and Schiller will never be completely well, but she was able to get her illness under control and is now living a happy, peaceful life. Very inspirational.

Book 22: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This is one of my favorite books of 2010, or perhaps the favorite book, so far. It was so interesting that Gruen included real circus stories in her book, so that I knew that the story I was reading was very true-to-life as it was in the Great Depression but also incredibly entertaining.

Book 23: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

I loved these stories. Lahiri's writing is so honest and simple, I felt I was really getting to know and understand Indian-Americans. Lahiri wrote stories that showed all sides of how Indian-American lived, and she wrote about all ages, male and female. It was wonderful to read.

Book 24: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

This book was well-loved in one of my groups, and though I had never heard of it before, I thought I'd give it a try. I did like it, though I wasn't as over the moon about as my group members. It was interesting reading it right after Water for Elephants because both of those books had an elderly man as the main narrator, which I rarely come across in my reading. Both characters talked about how miserable old age is. It almost makes me want to die young.

Book 25: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

I loved how important Russian literature was in this book. I had an obsession with Russian literature in high school and The Namesake started bringing it all back to me. I really enjoyed following Gogol around during his first 30 years of life. He is one of the most interesting and enjoyable characters I've encountered in my reading. I gave this book 5 stars.

Book 26: Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb

I think I am reaching the end of my enjoyment of the series. The storylines are getting very tedious. I still love the scenes between Eve and Roark, but it's hardly worth reading all of the books for them. I did like seeing Jamie again (the young computer genius who's sister was murdered in a previous book). I'm glad that Roark has kept up his interest in him, offering him a scholarship to Columbia and all.

I'll probably start reading only the books that focus most on Eve and Roark, past and present lives. J.D. Robb throws in homocides that hit a little too close to home every now and then. I like those the most.

Book 27: Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark

When I mentioned that I was thinking about reading more mystery novels, one of the first suggestions I got was MHC. I had never read her before, so I thought it'd be good to start out by reading one of America's most popular murder mystery writers. I really enjoyed this book, though it wasn't much of a mystery. It was obvious who the murderer was the entire time.

Still, I loved Ellie (the main character) and I was very interested in her work as an investigative reporter. I'm about to start my first internship at a local newspaper, so just the fact that the narrator was a journalist was enough to peak my interest in reading this book.

Book 28: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

This was a beautiful story about two ghosts who fall in love. It took me a little while to get a feel for the characters, but once I did I devoured the book. I also really loved learning about the families of the two teenagers that the ghosts took over.

Book 29: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Amazing. Funny. Thought-provoking. Oskar is one of my favorite literary characters. He is so intelligent and interesting and adventurous. I'm jealous (he's only 9!). This book has a sad plot (a young boy who lost his father in 9/11 and is trying to find a way to be close to him again) but Oskar is such a sweet and funny kid, and I found myself laughing out loud throughout a lot of this book.

Book 30: You Belong To Me by Mary Higgins Clark

This is my second book by MHC, and I'm coming to realize that I shouldn't go to her for a challenging mystery experience; the identities of the killers are kind of predictable. However, I really enjoy the characters in her books. The women protaganists are great. I'll keep reading her for the people rather than the story.

Maybe I'll give Agatha Christie a try for the mystery experience. I've only read one book of hers,and that was back in middle school.

Book 31: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

I absolutely loved this book! It's my second Austen book, after Pride and Prejudice, which I had to read for my ninth grade English class. And though I really enjoyed P&P, I still wasn't sure how I would take to Jane Austen's writing style--if it would have long passages and be over-descriptive (like many classics) or if it would be captivating. Luckily it was the latter, and I found myself spending much of my 3-day beach vacation sneaking in moments to read whenever and wherever I could. I thought Catherine Morland was very sweet and I enjoyed her and Henry's subtle romance.

Book 32: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I began this book with all of rave reviews about it still in my head (my inspiration for reading it) and though I didn't think it was the best read ever, I did find it very good. I gave it four stars, in any case. Katniss is a great female protaganist and I could completely understand her hesitancy in feeling anything for Peeta (which I'm sure many female readers were frustrated about). IMHO I don't think they belong together. They make good friends, but not a good couple.

I'm also satisfied with how the first book ended and I'm not all that interested in reading the rest of the trilogy. The amazing plotline of the Games is what interested me the most,and now that that's over, I don't really care about continuuing the story.

Tell me if I'm missing anything important from the last two books :)

Book 33: Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Oops! I forgot about this book. I read it about a month ago.

I expected a more emotional read than what it was. It started out strong, but the main character became kind of flat and I had a hard time understanding her (even though it was written in first-person). I also couldn't understand her "list of 10 things to do before she dies". Many of the things on her list didn't seem to do anything for her once she had accomplished them, so why were they so important to her to do?

2.5 stars out of 5

Book 34: Zig Zag by Jose Carlos Somoza

I'm so glad that I decided to do the A-Z Title Challenge because I never would have read this book otherwise. I never pick up thrillers when I'm browsing through books, but now I see that I should have given them a chance long ago. Of course, I can't deny that one of the things I loved about this book was the science it revolved around, specifically the String Theory, which always interested me but which I never took the time to learn about to any great depth. Zig Zag has given me a nice introduction to the physics theory, and it has convinced me to pick up a science book about it sometime soon.

Book 35: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

So clever! I'm currently working on my own 32-letter-or-less-pangram, and I'm very close (which makes me criticize the believability that the Nollop residents had such trouble coming up with one themselves, and when their entire livelihood was at stake no less!). However, that's the one main thing I found at fault in the novel. I found the rest of it brilliant and I have to respect the author for taking on such a challenge that the writing of this novel surely presented to him.

Book 36: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I'm running behind on my updates for this challenge!

I've loved the movie since I was a little girl. I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally read the classic book it was based off of. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't like it more than the movie. The bond between Sara and her father was much sweeter in the movie and the movie had a better, more surprising ending. The story of Sara Crewe was just shown so much more beautifully on screen than in the book,IMHO.

Book 37: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

This is the first new trilogy I've started that I actually wanted to finish after reading the first book. I love how the heroine is in this book; a normal, insecure teenager, 5 feet-tall with a minor stutter (which I thought was an interesting flaw for the main character to have-it's something you never see). Ghosts interest me a lot in stories too, so that was a real pull for me when it comes to this series.

I absolutely love how Kelley Armstrong is setting up Derek and Chloe's relationship. Derek is not the usual male love interest (he's described as ugly) but I love him.

Book 38: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

I reread this book (the last time I read it was in sixth grade for the Battle of the Books). I came in 2nd place for BotB and I blame that on an unfair question that was asked about Walk Two Moons. They asked why did they grandmother end up the hospital. She had been in the hosptial twice and I put down the wrong one out of the two (I was too shy to challenge the question with the judges).

Anyway, that was about all that I remembered about the book, so rereading it was really like reading it for the first time. I even didn't see the surprise ending coming!

Book 39: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

I'm really enjoying the Darkest Powers series. I just know that Derek and Chloe will end up together at the end. They spend so much time alone together (and Chloe's the only person that Derek likes and trusts other than his brother Simon, so it's obvious that she is special to him). I just wonder how it'll happen.

The plot about the science experiment on the supernatural teens is getting more and more complex too. I'm curious about what more there is to learn and how it's all going to end.

Book 40: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I found the Trask family to be very interesting, but the Hamiltons were rather boring to me and in the book their story just seemed to fizzle out. I thought that was odd considering that the Hamiltons were supposed to be based on Steinbeck's own family, so they should have held more importance to me. As it was, Kate and the twins' stories were what kept me engaged.

Book 41: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book began brilliantly. It really pulled me in, and I fell in love with the adventurous little baby who would eventually become Nobody (or Bod for short). The entire plot was so creative, and I was expecting to give it 5 stars. However, as I got farther into the book, there were some parts that just couldn't hold my interest. I did not find the Honor Guard to be very interesting and I could have done without the ghouls and the pawnshop owner completely. But that's just my taste. Other people loved those characters.

Book 42: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea?
No, said Merricat, you'll poison me.
Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep?
Down in the boneyard ten feet deep!

This was a rhyme that the neighborhood kids would yell out everytime they saw Merricat Blackwood in town on errands. (There is one scene later in the book when all the neighbors (young and old) are chanting it while the Blackwoods' house is burning down, and it was one of the most haunting scenes I've ever read.) The Blackwoods are notorious for the mass murder of nearly their entire family (aside from the sisters Merricat and Connie and their old uncle). Everyone else had been poisoned to death with arsenic during dinner six years ago. Connie was the main suspect, but had been exonerated in court.

I absolutely loved this short novel by Jackson, and I plan to read much more of her.

Book 43: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I enjoy magical-realism a lot. I don't know why I don't read it more often. I first heard of this book (and author) in the giveaways. I didn't win it, but I was intrigued enough by the summary to add it to my TBR list. I love reading books that take place in NC because that's my homestate, and the fact that this book brought magic to my home made me love it.

I found Julia and Sawyer's story especially sweet. I just can't resist those given-a-second-chance-love-stories. Emily and Win's love story was sweet too, though it felt very rushed. I also couldn't get used to Win's white linen suit and red bowtie attire. (I hate bowties on guys. It's weird.)

Book 44: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Mrs. de Winter frustrated me through most of the book. I couldn't believe how much she let the servants run the house and determine her routine. I wanted to scream at her "You're the mistress of the house! You can do whatever you damned well feel like and be in any room you damned well want!".
I mean, I remember being that shy, but I was like eight. She's in her twenties. At least she gained self-confidence at the end.

The ending of Rebecca was amazing-very suspenseful. I could not put the book down for the last 60 pages.

Book 45: Persuasion by Jane Austen

I didn't like Persuasion as much as P&P and Northanger Abbey. Anne Elliot's character didn't interest me that much. She was too docile and "tender" of a main character to carry the book forward.

Book 46: Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach

This was a pretty good book, mainly because this was the first book that I read that was actually about a utopia (aka ideal state) rather than a dystopia. The book was very dense and was mostly description (aside from a few of the narrator's journal entries which were mostly sex) but I thought the ideas expressed were interesting. I wouldn't want to live in Ecotopia myself, but it wouldn't be a bad place to vacation once in a while.