Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I shockingly (for me) read 54 books in 2011 - a personal record. Setting the goal at 50 again for 2012. Good luck to everyone!

Good luck in our New Year.

1. Specials

The final book in the Uglies trilogy (not counting Extras, which takes place in the same world but with different characters). While I really enjoyed the first two books, this one just kind of left me a bit underwhelmed. I think it's mostly because the way the main character acted with her new "special" brain made her kind of unlikeable and much less relatable than in the previous books. And I didn't really like the ending. It wasn't horrible by any means, and it definitely had its pretty great moments, but I was just hoping for a little more after what the first two books brought.

I still plan to read Extras, so I'm hoping it's more on the level of the first two books in this series.

2. The Help

I realize I'm a little behind in reading this book, but I finally picked it up. It was quite good. I gave it four stars, but it's a strong four stars. I just couldn't give it five. I can't specifically pick out anything about the book that I didn't like, though. I thought that it was well-written and interesting and I enjoyed following the three main characters. It was a little difficult getting used to the language of chapters told from the point of view of the maids, but after a few chapters I did okay with it. Very good book, though. Now I can finally see the movie.

3. Extras

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It was enjoyable. Lots of action and I was very curious to see what was going to happen as I was reading. But it was also just weird. More weird than the rest of the series, which was weird enough. Wasn't a huge fan of the ending, either, but it wasn't terrible. I actually liked the new protagonist - she certainly had her faults, but she was a nice change after the character of Tally in Specials (I liked Tally quite a lot in the first two books, she just really bothered me in the third). Interesting enough story, though, so I'm glad I read it.

4. In a Sunburned Country (audiobook)

This was my second attempt at Bill Bryson and I am pleased to say that I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about Australia (which isn't a shock, I suppose, because I didn't know much about it to begin with - sorry!) and it was quite funny as well. Listening to this book at the gym I started laughing on more than one occasion. I wasn't sure how I felt about the author's reading when it started (his part American/part British accent threw me off at first), but once I got used to his voice I really enjoyed his reading style. I think the droll, dry humor he gave to the stories really added to the enjoyment. I'm very glad I gave Bryson a second chance.

5. Emma

For most of the book, Emma Woodhouse was a spoiled, selfish little rich girl who thought she knew better than anyone else, and I really just wanted to punch her in the nose. With that said, I didn't hate the book. It started out a little slow, but once Frank Churchill showed up the pace of the story picked up a bit, and after Box Hill, where Emma finally realized "Hey, I'm kind of a horrible person", it actually got quite enjoyable.

This was my first attempt at Jane Austin (I know, I know, I'm ashamed), and I will definitely pick up her other books. But I'm hoping that I like the characters a little more in her other stories.

6. Absolute Midnight

The second book in the Abarat series, Days of Magic, Nights of War, was published in 2004. And I have been waiting, impatiently, for a little more than seven years to read the follow-up. So you can imagine that the anticipation was a little high.

Is this book perfect, no. But it was still awesome. It was great to have the characters I love back. The story was exciting and scary and thrilling and I am very curious to see where the next book goes. (And I'm hoping that it doesn't take quite so long to find out.) I wish that Carrion had been in a little more of the book than he was, being my favorite character, but the parts he was in were pretty great, so I'm not really complaining. A fun, exciting read and I can't wait for the next book.

7. Maniac Magee

I was going though the books in my mother's classroom this summer, helping her to get ready for the students, when I came across this book. I remembered reading it back when it first came out, when I was in school, and I remembered that it was really good. But I realized that I had absolutely no recollection what it was about. Not the tiniest clue. So I figured it was about time for a re-read.

This book is about race relations... sort of. There is the whole black vs. white thing in the town, but it's more about Maniac Magee himself and how his legend builds but how the whole time he's just looking for a place to call home. A great story with some really great characters. I'm glad I picked this one up again.

8. Ready Player One

Have a nostalgia for 80s pop culture? Ever wish that you could live inside a video game? Then this book is for you. It's not even necessarily for you to know all of the references - I hadn't seen some of the movies mentioned and hadn't played (or even heard of) a lot of the video games. It was still one of the most enjoyable books that I've read in a long time. Exciting story, lots of action, interesting characters, plus tons of geek fun. :)

9. Angel: After the Fall, Volume 1

I got into it late, but I'm a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. And given that Angel ends with a big cliffhanger (Hell on Earth and all that), I was curious to see what Joss Whedon had in mind for his characters.

It was a pretty good story. Loses points for being a little confusing with too much going on - I definitely missed some things that were happening and a few things only made sense to me after I read the story pitch that was included in the back of the volume. But overall it was pretty fun and nice to see the characters again and to see how they ended up. And it definitely left me curious to read more.

10. Ella Enchanted

I first saw this book when I was young and was interested in reading it, but for some reason never did. I'm glad I finally got to it. Ella was a great character and this story was a pretty clever little twist on the Cinderella tale. Totally enjoyable all the way through, with a great ending. I'm sorry that I didn't pick this up when I was young, because I know I would have loved it, but at least I can still enjoy it now.

11. Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft

Wow. Last year I read Heart-Shaped Box and thought it was a pretty excellent horror story. Once I realized that Joe Hill had written a comic I checked it out. Thought it looked promising. So I bought it. But for whatever reason I didn't pick it up until now.

Ho-ly crap. This was a great comic. Good characters, intriguing drama, creepy old house, and down-right scary at times (the Echo, in particular). I'm glad I read this and I can't wait to get my hands on the next issue.

12. The Art of Fielding

I'm not the fastest reader, but I churned through about 400 pages of this book over the weekend because I simply could not put this book down. It's hard to explain the greatness of it - it's not a page-turner in the way that a great thriller is - but the characters are just so real and so well-imagined that I found myself honestly invested in what was going to happen to them. A great book that I would recommend to anyone. I'm so glad that my friend convinced me to read this.

13. Sarah's Key

This was a tough one. An excellent book, well-written and interesting, but also very, very sad. I'll admit that, being an American and far too young to have lived through the war, I knew absolutely nothing about this event in French history. Pretty horrible and still hard to believe that this kind of thing actually happened. (view spoiler)[The hardest part of the book to read was, of course, what happened to Sarah's brother after she never came back to the apartment to let him out - I knew what was going to happen to him as soon as she locked him in, but it was still heart-breaking when she finally got back and found him. (hide spoiler)] I wasn't as interested in the non-Sarah aspects of the story, specifically Julia's family drama, but I don't necessarily think that it should have been left out of the story. It just didn't have the same impact as the Sarah stuff had. Still, an excellent book. Glad I read it, as depressing as it is.

i read Maniac Magee in elementary school and thought it was u good book

14. A Storm of Swords

While A Clash of Kings is at this point still my favorite, this was an excellent follow-up in the series. Started out a little slow, but once the action picked up, boy did it pick up. A lot of shocking moments in this one. Very curious to see how it plays out from here.

15. Wonderstruck

Once again, Selznick has created a beautiful story through both words and pictures. The story of Ben, a young boy in Minnesota who is struck deaf suddenly and searching for his father, is told in prose. Rose, a deaf girl in Hoboken who heads across the river to NY to see her mother, has her story told exclusively through pictures. The artwork is beautiful and it is fun seeing how these stories come together at the end. Highly recommended.

16. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

I don't generally read spy novels, so I have to admit that I found this book a little confusing. It wasn't bad, not by any means, but I ended up making a cheat sheet with the names of the major characters and what they did to keep inside my book, because I couldn't keep most of them straight in my head. About halfway through the book, though, the story did pick up and get more interesting, and I found it easier to follow. By the end, I was quite interested to see how the story would play out. So I guess, as far as spy novels go, it was pretty good, but spy novels just aren't really my cup of tea.

17. Divergent (audiobook)

This book is a hard one to rate. It's a pretty standard YA dystopian fiction story, nothing incredibly ground-breaking, but I enjoy the genre enough that I found this one pretty fun. I think if you over-analyze the story it will fall dreadfully short - the society the characters live in doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, and the faction training is kind of ridiculous. But I found that if I just accepted that this is the way it is and let myself just go with it, the book was quite a fun ride. I found myself getting invested in Tris's decision and initiation, and was very interested to see how it all played out. Not a great book by any means, but plenty of fun and I'm curious enough to read the sequel.

18. Will Grayson, Will Grayson

I take back the negative thoughts I had about John Green after being not so impressed by Paper Towns (although he co-wrote this with David Levithan, but I'm going to give him a lot of credit anyway).

This was a very enjoyable book. I read through it in just a few days and was caught up in the story of both Will Graysons, so points for that. Tiny was a little too upbeat for me to love him completely, but I still thought he was pretty cool. And while it wasn't the ending I was expecting, I thought it ended very well. A very well-written book, great for any age and any sexuality.

19. American Vampire, Vol. 1

A new comic series for me. I thought that it was very enjoyable, and I want to find out more about these characters and where they are going next, so I will definitely be picking up the next volume. I found it interesting that the main character - Skinner Sweet - is actually the villain in his story. Obviously the reader is still kind of rooting for him, but he is evil. It's an interesting way to write the story.

The only downside, as far as I was concerned, was that I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations. It's not that the artist is bad - some of the panels are actually very cool and I'm sure he's great, but a lot of the panels are just too dark and/or hard to follow. Someone gets injured/bitten/disemboweled or whatever, but it's hard to tell who it is or what exactly is happening. Too much darkness or splashing blood. And it's not that I'm complaining about darkness or splashing blood on its own - it's a vampire story, for goodness sakes - but just don't let the blood overshadow the image you're trying to get across.

I'll still definitely be picking up the next volume. Even after the recent over-saturation of vampire stories, make the vampire a murderous evil bad guy and I'll follow you all the way.

20. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (audiobook)

I have decided something: I love David Sedaris. I'm sad that it has taken me so long to discover him. Also, I think that I am going to continue to only experience him through audiobook, because I think that hearing him read his stories himself makes them even more awesome.

This was a great book and had some truly hilarious stories (my personal favorite being "Six to Eight Black Men"). I listened to this at the gym and aside from having to keep myself from laughing out loud on a few occasions, it was a great distraction and made the work-outs go by much faster. If you like this kind of humor, definitely check out this book. And check it out in audio if you can.

21. Academ's Fury

Not quite as good as the first in the series, but this was still a very enjoyable book. Tavi was actually one of my least favorite main characters in the last book, but he really came into his own in this one and I found it much more interesting following his story. And the battles in this one were pretty damn cool. Not my favorite fantasy series or anything, but still very enjoyable and I'll definitely be picking up the next in the series.

22. When You Reach Me

I'm not completely sure how I feel about this book. A lot of it was confusing, but it's meant to be that way. Things happen at the beginning that make no sense whatsoever, but pretty much everything - at least everything major - is explained in the end. I did find myself so wrapped up in who the hell the note-writer was that it kind of took me out of the moment. I ended up giving this four stars, because while I thought most of the book was average or just slightly above average, the ending was totally five-star excellent for me. It took me by complete surprise, but in a way that I liked. And despite being heavily influenced by A Wrinkle in Time (which is referenced throughout the book as the protagonist's favorite story) I thought it was a pretty original concept for a story. Glad I read it.

23. Oryx and Crake

This was another book that I'm a little torn on. Overall I thought it was a pretty great book. An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic genre - one of the better ones, actually. As in most books of this genre, we are thrown into the world as it is currently and little by little given information on what happened to make it this way. Unlike a lot of the books of this type that I've read recently, though, the past is very well developed and thoroughly explored. There are things I didn't like about this book - certain story points - and I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending - I would have liked a little more - but it was mostly all good. And I really liked (or disliked, as the case may be) the characters in this book. Overall a very interesting read and I will definitely be reading more books by this author in the future.

24. When You Are Engulfed in Flames (audiobook)

Let me say it again: I love David Sedaris.

Not quite as good as Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, but a close second. Very enjoyable, especially on audio.

25. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I know that opinion varies on this book - some people love it, some hate it. I'm one of the people who really liked it (although didn't love it). Overall I thought it was a pretty great story, even though I found it a little difficult to get into the style of the narrative. I don't know if Oskar - the main narrator - is supposed to be autistic or just odd, but I interpreted him as being autistic. Not a bad thing, and I actually really liked his character, but the way he wrote/talked sometimes was a little hard to follow. I'm not sure I could call this book enjoyable, due to the subject matter, but it wasn't always depressing, either. A fast, interesting read and I'm glad I picked it up.

26. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel

I quite liked this book - read it in only a few days. It was part murder mystery, part historical fiction about what it was like for Japanese-Americans after World War II. I thought there were some really good characters (and some really horrible ones - meaning well-written but just awful people). I was very curious to see how the trial played out, but was also very interested in the historical aspect of the story. A very good read.

27. Locke and Key, Vol. 2: Head Games

It amazes me that someone (Joe Hill) had the ability to think this stuff up. This volume was better than the first one, in my opinion, as far as pure awesome imagination goes, although the first one had a more dramatic story. And many props to Gabriel Rodriguez for the artwork. Pretty great stuff. Highly recommended comic series.

Kate wrote: "27. Locke and Key, Vol. 2: Head Games [bookcover:Locke and Key Vol. 2: Head Games]

It amazes me that someone (Joe Hill) had the ability to think this stuff up. This volume was better than the fir..."

I have the 4th one waiting for me at my local comic shop... can't wait to actually have time to pick it up!!

28. Locke and Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

Continues to be awesome. And terrifying. Awesomely terrifying.

29. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

This is a non-fiction collection of accounts from people all over the world who have fought in and survived the zombie war.

Wait, what? What do you mean you don't remember the zombie war? It only ended like 10 years ago!

Okay, this is a fiction novel written as thought it was a non-fiction account. I actually really liked this style for this type of story. Made the zombies seem more real, I guess. This was a very well-written book, very interesting, although not as dramatic or scary as I was expecting it to be (that's one downside of the historical narrative - a war report is not scary, no matter what events are being talked about). An excellent read, though. Especially recommended if you liked The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by the same author.

Kate wrote: "28. Locke and Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows [bookcover:Locke and Key Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows]

Continues to be awesome. And terrifying. Awesomely terrifying."

Just wait til the 4th one! I thought it was the best one yet!!!

Lindsey wrote: "Kate wrote: "28. Locke and Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows [bookcover:Locke and Key Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows]

Continues to be awesome. And terrifying. Awesomely terrifying."

Just wait til the 4th o..."

I can't wait! I was holding off on buying it until it came out in paperback, but I might have to go ahead and get it in hardcover if it's not going to be soon...

30. Monday Mourning

I really enjoy these books. Can be slightly predictable at times - I figured this one out a little before Brennan did - but overall the book was good. The mystery was interesting (although slightly disturbing) and the personal interactions were fun as always - I especially like when she works cases in Montreal as opposed to Charlotte, because I like her being forced to work with Claudel. A very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to picking up the next one.

31. Bud, Not Buddy

This book won the Newbery in 2000 and it's pretty clear why. The strongest aspect of this book is its narration, told from the point of view of ten-year-old Bud (don't call him Buddy!) back in Depression-era Michigan. Bud has had a hard time since his mother died, living in an orphanage and various foster homes, but is innocent in a lot of things about the world (my favorite moment was his remembering that his mother used to read to him the book 'Twenty Thousand Leaks Under the Sea' - "The squabs were only able to plug ten thousand of the leaks we have, that means we have ten thousand left, and dag-gum-it, I think we're going down with all hands on board!")

Bud's search across Michigan for his father is a great story told in a great voice. Might not be my favorite book of all time or anything, but nothing I can really fault about it. An excellent read.

32. The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us

This is an enjoyable series, but I wish that I had read the first two volumes before seeing the show. While there are plenty of things that vary between the two, I think that the book would have had a little more of an impact, and the shocking moments would have been more shocking, obviously, if I hadn't known they were coming. I'm caught up now, though, so I'm hoping to stay ahead of the show with the remaining volumes. Still a great read with excellent illustrations.

33. Anansi Boys

I read Anansi Boys when it first came out in 2005 - I had recently been introduced to the writing of Neil Gaiman and had blown through everything already published up to that point and was anxiously awaiting this follow-up to one of my favorite books of all time: American Gods.

Now, I know that I really enjoyed it, but I think that I just read it so fast that it didn't stick with me. Because I was going through my collection a little while ago and realized that I didn't have the faintest freaking clue what the book was about. Oops. Time for a re-read.

Glad I did get around to re-reading this one. It's a great story. Not American Gods great, but still an excellent book. I love the way that Gaiman writes his characters, even the unlikable ones. Completely enjoyable all the way through.

34. The Fault in Our Stars

I got nothing done today. Okay, part of the reason is that I have mono and my daily activities pretty much consist of walking from the bedroom to the couch. But the main reason is that when I woke up this morning I started reading this book and I ended up doing little else all day.

This book is beautiful. It is heartbreaking, but it is beautiful. I take back every bad thing I thought about John Green after my disappointment over Paper Towns, and even the props I gave him after Will Grayson, Will Grayson, since I kind of negated them by saying that some of the awesomeness came from the co-author. What John Green has done with this book is create two amazing characters and made them so real that when things get tough you actually mourn for them.

To borrow a suggestion from a friend, do not read this book in public. It is a book about teenagers with cancer. (But it is also a book about SO MUCH MORE than that). But do read it. It is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Kate wrote: do not read this book in public

My daughter wished she read your comment before she read the book in class - The Fault in Our Stars is sitting on my bedside table waiting for me tonight.

Mekerei wrote: "Kate wrote: do not read this book in public

My daughter wished she read your comment before she read the book in class - The Fault in Our Stars is sitting on my bedside table waiting for me tonight."

I wish I'd had that advice too!! I was reading it on the bus and it was a bit awkward... luckily it was only part-way through the not the real tear-jerking bits at the end otherwise that could have been very awkward!! I did almost miss my stop, though, because it was so engrossing!! :)

I read it at work and didn't even notice the people watching me in the lunch room while I wept! I agree with all you comments!

35. The Walking Dead, Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars

This third volume - the first one that I'm reading without having already seen the TV show's version - had some truly awesome moments and some of the series' most disturbing moments. Great addition to the series, though, and I'm excited to read the next one.

Kate wrote: "7. Maniac Magee

I was going though the books in my mother's classroom this summer, helping her to get ready for the students, when I came across this book. I remembered re..."

I remember loving this book when I was younger, I've been looking to re-read it again soon. I've had a yearning to re-read a few books from childhood and i think James and the Giant Peach just might have to be next..

36. A Feast for Crows

This book left me feeling a little disappointed, but to be fair, after the brilliance of A Clash of Kings and the insanity of A Storm of Swords, any follow-up probably would have fallen short.

This book was as well-written as any of the other books in the series, but the real problem was that the most interesting characters were either absent (Tyrion, Dany) or given little to do (Arya). While it was nice to get point-of-view stories from different characters (Cersei's point of view was particularly interesting - she really is crazy), there were too many new characters for my liking and not enough of the old favorites.

Still an enjoyable story with some great twists and turns, and I'm looking forward to reading A Dance With Dragons.

37. The Year of the Flood

As with Oryx and Crake, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. I enjoyed it, I really did, and I can't really point out any one particular thing about it that I didn't like, but at the same time I feel it could have been better. I don't know. I think it's a Margaret Atwood thing. Maybe I just don't get her writing style.

With all that said, though, I did like the book. I thought that Oryx and Crake was slightly better, but I liked how in this book we got to see more about how the plague affected the general population, where in Oryx and Crake we saw how it came about. I think this book could be read as a stand-alone, but you definitely get more out of it if you've read Oryx and Crake, since that book gives more of a back story to what is happening in this one.

38. Bossypants (audiobook)

I should first state that I don't regularly watch Saturday Night Live and I have never seen 30 Rock. I don't have strong feelings about Tina Fey one way or the other. This is probably why I didn't enjoy this book as much as everyone else seems to. Don't get me wrong - it was funny and she told some good stories and there were a few points that I actually laughed out loud at. But a lot of it was just kind of average. Extra points for her reading the audiobook herself, though - that was very enjoyable. A fun listen, but not one of the best humor memoirs I've ever read. But still good.

39. Moon Over Manifest

I really liked this book - I can see why it won the Newbery.

While the central character in the book is Abilene - a girl who was sent to Manifest by her father, who is working the railroads - the book is more about the town of Manifest, its past, and its inhabitants than it is about Abilene. Her character could have been more fleshed out, but since she wasn't really as central to the story as you would think, I thought we got enough about her to make her relatable. The best parts of this book, though, are the chapters where Abilene is being told stories about what happened in Manifest in the past. Great story that kept me interested the whole way through, and while I guessed correctly at a few of the surprises, there were others that I never saw coming. Glad I read this one.

40. The Eyre Affair

I really enjoyed this book. I like the alternate-history world, where dodos were a common household pet, where time-travel is possible, and where Jane Eyre has a different ending than the one we know. And I really enjoyed Thursday's character. I think it helps that Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite books, so I found it very cool to see a little more of Rochester. A very fun read and I'm looking forward to continuing the series and seeing where it goes from here.