Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2014
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Meagan's reading in 2014...let's aim for 50
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How did you like Allegiant? I am going to read all 3 of them this year. I have heard not that great of things about Allegiant but everyone I have talked to loved the others. Just getting opinions before i read them!
Yeah I was a little underwhelmed by "Allegiant" till the end. I thought the end was well done and your definitely left with a lot of feelings...but "Divergent" and "Insurgent" were better in my opinion. You still want to read it just cause it's the end of the series...it's like you've gotten to that point, you might as well read it.
"12 Years A Slave"With the movie coming out (or already out I'm not sure) I was definitely interested in reading the memoir first. I'm glad I did. Its a very interesting account of a serious injustice in a time where injustices were a part of life for a black person.
its a memoir so there's not a lot to criticize. Who am I to say he should have omitted this and elaborated on that.
Does anyone suggest any good books or popular lists of books I can check out? My biggest issue at times is figuring out what I want to read next...I am gonna read at least three books from "Buzzfeed's 16 Books to Read Before they Hit Theatres" but I am always open to suggestions.
If you go to Explore at the top of this website, than listopia there's a bunch of different book lists depending on what you're interested in. Hope that helps.
"Labor Day"Bittersweet, yet not, lol. Told from the 12 year old boys perspective, it's an outsiders point of view to what is a very melancholy courtship. I had been seeing the previews for the movie for weeks and after seeing this on buzz feeds books to movies list, I was really intrigued and wanted to give it a try. Light read that I enjoyed. Although I'll be very interested to see how the movie unfolds, I have a feeling it's going to have to take some liberties to add material.
"The Fault in Our Stars" by: John GreenAmazing Amazing Amazing!!!
I really liked this from the start. The language is so upbeat even though the topics are depressing. You fall in love with Augustus and Hazel not because you feel sorry for them or because they are tackling their disease with bravado, but because of who they are separate and apart, and who they are are pretty cool :)
From the beginning you have an idea of the turn it's gonna take eventually so you read with a sense of despair. I sensed the twist before it was revealed and that rarely ever happens for me, lol. I spent the last 50 pages crying...not just little tears but just one step away from bawling like a baby, gasping for air. This really affected me in a way I don't normally get affected by books so I know this was special.
I recommend this to everybody.
I would have finished this much sooner but I don't have the kind of time anymore to sit and read all day, as much as I would like, lol.
Gone GirlThis book starts in a very typical way...about 150 pages in you start to sense something is not right, and then BAM, major plot twist! Then BAM, another plot twist that leads to a conclusion you didn't see coming when you started it.
I was half way through the book when it really started picking up and after that it only took me two more days to finish. It's definitely more then what you think it is when you start it.
While the ending may leave you feeling down and disappointed in a sense, I had to admire the gumption it took to actually leave the book at that point. I'm curious if the movie will have the same balls.
"Blue Moon" by: Laurell K. HamiltonYa know, when these books are good, they are really good...and when they are not it's hard as hell to get through it. This book wasn't bad at all, but the middle of it before it picks up is so boring and repetitive to me.
But when things started happening it got interesting. I was very intrigued and surprised at the turns it was taking and do want to read the next and hope it doesn't take me another month to finish, lol.
"Dark Places" by: Gillian FlynnThere are not a lot of books that can grab my attention and demand I focus till I reach the end, but Gillian Flynn’s “Dark Places” achieves that and still left me wanting more, even though by the end I was emotionally spent.
The story follows Libby Day, the sole survivor of a vicious massacre that kills her mother and two older sisters when she was seven years old, her older brother Ben, then 15, accused and put away for life for these murders…due in large part to her testimony accusing him of the crime.
The narratives are from three people, Libby in the present, Patty Day (the mother), and Ben the day before the murder leading up to the event.
The beauty of this book is it’s characters and the way the author let’s events unfold, and she truly achieves something very rare…an actual surprise that you don’t see coming but the pieces were perfectly placed from the beginning of the story.
What I love about this book is truly how messed up the main characters are, yet I feel such a deep sympathy and empathy for them, that I can’t hate them. Libby and Patty are very similar that the weight of their worlds has bogged them down. Maybe understandably so, but their utter defeat in life has caused them to make horrible decisions. Libby in how she’s lived her own life, not as a gift as some would imagine, but as this burden that she doesn’t know how to deal with. Patty in her utter defeat from her life’s circumstance.
Ben is probably the one that intrigued me the most and his was the narrative I most enjoyed reading. He is so very much a product of his circumstances and just in the trials of being a 15 year old boy who doesn’t know where he fits and wants desperately to belong and be seen. He’s emerged in the “heavy metal” culture of the 80’s where “satan worship” was the reason adults attributed to their kids being different. Through the story, Ben is the one who was accused of strangling one sister, brutally axing his other sister, and shooting his mother face off with a shot gun. Which makes his narrative so interesting to me cause I genuinely went back and forth with if I thought he did it. Cause his narrative reveals how very young he is at heart but he definitely has a dark side that just makes you wonder if he could do something so horrible. Through his friends I built new theories and disregarded them just as well as the story progressed.
This story is filled with a lot of messed up things that some may not life, references to satan worship, animal brutality, inappropriateness with a young girl, fairly graphic sex, and murder. This author really does “go there” and she writes in a way that keeps surprising you with every new development.
Going towards the climax of the story, finding out the how’s and why’s, I was left almost in tears, it’s that good. But make no mistake there are no happy endings here…in the end, a mother and two girls are still dead and a family is completely broken forever because of it, regardless of fault. In the end, all you can hope for is a sort of peace and finality.
I recommend this to one and all.
"Spot of Bother" by: Mark HaddonOh my gosh that took what felt like forever, lol. It wasn't bad but there was one little detail that constantly took me out of it and made everything happening completely ludacris...if George really thought he had cancer...why didn't he just get tested for it? He could by request....right? This was the basis of his complete meltdown through out the entire book and it could have been handled if he just got it all tested out.
The rest was good and interesting, just George's parts killed me. There was a reason it took me almost two months to finish this.
Open House by: Elizabeth BergNice, light book. Flowed really well which for a book like this is crucial. The main character, Sam, was sympathetic and humorous and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.
Very good for some light reading.
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by: Maya AngelouI had this sitting in my pile TBR for a while, and then when she passed I figured now was as good a time as any.
I had never read anything by her in the past although I knew who she was and heard her poems in movies like "Poetic Justice"...but I always loved how she spoke. She always spoke with purpose and meaning. Everything that came out of her mouth was a command for you to listen and drape yourself in her tone and pitch and beautiful use of the english language, and that's exactly what you find in her autobiography "I Know why the Caged Bird Sings". Even during parts that must have been hard for her to relive and put to paper, she pulls you through it with grace.
Lasting impression after finishing this was, "we don't make people like this anymore". I'm not even talking about her alone but the people in general in that time frame. In a time of dangerous injustice and bigotry and racism there was a beauty and quality and steadfastness in people, more specifically African Americans. We're a different time and place, we're not worse, but we are most certainly not like her. I doubt there will ever be anyone like her.
"The Fourth Hand"I am such a John Irving fan girl. He is easily in my top 3. I haven't read everything he's done but I've read enough to know his style and general tone and I love it.
I liked "The Fourth Hand" although this is not a book I would give someone to introduce John Irving. This is like a "John Irving- lite" book. It has all the familiar characteristics of a John Irving novel but just not as deep. I don't want to say shallow cause I felt what he was going for and I got the character arc, but knowing his previous works, this was just a lighter version of what he usually does. But this does not mean I did not enjoy it.
Patrick Wallingford is a tabloid journalist for an international news station. I liked the commentary the book gave on journalism in general and it's treatment of news for ratings. Patrick is a cad and a womanizer although not so much of a jerk that you don't kind of root for him. On assignment in India, his left hand gets eaten by a lion, thus starting the story.
Wallingford gets a left hand donated to him by the husband of newly widowed Doris Clausen, thus setting off Patrick's character journey.
I definitely felt the first half was more quirky than the second. I was sad that Dr. Zajak was completely dropped in the second half although he's not forgotten, so we at least know how he ends up. But his story was interesting to me and I had thought, considering the focus he had in the first half, that there would be alternating viewpoints. I feel like mid way through, the "love story" kind of took over and while engaging in its own right, kind of cheapens everything in a sense.
But all in all, I was into it. I laughed, I gasped at times, I was intrigued, and in the end I felt satisfied.
"Girl Missing"I usually don't read a whole lot of mystery thrillers but a friend bought this for me as a gift and I wanted an easy read before some books I ordered come in this week.
This was everything I wanted, entertaining, easy, and fun. It was enough to keep my attention and sometimes thats all I ask for. I had an idea of who the killer was about 2/3 into but when the pieces came together I was still a little shocked.
Good book!
Yay my books came in, of course it would when I decided to start another one cause I can't stand not having a book I'm reading. Even if it takes me forever, I always have a book I'm currently reading. It's like a security blanket, lol.So Im gonna do something I rarely do, I'm gonna put
on hold cause I really want to read
.
To Selena, With LoveI heard about the book when it was released last year and was interested in reading it. But it wasn't till last week when my husband and I randomly watched "Selena" did I actively want to read it, so I did something I rarely do...I ordered it online at whatever price it was set at. Luckily, Amazon apparently lost some lawsuit and I got this and two other books released in the last year for less than $5.00. WIN!
Selena Quintinilla Perez died when I was 11 years old. I had no idea who she was till the movie "Selena" came out, and then it was a little while later I learned that it was a true story. The movie is an all time favorite of mine and the real Selena has been of interest to me since with her single "Dreaming of You" being a classic song that I will forever associate with those trying times of being a preteen girl being in love.
Chris Perez was always a bit of a mystery, with one Jon Seda's interpretation of him all what I had to go by. He never really spoke about Selena or their time together in any real detail from what I gathered and I figured he never would. Wanting to keep his time with her and their experiences together to himself is as understandable as what he eventually did with writing this book.
"To Selena, With Love" is an intimate portrait of a man insanely and desperately in love with his wife. Much like the movie, it reads like a fairy tale in the best sense of the phrase, with their "happily ever after" being the best part of their romance. But he doesn't paint themselves as a couple or them as individuals as one note...Selena was as moody as she was vivacious, as stressed as she was carefree, and as stubborn as she was hardworking. Chris Perez loved all the aspects of his wife and even almost 20 years later, it really shows.
I always had the sense that the loss Chris Perez felt had never truly healed and in many ways that is still true, even though he has moved on and lived his life the way Selena would have wanted him to.
How Selena died and the events leading up to it are wide spread news. There is nothing new about that in here but what really sticks out is Chris's last memory of Selena alive, the morning she went to meet Yolanda. It's written so vividly (like most of the book) that it almost feels like it's the readers memory, it's so visible in the minds eye. Its an image he's had with him for so long, and sharing that with her fans is more than a treat, it feels like a privilege.
I burned through this in less than a day, and by the time I read the last heart twisting sentence, I was wrapped in the melancholy I always feel when I realize her story is over. But this was a good book for anyone who was a fan.
Sharp ObjectsI read "Gone Girl" and "Dark Places" before this one and after reading her first novel, I can see where some of her themes were born from. "Sharp Objects" wasn't as captivating as the latter two till the end and I had an idea of who the killer was half way through.
There is very much something wrong from the beginning and things just get more and more messed up as we learn more about Camilla and her relationship with her mother.
I am enjoying Gillian Flynn so much cause she is not afraid to "go there" with her characters. Things that may seem a bit too much is practically considered the norm for Flynn, which I enjoy.
This may not be my favorite of the three (that would be "Dark Places") but I still enjoyed this as much as the next two books she would put out.
The WeddingThis has been sitting in my TBR pile at home for a long time. The premise sparked my interest, a sequel to "the notebook"? Of course! But other books sparked my interest a lot more so thus, it sat there till I needed a easy read while waiting for some books I ordered on line.
Put it on hold twice but in the end, I'm glad I stuck with this. It is an easy read, at times complacent in its pace, but none the less it makes you want to see where this is all going.
About two thirds of the way through I started guessing how this was gonna end and I turned out to be right. But dammit if it still didn't make me tear up.
If "The Notebook" was the story of true love withstanding time, than "The Wedding" is maybe about a more realistic love. A true to life love. Love that ebbs and flows, has highs and lows, has amazing triumphs and heart breaking mistakes. Its about how its never too late.
I liked this quite a bit.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar ChildrenI had seen the book in stores for a while and the cover alone is enough to make anyone at least read the synopsis.
When I discovered I could buy it online for practically nothing, I jumped at the chance and am so glad I did.
"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" protagonist, Jacob, is traumatized by the death of his grandfather by a creature only he saw and no one believes him. After some time, he doesn't believe himself. Remembering the last words of his grandfather he sets out to find Miss Peregrine and when he does, along with her host of children in her care, he realizes everything he's ever thought about himself was untrue and that his grandfather was the man he thought he was when he was an innocent child.
The pace and tone of this is easy to read but it's not dumbed down. It ramps things up little by little while makes you want to keep going. Hence why I've been going to bed at 1 am for the last two nights.
The other interesting tidbit that sets this book apart is it's use of actual vintage photos collected by the author as a tool to tell the story. It works beautifully. It gives the entire story an aire of realism and a creepiness that I don't think the book could have achieved on it's own.
The part I could have done without was the romance between Jacob and Emma. The intimate moments felt jarred and out of place, but they don't last long luckily.
This is easily in my top five so far for 2014.
Hollow CityThe sequel to "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" hits the ground running and never stops.
Jacob, Emma, and the rest of the peculiar children are trekking through time loops, bombings, carnivals and dodging wights and hollowgasts left and right to save Miss Peregrine.
I liked the rag-tagness of the group, although at times even I thought some were a little insufferable. It was needed to give the story some conflict while being high adventure and it worked.
I did much care for the Jacob/Emma romance, which is odd cause I usually do go for this sort of thing, but it still rings sort of "hollow" (pun intended and not, lol).
The twists at the end give the second book in the saga a nice topper to a heavily packed tale and gives a lot of juice for the third book.
Sidenote: I bought this on my kindle cause I couldn't wait, and I only regret doing so cause the pictures don't come out quite as good there. Although I feel the photographs were used less for story purposes and more as a gimmick (although a really neat gimmick) this time around, it still would have been nice to see them clearly and be able to look up close. So I highly recommend reading the book for this alone.
Ash WednesdayI'm honestly not sure I liked this. I don't hate it. But oh my goodness is it so very descriptive. I feel like I may be missing something or the characters are just slightly bi-polar and/or schizophrenic. The book also hops over the line between erotic and vulgar which didn't work and I think Hawke knew it the further he went along cause I mostly had that problem in the beginning.
The tone was interesting and frustrating and somewhat melancholy. Nicely written. I feel like it doesn't really go anywhere and didn't quite reach it's intended destination quite clearly. Everytime I thought I could get behind Jimmy or Christy something would happen or they would say something that would completely whip me out of the mood. Purposefull or not, I'm not sure.
Night RoadProbably the best Goodwill book I have ever found!
I have no bad things to say about this. This book was amazing. It was enthralling, romantic, heart breaking, devastating, and lastly, hopeful. I went through a myriad of emotions reading this and it would stay with me during the day when I wasn't reading it. Thats how I know when something is just really good.
This is a story about friendship, love, death, and rebirth. It's amazing how much I felt I could relate to all of these characters when none of these events have ever happened to me.
It starts off with meeting Lexi Baill. Foster kid yearning for attachments and finds it in her best friend Mia Farraday and her twin brother Zach. The three form an unbreakable bond that transcends life and death. Jude Farraday is the epitome of an helicopter mom, and while the type usually annoys me, I couldn't help but be endeared by her. I loved all the characters, even when they weren't lovable.
I loved how the story was broken up into two parts. A before and an after. Reading part one, the reader goes through all the emotions of young love for a lover and a sister. The intenseness of senior year mixed with college prep mixed in, and its easy to get caught up. We needed to go through this with them to appreciate all that was lost and broken in part two.
I loved Zach and Lexi as a pair. It was written so wonderfully and beautifully, it was so simple in it factness. They just were. Jude I loved cause the emotions she felt for her children was real and intense and admirable. The choices she made may not have been the best and some would probably do them differently, but they came from a place of wanting to be the absolute best mother she could be. I could never hate her for that, even when she hated herself and everyone around her. Mia at times was annoying but she was never a brat and I appreciated that.
There are so many good things to say about this. I didn't expect this when I picked it up at Goodwill YESTERDAY! I had meant only to read at least 50 pages before I went to bed and ended up staying up till 1 am and forced myself to go to bed. But not before I spoiled myself a little cause I knew I could not go to bed without a glimpse and where things were going. It was that good!
I laughed and cried and at the end I sighed at how wonderful the experience was.
Grave SightI wanted something a little less emotionally taxing considering the last book.
This was definitely good for me in that regard. I've read the Sookie Stackhouse books so I was familiar with Harris's writing. While interesting from the beginning, I was bored till a little over half way through when things picked up.
I had an idea of who it was and even had a thought of what the twist would be. I guess I should give myself more credit cause I was right, lol.
I am interested in the sequels. Harper and her brother Tolliver were well written characters that were more interesting then the story was at times.
Just finished "the first phone call from heaven"...I got what I expect from a Mitch Albom book and thats a refreshing thing :) I enjoyed the premise, the characters, the intrigue, the mystery, and the way it makes you think (without even meaning to) about the ones you've lost, and where they are, and if they gave you a call, what would you say. Great Read
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
This is Where I Leave You (other topics)Sleep Tight (other topics)
There's No Place Like Here (other topics)
The First Phone Call from Heaven (other topics)
Orange Is the New Black (other topics)
More...
So with a new baby, an almost five year old, and a recent move under my belt...here I go!
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