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Personal Challenges - 2016
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Chase's 2016 Challenge
message 51:
by
Tracey
(new)
Apr 05, 2016 06:47PM
43. The Knife of Never Letting Go - I'm not sure how I felt about this book yet. On the one hand, I thought it had a unique overarching plot that truly interested me. On the other hand, I thought the characters were mostly devoid of personality and also a lot of the action was just running around from place to place.
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44. Ali's Pretty Little Lies - Read it for a challenge. Not my type of book but it was okay. I can see the appeal for others.
46. Uprooted - Another example of "it's not you, it's me..." The story was lovely, I just couldn't get into it.
48. Cruel Beauty - A decent and dark retelling of the beauty and the beast story, but rather confusing.
49. The Glass Castle - This book came recommended by some of my colleagues. I loved it. Walls writes in a way that you really visualize the experiences she had growing up.
50. Boy Meets Girl - Another "I read this for a challenge" book. It's obviously meant to be a funny, romantic comedy so I shouldn't take it too seriously, but the writing just didn't work for me. It's written in epistolary fashion, primarily through instant messenger and emails and the whole time I just kept saying to myself, "nobody writes an email like that" and "no adult talks like that".
51. The Marriage Plot - The beginning of this novel was so slow and I was worried it would end up being a dud, but the 2nd half of the novel gripped my attention.
52. Fangirl - This book is short on plot and is more of a character analysis, which isn't necessarily bad if you're into that. My bigger issue with this book is that it seems that Rowell misses the mark in what it would meant to be a Fangirl, and instead it looks like it's painted in a negative light; Cath is so socially awkward that she needs people to teach her how to function as an adult.
53. What Alice Forgot - I expected this to be a little bit more heartwarming than it was. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised because this is not my first Moriarty book.
54. Breakfast of Champions - I think this one is a little overrated, but I still enjoyed it.55. Sleepy Hollow - As far as retellings of classics go, this one isn't bad. It's missing the spark, but the plot is solid.
56. Shakespeare's Sonnets - At last! 5 months in the making. Poetry isn't my thing and I'll probably remember very few of them, but I am pleased that I finished this.
57. Life After Life - I was very confused by this book at first, but once I understood what was going on, I really enjoyed it.
58. Tell the Wolves I'm Home - Overall I liked this book and would recommend it to others, but also there are many parts of the book where a friendly relationship comes seems inappropriate.
59. The Darkest Minds - I was actually interested in the 1st 100 pages of this book when the world building was fascinating, but afterwards, the plot falls flat. Then in the last 100 pages, you get an unnecessary love story just because, which further drags it down.
You might enjoy the escape by David baldacci
60. Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast-Track Your Career - This book makes a persuasive insight on why you should obtain a sponsor for your career and I appreciate the emphasis on how the relationship needs to be quid pro quo. This book is targeted for an audience in a white-collar, middle-management setting though, so it's not for everyone.
62. American Gods - I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman's already, but some of his novels are amazing and some of them are just okay. I think this is one of his better novels.
63. Salt to the Sea - Underneath this story is a really interesting and fairly unknown WWII tale, but the author's writing makes this story fall flat.
64. The Time Machine - A lot has already been said about the Time Machine, so I'm just going to add that I thought it was enjoyable.
65. Everything Is Illuminated - It's interesting, because I've seen this book classified as a "humorous" book, and while it does have humorous aspects, I would say the underlying tone is more of a tragedy. It's a well written book, but it requires a lot patience to muster though.
66. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Just had to read this one before the movie. It is what it is. Some of the beasts get just one paragraph.
67. The Stepford Wives - It's a neat little story that is still creepy even if you already know the ending.
68. Catch-22 - You would be surprised how often the words "catch-22" comes up in conversation even with people who don't know you are reading the book.
70. The Blood of Olympus - Huzzah! I finished the series finally. And it was a satisfying ending to the series.
71. The Storyteller - There was an interesting story about forgiveness and guilt in here, but a lot of side plot that went no where.
72. Masque of the Red Death - Interesting concept but aside from the atmosphere, there isn't a lot going on that I cared for.
73. The Tempest - I tend not to like the comedies of Shakespeare as much as the tragedies, so it was just ok.
77. A Clockwork Orange - I am really surprised at how much I did not like this book. The plot was okay, but the writing was such a turn off.
Chase wrote: "77. A Clockwork Orange - I am really surprised at how much I did not like this book. The plot was okay, but the writing was such a turn off."Kudos for still managing to finish it! :0)
Veronique wrote: "Chase wrote: "77. A Clockwork Orange - I am really surprised at how much I did not like this book. The plot was okay, but the writing was such a turn off."Kudos for still managing t..."
It's a blessing and a curse, but I feel I must finish all books that I start now x_x
79. Murder on the Orient Express - A little underwhelming compared to the last Agatha Christie book I've read, but still okay.
81. The Valley of Amazement - I felt bored at parts of this novel. For a book about tragedy, it falls flat in emotions fairly frequently.
83. 11/22/63 - I know a lot of people loved this one but I just didn't like it. I thought the plot was slow and flimsy at best.
85. The Secret Life of Bees - I was less impressed by this one than I expected to be. 86. The Turn of the Screw - This one is pretty creepy.
87. Her Dark Curiosity - A love triangle, but I tolerated it because I like the atmosphere of the novel.
88. Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions - A worthwhile read. Some of the short stories are meh, but most of them capture your attention. Gaiman shows his talents in a number of genres: horror, fantasy, mystery.
89. This Dark Endeavor - There's nothing overwhelmingly great or bad about this novel. It's your standard young adult novel, but also quick and forgettable.
1) I'm impressed by your reading speed.2) It's brilliant that you add the oldest book on your tbr to your list each month, I may start that tactic next year. This year's list is already too long, but I'm restructuring for next year. I always wind up adding the newer books because the older book on my tbr are from my first year in university. I feel like a different person now, ha.
3) The variety of the books is also quite impressive
4) There are several books in your list I could comment on, but The Knife Of Never Letting go stuck with me. I read it five or 6 years ago and loved the plot, but I couldn't figure out what was missing. The uncertainty prevented me from picking up the other books in the series. Perhaps I'll give this one (and the others) another read.
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