2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2016
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JoJo's books read in 2016
36. Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harrislibrary book, finished 16 May
Pages: 416
Description:
HE IS ONE OF THE MOST HAUNTING CHARACTERS
IN ALL OF LITERATURE.
AT LAST THE EVOLUTION OF HIS EVIL
IS REVEALED.
Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck.
He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him.
Hannibal’s uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle’s beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki.
Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal. With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France.
But Hannibal’s demons visit him and torment him. When he is old enough, he visits them in turn.
Rating: 5 stars
37. Fern Gully by Diana Youngowned book, finished 17 May
Pages: 130
Description:
When Hexxus, the forest's ancient enemy, begins changing the weather in FernGully, Crysta, a young fairy, with the help of Pips, Batty Koda, and Zak, attempts to save the forest from certain destruction. Movie tie-in.
Rating: 3 stars
38. King Kong by Judith Conway (A Step-Up Classic Chiller book)Owned book, finished 18 May
Pages: 96
Setting: New York, USA & remote jungle island
Description:
A young film actress on location on a remote jungle island is chosen by the natives to be the bride of their giant gorilla god Kong.
Rating: 2 stars
39. Love Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles by Nick Troutlibrary book, finished 21 May
Pages: 252
Setting: USA
Description:
A book guaranteed to touch anyone who has ever had a beloved pet…
From instant New York Times bestseller, Dr. Nick Trout comes another touching and heartfelt story from the front lines of veterinary medicine—the story of two dogs who forever changed the way he thought about life, death, fate and love.
Helen is an older cocker spaniel found neglected and abandoned in a restaurant parking lot one rainy night. Despite her mangy condition and terrible smell, Ben and Eileen fall in love with the pitiful creature and decide to take her in. But just as Helen is rescued from a sad life on the streets and enveloped in a loving home with all the creature comforts an old dog could ask for, a tumor is discovered and she's given a devastating prognosis. All Ben and Eileen want is for Helen to beat the odds and survive for one more summer so that she can have one chance to swim in the ocean on the family's annual trip to Prince Edward Island. In short, they want a miracle.
Meanwhile, fourteen-month-old miniature pinscher Cleo keeps breaking one leg after another which devastates her poor owner, Sandi. While Cleo is visiting Sandi's daughter, Sonja, in Bermuda, she succumbs to yet another fracture. Distraught that the injury happened on her watch, Sonja makes a plan to fly Cleo to Boston to get the specialist care she needs before Sandi even finds out. Enter Dr. Trout who presides over what should be a fairly routine surgery. What happens next forever links two families, their dogs and a beloved veterinarian and teaches them all a lesson about grace that resonates to this day.
Love is the Best Medicine immerses you in the true life drama of beloved pets whose lives hang in the balance. Every page underscores the profound bond we have with the animals in our lives and the incredible responsibility Nick carries as their healer. Certainly Dr. Trout has an impressive array of fancy equipment, training and skills at his disposable, but his most important tool (as he persuasively illustrates here) is a fundamental belief in the power of hope, humility, and grace.
Wry, charming, and intensely affecting, Love is the Best Medicine is a one of a kind story only the winsome Dr. Trout could deliver and is destined to become a favorite for animal lovers.
My Review:
Good book. This one was sadder than Tell Me Where It Hurts, but more touching. Dr Nick Trout is a very inspirational and kind vet. I recommend this book and Tell Me Where It Hurts for any animal lover.
Rating: 4 stars
40. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawsone-book, finished 26 May
Pages: 352
Setting: America
Description:
In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea.
But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.
As Jenny says:
"Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.
"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"
Furiously Happy is about "taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they're the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence. It's the difference between "surviving life" and "living life". It's the difference between "taking a shower" and "teaching your monkey butler how to shampoo your hair." It's the difference between being "sane" and being "furiously happy."
Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are - the beautiful and the flawed - and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny's mom says, "Maybe 'crazy' isn't so bad after all." Sometimes crazy is just right.
My review:
Loved this book. At times a bit too outrageous, but really funny at times. And then there are the chapters where you feel like "Here is someone who actually understands what it's like." And she reminds you (and herself) that you're not alone and that there's always light at the end of the tunnel. And to make the most of life when it's good.
I want to buy this book so I can read this whenever I'm having a hard time, and I want to read her first book ASAP!
I recommend this book to everyone who suffers with mental illness.
Rating: 5 stars
41. Task Force Black Shadow by Dawn Simpsoni-books-phone, finished 29 May
Pages: 218 (paperback version)
Setting: Canberra, Australia
Description:
This book would suit both MALE AND FEMALE READERS. Based on a charismatic detective Parker Lamont, in Canberra, Australia's National Capital, and his pursuit of a sniper on a black unmarked motorbike, who is holding the National Capital to ransom as he strikes on random days, always at 3pm. In the background, the lives of four women are wound into the story. The main female character, Debbie, suffers from low esteem with women but has a way with men!
My review:
This book was written by my friend's mum. This is her first book she's written. (Note: This is also her only book written, I added this to GoodReads - not sure if I was supposed to - but it's linked up to another Dawn Simpson author. If anyone knows how to change it please do - and let me know. Thanks!)
As for the book, it's a crime/mystery set in my hometown of Canberra, Australia (ACT). I thought that was really exciting as I've never read a book set in Canberra, the closest being a book set in Sydney. It was a fun book to read and had me guessing til the end. Well done Dawn!
If anyone wants to read this book, it's available in bookstores and on Kindle.
Rating: 4 stars
42. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Englee-book, finished 29 May
First book in the Time Quintet
Pages: 211 (paperback version)
Description:
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".
Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?
Rating: 3 stars
43. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austeni-books phone, finished 3 June
Pages: 334 (paperback)
Setting: England
Description:
First published in 1813, "Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners - one of the most popular novels of all time - tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." So begins the novel, that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.
This brilliant novel is a must-read of classic literature and will delight readers of all ages.
Rating: 4 stars
44. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Englee-book, finished 3 June
Pages: 224
Description:
Just before Meg Murry's little brother, Charles Wallace, falls deathly ill, he sees dragons in the vegetable garden. The dragons turn out to be Proginoskes, a cherubin composed of wings and eyes, wind and flame. It is up to Meg and Proginoskes, along with Meg's friend Calvin, to save Charles Wallace's life. To do so, they must travel deep within Charles Wallace to attempt to defeat the Echthroi - those who hate - and restore brilliant harmony and joy to the rhythm of creation, the song of the universe.
A Wind in the Door is the second book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.
My Review:
Strange. This series so far has been strange, but I'm intrigued enough to finish the series.
Rating: 3 stars
45. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Englee-book, finished 5 June
Pages: 304 (paperback)
Description:
Wind, unicorn, and boy merged into a single swiftness.
When fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry shouts out an ancient rune meant to ward off the dark in desperation, a radiant creature appears. It is Gaudior, unicorn and time traveler. Charles Wallace and Gaudior must travel into the past on the winds of time to try to find a Might-Have-Been - a moment in the past when the entire course of events leading to the present can be changed, and the future of Earth - this small, swiftly tilting planet - saved.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the third book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.
Rating: 4 stars
46. The Green Mile by Stephen Kinge-book, finished 10 June
Pages: 448
Setting: Louisiana, USA
Description:
The #1 New York Times bestselling dramatic serial novel and inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film of the same name starring Tom Hanks, the “literary event” (Entertainment Weekly) of The Green Mile is now available in its entirety.
When The Green Mile first appeared, serialized as one volume per month, Stephen King’s The Green Mile was an unprecedented publishing triumph: all six volumes ended up on the New York Times bestseller list—simultaneously—and delighted millions of fans the world over.
Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk the Green Mile, keeping a date with “Old Sparky,” Cold Mountain’s electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he’s never seen anyone like John Coffey, a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. In this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about Coffey, a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs...and yours.
My review:
A re-read. It's just as good the second time.
Rating: 5 stars
47. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebolde-book, finished 12 June
Pages: 328
Setting: Pennsylvania, USA
Description:
Shockingly original and completely unforgettable, The Lovely Bones is the story of a family devastated by a gruesome murder -- a murder recounted by the teenage victim. Upsetting, you say? Remarkably, first-time novelist Alice Sebold takes this difficult material and delivers a compelling and accomplished exploration of a fractured family's need for peace and closure.
The details of the crime are laid out in the first few pages: from her vantage point in heaven, Susie Salmon describes how she was confronted by the murderer one December afternoon on her way home from school. Lured into an underground hiding place, she was raped and killed. But what the reader knows, her family does not. Anxiously, we keep vigil with Susie, aching for her grieving family, desperate for the killer to be found and punished.
Sebold creates a heaven that's calm and comforting, a place whose residents can have whatever they enjoyed when they were alive -- and then some. But Susie isn't ready to release her hold on life just yet, and she intensely watches her family and friends as they struggle to cope with a reality in which she is no longer a part. To her great credit, Sebold has shaped one of the most loving and sympathetic fathers in contemporary literature.
In the tradition of Alice McDermott, who wrote so elegantly about death in Charming Billy, Sebold unveils a book whose presence will linger with readers for a long, long time and signals the arrival of a novelist to be reckoned with.
Rating: 4 stars
48. Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimmowned book, finished 18 June
Pages: 191
Rating: 3 stars
49. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dickowned book, finished 20 June
Pages: 193
Setting: California, USA
Description:
By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can't afford one, companies have built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They've even built humans.
Emigrées to Mars receive androids so sophisticated it's impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government bans them from Earth, but when androids don't want to be identified, they just blend in. Rick Deckard is an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job is to find rogue androids and retire them, but cornered, androids tend to fight back--with deadly results.
Rating: 4 stars
50. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coatesowned book, finished 24 June
Pages: 152
Setting: America
Description:
“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.”
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.
Rating: 3.5 stars
51. Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed: Growing Up With Undiagnosed Autism by Jeannie Davide-Riveralibrary book, finished 26 June
Pages: 204
Setting: America
Description:
Jeannie grew up with autism, but no one around her knew it. Twirling Naked in the Streets will take you on a journey into the mind of a child on the autism spectrum; a child who grows into an adolescent, an adult, and becomes a wife, mother, student, and writer with autism.
This is a gripping memoir of a quirky, weird, but gifted child who grows up never quite finding her niche. It took 38 years to discover that all the issues, problems, and weirdness she experienced were because she had Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a form of high-functioning autism.
The tale begins at age three and takes us all the way through her diagnosis. Along the way she explains autism in a way that will have fellow "Aspies" crying tears of joy at being understood, and "neuro-typical" people really starting to grasp the challenges that autistic people face every moment of every day.
My review:
4 and a half years ago - 24 years old, single mother to a not even one-year-old - I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I'd gone through my whole life wondering what was wrong with me, I knew I was different. I didn't do a lot of research, or seek out any other Aspies, as I was still getting over a relationship break-up and learning to be a mother and I couldn't cope with a lot. I really wish I had've. Lately, I've been going through a hard time, even with a diagnosis, to understand and accept myself, and for others around me to do the same. I finally read this book and for the first time in my life, I feel like someone - Jeannie Davide-Rivera - could actually understand what it's like to be me. I've never had that before.
Jeannie Davide-Rivera also grew up without a diagnosis. She was a lot older than I was when she got it. As I started reading this book, I was glued. Here was someone who also learnt to read before school like me, who walked on her tippy-toes, like me, who loves typing and can speed type like me. There is just so many similarities between Jeannie and I, although having different lives, and done different things. And there were things that weren't similar, like Jeannie had imaginary friends, while I didn't.
I want to buy this book, to add it to my collection. This is a book I'm definitely going to read more than once.
I recommend this to anyone with, who knows someone with, or is just plain curious about Aspergers/Autism. I recommend it to everyone, I can't recommend it enough. I wish there was a 6 star rating.
Rating: 5 stars
52. Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger's Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Expanded Edition by Liane Holliday Willeylibrary, finished 8 July
Pages: 192
Description:
Compelling and witty, Liane Holliday Willey's account of growing to adulthood as an undiagnosed 'Aspie' has been read by thousands of people on and off the autism spectrum since it was first published in 1999. Bringing her story up to date, including her diagnosis as an adult, and reflecting on the changes in attitude over 15 years, this expanded edition will continue to entertain (and inform) all those who would like to know a little more about how it feels to spend your life 'pretending to be normal'.
My review
Another awesome book that I felt I could relate to. Another book I can't recommend enough. I had a lot of emotions while reading this book. It hit very close to home, especially reading about the issue of friends.
Rating: 5 stars
53. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchelllibrary book, finished 23 July
Pages: 984
Setting: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Description:
Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time.
Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields and cities of the American South as Gone With the Wind does, creating haunting scenes and thrilling portraits of characters so vivid that we remember their words and feel their fear and hunger for the rest of our lives.
In the two main characters, the white-shouldered, irresistible Scarlett and the flashy, contemptuous Rhett, Margaret Mitchell not only conveyed a timeless story of survival under the harshest of circumstances, she also created two of the most famous lovers in the English-speaking world since Romeo and Juliet.
Rating: 4.5 stars
54. The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blytonowned book, finished 25 July
Pages: 213
Description:
Joe, Bessie and Fanny move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man. Together they visit the strange lands (the Roundabout Land, the Land of Ice and Snow, Toyland and the Land of Take What You Want) atop the tree and have the most exciting adventures – and narrow escapes.
My review:
I just finished reading this book to my son, Mika. It's his first chapter book he's loved. Mika said his favorite land is the land of take-what-you-want lol. This is the third time I've read this book. It was one of my favorites when I was younger.
Rating: 5 stars
55. Still Alice by Lisa Genovalibrary book, finished 28 July
Pages: 293
Setting: USA
Description:
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. A Harvard professor, she has a successful husband and three grown children. She soon finds herself in the rapidly downward spiral of Alzheimer's Disease. Her short-term memory may be hanging on by a couple of frayed threads, but she is still Alice.
Rating: 5 stars
56. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen Kinglibrary book, finished on 31 July 2016
Pages: 483
Description:
The next short story collection containing many of the previously published but hard-to-find short stories published since Just After Sunset.
Rating: 4 stars
57. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniukowned book, finished 1 August
Pages: 208
Setting: USA
Description:
Designer soap made of human fat, an anarchist's cookbook of volatile recipes, and the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it Chuck Palahniuk's outrageous, darkly comic first novel is a brutal reminder that we each have a part to play in the apocalypse.
Plagued with insomnia due to the cynical nature of his job (he investigates accidents for a carmaker in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of a recall), Fight Club's nameless narrator spends his evenings attending support groups for the terminally ill. Masquerading as a sufferer of various cancers, or as a victim of brain parasites, he discovers that losing all hope bestows a sense of freedom; Facing death, he feels more alive than ever before, and sleeps like a baby. Until Marla Singer also a shamming support group groupie ruins everything.
Marla not only invades his therapy sessions, but gradually insinuates herself into his private life as well, taking up with his housemate, the mysterious Tyler Durden. Tyler, a self-styled "minimum wage despoiler," works a succession of night jobs, taking perverse glee in sabotaging and blackmailing his employers. When, on a whim, the narrator and Tyler take turns punching out their frustrations on each other at a local bar, Fight Club is born.
"The first rule about fight club is that you don't talk about fight club."
Soon the disaffected drones of industry are spending their off hours beating each other to bloody pulp. After a night in Fight Club, they go back to their jobs bruised and battered, but with the liberating sense that they can handle anything. But FightClubis only the first stage of Tyler's anarchic master plan; Soon random acts of unkindness proliferate as mayhem and organized chaos spread across the country, culminating in a schizophrenic showdown on top of the world's tallest building.
Rating: 4 stars
58. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetyslibrary book, finished 7 August
Pages: 341
Setting: Siberia & Lithuania
Description:
That morning, my brother's life was worth a pocket watch...
One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia.
An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn't know if she'll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope.
Lina hopes for her family. For her country. For her future. For love—first love, with the boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose... Will hope keep Lina alive?
Set in 1941, Between Shades of Gray is an extraordinary and haunting story based on first-hand family accounts and memories from survivors.
My review:
This book was good, even though it was so sad.
Rating: 4 stars
59. The Spider in the Corner of the Room by Nikki Owenlibrary book, finished 12 August
Pages: 285
Description:
What to believe
Who to betray
When to run...
Plastic surgeon Dr Maria Martinez has Asperger's. Convicted of killing a priest, she is alone, in prison and has no memory of the murder. DNA evidence places Maria at the scene of the crime, yet she claims she's innocent. Then she starts to remember...A strange room. Strange people. Being watched. As Maria gets closer to the truth she is drawn into a web of international intrigue and must fight not only to clear her name but to remain alive.
As addictive as the Bourne novels, with a protagonist as original as The Bridge's Saga Noren.
My review:
I love, love, loved this book! What originally drew me to this book was the fact that the main character has Asperger's Syndrome, just like me. But this book has so many twists and turns, something new always happening. I was hooked from start to finish!
I highly recommend this book to everyone! You won't be disappointed!
Rating: 5 stars
60. Munching Maggots Noahs Flood & TV Heart Attacks and other cataclysmic science moments.owned book, finished 13 August
Pages: 189
Setting: Australia
Description:
Are you curious about science? At last, you can learn the answers to all of your nagging scientific questions, such as . . .
What is that gunk on my car after a long road trip? What do I have to do to get a star named after me? Does my name grant me superhero-like powers? Is maggot therapy the next medical trend? Explore the answers to these questions and more curiosities of science with Karl Kruszelnicki's unique fusion of bizarre yet amazingly true scientific facts. Munching Maggots, Noah's Flood & TV Heart Attacks also explains absolutely everything you ever wanted to know about the intricate pharmacology of caffeine, the surprising history of broccoli, the mysteries of flattened fauna, the magic of melatonin, and much more.
Karl Kruszelnicki (Sydney, Australia) is the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney, and lectures at schools throughout Australia. He's also been a scientist, a medical doctor, an engineer, a car mechanic, a TV weatherman, and a roadie for Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. He enjoys telling people about the wonders and curiosities of science through the radio, TV, Internet (check out his Web site at: http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/defa...), and his many books.
My review:
Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki, AKA Dr. Karl, is a famous science commentator on Australian radio and television. I love his books because they're funny, interesting science facts with funny pictures to go along with it. Science has always been my least favorite subject, but these books explain things clearly (I did get lost a few times, but all in all, I understood what was being said, and more so than usual for this particular topic.) I chuckled a few times, Dr Karl is a funny man too.
Rating: 4 stars
61. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quicklibrary book, finished 15 August
Pages: 273
Description:
How would you spend your birthday if you knew it would be your last?
Eighteen-year-old Leonard Peacock knows exactly what he'll do. He'll say goodbye. Not to his mum - who he calls Linda because it annoys her - who's moved out and left him to fend for himself. Nor to his former best friend, whose torments have driven him to consider committing the unthinkable. But to his four friends: a Humphrey-Bogart-obsessed neighbour, a teenage violin virtuoso, a pastor's daughter and a teacher.
Most of the time, Leonard believes he's weird and sad but these friends have made him think that maybe he's not. He wants to thank them, and say goodbye.
Rating: 4 stars
62. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowlingowned book, finished 21 August
Pages: 223
Setting: England, UK
Description
Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable muggle aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright.
My review:
4.5 stars. A re-read.
Rating: 4.5 stars
63. Fidgeting Fat, Exploding Meat & Gobbling Whirly Birds and Other Delicious Science Moments by Dr. Karl Kruszelnickiowned book, finished 25 August
Pages: 223
Setting: Australia
Description:
Explore the science behind the important universal questions that plague our minds
Questions like: How does fidgeting help you lose weight? Do your ears really grow bigger as you get older? Which animal is the fastest eater? Why are suicidal cells essential for life? Did a guy named Murphy actually come up with Murphy's law? Can people really be allergic to sex or water? Discover the answers to these and many more curiosities of science with Karl Kruszelnicki's unique fusion of bizarre yet amazingly true scientific facts.
Karl Kruszelnicki (Sydney, Australia) is the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney and he lectures throughout Australia. He's also been a scientist, a medical doctor, an engineer, a car mechanic, a television weatherman, and a roadie for Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. He enjoys telling people about the wonders of science through radio, television, the Internet and his many books.
Rating: 3 stars
64. Frankenstein by Mary Shelleye-book, finished 26 August
Pages: 265
Description:
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a novel written by the British author Mary Shelley. The title of the novel refers to a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who learns how to create life and creates a being in the likeness of man, but larger than average and more powerful. In popular culture, people have tended to refer to the Creature as "Frankenstein", despite this being the name of the scientist. Frankenstein is a novel infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement. It was also a warning against the "over-reaching" of modern man and the Industrial Revolution, alluded to in the novel's subtitle, The Modern Prometheus. The story has had an influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories and films. It is arguably considered the first fully realized science fiction novel.
Rating: 4 stars
65. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowlingowned book & audio book read by Stephen Fry, finished 31 August
Pages: 366
Setting: UK
Description:
Harry can't wait for his holidays with the dire Dursleys to end. But a small, self-punishing house-elf warns Harry of mortal danger awaiting him at Hogwarts School. Returning to the castle nevertheless, Harry hears a rumour about a chamber of secrets, holding unknown horrors for wizards of Muggle parentage. Now someone is casting spells that paralyse people, making them seem dead, and a terrible warning is found painted on the wall. The chief suspect - and always in the wrong place - is Harry. But something much darker has yet to be unleashed.
My review:
Hahaha, I love Dobby! He's my favorite character in the whole series I think.
This was a re-read for me, but this time around, I decided to read along to the audio book narrated by Stephen Fry. It made it so much more fun to read with his voice. I think I'm going to give audio books another go. I felt like I was the one being read to for a change, and it was a good feeling!
Rating: 5 stars
66. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hilllibrary book, finished 9 September
Pages: 404
Setting: USA
Description:
Jenna Miscavige Hill was raised to obey. As the niece of the Church of Scientology's leader David Miscavige, she grew up at the center of this highly controversial and powerful organization. But at twenty-one, Jenna made a daring break, risking everything she had ever known and loved to leave Scientology once and for all. Now she speaks out about her life, the Church, and her dramatic escape, going deep inside a religion that, for decades, has been the subject of fierce debate and speculation worldwide.
Piercing the veil of secrecy that has long shrouded the world of Scientology, this insider reveals unprecedented firsthand knowledge of the religion, its obscure rituals, and its mysterious leader—David Miscavige. From her prolonged separation from her parents as a small child to being indoctrinated to serve the greater good of the Church, from her lack of personal freedoms to the organization's emphasis on celebrity recruitment, Jenna goes behind the scenes of Scientology's oppressive and alienating culture, detailing an environment rooted in control in which the most devoted followers often face the harshest punishments when they fall out of line. Addressing some of the Church's most notorious practices in startling detail, she also describes a childhood of isolation and neglect—a childhood that, painful as it was, prepared her for a tough life in the Church's most devoted order, the Sea Org.
Despite this hardship, it is only when her family approaches dissolution and her world begins to unravel that she is finally able to see the patterns of stifling conformity and psychological control that have ruled her life. Faced with a heartbreaking choice, she mounts a courageous escape, but not before being put through the ultimate test of family, faith, and love. At once captivating and disturbing, Beyond Belief is an eye-opening exploration of the limits of religion and the lengths to which one woman went to break free.
My review:
I really do NOT like Scientology. It's the only religion I hate. It's beliefs are ridiculous for a start, but it is a controlling, brain-washing, blackmailing, money-hungry, slave-driving "religion" who keeps parents away from their children, ridicule, humiliate publicly and blackmail people to get what they want, make people spend millions of dollars they can barely afford for useless courses, the list goes on. Aagh, it makes me angry lol. It was a definite eye-opener.
One weird thing I thought was hard getting used to was how everyone who is in a superior position in the Org is addressed as Mr, regardless of whether it's a woman or a man. Eg. Mr Rathburn, there are 2, husband and wife. There is no Mrs Rathburn. Weird...
I recommend everyone read this, it is a very interesting read. And I'm sorry if this is a harsh review, no offense to anyone, it's just my opinion.
Rating: 5 stars
67. Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawsonlibrary book, finished 16 September
Pages: 318
Setting: USA
Description:
For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris - Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.
Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives - the ones we'd like to pretend never happened - are in fact the ones that define us. In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes listeners on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor.
Chapters include: "Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel", "A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband", "My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking", and "And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane".
Rating: 4 stars
68. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowlingowned book & audio book read by Stephen Fry, finished 18 September
Pages: 317
Setting: England, UK
Description:
Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It's assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney's ghoulish predictions seriously?
Rating: 5 stars
69. The Color Purple by Alice Walkere-book, finished 23 September
Pages: 370
Setting: USA
Description:
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name.
Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the story focuses on the life of women of color in the southern United States in the 1930s, addressing numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture. The novel has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000-2009 at number seventeen because of the sometimes explicit content, particularly in terms of violence.
Rating: 4 stars
70. A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuartlibrary book, finished 29 September
Pages: 390
Description:
In the tradition of Nick Hornby and David Nicholls comes a warm and tender novel in which a father and his autistic son connect over the game of Minecraft.
Alex loves his family, and yet he struggles to connect with his eight-year-old autistic son, Sam. The strain has pushed his marriage to the breaking point. So Alex moves in with his merrily irresponsible best friend on the world’s most uncomfortable blow-up bed.
As Alex navigates single life, long-buried family secrets, and part-time fatherhood, his son begins playing Minecraft. Sam’s imagination blossoms and the game opens up a whole new world for father and son to share. Together, they discover that sometimes life must fall apart before you can build a better one.
Inspired by the author’s own relationship with his autistic son, A Boy Made of Blocks is a tear-jerking, funny, and, most, of all true-to-life novel about the power of difference and one very special little boy.
My review:
I loved this book!
It's about Alex, who's marriage is falling apart and he's can't understand his 8 year old autistic son. They bond together playing the game Minecraft.
This is such a beautiful book, I recommend to everyone, especially people who have played Minecraft.
Rating: 5 stars!
71. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irvinge-book, finished 8 October
Pages: 470
Description:
When Washington Irving first published this collection of essays, sketches, and tales--originally entitled "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."--readers greeted it with enthusiasm, and Irving emerged as America's first successful professional author.
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," two of America's most recognizable and loved works of fiction, display Irving's ability to depict American landscapes and culture so vividly that readers feel themselves a part of them. And it is on the basis of these two classic tales that Irving is generally credited with inventing the short story as a distinct literary genre. This volume also contains gently ironic pieces about life in England that reflect the author's interest in the traditions of the Old World and his longings for his home in the New.
My Review:
I didn't care for many of the essays, it wasn't what I was expecting. I've never really read that genre before. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the second last chapter, was worth reading though.
Rating: 2 stars
72. Asperger's on the Inside by Michelle Vinesowned e-book, finished 20 October
Pages: 268
Setting: Melbourne, Australia & Houston, Texas
Description:
Asperger's on the Inside is an acutely honest and often highly entertaining memoir by Michelle Vines about life with Asperger's Syndrome. The book follows Michelle in exploring her past and takes the reader with her on her journey to receiving and accepting her diagnosis.
Instead of rehashing widely available Asperger's information, Michelle focuses on discussing the thoughts, feelings and ideas that go along with being an Aspie, giving us a rare peek into what it really feels like to be a person on the spectrum.
A must read for all those who enjoy deep personal stories or have a loved one on the spectrum that they wish to understand better.
My review:
First of all, thank you very much to the author Michelle Vines, for giving me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved how Michelle Vines set her book out, with her story being told, and chapters in between that covers so many interesting topics relating to Asperger's.
I like Michelle's light-hearted humor through the book. Recently, I have been going through a tough time with my diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. I've been finding it hard to accept myself and my AS (I was diagnosed 5 years ago, but haven't dealt with it yet.). Asperger's on the Inside is especially a good book, to me, because I'm learning more about AS and therefore myself, and discovering another person I can relate to so much is really uplifting for me. She has helped a bit in coming to terms with my AS.
I really respect and admire Michelle Vines. I think, without meeting her, she's an awesome person.
I highly recommend to anyone with AS and people who know someone with AS and want to understand them more.
Rating: 5 stars
73. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowlingowned book, finished 22 October
Pages: 636
Setting: England, UK
Description:
It is the summer holidays and soon Harry Potter will be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is counting the days: there are new spells to be learnt, more Quidditch to be played, and Hogwarts castle to continue exploring. But Harry needs to be careful -- there are unexpected dangers lurking...
J.K. Rowling continues to surprise and delight with the power of her rich, demanding and action-packed storytelling.
Rating: 5 stars
74. Old Before My Time: Hayley Okines' Life with Progeria by Hayley & Kerry Okinese-book, finished 24 October
Pages: 201
Setting: UK
Description:
The extraordinary life of Britain's 100-year-old teenager Hayley Okines is like no other 13-year-old schoolgirl. Born with the rare genetic condition progeria, she ages eight times faster than the average person. In medical terms her body is like that of a 100-year-old woman. Yet she faces her condition with immense courage and a refreshing lack of self-pity. In Old Before My Time, Hayley and her mum Kerry reflect on her unusual life. Share Hayley's excitement as she travels the world meeting her pop heroes Kylie, Girls Aloud and Justin Bieber and her sadness as she loses her best friend to the disease at the age of 11. Now as she passes the age of 13 - the average life expectancy for a child with progeria - Hayley talks frankly about her hopes for the future and her pioneering drug trials in America which could unlock the secrets of ageing for everyone...
Rating: 5 stars
75. Brave New World by Aldous Huxleylibrary book, finished 29 October
Pages: 263
Setting: UK & USA
Description:
Human beings, graded from intellectuals to manual workers, hatched from incubators and brought up in communal nurseries, learn by conditioning to accept their social destiny. The story develops around an unorthodox AlphaPlus, who visits a New Mexican Reservation and brings a savage back to London.
Rating: 4 stars
76. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowlingowned book, finished 1 November
Pages: 956
Description:
As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief or will it?
Book five in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teenager. Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under scrutiny from the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially acknowledge the terrifying truth: that Voldemort is back. Enter a particularly loathsome new character: the toad-like and simpering ("hem, hem") Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the minister of Magic, who takes over the vacant position of defence against dark arts teacher--and in no time manages to become the high inquisitor of Hogwarts. Life isn't getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their examinations, devastating changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team line-up, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry's resilience is sorely tested.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, more than any of the four previous novels in the series, is a coming-of-age story. Harry faces the thorny transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black and white suddenly come out in shades of gray. Gone is the wide-eyed innocent, the whiz kid of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Here we have an adolescent who's sometimes sullen, often confused (especially about girls), and always self-questioning. Confronting death again, as well as a startling prophecy, Harry ends his year at Hogwarts exhausted and pensive. Readers, on the other hand, will be energised as they enter yet again the long waiting period for the next title in the marvellous magical series. --Emilie Coulter
Rating: 5 stars
77. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowlinge-book, finished 4 November
Pages: 109
Description:
The Tales of Beedle the Bard played a crucial role in assisting Harry, aided by his friends Ron and Hermione, to finally defeat Lord Voldemort. Fans will be thrilled to have this opportunity to read the tales in full.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is without doubt an exciting addition to the canon of Harry Potter. They also reveal the wonderful versatility of the author, as she tackles with relish the structure and varying tones of a classic fairy tale. There are five tales included in the book: 'The Tale of the Three Brothers', which is recounted in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; plus four more — 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune', 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart', 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', and 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump'. Each tale has its own magical character and will variously bring delight, laughter and the thrill of mortal peril.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, is introduced and illustrated by J. K. Rowling. Also included are notes on the stories by Professor Albus Dumbledore, which appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters' Archive.
A richly magical collection of tales from J. K. Rowling that will satisfy fans and new readers alike.
Rating: 4 stars
78. Gone to the Crazies: A Memoir by Alison Weavere-book, finished 10 November
Pages: 256
Description:
s a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and ballet lessons. She had all the luxuries of a wealthy Manhattan upbringing, and all the makings of a perfect Upper East Side miss. But her childhood memories were laced with darker undertones: Her father was emotionally absent, unable to engage in problems that couldn't be solved with clean lines and simple plans, and her mother was a beautiful, aloof alcoholic. Neither parent approved of their daughter's outbursts and emotions—and in the midst of her parents' own flaws, Weaver was constantly reminded that she was a mess that needed fixing.
By the time she was a teenager, Weaver had found escape in alcohol, marijuana, and late-night abandon. But when her exasperated parents had her shipped away—in handcuffs—to the cultish Cascade School, everything changed. Within the surreal isolation of the school's mountain campus, she left her old self behind, warping into a brainwashed model of Cascade's mottos and ideals. Graduation two years later left her unprepared for the harshness of the real world—and she soon fell back into a mind-numbing wash of drugs. Stum-bling into freefall in New York's East Village in the 1990s, Weaver's life began a downward spiral marked by needles and late-night parties, mingled with fears of HIV and death. Ultimately, faced with the reality of her rapidly escalating self-destruction, Weaver was forced to face her inner darkness head on.
Gone to thRe Crazies proves the age-old adage: You can't come clean until you've hit rock bottom. By turns wry, heartbreaking, and emotionally intense, Alison Weaver's mesmerizing debut fascinates with its vivid depiction of the bonds between family and friends, and the thoughtful exploration of what it means to fight for identity and equilibrium.
Rating: 3 stars
79. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowlingowned book, finished 13 November
Pages: 768
Description:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J.K. Rowling's bestselling series, picks up shortly after we left Harry at the end of The Order of the Phoenix. Lord Voldemort is acting out in the open, continuing his reign of terror which was temporarily stopped almost 15 years beforehand. Harry is again at the Dursleys, where the events of the previous month continue to weigh on his mind, although not as much as the impending visit from his Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Given their last meeting, Harry is understandably confused as to why the old wizard would want to visit him at home.
Rowling opens with a chapter she had wanted to use for the first book, of The Philosopher's Stone--Lord Voldemort has been creating chaos in the Wizard and Muggle communities alike, the war is in full swing and the Wizarding community now lives in fear. The press have been questioning the events at the Ministry which led to the admission of Voldemort's return, and of course Harry's name is mentioned a number of times. Harry's got his problems, but his anxiety is nothing compared to Hermione's when the OWL results are delivered. There's a new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, an assortment of new characters and creatures, and startling revelations about past characters and events.
Gone is the rage-filled Harry of The Order of the Phoenix--he's not being kept in the dark any more, his unjustified Quidditch ban has been lifted and he has matured considerably in his short time out of school. Half-Blood Prince follows Harry into the world of late-teens, and his realisation that nobody is infallible has made his growth that much easier. Accepting his destiny, Harry continues to behave as teenagers do, enjoying his time with his friends, developing his relationships outside of his usual circle, and learning more about how he must, eventually, do what he is destined to do.
Rating: 5 stars
80. The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsaylibrary book, finished 19 November
Pages: 171
Setting: Australia
Description:
The plain truth was that Bunyip and his Uncle lived in a small house in a tree, and there was no room for the whiskers. What was worse, the whiskers were red, and they blew about in the wind, and Uncle Wattleberry would insist on bringing them to the dinner table with him, where they got in the soup.
Rating: 3 stars
81. Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins by Susan Caseylibrary book, finished 20 November
Pages: 302
Description:
Since the dawn of history, humans have felt a kinship with dolphins. But these playful aquatic creatures are also mysterious: scientists still don’t fully understand their sophisticated navigation and communication abilities, or their complicated brains.
In 2010, following her father’s death, Susan Casey had a remarkable encounter with a pod of spinner dolphins off the coast of Maui. It inspired her on a two-year global adventure to learn about these beautiful animals. Casey visits a Hawaiian community that believes dolphins are the key to enlightenment; travels to Ireland to meet ‘the world’s most loyal dolphin’, and visits Crete to explore the ancient Minoans’ interdependence on the animals.
Yet dolphins are also the subjects of a sinister lucrative global trade. Casey’s reportage takes her to the harrowing epicentre in the Solomon Islands, and to the Japanese town of Taiji, made infamous by the Oscar–winning documentary The Cove, where she chronicles protests against the annual slaughter of dolphins.
In the tradition of Susan Orlean and Donovan Hohn, Voices in the Ocean is a thrilling, compassionate, imperative account of the other intelligent life on the planet.
Rating: 5 stars
82. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowlingowned book, finished 25 November
Pages: 607
Setting: England, UK
Description:
Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing - if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfill the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him?
My review:
Brilliant book, brilliant series!
Rating: 5 stars
83. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagglibrary book, finished 1 December
Pages: 520
Setting: Alabama, USA
Description:
It's first the story of two women in the 1980s, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women -- of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth, who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder.
Rating: 4 stars
84. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kiplinglibrary book, finished 3 December
Pages: 235
Setting: India
Description:
When two wolves discover young Mowgli in the bushes, abandoned and naked, it is the beginning of a happy life with the wolves, Baloo the bear and Bagheera, a black panther. But the tiger Shere Khan believes the child was his to eat, and bides his time until he can exact his revenge on Mowgli and his adoptive wolf pack... Other stories feature a baby seal rescuing his fellows from Aleutian hunters, a mongoose who defends a human family from a ruthless pair of cobras, and a boy who is taken by his elephant into a strange and wonderful world that few have ever seen
Rating: 4 stars
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
All Quiet on the Western Front (other topics)All Quiet on the Western Front (other topics)
Small Great Things (other topics)
Asperger Syndrome and Long-Term Relationships (other topics)
Small Great Things (other topics)
More...
That's awesome! You can raise it whenever you want to :)