How to Fail at a Reading Challenge in Just 52 Weeks, by Abigail

[Abigail]

20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Once upon a time, there was a man who was gorgeous. He had flawless skin and lush lips and was always nicely flushed and his blond hair and blue eyes made him the epitome of all that was good. And hold on, I know we've got a story to get to, but let me go back and emphasize again how incredibly hot this guy was. Like, really.

(Review here.)

[Abigail]

22. A book you have high expectations or hope for - A Dirty Job

Talk about a let down. I did have high hopes for this book, and I couldn't even finish it.

Between beta males and f*ck puppets and breast implant soul vessels, I felt too strongly that this was written in the spirit of the internet-dwelling Red Pillers. Trust me, don't Google them.

I feel like I should read something more fun now, like a medical thriller about Ebola.

Review here.

[Abigail]

23. A medical or legal thriller - The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

I almost used my wild card on this category because I couldn't imagine suffering through a legal or medical thriller. I'm glad I didn't. This book lives up to its name; it's terrifying, especially because it was real. I was so worried for all of the characters throughout because I had no idea who would live or die.

I finished this book unwilling to go outside in case I caught Ebola from the wilds of the New Jersey suburbs. It could happen.

Review here.

[Abigail]

24. A book with a map - The Tombs of Atuan

I'll be honest, I chose this book for this category because I found it on a "books with maps" list.

This book, or perhaps this version of this book, did not have a map. I have failed.

Nevertheless, this was an excellent little book. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the world Ursula crafted.

Review (if you can call it that) here.

[Abigail]

25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view - Six of Crows

This was a DNF for me. Around page 80 I realized that I had several hundred more pages to go and that life was too short to suffer through a book I was supposed to be reading for fun.

When will I admit to myself that I just don't like YA? Possibly never.

[Abigail]

26. A book with a text only cover - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

I'm conflicted. On the one hand, this book brought up some really need things I hadn't thought about before in relation to introversion and extroversion. On the other, there was a huge amount of focus on introversion and succeeding in the corporate world, which I had not expected. This book wasn't necessarily targeted at me, despite being plenty introverted myself.

Not bad, but not my cup of tea.

[Silvia]

Abigail wrote: "24. A book with a map - The Tombs of Atuan

I'll be honest, I chose this book for this category because I found it on a "books with maps" list.

This book, or perhaps this version of ..."

The same happened to me!!! I know there are some versions of the book I am reading that have maps, but not mine :'( .... I'll count it for the map category anyway :P

[Abigail]

27. A book about surviving a hardship - The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

Well, right as I picked up this book, my long-term boyfriend and I split up. In a depressed funk, I soldiered through roughly thirty pages of this book before I got to the part about people drowning cattle for entertainment in barren towns and I checked out.

I'm better now, but I didn't pick up the book again. Second book I gave up on.

[Abigail]

28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water - Death on the Nile

Agatha Christie is always a fun romp. I like to read these books to remember how incredibly dense I am. I'm notoriously terrible at deducing the killer on my own.

Not my favorite Christie novel, but definitely not bad.