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Personal Challenges - 2018
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Tracey's 2018 Reading Challenge
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Tracey
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May 30, 2018 05:43PM
46. The Girls - An interesting premise but overall a bit shallow.
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47. The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story - For those who have an interest in archaeology, this is a fascinating tale of the discovery of an ancient city that was lost with time. I can't say I know much about archaeology, so learning about all of the thought that went into the science, the adventure itself, and the aftermath really put it in perspective for me.There was a small part of me that had a bit of annoyance because of the obvious white male privilege that helped advance this adventure.
48. The Great Alone - Started out well but turned a little bit too much like a soap-opera by the end of this.
49. Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold - I was flirting with whether or not I wanted to read this book for awhile, but I don't know why I didn't just trust Atwood. This is a modern re-telling of Shakespeare's The Tempest but Atwood still manages to make it a unique story.
51. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit - I was interested in the story to start, but the story got a little repetitive by the end and the author seemed a little aggressive about his pursuit of this man.
52. The Nix - I enjoyed the satirical nature of this book, but ultimately it felt a little too long.53. The Road - A little bit repetitive.
54. New Boy -Also a little bit repetitive. Unlike Atwood's retelling of the Tempest, I thought this one was a little bit more thrown at me that it was a retelling of Othello. The plot feels rushed because it all happens in the course of one day.
55. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - An okay story but the characters and plot are a bit shallow.
56. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America - Alright overall; the author kind of gets bogged down in her own arguments though.
57. The Book of Essie - Interesting plot that kept me reading, but I didn't like the execution. The book was predictable. The characters' motivations/struggles/plots were not believable to me. I felt like the author only told me there was a struggle, she didn't show me.
59. The Song of Achilles - I'm probably in the minority for this one but I felt like it was too slow to start with and the relationship felt a little too one-sided to me.
60. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - A little bit confusing; I think I'd need to read it again to truly understand the depth of this short book.
61. The Grapes of Wrath - I was surprised to find how much I loved this book. This is a fascinating portrayal of the time period and it has well earned its position as a classic.
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64. Commonwealth - At its deepest core, a book about how one decision can impact your entire life sounds interesting. In execution, I was very bored with it. The plot felt disjointed. I couldn't keep the characters straight.
65. The Heart's Invisible Furies - This is one of those times that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I found the book fantastic - the humor was witty, the setting was fascinating, the story tied together well.
66. The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra - I had a few issues with this one. The book focused less on the sisters, and more on the family as a whole, mostly the mother. Regardless of that, the focus on the family was not a great choice because the family was too isolated from the events happening at the time and they really weren't that much different than most children/families for the most part. If you knew little of the history, you won't gain the knowledge through this book.
67. Vinegar Girl - I think if I had liked The Taming of the Shrew more, I would have appreciated this modern retelling more than I did?
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68. Norse Mythology - I didn't think norse mythology was as quirky as it was. Definitely going to share (view spoiler) to all my friends.
69. The Last Time I Lied - I seem to be in the minority of people who disliked this book but I found the plot just to be hanging on by a thread most of the time. The explanations for why people act/make the choices that they did were super flimsy/would not be how people act in the real world.
71. Burial Rites - I put this one off for years even though I knew I would be interested in it. I'm glad to have finally read it.
72. Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places - On the one hand, it was an interesting story about the psychology behind the belief in ghosts. On the other hand, he went on a large number of tangents and those detracted from the story.
73. The Stars Are Fire - Ugh, thank goodness that's over. The only redeeming quality was that the book was short.
75. The Lying Game - So I guess I'm supposed to come away from this book going "wow, the power of friendship", because this is supposed to be a thriller about 4 women who shared a childhood together and then come together back in adulthood after one of them asks for help, but all I could focus on was that the main character (Isa) has an extremely unhealthy attachment to her 6 month old baby and it ruins the entire book. I would be annoyed if someone came over to help me but then just doted on a baby the whole time. Isa brings her baby to a crime scene in a rickety shack when she has the option of leaving the baby with dad at home. Then plothole after plothole occurs because baby...
If you didn't get my point, every single chapter is unnecessarily about this baby. It's a walking advertisement for breastfeeding. I'd like to note here that I am 100% for breastfeeding, and even doing it in public, but it really does take a lot out of a thriller novel when the drama stops because the main character has to whip out her breasts to feed a squalling baby in every chapter.
77. Something in the Water - The beginning captures you, the middle turns into an interesting psychological study, and the end fizzles and dies out. I enjoyed the back and forth mystery of "is she paranoid" or "is someone really after her", but then a flimsy plot based on underdeveloped characters' decisions takes over.
78. Record of a Spaceborn Few - I think I skipped the 2nd book on accident but I also dont feel like that would have mattered or swayed my review. I liked the idea of this book but it's a little bit directionless for a long time. Kind of ironic, given the plot actually.
79. The Tattooist of Auschwitz - I was excited when this one finally came out but I think it was a bit overhyped. I don't feel like this story elicits the emotions that usually come with a story about nazi germany and concentration camps.
80. The Outsider - Not one of King's best books. The first half is 100% a crime thriller with an interesting "how could this guy be in two places at once" plot. The second half just tears that whole first half apart by going into the supernatural, and not well.
81. Room - This is an interesting concept writing about the imprisonment of a woman in a man's shed for years through the perspective of a 5 year old, but I was torn on the execution. At some points, a 5-year-old's perspective really took away from the emotion of the plot. In some points, the 5-year-old's perspective was eye-opening and you see how difficult it would be for a 5-year-old who knows even less about the world than a normal child to take in everything for the first time.82. Moonglow - A case of "it's not you, it's me". I don't know why, but I just could not connect to the book. The writing was really well done and the individual pieces that make up the memoirs were interesting, but the story as a whole was just not connecting to me for some reason.
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83. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Some bits of interesting moments but not my type of book overall.
84. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War - On the one hand, it's an interesting view of women who were active participants during the civil war; on the other hand, some of the details seemed a little embellished.
85. The Broken Girls - A ghost story that drew me in and even had me a bit scared, great imagery and scene setting, but then there was just too much going on by the end.
86. Baby Teeth - This was an interesting psychological horror that I think some would like and some would hate because it boils down to a relationship between a mother and her daughter and interpretation will go a long way. I think the author captures the depth of the individual characters and their conflicts very well. It still felt like there was something missing; a twist maybe? Some kind of resolution?
87. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - This one was interesting, but I wish it got to some of the plot sooner so that I could care a bit more. I had a hard time paying attention to the minor details of each character.
89. Rich People Problems - It's a third book in a series, so I probably would like it more if I had read the 1st or 2nd, but it didnt feel like it resolved itself.
90. The Alice Network - I think the author threw a lot more than she could handle into this book. The pre-war part of the story is a pretty interesting story that holds its own, but the post-war story doesnt have enough character building or plot to hold it up.
91. The Home for Unwanted Girls - I actually read this one in October but realized my count was off. The microhistory involved in this novel was fascinating, as much as it was sad.92. The Clockmaker's Daughter - This one needed some serious editing. It took me way too long to really understand the characters and their roles.
93. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea - This wasn't that bad but ultimately I was tired of reading scientific classifications of fish.
94. Muse of Nightmares - I have the same issues that I had with Laini Taylor's other series. She has beautiful world building skills, but the story doesn't keep me entertained the whole time.
95. Us Against You - A decent sequel to Beartown but a bit messier. Still one of the better young adult books I've read in awhile. I do appreciate author spelling out society's hypocrisies.
96. Ghosted - Oh dear, no. 40 year old woman stalks a guy who ghosts her after they meet and fall in love 7 days later.. Twist occurs and (view spoiler)
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Lair of Dreams (other topics)The Casual Vacancy (other topics)
The Husband's Secret (other topics)
The Sword of Summer (other topics)
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