2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2015
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Adam's 75 Books in 2015
42.
Oy oy oy! I was so let down that I didn't like this book like I did The Secret History & The Goldfinch. The writing itself was very impressive, but the plot and story line was just weak, almost non-existent. I paid pretty close attention and I'm still not even sure who the little friend is supposed to be. It's more like a glimpse into the life of a young girl from the South and about how she dealt with the loss of a loved one. I got to like some of the characters by the end, but it really just seemed like a character writing exercise, not a book. 3 Stars
43.
Wow, what a super cool true story. It's almost as if this guys life happened just so they could make an awesome movie out of it, which I still need to see, but I could picture the whole thing already in my head. So many close calls and it's incredible how he survives because of his will to live and refusal to be broken.5 Stars
44.
I didn't really keep up with the news much when the polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was arrested. I just knew he was caught and heard about some of the horrible things he had done in the name of religion. This book is about the girl who brought him down, and finally mustered the courage to speak up after years of abuse caused by this sorry excuse for a man. It was also intriguing to hear how the FLDS live their daily lives and about some of their very controlling doctrines. You can start to see how hard it would be for someone who grows up in an FLDS reality to be able to break out of that mindset and discover the real world around them. If their leaders weren't so oppressive there'd probably wouldn't have been so many people falling out of their religion. 5 Stars
45.
I'm finally getting back to reading #2 in this series and I don't know why I waited so long. What I really like about these books is that the story is intertwined with actual history and people, where some of the more extraordinary historical figures are "actives" (people with magical powers) and the "real" behind-the-scenes story is told about actual events.5+ Stars
46.
This was a really fun book that talked about different creature sighting stories throughout America. My favorite one was Batsquatch, a flying version of Bigfoot. 4 Stars (Would have been better with more drawings or pictures. It was hard to picture some of the descriptions.)
47.
An excellent ending to the series. The characters are very clever & witty when trying to think of ways to defeat the enemy by using each of their unique skills together. The main theme of the book seemed to be to never underestimate your opponent, but hope that they underestimate you.5 Stars
48 & 49.
Two short stories that briefly continue the Grimnoir Chronicles series. They were fun but lacked the depth and mystery of the full length books.4 Stars
50.
Even though I knew most of what was going on from the movie, it was still a page turner and I enjoyed the extra character development and details that are usually available in the book compared to the movie. Hannibal is such an fascinating character and I love his creepy wit and the way he can cleverly manipulate people and events to get what he wants. 5 Stars
Oh I think I might just add Silence of the Lambs to my list, it sounds really good :)
51.
It was a little boring at first reading through the several articles about how diversity increases productivity in science related jobs, but after I read threw them I was able to see how important diversity actually is for the workplace and it isn't simply to be politically correct, but people actually work harder and express/defend their ideas more fully when working with mixed groups, plus there are more varied ways of thinking to solve a problem.I also liked the other articles about the progress of learning more about the beginning of our universe, the indirect evidence so far of the existence of other universes, how coffee crops are in danger around the world and what they are trying to do to save it & a possible new energy source from methane hydrate deposits found on the ocean floor.
4 Stars
Astrid wrote: "Oh I think I might just add Silence of the Lambs to my list, it sounds really good :)"You won't be disappointed!
52.
I saw the movie first (The Imitation Game) and wanted to know more about the life of Alan Turing, so I picked up this book and read it without reading any reviews. I wish I had. Over half of the book reads like a calculus book and you'd practically need to be a mathematician to understand, let alone be interested in all the numbers in this book. But I still finished the book to at least be able to find the parts that talked more about Alan Turing than about math. It talked some about the code breaking, but also about how he wanted to build a "thinking" machine that could make choices on his own. The part about him getting sent to jail for being homosexual was sad, but at least his mother took his side and he had many friends that tried to defend him.
3 Stars
53.
I pre-ordered this on audio that was read by Will Wheaton. It became available this morning when I downloaded it and started it right when I woke up. I listened to it all day through work until I finished it this evening. It was such an awesome book! I really liked his last book Ready Player One so I was sure I'd like this one. It's written specifically for my age group so it was nice to read a book where I get all the jokes and references to the 80's movies & video games. 5+ Stars
Adam wrote: "2. 
- Just watched through all the seasons on HBO and got hooked. So I thought I'd give the books a try while I'm waiting for the next season and so far this fir..."i'm doing it backwards i'm reading first then watching what did you like better?
At first watching the shows helped me better picture the characters in the books (there are so many!) but catching up on the books before watching this last season was pretty enjoyable. You'll notice where you think they are following the book for a while, but then they'll twist it around and something totally different happens that you weren't expecting.
54.
You really can't go wrong with any of John Scalzi books. Not one of my favorites, but I still enjoyed the story.4 Stars
55.
It blows my mind how far science has come, and also how much more out there that we don't know about. Neil deGrasse Tyson has a way of inspiring awe and the desire to want to learn more. 4 Stars
56.
It's been a few months since I read this but each issue I read I'm always thrilled by cool new things that they are coming up with, especially cures & ways to reduce our impact on the environment. 4 Stars
57.
After reading Armada & Ready Player One I was looking for a similar kind of book, and saw that someone had suggested this one. It didn't take long to find out that the book was just what I was looking for. Lots of super powers, video game references & everything a geek like me could wish for. The sequel just came out this week too and I'm anxious to start reading it!4 Stars
58.
A true horror story with a mystery that has lasted for decades resulting in all kinds of theories of what might have happened to these experienced Russian hikers, who were all found dead not far from their tent, which had been cut open from the inside as they had been in such a hurry to flee from it. The author devoted a lot of time into finding a logical answer to this mystery, and surprisingly at the end of the book he reveals a very reasonable cause at to what actually happened to them. 5 Stars
59.
This book was so good I told my wife & friend that they absolutely had to read it so I could have someone to talk about it with! I listened to this as an audio book and the narrator did such a good job narrating the stalker that it was hard to tell if he were just reading the book or actually talking about his own story. The whole book is from the stalkers point of view, and he sometimes starts talking to "You" which is a girl named Beck who he's completely obsessed with, where obsessed is not a strong enough word to describe it. Lots of really funny lines in this book too, as long as you can get past some of his sexual language, but it all adds to the creepy factor. One of the funnest books I've read this year.5+ Stars
60.
The future is going to be awesome.4 Stars
61.
It's a very long book, but it's a really good horror/mystery story. First time I've read from this author and I was impressed.4 Stars
62.
Some interesting theories on paranormal experiences, and ties in old folktale beliefs with new ones. I liked the different ghost stories and monster stories it had.4 Stars
63.
So dang awesome! This guy went to hang out with some of the more well known extremists & conspiracy theorists and wrote about his experiences with them, i.e. Alex Jones, David Ike, the Ku Klux Klan, etc. He talks about the similarities in them all, and that pretty much most people believe that the world is controlled by a few rich elite people in a hidden room somewhere. This book is also about his attempt to find that room and find those people. There are no conclusions drawn in the book, but it's pretty hilarious once some of the people find out the author is Jewish, and they think he is part of the whole conspiracy! 5 Stars
64.
Learned some pretty cool things about Crazy Horse and the Lakota culture. Although this book didn't particularly capture my interest, I would like to read more about Crazy Horse & what went on during his time in the last days of the Wild West.3 Stars
65.
Pretty amazing that there are actually "Super Earths" out there that could be more conducive to live than our own planet. Can't wait until we can get some better pictures of all these new planets that are being found around nearby stars.4 Stars
66.
This book gives you a really good feel on what the author experiences in Vietnam, and teaches you how to tell if a "war story" is made up or not. Very sad to read about the after-effects of the war too and what happened to some of his closest friends. Very eye-opening to the human cost of war, but it also shows how they coped and some of the funny stuff they did. For example one guy was able to smuggle his girlfriend over to Vietnam to stay with him for a while! 5 Stars
67.
Pretty amazing how much more we are able to learn about ancient humans, and how similar they were to us.4 Stars
68.
Holy cow, so much good history in the span of one summer! It must have been a really exciting time to live in. From the way the book is written, it feels like you come to know the year 1927 really well. Some of the major topics were Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh, famous murders, what kind of music people were into, what gossip was about, etc. Books like this are my favorite way to learn history. 5 Stars
69.
A funny story about a quiet, reserved guy who becomes Death, and has to adjust to this new responsibility. 4 Stars
70.
This book was hilarious and I loved it. Not everyone may like it, but it's just my kind of humor. Had a lot of laugh-out-loud moments while reading this.5 Stars
71.
Sequel to the last book that I didn't know existed until after I finished the first. This book is still funny, but has more horror to it and a lot more people die, and not as wacky as the first book. I liked that it had a different change of pace, a little more serious, but still had a lot of cool science fiction stuff in it that I like.5 Stars
72.
I thought I'd read a book about a video game I've played to see what it was like, and it wasn't too bad. I liked much deeper the book gets into the story and characters than in the game.4 Stars
73.
Another cool historical book that talks about a famous murder in 1910 & how the invention of wireless communication lead to his capture. It's fun to go back in time with books like this and get a feel of what people were like back then. 4 Stars
74.
I thought I was really like this since I lived his Grimnoir Chronicles series, but I really didn't like it for a lot of reasons that I won't list them all, except that it was predictable and the characters weren't very believable. For example the main character was super smart, knew 6 languages, was also very tough, had cool guns, and finds out he is the "Chosen One." Plus stories where all the good guys live and the bad guys die just isn't very interesting. 3 Stars (Being Generous)
75.
Greg Bear is da bomb. I still find my self thinking about his "The Way" series that I read over a year ago, and this book will also live with me for a long time. I was able to feel the dread, horror, excitement and all of everything else the characters were feeling right along with them. This book is one of the best Science Fiction/Mystery books I've ever read. I want to say more but I don't want to ruin the book! The less you know going in to the book the better the book will be!5+ Stars
76.
Not what I expected, but it was still alright. The book is more about random experiences of the author throughout his life, tied in with some science about human nature and how it has evolved.3 Stars
Adam wrote: "53. I pre-ordered this on audio that was read by Will Wheaton. It became available this morning when I downloaded it and started it right when I woke up. I listened to i..."I didn't realize the audiobook was narrated by Will Wheaton! How perfect. I just finished Ready Player One, and I'm looking forward to Armada. Thanks for sharing about the audiobook!
77.
This book was so much better than I expected. Without giving anything away, it really gets deep into how a group of humans might live without all the rules & expectations of life on Earth. Then it gets even deeper on if there is a difference between revenge and justice. The basic premise of the book is set up from book one: a group of survivors from Earth set out to seek out to destroy the civilization that destroyed their planet, with the help of an unknown, highly evolved benefactor. 5 Stars
78.
I had heard about this girl in the news but didn't know much so I picked up this book to enlighten myself. She is an excellent example of courage & how nations are progressing out of the dark ages where women are kept silent and at home to have babies, to where they can go to school, have jobs & be on equal terms with men.5 Stars
79.
As a new dog owner I hoped this would help me learn how to train my dog, but the most important things were glossed over or skipped. For example there was only a brief mention of how to potty train your dog with just one solution with a newspaper, then there was no mention of kennel training which I had to find out about from friends. This wasn't the all-inclusive Dog Training for Dummies that I was hoping for.2 Stars
80.
If you are even remotely interested in the Beatles you would likely enjoy this book. After reading it I feel like I can almost say I knew them before they were a thing.5 Stars
81.
This was recommended to me by a friend and I'm surprised I had never heard of a book this awesome before! The author really paints a good picture of each character and the world around them. I loved all the magic, lore & ingenuity in the book, even though the main character was a little too perfect at about everything he did.5 Stars
82.
I thought the first book couldn't be beat, but this one was even better. Perhaps it's because it was about twice as long as the first and you get more time to get into more of the story and learn more about some of the things that were kept hidden in the first book. I can't praise this book enough. Please write #3 soon!5+Stars
83.
This was a very sobering yet mind-opening book. I did not realize how many animals are currently going extinct and how little time we may have left if we don't clean up our act. For example I had no idea about how many species of frogs & bats are dying off around the world, and how different our world would be in just a generation from now. This book by far tops any horror book I've read, and I do hope that books like this will help people take better care of our home before we ruin it for our kids.5 Stars
84.
I liked the first book, but this one was just all over the place. I didn't really know where the story was going as there wasn't a whole lot of plot, and some of the characters were annoying to me. The video game and movie references weren't enough to save the book for me.2 Stars
86.
After you get through the first couple chapters it's a very fascinating book. I agree with the authors that ignoring people who are trying to revise history won't make them go away, it will only get worse. It talks about the difference between honest historical research and revisionist research that cherry pics or misrepresents the data. The book goes through all the major claims that holocaust deniers say proves that the holocaust never happened, or wasn't as bad as it was said to be, then shows were they went wrong in making their conclusions.5 Stars
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are (other topics)In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (other topics)
Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened & Why Do They Say It? (other topics)
The Flux (other topics)
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (other topics)
More...
4 Stars