Niyah's 20 in 2020

[Niyah]

I joined GoodReads very recently and am already on my 17th book of the year so this post may be a bit of a mess. I was keeping track of my books by writing them in my sketchbook next to a star rating, but this is much easier and organized. I also would love to meet others who love reading as much as I do. Here are some of the books I read this year:




3.5 stars
This book was entertaining and I loved the characters however it wasn't my favorite book or the most memorable. I felt very interested in some plotlines and some moments but kind of bored with others.



5 stars
I found this book extremely riveting and I actually reread it since I loved it so much the time I read it a few years ago. I loved the different writing styles and stories and myriad of characters. While I definitely have my favorites the book as a whole is still pretty amazing.



4.5 stars
I read this book recently and was surprised by the story. I've heard of Grapes of Wrath many times before but never really knew what it was about. When I actually did read it I was surprised by its fast-moving plot and themes that are very much still relevant today. The characters really popped off the page and made the story great. It would be a five star if I didn't feel as if sometimes the dialogue dragged or was a little to verbose. Some important scenes also felt slightly rushed but I now completely understand why it is an American Classic.



4.5 stars
I watched the movies from the 80;s based on the book with my grandmother and I loved Anne with an E so I found it only appropriate to read the source material. It was a great story and I loved finding the parallels and differences between the book and the different adaptations. Even though this isn't the issue with the legendary line "I don't want sunbursts or marble halls I just want you", it was very enjoyable and made me fall in love with the characters all over again.



4.5 stars
I love thrillers and this is definitely one of my favorites. The protagonist was easy to empathize with despite her mistakes. The plot twists weren't so crazy as to be unbelievable but crazy enough to shock you into speed reading the next page for an explanation. This would be a five-star review but something about the ending just felt off. It just felt a bit anticlimatic compared to the tone of the rest of the book.



3.75 stars
I read this book in a few hours on a long car ride. It is a personal favorite for some of my friends but it just didn't hit me as much I expected it to. I liked Gatsby as a character and liked Jordan as well even though she didn't much "page time". The other characters I just couldn't seem to connect with. I loved the theme that I took away from it, but it had nothing to do with the "love story" I expected. I saw it as more of a story of caution, to let go of the past and ideals that don't exist.



5 stars
I was obsessed with the show from about the age of 8 to 12 and I still very much enjoy the show. I didn't know about the book until a few months ago and I knew I had to get it. I had a lot of fun reading it and learned even more about the episodes I had already seen and learned some new fun facts. I was a nice look back into my childhood and felt very educational.



5 stars
I was recommended this book by a friend and I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters and loved the linear storytelling. It flowed well and I was entertained the entire time. The list of rules and the last few paragraphs really stuck with me.



5 stars
This is absolutely one of my favorite books of all time. I wasn't sure about it when I first started it, but a few chapters in I was hooked and couldn't put it down. The characters were all amazing with their own personalities and motivations. Their emotions really came to life and made me feel for all of them. I loved the plot and the sidenotes including helping me finally understand the monty hall math problem. If I could give this book 6 stars I would.



4 stars
This true story was extremely riveting and moving. Hearing about all of these women's stories was heartbreaking as well as reading about their families and friends helpless to help them or get justice. The story was amazing and I would have given it 5 stars, except sometimes the story seemed to drag. I wasn't always hooked to the page or felt the need to finish the chapter, I'm glad I finished it however because the story of the survivors and lawyers who fought for them was truly inspiring and the story of the corrupt businesses was anger-inducing.



4,5
I finished this book at 2 am this morning. The first chapter with Claire absolutely floored me. The story continued to keep me at the edge of my seat as well as feeling the pain all of the characters were going through. It was expertly written with a great plot and I felt attached to nearly all of the characters. This would be a 5-star review if I didn't feel like the author was purposefully trying to gross the reader out. The descriptions of the murders felt excessive and I'm not a squeamish person. I love learning about true crime but this book was just too much for me. I felt as if the author was trying to go past the line for the sake of shocking the reader rather than advancing the plot or characters. Otherwise, I loved the story and was hooked after the first 100 pages.

I'm pretty confident in my ability to reach my goal of 20 books by the end of this year so I will be updating the books I've completed here. Thanks for reading!

[Ilona]

Welcome to the group, Niyah! Looks like you are having a good reading year :)

[Niyah]

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

This book has been sitting on my shelf for far too long. Today I suddenly felt the need to read it and I am so glad I did. While I love learning I’m hesitant to read non-fiction for fears of being bored (which is a ridiculous notion I know). This book was full of injustices society seems to ignore and forget with time. His writing style keeps the story going without glossing over any important events and had me reading the whole thing in one go. I loved how he delved into the hypocrisy of the church in not following through on their own teachings of mercy and love and general human decency. The way he brought out the hypocrisy really made me think despite knowing about this fact for years. There are so many quotable lines that I know will forever stick with me. I love reading about the abolitionist movement and the history of slavery since it’s also the history of my family. This is one of my new favorite books that breach this topic right alongside The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. I truly cannot recommend this any more than I already have and I am so happy I decided to read it sooner rather than later because I will definitely be revisiting this book in the future. Please read it!


“Sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds- faithfully relying upon the power of truth, love, and justice, for success in my humble efforts...” -Frederick Douglass

[Niyah]

Zeejane (Sara) wrote: "Jeremy Wade/River Monsters is the best!"

I know right! I loved reading his book especially the chapter on the goliath tigerfish and electric eel. He also talks about his life and I learned things that were never even mentioned on the show. It's insanely cheap on Amazon if you haven't read it yet!

[Niyah]

4.75 stars
Whenever I read young adult novels I usually stay away from series. However, I heard tons of praise for this one and I thought well at least it's a trilogy instead of a series with like seven books. I am so glad I gave this series a chance! I liked the first one Scythe however I loved this second one. I feel as if all of the already existing characters were given a whole new dimension which is making it nearly impossible for me to only have one favorite. All of the new characters were just as amazing and needed and nothing about this story felt forced or out of character. this is one of the best young adult novels I have ever read and after reading that cliffhanger I cannot wait to read the last and final installment!

[Niyah]

This is book #19 out of my 20 for this year so I'm pretty confident I will complete my challenge this year thinking of going for 32 next year maybe 36?



5 stars

I thought the first book was okay, I thought the second book was great, and I absolutely loved this last installment. The old characters and the new characters were handled incredibly well, I felt a level of connection or empathy with mostly all of them and understood their motives and actions for the most part which made the plot much more believable and just well done. I loved how different all of the characters were so you almost got a different point of view from every side of the population. The last few chapters had my jaw dropping multiple times. I finished this book feeling like I had just gone on a journey with all of these characters. 600 pages have never felt so short. This is honestly one of the best if not the best young adult series I have ever read. In summary, the characters, plot, pacing, world, and just every detail about this was amazing. 10/10.

[Niyah]

I completed my goal today! I am so grateful I completed this challenge with a new book that is surely now one of my all time favorites.



5 stars (obviously)

This book was just great from the start. I was interested in the story from the first page and most books, even books that I love take a few chapters for me to truly feel involved in the story. This book was hard to put down, I truly fell in love with each and every character and loved every page because of how all of these amazing characters interacted. I loved the writing style and the pacing and just the entirety of this book. This book made me cry and it is common knowledge I loathe crying and I don't tend to cry over most things. I thought I was gonna make it out of this one without crying once I got near the end but the last 15 pages really got me. This book was just beautiful and I will definitely be buying my own copy after I return the one I currently have to the library. I'm so happy to have been recommended this book from this challenges' book of the month. In conclusion, an amazing book to end this challenge with and a 10/10 book, everyone should read it at least once.

[Niyah]

4.5 stars

This book took me longer than usual to finish but it was well worth it. I'm used to reading books that aren't very philosophical and only are about 300-500 pages. So reading this book filled with philosophy that was about 800 pages long was strange, but a welcome difference.

I loved the characters. I was hooked to every single character starting with the first chapter. Dmitri and Fyodor were very entertaining to listen to. Ivan was fascinating and relatable in turning to knowledge for answers and still having doubts and contradictions and constantly reevaluating his thoughts. Alyosha was a great protagonist because you were rooting for him whether you agree with his convictions or not and he always stood up for what he believed in despite what he was up against, he truly believed in being a good person and was an extremely compassionate character. The story was great and I loved the character development and interactions.

I was very hooked to pretty much every plot introduced. Of course, the murder mystery plot was entertaining, but I loved the plot with the school children, with Lize's constant fickle decisions and actions, and Katya going back and forth. Of course, the struggle of believing in god and facing doubts and the suffering of the world as a whole was great and really made me think.

The story loses half a star only because I feel like there were some rambling parts. Of course, the dialogue between characters is the backbone to many of the plots however the multiple pages used to convey one point I feel as though they could have been shortened because after a few pages on the same topic without going too much farther I got kind of bored, but that is probably only because philosophy is not one of my main interests. In conclusion, a great book with amazing characters that really stand out, and I almost wish the book was longer because I wasn't ready for these character's stories to end.

[Niyah]

So apparently I couldn't stop at 21 books this year so I finished 1984 and read penpal this morning.



3 stars

It was good but I honestly just didn't connect to the characters. I enjoyed the third part a lot more than the first two. I loved the ending but I felt like the Newspeak appendix was unneeded and didn't add much to the story.



5 stars

I found this book on a list of thrillers to read and I had no idea it was actually based on Reddit posts??? I finished this book in almost exactly two hours while listening to folklore and evermore. I was hooked from the start and I loved the characters and I love how all of the twists were shocking but not as shocking as to be unbelievable. I can't think of anything wrong with the book, I liked the writing style and the ending hit me hard but it made sense. For whatever reason, it reminds me of "The Body in the Woods". The plot isn't similar at all, but I got the same vibe from both and I love both books so it vaguely makes sense. Anyway, I loved the book and it was a great quick read.