Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Seven weeks shy last year - will be finishing this year!


The 2016 List

� 1. A book you meant to read in 2015, but didn't. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
� 2. A book set in a different continent. Outlander
âœ� 3. 2015 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
� 4. Discovered author in 2015. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
� 5. Title beginning with the 1st letter of your name. Joyland by Stephen King
� 6. The highest rated on your TBR. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson(big book!)
� 7. A book about books. Fahrenheit 451
� 8. A classic book with less than 200 pages. Slaughterhouse-Five
� 9. A book that was mentioned in another book. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
� 10. Author you feel you should have read by now. The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett
11. A book from the Rory Gilmore challenge. The Virgin Suicides
12. A childhood classic. A Little Princess
� 13. Reader’s Choice. Salt to the Sea
� 14. A book with one of the five W’s -or H in the title. Why Not Me?
15. A book set in the past (more than 100 years ago). Gone with the Wind
16. A book from the top 100 mystery novels. Rebecca
17. A book with a beautiful cover A Thousand Pieces of You
18. A book on a summer/beach reading list . In the Unlikely Event
19. A non-fiction book. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
20. A book with a first name in the title. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
21. A book from the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Recommendations page. Cast in Shadow
22. The first book in a new to you series. The Final Empire
23. The next book in a series you are reading. TBD
24. A "between the numbers" book of a series. Night of Cake & Puppets
25. A book whose main character is in a profession that interests you. Déjà Dead
26. A book everyone is talking about. Between the World and Me
27. A book with a beautiful title. All the Bright Places
28. A biography, autobiography, or memoir. You're Never Weird on the Internet
29. A book by an author who writes under more than one name. The Silkworm
30. A fairytale from a culture other than your own. East
31. A work of young adult fiction. Nowhere But Here
32. A historical fiction book. Secrets of a Charmed Life
33. The 16th book on your TBR. Undeadly
34. A book about mental illness. Speak
35. An award winning book. The Windup Girl-Hugo Award
36. An identity book - a book about a different culture. Lost in Tokyo
37. A book that you've seen the movie of but haven't read. The Golden Compass
38. A book about an anti hero. American Psycho
39. Suggestion 176-A book released in 2016 which is an author's debut novel. The Star-Touched Queen
� 40. A novella from your favorite genre. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?-5/6/2016
41. A book about a major world event. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
� 42. A top 100 fantasy novel. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
43. A book about a thing that goes bump in the night. Geek Love
44. A book you're embarrassed to read in public. Valley of the Dolls
45. A book related to a hobby or passion you have. The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World.
46. A crime story. In Cold Blood
47. A book with a type of food/drink in the title. The Peach Keeper
48. A dystopia. The Darkest Minds
49. A book with a great opening line. An Abundance of Katherines
50. A book originally written in a language other than English. Anna Karenina
51. A short story from a well-known author. The Grownup
52. A book published in 2016. Untitled

Week One Thoughts

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson ★★★★

I intended to read this book prior to the end of 2015 - but unfortunately I couldn't get to it until it was due back to the library. I had started the first chapter to see if the book was something I would be interested in. I was immediately swayed by the author's writing style and humor. I couldn't finish it before 2015 was over but made sure it was the first book I read in 2016 :D

I'm on a huge non-fiction kick. I always associated non-fiction with the dry texts I used to read while in school. Not the case. This book was hilarious, interesting AND thought provoking. Several times I found myself looking up further information on topics mentioned in the book (such as Centralia - a town in PA that's been eradicated due to an uncontrollable underground COAL FIRE that experts could expect to burn for hundreds of years. That's freaking interesting).

Strongly recommend this book for others interested in non-fiction, especially those that have a bit of wanderlust in them.

Week Two Thoughts

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon ★★★★

I've had this book sitting on my shelves for awhile. I was hesitant to start the series as it seemed to be a HUGE undertaking (are all the books as long as this? Jeesh). Although it wasn't a favorite I can say I very much enjoyed it.

It seemed to be the perfect mix of romance and adventure. The MCs were quite funny - I adored following their dialogue. I can see how this would make an excellent TV series. Throughout the 850 or so pages there are many dramatic scenes/moments.

Book hit a VERY slow point in the last 100 pages. It seemed to me that the author had an excellent ending point for book 1 (view spoiler)[After rescuing Jamie from Randall (hide spoiler)] but then carried the story out a bit further than necessary.

I'm interested to see where this series goes. I will likely read the next book - not sure when, though. Big books are a time investment :D

Week Three Thoughts

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson ★★�

I've been wanted to read this book since seeing it on a bookshelf of an airport I was passing through. I was easily pulled in by the spooky cover and title. Couldn't justify the hefty price tag of a hardcover so I jumped on the library request list. Luckily the book came available for this week :)

I enjoyed this book but I'm glad I didn't spend the money on it. I'm not 100% into the author's writing style. Although very informative, I enjoy a bit more humor (such as with Bill Bryson). Also, I didn't care for the shifting perspective (following the MANY passengers, military members, etc). I did not think President Wilson's perspective was necessary, at least not to the extent it was used.

I'm up for reading more from him, though. I recently purchased a paperback copy of In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin. Non-fiction based around WW2 is much more intriguing to me so I'm hopeful this next book will be a win!

Week Four Thoughts

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson ★★★★�

Fantastic follow-up book to one of my favorite reads from 2015. Jenny Lawson's unique sense of humor and impossibly ridiculous life stories made this and her first book Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir two of my all-time favorites.

To top off the giggles, the books are a fantastic representation of dealing with various mental illnesses and how they can affect your interactions with other people and life in general. So highly recommend both these memoirs. And when you are done with these - follow her blog. You won't regret it :)

Week Five Thoughts

Joyland by Stephen King - � 1/2

Well this was a disappointment. At least it was a short disappointment.

The idea behind this book is intriguing. I love the setting and the time frame (1970s) complements the carnival theme perfectly. I like how King set his book in North Carolina (outside of New England for once...). In addition, I enjoyed King's typical writing style.

But the plot, the horror, the mystery - everything was LACKING. They didn't even get to addressing the meat of the plot (the murder/mystery that happened at Joyland) until half way through the book. As this book is only 280 pages, that doesn't leave a lot of time for the good stuff. I was expecting so much more from King. He should have taken another 300 pages with this book to give it the horror/mystery it deserved. Wouldn't recommend �



Week Six Thoughts

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - ★★★★★★

Holy smokes this book. In the years I've been on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, this is the very first book I've read that I felt the need to make a '6 star' shelf. I sometimes get overwhelmed or even bored with larger books like this but it had me hooked the entire time. Sanderson's writing is wonderful - I was able to easily visualize the events and fantastical scenes of the book, especially the battle scenes (which I usually have trouble with - they tend to be excessively drawn out). Even if you can't get yourself into this big of a book/large of a series - do yourself a favor and read something from Sanderson.

The scope of this book alone was HUGE and I think they are only scratching the surface with this - there are expecting 10 books in the series! There are currently only 2 published books in the series (first one published 2010), so this is going to be a long wait.

I feel like this is a must-read for anyone who likes epic fantasy. I find the scope/scale of this world to be similar to Game of Thrones in the grandness, but with much, MUCH more fantasy.

Now I have to decide if I blow through Words of Radiance or wait till the 3rd book's expected publication in 2017. Hmmmmm.



Week Seven Thoughts

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ★★�

Hmmm. Hmmmmmm.

I can't really collect my thoughts on this book. I liked it while reading it, but wouldn't consider a favorite or even a book I overly enjoyed. I enjoyed the story for what it was, but like many classics I just can't get into the characters/world as much as I need to to really feel connected to the book.

Can very much see why this book was as popular as it was in the time it was originally published. The idea behind where the society can lead is still very much relevant, which is interesting 60+ years later.

Week Eight Thoughts

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

One of the more enjoyable classics I've read. Great blend of some of my favorite genres - science fiction/fantasy, humor, and historical fiction. Writing was thankfully not dated (my biggest issue with classics). The ease of reading and humor hid a deeper message - traumas/PTSD from war, questioning the mass slaughter associated with ware, etc.

Also love that the book touched on a lesser discussed event of the war - bombings of Dresden. Would have loved to hear more details about this.

Week Nine Thoughts

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 5/16/2016 ★★

Another enjoyable classic that I planned to read in my ongoing attempt at reading through Rory Gilmore's 300+ books mentioned on Gilmore Girls. I actually approached this book from a very interested spot - I recently completed Girl, Interrupted, which chronicled the author's time as a patient in McLean Hospital. Sylvia Plath was a patient at the very same hospital - in fact portions of The Bell Jar are set here (although different time).

I greatly enjoyed The Bell Jar - more so than Girl Interrupted. While GI covered the authors time in the hospital, The Bell Jar detailed Plath's mental breakdown prior to admission to McLean - which was IMO much more interesting. Both worthwhile reads with strong parallels (as would be expected).

Last 1/4 of the book I found to be a bit more disjointed than the rest (purposeful? This is when she is admitted). My edition had an after note about Plath which I found to be pretty dry. One of the more enjoyable classics AND non-fiction books I've read!



Week Ten Thoughts

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett ★★� 1/2

I was initially drawn to this book by the cover. Although I will straight up admit this isn't the best way to pick out books, covers are usually the first thing I will notice and THEN I will read the description. I've been fooled many, many times by my coverly insta-love.

This book did not disappoint! I was immediately hooked by the concept. Infinite earths that you can 'step' to. The earths are unpopulated (to start), wild and different from our own in initially very small ways but soon quite large. MC Joshua is on an expedition with sentient AI Lobsang (although claims to be human) to discover the ends of the Long Earth.

Adored this concept/plot. Interesting enough to keep the pages turning. Not overly humorous but still got a few chuckles. Details were spot on - could clearly 'see' the new Earths.

One of my favorite parts of the book was when the story cut away from the MC to follow other people and their unique adventures/storylines. This largely went away for the last 1/3 of the book and I greatly missed it. Story dragged a bit once we focused specifically on Joshua.

Will happily read more (especially because the entire series has bright and bold covers!), but not rushing out to do so.



Week Eleven Thoughts

Week Twelve Thoughts

Week Thirteen Thoughts

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys ★★

I'm a huge fan of historical books, especially those centered around WW2. My emotions for this book are so polarized. I did not care for the author's writing style. At all. The book is written from the POV of 4 younger adults in varying situations during some of the last days of WW2. German citizens are evacuating from the German/Russian front lines to the coast of the Baltic Sea where ships are waiting to take them deeper into Germany. Each glimpse into the POV is short - 1-2 pages. I didn't feel this was enough to really know the characters and get invested in the situation. Parts of the book that should have been more of a focus (the actual sinking) were kept SO short. As a story I did not really enjoy much of it.

The setting/situation covered is the most interesting part of this book. I have read a lot of WW2 stuff and I haven't read anything from this perspective. Sometimes you forget that there were plenty of Germans that were victims in this too. Also, the book covered the torpedoing/sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff (one of the evacuation boats). This blew my mind - it was the LARGEST MARITIME DISASTER (almost 10,000 people killed-estimating 5k children - Titanic 'only' had 1500) and I've NEVER heard of it. This wasn't a ship full of Nazis - these were refuges. Terrifies me to think of what time is erasing from history.

So yes - my rating for this book is purely based on the factual stuff and not the actual story. Without the crazy information I probably would have DNF'd this.



Week Fourteen Thoughts

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling ★★★★

Another great memoir from Mindy Kaling :)

Highly recommend listening to this on audio book. She has such a distinct voice/sense of humor that even reading it I still had her voice in my head, but it was SO great on audio book. I'm not sure if I would enjoy this book as much if I wasn't into her show Mindy Project. Regardless - she's awesome. Has some great insight about finding confidence in what you do and girl power! She even has this short portion where she pitches a TV show/storyline (i think?) based on email convos and I got SO into it!

Week Forty Thoughts

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick ★★� 1/2

I'm waffling. Do I give it a 3? A 4? I don't know. This book killed for the first 2/3, but the last bit was really slow to me.

If you are unaware - this book is the premise for the Bladerunner movie. I HATED that movie and could not for the life of me understand the hype. I was hoping the book would connect more for me - and it did. I will gladly re-watch the movie and *try* to not hate it :)

This post-apocalyptic world that Philip Dick created is SO interesting. He did a fantastic job at the small details of the world - details that made his book so enjoyable. I didn't care for his character interactions - incredible stiff (but was that purposeful being that we are dealing with androids? I dunno. This book may be too smart for me). I ended this book expecting to read the next until I realized it was written by a different author. Meh, I'll pass.



Week Forty One Thoughts

Week Forty Two Thoughts

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams ★★★★

Pleasantly surprised by this book. Although I have considered it a book that I needed to read at some point, I wasn't in a hurry as I mistakenly watched (and did not enjoy) the movie first. I was IMMEDIATELY won over by the humor in Adam's writing. It was just so goofy and so effortless at the same time. I cant wait to read more from this series!