Annual Reading Challenge--2020
- Thread starter willowsnn3
- Start date
JayMass
Dis Dad #871 Disney Deadhead
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2019
14/30 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I really liked this book. What an epic story of a Greek immigrant family over three generations. The characters are written so well and seem so very real. The intersex narrator is an interesting element but it's really about a whole heck of a lot more. Great Read.
15/30 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. This was a long, slow read for me. I enjoyed the characters and ludicrous situations that, after speaking with military friends and family, is not so far-fetched. I wish there had been more a real plot instead of strung together anecdotal stories. I'll have to check out the new mini-series--my wife tells me it's better than the book!
15/30 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. This was a long, slow read for me. I enjoyed the characters and ludicrous situations that, after speaking with military friends and family, is not so far-fetched. I wish there had been more a real plot instead of strung together anecdotal stories. I'll have to check out the new mini-series--my wife tells me it's better than the book!
melk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
20/25 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
As MGMmjl stayed above, this is the prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, telling the story of a young President Snow and the early days of the hunger games.
I struggled with this book. It’s a long book and I just couldn’t get done with it fast enough. I probably should have just put it down but it raised a few questions I wanted answered (I.e. Tigris’ story) but unfortunately, judging from how this book ended, they’ll be yet another.
As MGMmjl stayed above, this is the prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, telling the story of a young President Snow and the early days of the hunger games.
I struggled with this book. It’s a long book and I just couldn’t get done with it fast enough. I probably should have just put it down but it raised a few questions I wanted answered (I.e. Tigris’ story) but unfortunately, judging from how this book ended, they’ll be yet another.
jen7233
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2005
#8/20:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Having been long in existence, many may know the name of the author or the book, or both. In short, a dystopian type science fiction book of the future (although technically, that future year has since actually passed), in which fireman do not exist to put out fires, but rather to burn books. Books are the "fire" of free thought, in a future society which exists to keep the people en masse "happy" to the extent of censoring thought and opinion. How very apropos to today's society, either censored for having varying opinions, on either side of the fence, or ridiculous schadenfreude showings of things caught on video. I digress.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Having been long in existence, many may know the name of the author or the book, or both. In short, a dystopian type science fiction book of the future (although technically, that future year has since actually passed), in which fireman do not exist to put out fires, but rather to burn books. Books are the "fire" of free thought, in a future society which exists to keep the people en masse "happy" to the extent of censoring thought and opinion. How very apropos to today's society, either censored for having varying opinions, on either side of the fence, or ridiculous schadenfreude showings of things caught on video. I digress.
Simba's Mom
<font color=green>everything went to "H*** in a ha
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
Update time! I'm up to 28 books-
#23-"My name is Eva"-Goldring-4 stars
#24 "Sunrise on Half Moon Bay", Robyn Carr-4 stars
#25-"Children of the Stars", Mario Escobar-3 stars
#26-"Choosing Chelsae", Christina Butrum-4 stars, no depth but I enjoyed it
#27-"Dressed to Kill", Lynn Cahoon-2 stars. Maybe it would have been more if I'd read the whole series, but as a stand alone book, I found it too confusing.
#28-"Cilka's Journey", Heather Morris-5 stars. Outstanding, based on a true person from WWII and the Siberian work camps afterwards.
#23-"My name is Eva"-Goldring-4 stars
#24 "Sunrise on Half Moon Bay", Robyn Carr-4 stars
#25-"Children of the Stars", Mario Escobar-3 stars
#26-"Choosing Chelsae", Christina Butrum-4 stars, no depth but I enjoyed it
#27-"Dressed to Kill", Lynn Cahoon-2 stars. Maybe it would have been more if I'd read the whole series, but as a stand alone book, I found it too confusing.
#28-"Cilka's Journey", Heather Morris-5 stars. Outstanding, based on a true person from WWII and the Siberian work camps afterwards.
Tiggerish
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
Trying to catch up.
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Fictional account of the 1980s AIDS crisis in Chicago and its effects on the contemporary lives of the survivors. This was an amazing book that deals with death face on but is actually more about the power of love and friendship.
The Fragile Hour by Rosalind Laker. Fictional account of the underground operating in Nazi Norway.
All Because of You by Melissa Hill. Contemporary romantic fiction about the intersecting lives of three women.
The Color of Love by Julienne Mcclean. Contemporary romantic fiction - part of the Color of Heaven series. A plane crash in a remote area has two survivors, one of whom is a well known mountain climber. The book alternates between the two men's struggle to survive and the climber's estranged wife carrying on when the search is called off.
The Knife Edged Path by Patrick T. Leavy. WWII double agent in Nazi occupied Paris who falls in love with the man she is supposed to be spying on. I finished it but never got into it. It seemed forced and slow paced.
Moonlight by Alexa Keng. Romantic fiction that was so unremarkable, I do not remember why I wanted to read it.
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. The other book about the horseback librarians in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. The subject matter is the same as The Book Women of Troublesome Creek: A Novel and there is a controversy that this book plagiarized that book. This was an interesting enough book but the Book Women was a much better book in my opinion.
31-37 of 80
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Fictional account of the 1980s AIDS crisis in Chicago and its effects on the contemporary lives of the survivors. This was an amazing book that deals with death face on but is actually more about the power of love and friendship.
The Fragile Hour by Rosalind Laker. Fictional account of the underground operating in Nazi Norway.
All Because of You by Melissa Hill. Contemporary romantic fiction about the intersecting lives of three women.
The Color of Love by Julienne Mcclean. Contemporary romantic fiction - part of the Color of Heaven series. A plane crash in a remote area has two survivors, one of whom is a well known mountain climber. The book alternates between the two men's struggle to survive and the climber's estranged wife carrying on when the search is called off.
The Knife Edged Path by Patrick T. Leavy. WWII double agent in Nazi occupied Paris who falls in love with the man she is supposed to be spying on. I finished it but never got into it. It seemed forced and slow paced.
Moonlight by Alexa Keng. Romantic fiction that was so unremarkable, I do not remember why I wanted to read it.
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. The other book about the horseback librarians in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. The subject matter is the same as The Book Women of Troublesome Creek: A Novel and there is a controversy that this book plagiarized that book. This was an interesting enough book but the Book Women was a much better book in my opinion.
31-37 of 80
FlightlessDuck
Y kant Donald fly?
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
3 of 20: Queen's Peril by E. K. Johnson
I don't think I can describe exactly why I love this book as much as I do. I haven't laughed out loud this much at a book in years. My favorite Star Wars book, probably, ever. I feel like I now know Padme and her handmaidens. It was fantastic. 5 out of 5 stars.
I've read two books this month! I'm a madman!
I don't think I can describe exactly why I love this book as much as I do. I haven't laughed out loud this much at a book in years. My favorite Star Wars book, probably, ever. I feel like I now know Padme and her handmaidens. It was fantastic. 5 out of 5 stars.
I've read two books this month! I'm a madman!
Tiggerish
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintash. This book was highly recommended by a friend. It was a dystopian novel and I struggled to finish it. I never figured out the point of the novel and never became invested in any of the characters. I am mystified by what my friend saw in it as I will not be recommending it.
38 of 80
38 of 80
mmouse37
DCL Diva!!
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2001
9/40 Miss Jane - Brad Watson
10/40 Geek Love - Katherine Dunn
11/40 Unspeakable - Things Jess Lourey
12/40 The Enigma Strain - Nick Thacker
13/40 The Girl in the Green Sweater - Krystyna Chiger
14/40 Perfect Peace - Daniel Black
15/40 The Water Cure - Sophie Mackintosh
16/40 Cry to Heaven - Anne Rice
17/40 A Transcontinental Affair - Jodi Daynard
My favs from this lot were Cry to Heaven which is about the Castrati singers of Italy. Very interesting.
The Girl in the Green Seater about a Jewish family that had to live in the sewers of a Polish city for 18 months to evade the Nazis
Perfect Peace about a rural family with 6 boys and the mom really wanted a daughter so when her 7th son was born she decided to raise it as a girl and kept the secret from the whole family. At 8 years old she told this child she was really a boy and all the hardships the boy and the family faced after that. It was unbelievable how damaging this was to everyone involved.
MJ
10/40 Geek Love - Katherine Dunn
11/40 Unspeakable - Things Jess Lourey
12/40 The Enigma Strain - Nick Thacker
13/40 The Girl in the Green Sweater - Krystyna Chiger
14/40 Perfect Peace - Daniel Black
15/40 The Water Cure - Sophie Mackintosh
16/40 Cry to Heaven - Anne Rice
17/40 A Transcontinental Affair - Jodi Daynard
My favs from this lot were Cry to Heaven which is about the Castrati singers of Italy. Very interesting.
The Girl in the Green Seater about a Jewish family that had to live in the sewers of a Polish city for 18 months to evade the Nazis
Perfect Peace about a rural family with 6 boys and the mom really wanted a daughter so when her 7th son was born she decided to raise it as a girl and kept the secret from the whole family. At 8 years old she told this child she was really a boy and all the hardships the boy and the family faced after that. It was unbelievable how damaging this was to everyone involved.
MJ
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mmouse37
DCL Diva!!
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2001
OMG....I recently finished it and it took all my strength to get through it. It didn't really speak to me at all. I thought it dreamy and odd and no point to the story.
MJ
Colleen27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
#46/156 - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
As others have mentioned, this was a prequel to The Hunger Games and centers around the young man that would, by the time of the original trilogy, go on to become President Snow. I very much enjoyed the story and read the book in a day, but it didn't quite live up to the original books. It lacked some of the nuance and humanity of the view of the games from the perspective of the districts, and followed a more predictable arc as we see Snow grow from a privileged young man who lived through difficult times to the beginnings of the cruel man who we know from the original stories.
#47 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Another YA title, this one set in WWII Germany and told from the point of view of death. This is another of those books that I heard a lot about when it was new and never got around to reading until the pandemic. I'm generally not a fan of Holocaust fiction, which has become so prolific in recent years that it almost seems like its own genre, but this one was excellent. The main character, Liesel, was very likeable in a very ordinary sort of way, and the story itself did a good job describing the impossible situation that ordinary people of conscience found themselves in as the Nazis rose to power and began to commit their atrocities.
#48 - Sin & Surrender by K.F. Breene
The sixth and final (but not really) book in a supernatural adventure/romance series I've been reading as they come out, this one didn't disappoint. It wrapped up the story arc of the main characters neatly, with a few surprises, and smoothly set up a forthcoming spin-off series about the most entertaining of the book's large supporting cast, which I'm sure I'll pick up as soon as it is released.
#49 - Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The now-classic story of Chris McCandless, who walked into the Alaska wilderness as the final leg of a journey of self-discovery that took him across the country, hitchhiking and hopping freight trains and hiking. It was an absolutely fascinating portrait of a young man who was in turns overconfident and naive and brilliant and deeply relatable. I read Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven years ago and really enjoy his writing style, which is journalistic but without being overly detached, and the story sucked me in right from the start even though I'd read parts of the book before when helping my daughter with an English assignment.
#50 - Surfacing by Margaret Atwood
This was... odd. Somehow engrossing and complex without being enjoyable. I picked it up simply because I'd never read any of Atwood's earlier work but loved The Handmaid's Tale, and it was quite a different creature from her later work. Her writing style is unusual, but effectively gives voice to an unreliable narrator as she tries to discover what has happened to her missing father while simultaneously reconciling herself with a trauma from her past and dealing with her relationships to her boyfriend and the other couple who accompany her to her father's remote cabin. The couple are broadly symbolic of modernity and in the relationship with her boyfriend, the narrator grapples with questions of feminism and independence. The ending of the story is ambiguous, much like that of The Handmaid's Tale, but it somehow fits the overall tone and feel of the story better than a clear resolution would.
#51 - The Wild Truth by Corine McCandless
A tell-all memoir by the sister of the young man at the center of Into the Wild, this was part interesting look deeper into his life and behind the scenes of Krakauer's investigation into his death and part brutal recounting of a deeply dysfunctional family that the author took far longer to escape than her brother did. But her ax to grind about her parents' toxicity and the bizarre circumstances that created a blended family of sorts between the children of her father's first marriage, two of whom were born after he'd started his second family with her mother, pushed the narrative into the sort of lurid family expose that I tend not to have much patience for. I understand why she would want to tell her story, as someone who broke the cycle of abuse, but it wasn't really my kind of book.
As others have mentioned, this was a prequel to The Hunger Games and centers around the young man that would, by the time of the original trilogy, go on to become President Snow. I very much enjoyed the story and read the book in a day, but it didn't quite live up to the original books. It lacked some of the nuance and humanity of the view of the games from the perspective of the districts, and followed a more predictable arc as we see Snow grow from a privileged young man who lived through difficult times to the beginnings of the cruel man who we know from the original stories.
#47 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Another YA title, this one set in WWII Germany and told from the point of view of death. This is another of those books that I heard a lot about when it was new and never got around to reading until the pandemic. I'm generally not a fan of Holocaust fiction, which has become so prolific in recent years that it almost seems like its own genre, but this one was excellent. The main character, Liesel, was very likeable in a very ordinary sort of way, and the story itself did a good job describing the impossible situation that ordinary people of conscience found themselves in as the Nazis rose to power and began to commit their atrocities.
#48 - Sin & Surrender by K.F. Breene
The sixth and final (but not really) book in a supernatural adventure/romance series I've been reading as they come out, this one didn't disappoint. It wrapped up the story arc of the main characters neatly, with a few surprises, and smoothly set up a forthcoming spin-off series about the most entertaining of the book's large supporting cast, which I'm sure I'll pick up as soon as it is released.
#49 - Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The now-classic story of Chris McCandless, who walked into the Alaska wilderness as the final leg of a journey of self-discovery that took him across the country, hitchhiking and hopping freight trains and hiking. It was an absolutely fascinating portrait of a young man who was in turns overconfident and naive and brilliant and deeply relatable. I read Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven years ago and really enjoy his writing style, which is journalistic but without being overly detached, and the story sucked me in right from the start even though I'd read parts of the book before when helping my daughter with an English assignment.
#50 - Surfacing by Margaret Atwood
This was... odd. Somehow engrossing and complex without being enjoyable. I picked it up simply because I'd never read any of Atwood's earlier work but loved The Handmaid's Tale, and it was quite a different creature from her later work. Her writing style is unusual, but effectively gives voice to an unreliable narrator as she tries to discover what has happened to her missing father while simultaneously reconciling herself with a trauma from her past and dealing with her relationships to her boyfriend and the other couple who accompany her to her father's remote cabin. The couple are broadly symbolic of modernity and in the relationship with her boyfriend, the narrator grapples with questions of feminism and independence. The ending of the story is ambiguous, much like that of The Handmaid's Tale, but it somehow fits the overall tone and feel of the story better than a clear resolution would.
#51 - The Wild Truth by Corine McCandless
A tell-all memoir by the sister of the young man at the center of Into the Wild, this was part interesting look deeper into his life and behind the scenes of Krakauer's investigation into his death and part brutal recounting of a deeply dysfunctional family that the author took far longer to escape than her brother did. But her ax to grind about her parents' toxicity and the bizarre circumstances that created a blended family of sorts between the children of her father's first marriage, two of whom were born after he'd started his second family with her mother, pushed the narrative into the sort of lurid family expose that I tend not to have much patience for. I understand why she would want to tell her story, as someone who broke the cycle of abuse, but it wasn't really my kind of book.
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willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#29 Shelter by Robin Merrill
She begged God to rescue her. He said, “Go.” So she headed out into the blizzard. In a car that wasn’t exactly hers, with a dog who wasn’t exactly a rat terrier, she drove. Until she ran out of gas in the small Maine town of Mattawooptock. Mattawoopwhat? What on earth is God thinking? But it is there, in a weird little bathroom in a weird little church in a weird little town that Maggie Hansen finds herself. And as God would have it, she finds a lot more than that.
Um, this was ok. Kinda cheesy at times. I believe it is first of a series that I may or may not continue with, lol.
She begged God to rescue her. He said, “Go.” So she headed out into the blizzard. In a car that wasn’t exactly hers, with a dog who wasn’t exactly a rat terrier, she drove. Until she ran out of gas in the small Maine town of Mattawooptock. Mattawoopwhat? What on earth is God thinking? But it is there, in a weird little bathroom in a weird little church in a weird little town that Maggie Hansen finds herself. And as God would have it, she finds a lot more than that.
Um, this was ok. Kinda cheesy at times. I believe it is first of a series that I may or may not continue with, lol.
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#30 Timmy's in the Well-The Jon Provost Story by Jon Provost & Laurie Jacobson
Jon Provost's story is a vivid portrait of the inner workings of Hollywood in the 1950s & 1960s and is populated with some of the biggest names of the day: Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, and Elvis too.
Jon Provost, in case some don't know, played Timmy Martin on Lassie for 7 years.
Interesting but a little boring & drawn out also.
Jon Provost's story is a vivid portrait of the inner workings of Hollywood in the 1950s & 1960s and is populated with some of the biggest names of the day: Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, and Elvis too.
Jon Provost, in case some don't know, played Timmy Martin on Lassie for 7 years.
Interesting but a little boring & drawn out also.
jen7233
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2005
#8/20-We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I borrowed this as an audible book from the library. Essentially it is a series of eight essays from the author regarding race put in book form. The essays if I had to give a format to them, radically pseudo-poetic and something else I'll purposely leave off.
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