Ashley’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2015)

Ashley’s comments from the 2017 Reading Challenge group.

Tier one: 3/36
Tier two: 5/52

Read a book that takes place on each continent, or is written by an author from that continent (fiction or non-fiction)

1. North America - Green River Killer
2. South America
3. Africa
4. Antarctica
5. Europe - Playing to Win
6. Asia
7. Australia

8. A banned or challenged book
9. An award winning book (Pulitzer, Hugo, Man Booker, etc.)
10. Memoir/Autobiography/Biography
11. A dead author's last book
12. A book with LGBT matter or character(s) - Where There's Smoke
13. A book your favorite author loves
14. A retold fairytale
15. A Young Adult book
16. A history book (fiction or non-fiction)
17. A book where you have seen the movie, but not read the book
18. A book from the NYT Bestseller list
19. A book with the point of view of an immigrant
20. A controversial book
21. The first book you see when you walk into a library or bookstore
22. A classic
23. A debut novel
24. Published this year (2016)
25. Based entirely on the cover
26. Own but never read
27. A book by an author you never read before - Dom of Las Vegas
28. A book recommended to you by a friendly librarian
29. A book by a Nobel Prize winner
30. Mythology (not just Greek)
31. A book written by someone born the same year as you
32. Dystopia
33. Reread of a favorite book
34. A book about books
35. Book published the year you graduated high school
36. A book a child/teen/someone younger than you loves
37. A book about/set by the sea - Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
38. A book with two authors
39. Author from your own state, province, or country
40. A book about a trip (road, cruise, around the world)
41. A book with the name of a person in the title
42. Science Fiction
43. Fantasy
44. Wild card
45. Wild card
46. Wild card
47. Wild card
48. Wild card
49. Wild card
50. Wild card
51. Wild card
52. Wild card

I like both ideas, although I know the two-tiered would be something I'd enjoy more. Most of my reading doesn't fit into the categories. I've found doing this challenge, that while I've read a lot of new genres and books I wouldn't have read normally, I can't really 'plan' my reading. I go by what mood I'm in, and a lot of the times, the prompts don't match.

I thought this would be a prompt that I wouldn't be able to complete, and it just so happened that looking at the book I was currently reading, the author was Adrian Dingle.

Nelvana is a unique piece of Canadian history. Created even before Wonder Woman, Nelvana of the Northern Lights is the first female super hero to grace the comic world. For that reason, we must read this. It is also entertaining. It is very interesting to read comics from the early days and see how they differ from modern comics. For instance: no thought bubbles. Everything is spoken and explained.

Nelvana goes through many adventures fighting the Axis powers (remember the time frame in which this was published) as well as inter-dimensional creatures and worlds. Her powers come from her father Koliak and the Northern Lights. Her brother, also a god, cannot take his natural form in front of humans and transforms into a dog (Great Dane to be exact).

From a historical perspective, very interesting and cool to have on one's read shelf.

Tami Hoag is one of my go-to mystery authors. I haven't read her in a while, but this novel nicely reminded me as to why I love reading her work.

The 9th Girl starts, uniquely, near the end of an investigation. With the return of her characters Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, The 9th Girl, starts when they (obviously) find who they believe to be the 9th victim of a serial killer they have dubbed, Doc Holiday.

The storyline was tense, Hoag never disappoints. The ending, I did find to be a little anti-dramatic, but I guess not all investigations end with an epic chase or stand off. This ending seemed more realistic. I also enjoyed reading a novel with Kovac and Liska in it. This is the fourth novel that they appear in, and I always enjoy their stories.

I absolutely love Ian Rankin. I have never read any book of his that I have not liked and it certainly continues with his first foray into writing a play.

Of course it's a mystery, so it's not too far off of what readers normally get with Rankin. Here though, because we're reading a play, we mostly get dialogue, and a few set directions. The speech is still quite powerful in this piece and I can certainly imagine how it would be with a brilliant cast.

The ending was a bit sudden, but I think if I had seen the play live, my opinion of that would have been different. I can understand the dramatic effect and build-up to the ending, and it would have been quite an intense play to watch live.

Really enjoyed this graphic novel. Not often that I pick up a biographical graphic novel, but it was a nice change from the superheros and monsters. A pretty strong story of coming to terms with one's faith and confronting young, fleeting love.

I remember watching the movie plenty of times with my mother, and I knew it was the one book that she kept. When it came time to look for a book for this prompt, she didn't hesitate to recommend this novel.

Stories of this man always pull at my heartstrings. Using written accounts by people that were known to have met Joseph Merrick, Howell attempts to explain (dispelling the sensational beliefs) the life and condition of The Elephant Man. This has definitely peaked my interest in purchasing the work of Dr. Treves, the young doctor that made the remainder of Merrick's life, full of as much pleasure as could be done. A lot of people were disappointed that this novel was not completely focused on Merrick; it also discussed Treves and some of the freak show handlers that Merrick was involved with. I was okay with this as much of Merrick's life was under the control of other men, cruel or otherwise.

A friend recommended this to me on Free Comic Book Day; it was on the sale table and her words were, if you read any graphic novel, read this one. She wasn't wrong.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Not often that I pick up a biographical graphic novel, but it was a nice change from the superheros and monsters. A pretty strong story of coming to terms with one's faith and confronting young, fleeting love.

These 'personal' prompts always seem to match with something else, so this is also my book for one that 'takes place during high school.'

This may be the only book that takes up two prompts for me, it was originally my 'started but never finished' novel. I started reading this novel 2 years ago, and by page 70 my mind was drained. I had no idea that this was Danielewski's first novel. This is mainly because I couldn't fathom that a novel of this breadth, scope and creativity was a first novel. So this is also my 'popular author's first novel' book.

House of Leaves is simply a novel about a house that is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Danielewski expands the story to include the story of the editor (who is slowly trying to make sense of the house and piece the remnants of the author's work back together).

First and foremost, this novel is a piece of art. It changes the way you read as Danielewski plays with text and layout. Sometimes you are flipping the book upside down to read right to left, top to bottom. Sometimes text is circular. There are blank pages and pages with only 1-5 words on them. This is awesome because the words are acting out what the house is doing in the story. It brings you into the action and you feel the stress and terror that the characters are feeling.

This may be the only book that takes up two prompts for me, because it was originally my 'started but never finished' novel. I had no idea that this was Danielewski's first novel. This is mainly because I couldn't fathom that a novel of this breadth, scope and creativity was a first novel.

House of Leaves is simply a novel about a house that is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Danielewski expands the story to include the story of the editor (who is slowly trying to make sense of the house and piece the remnants of the author's work back together).

First and foremost, this novel is a piece of art. It changes the way you read as Danielewski plays with text and layout. Sometimes you are flipping the book upside down to read right to left, top to bottom. Sometimes text is circular. There are blank pages and pages with only 1-5 words on them. This is awesome because the words are acting out what the house is doing in the story. It brings you into the action and you feel the stress and terror that the characters are feeling.

Bear by Marian Engel. There is really no way to describe this novel without sounding crazy, so I'll start with the good bits. The writing is amazingly vivid and beautiful. Engel has a talent that I have yet to see in classic/Canadian writers. It won the Governor General's Award for the year it was published (1976). It is stated to be the most important book in Canadian history, but it takes some bravery. Deep down it is a novel chronicling the growth of a woman understanding her full sexuality. It speaks to what it means to be Canadian with our spiritual connection with nature. On the face of it, and here it comes, it is a relationship between a young woman and a bear. But even that provides the required satirical nature of the novel. It's takes some bravery, but it was truly very good!

I should note that it takes place in the Algoma District of Northern Ontario, where my hometown is located. It also mentions my hometown, Sault Ste. Marie numerous times throughout the novel.

The Shadows by J.R. Ward. My guilty pleasure author. Vampires, romance and other weird creatures that this author has made up, along with an underlying storyline of different species fighting for rule always makes this author my go-to summer read!

This novel is quite far into the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, but for those looking for a great vampire series, pick up this author!

I absolutely loved this novel. One of my favourite vampire series!

I enjoyed trying to catch all of the historical and fictional characters that he blended into the storyline. Thought it was a very creative twist and reinterpretation of the vampire lore!

This was my Pulitzer choice as well! Really enjoyed it! I loved (and was also saddened) by how Jem and Scout grew and slowly lost their idealized view of their county.

So Hermes and Apollo are sitting in a bar in Toronto ... This is really how this book starts. In a drunken bet, 15 dogs are given human consciousness and language in order to determine if it truly is the 'plague of all humanity'. Should one dog die a happy death, then a years servitude is granted to the winner. This was an interesting read as well as a pretty sad one. Being a dog lover myself, I had to prepare myself for the eventual death (happy and unhappy) of 15 dogs. That being said, it is a great look at humans and dogs, and how our lives intertwine; how we affect each other; how we treat and mistreat each other; and how our lives and who we become are guided by our consciousness.

This is sitting on my coffee table right now! I'm so excited to read this even though I've already done my graphic novel!

Really enjoyed it! Definitely the cutest and funniest cautionary tale. Nothing needs to be perfect; take your time making dreams come true, and be careful what you wish for!

A novel about finding oneself and love. Reading this novel, I found myself focusing more on the side of the story in which Little Nouschka was trying to find herself and how she was discovering her identity. O'Neill wrote quite an interesting tale. Her skill with metaphors and similes is also quite outstanding; at first it was distracting, but as I read further, I found myself increasingly looking forward to each paragraph.

Published March 28, 2015.

This is the last novel in the Cut & Run series by Abigail Roux. So much emotion in this novel, it is unbelievable. I actually stopped breathing at one point. To say that this series is a roller coaster is an understatement.

I absolutely love Ty and Zane and will be reading this novel and series all over again, very soon.

Crash & Burn

Book 6 in the Fever series, readers are once again thrown into the world of Ireland at war: between Humans, Seelie, Unseelie and whatever Barrons and his men are. This time, something is blanketing Ireland under ice; swooping in and disappearing before anyone has a moment to scream. It kills instantly.

Unlike the other novels, Iced is told from the POV of Dani 'Mega' O'Malley. I can't say I was thrilled by this book, because Dani has never really been my favourite character. That being said, it was entertaining enough to carry me through the story. There are some disturbing characters in this novel and it becomes disturbing only because Dani is 14. I'm still intrigued by Ryodan (I do feel he is the lesser of all evils). He's rough, arrogant and violent. The men, especially, in these novels are not the knight in shining armour variety. They are different levels of bad (or evil). They are what keep me coming back to these books. I just have to see there this is all heading.