Monica’s Comments (group member since Jan 29, 2013)

Monica’s comments from the The 104 Book Challenge - 2013 group.

81. Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants - I LOVE The Oatmeal. Fantasticly funny!

82. Point Your Face at This: Drawings

83. David and Goliath - I found this book to be condescending and pedantic. Not Gladwell's best work.

84. The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism - An amazing look into the mind of Autistic people.

85. Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys - I listened to the audiobook of this. Super fun - performed like stand up, in front of an audience.

86. Anansi Boys

87. Wizard's First Rule - A little over the top and wordy, but still fun.

88. Allegiant - great wrap up for the series.

89. Ender's Game

90. Neverwhere

91. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened - I adore Allie Brosh, and this book was everything I hoped it would be. Funny, touching, and generally fantastic!

92. Einstein: His Life and Universe - I love Iscaacson's biography style. This book was incredibly interesting, and humanized Einstein for me.

93. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

94. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide - I definitely found this book instructional. Women have a tendency to not assert themselves, even when appropriate. Very interesting.

95. The Hobbit

96. Adolescence with Powerweb - Textbook for my adolescent psychology class

97. The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy - the book was even more interesting than the movie!

98. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl - I knew nothing about the Dust Bowl, and the dust storms that happened in the middle of the country. This was really, really interesting.

99. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America

100. The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family - Everything you'd expect from a Dan Savage book. Funny, touching, well written.

41. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything - VERY interesting. Somewhat biased, but still fun.

42. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

43. The Great Gatsby - I really didn't enjoy this. I know it's a classic, but it's not my thing.

44. Son - the finale of the Giver Quartet. I really enjoyed it.

45. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science - a very interesting book on neuroplasticity.

46. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - A funny, incredibly interesting look at the uses of human cadavers in science.

47. The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear - A historical and sociological look at the damage that the anti-vaccine movement has done.

48. Dad Is Fat - Exactly what you'd expect. Silly, poignant at times, very funny.

49. I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame

50. Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us - A highly interesting look how people can effect how're they're seen, and how people make snap judgements.

51. Contagious: Why Things Catch On

52. How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character

53. City of Bones - A great beach read. Nothing in depth. Fun young adult fiction.

54. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts

55. John Adams - This was fantastically interesting. I really enjoyed the in depth knowledge I gained about revolutionary times.

56. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

57. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

58. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power - Really interesting, very well written. I learned a lot about Jefferson.

59. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman - I was looking to learn more about parts of the world that I knew nothing about. This was a fascinating look at Russia, and one of the most influential woman in Russian history.

60. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt - I love Goodwin's writing. This was a terribly interesting look at Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Both strong and influential characters in their own right.

61. The Twentieth Century: A People's History

62. The Developing Person Through Childhood - Textbook for my Child Psych class

63. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language

64. Water for Elephants- Sweet, very interesting. Definitely a page turner.

65. The Time Traveler's Wife - An interesting premise. I enjoyed it.

66. Columbine - An in depth look at the shooting at Columbine high school. Very well written, very interesting and tragic.

67. Nineteen Minutes - Clearly based on the Columbine shootings - many details are REALLY similar.

68. God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales

69. Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us

70. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women - Fascinating look into the world of women in Islamic run countries.

71. The Blessings of Liberty: A Concise History of the Constitution of the United States - Textbook for my American Constitution class.

72. All the President's Men

73. Hornet Flight - Great WWII spy novel.

74. City of Ashes - fun, light reading

75. City of Glass - fun, light reading

76. The Ocean at the End of the Lane

77. Oryx and Crake- Like all Atwood - well written, and quite depressing.

78. The Year of the Flood

79. MaddAddam

80. The Funny Thing Is...

11. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Quick fun little Sherlock Holmes story.

12. Fascinate: Unlocking the Secret Triggers of Influence, Persuasion, and Captivation

13. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - A fun, quirky, quick read.

14. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable - This is probably my least favorite book that I read this year. Very preachy, very slow.

15. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - This was an audiobook read by Anne Hathaway. Very fun, very well done.

16. Warm Bodies - I thought this book was surprisingly sweet. Very cute, fun read.

17. The Giver - This book is one of my all time favorites. I reread it before going on to read the rest of the series. (Which I just found out exists!)

18. Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals - An absolutely fascinating look into how different animals think/behave.

19. Gathering Blue - The 2nd book in the Giver Quartet, it was a fun, interesting read. Lowry, doesn't bring you back to the exact world of the Giver, but it's still fantastic.

20. Eye of the Needle- Fantastic WWII spy novel. I LOVE Follett's writing.

21. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - This book started off really light and fun, but became super serious and quite triggering at the end. I was definitely thrown for a loop.

22. Stardust - The perfect modern day fairy tale. I adore this book. Fantastic!

23. The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook--What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing

24. The Fellowship of the Ring - I had seen the movie, and the book was better. Everything I hoped it would be.

25. The Two Towers

26. The Return of the King

27. Divergent - A great book in the young adult/adventure genre. Good, strong female lead.

28. The Silver Linings Playbook - This is one of the rare occasions where I like the movie better than the book.

29. Insurgent

30. The Sociopath Next Door - Kind of preachy, very biased.

31. Messenger - A great continuation of the Giver story line.

32. A Clash of Kings - this book seemed to drag a bit at the end. Still good.

33. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex - Fascinating look at the science of sex.

34. In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People

35. The Handmaid's Tale - Beautifully written. Left me feeling a little less hopeful about the world.

36. Fight Club - The book and movie were incredibly similar. Enjoyed them both!

37. The Talented Mr. Ripley - An interesting story. I'd never seen the movie, so I got to enjoy the twists for the first time.

38. Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy - It feels like listening to a Bill Clinton speech. If you enjoy listening to Clinton talk, you'll like it.

39. Argo: How the CIA & Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History - Fantastically interesting. I've never seen the movie, but I really enjoyed the book.

40. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto - Fun, sometimes a bit sad. Definitely irreverently funny.

6. Seriously... I'm Kidding - I listened to the Audiobook for this one, performed by the author - Ellen DeGeneres. It was a fun, sweet, quick read.

7. Daughters of Zion: A Family's Conversion to Polygamy - This was a fascinating glimpse into a world that I can't even imagine. This girl grew up in a cult, with no comforts that we consider standard.

8. Truman - This detailed chronicle of President Harry S Truman's life is David McCullogh's finest work. The book moved seamlessly, telling the amazing story of a man who looked for all the world like a failure through midlife, and went on to be the President.

9. 1776 - This book is like a thick slice of pie. McCullogh shows all of the different angles of the terribly interesting things going on in 1776 - nothing before, nothing after.

10. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English - A simply fantastic look into how the English language evolved. I couldn't put it down.

I've been keeping up with my challenge, but I forgot to update the discussion here!! I'm going to try to update ASAP! :-)

1. Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up - This books was a funny, super quick read. Dave Barry is hilarious, and surprisingly touching at times.

2. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - This book was amazing! I'd recently seen the movie Lincoln, which borrows heavily from this book, and it lit a fire for me to pick this up. I am so glad I did. The life of Lincoln and the men in his Cabinet are fascinating. A true page turner!!

3. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life - I listened to the audio book, as performed by Steve Martin himself. It's fantastic. I don't know that I would have enjoyed reading the book so much, but hearing Steve Martin read it, made the whole thing wonderful.

4. The Hidden Life Of Dogs - This book is definitely dated, but still terribly interesting. It's a quick little read about how our domesticated dogs would ask if you pretty much let them become wild. It's a very interesting look into dog culture.

5. Growing Up Amish: A Memoir - I found this book riveting. I love learning about cultures that are completely different from my own. It's a quick, fairly intense read. I was not a huge fan of the end, but the book was well written.

This will include kindle, audio, and physical books. :-)

Hello! I'm Monica. I've never done a group challenge like this, I'm very excited to give it a try!

I read all them time. I listen to audio books during the day at work, read my kindle at lunch, and read whatever I can get my hands on at home.

I'm 28 years old and live in Arlington, VA. I've read 5 books so far. My goal is to read at least half non fiction this year.