ONTD Book Club discussion
Other Books
>
December Discussion
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
1)The best book of the year for me, hands down is probably Modelland. I'm being an ironic troll but the fact that it was so ironically awesome was just delightful x 100000. I highly doubt she's going to write another though because of her being really ego-fragile but praying she gets over it and embraces the fact that it's so bad it's good.
2) Worst was 50 Shades, just by far, by a landslide, but for some reason me doing that review was like magical because it is now one of the most popular reviews on goodreads and I feel good about that, lol.
Most disappointing? Divergent, probably. I heard really mixed reviews but I didn't think it was going to be as bad as it is. Mess mess and mess again.
3) I started reading ASoIaF this year so I've read Game of Thrones, Clash of Kings, and am a third of the way through Storm of Swords. That shit is great so far and I'm so glad about it.
I also read Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and I am totally in love with her writing style so I can't wait to read her other books :)
4) 2013? Welllll I dunno about new releases because I'm not someone that watches book schedules but I'm excited to get to things on my list, such as Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2, The Night Circus, and Song of Achilles.
5) What do I recommend that I read this year?
Besides what I mentioned above, I think for fluffy easy reads I enjoyed Beauty Queens and Before I Fall. They're both YA fluff but Beauty Queens is more of a zany comedy and Before I Fall is like a dealing with death and high school sort of seriousness (but still somehow superficial?) cuz it's about mean girls and such.
I also recommend Hushed for a good male/male book!
1) My favorite book this year was probably, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Quite simply, I thought it was an amazing story that was really well written. It truly reenforces the concept of, "no matter who you are or what background you come from - you can become anything you want." True, it is a cliche message, but the way in which it's delivered there's a new element of believability. A close second would be, All Over but the Shoutin' and/or Beautiful Ruins.
2) Picking a least favorite or worst book of 2012 might be even harder than picking a favorite - not because there were few, but rather because (for me) there were many. I think the worst book I came across was probably, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I know the book has plenty of fans…but I just didn't get it. It was too "out there" for me. There seem to be an element of bestiality that I just could not get past. A close second, for worse, would be Beautiful Creatures. Again, another book with a lot of fans and again, I found it too out there. Come on, a magical witch library that is only open when the human library is closed, doesn't that sound laughable?
The most disappointing book of 2012 (for me) is defiantly The Shoemaker's Wife. I had heard amazing things, prior to reading the book, and once I started I was in love with the storyline, descriptions, and characters - up until a certain point. The last half of the book is a struggle. The storyline becomes nothing more than descriptions of how much the two lead characters love each other and how the hope to work hard and support one another. Even for a romantic, it started to work on my gag reflex. Furthermore, it was disappointing simply because I had such high hopes. Warm Bodies was another disappointment. I didn't exactly have high hopes, but I thought the book had potential to be hilarious, but instead it tired a little too hard to be serious and deliver some deeper meaning - perhaps, about how true love can save us and make us human again? I don't know, just didn't read the way I thought it would.
3) While I didn't read many series this year, I did stumble upon some really amazing authors. Among them are: Gillian Flynn, Jess Walter, and Rick Bragg. I hope to read more from these authors in 2013.
4) I'm looking forward to just making more time to read in general. I've just started The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, and so far it's great. I look forward to making a dent in my "To Read" list as well.
-I hope I didn't offend anybody with what I had to say. I know we all love our book and when someone criticizes them it's easy to take it personally. But this is just my opinion and I have no doubt about many thing I am wrong.
2) Picking a least favorite or worst book of 2012 might be even harder than picking a favorite - not because there were few, but rather because (for me) there were many. I think the worst book I came across was probably, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I know the book has plenty of fans…but I just didn't get it. It was too "out there" for me. There seem to be an element of bestiality that I just could not get past. A close second, for worse, would be Beautiful Creatures. Again, another book with a lot of fans and again, I found it too out there. Come on, a magical witch library that is only open when the human library is closed, doesn't that sound laughable?
The most disappointing book of 2012 (for me) is defiantly The Shoemaker's Wife. I had heard amazing things, prior to reading the book, and once I started I was in love with the storyline, descriptions, and characters - up until a certain point. The last half of the book is a struggle. The storyline becomes nothing more than descriptions of how much the two lead characters love each other and how the hope to work hard and support one another. Even for a romantic, it started to work on my gag reflex. Furthermore, it was disappointing simply because I had such high hopes. Warm Bodies was another disappointment. I didn't exactly have high hopes, but I thought the book had potential to be hilarious, but instead it tired a little too hard to be serious and deliver some deeper meaning - perhaps, about how true love can save us and make us human again? I don't know, just didn't read the way I thought it would.
3) While I didn't read many series this year, I did stumble upon some really amazing authors. Among them are: Gillian Flynn, Jess Walter, and Rick Bragg. I hope to read more from these authors in 2013.
4) I'm looking forward to just making more time to read in general. I've just started The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, and so far it's great. I look forward to making a dent in my "To Read" list as well.
-I hope I didn't offend anybody with what I had to say. I know we all love our book and when someone criticizes them it's easy to take it personally. But this is just my opinion and I have no doubt about many thing I am wrong.
Mod
1) I loved Shadow and Bone and Angelfall among some others.2) Vampire Academy is overrated. Everyone loved it, so I had high expectations, but I was disappointed. Same goes for Paranormalcy.
Starcrossed was terrible. The Selection sucked too. I guess I hated a lot of books..:)
3) I wouldn't really say that I discovered anybody...I just finally read some books by some authors. And yeah, look at number 1.
4) check out my 2013 shelf...:) I'm too lazy to write them down.
jesus christ why so many questions?ok so...
1) What was the best book of the year for you?
- The Fault in Our Stars. I LOVED it. I know some people don't like John Green's writing but idgaf. That man made me cry so much (almost as much as The Book Thief did), so much that the sadness I felt lasted weeks after I read it.
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
- Not the worst or that disappointing, but I expected more from The Casual Vacancy. I liked it enough, didn't love it.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
- John Green. idgaf I love him and I'm excited to read more of his work.
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
- The House of Hades (4th book in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan). I love this series so much. The Mark Of Athena (released this year) was so good and it ended with a cliffhanger that made me want to sleep until October 2013 just so I don't have to wait.
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
- Read the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. It's sort of a spin-off of the Percy Jackson series. It's good, childish, and full of action. The mythological references make it so fun. YA is not so bad once you stop being a snob and just enjoy yourself.
Mod
well if this is in place of a book discussion this month it's good to have several things to talk about gurl
Wigs wrote: "Ptr28 wrote: "jesus christ why so many questions?well if this is in place of a book discussion this month it's good to have several things to talk about gurl"
jesus christ why so sassy
Wigs wrote: ""don't respond to me with that offensively fug face ugh
Mod
1) What was the best book of the year for you?Looking over my list, I gave a lot of graphic novels 5 and 4 stars. Zahra's Paradise and Daytripper are tied for the best. There were also great kids graphic novels I enjoyed with my niece.
Mindy Kaling's book was my favorite humor book. Escape from Camp 14 was my favorite non-fiction book.
Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka was the best fiction with Samuel Park's This Burns My Heart in second place. That was some good Korean melodrama.
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
Future of Us and Prelude to Schism (part of the X-Men event) were the only books I rated as one star. Future of Us takes a great premise and ruins it. Prelude to Schism sucked because it was pro-Cyclops, the other characters weren't fleshed out and I found the art ugly and confusing.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Imagine by Jonah Lehrer both immediately came to mind for overrated and thus disappointing books. They aren't that good and I didn't enjoy them. Also add the Psychopath Test because I didn't like Jon Ronson's tone and how he was so involved in the book. I also didn't finish Let's Pretend this Never Happened Because I didn't find it funny - at all. That was the worst book of the year for me. Ready Player One wins for worst fiction.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
I discover Owen Laukkanen (mystery), Julie Otsuka (literary fiction), and John Scalzi (through Redshirts). I'll probably be reading more fiction by Asian-American authors and books about North Korea next year.
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
I usually only know about books a month before they're out, but I look forward to Owen Laukkanen's second book, CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE, in March.There's also Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger. I loved her Parasol Protectorate series. Of course, I will read Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
I don't know what to recommend because people in this group really like YA, and I'm over it for the most part. I also read mostly non-fiction or graphic novels. I read the a few big name or literary novels a few years after they came out.
John Scalzi's Redshirt was fun. There are tons of great graphic novels, like Zahra's Paradise (about the Iranian Green Revolution), Vietnamerica (about a Vietnamese immigrant family), Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel, and more I could go on raving about.
This would usually be a fantastic survey for me but I've read SO FEW books this year. Sad. :(1) What was the best book of the year for you?
For fiction, it was the book that I just finished - Beautiful Ruins! Really enjoyed the pacing of it, the characters, and especially how it all wrapped up. Seems to be something of a rarity these days, me enjoying an ending! My fav non-fiction (about half my books were non-fiction this year which is unusual because I read more fiction) was Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. As an introvert myself, the premise of this book captured my attention right away and it did not disappoint.
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
I don't think I had one book that I genuinely felt disappointed over! Sure, I didn't enjoy The Tiger's Wife as much as I expected to, or The Angel's Game, but they weren't terrible reads at all. I wouldn't deter people away from reading them, haha.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
Not really. I think I still have some time to read some more books before this month is over, so I'll discover more then. Maybe I'll check out Jess Walter's other books but I'm not too excited over this.
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
I never ever know when books are coming out so the 'newest' books I read are already released and being promoted in bookstores. I'm not too up-to-date with publishing!
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
Definitely the two of my favourites that I enjoyed above, plus Ru - nominated for a Giller (Canadian book prize) this year.
Michelle wrote: "1) What was the best book of the year for you?Looking over my list, I gave a lot of graphic novels 5 and 4 stars. Zahra's Paradise and Daytripper are tied for the best. There were also great kids..."
You have some amazing recs, we've some similar interests for sure! I had been planning to read This Burns My Heart for aaaaaaages so I think I'll check out Buddha in the Attic. Escape From Camp 14 is on my library queue and I'm still waiting for it, I'll read that soon.
Your graphic novels recs sound very interesting, I'll check those out.
1) Best book I read this year was probably When Will There Be Good News?. I like the whole series, although I'm reading it in the wrong order.2) The worst book I read this year was The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. I know so many guys who use these ~tricks~ and ugh, just ugh.
3) I started the Tomorrow series (Australian YA written by John Marsden) after watching the first movie. I'm too old for this stuff, but I love it.
4) Next year I hope I will be reading a huge compendium of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales.
5) Read Snobs by Julian Fellowes (the chap who wrote Downton Abbey), about social climbers and stupid rich people.
1) What was the best book of the year for you?Grapes of Wrath, hands down.
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
Robinson Crusoe, I expected this really cool story of a shipwreck survivor and got a 400 pages of dull description of corn growing and savages. It wasn't poorly written and it's an early novel (so the flow of the story is atypical), but it honest was so boring.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
I discovered Steinbeck this year and I am in so much love with his profound style.
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
Three men in a boat/Three Men on the Bummel
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Brave New World
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
At Home (Bill Bryson)
Mod
Aaliya wrote: "1) Best book I read this year was probably When Will There Be Good News?. I like the whole series, although I'm reading it in the wrong order.I've like Kate Atkinsons stand alone books, but I haven't yet starting reading that series. I might want to try it.
1) What was the best book of the year for you?Maurice by E.M. Forster. I admit I watched the film first and loved it but the book is just as good, if not better. It's so amazing and ahead of its time! I can't stop gushing about it.
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
Probably The Casual Vacancy? I didn't think it was terrible but I expected so much more. I didn't even expect anything on the level of Harry Potter, I just thought it would be... better.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
Yup. E.M. Forster for sure. And I want to read more of Gillian Flynn's stuff because I loved Gone Girl.
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
I don't know, but if Terry Pratchett publishes anything new, I'll be first in line to get it.
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
Maurice - E.M. Forster
Torture the Artist - Joey Goebel
Making Jack Falcone - Joaquin Garcia
Mod
Just one? I can't choose! So I'll just say my top two: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan.
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. Just remembering how tedious it was and how long it took me to read even though it was really short makes me pissy.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
Karen Marie Moning. She writes crack. I dedicated two weeks just to read the entire Fever series.
David Levithan. I've only read two of his books so far but the first one I got my hands on got me good. I can't wait to read more.
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
Not a clue. More like I am hoping I find really good books to read in 2013.
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson. Super cute, well written historial YA.
1) What was the best book of the year for you?Code Name Verity
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
Crossed by Ally Condie, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Legend. All very raved about and IMO overrated.
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
Shadow and Bone and Insignia.
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
The next Kiersten White book, the next Shadow and Bone, Insignia, and Divergent books.
ONTD Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Before I Fall (other topics)Hushed (other topics)
Beauty Queens (other topics)
Sharp Objects (other topics)
A Clash of Kings (other topics)
More...
Let's answer some questions!
1) What was the best book of the year for you?
2) What was the worst, or most disappointing book of the year for you?
3) Did you discover a new author or series you're now excited about?
4) What books are you looking forward to in 2013?
5) What books did you read this year that you might recommend to the other ONTDers?
Yay!