2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Setting my goal at 60 this year- still deciding on challenges, but looking forward to what I stumble upon.

Good luck, Dana! :)

1/60

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Rating: 5 Stars

I loved this book- I was drawn into both Bhima and Sera, even though they both had their flaws. Bhima is a poor servant who serves Sera's household. While Sera treats Bhima better than other housewives treat their servants, there is still a division between the two women, despite the friendship that has developed between both families. Thrity Umrigar is a wonderful writer, and I found myself hooked from the first page.

Congrats on finishing your first book in 2016!

Thank you Megan! It was a good book to start 2016 on!

2/60

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

4 Stars

It took me some time to get into this one, but once I did I really started to enjoy it. There's a lot of "what is the meaning of life" existential-type of questions, which got a bit heavy after a while, but the characters- Renee and Paloma- kept the story moving along with their revelations and changes throughout the novel.

Favorite phrases in the book:
"If you forget the future/You lose/The present"

"If you have but one friend, make sure your choose her well."

"If you want to heal/Heal others/And smile or weep/At this happy reversal of fate."

3/60

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

4 Stars

I didn't like this book in high school, but now I've come to enjoy it. Some passages are long- winded, but I love how Hawthorne portrays each character in the book.

4/60

One Day by David Nicholls

4 Stars

I love how this story is told- while it spans close to 20 years, it takes place on one specific date: July 15, 1988-2007. While you do not get the full scope of events that take place outside of this date, they are mentioned throughout the book, so in the end all those loose ends are tied up. The characters- Emma and Dexter- meet up in 1988, and over the course of 20 years, go their own ways but still remain in contact, even through all their ups and downs. Great, captivating read.

Dana wrote: "4/60

One Day by David Nicholls

4 Stars

I love how this story is told- while it spans close to 20 years, it takes place on one specific date: July 15, 1988-2007. Whi..."

I really liked this book too! The movie adaptation w/ Anne Hathaway was pretty good too.

5/60

The Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris by Tilar J. Mazzeo

3 Stars

This was a pretty interesting book, although the pacing was a bit slow and I felt that the author skipped around a lot chronologically speaking which made it hard to keep track of what was going on. But it was fun learning about the Ritz hotel and the patrons during WW2 (Hemingway, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, etc.)

6/60

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig

2 Stars

I just could not get into this book, at least during the philosophical musings. I understood what the underlying message(s) were during the Chautauqua that he was delivering during the road trip, but I could not read through them. The mental breakdown of the character was interesting, but that was the only part that I found "enjoyable"... if you call a character's psychotic break enjoyable.

7/60

The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

3 Stars

Too sick to write a full review, but this was a cute little read. Perfect read for when you are sick!

8/60

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

4 Stars

Fun, quick read with some great characters. The ending felt a little rushed, but overall I really enjoyed it! I liked how half of the story was told through email conversations between the two female characters- you did not get the full picture of their lives, but you got the main points of their lives and what they were going through. Getting to know them through the mind of Lincoln, the male IT guy at the paper, was interesting and unique.

9/60

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida

4 Stars

I thought this was a remarkable insight into the mind of an autistic child. While autism is a varied disorder that affects people in different ways, the responses to the questions in this book allows one to gain a better/deeper understanding of what is going on in the autistic mind. There were a lot of thought provoking passages. Some favorites:

"True compassion is about not bruising the other person's self-respect."

"Can you imagine how your life would be if you couldn't talk?" (Imagine how frustrating that would be!)

"The hardest ordeal for us is the idea that we are causing grief for other people. We can put up with our own hardships okay, but the thought that our lives are the source of other people's unhappiness, that's plain unbearable."

"To give the short version, I've learned that every human being, with or without disabilities, needs to strive to do their best, and by striving for happiness you will arrive at happiness."

"But so long as we can learn to love ourselves, I'm not sure how much it matters whether we're normal or autistic."

"Everybody has a heart that can be touched by something. Crying isn't necessarily about sadness or meltdowns or being upset."

"However hard an autistic life is, however sad it can be, so long as there's hope we can stick at it. And when the light of hope shines on all this world, then our future will be connected with your future. That's what I want, above all."

10/60

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

3 Stars

I was really into this book when I first started it, but towards the middle, I started to lose interest. I don't know if the characters made me lose interest, or if the plot line slowed down too much, but whatever reason I just could not enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. There were also some gaps in the lives of the characters, but mainly Jodi's (the wife), that I wish would have been explained during the novel.

Good luck on your goal! What did you think of Attachments I have always wanted to read it!

Hannah wrote: "Good luck on your goal! What did you think of Attachments I have always wanted to read it!"

Thank you Hannah! I really enjoyed it! It's such a fun read- I would definitely recommend it!

Alright, thanks so much for letting me know your thoughts! I will definitely try to read it sometime soon!

11/60

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

5 Stars

I loved this book, despite the fact that I was sick/paranoid the entire time reading it! It really made you think about the end of the modern world and how society would be affected.

12/60

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin

4 Stars

It was interesting to read about Steve Martin's comedic journey, but I feel that because many of his jokes were visual, they didn't translate well to page. Despite that, I thought this was a good book, even if it did drag in the middle. I really liked the last two chapters in which he talked about his rising fame and then his decision to leave the stage behind. What I found most thought-provoking was when he mentioned his inability to judge how well others viewed his acts/remembered them years later and being afraid that he would fade into obscurity. My dad saw him in 1978 (the peak of his stand up career) and thought he was remarkable. Looking at the career through his eyes, makes you think differently about other comedians of that era/form (Robin Williams, Chris Farley, John Belushi) and their untimely deaths.

13/60

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
5 Stars

It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I got the characters sorted out and started to learn more about their personalities/pasts, I was hooked! I like how the story was told, with snippets of the interview from the night of the murder to keep you guessing who was the victim and the suspect. Excellent read!

14/60

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
5 Stars

I think what I like best about this book is the way it makes you think about the situations that the characters are put in. Jojo Moyes does this with many of her books, and that is what has made me a fan of her writing. I think this is my favorite book by her- I love the characters of Will and Louisa, even if their stories are difficult to read at times, especially at the end of the novel.

15/60

After You by Jojo Moyes
5 Stars

“You never know what will happen when you fall from a great height.”

While this book didn't end as I would have hoped, I really appreciated the different storylines in the book. At the beginning of the book, it seemed like some of the events were forced, which made it hard to buy into the story. But as things started to unfold, and as Louisa began to grow, I started to enjoy it a lot more. This book follows not just Louisa's story after Will, but looks at how the rest of her family was affected and how other characters that Louisa met were affected by the deaths of their own loved ones.

16/60

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes

3 Stars

This was a bizarre book, and that's an understatement! A medical student falls in love with a young woman, and in order to win her over, kidnaps her. I thought this would be an innocent, romantic kidnapping (if there is such a thing), but no... There was a lot going on, which made it hard to keep up and kept me from really getting to understand the characters.

17/60

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

4 Stars

It took me a few chapters to get into this book- in the beginning it felt like there were some tangents/stories that weren't really connected to anything, and it was difficult to follow. But once I got more into Malala's story and what made her who she is I really started to enjoy it. It was interesting to read about the War on Terror from a different perspective, and it was frightening to read about the rise of the Taliban from someone who witnessed their uprising.

18/60

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

5 Stars

The only thing I did not like about this book was that it seemed to have ended so abruptly. Everything else was exactly what I needed from a book right now. I have a soft spot for good English classic novels, and this one did not disappoint. It reminded me a lot of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre (the overwhelming power of nature and the house of Manderly, and the ghostly presence of Rebecca). Overall, very gripping/exciting read!

Rebecca has been sitting on my shelf for way too long! I need to get to it.

Cassandra wrote: "Rebecca has been sitting on my shelf for way too long! I need to get to it."

It was really good! It had been on my list for a while too- glad I finally got to it!

19/60

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

3 Stars

This was alright. I understood the overall message/theme (the triumph of good over evil and the power of love), but I just could not get into the story all that much. I don't know if it was the plot, the writing, or just my mood while reading it, but I just couldn't buy into it.

20/60 (a third of the way there!)

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

4 Stars

This was a cute book. It's interesting talking about some of the issues with the sixth grade class I've been subbing this week. I wish it could have been longer- I feel like I was just getting to know the Tuck's and Minnie and then the novel ended. Overall though, good read!

- "Life's got to be lived, no matter how long or short."
- "The way I see it, it's no good hiding yourself away, like Pa and lots of other people. And it's no good just thinking of your own pleasure, either. People got to do something useful if they're going to take up space in the world."

21/60

Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones by Bill Janovitz

3 Stars

I think if I were more of a Rolling Stones fan/had been alive during their rise to stardom, this would've been a much more interesting read. The beginning was really interesting- it was fun to read about the "sparing" between the Stones and The Beatles, and how the different band members came together/reacted to fame. But the last third of the book seemed to drag on for me. I felt like some of the "stories" focused on the song and how it was made, rather than the feel/happenings of the band at that point in their history.

22/60

The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama XIV

4 Stars

I felt if I were a more spiritual person, I would've taken more away from the book, or at least felt more empowered by the book. Having said that, I still felt a lot of the ideas and talking points in this book were profoundly helpful in dealing with stress and being happy with the life you are given. I did get annoyed with the psychiatrist at times- I know psychiatrists/psychologists want to get answers to how humans act the way they do, but it is also important to keep in mind that everyone acts in different ways, and what works for one person may not work for another. This book helped me deal with a particularly difficult substitute teaching job, and I hope to find other means to practice the points mentioned in this book.

23/60

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

4 Stars

I really enjoyed the pace of the book- it was very soothing without being boring. I'm still confused by the title of the book, but thought the storyline and characters were all interesting.

24/60

How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway

4 Stars

This was such a great book! My only issue was with the end- it felt like the end was rushed in a way. But it was so great to have Shoko reunited with her family and at peace with life at the end of the book.

25/60

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

5 Stars

In the beginning, I thought this was going to another whiny YA novel and nearly gave up on it, but I'm glad I didn't. I thought this was a deeply moving and powerful story of what mental illness is like for teenagers. I feel in love with the characters, and felt for both Violet and Finch, cheering for their successes and aching at their stumbles. Kudos to the author for writing this novel based on such a personal event from her life.

26/60

Still Life by Louise Penny

3 Stars

The first few pages were really slow, but it started to pick up towards the middle and kept me intrigued. I could not stand Agent Nichol though... I don't think I've ever wanted to slap a fictional character more than I did this chick. I got so sick of her whiny attitude and how she treated people who were just trying to help her out. I kept hoping she would change, but she didn't, and it kept me from enjoying the book more. Armand Gamache was an interesting character- very methodical, but he came with his own human flaws.

27/60

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

4 Stars

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I fell in love with Maya Angelou's writing. As she told the story of her childhood, she would include these reflections and observations of human nature that were so stunning in their depth.

28/30

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

5 Stars

I forgot how good this book was! I love Bradbury's style of writing, and the idea of mass censorship and firemen burning books is frighteningly intriguing.

Dana wrote: "28/30

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

5 Stars

I forgot how good this book was! I love Bradbury's style of writing, and the idea of mass censorship and firemen burnin..."

I read that way back in high school during the early 1970s....yikes that was a long time ago. A great book.

29/60

Serena by Ron Rash

4 Stars

Really 3.5, but I decided to round up because of the writing. The character of Serena was interesting to say the least. I've never read about a character as malicious and calculating as this woman. Amy Dunne from Gone Girl is close, but I think Serena has her beat on the whole evil-personality thing. I wish Rachel's story was more prominent in this book- she was one of few characters (it seemed) that had any shred of a moral compass. I'm glad to move on from this book- there was so much killing between the murders and the logging accidents, that it got to be so depressing.

30/60

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

5 Stars

Such a sweet, insightful little novel! The messages it gives to young readers (resilience, compassion, forgiveness, believe in your self) are timeless. I enjoyed how DiCamillo crafted the story- starting off with the hero, then introducing other key players by going back and explaining their histories and roles in the novel, really helped the story grow. Definitely one to get for my future classroom!

31/60

Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler: A True Love Story by Trudi Kanter

4 Stars

This book seemed like it was told through journal entries as opposed to a straight novel, so it got/sounded disjointed at times. Even though it was hard to understand and connect with the characters, I still enjoyed the story. It was refreshing to read a Holocaust/WWII story with a happy ending.

32/60

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

3 Stars

It took me a while to get into this one, and I still don't know if I followed the whole story. It was hard to follow because of how disjointed it seemed, but what I did catch/understand I really enjoyed.

33/60

The Time of Our Lives: A conversation about America by Tom Brokaw

3 Stars

Not as good as The Greatest Generation (or Boom!), but he still made some good points and made me think about some big issues facing our country. Good quick read for a train trip!

34/60

Camelot's Court: Inside the Kennedy White House by Robert Dallek

3 Stars

It got bogged down for me a lot- all the different foreign policy issues that Kennedy faced got to be a bit much after a while. But what I appreciated was the insight into the life of a president, especially one as storied as JFK. For someone who has not learned much about Kennedy and has a more positive opinion on him, it was interesting to see a different side of him and his family (corrupt, power hungry, and womanizing- although the last one I already knew about). After reading this book, I can see how overwhelming and stressful it is to be a leader of a large country. Kennedy faced many challenges during his short time as president, made all the more difficult (I'm guessing from what I've read) by disagreements and differences of opinion between him and his advisers.

35/60

Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free by Héctor Tobar

4 Stars

I feel the writer did a good job conveying the emotions both the miners and their families felt during the Chilean mine collapse. It did get a little boring in the middle, but I think the author did a good job of keeping the story moving along during those moments. The most interesting part for me was the end, and seeing how the miners adapted to their lives after they were freed.

36/60

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

4 Stars

I finally finished- after 2 long months!!!! This was a behemoth of a book, but I still rather enjoyed most of it. I did get bored (a lot!!) during all the war talk and history analysis that was interwoven in the book, but I loved the characters and reading about all their ups and downs during the course of the novel. Tolstoy does prove himself to be very opinionated and knowledgeable about the War of 1812 and the events that followed. There were statements he made concerning the events of history and the way that historians view them that made me stop and think about how true they are even to today's standards. I would recommend this one to those who feel up to the challenge for this huge undertaking!

37/60

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

4 Stars

What I enjoyed most about this book was the way it was written and how quickly it seemed to go. Having the vampire tell the story in such an open, intimate way made it easier to follow and kept my attention throughout. I hated the ending though! I don't know if it was too forced/rushed, but the interviewer really annoyed me at the end. I almost wish the vampire would have killed him just for spite...

38/60

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

3 Stars

I had a lot of trouble with the way the book was written- the Jamaican slave language was difficult to follow at parts, especially when I was reading quickly. I never really felt connected to any of the characters either. The story line was somewhat good, but there were parts that didn't make sense or I just didn't like.

39/60

The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter by Linda Grant

2 Stars

I never felt any real connection with the story or the author. I was expecting more research, but instead I got a lot of the author's personal experiences and her insights, with some quotes by notable fashion designers on fashion (Dior, Chanel, etc). The only part I liked was the history of Catherine Hill, a Holocaust survivor who would later come to work for and then own her own boutique that carried pieces from Dior and other high end designers.