Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Hello all! I've decided to stop lurking in 2016 and keep a list here of my own. Good luck to everyone!

good luck and happy new year!

Periodic wrote: "Hello all! I've decided to stop lurking in 2016 and keep a list here of my own. Good luck to everyone!"

Good luck to you, as well!

Thank you both for the luck! Here are my first three for 2016!

1. Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline
I felt like this book dragged a bit, but the twist at the end took my breath away. The plot, that of a doctor whose life is being turned around by an anonymous psychopath whose existence the reader is aware of from jump, was extremely unique.
2. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
I wish that this book had existed when I was younger. Learning how to deal with death as a teenager is so very difficult and this story makes the coping seem real. A boy in highschool befreinds a girl who has cancer. The story is of their friendship and how the boy evolves as he comes to terms with life and his circumstance.
3. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
I love Brownstein's voice and the way she describes her life in Slater-Kinney. I didn't even know that the band existed until I started dating my girlfriend (and their posters showed up on my bedroom walls) but now I want to work my way through their music catalog. I listened to the book with the dictionary open on my computer because her vocabulary seems to be beyond mine...but that only means that i learned a few new words.
I love the way she strings together sentences. I wrote down one early on that says, "These are the ways fans maneuver through the world; with flimsy connections and strong hopes."
I've been there.
I've been that fan who says, "I saw XYZ in ABC," just to get a little bit of street cred. I feel like Carrie's evolution from fan to musician and back again makes the story seem like a circle.

4. The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
This is my second time through this book. The first time I read the print version, this time I listened to the audio book. Both experiences were different, as one has images and the other has the author's songs inserted throughout. Amanda's lesson is a good one...that if you need help, you should ask for it. Take the flower, if you will.

5. Soppy by Phillipa Rice
A graphic novel depicting love in it's purest, most comfortable form. It was a very good, quick read and will be staying with me for weeks (if not years) to come.

6. The Art of the Memoir by Mary Karr
I picked this up from the library because it was on some kind of "Best Of" list...and because I wrote a partial memoir for NaNoWriMo in 2014 that turned out to be complete rubbish. I feel like the lessons I've learned will help me along through the editing process. Hopefully.

7. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
I'm not exactly sure how I never realized that this was a short story, not a full length novel, but I liked it just the same. I was more surprised at how swiftly the narrator moved through the story nearly matching the movie's pace.

It's the story of imprisonment and intelligence...of a man who realized that he was bigger on the inside than his captors allowed him to be on the outside.

8. Drawing Blood by Molly Crabapple
Loved. This. I only knew of Molly Crabapple and her art from poking around on a few of the twitter feeds that I used to regularly stalk. She seemed to be artsy and "alternative" and very much alive. This book kind of proved all of that. She tells her story through words as well as her own artwork that is plastered throughout the pages. It was interesting and made me wish that we could be best friends. Molly Crabapple is important and should be way more famous. In an alternate universe where the media cares more about what you are saying, she would be.

9. Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger
I enjoyed this mystery. There were twists and turns in the story that had me guessing right up until the "resolution" of the protagonist's unraveling. I wish that there was more of a realistic resolution? but I feel like that might be unfair for me to say considering the context of the story.

Forgot this one. (boy, do I wish I could literally forget this one)

10. American Gangbang by Sam Benjamin
It took me 3 months to finish this book and I tend to read rather quickly. If you're looking for an anger inducing misogynistic view of the patriarchy that existed in the adult industry during the 90s, check this out. If you have any sense at all, take a pass. It was terrible. Like really terrible.

11. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris (obviously)

This was one of the most interesting memoirs I've read. It was an interesting format, especially since I listened to it as an audiobook, but the author made it easy to follow along. Also, I hope that in 20 years my marriage is an eighth as awesome as Neil and David's is.

12. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I missed the Divergent train when it was released so I'm hopping on now. I've got to tell you, after finishing the first book, I don't know that I'm very impressed. I have to wait to get the other two books from the library, and I'm going to finish the series. I hear that it gets better.

I think the main reason that I'm not into it is because I feel like it's very similar to the book Dove Arising, which I read last summer...and I wasn't too into that one either. I'm hoping that things turn around and get a bit more exciting.

13. Go Now by Richard Hell

This was my "read at work on my lunch break" book, which means I only get to read about 20 minutes of it a day, 4 days a week. That's pretty much all I could stomach of Go Now in any case. I have an admitted issue with books/music/anything that glorifies drug use, so maybe that the problem. Maybe it was that the protagonist is a sex fiend with an ego as large as my library. I don't listen to punk music, but apparently the author is a big deal in the NYC punk scene? Idk. The book was terrible. No matter how hard the author tried to push his, "I want to re-write On the Road only instead of a pen I'll just write it with my penis," vibe...he didn't do it.

14. Bossypants by Tina Fey
It's taken me so long to get my hands on this book! I'm so glad that I was finally able to enjoy it though. Tina Fey is obviously hilarious and so completely honest about who she is and how she has found herself in her life. I laughed out loud quite a few times in the middle of my office.

15. Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: the Lighter Side of Life as Mother and Daughter by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella
I love Lisa Scottoline as a speaker and as a person...After meeting her at a signing, I've pushed myself to read 3 of her books...I don't think I like them and this makes me upset. I WANT to like them. I WANT to enjoy her quirky jokes about feminism and her self-deprecating humor.

I kind of feel like I can't though. There's something missing. Or maybe it's that there is just too much. I can't decide, but I feel that I can officially say that I gave her a shot and move on happily though begrudgingly

16. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I feel very let down by this series. I don't know what I was expecting, but parts of this were rushed and parts of this dragged on. It was very hard for me to get through this, even though I consumed it as an audiobook. I'm gong to power through the last one though...It became available at my library this morning so I'll be starting it this week.

17. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
I did not realize that this was a memoir until I finished the book. For me, that says something of Susan Kaysen's writing. I loved that this was filled with so much emotion without going over the top. I want to re-read it immediately, though I'm sure it will be awhile before I do so.
A longer, perhaps more personal, "review" can be found on my blog:
http://periodicreader.com/post/138942...

You know, I get into these moods where I think that reading YA is a good idea and then I accidentally read two extremely depressing books about teenagers back to back. I don't know why I do this to myself...yet I seem to do it often. Also, the fact that the third Divergent book is my next to read means that the wave of depression currently possessing my ear drums is going to continue. Next week I'm purposely seeking out happy, hopeful books.

18. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
I cried while listening to this book. The characters pulled at my heart and were very real to me. Secrets, parents...being alive...all these things are so confusing, especially to a teenager who hasn't even begun to live yet.

19. Paperweight by Meg Haston
Paperweight is about a complicated young girl who has an eating disorder. She struggles through life while trying to find herself within the tragedies that have occurred in her life.

20. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Of the three books in the Divergent series, this was my favorite. I'm glad I powered through to the end. I'm always down for an atypical ending, especially when I'm not particularly invested in the characters involved. I do not understand why certain books become popular while others do not. I'm glad to have read the series, if only that I can talk about the books when they come up in conversation...which I hope they never do...because honestly they were not my favorite. The ending was the only thing that saved me from despising them, but I feel like the ending is the reason that most people do not like the books? I'm going to have to ask around and see what other people have to say to see if my hypothesis is true.

I'm a jerk and this is going to be a long, catch up post. Sorry for the length, work is crazy busy at the moment and finding the time to write things down has disappeared.

21. A Dream of Ice by Gillian Anderson
I was disappointed in this, mostly because I remembered enjoying the first one so much. There was a little too much science, not enough fiction, me thinks...it also bugs me that Gillian Anderson needs someone to help her write? I expect too much from my sheroes sometimes. An ancient civilization starts peeking through time to the present. Chaos ensues.
22. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
I enjoyed the fact that there was a huge secret kept from the reader throughout most of the story...then when the secret was revealed, I felt a little bit let down. The protagonist was humiliated in high school and turns her life around to be a glamorous magazine writer. It has a lot of trigger worthy plot lines, but I did enjoy the story for the most part.
23. My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
The themes of this book were very similar to luckiest Girl Alive, which might be why I was completely bored with the story by the time it was done. There is a violent crime that happened years and years ago that changed a Louisiana neighborhood forever.
24. The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson
THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN LIKE TWO YEARS!!! The protagonist lives in two different realities. Which is really real and which is just her mind's fantasy is a puzzle. It's very much like that movie Sliding Doors...I loved it. Also, the main character owns a book store and that's basically my dream
25. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I think this was worth the hype...A college student is very much wrapped up in the world of writing fan fiction for a Harry Potter esque fandom. College is hard, so are relationships and writing things that you are SUPPOSED to be writing is sometimes the most difficult thing of all.
26. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Ok. I really did like Red Queen. Glass Sword dragged on and on. I finished it, but there was no point in the text where I was turning pages like the wind with baited breath. I'm tired of Mare's self-deprecating internal dialogue. I will read the third book in the series though.
27. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
AMAZING. It's art vs life vs. spirits vs. creepy creatures...totally unique and a hell of a story. PLUS!!!! Strong female heroine who doesn't compain about not having talent!!! Woo Hoo!!
28. The Zodiac Legacy: Convergency by Stan Lee
I wasn't so into this, but I'm not really a Stan Lee fan. In fact, I borrowed this from the library based soully on the fact that the title had Zodiac in it, and then I realized that Stan Lee wrote it. A Chinese-American boy is accidentially exposed to superpowers. There are 12 other people, some good, some evil, who also have superpowers. I liked it well enough...I just don't necessarily read about super heros, so maybe that was my issue. Also, Disney owns it? And that kind of made me angry.
29. Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte
I had a conversation with my girlfriend last week about how much I hate reading classic, mushy literature, so I thought I'd try to prove myself wrong.
No such luck.
I dislike all of the characters...there's love and loss and cousins and death...I don't know. At some point in time, I'd like to have a conversation with someone who LOVES this book that way maybe I'd be able to understand it more.

30. The Shining by Stephen King

31. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

32. Waiting to Be Heard by Amanda Knox
The bubble that I live in allowed me to forget the story of Amanda Knox, but I don't think that I ever will again. Tried, convicted and then exonerated of the murder of her friend, Amanda's story of naivety and justice is one that will stick with you. The writing was a bit juvenile at points, but the story itself was fascinating.

33. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Forcing myself to read this book only on my lunch breaks was difficult, but I thought that it was necessary so that I would be able to reflect on what I'd read for awhile. Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer who has been fighting to spare the lives of death row inmates who no one else wanted to defend. He is doing some amazing work and I'm so glad that someone told me to read this book. What is going on with the American justice system is terrifying...and Mr. Stevenson is doing as much as he can to change that.

34. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
I enjoyed this story much more then the movie, though I wish I hadn't known the ending of the book before I began.

35. Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk
Around this time of year, when winter is creeping into spring, I always get in the mood to try some Palahniuk. I don't know why this happens, but it does. I honestly do not like Palahniuk, which is sacrilege to many people...but it's the truth. Pygmy reads like bad spoken word poetry and I had a seriously difficult time not returning the audiobook to my library before I finished it. I don't like giving up on authors...but this just might be the end of Palahniuk for me.

36. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King

This was a fairly good collection of short stories. My favorite was Ur, which is about a Kindle that has ripped through time and caused it's owner to participate in a few paradox (is that the plural of paradox? Paradoxes doesn't really sound right, so I'm leaving it)...which of course never ends well.

37. Discordia by Laurie Penny

It took me awhile to get through this one, mostly because politics in general (especially those of other countries) goes over my head, so I end up researching things as I read...which doesn't exactly make for a good bedtime story. I love how Laurie Penny writes because she sticks her words right into your jugular. Molly Crabapple (my hero) illustrates the book, which is the main reason I picked it up, but wasn't necessarily the reason I continued reading. I loved reading this...even if it did take me forever.

38. Chimera by Mira Grant

I really enjoyed how this book wrapped up the Parasitology Trilogy. I felt as though the end was a bit rushed...but that was only after I had turned to the last page. With this book, actually physically read it...instead of listening to the audiobook, which is how I tore through the first two. I kind of wish that I had physically read the first two as well. It was a different experience for sure.

39. Veganist by Kathy Freston

I was really on team, "This book is pretty good," until the author started getting into the descriptive death of animals, and the fact that she believes that, if you are Christian, you should have a plant-based diet because Jesus said so.
I'm interested in eating healthier, which is why I picked this up from the library. I had my fingers crossed that it would be about the good side of being a "Veganist," and not use shock tactics to try and sway people over. I got about half way through before all of that started. It does have good information in it...but now that I've finished it, the only thing that I'm remembering is the stuff that I wasn't interested in hearing in the first place.

40. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
I chose this book based on the title alone. There were parts that were funny, but I wasn't all that into it. Apparently he's written better books.

41. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
After I read The Shining last month, I put Doctor Sleep on hold at the library. It's a good “sequel” in that it's a continuation of Danny Torrance's life. I was a little put off by the Gypsy/Vampire people, but only because I felt like it was kind of a cop out on King's part.

42. The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker
We eat food that is bad for us all the time...even the food that we think is OK. This book discusses how flavor has been compromised in order to produce more. Chicken doesn't taste like it did 20 years ago, neither do carrots or potatos. It was super interesting to learn all the factoids presented. I've recommended this book in conversation several times since finishing it up.

43. The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson
Super intriguing mystery/thriller book about young women who are captured and tattooed with huge butterfly wings on their backs in order to please a man they call The Gardener. It was just creepy enough to be believable and very well written.

44. The Great Tenessee Monkey Trial
AudioSync (http://www.audiobooksync.com/) has started it's free audiobook summer reading program. This play about the right to teach school children evolution was interesting enough. Lots of religon stuff though (kinda obviously) so I wasn't really into all of that. It was short and entertaining, though I'm not sure I would be intersted in watching it live.

45. The Walking Dead Book 5
I was going through a box of donated books at work and came across this gem. I haven't read any of the other Walking Dead comics so a lot of it didn't make much sense to me. It was good enough for lunchtime reading though. I think I'm going to go back and read them from the beginning.

46. Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle

I don't know that I'll ever get tired of apocalyptic YA and I've decided that I'm totally OK with that. I really loved this one in particular and will continue to read the series. The characters were diverse and multidimensional…it was awesome.

47. Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Tears...tears all over the effing place. Crazy. The story is told in two timelines. The first being the protagonist as an adult, getting ready to adopt a child with her husband. The second is her own childhood and everything that surrounded the death of her father. This book is complex and tugged on every single heart string that my cold heart had left.

48. The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

When you're forced to kill people, like your friends, with a single touch, it's going to mess with your head. Such is the case for Twylla. She's engaged to the prince but she's never been one to choose the easy path in life, especially when she seems drawn to things that are complicated. I liked this book (I downloaded it from audiosync) but there were empty holes in places…I'll probably continue the series when I come across the titles.

49. Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

After reading her first book late last year, I became obsessed with all things organizational. My closets got dumped out...bags of trash and unnecessary things went straight to the dumpster. Kondo's second book is more of the same….only this time it comes with PICTURES!!!!

50. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Josh Foer

This was a re-read for me. It's an interesting story about a man who learned how to memorize things like decks of cards for Memory Championships. It's non-fiction and the author seems really committed to exposing all the secrets of having a super memory. I have a hard time visualizing things sometimes, so this was a bit tough to get through.

51. The Vegetarian by Kang Han

This book is beautiful. It's translated into English from Korean so the language is flowery and extremely descriptive. It really reads like poetry in some parts. Yeong-hye is in a loveless marriage until she starts having nightmares and gives up eating meat. At a family celebration, her decision to become a vegetarian becomes a threat to her family and everything unravels. There are three parts to this book, the first is told from Yeong-hye's perspective, the second is told by her brother-in-law and the third is told by her sister. It's a really good, quick read for a weekend if you want to take a peek into a life that is haunted by itself.

and Hooray for me hitting 51 before the end of May :) If I can keep up my pace, I should be on track to hit my goal of 120 for the year.

Periodic wrote: "and Hooray for me hitting 51 before the end of May :) If I can keep up my pace, I should be on track to hit my goal of 120 for the year."

Holy Moses! Congratulations! :)

Congratulations! I hit my goal of 52 this week and may try for 104 for the year but every time I have done that I did not finish the challenge for the year lol. I want at least one badge so my goal will stay at 52 until I read book 102 or 103 :)

Thanks so much :)

Usually I'll wait until I have 4 or 5 books read before I post reviews, but I didn't want to wait to post this one...

52. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Every second of free time I've had in the last 4 days has revolved around ripping through the pages of A Head Full of Ghosts. This book is amazing because it's so real. The monsters that hide under our beds actually live in our mirrors.
It's the story of an exorcism...and a reality TV show...and religion...and of a family...but most importantly, it's about the relationship between two sisters and the secrets that they keep.
This is a really strong candidate for my favorite book of 2016.
I have one week to go before I need to return this to the library and I just might read it again.

53. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
I really enjoyed this book. Scientology has always been fascinating to me and hearing crazy stories (like what went down at Tom Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes) was super interesting. Remini is as spunky as I expected her to be and her writing style is super fun and in your face.

54. Stray by Elissa Sussman
I was hoping for more adventure and less feelings of helplessness, I think. Stray is an original fairy tale with tons of familiar fairy tale elements and not a lot of surprise. I'm one of those people who has to finish things (like series of books) but I don't think I'm going to continue on with the series after this one. Meh.

55. Goodbye to Shy by Leil Lowdes
I needed a short audiobook to fill up 1 1/2 days of work while I waited for a book to be released from the library (End of Watch by King btw...totally killer so far) so I picked up this self-help book. Basically the author tells you to fake confidence until you have it...which I think is less magic and more common sense...but there were very few ideas about HOW to actually find the confidence inside yourself.

56. She-Hulk by Maria Acosta
I received this in a reddit book exchange, so someone else picked it out for me. I'm not so into super hero books, but I figured I'd give it a try. I felt like most of the book dragged, but the end was SUPER quick...there was all this build up and then everything was suddenly solved in a page and a half. It was funny and quirky, just not my style, me thinks.

57. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I read this when it first came out and loved it. I was one of those people who picked up 4 copies of it to hand out to people I knew that would love it as much as I did. When I saw it sitting on a pile of books at work, I knew I had to take it with me on vacation to read again. It's still an amazing story of death, and life..and learning how to live with things that have happened.

58. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

After reading the Lovely Bones, I did some research and saw that Sebold's next book was getting ripped apart in reviews...so of course I had to read it.

This wasn't a bad book...in fact, I think it was a rather good book. If I had to guess, I'd think that the reviewers panning it took issue with the fact that the protagonist is a terrible person who doesn't have a happy ending. That seems silly because not everything can be a fairytale.

59. Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

A young girl named Leila is driving across the country by herself to see the Northern Lights. On her way, she encounters other young people who each have their own issues. Leila helps them through their perdicaments while learning about herself.

I liked this, and it was a quick and easy beach read type of a book.

60. Teaches of Peaches by Peaches

I actually read this back in March but didn't log it, I guess? I spent about 2 hours trying to figure out what went wrong with my goodreads count of books read in 2016 vs my post-it note count that I keep personally...and this is the issue, I guess? Idk. It's mostly a picture book with a few essays about Peaches (who is a musician) one is written by Yoko Ono, so that was kind of neat.

61. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

I picked up this book because of the mini-series that was released on Hulu earlier this year. I didn't want to watch the show without reading the book, so the watching will probably be my next project.

I'm almost always impressed by King's writing and 11/22/63 was really no exception. Rather than monsters under your bed, this book tells of the horrors that happen when you mess around with the past, more specifically, messing around with the assassination of J.F.K.

I was in tears during the last chapter...I really felt for the protagonist and his inner struggles with what was right to correct the world and the holes that he felt in his own life.

Work got busy and I keep forgetting to write things up...So I'm just going to list most of the books but provide a synopsis for some of the books that I liked a bit more.
62, End of Watch by Stephen King
This was the third book in a series. The first two were more "detective story" and less "Stephen King book"...End of Watch got all sorts of creepy and awesome.
63. The Awakening by L.J. Smith
64. I Am American and So Can You by Stephen Colbert
65. The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford
66. Guns by Stephen King
Non-fiction essay on guns, gun control and King's opinions on how the system could be reformed.
67. I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro
I love Tig and I think she's funny...however, this book was basically the same story that she's been telling for the past few years. I wanted something fresh and new from her in the book...idk. I was disappointed.
68. Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marcetto
Graphic novel about one woman's battle with breast cancer and how her life changed. I loved this format and though that it gave the story tons of character.
69. Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard
70. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
71. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
72. Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Super important book about being gender fluid as a teenager. I've recommended it to no less than 5 people, not including you folk. :)

72 of your goal of 120, that's impressive. Good luck and good reading.

Exanimis wrote: "72 of your goal of 120, that's impressive. Good luck and good reading."

Thanks a bunch! According to the Good Reads widget, I'm actually 2 books behind schedule? Idk...that seems silly...but "knowing" that I'm behind seems to be propelling me forward a bit, I guess.

73. A Brief History of 7 Killings by Marlon James

So this book was epic. It's my own fault for not researching before I borrowed it from the library, but i saw the word "Brief" and read the synopsis and was like...this book is totally for me.
I honestly didn't realize what a ginormous undertaking reading this book was going to be. It's the story of Jamaican culture, of death, of people and how they react to intense situations...about changing your identity and becoming who you always wanted to be, or avoided being...
I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone...but if you enjoy challenging reads, and TONS of well developed characters, this is definitely something to sink your teeth into.

74. It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas

Amazing YA book about a Iranian family and their life in America in the late 70s. The author's voice made me feel for the characters at every twist and turn. This book will give you a unique perspective on the racism that exists in American culture.

75. The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

76. Empire of the summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne

Well, with a title like that, you'd think this would be an interesting book. It was, but there was a whole lot of fluff and you could tell at times that the author was biased by the way that history was retold. I wasn't that into it in the long run.

77. Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins

Drought...cult...celebrity...there was a lot going on in between these pages. At it's heart though, I felt like this was just another distopian novel.

78. Cries from the Crypt by Adam Nevill

79. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

An important book about homelessness and how it effects children. It's YA fiction, so lighthearted and easy to understand.

80. Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Another YA book about hardship, this time during WWII in Warsaw. An orphan experiences the extremely difficult life of a person who is a nobody.

81. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkings

Loved this and wish there were a million more books about the characters. There is a friendly tiger, a missing god, lots of resurrection and plenty of magical type happenings that mostly surround the existence of librarians. Loved. This.

82. the Young Elites by Marie Lu
You know what? I'm kind of tired of female protagonists that feel badly about themselves. I think that the plot was well thought out...but I can't get behind ANOTHER young woman who doesn't realize her worth.

83. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
I didn't realize that I had read this already (it was in another of Neil's collections) but I enjoyed it none the less. A fairy tale retelling as only Gaiman could do.

84. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky
Well written, extremely depressing...almost too real to be real.

85. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
One of my favorite YA series ever. I've started it over again to brush up on it a bit before I spread the wealth of knowledge onto my nieces and nephews.

86. Giving by Bill Clinton
An interesting book about how everyone can learn to give back to humanity. Especially considering the current political climate, I'm glad to have read this when I did.

87. My Lobotomy: A Memoir by Howard Dully
An eye opening true story on how a man uncovered the truth about his childhood and lobotomy.

88. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
I was shocked and surprised at how well rounded this book was. While I was not necessarily a fan before reading this (or maybe even after...I'm not so into comedy in general though, so take that as a disclaimer) I think that, as a person, Amy Schumer has so much to offer. She's a strong, independent person with wisdom like crazy.

89. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
LOVED THIS. If I could write like any author I've read this year, it would be David Levithan. His prose is basically poetry. Two high school boys decided to break the world record for longest kiss...endearing chaos ensues all around them personally and the world at large

90. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
A southern girl enters the beauty pagent that her mother runs without her mom's blessing...mostly because of her dress size. I wanted to love this...but I kind of only liked it. I wasn't insulted by some of the context, but I wasn't too happy about the way that everything went down. I'm not usually one to be like, “this book isn't PC enough for me,” but that's how I feel.

91. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
I'm over YA distopian novels...really. I've got to get away from this genre.

92. The Assault on Reason by Al Gore
Ok...so I decided to get on board with all the political discussions happening and read up on some stuff. This book read like retorick against the Bush administration. For the record, I'm not a fan of Bush...and I'm neither Republican nor Democrat...I'd just non-biased reporting of facts. Idk why I was thinking Gore would give it to me.

93. Snatched by Bruce Porter
I liked this well enough, though I got bored with the constant “Drug Princess” stuff about half way through. I felt like the story lacked substance and I really didn't feel for Pilar when she was kidnapped.

94. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
Second book in the Wrinkle in Time series...Not as good as the first, but that's to be expected. I half wish I hadn't started the series but now I have a mission.

95. I Was Here by Gayle Forman
This book tore my heart to shreds and left me with holes in my soul. It's a very well written account of suicide and how it effects everyone that is left behind.

96. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
I saw the movie trailer for Inferno (another book in the series) last weekend, and since I never read the series, I figured I'd give it a shot. Angels and Demons is basically your average detective novel with twists. Meh. Not my favorite but I have certainly read worse. I've got the next title on hold at the library so it might be awhile before I get my hands on it.

97. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Jacob feels like an outsider to everyone except for his grandfather. Tragity strikes and he travels with his father to a dark island where some crazy things happen. I'm going to continue the series, but this is one of those books that's all hyped up and I'm not exactly sure why. Enlightment appreciated.

98. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
I cried. Tears legitimately fell down my cheeks while listening to the last 15 minutes of this book in the middle of my office. Have you ever had to explain to coworkers why you were suddenly a puddle of mess? It's super awkward. I'd read this book all over again if I could guarantee that I was going to be all by myself for the last few chapters.

99. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
This book may have been the last one I read the last time I tried to make my way through the series...I feel like the author lost me about half way through...Charles Wallace and Meg don't seem to be the endearing characters that there were in A Wrinkle in Time.

99 is such a terribly unsatisfying number.

100. (ah, that feels much better) Driving with the Top Down by Beth Haribson

I really loved how sincere this book was. Real life adult and teenage problems that are complicated, but fixable...There is resolution but not round peg into round hole type stuff. I'm a sucker for a road trip story and this may be one of my new favorites. It was heavy enough to make things seem realistic, but light enough to keep me turning the pages.

Amazing story overall.

Periodic wrote: "100. (ah, that feels much better) ..."

:) hehehe... Glad you feel more complete now.

I just saw that I was supposed to move my list into the Finish Line Folder :) Hope I did it correctly.

Here are my books so far for November:

101. Why Not Me by Mindy Kailing
This was a fun memoir. I've never really watched her comedy, but after reading this, I feel like I can relate to her sense of humor, so I think I'm going to watch and read more of her stuff next year.

102. Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings
I kept having to remind myself that this book was being written by a very young teenager, and that is not a good reason to NOT like a book...The story is VERY important and should be read and shared...but some of the parts were written as if a juvenile had written them...because they had been. Good for kids, Important for the world...not in my top reads for the month.

103. The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
I got punched in the gut by this book. It starts out with a rape and then goes through 4 years of high school and the trauma that the survivor had to endure.

104. Golden Hand by Garth Nix
THIS IS MY FAVORITE YA SERIES EVER!! If you've never heard of the Abhorsen series, look it up and rip through them. Golden Hand is the sequel that I never knew I was waiting for...but it was a bit draggy in the beginning. Nix has a tendency to pack all the action into the last 4 chapters of his books instead of spreading it out.

105. Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
Yeah. I'm tapping out of my Wrinkle in Time long overdue series re-read after this one. I didn't care about the twins in the first 3 books and I wasn't looking for a book with them as the main characters.

106. The Davinci Code by Dan Brown
I understand why this series was such a big deal now. It's like Indiana Jones meets Sherlock and I'm into both of those things. The last paragraph, where the protagonist gets the girl that he wasn't even looking for, was annoying though. Not all stories have to be love stories.

107. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Super fast YA read about a young Mexican girl who is pulled from a life of wealth into a life of poverty after family tragedy strikes. I enjoyed it.

So yeah...at this point, Goodreads says I'm 1 book ahead of my goal of 125...fingers crossed Thanksgiving doesn't get in the way of me hitting my goal.

Periodic wrote: "I just saw that I was supposed to move my list into the Finish Line Folder :) Hope I did it correctly."

Looks like you did it perfectly! :)

106. The Davinci Code by Dan Brown
...The last paragraph, where the protagonist gets the girl that he wasn't even looking for, was annoying though. Not all stories have to be love stories.

Ugh! I feel the same way!

108. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
Jessie's dad met his new wife in a bereavement group online. He uproots her from school in Chicago to live in Los Angeles with his rich new lady in pursuit of his own happiness. While she's bitter and extremely intimidated at first, Jessie finds her bearings when a mystery person who calls themselves Somebody/Nobody (sn) starts emailing her. In order to uncover the identity of her pen pal, Jessie goes on a journey of self discovery and realizes that home is where ever you are.

109. Johnny got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
I punched back in from my lunch break but I read the last 10 pages of this book under my desk because I didn't want to put it down.
This message is timeless. The words that Trumbo wrote about a forgotten soldier who must learn to communicate with his darkened world are deafening.

I want to type the last two pages in this space because I feel as though reading the words over and over again is helpful to my own mind....but that seems like redundant plagiarism...so I'll only quote this:

We are men of peace we are men who work and we want no quarrel. But if you destroy our peace if you take away our work if you try to range us one against the other we will know what to do. If you tell us to make the world safe for democracy we will take you seriously and by god and by Christ we will make it so. We will use the guns you force upon us we will use them to defend our very lives and the menace to our lives does not lie on the other side of a no man's land that was set apart without our consent it lies within our own boundaries her and now and we have seen it and we know it.
Put the guns into our hands and we will use them. Give us slogans and we will turn them into realities. Sing the battle hymns and we will take them up where you left off...Make no mistake of it we will live. We will be alive and we will walk and talk and eat and sing and laugh and feel and love and bear our children in tranquility in security in decency in peace. You plan the wars you masters of men plan the wars and point the way and we will point the gun."

I'm breathless. I'm filled with tears...I'm scared for the world and I am so so glad that i decided to read this book at this moment in time.

110. Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
I have a terrible tendency to take books from the library without reading what they are about. It's like my own personal choose your own adventure. You know what I discovered I'm not into this year? Collections of short stories (unless they are written by very specific authors). Know what Get in Trouble was? A collection of short stories. I loved Link's writing...I loved the premise for some of the tales...but short stories leave me wanting more 100% of the time and I hate it when books leave me feeling unsatisfied over and over.

111. The Golden Compass
112. The Subtle Knife
113 . The Amber Spyglass
This was my first time reading the His Dark Materials trilogy and I wasn't disappointed. I've never seen any of the movies (are there even more than one? I don't want to google, I'd rather be surprised later on when I have time to actually watch them), I've only heard about The Golden Compass, never any of the sequels...but I loved them and I wish that they had been written when I was a teenager, instead of when I was in my twenties. It's got a little bit of magic, a la A Wrinkle in Time, a little bit of religion a la Narnia...and an overall positive message to persevere and believe in yourself. One comment though...the author seems to think it's important to mention that people are going to sleep a whole lot. That was annoying.

114. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
I'm going to push through Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, because it's apparently an important one...even though I don't get it. Maybe it's because I'm listening to it in audiobook form, rather than reading it...so I'm not able to visually see the photographs in the books...but shouldn't writing be able to stand by itself?

115. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
J.K. should cash in on whatever money she can...I will never fault her for that because I love her as a celebrity, as a writer and as a human being...
This book though? Not my favorite. Buy it up though, people. She gives her profits to people who really need them and that's something I will always support.

116. Give Me Thorns by Elizabeth Andre
This was Lesbian BDSM erotica, so not for everyone...I wrote a super extended review on my personal page though, if anyone is interested. Loved this though.

117. Lacy Eye by Jessica Treadway
Excellent, excellent read. I may have to swap around things in my top 10 for 2016...which serves me right for making the list so early in December.
Lacy Eye is a mystery that is twisted up in memory. Hannah was involved in a brutal home invasion that stole her memory and left her husband dead. The story goes back and forth in time while she attempts to pull the details of the crime out of her head before the man who was convicted can get his appeal for release through.
I was attached to all the characters from the first chapter. Even after you find out what actually happened that terrible night, you're drawn in so far that you can't help but turn pages until the last...which may have been the most sad and unexpected scene in the book.

*disclaimer: I actually read this next book over the summer. While attempting to put my end of year list together, I realized (actually, it took me about 2 hours to figure out the puzzle, but I did it!) that I hadn't listed this particular book when I had read it. Now my number matches with the count that Goodreads has and all is right with the world*

118. M or F by Lisa Papademetriou and Chris Tebbetts
I kind of loved this.
It's your typical Cyrano type, "I'll speak for you since you don't know what to say for yourself," teenage novel...but the cool thing was that it was written by two different people. Each chapter trades off authors...and it actually reads like two different people.
It was the perfect read-on-my-lunchtime light novel.

Congrats on your awesome reading year! I barely made 100 but you're right, it DOES feel good! Happy New Year and wishing you lots of great books in 2017.