75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2020 GR Completed)
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Shelby's 2020 Reads
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Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of authors who’ve written things I love, where I don’t feel the need to devour everything in their catalogue. I’ve decided to cut down the books of his I have on my tbr to the ones I’m really interested in, and add any others as I plan to read them instead. That way they’re not taking up so much space on my tbr. I’m also stopping my yearly King challenge. I don’t want that pressure on myself.
The Green Mile contains a lot of the same King tropes I’m tired of. If I hadn’t read so many of them that I can catch them, I might’ve enjoyed it more. But as it stands, this was really disappointing. I know it’s beloved. Maybe the movie is great, but the King books I love tend to be missing those tropes. I would’ve read this one regardless, just because it’s so loved, but this really isn’t how I wanted to start a new decade of reading. This is one of the most anticipated books that’s been sitting on my tbr forever, too.
Andrea wrote: "Great goals Shelby! I'm also going with a lower goal to leave room for other creative hobbies."My writing goals are ambitious enough for me to be nervous, so I don’t want to take any chances.
Mod
Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of authors who’ve..."
The movie though is so so good. Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP) is amazing in it. But I haven't read the serial yet.
Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of..."
I’ve heard he’s great in it. I do still want to see it. I believe it was his big break.
Shelby wrote: "Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of authors who’ve..."
Oh, I'm sorry you were disappointed. This is still my favorite King book. I've never seen the movie, but the book absolutely gutted me.
I'm also determined to read through his entire catalog eventually, though to be fair I do the same with most authors I enjoy. He's definitely the most prolific, though. It's a daunting task. Glad you're able to drop that goal if it's no longer working for you.
Charleen wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of..."
It's a relief to not have that pressure on myself. I still intend to read more of him though.
Finally finished a second book.
This one was surprisingly fun, and a really fast read. It's a YA Scifi retelling of Jane Eyre and I really liked some of the clever ways this book reworks the original tale.
This was really cute. Really different from the movie.
Shelby wrote: "
First reread!"
Annnnd I decided to watch the movie again and now I’m depressed we’ll probably never get a loyal adaptation. I’ll probably reread it again later in the year to cheer myself up.
Would you look at that? I actually crossed off my Shakespeare read early in the year for once! (I'm thinking I might do a second one too.)
This was . . . stupid? It's a Shakespeare comedy, so like in A Midsummer Night's Dream, I'm sure the 'fun' resolution probably at least made sense in Shakespeare's head.
I actually yelled "WTF" a few times out loud while reading this, especially at the end, but I didn't hate my time reading it like I did with The Winter's Tale last year, so that's a plus. This was just one big contrived barrel of nonsense with a cringey aphobic villain stereotype and where every single character is probably a terrible person (view spoiler)
I do appreciate that Shakespeare was trying to make a political statement with this play for the audience of the time, going as far as to set this in Vienna so the queen wouldn't be offended by his story, but I'm not sure what exactly he was trying to say.
Mod
Would you look at that? I actually crossed off my Shakespeare read early in the year for once! (I'm thinking I might do a second one too.)
This was . . . ..."
I've never heard of this one.
Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Would you look at that? I actually crossed off my Shakespeare read early in the year for once! (I'm thinking I might do a second one too.)
..."
I went in pretty blind. I'd heard the name before and when I started it I realized this might be the originator of this trope in literary fiction, but beyond that I knew nothing.
Read for this weekend's readathon. This was okay. I'm glad to cross it off my shelf, but I don't think I'll be picking up the companion novel.
Also from the recent readathon. I was hoping my library hold would be in today, but it's not so I still wanted a shorter second book for this weekend.
I read the Wishbone version when I was in elementary school, so I was familiar with how the story goes beyond the twist everyone's already familiar with.
Also gonna leave this here:
'I just wanted to share the Greatest Review/Recap of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Ever with everyone.'
Shelby wrote: "Also from the recent readathon. I was hoping my library hold would be in today, but it's not so I still w..."
There were Wishbone books?! I suppose that shouldn't surprise me, I just never heard of them. I loved the show though. I remember feeling like I should be too old for it (13ish) so I never admitted it at the time, and then found out in college that everyone else watched it too.
Charleen wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Also from the recent readathon. I was hoping my library hold would be in today, but it's n..."
My school library had a bunch. There was a mystery series and a classics retold series. I knew of the show but I don’t think I ever watched it.
Mod
Second reread of the year. I’m joining some others reading and watching the movie, but this wasn’t one of my major planned rereads. I was able to appreciate the themes and world building more this time around, but otherwise I liked it about the same.
Mod
Second reread of the year. I’m joining some others reading and watching the movie, but this wasn’t one of my major planned rereads. I was able to appreciate the..."
I need to finish this series this year!
Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Second reread of the year. I’m joining some others reading and watching the movie, but this wasn’t one of my major planned rereads. I was able to..."
I was thinking of picking up the second one, but after finishing this one again I don’t think I will.
Mod
Second reread of the year. I’m joining some others reading and watching the movie, but this wasn’t one of my major planned rereads...."
I bought them all on Audible before the movie came out so I'll get to them eventually. Hoping they get better.
Mod
Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of authors who’ve..."
I always had this idea to do a year-of-King but then thought about how I probably would just dislike some of this books because I'd be tired of reading the same author and GASP even if it is King who I adore beyond anything.
Juli wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There are plenty of..."
I’m certain I could never read one author for a year. I have to have variety.
Mod
Sigh. After reading this book, I’m seriously questioning why I was so determined to read all of King’s books in the first place. There ..."
If I could do it, it would be King for sure, but alas I haven't dared because I probably would even get tired of him.
Feels like ages since I read Mortal Engines!
Anyway, this is the start of a group buddy read of the Lunar Chronicles, which I've been meaning to reread again for a while and now I've got some friends to do it with me!
It was interesting to come back to this world. I'm excited for all the things to come. I forgot how much I really loved the final showdown of this book. Looking forward to reading more again.
2020 Magical Readathon Tracker
It's almost here! This year I decided to keep track of everything in one place on my feed to make it easier, especially with the extra-curriculars added to the readathon this year.
Last year I went for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor career, and I finished it, but with life stresses, I mostly stuck to easy books by the end.
This year I want to go for Magizoologist (So I can specialize in working with Nessie ;p)
I also want to take the Dragon Trainer Training bonus course (will be helpful, since Nessie's basically a dragon), where Magizoologists can add reading a book with dragons to their tbr to pass and then I've also decided to go for the Mermaid Linguistics Course and it would be cool to become an animagus so I'm going for Animagus Training too. That should be plenty of challenges this year.
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Magizoologist
O.W.L.s
Care of Magical Creatures
Charms
Herbology
Potions
N.E.W.T.s
Care of Magical Creatures
A
E
O
Charms
A
E
Herbology
A
E
Dragon Training
Animagus Training
O.W.L.s
Arithmancy
Potions
Transfiguration
N.E.W.T.s
Transfiguration
A
E
O
Potions
A
E
Arithmancy
A
Merpeople Linguistics
O.W.L.s
Herbology
N.E.W.T.s
Herbology
A
E
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I think that's everything. I know some of it's repeating, but that's just to keep track of all the courses. For example, I'm not planning on taking Herbology twice.
It feels odd that I'm not taking Defense Against the Dark Arts at all this year, but I guess if I already made it as DAtDA teacher last year, there's not much more training I'll need. ;p
Mod
2020 Magical Readathon Tracker
It's almost here! This year I decided to keep track of everything in one place on my feed to make it easier, especially with the extra-curriculars added to the r..."
Whoa!!!!!!! You're so ambitious! Love it!
Juli wrote: "Shelby wrote: "2020 Magical Readathon Tracker
It's almost here! This year I decided to keep track of everything in one place on my feed to make it easier, especially with the extra-curriculars ..."
Owls are in April and Newts are in August! I would never put that much pressure on myself for a single month. 😜
Mod
2020 Magical Readathon Tracker
It's almost here! This year I decided to keep track of everything in one place on my feed to make it easier, especially with the extra..."
Ahhhh, that makes more sense. I have done the O.W.L.s before but didn't find time for the N.E.W.T.s.
Juli wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Juli wrote: "Shelby wrote: "2020 Magical Readathon Tracker
It's almost here! This year I decided to keep track of everything in one place on my feed to make it easier, especially..."
Hope you can join us this year!
And that’s my nonfiction read of the year. That’s all three of my regular yearly challenges done way earlier in the year than usual.
I saw this movie back when it first came out and I really liked it then. Reading this book, though, it’s disappointing to see that nearly nothing was the same as true events. I still think the performances are great, but I wish they’d tried to stick closer to actual events instead of taking some ideas and really simplifying it and telling their own story where the reality for these women could be overturned if white people only learned to listen. Watching the movie again yesterday, it felt real cheap. That being said, I am glad it exists to finally draw some attention to some very important people in history I and most people might never have known about otherwise.
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2020 Magical Readathon Tracker
It's almost here! This year I decided to keep track of everything in one place on my feed to make it easie..."
Who knows! I am afraid of making plans past a few days, lol.
Finished these two very close together. This series is a great distraction from the world going on right now, and it's fun to finally revisit them again with fresh eyes. I always forget Scarlet takes me the longest, but I do love Cress.
I've finally reached the books I've only read once, aka Fairest and Winter. I'm reading Fairest during April, but Winter I'm saving for after OWLs are over. I can't do to many rereads or books in the same series in a row, personally, so I do need a bit of a break. I'm pumped to read Winter again after all the priming in Cress.
This is one of the picture books I remember being the most popular as a kid. I remembered nothing about it other than a princess outsmarts a dragon that kidnapped her betrothed. It was cute, but I had no other strong feelings for it.
OWLs Readathon: Dragon Training (A book that features a dragon.)
This is only the second Jane Austen book I've read. It was okay. I've been wanting to read
, which is a companion novel to
and a retelling of Persuasion, so I knew I wanted to pick this up because I try my best to read original novels before retellings now, the same way I try to read books before watching an adaptation. I have The Stars We Steal for another OWL later this month, so I needed to finish this one first.OWLs Readathon: Charms (Lumos Maxima: White Cover)
I've been shuffling my OWLs TBR around a bit, so this is the one I ended up picking up after the original novel. I really liked this, though I think I prefer Brightly Burning. They were both really fast reads, and the first one gave me major Lunar Chronicles vibes.
I've also written a very slight review for this one:
"This was a fun read. I especially appreciated that the ace rep (though a small part) was outside of the usual stereotyping. (view spoiler)"
*Apparently when there's good ace rep, we need to point it out now because the negative stereotypes are so ingraned in some people that when aspec authors write stories that reflect their own experiences, there will be some who say it isn't "properly researched" so that's where we're at.
**Disclaimer: I don't know if this author identifies as aspec, but she thanks an author in the afterward who I know is out as aspec, so I'm gonna assume they helped with sensitivity reading/rep.
OWLs Readathon: Arithmancy (Magical qualities of number 2: balance/opposites - read something outside your favourite genre. (I know scifi is one of my favourite genres, but this book is a romance set in a scifi world, and that is certainly not among my favourites.))
Just some general catch-up for the various Readathons I participated in this month so far:
My first new favourite in a long time! And I saw there's a sequel coming out soon!
I've been a fan of these since they first started coming out, seeing them on Twitter and then following them religiously since then on. They are my new main humor comics and I'm so glad there are physical books now to support the artist/writer.
5 Stars
OWLs Readathon: Potions (Shrinking Solution: book under 150 pages)
Stay Home Reading Rush: Read a book in the same room the whole time!; Read a book that will make you smile!
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This is one of the books that I've been wanting to read for a very long time, the Sherlock Holmes story I was most interested in. And I've finally crossed it off. For a long time, I was trying to read the whole Sherlock Holmes series, but at this point, I think I'm finished. The Sherlock Holmes stories just don't have the same draw for me as they used to. I think unless there's an adaptation that acknowledges and respect how he reads as aspec in at least the original cannon, I've mostly just lost interest at this point. The book was fine, but I wanted more out of it.
Stay Home Reading Rush: Read a book set somewhere you wish you could go! (England, Europe, some place with moors, take your pick.)
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I was not expecting to pick this up, having DNFed it back when it came out. I haven't really liked any of the Lunar Chronicles stories post-Winter up to this point, but this certainly came the closest, and I'm glad I had all these challenges to force me to keep reading it. I might pick up my own copy some time to complete my collection.
OWLs Readathon: Transfiguration (Animagus lecture: book/series that includes shapeshifting (there's so many examples of transformation in this series in general, one of the big themes here, but it also happens in this book, so I'm happy with my choice.))
Stay Home Reading Rush: Read a book with a house on the cover! (There's so many buildings on this cover, one just has to be a house.)
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My first Philip K. Dick story, and I have to say I really enjoyed this. I'm looking forward to watching the movie.
OWLs Readathon: Herbology (Mimbulus mimbletonia: title starts with an M)
Read for the spring 2020 Dewey's Readathon.
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And with that, I've only got one more class for OWLs this month!
My last course for OWLs with just a little time to spare before the end of the month!
This was a weird one for me. I picked it up because I was in the mood to finish up some series a bit for this and the Stay Home Reading Rush, and it feels good.
The first book is one of my all-time favourites but I wasn't really a fan of the second one, adding this book to my tbr out of obligation and morbid curiosity. For the most part, I was surprisingly into this. It's no where on the level of the first book, but the narrative and pacing flowed way better than the second and I really liked to see these characters grow up more and face new challenges.
I thought this was supposed to be the last, but it's got a pretty open ending. No idea if I'd check out a fourth book if it happens because these three have been at least 5 years apart, but we'll see.
OWLs Readathon: Care of Magical Creatures (Hippogriffs: creature with a beak on the cover)
This. This, my friends, is what I mean when I say I love enemy stories. Here is your textbook. Go forth. 🖤
5 Stars
I picked this place be up somewhat randomly during the Stay-Home Reading Rush after finishing Hound of the Baskervilles because I wasn’t in the mood for much besides thrillers. I was initially hoping to get it done last month but that became too much pressure, so I decided to set it down until I was in an audiobook mood. I also ended up reading some for the Dewey’s Prereadathon.
This was alright. I liked some ideas in here.
I've read a number of original fairy tales before, including this one. Nothing much to say about it, other than people don't seem to know how weird the original is. I read it with some others to compare to Tangled, and I was surprised how many nods that movie managed to make to the original story.
This was a difficult one to read, much more than I anticipated. I liked The Minority Report better.
At long last, I'm finished rereading the series. What a ride.
2020 Hogsmeade Readathon Wrap-upYes, I'm still participating in the Magical Readathon for this and NEWTs coming up in August, although I'm so glad the theme is changing to a completely new fantasy school next year.
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I needed a short book with a map in it to unlock the rest of the readathon, so I ended up with this one. It's in lists for 'books that include maps' so I decided to roll with it, even though I couldn't find an edition that had one.
This isn't really what I expected. It was fine, I was into it by the end. Also, I can finally watch the movie now.
Challenge: Maurauder's Map: Read a book with a map.
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I originally planned to read this with the rest of The Lunar Chronicles buddy read, but I needed short books for the challenges and as of learning what they were, this was, in fact, the last book added to my tbr.
Not much to say about this one. It was alright. I guess even the characters from The Lunar Chronicles have seen Tiger King before I have. Wasn't expecting that.
Challenge: Owl Post: Book you received via post or the last book added to your TBR
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I'm focusing on reading more scifi this year, and I was meaning to pick this one up for a few months. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I ended up really enjoying it. It was probably the best book I read of the readathon.
Challenge: Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop: Book written by a person of colour
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I'll try and write more of a review for this one when I have some time. I'm so glad I found this indie publisher. I'm really enjoying the horror short story anthologies they produce. I've been wanting a place to find exactly that for a while, and it's a relief that I have. I didn't even know what drabbles were before I learned about this book. I'm not sure they're really my thing but there were some I really enjoyed.
Challenge: Shrieking Shack: Read a horror or a thriller.
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I know what you're thinking: "Shelby, why are you rereading Twilight now in the year of our lord 2020?" Well, as it happens, I eventually realized I wanted to come back to the series one more time now that I was older, but I knew I was gonna have to wait until the #discorse (legit and otherwise) died down so I wouldn't have a million influences while I tried to figure out what I thought of these and reflect on the impact they had on me as a teenager. I also knew I wanted to be able to listen to an honest discussion on the flaws and problematic elements of the series away from the #discorse instead of just reading them on my own. Thankfully, This Film is Lit is reading/watching the Twilight Saga this year for their summer series (previously done Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, if anyone's interested), and I look forward to what they have to say.
This book is much less awesome than I remember it being a decade ago. That's all I'm gonna say to that.
Challenge: Madam Puddifoot's Tea & Cakes: Start a read with a cup of tea (I don't really drink warm things, so this was iced tea, sue me.)
Mod
Teenager to adult is a big difference!
Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "This book is much less awesome than I remember it being a decade ago. That's all I'm gonna say to that..."Teenager to adult is a big difference!"
Yup. I am much less excited to read and watch the rest of the series now.
Shelby wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "This book is much less awesome than I remember it being a decade ago. That's all I'm gonna say to that..."Teenager to adult is a big difference!"
Yup. I am much less..."
I've never read or watched the series, but I do look forward to listening to This Film Is Lit's take on them.
75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
The House on Abigail Lane (other topics)The House on Abigail Lane (other topics)
Midnight Sun (other topics)
Midnight Sun (other topics)
Midnight Sun (other topics)
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Personal Challenges:
2020 Classic Read:
2020 Shakespeare Read:
2020 Non-Fiction Read:
I'm also planning to go for 10 rereads so I'll actually get to them this year:
I'm going to go ahead for 40 books in 2020 again. I'm sure I'll get that far, but I don't want to put added pressure on myself because I've got some big writing goals this year.
All 2020 Reads: