Benny's 2016 ROOT Challenge

So...yeah. Last year I let destiny take over and had little to no control over what I read. For an explanation, here's the insanity right here...

This year, I'm focusing on book series, SantaThing gifts, other gifted books, advanced reader copies, and from there, I'm going to bounce back and forth from longest to shortest to longest (by word count). Also, the Jar of Destiny (ohhhhh...awwwww) will be reappearing whenever I get stuck on what to read next.




ROOT books will be bolded
Non-ROOT books will be italicised
Regular books will be &
Audiobooks will be *

Hurray, welcome back! *bows to the Jar of Destiny* Enjoy your 2016 reading.

Good to see you back, Benny.

1) Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer &

O...M...G...
The chapter titles alone make this book worth it. My cats probably think I'm insane given the amount of times I burst out in maniacal giggles.

I got in a fight with someone a few weeks ago about Game of Thrones and how it feels like everyone GRR Martin kills is simply death fodder. The person I was arguing with said I must be soulless to not feel something for character fleshed out over the course of thousands of pages. Sword of Summer kind of helps proves my point - Just because you know a character for thousands of pages doesn't make them meaningful. It doesn't mean the writer is particularly good at creating characters. Riordan makes character I can care for instantly. Hell, he even made me mourn for a character I didn't particularly like. I fell in love with so many character we only see for a few pages (or a paragraph or two in the case of Ratatosk).

The only complaint I really have is the fact that they kept referring to Fenrir as Fenrir Wolf. After the first twelve times I think the audience gets the picture - he's a wolf. I've never elsewhere seen him referred to as Fenrir Wolf as though Wolf were his surname - and I grew up on Norse mythology (a picture of a nude Thor fighting Jormundgand was my first porn...*sigh* memories...).

2) Eldest *

Some thoughts as I'm reading (listening):
Bored.
Bored.
God I hate this audiobook reader.
Saphira's voice sucks.
Bored.
OMG! Would everyone shut up and do something already?
Bored.
Wait...why are we back in Carvahall?
Ugh...who the hell cares about Roran?
Bored.
Bored.
Oh yay, another cliched "I love you but you're so wrong for me!" romance...
This is like Tolkien...but crappy
BORED!!!
Oh look, they're alive.
Wait...didn't we already know they were family? Didn't they tell us that in the last book? How the hell is this a shocking reveal? Either we were told already, or that was the most obvious reveal in history.
Bored...
*gaspy breathing* "Luke...I am you father!" *gaspy breathing*
Bored...cliched...stupid.
No me gusta.
I'm a horrible completionist, so I'm going to finish the series (dammit), but this was tedious, derivative, and painful.

Happy Rooting!

Good luck with your ROOT reading!

Welcome back and happy ROOTing in 2016!

Welcome back and happy reading!

3) The Sword in the Stone &

Incredibly similar to the Disney movie. However, there were many scenes I had never heard about (Robin and Maid Marian in a King Arthur tale? Whooda thunk it?) and some scenes were lacking (apparently the Once and Future King version - which is what I read - does not feature my beloved Madam Mim. On a side note, my affection for the Mad Madam Mim is such that my own mother has been referred to as "Mim" since I was roughly 10/11). Enjoyable, but awfully tangential. And the humor is very...unique.

Would you please do me a favor and officially join the group so my numbers all balance. Thanks.

Sorry bout that. That I had

4) The Girl in the Spider's Web *

This was an incredible book, don't get me wrong. But it lacked the depth and complexity of Larsson's book and felt awfully abrupt. I still enjoyed it immensely. Some pieces of Salander's personality seemed fabricated (the convoluted meaning behind the "Wasp" handle, for instance) and Mikael Blomkvist seemed tossed in as an aside - I hope Lagercrantz continues the series so I can get my Salander fix, but I also hope he improves his craft.

5) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee *

Stale. Very, very stale. It's almost like bullet-point list of events with the occasional flourish or quote. Not sure why people like this.

That's a shame to hear about Bury My Heart - that one is on my TBR mountain...

Yeah, I'm disappointed. The only emotion in the book comes from the quotes. The rest of it seems to be strictly expository - no analysis or personal inflection or reflection from the author. It reads like a textbook.

7) Shawshank Redemption *

Excellent read. The movie is one of my favorites, and I'm seriously pleased with how well it apparently follows the short story. The characters are far more fleshed out in the movie, but the short story is merely a launching pad. And an awesome one at that.

8) His Majesty's Dragon *

I'm looking forward to this. It was a gift for Christmas. It might be a while before I can start though. I'm having some issues lately. If anyone's interested, they can read the sob story on gofund.me/qe8dfaa

A very interesting book. One of those where you can simply let the words wash over you like a warm bath, without getting emotionally lost in the book and overwhelmed. Certain books I enjoy getting emotionally overwhelmed, but usually I prefer something lighter, funner, and calmer. This fit that perfectly. It was like the strange bastard lovechild of Eragon (but without the immense pomposity and ridiculous wordiness) and Master and Commander. Quite enjoyable!!!

Temeraire is a real cool book. At least I thought so.

I really liked His Majesty's Dragon, as well. Very Horatio Hornblower-esque. I ought to dig those out of Mt. TBR!

9) Describing MorphoSyntax &

A friend insisted I *had* to read this (because I took a mandatory linguistics course in grad school).
What a snooze. I mean, if I were actually interested in the field, I would probably enjoy it - it's well laid out and goes quite in depth. The author offers many fascinating tidbits about various languages, but it doesn't really support the readers too well. It describes a concept once and assumes you have terminology memorized at that point - yet it constantly reminds you of the existence of the Yagua language of Columbia and Peru (it reminds you nearly every time it comes up what this language is - and it comes up OFTEN). It was very distracting to have to constantly flip to the glossary (which was hidden in the roman numeral pages at the beginning of the book that only the most die-hard enthusiasts ever read). I'm soooo glad this is over!

10) Pandemic Survival &

I feel like the author has never worked with children. I teach K-8 and cannot think of a single student this book would be decent for. The sentence structure is simplistic and sounds condescending, but much of the word choice is appropriate only for high-school level students ("neutralize" "helical" "exposure").

Text features are minimal. No charts or graphs. No photos (only crude, cartoony illustrations). No captions (because the illustrations were all very generalized - two people shaking hands, a nurse hovering over a patient, etc...). It didn't "bold" or "italicise" any important terminology or glossary words to draw your attention. The glossary itself was hidden at the back (this is fine in books for adults, but in books for students, you want the glossaries in each chapter) and only covered random terminology ("allergy" and "ancestor" are included but not "prion," "lance" or "diagnose"?!). Writers, do children everywhere a favor. Read DK Eyewitness books. Lots of them. Notice how much detail they're able to shove into the book? Not just through text, but glossaries, illustrations, photographs, quotes, text format, maps, sidebars...THIS is what you should be emulating if you want students to a) learn b) enjoy informational texts c) become comprehensive readers.

It also advances the myth that "Ring Around the Rosie" is a poem about the Black Plague (despite no mention of the poem anywhere until the 1790s). The book claims "historians" believe that the poem is about the Black Death, but doesn't cite this claim in any way (indeed, the book doesn't cite anything - way to show students what scholarly work looks like) and goes on to say that the poem was written in the Middle Ages - again, despite being unmentioned until the 1790s and the first actual written record of it occurring nearly half a century later. This urban legend regarding the origins of the poem doesn't even come about until the 1940s (at the earliest). The only people that believe this any longer are those who read every urban legend that pops up in their Facebook feed...

Finally, despite its title, the book doesn't really offer any explanations as to why pandemics are the reason people are alive. It glosses over much about pandemics being the cause of much of science and medicine's advancements. It doesn't really mention genetic mutations that allowed certain peoples and genetic lines to better survive diseases and therefore outbreaks. Everything in the book seems to indicate that we're alive greatly in spite of pandemics - not because of them.

Looks like you're reading a lot of good books!
& sorry to hear about your issues lately :( Hope they resolve quickly!

11) Meg: Primal Waters &

I strongly dislike that it's written in present tense, but I enjoy Alten so much, that I have no choice but to ignore that oddity.

As I continue to dive into a beloved series from my teenage years, I offer up a prayer to the gods of the written word: "Please no rape or incest or Russian mafiosa spies or other completely out in left field subplots such as #2 had...It's a giant shark. What the hell else do we need?"

Update:
There were four completely pointless romantic subplots:
Terry and a marine biologist
Jonas and a "Candy Girl"
Danni and a daredevil, Fergie
Mac and his on-again, off-again girlfriend

The main non-shark antagonist was like the world's worst Bond-villain. An old, grotesquely overweight scientist (complete with silent sumo wrestler sidekick) that wants revenge on Jonas for stealing his limelight (he was the world's foremost expert on Megalodons until Jonas actually found one decades ago). He has the most awkward, stupid, convoluted plan for revenge on Jonas, but whatever.

The actual shark parts were really great, so we all know I'll come back for the final(?) installment of Angel's biography.

*rocks back and forth sullenly in the corner*Must weed library...must weed library

So...I'm in the process of getting rid of half my books. *hyperventilates* It's traumatic, but necessary. Anything K-8 appropriate is getting donated to my school library (holy crap is their historical fiction section about to expand...). The rest will probably wind up at New Haven Reads - a tutoring and book donation nonprofit in New Haven, CT.
*Strokes Ann Rinaldi's books fondly*
I never got to read you...I'm sorry...but you shall be loved...

Poor Benny! Feeling for you!

Ahhhh - *clutches own Ann Rinaldi books protectively*

12) The Breathing Method *

Yay...my final foray into Different Seasons. My favorite story in the set is easily Shawshank Redemption, but the other three stories (including this one) are all closely tied for second favorite. If I had to order them all, it would be Shawshank Redemption, Breathing Method, Apt Pupil, and The Body (coming-of-age stories are boring to me).

I went into this thinking it was a relation to "Quitters, Inc" (featured in the Nightshift short story collection and the Cat's Eye movie). It was an interesting take on the early days of what would eventually be called Lamaze and includes a bit of unexpected body-horror at the end. I can see why this is the only one in the collection that hasn't been dramaticized yet - it would be very difficult to produce it in such a way that the audience would enjoy the overall story as well as the horrific(ally) good ending.

13) Island of the Blue Dolphins *

An interesting take on the "last man on earth" style of trope. I know this was written significantly earlier, however there were many parallels between this and Hatchet, though I prefer the latter and feel it truly captured the theme of isolation and survival significantly better.

14) Winnie the Pooh *

The reader (Peter Dennis) is poor to the point of distraction. He makes Pooh sound as depressed as Eeyore and far from lovable. He makes snuffling/honking noises throughout Piglet's speech that is beyond annoying. I don't care if this reader has the real Christopher Robin's approval - I found him horrendous. That being said, the stories are worlds ahead of many early children's stories. The character each have developed personalities, the stories are detailed and entertaining, and the humor is...well...humorous. It seems many older children's books are simplistic and condescending to young children.

15) Finding Freedom: ELA Lessons for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grades 6-8 &

Repetitive and boring. Every lesson is the same:
Read primary source document regarding freedom during a specific historical event in US history.
Analyze the pathos/logos/ethos of the document
Use the same two handouts over and over again to break down the pathos/logos/ethos and chart the implications.
As someone who excelled at social studies and eventually minored in history, yet hated social studies as taught at the secondary level, this pains me to see that little to nothing has changed in the fifteen years since I left school. It's dull, it's dry, it leaves no room for creativity or exploration of tangential interests.

16) And Then There Were None *

What an incredibly fun and interesting book. It's nice to finally read something that lives up to its reputation! The characters were all interesting, the events left me on the edge of my seat, and the ending was incredible! This is one I'll definitely be re-reading at some point.

17) Reached *

Meh. The Rising has risen and it isn't exactly what everyone expected (surprise! (sarcasm)). This installment focuses on a plague and the way in which a bunch of idiot teenagers are able to successfully save the day despite a high-school level understanding of chemistry and biology. The ending fizzles out until there's just nothing. Very boring.

It's official. I've cracked. As I pack everything up, I've started talking to the books.
"Oh, William, look - a perfect fit or you in this box, right next to the Bronte's. Hmmm...Where's Jane? Oh, there she is! I know you ladies don't care for Jane, but you'll just have to suck it up for the next few months. Oh! Pocket Jane and Pocket Willy will fit here wonderfully!"

I'm sure they are glad of the attention!

I'm not sure if they've released/are releasing this elsewhere than in the UK, but you might consider watching the new adaptation of And Then There Were None that the BBC did over Christmas this year. It had lots of familiar faces (Toby Stephens, Aidan Turner, Charles Dance) and was quite deliciously creepy, I thought! I had last read it ages and ages ago so didn't remember who the culprit was or how it all hung together, so I was definitely on the edge of my seat the whole time.

>29 benuathanasia: That's so funny, Benny! I can really see you doing that. Those books will love it!

Caramellunacy - Ooohhh!!! I was wondering if there were any good film adaptations! I'll have to check it out :)

>23 benuathanasia: lol i know the feeling.... ;) It's okay, you can always find them again... often they hang out at the library. :) Having gone through that (I've had to get rid of over 75% of my books in the past), I know you will be okay :)

>25 Caramellunacy: lol again ;)

>31 Caramellunacy: I placed a hold on it at the library! Really looking forward to seeing it. The book also lived up to a recent reread.

>33 benuathanasia: I know at least two, one from 1974 or so with a pan-European cast, which I thought so-so, and a German TV show. IMDB also has a version from 1945 with Walter Huston, that would be interesting to see!

18) Pride and Prejudice *

No idea why this isn't touchstoning. Anywho. Update: yep, you guys were right - touchstoning is all right now.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!

>37 benuathanasia: Touchstones seem to be down!

>37 benuathanasia: I was having major touchstone issues yesterday too... it exceeded my patience ;)

lol it's a great book ;)

19) Dr. No *

lol. I love M. He treats Bond like a petulant kindergartner (which he really is). Looks like James is off to another tropical "vacation" for his "health."

Wow...just wow. Worst evil villain plan ever. I mean, I get that money is money, but No is trying to protect a fortune built on bird-sh!t? Boring Bond girl, as well. Oh well. It's still good, stupid fun.

20) Rebecca *

The story of a dumbass child and her love for an asshole twice her age. The nameless main character is incredibly impulsive, ignorant, and ridiculous dreamer. Her husband is cruel and emotionlessly vacant. All the while they are haunted by the ghostly memory of his dead first wife. The lady's maid, Mrs. Danvers is a cruel and manipulative bitch that plays the main characters in her evil game of hatred due to her ridiculous loyalty to the dead Rebecca. None of the main character are likeable in any way. The plot is a nuisance and incredibly reminiscent to Jane Eyre (a tedious novel I hate with a fervid passion).

>41 benuathanasia: Wow, Benny! I think you did not like it at all ;-))

>41 benuathanasia: Tell us how you really feel! Rebecca has so much hype and I thought it a let down when I read it.

>41 benuathanasia: l.o.l. While I really liked the book... I do not disagree w/ your descriptions of the characters ;)

21) One Eye Laughing, One Eye Weeping &

I've started reading for a Holocaust unit I'm going to be doing with my classes.

This book provides a brief look at the Anschluss, Kristallnacht, and then more or less abandons any connection to the Holocaust as Julie moves to America and starts living the perfect life of a rich actress. I'm not entirely certain what the hell kids are supposed to get out of the second part of this (history-wise).

22) Surviving the Angel of Death &

Dr. Mengele has always fascinated me. My mother taught me about him even before I learned about the Holocaust (probably when I was a third grader or so). Eva portrays a realistic (and student-appropriate) look at what it was like to be one of Mengele's twins.

23 A Bag of Marbles &

This graphic novel is a bit jumpy - it was really difficult to tell how some panels fit in with the story - they seemed to be no more than filler. A decent story.

24) The Big Lie &

A short, snappy look at the Holocaust. Unfortunately, it's so quick that it's rather forgettable.

25) Surviving Hitler &

An intriguing and fairly detailed look at the different aspects of Holocaust life from one survivor's perspective.

26) Hitler's Daughter &

This book is essentially useless for Holocaust studies. We have a frame story with a boy listening to a supposedly made-up story by one of his classmate about Hitler's daughter. My major issue with this book is that, because Hitler's daughter is malformed and has a birthmark covering her face, she is kept hidden and secluded - completely separate from the war. We learn nothing about the Holocaust from Heidi (Hitler's daughter) since all news is censored from her; nearly nothing about WWII (just a little about rationing); and nothing about Hitler himself (since he's barely a fleeting ghost in his daughter's life). Completely useless and pointless.

27) Once &

Wonderful. This book had great character building and a lovely buildup of understanding for the main character; he starts with a juvenile, sheltered understanding of the political strife of his country that blossoms slowly into realization. I intend to read the others eventually.

28) The Time Traveler's Wife *

In my experience, it's unusual for romances to detail any reason for the main characters to love each other beyond the superficial (Bella and Edward had little in common in Twilight; he loved her because she smelled like food and he couldn't read her mind - she loved him because he was tall, dark and mysterious. The unnamed narrator in Rebecca likes Max because they have nice long drives where they enjoy talking to each other - almost as soon as they're married though, these talks stop. Anastasia likes Christian in Fifty Shades of Grey because he's rich (face it, that's the only thing he's got going for him) and Christian likes Anastasia because she was something pure that he could corrupt). We actually get to see Henry and Clare celebrating and engaging in each other's interests and bonding over mutual interests. Granted, IMO, some of their interests make them obnoxious friggin' pretentious a**holes (e.g. anything they do with Gomez and his personality-less girlfriend/wife). While I don't particularly care for most romances, I must applaud Niffenegger for doing a decent job portraying one realistically.

That being said, the book becomes very vulgar once they have a baby. Everything baby-related was extremely graphic (why does it seem pregnant women have to talk to everyone who will listen about every disgusting thing that comes in and goes out of their body?). On Clare's 18th birthday, Henry talks about gutting Clare to have sex. Quality definitely plummeted at this point and went from impressive character building to horrible fanfiction.

29) Great Expectations *

Thoroughly enjoyable, thus far. For someone who was paid by the word, Dickens is doing a wonderful job getting to the point.

Update: Excellent story. It's a moral story, but it doesn't really beat you over the head with the lessons - though Pip ruminates on them often in the second half of the book.

Dickens' writing style is very much to my liking. He's long-winded, like Tolkien, but unlike Tolkien, he won't spend four pages talking about the same rock, but rather focuses more on ideas.

30) Sarah, Plain and Tall *

Decent, but I'm not sure how it became the literary cornerstone it seems to be.

>47 benuathanasia: I love that book. I have read it and seen various versions and I love them all! There was an amazing version at the Strawdog Theater in Chicago a couple years ago... Glad you enjoyed it!

31) The God Delusion *

FYI, I regularly bounce back and forth between atheist, agnostic, and Quaker.

Dawkins is the type of atheist that is aggressively angry and (seemingly) intentionally offensive to anyone who may be on the fence religion-wise. He reminds me of so many trolls I've seen in discussion boards that hover around merely to insult those that are religious, regardless of what their view is.

Were he a Christian, I would liken him to some of the most vociferous of televangelists given his overblown hatred of Jews and Muslims - thankfully for him, he hates all monotheists equally.

There's very little commentary on non-Abrahamic religions.

And did he REALLY say that raising a child in any religion (regardless of its liberalism of moderation) is worse than pedaphilia? This guy can seriously go fuck himself.

32) The Boy on the Wooden Box &

What a touching and accessible memoir. It immediately had me pulling out my great love - Spielberg's Schindler's List, so I could cross-reference settings and events.

33) The Mozart Question &

I love Morpurgo (War Horse and Private Peaceful were cornerstones of my undergrad thesis and Kensuke's Kingdom was a tearjerker), but this one felt a little all over the place. It's a story in a story in a story, and only the most embedded story (regarding the Holocaust) was at all interesting - but it took up the least amount of the book. The frame story method for this just really fell flat for me. Emotion was minimal, details were sporadic, and it was hard to feel invested in any of the characters.

>50 benuathanasia: lol wow! Strong opinions! I will stay away ;)

34) Moby-Dick; or The Whale *

35) Behemoth *

Not as engaging as the first book. The first book was a constant assortment of wonders and details whereas this one takes it too much for granted that the reader gets the jist of Clunkers v Darwinists by now and strictly wants story instead of atmosphere and setting. There were far less of those "Willy Wonka opening the doors to the candy room" moments. I would have adored more exploration of the societies Westerfeld has created in this series - instead I got a fairly run-of-the-mill heir-to-the-throne running for his life story.

Don't get me wrong, I still greatly enjoyed it - it just wasn't as much of what I was hoping for.

36) Number the Stars &

Much more abrupt than I recall. The whole story takes place over a few days (a week?) in Denmark. Granted, due to the conspiracy of decency, being Jewish in Denmark was a whole lot less traumatic than almost anywhere else in Europe during WWII. More emotional building between Annemarie and Ellen would have been greatly appreciated. Perhaps a bit more tension and suspense as well.

37) Coraline *

WOW...A Gaiman book I actually enjoyed. That doesn't happen often.

38) Zlata's Diary *

Meh. Zlata writes without the level of emotion required to draw me in. Quite a bit of it was just a relaying of events. She seems largely disconnected from what was going on around her.

*grumble grumble grumble*
Everything's all out of order since I haven't had internet in a few months.
Dates are inexact and I'm not even entirely certain I've listed everything.

>55 benuathanasia: No internet for a few months! Wow, that must be terrible. I hope you can get it everything straight again.

Barnes and Noble/Starbucks have become my BFFs...

>57 benuathanasia: lol it's nice that there are options like that!

39) Moon Lady *

Meh. Not really interesting or intriguing.

40) Things Not Seen *

It's a bit deus ex machina that the one person he meets is blind, but on the whole it was a really, good, thoughtful "realistic" look at what life would be like to be invisible.

41) Is It Night or Day &

Decent, but forgettable.

42) Peter Pan *

I was pleased with how close this is to the stage play (a favorite of my childhood). After Peter Pan in Kensington Park, I expected this to suck. Color me pleasantly surprised.

43) Beautiful Chaos &

I am in love with Ridley in this. She and Lincoln are my OTC pairing for this series. I also find myself growing addicted to the shadowing songs.

44) Four: A Divergent Collection *

I liked Four's perspective, but - if possible - seeing Triss through his eyes makes her even more insufferable. I hated her from the second book on, but from the very beginning of her meeting Four she's just...ugh.

45) The Shining *

Wow. I've never liked the movie at all, but now I can see why King doesn't like the movie. I agree with his assessment 100%. The movie had so much backstory and character to draw from the book - yet it sacrificed all that for a shiny, polished exterior with almost no depth.

46) Beautiful Redemption *

It begins with a death. It ends with a death. The death at the end broke my heart, but felt oh, so right (like scratching a mosquito bite - it's painful, but at the same time gives you satisfaction).

The chapters following Lena annoyed me to no end (despite being a caster, in this book she's wholly unremarkable personality-wise). Linc was the only redeeming factor of these chapters.

I loved the introduction of Xavier - he was a tragically sad and beautiful character.

I hated that the overall conflict in this book turned out to be a "remarkable and unique" individual against "the tyrannical and corrupt oligarchy" - YA fantasy is so effin' cliche this past decade.

47) Differentiating Instruction for Gifted Learners &

I had trouble assessing how I felt about this book for a good chunk of my reading - but I think I know now:

The first few chapters (and intro) are basically an open letter begging the reader to understand the justification for the existence of such a book (one that "analyzes" case-studies), which started me off on a bad note with it. It sounded more like the authors were trying to justify their thesis to their advisers (not very attractive).

After that, it delves into case-study after case-study. It gives you demographic info of the school/district/classroom, a brief biography of the individual students you're asked to examine, outlines of the teachers' units/lesson plans, then asks you to analyze certain aspects of the lessons (is it appropriately differentiated? does the teacher use higher-order thinking skills? does the lesson align to the planned objectives? etc).

As a singular reader, these case-studies are more interesting than useful. For the most part, they will simply reinforce pre-existing notions (for example, a poor teacher will read a poor lesson presented in this and use it to justify/defend their own weak lessons).

This book is best used in a CIA/PD/conference atmosphere where small groups can bounce responses off of each other then share out with a bigger group.

48) I Survived: The Nazi Invasion

Pithy and relatable. It gives readers a broad understanding of the war without going into needless, extraneous (or gory) details. It's focus on the resistance fighters gives a good and (sadly) oft overlooked vision of the war.

49) Elsie's War

I remember enjoying it when I read it. I also remember that is was very brief with few interesting details. Sadly, it appears it was also very forgettable.

50) The Story of Anne Frank

Meh. Her story has been done so many times, by so many people, from so many angles. This one doesn't really stand out or offer anything new to the narrative.

51) Son

Told in three parts, we get a book that attempts to tie together the world Lowry began building in The Giver. Part one focuses on the mother of Gabe and her attempts to get to know her son before he is released. This was easily the best part of the book. Part two continues to follow the mother after she has left the society. At this point, it becomes very disjointed and takes a good chunk of the book to find its footing again. Part three focuses on her "reunion" with her son and leaves the reader with a less than satisfactory conclusion not only to the book, but to the series.

52) Goliath

What started as an exceptionally promising series, quickly proved to be a trudging slog in the second novel and confirmed itself as irredeemable in the third. The mystery and political intrigue of the first novel gives way to journalistic BS and happily ever after nonsense in this one. It draws on tired tropes ("Oh my god, why didn't you trust ME with your extreme secret that could have easily gotten you killed even if *I* wasn't the squealer??? Now I must hate you forever!") and just never reaches the satisfaction I got from reading the first novel in the series. I honestly couldn't bring myself to *care* how this finished, I'm just an insufferable completionist.

53) Brisingr

The series started slow and derivative and has seriously only gone downhill. Nothing is original, nothing is beyond predictability, and nothing is said in five words if it can be said in a hundred twenty five. I won't accuse Paolini of purple prose, as that would take some artistic talent. No, he's just exceptionally long-winded without adding any depth to the novel.

54) Tess of D'Urberville

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Each character is exceptionally well fleshed out - none are held above all as perfect, no character is so flawed as to be irredeemable. Yet, I never felt particularly compelled or biased for or against any character. I never felt invested. I couldn't revel in one character's comeuppance, or celebrate another's successors. If I were to re-read this book, it would only be for the plot, never for the characters.

55) Gone

Equal parts fascinating and infuriating. It's a vast riddle enveloped in the trauma of the apocalypse. Grant has created a vast cast of characters to drive his plot, but not so many that they lack fleshing out. The infuriating part was the subplot of the coyotes. They feel exceptionally out of place in this fabricated world. All the humans have a vast array of powers - yet the coyotes evolved (more or less) uniformly. It felt as though Grant had two story ideas that were "close enough" that he threw them together and said "good enough."

56) Middle School

Excellent. Rafe is a deeply flawed character to the point that I occasionally wanted to strangle him and ask him "what the hell was wrong with you"??? But you come to know Rafe and his life so well that you can't help but feel for him. The plot is hilarious and the ending contains a twist that is amongst the best I've ever seen in YA literature.

57) Fever, 1793

Forgettable. Unremarkable. I have no love for the main character built of sharing her turmoil. I couldn't bring myself to much care for the heroine or her circumstances.

58) Princess Academy

A very enjoyable take on the Cinderella tale. It doffs many of the tired and more negative tropes associated with that particular story, but in a refreshing and non-satirical way (too many modern Cinderella tales go so far out of their way to put distance between themselves and the poor lessons of Cinderella that they become a parody of themself). I probably won't continue the series because I feel as though it ended in a good place, but maybe someday...

59) The Hidden Oracle

Apollo isn't a particularly likeable character (though he isn't supposed to be), that's generally offset in this book by a decent amount of humor. Even still, it isn't nearly as good as Riordan's other books.

60) Millhouse

A slow start, but an intriguing story.
Millhouse was a bit on the arrogant side and never learns to overcome this flaw in himself, however it was nice that the other animals learned to appreciate him (it would be better if they learned to appreciate him because of his personality, rather than an act he performs, but whatever). It can be a bit pretentious at part, but that's due to the nature of the titular character.

61) War and Peace

Long. Very, very long. Normally that doesn't throw me off - two of my favorite books are The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Miserables, but unlike the French masters, Tolstoy falls flat in his attempts to get me to connect with any of the characters. The plot is fascinating, but it's cluttered by too many intrusive characters that add little to the story.

62) The New Wild

While intriguing, Pearce never really proves his point. Much of the structure of his argument throughout the book falls into one of these patterns:
Horrible thing an invasive species has done
Horrible thing an invasive species has done
Horrible thing an invasive species has done
Pretty good thing an invasive species has done - therefore they're good!

Horrible thing invasive species has done
Horrible thing invasive species has done
Horrible thing invasive species has done
Flawed quote I proved wrong
Flawed science I proved wrong
Therefore invasive species are good!

He frequently (ad nauseum) talks about how invasive species increase the biodiversity of local ecosystems and the resultant extinctions (usually) aren't as numerous as the new species introduced to the environment, so invasive species are good! But he only once addresses global biodiversity. Let's say 1000 alien species are introduced to an ecosystem and only 30 indigenous species go extinct as a result. That's 30 less species in the whole world - those 1000 new alien species are still found in their native environments, so it's not like there's a total net gain of 970 species. Pearce doesn't see anything wrong with that. According to him, less variation isn't a bad thing and doesn't hurt nature (how the hell is he defining nature???).

He never, in any way shape or form, creates any argument even close to what the cover claims ("why invasive species will be nature's salvation"). If anything, the only argument he really proves through solid evidence is that scientific ecology studies and reports need to be more heavily scrutinized.

>62 benuathanasia: whoa - that's a lot of books! Congrats on your progress! :)

>62 benuathanasia: Lovely, a very long list! Yeah!

63) Moby-Dick

19 chapters. NINETEEN chapters in and Ishmael has only JUST stepped foot in a ship. *headdesk*

Update: Wow...um...I mean, the parts that are actually a story of some kind are pretty good. But the vast majority of it is just the history and detailed explanations of whatever just popped into the main character's narrative. Imagine if in Harry Potter, we meet the Dursleys, then get a chapter on Vernon and Petunia's courtship. Then we meet McGonagall as a cat. And get a chapter on the role of the domestic cat in the suburbs. Then Dumbledore shows up with his deluminator. Now a chapter on the applications of electric light in the muggle world. It's just...Ugh.

64) Sabriel

Ok. Took me a while to "get into" the world, but this was really quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed the character building and - while I still don't really feel *part* of the Abhorsen world, I look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

65) Fall of Five

I liked the training scenes, but other reviewers were correct - not much of note happened in this book. It really just sets up for the next book.

66) Emma

A perennial favorite re-read for shits and giggles.

67) Boy in the Striped Pajamas

A very quick read that somehow sucks the reader in and make them deeply invested in the characters even though they are never really fleshed out well (aside from the main character and his sister). The ending, as expected, was heart-wrenching, but the circumstances of the ending was completely unexpected.

68) American Gods

Wildly overrated. I had hopes for it in the early chapters, but as soon as we leave prison, I lost all investment in this book. The main character goes out of his way to push his reader away with his sullen "lone wolf" personality. Wednesday's relationship to the main character was rather predictable and cliche. Quite frankly, the visual are the only real reason to ever read this.

69) Challenging Common Core Language Arts Lessons (Grade 4)

This book offers a selection of different lesson plans, broken out into their smaller parts. Each lesson is outlined into the same format, making for easy reading and easier browsing. It includes graphic organizers for each lesson, rubrics, and thoughtful questions that address each level of Bloom's Taxonomy. The first section of each outline addresses common core standards experienced during the lesson, allowing teachers to easily see which standards they have addressed and which ones need addressing. The outlines also include time expectations, however, this is not broken down for the individual parts of the lesson, leaving it up in the air how much time you should devote to each mini-lesson. While this offers "freedom," it's hard to gauge how they reached their timing for the entire lesson without seeing the breakdown (five minutes here and five minutes there can make a unit grow or shrink rather quickly).

70) Remains of the Day

Told in retrospect, this is the life of an aging butler in the pre- and post-war years of Britain. Throughout the book, I felt a sense of regret in the narrator that I thought was due to the waning of the profession as he knew it, but by the halfway point, I figured out what was really missing from his life and couldn't help regularly screaming at the narrator for not realizing it himself. If not for my maudlin connection to the main character, this would have been a very soothing beach read.

71) How to Instantly Connect with Anyone

This was a very awkward book. Yes, it has some very useful information in it that's great for an introverted aspie like me that just doesn't "get" people...but the valid advice is interspersed with sexist comments that the author laughs off and assures the reader are steadfast truism as opposed to the blatantly outmoded stereotypes that they are.

72) Middle School: Get Me Out of Here

Be careful what you wish for. Rafe's dream school reveals itself to be the same wolf in the clothes of a different sheep. This book featured some growth for Rafe as he comes to understand the nature of hazing and begins to realize that the internal doubts he has about his value in life plague even the most successful of people. A phenomenal follow up.

73) My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar

Told by Rafe's sister, this book takes place after the previous, as opposed to coinciding with either of the previous. Despite being her brother's opposite, Georgia slowly unveils her own issues and secrets - is middle school kind to anyone? We also get to see the love of Rafe's life through a different perspective that makes the reader realize Rafe might not be the most reliable of narrators.

74) How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill

Finally. A nice, relaxing, summer vacation. What can go wrong? Rafe discovers the lovely concept of "summer school" meets "sleepaway camp." Rafe can't possibly get in trouble here!

Yeah...just keep telling yourself that. Does Rafe attract trouble? Or is he drawn to it? Either way, trouble and Rafe once against tango in this nice (though inferior to the rest of the series) addition.

75) Inheritance

Ugh, hallelujah, I'm done with this crap. The final battle was completely lackluster and the ending made the end of The Return of the King look abrupt - it just dragged on long past the audience losing interest.

76) Friendship According to Humphrey

Everyone's having friendship issues, but Humphrey comes to the rescue! Humphrey uses his cuteness (ok, and his brain) to help everyone solve their problems. Meanwhile, Humphrey's having his own friendship issues with his new roommate. But as in many friendship issues, communication is key!

77) Guinea Dog 3

Our lead characters all go on vacation together and meet up with a brand new friend - who claims to have seen the amazing pet store that gave us Guinea Dog. Introducing, the latest and greatest guinea pig to join the gang. It's an adorable tale of friendship, "friendship," and self-discovery.

78) Trouble According to Humphrey

Oh, Humphrey! You and the best laid plans of mice (hamsters) and men...
The buildup of this addition is paced nicely and solved acceptably. We also get a continuation of several issues from the previous book, which I greatly appreciate.

79) ArchEnemy

A lackluster ending to an otherwise great series. I just wasn't as enthralled as with the previous books. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be drawn into this fantasy.

80) Bluff, Bluster, Lies and Spies

If you're accustomed to "pop" nonfiction (Guns, Germs, and Steel; The Grand Design; or any other piece created for the masses as opposed to the scholarly) you'll probably be disappointed. This dense, analytical account of the American Civil War provides perspectives and theatres of the war most Americans have never much considered. What was the role of piracy? How did Europe get involved? Who was pulling the strings behind the curtain? If you can get past the incredible cast of characters and the formal delivery, you'll be quite pleased to broaden your perspectives of American history.

81) A Knight of Seven Kingdoms

Readable as either a standalone piece or a prequel to A Song of Ice and Fire this novel lives up to Martin's high standards. For those more interested in story as opposed to shock, it's significantly more bare of sex and gore than Martin's usual fare, but if that lessens your interest at all, you're probably reading the wrong kinds of books.

82) Save Rafe

Rafe gets scared straight!

Ok. Not really. But that's the idea behind this installment in the series. As you would expect of a troublemaker sent to bootcamp, there's much headbutting, but at least Rafe isn't alone in his troublemaking. Rafe learns to take a bit more responsibility for himself in this, but there isn't enough character growth as you would expect from such an experience. Perhaps the next book will highlight his growth better.

83-89) Harry Potter

90) Quidditch Through the Ages

Absolutely adorable companion piece. The side-notes from Ron and Harry are hilarious.

91) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Absolutely adorable companion piece. The side-notes from Ron and Harry are hilarious.

92) Tales of Beedle the Bard

This felt pretty half-assed by Rowling standards. If it weren't for the fact that she's one of the wealthiest people on Earth, I'd accuse her of simply trying to capitalize off of Harry Potter's success.

93) Atlantia

An intriguing setting for YA dystopia, but it doesn't really offer anything new to the genre.

94) James Potter and the Hall of Elder's Crossing

Ok, it takes a bit to get past the slapstick stupidity of Gremlins, but other than that, this is the closest spiritual successor to Harry Potter I've yet seen (far surpassing The Cursed Child - in cohesiveness, character development, and honoring Rowling's world).

95) James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

This installment doffs the ridiculousness present at the beginning of the last book and finds its footing excellently. I can truly allow myself to sit back and pretend that THIS is the canon sequel to the HP series.

96) Lolita

I hate this book.

I love this book.

I hate that I love this book.

Despite the deplorable plot, it's excellently written. The characters are exceptionally well developed and terrifyingly easy to empathise with. Most readers have never lusted after a child, but the narrator speaks his desires so easily and detailedly that it's impossible not to be reminded of the guilty pleasures we all have.

97) Secrets of Learning a Foreign Language

There are no secrets in this book. Only what should be common sense for anyone who has an earnest interest in learning a new language.

98) A Briefer History of Time

In this (companion? sequel?) to A Brief History of Time, Hawking goes into more depth regarding some of the more intriguing aspects of the first book. It's quite an easy read and really gets you thinking.

99) Witch and Wizard

There's too much in this book that you kind of just have to accept as is, which really, in my opinion, lessens its impact. How did this new government take control if so few people knew about the witches and wizards the government wants to protect society from? How come the main characters were only vaguely aware of a regime change (much in the vein of - oh, yeah. We have a completely new government. I heard something about that awhile back...). It appears to be presenting itself as an allegory to the Third Reich, but it really falls flat. Parts of the book were worthy of completely zoning out without missing anything interspersed with, "Oh...this is kinda cool..."

100) Animals in Translation

Quite brilliant. Grandin presents many theories and observations that seem rather obvious in retrospect but must have been groundbreaking to discover. I know I was completely awestruck by many of Grandin's observations.

101) Twenty-Five Books That Shaped America

Thoroughly readable and quite engaging. The author speaks directly to his reader, not at or down to. The reader is not some vague somebody - it is *you* and the author treats you as a *you." The author admits his biases quite openly when they appear, but doesn't seem to allow them to shape the book. My one qualm is some of the more recent titles are relatively unknown, therefore how much role can they have had in "shaping" America?

102) Chi's Sweet Home

Very sweet! Not much of substance, but that doesn't detract from the book at all. It's just the life of a realistic cat told from the perspective of the cat.

103) Ferocious Fluffity

What an excellent book!

The school where at teach has quite a few class pets throughout the grade and building and I feel this would be great at all levels to show the kids that they need to be calm, cool, and collected around animals. They need to be treated kindly (and cautiously).

104) The Book Whisperer

I read this about five months ago and forgot to review it, so please forgive me if anything is misspoke.

Miller is one of my mother's favorite educational guru's. In this book, she intersperses personal anecdotes regarding superliterate, illiterate, and aliterate readers with tips and tricks on how to reach each student. I like a lot of her ideas and plan to implement some. I love that she's not a fan of programmed reading (pre-packaged, scripted lessons) but at the same time I fear she teaches *only* a love of reading without teaching any of the dynamics of books, grammar, or vocabulary.

Congrats on 100+ books!

Wow, good job!

I am in awe! I have read 25 and that is more than I have ever read in a year for I don't know how many years! I would have to give up everything to read that many books! (oh, doesn't that sound tempting!!).

That is an impressive number of books!

Excellent work! Will you be adding the new HP play to the list?

Oh hell yes! Finished it this afternoon!
So wonderful :)

105) The Cursed Child

Alright, if you shut off your brain (logic and knowledge of the HP universe) and simply abandon yourself to this book without thinking, it's a good read.

That being said, this is *not* a good read. It's an absolute insult to the world and characters created by JK Rowling. It is amongst the worst fanfiction I have ever read.

First of all, it's all based around time-travel with a time-turned. JK herself realized the potential these devices had for creating ridiculous and idiotic plots and therefore had them all destroyed in the battle of the department of mysteries. But this isn't a JK book - her name may be on it, but she had only the slightest role in its creation (I personally think the extent of her role in the creation of it was a "go-ahead").

Characters are absolutely ridiculous - Scorpius is a send-up to the most obnoxious of sycophantic fans in his idol-worship of Albus. Albus is a stereotype of the worst possible tweens (though we're never really given any explanation for this). Harry starts as an excellently supportive father (when Albus joins Slytherin), but *I guess* Albus resents his father's acceptance? And just becomes as sullen, withdrawn, and standoffish as possible to drive his father into saying he wishes he'd never been born.

In one of the universes created by the screwing with the space-time continuum, Cedric becomes a widdle embarrassed during the Tri-Wizard Tournament to the point that he becomes a Death Eater.

REALLY???

In this same universe, Hermione never marries Ron - as a result, she doesn't achieve any of her hopes and dreams and instead becomes a female version of Snape - bitter, child-hating, and a hag. Glad to know women can't accomplish the things they want in life without their man. Ron, in this universe, becomes a slapstick caricature of himself.

Harry is a controlling asshole regardless of the universe. He belittles McGonagall and treats her like his personal minion. Bare in mind, this is the woman that Harry has so much respect for in the original universe that when a Death Eater insulted her, he could finally summon enough anger and hate to use the cruciatus curse on someone.

I was excited *while* reading this, but the moment I put it down and allowed myself to think about it, it started getting bad. Really, really bad. The more I think about it, the worse it gets. It's just sad and pathetic. I think someone other than JK wanted in on the HP cash-grab; how many guns they pressed against her head to get her approval for this is still to be revealed.

106) The Grand Design

Forgettable to the point that if I hadn't written it down in my book ledger I wouldn't even know I read it. I had to look at the book description to spark my memories.

Essentially, this is about the forces that rule the universe and the quests to create a grand unifying theory of everything.

It only gave the slightest depth to each concept and really wasn't half as good as the Brief History of the Universe books.

107) Catastrophe 1914

Wow. The depth in this book is incredible. I believe I was two hours into the book before Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and halfway through the book before anyone even bothered declaring war.

This book explores many (just about *every*) views about entering into the war, staying out of it, what it was like on every front from every perspective. There are hundreds of quotes from primary and secondary sources and the author early points out that he aimed to include more from the everyday soldiers and far less soundbites from the generals, the newspapers, and the politicians. The author accomplished this very well.

108) Guns, Germs, and Steel

A very fascinating look at just about everything that contributed to humans going from neanderthals to modern man. It explores domestication (the hows and whys of what ended up domesticated versus what's still wild if not extinct), types of governing (or lack thereof), how and why some societies don't develop certain technologies (including writing and animal husbandry), and how and why some societies have simply refused to "modernize."

109) How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds

This is a lot of great advice, but far too much of it is either high-energy, manipulative, or just too much work for my taste. So fuck it. I'll stay a wallflower.

110) In Defense of Food

Wait...why does my food need defense? Is eating *optional* now?
Oh...THAT's why.
I'm not eating food.
This is a really interesting book (a different type of fascinating than The Omnivore's Dilemma).
As with Pollan's other works, I found myself getting irrationally (or actually *very* rationally) angry at big business and lobbyists.

111) Teach Like a Pirate

Like the KIPP nut-jobs, what Burgess advocates here sounds just exhausting. It's all very admirable, but I highly doubt any (sane) person can easily sustain this level of enthusiasm day in and day out. That being said, it certainly motivates you to try!

112) The Sound and The Fury

Fuck this book. Fuck it right in the ear. It dragged, was completely uninteresting, had no intriguing characters...I just can't fathom how anyone can get any joy (or knowledge) out of this book. And the writing lacked any semblance of art.

"short, simplistic sentence." Blah said.
"Short simple reply" Blah said.
"A decent length sentence, but without any words that would increase brain capacity" Blah said.
-Moderately lengthed observation or description that fails to invoke the reader to think-

^This is the entire damn book.

113) Heart of Darkness

I really enjoyed this book but don't think I fully appreciated it for what it is. I allowed myself to become immersed in a wonderful story without ever looking below the surface of the story, despite the fact that I could see something written there. I'll have to re-read this at a later date.

114) Eat, Pray, Love

I had to take away half a star for the first third of the book. The author seems almost irrevocably juvenile, co-dependant, and immature until a short time in the second part of the book. However, she shows an astounding amount of growth over a relatively short amount of time (a year) for a nonfictional character.
Her voyage is incredible, though all of Italy felt out of place to me, and anything to do with her divorce just seemed very bitter and was painful to read (not a painful-empathetic/sympathetic way, but painful in an "oh, god...I can't believe I'm watching this crap unfold" kind of way). That whole part almost feels like the author is just seeking justification from her audience that she's the good-guy and her hubby was an evil asshole. It's just not something I wanted to get involved in. Most people would have been happy for the author to simply gloss over her failed marriage and start off in Italy with a brief - "due to relationship traumas, I needed to find myself and learn to love again." Instead, she airs out every piece of dirty laundry possible (so I guess despite the great growth she goes through in the story, she's still just really immature for throwing in such a needless background history).

115) Adam Bede

Thank god for sparknotes. While I enjoy Eliot and liked the story presented here, god forbid my attention wandered for a moment, I found myself completely lost. This is another book I'll have to re-read at a later date to thoroughly appreciate since I believe I would have enjoyed it more had I paid closer attention the first time.

116) Hoot

This book is pretty realistic and complex for a children's book. The "bad guys" aren't unambiguously evil and get real opportunities for growth and evolution post-climax. The main character are also not unambiguously good (far more common in children's books). The subject matter is timely and important.

117) Mary Poppins

I always had difficulty getting through the movie as a child - I'd get held up at the dancing penguin BS, and just say "nope!" I was always a far bigger fan of Bedknobs and Broomsticks (why are these two always pitted against each other?) and feel that Mary Poppins stole much of the glory B&B deserved.

After reading the book, I now appreciate the movie so much more. Not because the book clarifies or adds depth to the movie, but just because the movie positively shines compared to the book. Mary is an absolute a-hole in the book. Vane and rude and without joy. Why would anyone *like* her? Yes, she's a vehicle to the children's ability to experience magic in the world, but she isn't a pleasant vehicle at all (I liken it to sitting in a full cattle car to get to an amusement park - just because the cattle car got you there, doesn't make it an enjoyable part of the experience).

118) Noah's Ark

Meh. Pinkney's writing doesn't add anything to a story that's been told ad nauseum, so the only real selling point is his artwork - which I've never been a fan of.

119) Where the Red Fern Grows

I had to force myself to enjoy this book. It's great writing, good characters, pleasant setting...I just couldn't get myself past the subject matter. Over half the book is about tracking, trapping, and murdering raccoons. I like animals far more than humans and since this is done almost strictly as a recreational sport (not for meat/survival and selling the furs in only an ancillary effect of the hunt) it's unforgivable in my mind. It sickened me. I can't fathom how anyone can derive joy from soulless murder.

120) The Importance of Being Earnest

So very thoroughly enjoyable!!!
It has much of the same style of humor of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, so if you enjoyed that, this is almost a guaranteed win.

121) The Pigeon Needs a Bath

My mother expressed her hatred of Mo Willem's pigeon and knuffle bunny books, so I felt compelled to read one I hadn't yet, simply to remind myself why I enjoy them.
These books are for the young (or young at heart) who can either thoroughly interact with their reading, or create an imaginary audience that does do that.
It's just good fun!

122) Stuart Little

I feel like I need to take off points for the ending. I thought I was missing a chapter it was so abrupt.
It was an enjoyable collection of tales, though (it was not a smooth narrative, however).

123) Charlotte's Web

I'll always prefer the original movie to the book, but the book stands well on its own. It's a wonderful story that all children should experience (either read or watch) in their life. The movie (cartoon, don't know about the live action) is fairly faithful to the book, which is always a wonderful thing, so if you enjoyed that, you'll enjoy this.

124) Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box

Holy hell...

I got into a fight with someone once over GoT. I mentioned that I had never mourned for a single character's death in GoT because I never felt close or attached to any of the characters that died - they felt like fodder: like they were created merely to be killed. The person I was arguing with said I must be a sociopath for not feeling close to a character after knowing them for a thousand pages. My rebuttal was that, just because they have fleshed out personalities and backgrounds, doesn't make them *speak* to me. I couldn't care less about them.

This book demonstrates that very well. In a short, twenty minutes, I came to truly care for the characters. I cared about their past, presents and futures, regardless of how little time I spent with them. I even cared about the unknowable thirty people connected to them (ten each, you'll understand after reading it). And the voice in the recording. Dear god did I feel for her. I odder her compassion, pity, hatred, and anger.

Short story writing is a truly delicate art. And Mira Grant seems to have mastered it. Excellent character building, incredible plot building, an intriguing mystery, and *successful* cliffhanger! Oh dear god how I love and adore the elusive and endangered creature: the successful cliffhanger. So often, you see the mangled, roadkill pelt of a cliffhanger. This is a cliffhanger done right.

125) The Odd Couple

This wasn't an instant winner for me. I'd say it took about a quarter of the play for the characters and the humor to appeal to me. I must say though, despite how often it has been parodied over the decades, it's shockingly contemporary - I foresee this holding up in its original, unadulterated version, fairly well for decades more.

126) The Snow Queen

I shouldn't have read this as an audiobook - the illustration potential must be astounding.
Even still, it's a great story about love and the beauty of life. Having read about Anderson's personal life, it's interesting to see the incredible beauty he was able to see the everyday and the magic he was able to pull from thin-air.

127) The Beginner's Guide to Healthy Eating

Too short to offer anything more than the most basic of common sense (more veggies, less meat; moderation is key; variety is important; regardless of what macro/micro nutrients we get, Americans have the worst diets; processed food is the root of all evil; etc).

128) The Beginner's Guide to Buddhism

This starts with a brief overview of the Buddha's path to Buddhism (how he came to be a practitioner), and overview of the tenets, then some brief exercises. A decent overview.

129) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Anyone who's ever known children has had to sit through pointless stories and jokes, that are supposed to be funny or interesting, but are almost painful to listen too. They are made bearable by the fact that the kid telling them is cute or you know and love them. This is a collection of those stories, minus the forced smile since there IS no child present whose self-perception relies on your reaction to the stupidity of their inanity.

130) Tales of Irish Myths

I always wondered why Greek, Roman, and Norse myths reign supreme while so many other cultures' go forgotten. In the case of Irish myths, I'm blaming the names. They're great stories, but nearly impossible to tell by a non-Celt (I'm half Irish, but cannot parse the spelling).

131) Mr. Popper's Penguins

A celebration in the absurd. I love children's books because so rarely do you have to question how or why the absurd happens and the logical cause-effect expectations get abandoned. This story is a good exercise in this; no one seems to know what a penguin is (aside from the Poppers and the scientists), all of the family's problems are solved *by* their biggest problem (the penguins), and the law doesn't get involved (for the most part) with an unlicensed person owning non-native wildlife.

132) Ultimate Showdown

It's nice to have a Middle School book told by both Rafe and Georgia, but I feel like this book was not at all conducive to the audiobook format. Judging by Rafe and Georgia's comments, it should have come with plenty of activity sheets to let the reader participate with Rafe and Georgia, but there was no additional attachments in the Overdrive version.

133) The Sleeper and the Spindle

Ugh. Yet another re-telling of an over-told fairy tale that adds absolutely nothing intriguing. Snooze.

134) The Beginner's Guide to Meditation

A broad overview that addressed the one thing no yogi or meditation instructor has ever accepted from me - some people *cannot* focus on their breathing. I mean, they *can* but it makes things worse. For me, focusing on my breathing causes mini panic attacks: chest clenching, sudden inability to get the oxygen all the way to the lungs, increased pulse, etc. This book acknowledges that it can be very uncomfortable to focus on your breathing. Sadly, the advice is to ignore the awkward.

135) Thumbelina and other Fairy Tales

Thumbelina was just as good as I remembered, but the other stories were all very mundane or boring.

136) Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

I hate Joey. And his mother. And his grandmother. I cannot empathize or even sympathize with any of them. Everything Joey does he "can't help" because of his brain or his drugs. I can't accept that. I know plenty of children (and adults) just like Joey and Joey just seems to have zero self-control. Self-control is difficult for everyone, but if you provide a strong enough motivation, it can be found. Instead, Joey is routinely rewarded or excused from his lack of self control. Nope. Nope nope nope.

137) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and other Stories

I read a similar short story before. Whether it came before or after CCBB is beyond me since I haven't been able to find it since my undergrad days, but either way, *this* was not the superior story. Nor were any of the other short stories contained in this volume of any interest.

138) Love in the Time of Cholera

I went into this knowing nothing, other than the setting and that I enjoyed Hundred Years of Solitude and Very Old Man With Enormous Wings. I was slightly dismayed at the lack of magical realism, but aside from that it was a very soothing and cute. I adored the natural progression of the botched romance and the completely organic evolution of the characters. That being said, I powered through it a bit more quickly than I should have and feel I did not give it due diligence (not a book that should be read in two days...)

139) Deerslayer

If you're bored and you know it, clap your hands!
If you're bored and you know it, clap your hands!
If you're bored and you know it, and you really want to show it
If you're bored and you know it, clap your ha-ZZZZzzzz...
Damn. I have no motivation to read the sequel despite the fact that it made it onto several of my to-read lists.

140) 10 Performance-Based Projects for the Language Arts Classroom: Grades 3-5

This is a decent primer for beginning teachers - those who haven't yet collected rubrics, project guides, and some basic mini-lessons into their arsenal. It includes these materials for ten of the most common performance tasks.
I wish it had provided more on less common performance task delivery systems, but I understand at that point they would be alienating certain readers (for example, any tech based performance tasks would be lost on my school since our computers are still XP and over half our students have no Internet at home).

141) Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program: Nonfiction (Grade 3)

First of all, half my fifth graders wouldn't even be able to read the selected articles, let alone my third graders. These articles are *way* too dense and advanced for them.

Secondly, if you have to spend a third of the book justifying its reason for existence, you're not starting off too well. The generalities of scaffolding and the way in which to scaffold are all completely sound theories and pretty much go without saying these days, but this book didn't handle it in the best possible way.

Much of it comes across as busy work.

It gets a big ol' "meh" from me.

142) Seraphina

What an incredibly stunning and vivid world Hartman has created! Often, with books I wasn't awaiting or that I didn't buy for myself, reality keeps me from getting fully engaged for a hundred pages or so. This absorbed me from the first sentence.

143) My Escape From Slavery & The Destiny of Colored Americans

I can see why Douglas waited so long after the abolishment of slavery to publish this. It was rather fascinating to hear how he was able to secure his liberty. The second tract in this text wasn't as pleasurable a read, though it would make a nice addition to any collection of American speeches, pamphlets, articles, etc.

144) Fifty Shades Darker

The addition of conflicts (beyond the contrived interpersonal crap between Ana and Grey) was a pleasant surprise. The timeline in this book feels horribly *off* however. It seems to take place over the course of two weeks, yet more happens in that time than could be reasonably expected to happen in six months; for example, Christian bitching out Ana repeatedly about using her Blackberry to email him and then - what? two days? - later Christian's fears regarding her emails are realized. I work IT and have access to around 700 individuals' email accounts and I think I've only ever found reason to go into any of them three times in four years.

As to the sex, it was far more copious than in the previous book, but I still don't see any real kink. It's all *hinted* at, everything Christian ideally would like from Ana, but so far I've not seen anything that would so much as warrant a "trigger" tag in a fanfiction forum. I don't get why this is any more lurid than typical Harlequin smut.

*shrugs* People are weird.

You have really read 141 books this year!!!??? WOW.

>76 connie53: I know, I was just sitting here in awe of your reading progress, Benuathanasia!

At my school, the sixth grade has a "student v teacher" reading competition (the kids try to outread the two sixth grade teachers). For the past few years, due to pregnancies, babies, and medical crap, the kids have won each year. The competition kicks off this week and I saw the tracking board was put up last week.

I was doing some tech work in one of the teacher's classrooms and brought up the competition, "So, uh...you guys want a ringer?" Their eyes went wide, "YES!!!"

Mwahahahaha! The kids'll never know what hit 'em.

145) Just So Stories

Done in the style of fables, but about the length of traditional fairy tales (think Grimm or Perrault). The animals in the fables encompass creatures from all over the world (India, Africa, Amazon off the top of my head). I'd say about half the stories captures my attention (and maybe imagination). It feels a bit dated, even though nothing really sets it off (no outmoded language or horrible stereotypes). A decent collection.

146) David Copperfield

So, uh...I usually like Dickens but I'm not a fan of books done in the style of biopics unless there is some uniquely amazing tale that ties their biopic together - like the mystery of Pip's wealth in Great Expectations or Oliver's quest to find a place he belongs in Oliver Twist. Only time will tell how I come to feel about this particular book...

Update: Nope. Didn't care for this at all. There were a few interesting episodes in David's life, but nothing worthy of a tome of this depth.

147) For Magnus Chase: Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds

Reminiscent of the Harry Potter school books collection (Fantastic Beast and Quidditch Through the Ages), though more in-depth. I'm most grateful for the pronunciation guide! The adaptations of the classic norse myths complement the modern tales quite pleasantly.

148) Surprises According to Humphrey

149) The Selection

Hunger Games, meets Matched, meets Princess Academy. I'm surprised I enjoyed the main characters as well as the villains (as inconsequential as they were). Not too intellectually stimulating but emotionally captivating. Quality plummets after the re-introduction of Aspen.

>78 benuathanasia: LOL

>78 benuathanasia: Indeed LOL

150) Small Steps

Part of me feels I enjoyed this more than Holes. It seems especially poignant, especially in the past year or so. Armpit was a compelling character and X-Ray was a perfect foil. The Felix subplot never wrapped up, so that was disappointing.

151) Dandelion Wine

Generally I enjoy Ray Bradbury - however this kinda felt flat for me. I'm not the greatest fan of realistic fiction, nor am I a real fan of books that have no discernible story.

152) My Antonia

Bored.
Bored.
Bored.
None of the characters were really compelling to me. None stood out. None were memorable. Nothing of any interest or note happened to grab my attention (aside from a very brief episode unrelated to the main characters near the end - at the risk of spoiling anything there was a few paragraphs on a murder suicide that was far more interesting than anything in the rest of the book).

153) Eyes Like Stars

Astoundingly mediocre. Tip for writers out there - setting does not equal story. Sadly, Mantchev doesn't seem to realize this and has simply rehashed the completely tired trope of "orphaned child who causes mayhem wherever they go is the only one who can save life as we know it" - but in a new setting.

The main character, Bertie, is an orphan raised in a theatre. She is one of those thoroughly unlikeable teens who thinks they should be able to do whatever they want and get away with whatever they want, regardless of the consequences to those around them - guilt is only ever felt when her choices negatively impact herself directly.

She finally breaks the camel's back and is threatened with eviction from the theatre she grew up in - unless she can prove herself invaluable to the theatre. So she comes up with the most asinine and ridiculous idea humanly possible; she's going to direct Hamlet...in Egypt. So...she's followed the author's lead by doing something wholly unique! Taking beloved characters from out-of-copyright stories and transposing them to a different setting (Fables, Once Upon a Time, Grimm, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, American Gods...nope, this tired crap has never been done before!). BTW, that's half the "allure" of the story - the actors in all the performances this theatre does are the actual characters from the play they perform themselves.

Thankfully we never get to see the monstrosity Bertie has created because "lo and behold" she has mysterious magic powers that have something to do with the mystery of her parentage and we get to suffer through THAT insufferable stage performance instead.

Meanwhile, there are two romantic subplots that do absolutely nothing to enhance the story in any way shape or form.

Final word of advice for the author - don't steal Shakespeare's characters if you can't do a reasonable job of portraying Shakespeare's characters AS Shakespeare's characters.

154) Hammer of Thor

155) The Botany of Desire

Pieces of it were interesting, but most of it dragged on past the point of any enthusiasm on my behalf. On a whole, the book was very informative, but there isn't much useable information for me to take away - like his other books typically have.

156) The Book of Secrets

People *believe* this crap?

"The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience. " - because fuck personal responsibility, right?

"Evolution is win-win…life is self-correcting." Except evolution is the result of millions of mutations and NO mutation is ever a negative, right?

"Never forget that you are not in the world; the world is in you." What the fuck is this shit?

"Creation is set up to bring you constant hints and clues about your role as co-creator." Sorry, but the universe doesn't give a crap about you.

I would like to apologize to each and every braincell I felt dying as this garbage tried to convince its audience to abandon science and reason in favor of defeatism.

157) Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

I'm not a big fan of biographies, but I feel like the useful advice offered within Franklin's life-story is deserving of some serious bonus points. So much of what he said was so motivating and makes me feel like I can achieve some previously unforeseen potential.

158) The Thirty-Nine Steps

Thoroughly enjoyable and fun from the start. Despite being rather dated and quite predictable, I couldn't put it down. Sadly, the audiobook was very obviously corrupted, so I'm not certain if I indeed got to hear the whole thing or if there were pieces missing, but at least I have an obvious excuse to re-read it!

159) The Runaway King

Jaron is an idjit and I have no sympathy for any of the stupid predicaments he found himself in, but even still it was rather fun to follow him on his adventure. It was kinda like watching a trainwreck - "No, don't do th- ...dammit, I just warned you..." Of course, by the power of the pen, everything - no matter how ridiculous - always turned out in his favor, but, even still, it was just a page turner.

160) The Shadow Throne

So...I noticed something during this book - the compulsive habit that was such a part of Jaron's personality his whole life that it identified him as the true prince in the first book got absolutely no other mention once if failed to be a plot device. Kinda annoying really. But then again, everything about Jaron was pretty obnoxious. Even still, I inexplicably enjoyed this book, and - indeed - the entire series...

161) The Elite

I very much enjoyed the additional character development we get in this book. Most characters are revealed to be significantly more complex than they have been in previous books. However, despite me not liking him, it was kinda annoying to see how much Aspen is turning out like Gale in the latter Hunger Games novels - being driven more by a need to revenge himself upon "the man" than by any real care or interest for those around him. Prince Maxon's development was rather impressive and a bit unexpected - he isn't as simple as he would appear.

161 books! With two more months to go! WOW!

>82 benuathanasia: At long last, I've found another person who found My Antonia lackluster! All my reading friends sing her praises, that book and Oh Pioneers. They both stink!;)

>82 benuathanasia:
I vaguely remember having liked Eyes Like Stars as the Beloved Characters Transposed trope is one I enjoy, and I had fun with the fairy secondary characters. But I do remember being irritated by Bertie's plays, esp. the idea that restaging Hamlet in a different time period would be in any way original or powerful...

162) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Like most readers, I everything I knew about this book came from pop-culture references. I was curious going into out the premise could be dragged out so long.
Dragged is a poor word-choice in this case, as it didn't drag at all. The observations by both the main character those expected to be picked up by the reader were amusing and apt. I really enjoyed this - far moreso than I normally do with Twain's writing.

163) A Wrinkle in Time

Ok, this is my second attempt at reading this book. The first time was so painful that it's one of the few books I put down without intending to pick back up.
I gave it another attempt some years later and think I will attribute most of my loathing to the audiobook reader - she was just so slow and made every character's voice such that I had difficulty liking any of them.
This time around, the character were only moderately unlikeable (aside from Charles Wallace, whose death I kept praying for).
All in all, by today's standards the book is predictable and cliched (they took down the great darkness through the power of LOVE...*gag*).
I don't get people's obsession with this book. It's nothing special in any way shape or form.

164) Ghost of Spirit Bear

Heartbreaking and touching.
My only qualm is I'm SICK of YA books/movies/tv shows whose only proposed solution to bullying is saving the bullies life (I think I've read about four books this year that have that as a plot point...LAME!).

165) The One by Kiera Cass

Continuing in much the same vein as the previous books, this was a decent conclusion that (too conveniently) wraps up all loose ends.

*spoiler alert*

Too many of the "loose" ends were wrapped up with a deus ex machina assault on the palace removing America and Maxon's ability to confront some of their greatest issues, which - understandably - felt very weak and angered me.

166) The Heir by Kiera Cass

An enjoyable successor to the previous series. It lacks in the same areas of character development and predictability that weakened the previous series, but all in all it's an enjoyable guilty pleasure novel.

167) The Queen by Kiera Cass

If you can, avoid the audiobook version. The French accent given to the would-be queen was obnoxious and distracting.

Getting to see the Queen's selection was enjoyable, however she's sadly a very weak character - though she isn't intended to be otherwise.

168) Prince and Guard by Kiera Cass

Maxon and Aspen's perspectives add little to the story, exploring Maxon's relationship further with his father was intriguing.

169) Donny's Brain

11/10/16

A really good look at what life would be like turning back time, without time changing. Donny is in a car accident that basically "resets" his brain a few years - to before his current love, before his affair, before his divorce, before the falling out with his daughter. It's sad since he sees the life he's headed towards, but since it's already happened, he's more or less powerless to stop it - though he tries. The ending is less than satisfactory, but with such a situation, there's really no way it could have ended happily ever after.

170) Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

So…we’ve gone from being a reasonably interesting look at genetic engineering to environmental studies and climate change. This entire episode in the series was a rant about pollution told through the guise of a James Bondesque supervillain. Totally, beyond, effin lame. Some authors can weave global concerns and morals into their books seamlessly. Patterson does it with all the grace of a gorilla in a tutu…

171) Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor

Hilarious addition to the series. The build-up to the ultimate Greco-Roman-Egyptian-Nordic showdown seems to be coming up fast and furious and I cannot WAIT to get there! The addition of Loki’s child Alex was an excellent introduction to non-binary and gender-fluid gender issues. I love how Riordan continues to strive to be contemporary and relevant in his writing. Here’s hoping asexuals get a shout-out soon!

172) Adventure According to Humphrey

It was thrilling to see how Humphrey was going to manage to wind up on the field trip and – while I feel bad that someone got in trouble for Humphrey accidentally coming along, that someone deserved to be in trouble for other misdemeanors.

173) Egg and Spoon

Hmmm…while reading this, it was by-and-large very boring. Little of interest happened throughout the story, however, in retrospect, I find myself puzzling over it more and more to the point that I might someday re-read it simply to see what that something is that I appear to be missing.

174) Superfudge

Fudge wasn’t nearly as obnoxious in this book as he was in the first. The addition of the baby did much to highlight Fudge’s deficiencies and almost made me feel as though his parents don’t love him, but rather tolerate him.

175) City of Glass

Plotwise this story was an improvement over the last two installments, however the heavily implied incest bothered me quite a bit. It was obvious that Clary and Jace weren’t related as a romantic relationship between siblings likely would not be permissible in a mainstream YA novel, so the whole thing just felt cheap. And if Jace’s lineage changes one more time, I may have to kill him simply to do away with the nuisance and the headache. Imagine if Lucas had the iconic “No, I am your father” scene in Empire Strikes Back, on to start off Return of the Jedi with no he’s not – half an hour later, yes he is – half an hour later, he is but… It’s just stupid and ridiculous.

176) Rodrick Rules

Not as good as the original, however it was nice to see Rodrick fleshed out more, even if he truly is a shithead.

177) Boy Meets Boy

Leviathan’s idyllic paradise he’s created for the LGBTQIA+ community is saccharine sweet to the point of nausea. Generally, in literature, characters are portrayed as mere mortals with a the regular gamut of virtues, vices, flaws, and flatteries. In this book the characters are almost portrayed as near-perfect aside from the fatal flaw – the Achilles heel – that drives their individual plot. It’s just really weak character development.

178) Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them

Each subsequent movie trailer made me less and less excited to see the movie. Thankfully, it turned out better than I expected, though still below the quality expected of an HP addition (though SIGNIFICANTLY better than that monstrosity that was The Cursed Child).

179) Tennessee Monkey Trials

Ew. I’m a huge fan of the movie and play Inherit the Wind. I also enjoy reading snippets from the court case (the judge’s decision, the news reports, etc). This however, was an irreverent farce. It completely ignores the importance and gravity of the case in US history in exchange for slapstick humor and throw-away jokes making the prosecution seem like ignorant bumpkins instead of conservative moralists.

180) The Book of Unknown Americans

I received this as a gift, completely unaware of what genre it was, let alone what it was about. It took a few chapters for me to get into it, but once I was…hello. This book whispered to my heart and gave my soul a hug. It was beautiful, and sad, and yet it spun a delicate web of hope throughout the various narratives. What a grossly underrated book.

181) Juba!

Bored. Bored. Bored. This book’s only redemption is that it’s “true” (ish). It’s a poor portrayal of race relations, a mediocre portrayal of minstrel shows, and a laughable portrayal of the dance culture of the mid-1800s. Everything always seems to miraculously go right for Master Juba up through his prime. It doesn’t do much to highlight any kind of struggle or effort on Juba’s behalf. A far more interesting story would have followed his friend that went to perform down south…though I suppose you can follow that particular story in 12 Years a Slave.

182) Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

I was disappointed to learn that this was not in fact an autobiography, but rather one of those dubiously “inspired by” tales that collects the most interesting bits from different people’s lives and passes it off as the trials and tribulations of a single soul (I’m looking at you Precious/Push: A Novel).

183) The Alien

Hmmm…Having watched the entire television show (which I know takes us past this particular volume) I was pleasantly surprised by the events. It was great getting to see more of Ax’s culture and people and learning more about the Andalite’s history and failures.

184) Summer According to Humphrey

Humphrey and Og head off to summer camp with Ms. Mac! (Mrs. Brisbane is in Japan for her son's wedding). This book offers a refreshing view of life from a hamster and confronts a very important topic: pets - domesticated friends or hostages from the wild? I like that it didn't candy-coat the topic and allowed the reader to take their own stance (black, white, or any shade of grey) in the end.

185) Angels and Demons

Now that I've read through Inferno, I have to say - Angels and Demons is likely my favorite. Yes, it sets the stage for the same old formula we'll see in the rest of the series, but I think it exercises these tropes the best of the four books I've read so far.

186) 100 Sideways Miles

*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* Painful. Absolutely painful. As a sci-fi/fantasy fan, I can usually take solace in the knowledge that truly horrific and intolerable characters will either die by the end of the series or be tortured in such a way that the reader's bloodlust is appeased. In this case, sadly, Cade does not die. I have met MANY people like Cade, assholes who someone professes is impossible to dislike - trust me, most people dislike them. They just tolerate them because homicide is frowned upon in polite society. Throughout the book, the main character alludes to a truly ridiculous science fiction book his father wrote. It sounds like a far better read than this shit. At least it would ask the reader to think every few chapters. My brain was on autopilot this entire novel because there was nothing to ponder (except why I couldn't personally murder Cade) - no intriguing plot, descriptive settings, intelligent prose. It just sucks so bad.

187) Grasshopper Jungle

A significant step-up from Andrew Smith's other works. An intriguing plot but very much a slow-burner. It feels very much a typical, nothing special, run-of-the-mill coming-of-age story with slight hints of sci-fi until just before it ends when it suddenly remembers that "Hey! This IS a science fiction book! Here's science-fiction!"

188) The BFG

Largely "Meh." Like most of Dahl's work, it was a good idea poorly executed in my opinion.

189) Little Brother

This took me a while to get into. After reading the first few chapters, I was loathe to pick it up for the next week. By the midway point, it felt like a car-accident; not pleasurable to watch, but something that you feel you *have* to watch. It redeems itself by the end, thankfully, and I ended up reading the last third of it during dinner one evening.

190) The Last Straw

Haha. Fed up with Greg's laziness, manipulativeness, and general un-likability, dad's threatening to send Greg off to military school.

191) Hollow City

It's been about a year since I read book one, so I had difficulty remember the characters and the plot. It was very difficult to get back into since at this point I was no longer invested in anything in the story. The pictures are really the only part of this book worth the time.

192) Inkheart

Take two. One of the few books I "permanently" put down.
Edit: I wish I'd never picked it up. Boring characters, cliched action, and a self-congratulatory self-insertion by the author.

193) School Days According to Humphrey

Ah, poor Humphrey. No one bothered to explain to him about kids graduating and changing classes each year so he has to get used to a whole group of perfect strangers without knowing/understanding here his old class is. I enjoyed this.

194) Dog Days

Yep. Great idea, the three boys who have no idea what responsibility is are in desperate need of a puppy. That goes over real well.

195) Mysteries According to Humphrey

There's a new sub in Mrs. Brisbane's class and the man fails at teaching. More interested in being fun and popular than being effective, Mr. E. Meanwhile, where is poor Mr. Brisbane? Everyone seems to know but Humphrey.

196) The Man Who Was Poe

A stale fictionalized account of Edgar Allan Poe's life trying to make it seem as though Poe's own life were comparable to his stories.

197) In the Ravine and Other Short Stories

Chekhov is so hit or miss for me. His comedies were pretty amusing though. At least, I *think* it was supposed to be a comedy.

198) Public School Superhero

I greatly enjoyed this. It has a good blend of heart, and amusement, and conflict. I was disappointed that the narrator was not, in fact, a superhero, but it could easily by argued that he was a hero in the truer sense of the word.

199) Classic Tales of Humour

A lackluster collection of stories that were likely funny in their heyday, but have little holdover to now.

200) Billy Budd

Boring. Like most of Melville's work it's so crammed with technical asides that there's little to no room for decent story telling.

201) Boy

Dahl's childhood was rather interesting. His time in boarding school certainly explains the nature of many of his books.

202) Through the Looking Glass

Far more intriguing than the original. I enjoyed the chessboard theme.

203) This Boy's Life

If it weren't free, I never would have touched it. Quite frankly, I'm still not certain why I never just quit it. Most of us have one of those relatives that came of age during the 60s/70s and who all seem to come prepackaged with the same obnoxious stories - fun "pranks" that would get you a stint in juvie today, them exercising their hatred of adults, lame Boy Scout stories that go nowhere, a beloved pet that had more personality than most of their friends, etc. That is what this book is. It is your senile father's ramblings of stories you got sick of hearing before you hit puberty.

Ugh. Grumble, grumble, grumble...
Don't get me wrong, I'm quite pleased with my progress this year, I'm just not at ALL pleased with my fairweather updates. So many books are missing start and end dates, reviews are going to be very half-assed, I misnumbered books, and I made the horrible mistake of going back and re-reading this thread...so. many. spelling errors! There were instances where I cannot figure out what the hell I was trying to say.

>87 benuathanasia: lol it happens ;) at least you have good reading progress! That's the real goal ;D