50 book challenge 2019 @50booksin2019 - Tumblr Blog

2018 Book #50 (!!!): The Walking Dead vol. 30: New World Order by Robert Kirkman

Zombies appear on like 2 pages in this book. total. -_- I don't trust the new governor, but I guess that's the point. The way their community is set up is a little bonkers. People come in and say what they did before the apocalypse and that determines their social standing in the Commonwealth. So if you say you were a mechanic, you're put in the lower class and given a crummy apartment and a manual labor job. If you say you were a lawyer (like Michonne), they give you one of the fanciest houses there. Thing is, what's stopping someone from lying? "Yeah, I was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Give me ALL the things!" Also, it makes me super suspicious that they're so excited to get a lawyer. What's going on in this community that they're so desperate for attorneys?

#the walking dead #new world order #2018 reading challenge #Robert Kirkman

2018 Book #49: Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

I love this series! This one was not quite as dark as the first three volumes, but everything else that I loved about the others is here in this one too. It picks up right where the last one left off but also jumps forward in time just the right amount. I'm really glad she's continuing this series. I hope to see more of Cormoran Strike.

#lethal white #cormoran strike #robert galbraith #jk rowling #2018 reading challenge #a book by a female author who uses a male pseudonym

2018 Book #48: Forbidden Fruit by Jasinda Wilder

Sometimes when you’re home sick you make bad decisions. Like to download terrible romance novels from the library and read them all in one sitting. The truth is, I was desperate for a book with a fruit or a vegetable in the title for my reading challenge and it was this or The Grapes of Wrath. In my weakened state, I picked the low hanging fruit (get it?).

This book was....not great. It was a good detour from some of the denser books I’ve been reading lately, but I can’t really recommend it.

#forbidden fruit #jasinda wilder #2018 reading challenge #a book with a fruit or vegetable in the title

2018 Book #47: You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

I burned through these short stories while I was home sick this week. The stories weren’t tied together at all, but the central theme seems to be that people are really awful. There’s nothing too shocking here, and a lot of it is really relatable, but still, these people are kind of the worst.

I enjoyed all the stories, but even immediately after reading the book, I’m struggling to remember much about them.

#you think it i'll say it #curtis sittenfeld #2018 reading challenge #a book from a celebrity book club

2018 Book #46: Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King

A terrifying concept with some really horrifying imagery. Like any Stephen King novel, it goes on and on and on and on. Every time I read a Stephen King book, i think he needs to find himself a good editor. Unfortunately, Owen seems to be adding to the problem rather than helping.

I thought it was a little anti-climactic at the end. Felt a little like they came up with the premise and started writing without having any idea where it was going to end up.

But it did scare the crap out of me a few times. And it definitely made me hate men. a lot.

#sleeping beauties #stephen king #owen king #2018 reading challenge #a book by two authors

2018 Book #45: Canada by Mike Myers

Loved it! Read it to prepare for our Canadian vacation and I’m so glad I did. Myers does an amazing job of explaining Canadian history and culture to Americans (and it’s pretty obvious that Americans are his target audience). I had expected the book to be more specific to Myers’ personal history, and that was a big part of it, but he really does a good job of balancing his own experiences with more universal Canadian ones.

It was laugh out loud funny and jammed full of Canadian facts. Definitely recommend to anyone who’s visiting America’s hat ;)

#Canada #Mike Myers #2018 reading challenge #a book set in a country that fascinates you

2018 Book #44: The Trial by Franz Kafka

Halfway through this, I realized that I'd read it before. It was on a list of recommended reads that my law school sent out before I began my first year of study. I don't remember how I felt about it the first time around, but this time I really enjoyed it. If you can 'enjoy' something that seriously stresses you out. The whole novel reads like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Our hero, K is charged with a crime. He is not allowed to know what his crime is or how his trial will proceed. In this justice system, guilt is presumed and virtually no one is ever found innocent. The judges read porn instead of law books. An artist may possibly be K's only hope to sway the judges. Trials can last a lifetime. It's a true legal dystopia and frankly the whole story may just be a scathing satire on the justice system and its many flaws.

#the trial #franz kafka #2018 reading challenge #a book by an author of a different ethnicity than you

2018 Book #43: The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

A family saga about a large African-American family spanning the last almost 80 years in urban Detroit. I found it much more relatable that I had originally thought I would. Especially the part where the whole family accepts some ridiculous bit of folklore as truth - even the completely reasonable and highly educated members of the family :) (If I had a dime for every time my mother or my aunt told me that I had reached out to them with ESP...)

The Turner family is a wild mix of good characters and bad characters and not all of them are likable. But all of the stories held my interest.

Worth the read, and I’m glad my reading challenge had a category for an author that shares my name or I would never have given it a shot.

#the turner house #angela flournoy #2018 reading challenge #a book by an author with the same first or last name as you

2018 book #42: The Fourth Hand by John Irving

This is probably the worst case of a bad cover I’ve ever seen on a book. Everything on this cover from the title’s font to the photo screams “Amish romance novel”:

But if there is such a thing as the opposite of an Amish Romance novel, then The Fourth Hand is it.

I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve ever read a book and the gender of the author has been glaringly obvious from the first page. This book is pure dude.

But I have to say, John Irving and I must have the same sense of humor, because there were so many times that this book had me laughing out loud. Sarcasm and satire abound.

And the story line felt very original - and even very current, which was surprising given that the book is over 17 years old now. Patrick Wallingford is a TV reporter that has his hand bitten off by a circus lion during a live broadcast that is viewed by millions. The book follows the aftermath of his fame and the multiple (yes multiple) attempts to give him a new transplanted hand.

Totally worth the read and I would definitely recommend to anyone with a twisted sense of humor.

#the fourth hand #john irving #2018 reading challenge #a bestseller from the year you graduated high school

2018 Book #41: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

I have mixed feelings about this one. Ultimately, I really enjoyed it, but I think that was mostly because I love this time period and Hentry VIII’s story specifically. BUT I think I enjoyed it in spite of a lot of things - especially some of the more serious liberties Gregory takes with history. And Mary Boleyn here is just so unlikable - one-dimensional, frustrating, and more than a little stupid. And as unlikable as Mary is, Anne is painted as even worse.

As far as Henry VIII fiction goes, I probably prefer The Tudors TV show to Gregory’s works, but they are still an entertaining escape to that era.

#the other boleyn girl #philippa gregory #2018 reading challenge #a novel based on a real person

2018 Book #40: Moonraker by Ian Fleming

fun. James-Bond-y. Not much like the movie.

#2018 reading challenge #moonraker #ian fleming #a book made into a movie you've already seen

2018 Book #39: Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule

Suuuper interesting. Suuuuper dark.

More detail about the victims than I was expecting. Especially about their lives before they were ever GRK targets.

Enjoyed the 2nd half a lot - when they finally started to figure out who the GRK was and of course after they started interviewing him.

#2018 reading challenge #green river running red #ann rule #a book with your favorite color in the title

2018 Book #38: Rushing to Die by Lindsay Emory

Went to an alumnae pre-recruitment event at my sorority yesterday, so I was really immersed in the world of sorority rush. This series continues to grab my attention. But like with the first volume, the key may be that I fit squarely in Lindsay’s target audience: sorority alumna who actively works with her collegiate chapter and also has a tolerance for cozy mysteries and a strong sense of irony.

I wish I could say Lindsay is definitely going to continue the series, but she seems to be pretty focused on her new royalty series currently - which I’m sure has a wider appeal. But I’m determined to help the sorority mysteries find their audience! Aging sorority girls - read this series!

#sorority sisters mystery #lindsay emory #rushing to die #2018 reading challenge #a book by a local author

2018 Book #38: God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright

So I needed a book for my reading challenge that was tied to my ancestry. On my mother’s side, I have to go back 4 generations to get out of Texas. That counts as ancestry, right?

This was a fast, fun, and often funny read. Wright’s book Going Clear is one of my all-time favorite books, and when I saw he had written one on Texas, I was a little nervous that it was going to be a scathing expose of the state by an outsider. But Wright is actually a Texan!

I didn’t always agree with Wright’s politics, but politics are not the main focus of his book. And when he does focus on them, he does so in such a reasonable way that it was still enjoyable to read. My main complaint is that Wright equates conservative Texas with Trump’s politics and blames conservative Texas for his election. Wright seems to have forgotten that Trump did not win the Republican primary in Texas. Republican Texas voted against Trump in droves in the primaries. I know people who would normally have skipped the primaries altogether, but specifically turned out so that they could vote for anyone other than Trump. Texas isn’t the reason Trump is in the White House. But I’m almost focusing on this more than Wright did.

Wright gives concise and fascinating looks at important events in Texas history and offers insight into their effects on Texas today. He focuses chapters on most of our major cities - Dallas, Austin, Houston, etc. I wish there had been a chapter on Fort Worth, but I can forgive that. A small portion of the book is autobiographical - there’s one chapter at the end in particular that had an extremely narrow focus on Wright’s personal history and took a weird turn to include some intimate information about his marriage. This chapter felt a little out of place in the rest of the book.

But overall, the book seems to be written for Texans. I’d be curious to hear what a non-Texan thought of it.

#god save texas #Lawrence Wright #2018 reading challenge #a book tied to your ancestry

2018 Book #36: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

I need to know how androids have become so life-like that the only way to distinguish them from humans is to do a bone marrow test. Which implies that androids have bone marrow. What? And they can eat and drink? How?

These questions are really the only reason I can’t say I loved this book. I mean I REALLY liked it. But I struggled to wrap my head around the science and the fact that Philip K. Dick just avoided it altogether feels almost....lazy. Missed opportunity.

But other than that, this was a great read. It felt very fresh and original despite its age. And I was pretty engrossed in the storyline. Definitely recommend to sci fi fans.

#do androids dream of electric sheep #philip k. dick #blade runner #2018 reading challenge #a cyberpunk book

2018 Book #35: Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

More racist than I was expecting. I mean I was expecting rampant sexism because.....well because it's James Bond, but the race stuff caught me a little off guard. Seriously like every third word would be considered a racial slur in today's society. And stereotypes are James Bond's bread and butter, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that virtually every character was a stereotype. The adventure was exciting and surprisingly featured a lot of sharks which tied right into my shark week hangover. I thought it was pretty funny how harsh Fleming was on Americans and American culture. He criticized everything from our food to our clothes to our beaches. I mean he wasn't always wrong. Especially considering that we weren't exactly at our best in the 50's, but it was a pretty prevalent theme.

#live and let die #james bond #ian fleming #2018 reading challenge #a book with song lyrics in the title

2018 Book #34: The Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey

Suuuuuper interesting. Though almost more about the Farallon Islands than it was about sharks. The first half was completely riveting. I loved experiencing the Farallons through a newcomer's eyes and learning more about the history, both shark and human, at the islands. The second half was still good, but focused more on the humans and a boat and less on the sharks and the islands. And Casey's mistakes pile up pretty high in on her second trip to the Farallons and she does more harm than good to the islands and shark research. She should have left well enough alone after one once-in-a-lifetime trip instead of forcing a second to happen. But instead she got arrogant and bit off more than she can chew. But hating the author didn't really make me hate the book. I really enjoyed the read and would totally recommend it to shark fans.

#the devil's teeth #susan casey #2018 reading challenge #a book set at sea

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