As I mentioned last week, I didn't read very many books in December...unless we're talking kids books, in which case I read about 1000 since I was home with the kids so much ;) I've gotten back into a few lately though! Linking up one day late with Show Us Your Books hosted by Jana Says and Life According to Steph.
Decked with Holly by Marni Bates (3 stars) - I saw this somewhere on Goodreads and decided to give it a chance for a little holiday quick read. It wasn't bad, but I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you are looking for a very fluffy holiday read.
Love Story by Erich Segal (3.5 stars) this was one of two books I chose that had the same title for the Semi Charmed Winter Book Challenge. This is a pretty famous novel from the 80's which includes the quote "love means never having to say you're sorry" (which I totally disagree with - lol). Overall, it was OK, but it was really short, and I wouldn't read it again. It's been made into a movie too which I haven't seen. Not a bad way to spend the time though.
Love Story by Jennifer Echols (3.5 stars)- I think I actually liked this one better than the more famous Love Story but it was still not a spectacular read. haha. I have been on a roll of not-so-great books lately. The storywriting in this book was interesting, and the characters were cute, so I did enjoy parts of it a lot. It made me want to visit Kentucky sometime too and ride some horses :)
Corpse Pose by Diana Killian (3.5 stars) Not too bad, and seemingly my only real adult fiction choice lately? haha. This book falls into the category of "cozy mysteries" maybe? It was interesting, and I liked the yoga studio side story, but don't rush out and get this one.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (4 stars) The strange thing I noticed while I was reading/listening to this book was that I was unsure whose side I was on. Usually, it's pretty crystal clear but I could see myself feeling for Artemis, especially with his parental situation, and feeling for the fairies as well. It was an easy and captivating read, and I appreciated the humorous writing and fast pace. Not sure if I'll get to the rest of the series anytime too soon, but still very glad that I gave this one a chance. I think it's a great read for teenagers or anyone who enjoys this level of reading. I've seen this one on a lot of "I like Harry Potter, what should I read next?" lists, and I can see why, although it's not really very similar.
Current Reads:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - I got through about 70% of this book before the e-library took it back from me - so I'm waiting for it for a few more weeks. What an incredible story so far, although very long!! I've heard that the audiobook is also amazing. I will post a rating when I finish it sometime this month.
Poser by Claire Dederer - I'm working my way through this one slowly but surely...it was one of my picks for the Semi Charmed Winter Book Challenge and I'm not sure if I will finish it in time (or at all - I struggle with nonfiction and this category in the challenge really was not my favourite!!) This book is a bit whiny, so I'm not 100% on board right now.
The Silkworm - by Robert Galbraith this one is for the Winter Book Challenge too and I'm just not in the mood to finish it...but I might try in a week or two...or I might not. We'll see how it goes, haha. I want to love these books by J.K. Rowling but this one isn't my favourite.
Dumplin' - by Julie Murphy Almost done this one & loving it. Great characters and great premise for a book.
Some thoughts on reading challenges:
Yes, I just signed up for another book challenge, but I absolutely loved the categories for it, and I found that I could slot a lot of well-loved or highly anticipated/well recommended books into the categories. As I mentioned last week, this year I am going to read the books I want to, and not adhere to specific challenge categories. I like the idea of book challenges for helping me organize my TBR list and add some variety to what I'm reading all at once, but if the categories are a bit too stringent or I can't find good books to fit into the categories, I am done worrying about that. I read 3-4 books that I didn't love in December due to the last challenge, and there are so many other great books out there that I really would rather focus my time on. Anyway...just a little memo and an "aha moment" to myself, haha.
Happy Wednesday & go check out everyone else's Show us Your Books posts from yesterday!!!
I don't do challenges because it will almost guarantee that I will not want to read those books at that time. I need to be free to pick whatever and read it whenever!
ReplyDeleteDumplin' is on my list.
I liked Love Story the movie better than the book...that is extremely rare.
Dumplin' was one of my 2015 favorites!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm doing one reading challenge because I like the host and the categories but those books are not the only ones I'm reading. I don't like to be restricted but a little focus is good sometimes, too.
ooh bummer I hate when the e-library takes it away!! I realized that if I put my ipad on airplane mode... it won't go anywhere. Thank goodness for that or our flights to and from Alaska would have been such a drag. I finished 2 books on those flights! :) I can't wait to read Dumplin' glad you are loving it! Finishing semi-charmed is not looking great... but it's still maybe possible! XO -Alexandra
ReplyDeleteSimply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
yes to everything you said about reading challenges. i like them, but if i find myself choosing a book based on the category (like i couldn't find one in my TBR) then I most likely won't read it, and i hate that. i've forced myself to read books before and i hated them, which isn't fair to the book. that's why when we did our challenge, we made the categories as vague / loose as possible. the second love story sounds interesting, especially seeing as i live in KY lol. artemis fowl sounds super interesting as well, i am intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI did a book challenge last fall and selected one book for each category. WRONG. This time around, I selected at least 2 books for each category, and I picked books from my TBR list, unless I didn't have books that didn't apply. I'm ok with finding books that aren't on my TBR list because I definitely need to stretch my horizons every now and then, but after the last challenge getting frustrated at myself for not wanting to finish a book because it sucked, but finishing it because, "for the challenge!" I knew I needed options this time around. Additionally, there's nothing about how I HAVE to finish a challenge (other than my own OCD) and that has definitely made me enjoy this challenge more. Reading should be fun, not a spiral to hell.
ReplyDeletei LOVED Dumplin!!!
ReplyDelete