#6: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Naturally, to complete number 6 of 30 (or 50, who knows anymore?), I moved on to the second book of the extremely popular teen trilogy:

I like that this book has sort of an activist and empowerment parallel. I also think that the character development definitely improves from book one. As in The Hunger Games, the writing style is much less than brilliant and nothing special. But I can't help but want to read more about this country and its citizens. However, I'm not getting enough details! Collins fails in an area where Rowling doesn't. When we read Harry Potter we know so much about their world-- the currency, the government, popular literature, etc etc. There's a lot we don't know about Panem. And that's where I think the trilogy is lacking.

I'm reaching an age (yikes!) in which popular teen series are far from the first novels I pick up. I think I will always be curious about those that have become a sensation of sorts, but I'm more interested in classic literature, realistic fiction, and even non-fiction. I grew up with Harry Potter (love) and I was in high school during Twilight, but it's clear how I would rank the three:

Harry Potter................... Hunger Games.................................................................................................................................... Twilight. (Yeah, not a fan of Twilight.)

Book #5: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

I finally gave in to the mainstream teen population and read The Hunger Games. If I had a dollar for every time someone said "YOU HAVE TO READ IT, OMGZ" I would be a rich lady!

It was good enough, but I think the hype built it up a little too much. Don't get me wrong, the story was compelling and I'll be reading the next books in the series, but it was no Harry Potter. :)

Here's to hoping I get the Kindle Fire I asked for for my birthday and I'll be able to get the next two soon!

Book #4: Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

I continued my challenge with a book I bought awhile ago (by recommendation of my mother) that I've been excited to read for months:

It was absolutely SPECTACULAR! I've read a lot of good books in my time, and there have been a lot of them I liked, but very few make it to my list of all-time favorites. This would be one of those rare occasions! I can honestly say that I don't remember the last book I read that was this good and that I literally couldn't put down. Seriously. Read it.

Besides the fact that it has such a compelling story (two stories actually that merge into one so seamlessly), the author does a brilliant job of connecting so passionately the past, present, and future. While we read about a present-day journalist living in France and working on a piece about an underrated aspect of World War II, we are also given powerful pieces of a story about a little girl and her family being taken to camps by the French police. And, well, I won't give it away, but by the end, the two stories are brought together so beautifully.

It's hard to remember parts of human history, especially when it involves horrible suffering, pain, and loss. But this novel profoundly demonstrates the importance of allowing even the most painful times to be a part of us, today and tomorrow.

Magnificent read!

Book #3: The King's Speech: how one man saved the British monarchy - Mark Logue & Peter Conradi

As I've said, I didn't go on to finish the "dragon tattoo" trilogy. Instead, I jumped into a genre that is truly neglected on my bookshelf. My goal is to read five non-fictions this year and I've now checked non-fiction #1 off my list!

First of all, I am one of the few people who have NOT seen the movie. I know, I know... "You're a speech pathology major, why the hell haven't you seen this movie?!" I've gotten that already. A lot. Just haven't gotten around to it. I've been dying to see it forever now. Just never did.

But not having seen the movie, I approached this book in a way that meant I had no knowledge of the details of the story. This was kind of refreshing. Within the non-fiction realm, I tend to gravitate toward books of things I already know, factual stories or information that I'm so interested in that I want to read about every detail. This time I just simply read about a story that I'd never known before.

And what a good story it was. Growing up, I had reservations and insecurities about speaking up in school or in public in general. Not because I had any sort of speech problem really (I had a minor lisp in early childhood, but that never persisted), but because I was just a really shy kid. In high school, by some strange twist of fate, I ended up on my school's speech team. I learned to get past my fears, I ended up being a captain, and I actually started to do quite well. Now I coach that same team. I've learned the power of voice and speech simply through practice. Much like the King. Until the day he died, the anxiety for him never fully went away, and it certainly hasn't for me either, but his story demonstrates the importance of will and confidence.

This book was definitely a change of pace from my usual compelling and heart-wrenching favorites. It was by no means any sort of thriller, but a story worth reading about. I will now be breaking out the King's Speech DVD I bought a while ago!

Book #2: The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson

Well, the day has finally come! Despite the start of the new semester and being in the throes of coaching my first speech season, I can now cross off my second book of the challenge. It feels so good to know that it is possible to find time for recreational reading during such a busy time in my life.

The second book on my 2012 list is a natural progression from book #1.

I have to say, it turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. This series is very technical (which is fine, since that is the very nature of the genre), but at times, there is an unnecessary amount of detail. While I will concede to the fact that the overall story of this sequel was slightly compelling, there is a good chunk of the middle that could be taken out.

The problem is that, eventually, reading this book got to the point where I was reading it quickly NOT because it was so good, but because I wanted to get through it faster, allowing me to move on to my next read. It started to seem like reading it was a chore, and it dragged on and on and... Well, you get the point. The 630 pages could have been more like 300.

However, I don't want to bash it completely. The end turned out to be yet another powerful stand against "men who hate women." But I will say, solving the mystery wasn't nearly as satisfying as it was in the first installment.

Nonetheless, I trudged through it because very rarely do I give up on a book. I enjoyed the overall picture (the beginning and the end), but I did not enjoy the middle. I give it a mere two stars. Boo.

Now to pick up the pace! According to my Goodreads.com profile, I am 3 books behind. Oops. But the good news is, I have almost 11 months remaining. Stay tuned for book #3 (and no, it is NOT going to be Stieg Larsson's third installment...)!

Book #1: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

I started off the new year with a book whose genre rarely makes it on my reading list.

If you live under a rock, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson is the first of a crime/thriller trilogy, and I have to say, it's been diligently fighting its way onto my bookshelf. My mom and grandma have both read it and have been continually recommending it to me. I started it sometime last summer and wasn't initially impressed, so I quickly moved on and picked up another book.

I'm glad I gave it another shot. Although I would still assert that it starts excruciatingly slow, I concede to the fact that a slow start was necessary for the sheer amount of background information required. The novel deals with an incredible amount of topics including, but not limited to, business fraud, women victims, family secrets, sexual sadism, and the list goes on. And yet, amazingly, the story never really seemed scattered or fragmented, but included all these themes seamlessly.

I have but one further criticism which regards the title. The original title was Men Who Hate Women, and is in my opinion, far more fitting than the new title. Though I can't deny that it's catchy, the old title feels much more representative of the book's main themes.

Overall, I would definitely recommend that my friends (who also picked up and soon put down this book in the past) give it another shot and stick with it. I will definitely be moving on to the subsequent installments of the trilogy-- stay tuned!

Happy New Year! / 2012 Book Challenge Commences!

Happy New Year from my friends and I to you!

Time to begin the impossible. Book #1 starts now. :)