#17... Here we go!

Thanks to all those crumb grubber kids I spend time with (nannying, elementary school, high school, oh my), I caught my second cold in about a six week span. It pretty much royally sucked, but I was able to spend so much time with the face of my childhood.

Oh hey, childhood. Good to see you!

I've read this amazing series about six times now and I really do get more out of it every time. The experience is much different now than it was when I was eight. I just can't wait to read the books to my future kids someday. Brilliant stuff I tell you.

And I really don't know what else to say about it. Five stars, OBVIOUSLY.

#16... Slowly but surely...

Oh hello, blog. Have we met? It's been so long, I can't remember.

As I finally pass the halfway mark of my challenge, my only accomplishment is that the gap between books is getting shorter. Two months to a little over a month.... Yay?

I finally got around to reading another classic:

It took me FOREVER to get through it, mostly because I'm so ridiculously busy. But also: even though it is hilariously written, the plot isn't incredibly exciting. That's not to say it was bad. There were a lot of times when I reacted to certain lines with genuine laughter. Holden definitely has a way with words and he's just funny.

I will say that I kept waiting for some sudden twist of events that forced me to continue reading and kept me away from my schoolwork. But alas, I never really got that. I kind of liked the ending, though. It wasn't terribly exciting, but I liked the reality of it. The fact that he really wanted to do something fun and wild and crazy, but that's not how real life works. Of course, fun and wild and crazy is what makes many books great, but it was sort of refreshing to read otherwise. Maybe it's just me, but I digress.

I give it a solid three stars.

My next book is part of a series that I read almost every year around Christmastime. Ah, traditions. :) Until then!

#15! ... Two months later...

Okay, so I will spend only limited time defending myself. And, by "limited," I mean I'm only going to use one word:

College.

Yeah.

So instead I will classify my completion of book #15 as basically an amazing accomplishment, all while successfully learning a new job, applying to grad schools, and ACING MY FIRST TWO EXAMS OF THE SEMESTER, BOOM. Yes, kind sir (or madam), I am patting myself on the back. But who couldn't use some praise once in awhile? (Also, let's ignore the fact that the idea of reading 50 books this year is now reaching absolutely ridiculous proportions.)

Anyway, since I've been leaving you hanging, this was the most recent book choice:

It's caught my eye ever since it first came out and I saw it at bookstores. I didn't really know what it was about, but the SLP student in me suspected some kind of connection to the field.

What finally got me to borrow it from the library (yes, I am a dinosaur and do not yet own what you call an e-reader) was my professor's use of the first chapter audio in class. It was about the author's first trip to a speech pathologist and it was freaking hilarious! Now, the remainder of the book had nothing to do with speech pathology and it wasn't nearly as funny, but, ehhhh, it was alright. I'd give it 3 stars, I guess.

Also. I've definitely reached my (ORIGINAL, WOO) nonfiction goal this year. At least I'm not a major f-up on my goals!

Also, also. Don't be surprised if there's another two-month wait before book #16. Senior year's a bitch.

Also, also, also (last one, I promise). This would be a great piece for one of my high school speech kids! So book #15 had double purpose. Score.

Major Suckage

Well. I'm still just under halfway done with the (new goal) challenge. Which means I'm still behind. :( And I don't see any chance of catching up anytime in August.

I was doing so well and read FIVE in July (go me!). But then I went on vacation with my family. One would think that being on vacation would mean tons of time for reading, but alas, it was like GO GO GO. Super fun and amazing, but BUSY (we went on a "harbor town tour" along Lakes Superior and Michigan in case you care).

And then... I put in my two-week notice at work to switch to a seasonal employee and be done once school starts. So they decided to schedule me 47923075029384023 hours to take advantage of me. Bitches. I haven't even been able to see my friends.

Now. I'm almost done with my summer job and I'm starting my school year debate and nanny jobs and ALSO studying for the GRE. OMGZ. Oh, woe is me. Why must general life responsibilities get in the way of my recreational reading!? Cruel cruel world we live in.

So, as much as I regret to say it, bye-bye until who knows when. Maybe I will get another book read between the start of September and after labor day when school starts.... Only time will tell!

Wish me luck...

#14: Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

I'm getting as much reading in as I can before school starts because we all know school is a freaking time sucker. Boo. So my goal is to be decently past halfway by the time school starts. Looks like I'm on track!

I've owned a copy of this one for over a year now. When I was taking a Literature class at my old University, we had a book review assignment in which we basically recommended one of our favorite books to the class. One of my classmates quite passionately recommended this one. I'd heard about it before of course, but the way he described the book was very intriguing. So last summer I got it on sale and intended to read it eventually.

It was excellent. My only regret is that I hadn't experienced the brilliance sooner! There were so many deep societal and personal themes interlaced beautifully. It was about the pursuit of happiness, legacy, tradition, simplicity, societal impact, passion, with a touch a love and friendship. And so much more. It was a quick read, but it was compelling to me in a way different from how most books are compelling to me.

I chose to make this book number 14 in memory of Ray Bradbury who recently passed away at 91 years old. Bravo, Mr. Bradbury. Great work! Glad I finally decided to pick it up and stick with it!

<Update: Today I read all the extras (the Afterword, Coda, and "Conversation with Ray Bradbury" that came with the 50th anniversary edition). Let me just add that I think I love this book even more after these extras brought to my attention all the sickening similarities between Bradbury's prediction of the future and our current society. Powerful stuff. It's more than just about books. Makes you think...>

#13: Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang - Chelsea Handler

You really can't go wrong with Chelsea Handler. Love her!

Let me just say: it's dangerous working in a bookstore with thousands of books and your discount card staring you directly in the face.

Yep. Bought this one in the awesome used book section of the store. So at least, after my discount, it only cost me around $3-4. Major win in my "book" (pun intended).

Basically, I loved it.

I was that @$$ clown sitting in the middle of a damn car repair shop laughing my patootie off while the other customers looked at me and wondered if I had broken out of a mental institution. (Similar instances occurred at Target, my little brother's baseball game, and the bar... JK about that last one, you gullible fools.)

It was nothing deep, but it was a perfect light summer read that kept me in good spirits. Yay!

Now for #14!

#12: The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve

I'm on a roll! Hoping by the time school starts I will be all caught up and ready to kick this challenge in the @$$! :) (Well sort of. Because we should ignore the fact that the title of this blog is nowhere near the amount of books I will actually have read in 2012. Okay? Okay. Yay for new, realistic goals).

The twelfth book of my challenge... um.... sucked.

Let's be honest, I was at my mom and dad's when I needed a new book to read. I grabbed it, asked my mom if it was any good (to which she replied, "You know, I don't even remember if I've read it..."), so I said "What the hell?" and cracked it open.

Let me just explain that no matter how badly a book starts, I generally power through it until the end. I've read dozens of books with horrible or slow beginnings that get amazing eventually. I don't like to "give up" on a book, so to speak.

Needless to say, this one did NOT get amazing. Far from it. I didn't hate it, no. But there are so many hundreds of books out there that are so much better (many of which I have read), so I rate it pretty low.

First of all, the writing style is exhausting. It's good to set the scene, don't get me wrong. But do we REALLY need to know that there is a dog in the distance taking a poo and to also know the precise color of the said poo?! (Okay, that was an exaggeration but not by much!) 

As for the story line. 95% of it was so predictable it was painful. Which, in and of itself, isn't always necessarily a bad thing, but I was already annoyed about the writing style and the characters were dumb. It was like a bad Nicholas Sparks book... but worse. 

I gave it only ONE star on Goodreads. So this Anita Shreve chick.... Wherever you are, don't quit your day job.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some! And the next book on my list is SURE to be a WIN. Stay tuned!