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I finished 3 books last week, but 2 were easy YA books.

Hero by Mike Lupica - I know it's a kid's book and is supposed to be simple but this one was TOO simple. There was virtually no explanation as to why the kid or his father had superpowers, it felt like the author was just throwing abilities out there whenever it was convenient to give the kid more. Even though it was a kid's book, it definitely needed more depth or needs a sequel to go into further depth. I picked it up on a whim while at the library and read it in about 2 hours. I like superhero stories so that's why I decided to take it but it didn't do a whole lot for me.

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger - I really liked this one. There was a lot of sex in it for being a teen book but I guess it makes sense. The main character is a bitter, sarcastic type of girl, which I love. High school setting, the hot guy talks to her when she's at a restaurant with her friends and says he's doing it because she's the DUFF and increases his chance of getting with her hot friends. She of course hates him but over time ends up falling for him. She has a chance with the nice guy she's had a crush on for years but when they give it a go, she realizes they just don't mesh and she is meant to be with the "asshole" jock guy and he fell for her as well. It's of course a cliche storyline and predictable but it's a lot of fun, and there is a lot of great biting wit kind of humour in it. The author has written a few others I might check out. I was interested to find out that the author of The DUFF was a 19-year-old girl. It makes me frustrated because if she can do it at 19, why haven't I done it yet by 30.

Both of those were easy simple books, read them both in one day.

I then also read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book, definitely my favorite of the year so far. This seems to be a very polarizing book though, either you love it or absolutely hate it or were not impressed with it, there doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground reviews. I thought it was a great fun adventure story set in the not-to-distant future that felt very real and quite plausible given the state of the earth's problems and our rapid progression of technology. It's 2044 and the world's gone to shit, and most of the humans spend their time jacked into OASIS, a fully immersive Virtual Reality game world. When the creator of OASIS dies, he announces a contest to inherit his fortune and control of the company. He has hidden 3 puzzles inside OASIS that the user has to find and solve, the first to do it wins. When an 18-year-old kid finds the first one after 5 years, all hell breaks loose. There is a giant corporation that cheats, steals and will even resort to murder just to win the contest, the kid is racing against them to finish it first. The creator was obsessed with the 80s and vintage pop culture, as that was when he was a kid and was his happiest time. So this OASIS world and these puzzles are filled with all kinds of references to old video games, movies, tv shows, food, and music. I loved this aspect of it because I am the right age to have been a kid in the 80s, so I remember most of the stuff in the book. Anyway, I highly recommend this one, but be warned that apparently not everyone likes it and thinks it's poorly written or patronizing.

This week I am reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, of course, in time for the movie like everyone else driving the resurgence of popularity on this one. It shouldn't take too long, it's pretty short and easy to read.

I was considering giving The Book Thief a go but I'm thinking of scrapping that. I still have so many other books on the waiting list that I need to get to, that one not being one of them. I will see how I am feeling after 'Perks'.

Hi! Welcome to the challenge! The more I read, the more books just seem to fall in my lap. As I read reviews, I do keep a list of books that sound interesting to me. However, I rarely read what I originally "planned" to read. I'm reading almost exclusively on my Kindle right now, and I'm trying to read almost everything for free. Most of my book choices are based on what's available at the library.

Don't feel like you HAVE to be bogged down in a genre, but if you want to try out some sci-fi and fantasy, there are some great books out there.

Good Omens might be a great start for fantasy. It's written as a collaboration between two of my favorite fantasy authors (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman). It's a LOT of fun. It's also a good choice because it's a stand-alone book. It's not part of a long, complicated series. That way, you can get your feet wet without feeling obligated to read tons of books.

Neil Gaiman also wrote Stardust, American Gods, Neverwhere and lots of other great books in Fantasy. He's a wonderful storyteller.

Terry Pratchett wrote (and is still writing) a huge series of books called Discworld. They're very cleverly done, and they're a lot of fun. If that's a series you're interested in, there are guides that can give you an idea of where to start. Discworld Guide

Sci-Fi can be fun- they're doing a movie for Ender's Game soon. I enjoy the book even if I'm not a big fan of the author as a person.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is beloved by most Sci-Fi fans. Like Pratchett, it's more of a funny, witty approach to the genre.

You might even just want to try some of the Best of Sci-Fi short stories collections like this one here.

That's by no means a comprehensive list, but it's a good starting point.

Finished:

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King and was not impressed at all.
I was actually bored and didn't know if I could be bothered finished. (If it had been anyone other than Mr King, I wouldn't have bothered but as a 'constant reader' that usually loves his books, it was more a respect thing.) It seemed like a 'paint by numbers' of a detective story and the foreshadowing straight out of Dan Brown book.
I've heard good things about Finders Keepers though and I loved Revival and Joyland so I will try that one.


Crimes Against Magic and Born of Hatred by Steve McHugh Quite enjoyed these for a light, easy, trashy supernatural urban fantasy read. Like the spin of Greek gods combined with King Author mythology.

Currently reading:

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver Not the best. Not really drawing me in at all.

With Silent Screams the third in the series by Steve McHugh

I read a biography of Mozart this week. Very detailed biography, really narrows it down to where Mozart was and what he was doing on specific dates. The author did his research very well. My only complaint is that it was too detailed. The book did have substance to make me think about Mozart as a person, but I wish it delved more into a substantive thought process of who Mozart was, and how he shaped music today, just felt dry. Felt like it was more fact finding and reporting. However, to say the least I did learn a great deal about Mozart, his mannerisms, and his upbringing all the way until his mysterious death. It's interesting how nobody knows where he was buried.

I chose Mozart because I ABSOLUTELY love his musical compositions. I practically started playing the Piano because of him.

Anyway I would rate the book a 6.7/10. I'm sure there are better books out there in terms of substance, maybe even shorter. However, in terms of fact finding and following his life step by step, this author does a phenomenal job.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-A-Biography/dp/0226519619

How many books do you plan to read?

52! Right on the nose!

Have you completed the 52 Book Challenge before?

No. haha. This past year I've read 10 books. That's it. More internet bullcrap then reading. THat's going to change this next year!

What will be your first book of 2016?

[Acoustic Shadows by Patrick Kendrick] (http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Shadows-Patrick-Kendrick-ebook/dp/B00TO3RIM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451407500&sr=8-1) I have a problem with buying books and not reading them. I guess I bought this in October but I don't remember it. I'm going to try to clear out my not read list before buying anything new.

Anything else you want to ask or share!

I'm going to do four week themes! So far I have the first as thrillers! I have a list at home (i'm at work, naturally lol) Should make it more fun, me thinks.

Here's my goodreads profile though! I love new people :)

Can I throw a recommendation your way? If you're liking Artaud and Debord you might be interested in some of their German contemporaries who were working in theater and aesthetic/political theory- there's a cool collection called Aesthetics and Politics that includes key passages from Adorno, Benjamin, Brecht, and a couple others that I dipped into a few years ago and loved. You'd probably be interested in the play Ubu Roi too!

This is a good idea! They sell transparent ruler-type things (example) to be held over the page and moved downward as you read that can be really helpful for this, too. They're usually recommended for people with dyslexia or other eye/attention issues but are pretty awesome across the board (bonus - they make convenient bookmarks!).

Actually no, which I suppose is a good thing. A major reason why I've read so much this year is because I've really enjoyed all the books I've read and gotten my reading passion back, you know. I'm Norwegian and as you see some of the titles are Norwegian as well. You could try and find an English translation of them if you'd like to try something new ;)

Love by Hanne Østarvik https://www.amazon.com/Love-Hanne-Orstavik-ebook/dp/B0716W24Z4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hanne+%C3%B8rstavik&qid=1558381425&s=gateway&sr=8-1

A Norwegian classic: Fuglane by Tarjei Vesaas. https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Tarjei-Vesaas/dp/0914671200/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tarjei+vesaas&qid=1558381487&s=gateway&sr=8-1

When I search through Google, it gives me an amazon link that shows it available May, 2019. There are even used copies available. It adds "a love story" to the title. When I go to amazon and search it's showing October, 2019. No idea why. There's no "a love story" on it. But they look like the same book. I'm very confused.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankissstein-Love-Story-Jeanette-Winterson/dp/1787331407

Just an FYI for those that use Kindle and want to read LOTR... the whole trilogy is on sale on Amazon for 2.99 today. I just bought one. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-One-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B007978OY6/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=lord+of+the+rings&qid=1562456571&rnid=2941120011&s=books&smid=A1KUURLZXZKET0&sr=1-4