Almost the End of the Year Wrap Up

For whatever reason, I still make reading goals and keep lists of the books I read. Why? Who is keeping track? I am.

This year I decided to go for pages read rather than books finished since I read books of all different sizes. I wasn't sure a good goal but guestimated 15,000 and I am *almost* on track. I would have to read 170 pages a day including today to make it. That's not impossible but not where I want to focus my energy right now.

I probably am actually a little closer but I read some really trashy books that I don't add to the list. Yes, you read that correctly. I keep a list of books I read for no reason and then don't list books I'm too embarrassed to mention.

I have another book sitting here that Hannah gave me and I would probably devour that, too. I can't decide if I should just read it or make myself read one of the books that's been sitting here awhile first.

38. The Martian

By Andy Weir (369 pp.)

If you give me a birthday present on June 1st and tell me not to open it until my birthday in December, I absolutely will set it aside and save it for my birthday. I start with that so you will believe me when I tell you that I never peek at the end of a book. Never. You have no idea how badly I wanted to peek at the last page of this book. But I didn't. Keep in mind that I'm a simpleton and if I'm enjoying my entertainment I don't try to figure it out. But this reminds me that I read a 1 star review of a romance novel and the person said: it was totally predictable. HA! That is the definition of a romance novel. That's why we like to read them.

Back to The Martian, this is the first time I devoured a book I for xmas this quickly since Pet Semetary in 1983. That book was so scary. The Martian is about a guy who is accidentally left behind on a mission to Mars. The book is pretty science-y. I got a little weary of it in spots. But mostly it's really fun to read. The protagonist is hilarious. A snooty hard science fiction fan would probably hate it but I recommend to everyone else.

37. The Runaway King

By Jennifer Nielsen (247 pp ebook)

This is the sequel to a book I read last year: The False Prince. I was a little disappointed. I still like the protagonist but the story had some implausible moments and dragged a wee bit in the middle. Not a bad book and I intend to finish the series.

36. Sunshine

By Robin McKinley (405 pp)

I liked this book a lot and it was something I was reluctant to put down but I wanted to love it and never quite got there. It's set in a Buffy type universe - a world that looks like ours but has demons and magic. The protagonist is wonderfully flawed and works as a baker in a busy cafe. She is kidnapped by vampires which sets off the events of the story. She develops an interesting relationship with one of the vampires - and these are dark, scary vampires. The problems I had were spots that got bogged down in the narrator's internal ramblings and there were some serious info dumps to plow through. But overall: recommend.

35. We Were Liars

By E. Lockhart (225 pp.)

This came highly recommended and unfortunately, didn't work for me. I don't think it's a terrible book, just not for me. It's YA. The narrative voice is sort-of dreamy and disjointed. It's about a young woman who has survived a tragedy she can't remember and she's dealing with a wealthy dysfunctional family that's in a huge squabble.

34. Falling Sky

By Rajan Khanna (254 pp)

Full disclosure: Raj is a friend and my name is in the acknowledgements.

But it's a great action-y book! Recommend.

The story takes place after a sickness that turns people into feral killing machines takes over the earth. People survive by living in the air. The hero, Ben, operates the airship Cherub. A lot of things happen to him. Run out and buy 2 copies so you have one to give to a friend.

33. Brief Encounters with Che Guevara

By Ben Fountain (229 pp)

This is the author who wrote Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk which I read last summer and LOVED. It's one of my first favorite books in a long time. I enjoyed these stories but story collections are harder. I always say they are uneven but that really just means I liked some stories more than others. For how many collections is that not true? I especially loved "Asian Tiger."

32. The Wise Man's Fear

By Patrick Rothfuss (1107 pp.)

I took 1800 pages on vacation and managed to read 1400 in two weeks and it took 3 weeks to finish the last 400 pages. These books hold up great second time through. The only bummer is I bet Book 3 won't be here for at least another couple of years.

31. The Name of the Wind

By Patrick Rothfuss (720 pp)

This is the second time I've read this. I wanted to wait until I knew book 3 was coming out but it seemed like the perfect vacation book and it was. I was always happy to get back to it when I was sitting on a train or sleepless at an odd hour. I only made it about 375 pp into Book 2 and I'm worried it will take me forever to finish when reading has to compete with all the other things in my non-vacation life. Original review here. Still highly recommend. Second reading greatly enhanced by Jo Walton's Re-Read.

30. The Night Circus

By Erin Morgenstern (387 pp)

I resisted reading this book for ages and I think it's because the cover reminded me of a Tim Burton movie I didn't like. Isn't that a terrible reason not to read a book? My sister gave me her copy and I finally read it and what do you know? I liked it a lot. I felt like it was more atmosphere and setting than story but it kept pulling me along so much that I dragged a hardcover book on the bus with me. It's about a mysterious circus and its players and a couple of magicians who are in a competition they don't understand. Recommend.

29. a land more kind than home

By Wiley Cash (306 pp)

This book did not work for me. It's set in a small town in North Carolina and while the setting descriptions are lovely and there are some suspenseful moments, I thought it was a cliched southern evil preacher story. The story is about a young boy and his brother who see something they aren't supposed to see which makes a bunch of terrible things happen. The entire story is just terrible things happening.

28. The Birthday Problem

By Caren Gussoff (216 pp)

How to describe the undescribable book? It's set in a future Seattle where nanobots used to improve health end up making people crazy. Civilized life falls apart. But that's just the backdrop Really it's about loosely connected characters trying to keep their act together while dealing with friends and family and loss and the world undone. It was a little more intense than I was expecting which is a total user error since Caren was in my Clarion West class so I'm familiar with her writing. Recommend.