2015 Reading Challenge: Week 8

Lots of reading this week thanks to several insomnia-laden nights!  I finished The Greyfriar. This was my "book with nonhuman characters" read, and it was a kind of mashup of Steampunk and vampires. I didn't like this one as much as I thought I would.  It was really S.L.O.W. at the beginning and took me about half-plus of the book to get engaged with this.  There was also a (to me anyway) confusing section about two-thirds of the way in where there is a Big Reveal of Secrets, and switched up identities, and I wound up reading sections two and three times to try to figure out which character was actually talking.  A bummer, since I really wanted to enjoy this as a fun romp.  There are more in the series.... maybe they improve.

I also started and finished Bossypants by Tina Fey.  Fun, lite reading.  If you enjoy her and her humor, you'll probably enjoy this book.  It's a digest biography, with anecdotal tidbits about growing up, her time in improv and on SNL, and eventually 30 Rock, and of course, her version of Sarah Palin for SNL during the presidential race.  Nothing earth-shattering here.  It'd be a good vacation book for some entertainment.  (And for the record, I did find it a funny book.  I do enjoy her type of humor, so it wasn't a reach for me to be entertained by it.)

And finally, Fever 1793.  I didn't realize when I queued this book up that it was a Young Adult fiction book.  But that's okay, because it was a good read no matter what audience.  (Yes, it would have been even better for me expanded into an adult-length book, but again... well-written is well-written.)  Set in Philadelphia during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, this gives a great overview of the history of the time period, seen through the eyes of 14-year-old Mattie, who lives through the fever.  The storyline is interesting, the characters are nicely developed for the length of the book, and the author does a stellar job giving a glimpse into the time period as well.  She also finishes the book up with a great Q&A informational section about historical figures, the city of Philadelphia at the time, medicine and disease.  This would be a great book for homeschoolers working on an early American History module.

Next up, is Seance' in Sepia - which is technically the week-10 book, but I'll have to go back and pick up week 4's when it is available, so I'm getting a little bit ahead.

WEEKS & TOPICS

1. a book with more than 500 pages: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. FINISHED.

2. a romance: Katherine by Anya Seton. FINISHED

3. a book that became a movie: The Hours by Michael Cunningham. FINISHED.

4. a book published this year: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck.

5. a book with a number in the title:  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. FINISHED.

6. a book written by someone under 30: Eragon by Christopher Paolini. FINISHED.

7. a book with nonhuman characters:  The Greyfriar by Susan Griffith.  FINISHED.

8. a funny book: Bossypants by Tina Fey.  FINISHED.

9. a book by a female author: Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson.  FINISHED.

10. a mystery or thriller:  Séance in Sepia by Michelle Black.

11. a book with a one-word title:  Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman.

12. a book of short stories:  Snow White, Blood Red anthology.

13. a book set in a different country: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak.

14. a nonfiction book:  The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling.

15. a popular author's first book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet: Forests of the Heart by Charles deLint.  FINISHED.

17. a book a friend recommended: Botelo by Alyson Hagy.

18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book: Andersonville by MacKinley Kantor.

19. a book based on a true story: The Wild Princess by Mary Hart Perry.

20. a book at the bottom of your to read list: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson.

21. a book your mom or dad loves: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

22. a book that scares you: The Blackhouse by Peter May.

23. a book more than 100 years old: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.

24. a book based entirely on its cover: Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliot.

25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

26. a memoir:  Two Rings by Millie Werber and Eve Keller

27. a book you can finish in a day

28. a book with antonyms in the title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit: Iceland by Betsy Tobin.

30. a book that came out the year you were born: Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser.

31. a book with bad reviews: Moon People?

32. a trilogy (the first):  Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clarke.

33. a trilogy (the second) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clarke.

34. a trilogy (the third)  Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clarke.

35. a book from your childhood: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell.  FINISHED.

36. a book with a love triangle: Muse by Mary Novak.

37. a book set in the future

38. a book set in high school: The Small Rain by Madeline L’Engle.

39. a book with a color in the title:  A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones.

40. a book that made/makes you cry

41. a book with magic: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price.

42. a graphic novel

43. a book by an author you've never read before:  My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

44. a book you own but have never read: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro.

45. a book that takes place in your hometown: Magic America by C.E. Medford.

46. a book that was originally written in another language: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday): A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.

48. a book written by an author with your same initials: Silver Lies by Ann Parker.

49. a play

50. a banned book: Beloved by Toni Morrison.

51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show: Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs.

52. a book you started but never finished:  The Heresy of Dr. Dee by Phil Rickman.