Reading Challenge: November 8, 2017

I finished Stronger than Magic this week for #52 for a book set in a fictional location. (It's sort of a fictional location.  Philadelphia and Hawaii are mentioned in it, although neither of the places in the book with those names bear much resemblance to their actual locations beyond cheesesteaks and island beaches.)  I gave this 3 out of 5 stars.  It was just okay.  I really liked the premise of the story, but I had a hard time getting attached to the heroine of the book.  There was a lot of whining and I get it - she grows up as the book goes on, but I think she was a little too stereotypically whiny angst-ridden teenager.  The story line itself was a bit predictable.  Not a great read -  I was just sort of meh about this one. 

I also read Tower of Thorns by Juliet Mariller this week for topic #44 using a recommendation website on what I should read next. I should state up front that this book is #2 in a series, and I haven't read the first one.  Despite that, the main characters, Grim and Blackthorn, were so well developed, I had no trouble getting right into the story.  (Although I'm also now intrigued enough by their back story to likely pick up book #1 at some point).  This is sort of a retelling of a fairy tale, although I suppose it's really more like a new fairy tale told in a traditional style.  All the things you would expect - a wicked curse, the little people, a quest, herbs and brews, and lots of hidden meanings in everyday things.  The main character, Blackthorn, is a healer and is asked to try to rid a local tower (surrounded by a briar hedge) of their local monster who spends the summer days howling.  She and her faithful companion, Grim, set off to see what they can discover to help rid the local landowner, a lovely younger woman, of this menace.  The lady tells them only bits and pieces of what Blackthorn and Grim find out is the real story.  I won't say it exactly ends happily, but in the end, the monster is vanquished and the curse is broken.  I'm becoming a big fan of Mariller's writing style and stories which seem to seamlessly bridge the gap between a historical fiction and fantasy for me. Likely will put more of hers on the to-read list for the upcoming year. 

I just downloaded, but haven't started The 19th Wife by David Eberhoff, for week 47, a book you saw a stranger reading.  This book actually hit my radar when we were flying back to visit friends in Utah for their wedding several years ago.  (We lived in Utah for 4 years before moving here.)  I've always been a bit curious about Ann Eliza Young, who was the 19th wife of Brigham Young, and who divorced him (and, FWIW, went on to become a local businesswoman, which definitely was NOTHING like the norm for her culture and time).  This one seemed like an interesting read, so here it is on the list.  That'll be my reading choice for this week, and will report back next week on it.  

Holding out hope I will be able to get perhaps an exta week ahead and can still possibly finish the "really long book" before the end of the year!

Currently standing at 45/52 books read with 7 left to go!


The 2017 List
1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016: The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel.
2. A book with at least 2 perspectives (multiple points of view): Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce.
3. A book you meant to read in 2016: A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott.
4. A title that doesn't contain the letter "E":  Longbourn by Jo Baker.
5. A historical fiction: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe.
6. A book being released as a movie in 2017:  Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout. 
7. A book with an animal on the cover or in the title: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht.
8. A book written by a person of color: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
9. A book in the middle of your To Be Read list: Speaks the Night Bird by Robert McCammon
10. A dual-timeline novel: The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor.
11. A category from another challenge: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier.
12. A book based on a myth:  Summerlong by Peter Beagle.
13. A book recommended by one of your favorite authors: The Lodestar of Ys by Amy Durreson.
14. A book with a strong female character: The Ornatrix by Kate Howard.
15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland): A Death in Sweden by Kevin Wignall. 
16. A mystery: By Book or by Crook by Eva Gates.
17. A book with illustrations:  Prairie Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
18. A really long book (600+ pages): The Time Traveler's Almanac, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer.
19. A New York Times best-seller: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading: Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor.
21. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read: A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor.
22. A book by an author you haven't read before:  The Secrets of Wishtide, by Kate Saunders.

23. A book from the BBC "The Big Read" list (link) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
24. A book written by at least two authors: Jane Austen's England by Roy and Lesley Adams.
25. A book about a famous historical figure: The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
26. An adventure book:  The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.
27. A book by one of your favorite authors: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain 
28. A non-fiction: The Lost World of the Old Ones by David Roberts.
29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster; HarperCollins; Penguin Random House; Hachette Livre) - check all the editions.  Wool by Hugh Howey.
30. A book from Goodreads Top 100 YA Books (link): The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.
31. A book from a sub-genre of your favorite genre: Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster.
32. A book with a long title (5+ words, excluding subtitle):  I Shall Be Near to You by Erin McCabe.
33. A magical realism novel: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
34. A book set in or by an author from the Southern Hemisphere: The Bone People by Keri Hulme.
35. A book where one of the main characters is royalty: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor.
36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee (link): The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Kowal.
37. A book you choose randomly: A Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell.
38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature: Lady MacBeth by Susan Fraser King.
39. An epistolary fiction: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
40. A book published in 2017: A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang.
41. A book with an unreliable narrator: His Bloody Project by Graeme McRae Burnet.
42. A best book of the 21st century (so far): The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
43. A book with a chilling atmosphere (scary, unsettling, cold):  Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase.
44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next" (link): Tower of Thorns by Juliet Marillier.
45. A book with a one-word title: Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
46. A time travel novel:  Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon.
47. A past suggestion that didn't win (link) - A book you saw a stranger reading: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff.
48. A banned book: So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins.
49. A book from someone else's bookshelf: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguru.
50. A Penguin Modern Classic - any edition: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
51. A collection (e.g. essays, short stories, poetry, plays) : Beyond the Woods; Fairy Tales Retold by Paula Guran.
52. A book set in a fictional location: Stronger than Magic by Melinda VanLone.