What Was I Thinking? Bad Books (And Authors) I've read this year

On the opposite end of my top 10 books for the year, comes my "bottom list" for books I read this year. However, I don't have enough to warrant a list, which I guess it's good that I didn't waste much of my time reading mediocre books?

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James

Honestly, I wanted to see what the big fuss was all about. I never read the books before, nor viewed the movies, and I was too embarrassed to check it out of the library. I also didn't want to buy the book since I knew that it was fan fiction based off of Twilight, then the names were changed, and then completed to be a complete book, then a complete series.

When I got back into audiobooks through Overdrive, ( It's free! Don't be ripped off by using Audible!) the final installment of the movies (Fifty Shades Darker? Darkest? who knows what the title is) just came out in theaters. The audiobook was available and it's free, so I saved myself the embarrassment of checking it out of the library, and could listen to it whenever I felt like it.

Oh man. It might have read a tiny bit better if I had stuck with the book, where I could skip over lots of paragraphs if I needed too, but the audiobook was torture, and the poor woman who read did her best... but oh man. I'm bitter that E. L James makes more money than I do, and just keeps releasing books about the same things about the same characters.

Little House Living: The Make-Your-Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple and Self-Sufficient Life by Merissa A. Alink 

This was a big whoppin' dud. Even though I have respect for the author, who had a blog and wrote a book based off her blog, I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't relate to the subject at all, not to mention so much misinformation on skincare that makes my own skin crawl. No, raspberry and carrot oil (or whatever oil she mentions) should not be used in place of proper SPF. Lemon and Baking Soda shouldn't be put on your face. She advocates buying staple ingredients, and saving various containers, jars and other containers for her DIY all natural household, skincare and recipes. Whereas I do save containers and reuse them, unless I lived in the middle of nowhere or had a stark cut in my income, I wouldn't use any of these recipes.

Bill Bryson's Books, namely, In a Sunburned Country and A Walk in the Woods 

So, these books aren't "bad" per say. Bill Bryson is an very good writer and his books are comprehensive and explores the history as well as the culture of the places he travels too. However, he seems to writes without any self-awareness, and his befuddled, satirical way that he writes comes off as out of touch and almost as a stick in the mud. Instead of an exciting book about traveling and experiencing something new, you feel as if you are wading through murky water, waiting for the chance to get to land to dry off and be on familiar territory again.

He seemed to enjoy going to Australia in In a Sunburned Country, and though it took me some work to get into it, I overall didn't regret reading it. However, A Walk in the Woods made me roll my eyes over and over again, from his choice of walking partner (seriously, why would you go back out with him after he dumped half of his food and made one dangerous decision after another) to the way he sort of half-assed the thru-hike, only selecting to go at certain times, and then taking day walks for the rest of the time. Instead of reflecting on his own actions, and his partner's actions, it seemed to be more of, "hiking the Appalachian trail is really stupid" attitude instead of, "it's really hard!"

Down these Strange Streets edited by George R. R Martin and Gardner Dozois 

I didn't even finish this one. I think I wanted to check out spooky books for the Halloween season, and this looked spooky. I should have stuck with more Stephen King, because this was a compilation of authors writing urban fantasy. I like urban fantasy, and some of the short stories were entertaining... but I wasn't into it. I just don't think I'm into compilations.

What books did you read that were duds this year? How did they disappoint you? Where you surprised by any of them?

Top 10 Books I've Read in 2017

Here are my top 10 books of 2017!

10. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer 

This is a problematic start to the top 10, I know. When I read this book back in January, I loved it. It was funny and relate-able, and Amy went to Towson University, which I can rattle off many of my friends and family members that also went there. I didn't quite get the hate yet, about her, and just simply enjoyed her book.

I have not seen her movie Snatched, and I don't even think I ever seen the latest season of her show, Inside Amy Schumer. While I do appreciate that she's trying to become more political and use her fame to talk about issues like gun control and sexual harassment, it's like she's become every other progressive liberal in Hollywood, where they are content to preach their views to like minded individuals, but fail to offer real support for those who need it.

She also steals jokes, according to the internet. WOOF.

9. The Dead and Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

I read these books out of order, and though this is the second book in the series, it's the one I read last. There is one more book after this one, but after reading the reviews, I think I'm going to pass due to the fact that Pfeffer handles these themes in a problematic way.

The reason why the I put this book at number 9 is that it's still such a good post-apocalyptic YA novel, and I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic settings. It's completely different from the first novel, where it's set in New York City at the end of the world, and follows the children of a family, where the mother dies on the night the asteroid moved the moon and the father is in Puerto Rico and is never seen again. Alex and his two sisters struggle to survive in an urban environment, and they become closer as the book goes on.

8. Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I am a sucker for books that are "Harry Potter-esque." Kids that have powers that are hidden from the rest of the world and something evil is coming after them? DONE. The book has "sideshow" pictures, the same pictures that Jacob uses to find the home from his grandfather's stories. It's Gothic and vintage, and though there is a male protagonist, he's far from the "chosen one," and the other peculiar children band together to survive.

 I have not seen the movie adaptation, and though I shied away from watching it, it might be a possibility over the Christmas break.

7. The Passage by Justin Cronin

When Cronin is on, he is on! The first third of the book is compelling, and he sets up the world perfectly, allowing the audience to see the train wreck that is going to happen, and no one can stop it. However, the abrupt changes in setting is frustrating, and as soon as you become familiar with Wolfast, Amy and the other characters, they are gone, and you are propelled into the future, and the set up isn't as tight as it was the first time around.

It comes around full circle and the characters that you've invested in make another appearance, but if you aren't invested in what happened to them as I was, the book falls a bit flat. Again, I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic novels, so of course I will read the second book in the series.

6.  How to Win at Feminism: The Definitive Guide to Having it All -And then Some! by Reductress

This is a quintessential coffee book. It's colorful with short stories, poems and tidbits but tailored to the feminist perspective, where all you can do is roll your eyes and say it again with more sarcasm.  The book is fantastic. It's colorfully done, using many of their satirical news articles from the website as basis for their book. It's a beacon of light during an especially troubling time,with a much needed lens of being a woman.

It's a great coffee table book, and it's a great book to re-read when these troubling times get to you.

5. Red Rising by Pierce Brown 

 

This book checks most of my boxes: dystopian, science fiction, YA, book series. The world is creative, and Brown doesn't waste time slowly introducing you to the world that he created. He throws you in, first person narrative, and then effectively changes the setting one-fourth of the way through the book.

It's easy to follow, engaging, and you are invested in most of the characters, even if Darrow is the biggest Gary-Sue I have ever seen, and there seems to be a bit of a woman problem. I still don't buy that Darrow, a Red sentenced to be a miner and live his life without ever seeing sunlight, is able to pass as a Gold, the best of the best of the best in the Galaxy, and managed to win the games by the end of the book, but I almost didn't care as Brown drives you this world that is simplistic in it's design and engaging.

4. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

 

This was my first book that I listened to on Overdrive this year. I downloaded the app again when I was going to Greece to visit friends, but unfortunately my phone was stolen (pick pocketed right on the train!) so I was unable to listen to the rest of the book until I got back.

I'm conflicted about WW2 novels because there seems to be an constant influx of Historical Fiction set in WW2 with no end in sight. I get it, the "Great War" and many Americans love to romanticized the war where there was a "clear enemy." I was also conflicted by this book because it was set in France, where accounts of the French resistance is shady at best.

I really did enjoy this book. It didn't go where I thought it was going to go, and Hannah did a phenomenal job of what it means to really sacrifice for the greater good. No character was left untouched by the end of the novel, which is a requirement of war book, but one that many authors do not abide by.

 3. The Princess Bride by William Goldman 

I got this book at the Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio. It's a fantastic independent book store where there are 32 (I think?) rooms to peruse books, with everything from top sellers to more unique books that wouldn't typically be available in other books stores or libraries.

I enjoyed the movie immensely (how could you not?!) and the book, written after the movie based on the screen play, did not disappoint!. It was even more special because it reads like an adult recounting the days when he was younger about The Princess Bride, but this time he gets to actually look at the book, and realize that his father skipped over many of the (boring) parts!

Now I want to watch the movie again...

2. Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America

 

 I remembered when he made the news hitch hiking and was picked up by the band Here We Go Magic, and I remembered many people theorized that, finally, John Waters had lost his damn mind. He hadn't made a movie in a while, (I think the last one was Dirty Shame) and obviously he couldn't handle it, and started hitch hiking. 

It was for a book, that Josh got for a Christmas present a few years ago. John Waters actually signed it but Josh hadn't gotten around to read it. It's a shame John Waters can't make independent movies anymore (in the book he discusses why) because he's a local hero in his weirdness and putting Baltimore (Baltimore City, County and Maryland) on the map. 

The book is entertaining, weird, and everything you expect John Waters to be. Side note: when the Freddie Grey riots were happening, I was at Rocket to Venus in Hampden with a few friends and Josh, and John Waters sat in the booth behind us. In typical Baltimore fashion, no one said anything to him or looked his way. Baltimore is too cool for that celebrity shit, though Josh and I secretly freaked out for an hour. 

 1. Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

 

This is not a new book. Butler passed away in 2006, and therefore her books are finite, which is a shame. Her most famous book is Kindred which is currently is required reading for 9th graders in Baltimore County. 

This is the sequel to the book, Parable of the Sower. The setting is post-apocalyptic (do we sense a theme here?) but what makes these two books SO GOOD is that unlike other dystopian novels where there seems to be a catalyst that initiates the end of the world, the protagonist, Lauren, describes the world in such a manner that it feels like that it could definitely happen in our life time. 

The sequel follows Lauren Olamina on her journey to navigate a world where the President is a religious zealot and emboldened Christian Extremists to attack Lauren and her followers as well as stealing the children that lived on her farmstead.

Like many of Butler's books, her protagonists are usually female and black, and the rest of the cast are diverse and well rounded.  It's a harrowing read, and as the reader, you are unsure where the book will finish up. It ends positively (for the world) but has disastrous affects on Lauren's family.

I loved this book for several reasons, but the major reason why I loved this book that it so closely mirrored the state of our current political affairs, but there was a way out of it. The book gave me hope, that despite all the chaos going on around us now, that humanity will win, and we will become stronger because of it.

There are my top 10 books of this year!  Did any surprise you? What were your favorite books you've read this year?

A Year in Books

My heart was heavy when I discovered that I did not make my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year, and won't manage to read ~15 books before the end of the year. I was too ambitious, not to mention that it was only until these last few months that I started getting into audiobooks again. I only read 44 books out of 60. It was a good effort! I'll keep the same goal for next year and see if I can make it!

This year, I made some changes in how I consumed books. Instead of discount books, and occasionally caving and buying a new one off of Amazon when they were cheap enough, I decided that I was going to use my local library. Enoch Pratt is renown, and arguably, one of the best libraries in the country. They have a central location downtown, but have branches all over the city.

The closest branch to me was 20 minutes up the road. There was hardly any parking, so I would have to walk, which could be done on Saturday when they were open. I would need to plan out due dates for books, and make time to walk up and peruse.

It wasn't that much planning, and when I realized I could reserve books and they would come to the specific branch that I go too and I would get a text that notified me that they were in, well... I haven't bought a book all year. I'm not sure why I didn't do this sooner. The library rocks!

Reflection on this year in books - Goodreads

Back towards what I read this year in 2017. Here are my thoughts on my book lists and ratings on Goodreads: 

• I started a lot of science fiction and fantasy book series, some of which I heard about and always wanted to try, and others where I picked up the second or third novel. With the library, I can do that, and it's freeing.
• I stuck to my tried and true lane of my favorite historical fiction writer - Philippa Gregory. I read one other historical fiction book from one other writer, and it was one of my discount books. It was ok but glossed over the interesting stuff.
• I read some more travel books - namely, Bill Bryson. I am not a fan.
• I've read some famous/infamous authors, such as Stephen King, Octavia Butler, Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare. I want to read more King and Butler and even Riordan, I've read three of Clare's books, and remember nothing about them.
• I've seldom read any books on the best seller list all year.  The exception was The Nightingale.
• I've actually started to read some home tidying books and "self-help" books. One book, the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, big win. The other, Little House Living, was a dud. 
• I inflicted on myself Fifty Shades of Grey in audiobook. It was awful and I regret it. That woman makes so much money. 

Final Thoughts 

Whereas I love my science fiction and fantasy novel series and I'll continue to read them, I think this year I'll branch out to read more on the best seller's list. It will keep me current on trends as well as I can probably vote for Goodreads Choice Awards!

As well, I would like to reading more Historical Fiction authors from different time periods. I'm not sure why I was stuck in Tudor, but there is a plethora of authors and time periods out there.

Finally, I would like to actually read more self-help books. Maybe it's being in my 30s and finding out that your parents are still human (and are just navigating life just like you are), or maybe I've finally latched onto the idea that a) I'm not perfect (shocker) and that b) it would be good to seek out a better way to do things.

I think also this year, in 2018, I will also reread a few books... in audiobooks. I've been meaning to read the Harry Potter Series again, and while the library has infinite options, I think it would be fun to revisit old favorites and books that has a profound impact on my life. There is something soothing about being read too, something that I hadn't appreciated until recently.

What books or genres can you recommend to me for 2018?

Any books, authors or genres you've been meaning to get to but never found the time? What books or media do you want to read, watch or listen too in 2018?

Should You Bother? Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark

It's been a hot minute since I last posted, because Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was a LONG BOOK. At first glance, this book seems to be right up my ally. It's fantasy, set in Edwardian London, about magicians. Sold! 1,000 pages? About magic? Easy. Oh, there's a BBC show? Sure! Let me finish reading this book first!

I first bought the auiobook of this at first, and it was really wordy. I couldn't follow along as I completed work, so I had to put it down. Sometimes reading the book versus listening to it is more manageable, so I figured I would check it out of the library and give it a second chance.

I should have trusted my gut. It's not that it was bad. Clark is incredibly inventive and creative, taking Edwardian London and twisting it to include magic as if our universe always had magic.

But it was wordy, and about... 400 pages too long?  There were footnotes, that I skipped for much of the book. I don't remember a lot of what happened, except Jonathan Strange in the war, there was some beef with Mr. Norrell and Jonathan, and some women got into deep shit because of Strange and Mr. Norrell.

It soon became interesting about 7/8th of the way through, but I'm not sure if it's because I was excited to be finished the book, or actually the events in Venice were interesting. I could even argue that there should have been 2 books, but so much of Jonathan Strange was unmemorable that I don't think 2 books would have been wise.

So, should you bother? No. The BBC show was entertaining, and cut out most of the book to focus on the key points. It made for a more enjoyable way to experience the story instead of muddling through 1,000 pages of a book. 

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice

I think one of my first posts on this blog was an Anne Rice book and funnily enough, reading through the Anne Rice's series was what made me want to start a book review blog in the first place. Anne Rice's style of writing has changed over the years, which is natural, but Anne Rice's quality of work has definitely been up and down over the years as well. The first three books of the Vampire Chronicles are most notably the top of the line, and then we have Memnoch the Devil and the Vampire Armand, which both were the biggest waste of time and space.

It's interesting when I read her books in quick succession, and how her real life, and her pursuit of God and spirituality, impacted her writing and her viewpoints. Vittorio the Vampire is all about spirituality and religion, and the existence of Angels, God and how it factors into humanity and the meaning of humanity.  She draws a very clear line from her fantasy series novel (in which she also tackles humanity, but in the context of the supernatural) to when she really starts to delve into Catholicism.

Anne Rice announced in early 2000s that she was done writing Vampire Chronicles novels and that she had no more stories to tell with either the Mayfair Witches or the vampires of the Vampire Chronicles. She wanted to focus on writing Christian literature and Rice did, producing 4 books centering around Catholic and Christian stories and figures. When I read her books in quick succession, it was very apparent her interests towards Christian Literature and Spirituality.

Of course, her fans called it when those books didn't sell very well, and she was back at it, writing fantasy about Werewolves. I haven't read those books yet, but you all know I'm going to try and find them at the Book fair next weekend. One reviewer titled it, "Vintage Rice" which leads me to the review of the Prince Lestat, a book I found at the library.

I glanced at some of the reviews on Goodreads, and man, a lot of people either hated the book or loved the book. I was under the impression that she had a good editor (I'll get to that in a moment), but many have said that her first draft is her only draft, and that her fans will buy and read the book regardless.

I don't know if that's true. One issue that many critics had was that she had a timeline, and a glossary at the beginning of the book to inform new readers the backstory of the Vampire Chronicles. From what I remember, she never did that before, and many of the "glossary" terms she used were never used before in any of her other books. Having different names for certain things wasn't always Anne's style, which makes me believe that she worked with someone to produce something like that.

Many critics also stated how nothing happens in the book, that everything was resolved really neatly, and that the vampires behaved like a bunch of old people. I can definitely see all of that. However, I think there are way worst books in the series than this one.

I rank my top Anne Rice Books (I'm not going to include the Mayfair Witches, just the crossovers) as follows:

1. Queen of the Damned
2. Interview with the Vampire
3. Vampire Lestat 
4. The Body Thief
5. Blood Canticle 
6. Prince Lestat

So, it's in the middle in terms of books to read. I wouldn't even waste my time reading Memnoch the Devil, The Vampire Armand, or Blood and Gold. Other than thinking that Rice lost the chance of exploring another family branch of the Mayfairs by killing Merrick off, I don't really remember much about the Merrick novel to have an opinion on it one way or another. 

Do I feel like Lestat is a Gary Stu? Absolutely. Did it take me a bit to get through? Well, yes. I found myself falling asleep while reading this novel, but since I read before going to bed anyway, I didn't find this as a bad thing. 

However, Rice introduced some new characters, offered some perspective on her vampire mythology that she hadn't explored before, and overall, I thought it was an interesting plot and path to take. Now that Lestat is the most powerful being in the world by the end of the book (which, in any other book series, I would call a spoiler, but the reader guessed what's going to happen as soon as The Voice appears), what will his next move be? What will her next book look like? 

The book didn't offend me, but I'm glad that I read it, instead of listening to the audio. When books don't have a quick paced sequence of events where something is happening, or someone is not talking in plain speech, it can get brutal, and I think I would have hated the book if I checked out the audiobook. 

So, if you spot it at the library, need a book to read before going to bed, and you liked early Anne Rice, then give Prince Lestat a shot. 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I remembered reading on goodreads that a few of my friends read this book and enjoyed it. I tucked it in the back of my mind and immediately reached for it when I perused by my neighborhood's library.

Fangirl definitely brought me back to that time where even though I didn't write fanfic per say, I definitely dabbled in the same sort of "using the universe in which the author wrote the books" in the form of online forum role playing.

Though I didn't have the same trouble as Cath did adjusting to her new surroundings, role play "fanfic" was definitely a security blanket for me. It was a place where I went with my friends that I also met by role playing (and now are all, and will forever be my deeply close friends) and we were able to write stories with characters that we created within the confines of the universe of Harry Potter.

It opens up to a character named Cath, who is starting college with her twin sister, Wren. It's revealed that Wren wants to room with other people, which doesn't settle with Cath, who relies on her sister for most things. Cath has anxiety and depression issues, and does not do well with change (and really, who doesn't?). She has a roommate who is older and intimidates Cath and in the beginning, it seems like she is utterly alone. She hates it.

During her year at school, she juggles her writing, classes, her relationship with her sister and her father, along with the new territory of boys. Cath has a boyfriend at the start of the school year, but Wren dutifully tells her that he's more like a piece of furniture than an actual boyfriend and soon he fades into the background.

Throughout the year, Cath is peeled like an onion and her worldview is challenged, ultimately with good results. When I was reading the book, and immediately after, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, after getting some space from the book, I realized that though there are many, many good parts of the book, I love the character of Cath, I was rooting for Cath and Reagan's friendship, Cath and her sister's relationship and even Cath and Levi's relationship, the actual story doesn't really have a satisfactory conclusion, at least for me. It sort of drops off after Cath tells Nick to go kick rocks (after he basically steals her part of their story), and Cath goes to sit down and write her final story for her creative writing class. You're meant to draw conclusions and ponder how she finishes her fanfiction, and how she finishes her final paper, but I was disappointed that she got this great grade after hammering it out in 10 hours.

I don't know about you, but my schooling never worked out that way. I was never able to turn out a paper in a day and submit it without even proof reading it. My teachers knew and called me out on it every time.

I was also incredibly disinterested in the Simon Snow fan fiction. I found myself just skipping over all the interludes. I will not be reading the Simon Snow book she wrote as a complementary book to Fangirl.

So overall, it was a good read, if you don't read too closely, and enjoy the ride. Otherwise, the plot just falls through and you are left with more questions than answers... but then again, isn't that what growing up is all about?

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I read the first book in the series for a book club that only met once. To be fair, it was online and our schedules quickly didn't align to continue the tradition. Whereas my friend Ashley loved the first book (and even drew inspiration from the series to develop a character of her own), I remembered having negative feelings about the book... but since I read the second and then the third book in the series, clearly I forgotten how I felt and my negative feelings were flimsy at best.

I read the second of the series later on. I think I was looking for a book to read, and since Daughter of Smoke and Bone didn't offend me greatly, I decided to give the second book in the series a try. At that time, there was one more book that was going to be released, and I promptly forgot about the books until I spotted it in the library a few weeks ago.

The series follows the adventure of a young woman named Karou, who has a mysterious past life in a parallel universe ravaged by war. There are several characters that Taylor utilizes in the 3rd book, including her best friend Zuzana, her boyfriend Mik, her Romeo, Akiva, Akiva's sister, Liraz and Karou's "shadow," Ziri.

What Taylor does best is utilize this world she created. It's a very simple set up: "two houses, both alike in dignity" so on and so forth. It's a love story, it's full of action, and she's a great writer.

It's unfortunate, however, that I just couldn't stand both Karou and Akiva. Well, I take that back, it wasn't that I couldn't stand them, it was more like, they were boring to me. Karou and Akiva mirrors every single teenager in modern times: Karou has blue hair, is an art student in Prague, out of all places, and is "edgy" with her job of collecting teeth. Akiva is a mysterious, dangerous, born out of wedlock (that's a major plot point. I'm not mentioning that to be catty), brooding and a warrior. And it's not like they grow out of these rough sketches of character. No, they stay as they are, with rising and falling tides of lusting after each other but not able to speak to each other... cause you know, their races are at war with each other.

It took me a bit to get through it. I just didn't care whether Karou and Akiva lived or not, but I was glad I stuck it out, because 3/4th of the way through the book, I suddenly cared a lot about what was going to happen. I think the reason that I really cared about what was going to happen was not because of Karou and Akiva (of course they were going to live and spend the rest of their lives together) but because of the developing relationship between Ziri (in Thiago's body) and Liraz and the question of "will they, won't they?" anticipation. I didn't know what was going to happen, so I was on the edge when I read, hoping that Ziri's sacrifice wasn't in the name of vapid Karou and Akiva.

I do give Taylor credit though.She stopped (at this point) with a trilogy, and is currently working on other things. She even left the story in a place where she can easily pick it up again if she wanted too. I would personally like it if she centered it on Ziri and Liraz, the most unlikely couple ever, and just kind of carted Karou and Akiva out every so often to say something useful.

Overall, it's a decent series. Taylor's writing is great, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.