2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Totally reasonable :) Law school and all.

How is Law school going? I have been wondering!

Really stressful and one more final tomorrow! I love it though.

1. Like Water for Chocolate



4/5 Stars

A really fast, magical read. Tita is the youngest daughter, destined to care for her somewhat evil, selfish mother. She falls in love but is not allowed to marry, and her beloved Pedro, marries her sister instead. Tita bakes a cake for the wedding and her tears fall into the cake, making her somewhat magical cooking powers come alive and affect the guests. From here on out you learn that nothing TIta does is ordinary and the entire book combines food, love, and magic to create a beautiful and tragic love story. I highly recommend this!

2. Brave New World



4/5 Stars

This book was entirely not what I expected. It was also eerily similar to the present day, in that people get so fixated on needing things to survive, that they forget how to really live. This book is a good reminder that going through the motions is entirely separate from actually being in the moment. It also reminds me to be critical or analytical of what society tells you to do.

So want to read Like Water for Chocolate! Your description was lovely (:

3. A Dance with Dragons


5/5 Stars

Oh George R.R. Martin, you have done it again. The last 70 pages tore my world a part and now I'm unsure if I will be able to make it to the next book. It needs to come out now. I want to know what's happening with Jon Snow, Dany, Jaime, Arya, and everyone else. The ending is right up there with A Storm of Swords.

If you can't tell, I just finished this book. And my review hopefully captures my feeling of confusion and despair. Martin takes characters and makes you get attached. Then he brutally murders, or throws in a plot twist, or just confuses you, to the point of madness.

4. The Fault in Our Stars


5/5 Stars

I'm not even going to write a review about the story. Everyone needs to read it for themselves.

Disclaimer: this book is about cancer. You will cry. But it is also about love.

I live tweeted most of this book, because I had to take breaks between chapters to cry. Let my tweets share the beauty of this book.

"I've reached a point in the Fault in Our Stars where I know what's going to happen, I know I will cry, but it's too good to put down."
"Like seriously John Green, pull on my heartstrings much?"
"No no no no no no no. #livetweetingabook"
"I thank God for you every day, kid." John Green
"Taking breaks between every chapter because I either cry or yell."
To a friend: "i put off reading it because I knew how emotionally invested I would become. It's definitely Top 5 favorite books."
To same friend: "The ending."
"Pretty sure my dog thinks I'm crazy as I sit here ugly crying after I finished the book. He keeps growling at me."

Kelsi
I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones. This author is definitely not afraid to kill off wonderful characters only to others that you come to know and love. How does he do it? Are you watching the series on TV?

Also, have you read any Diana Galaldon books?

Sarah

I love anything Game of Thrones related!! I can't wait for season 4 to start!

I read the first three Outlander books and loved them. I haven't really gotten into the fourth. What about you?

5. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption


5/5 Stars

And another 5 star book! Louis Zamperini would be one hell of a person to meet. He witnessed horrific things, and accomplished so much in his short time here. It's awe-inspiring. He was an Olympic star turned bombardier for the air force during WWII, who crashed into the Pacific, survived for an incredible 46-47 days on a raft and then becomes a POW. The man's free-will and positive outlook on life are incredible.

This book is a page turner. I started it on a Saturday and finished it on Sunday evening. Highly recommend this. Hillenbrand also does impeccable research and introduces readers into a part of the war that I had never focused on before.

Kelsi
I recommend this book as well. My book club read it and can't wait to go to see the movie together. There is so much content but the way Zamperini writes with such ease and fluidity, you just keep turning the page to see what happens next. Some parts hard to read about the torture but the way I see it, these are things we should know happened.
Sarah

6. Divergent



3/5 Stars.

Overall I enjoyed the plot and the characters. I thought the idea of it all was intriguing. It was a little hunger game-esque but not in a huge sense. My biggest problem was that I felt like it took much to long to get through Dauntless initiation. I enjoyed reading it, but at a point I began to wonder, "is this it?" I knew that Tris, being Divergent, was a danger, but it took so long for the book to reveal why, and it seemed like the climax was rushed and forced in at the end.

This was no Hunger Games, but enjoyable, nonetheless.

I definitely want to read this!

7. Theories of International Politics and Zombies


3/5 Stars

8. The Rosie Project


3/5 Stars

9. The Picture of Dorian Gray


4/5 Stars

Unfortunately, I had to drop this down to 25 and I will not make it for 2014 :( Boo!

Here's what I've read since # 9:

10. Insurgent
3.5/5 Stars

11. It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

4/5 Stars

12. Before Jamaica Lane


13. Fall from India Place


14. The Book of Life


15. Allegiant

* Not worth anyone's time for the ending.

16. Eragon


17. The Magicians


18. The Feminine Mystique

Don't feel bad about dropping your goal for the year! Life happens, and law school especially eats up an incredible amount of time.

What did you think of The Magicians? I've heard such mixed reviews about that book.

Cassandra wrote: "Don't feel bad about dropping your goal for the year! Life happens, and law school especially eats up an incredible amount of time.

What did you think of The Magicians? I've heard ..."

Cassandra, I had mixed feelings about it as well. Here is my review:

The main character, Quentin has this view that magic is the answer to all of life's problems and that going to Fillory will be the ultimate, best adventure of his life. However, dreams aren't always what they seem and the reality of the situation can be a let down.

The writing is very good. This is not your run of the mill magic book. Very adult, very real, and I think it captures the emotions and feelings of humanity quite well. Three stars, because the story didn't completely capture my attention.

Thank you for sharing your review. I guess I will just have to read it so I can have my own mixed-feelings opinion.

Looks like I"ll be finishing with 20 for the year.

20. The Stand


4/5 Stars

This book is epic. It was my first Stephen King and I loved it. I started it, and creepily got the flu. For a book about the superflu, that was not a good ailment to have. Then law school happened, and I put it away for awhile. When I picked it back up, ebola had happened. Anyways, the gist of the story is that a superflu virus breaks out, and wipes out most of the world. The survivors form a free zone of good people, and a bad zone in Las Vegas. The good are led by Mother Abigail and a committee, and the bad are led by the dark man, Randall Flagg. There's an ultimate showdown, but it ends up being more of a flaw of humankind showdown. King really does a great job of showing the depths and flaws of humanity.

For almost 1200 pages, this book reads very quickly. Characters are easy to remember and King does a great job of introducing characters. However, I often felt like there were parts where I wish there would have been more description (funny considering the length of the book) as to what the characters observed in their time in various places. I also subtracted a star because, as another Goodreads friend of mine commented, Stephen King seems to hate women. Seriously. All the female characters are not presented well at all. They're mopey and desperate for a man. Other than Mother Abigail, it is really hard to like any of the female characters.

That being said, this book was well worth my time.