2017 Reading Challenge discussion

Share your challenge book that was published the same year you graduated from high school.

A Monster Calls.

1969
by Philip Roth

Portnoy's Complaint was thought (by all our mothers, at least) to be pretty smutty 48 years ago when it was published. Since I didn't read it then, I wondered whether it would still have the power to outrage today, since so much that used to be risqué is now humdrum. I can now report that I found it rather shocking, which is a relief, in a way. It's good to know I'm not completely desensitized to strong themes and language.

The book is funny, too, and the dialogue is pitch-perfect. If you spent any of the 1940's or 1950's in a high-drama family, you'll wonder whether you were related to the Portnoys. And you'll meet the original Babaloo Mandel, the inspiration for screenwriter Marc Mandel's nickname.

by Richelle Mead. Almost done with this series, yay! This one was a lot better than it's predecessor, but still not as good as the first 2 books. Rose was still inconsequential and annoying during the first half of the book, with her obsession with Dimitri. Yet, I started to connect with her again a little by the end of the book, where things started to get interesting again, enough for me to want to pick up the final one right after. Lisa, Christian and Adam remain my favorite characters, and I'm so glad Abe is back, because he's such an awesome and complex character! Dimitri, though, is lost to me. I can't stand his character anymore.

Still, for the first time after book 3 and 4 I'm excited again to see where the series is going for the finale.