Mount TBR 2014 Challenge discussion

I started small with Mount Blanc this year, and now I'm ready to climb Mt. Kilamanjaro. I may not be adding any books for a week or so, because I am about to go on vacation in two days to DragonCon. Woo-hoo! Anyway, I just wanted to stake my place on this mountain, so that my spot will be waiting when I'm ready to ascend. =)

Congrats Lisa! Sounds like lots of fun planned with vacation to DragonCon! :)

Great job! I had a friend at DragonCon. Hope you enjoyed yourself.

Pamela wrote: "Congrats Lisa! Sounds like lots of fun planned with vacation to DragonCon! :)"

Thank you! My husband and I had a blast, but I do not miss the crowds at all. I'm happy to get back to reading! I missed my books. =)

Jessika wrote: "Great job! I had a friend at DragonCon. Hope you enjoyed yourself."

Thanks, Jessika! It was a lot of fun. I heard this year's Con was the biggest yet!

49) The Radleys by Matt Haig*

2.5 stars-I'm finally ready to start my climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately, my first handhold is a dud. I really wanted to like this book, but it fell flat for me. From the synopsis, and especially the trailer, I was hoping this would be more of a fun and witty tongue-in-cheek take on vampires. Instead, it ended up being more of a literary fiction novel with characters who happen to be vampires-which is every bit as boring as it sounds. I have nothing against literary fiction-Rebecca is probably my favorite novel of all time with To Kill A Mockingbird taking second place. However, personally, when I read about vampires I am looking for either something scary and atmospheric (Anne Rice) or something fun and campy (True Blood), not literary fiction. If you're of the same mind, give this one a pass.

*Purchased in 2013

50) Ten by Gretchen McNeil*

2.5 stars-Unfortunately, this ended up being a dud just like my previous entry. I have a lot of problems with this book. First of all, I want to say that I own And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie on my Kindle (which Ten is based on), but I have not read it yet. I wanted to read this first, because I (correctly) assumed that Ten would be a poor imitation, but I wanted to give both a shot. I just hope that Ten doesn't ruin Christie's book for me by being too similar in plot. I was honestly bored through most of this book. The characters are very shallow and two dimensional. The most annoying part of the book for me was the fact that the characters main focus seemed to be on hooking up. Under normal circumstances, that would be understandable, after all, they are teenagers. However, they are all stranded in a house in which other people are getting killed left and right! Call me a prude, but I would consider that a serious mood killer!!! Frankly, I think that was lazy writing on the author's part. The killer would have never been able to get away with the murders if the characters had shown anything remotely resembling common sense. The only reason I didn't give this book an even lower rating was that I (embarrassingly) did not manage to guess who the killer was. The author led the reader on a few different paths, and I (stupidly and naively) followed one of them. I was slightly impressed with the twist, but the rest of the book is, frankly, utter crap. If you're interested in this book because of the comparison to And Then There Were None, please save yourself the wasted time and go straight to the classic instead of attempting to read this drivel. If you're a young teen and you enjoy horror then you may enjoy this. However, I definitely would not recommend this to any adult with an ounce of intelligence. Sorry to be so harsh, but I have strong feelings about this and wanted to give my honest opinion.

*Purchased in September 2013

51) Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert*

4 stars-I enjoyed this although it was not what I expected it to be. This is a very unconventional story about "witches." This is not the witch from popular culture with a black cat and broomstick. The type of witch depicted is this book is entirely rooted in alchemy, and is a much more believable (dare I say, realistic?) type of witch. There is much more to the book than this, but I think the less you know, the better. Very interesting.

*Purchased hardcover in October 2013

52) The Gates: A Samuel Johnson Tale by John Connolly*

3 stars-I had high expectations for this due to all the great reviews I've seen on booktube. Plus, the premise is fantastic. However, I honestly found this to be a little boring. Also, while I thought the footnotes were really interesting and added something to the book, they also kind of distracted me and wrenched me out of the story at the same time. If that makes any sense? I liked the extra information, but it was almost like they were trying to cram too much in. I did enjoy the humor. It was by far the best part of the book. I will read the sequel (that I hear is not really a sequel?!) because I already own it. However, I just heard that there is now a third one, and I probably won't be reading that one. In my opinion, this was very similar to Good Omens, only told from the perspective of a precocious 12 year old boy. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy Good Omens either. If you're one of the many believe that did enjoy it, I think you should give The Gates a try.

*Purchased paperback edition in November 2013

53) Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater*

3.5 stars-This is a very quick read that is fantastic for kids. I saw the movie with Jim Carey a few years ago, which made me want to pick up the book. They are drastically different from each other, and I have to say that I prefer the book to the film. The book is kind of silly, but I think that just makes it all the more charming and fits in much better with the 1930-ish time period as opposed to the movie which is set in modern times (it came out a few years back). I highly recommend this to kids. It's a very cute, original story.

*Purchased Kindle edition in November 2012

54) The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski*

2.5 stars-I believe a lot of people (not to stereotype, but particularly older women) would enjoy this book. However, I thought it was just okay. Not only was it very predictable (in my opinion), it was also kind of a mess. It rambled on for 400 pages, and then the end seemed to happen kind of abruptly. For such a (unnecessarily) long book, there was not a lot of closure. This book is okay, but nothing special. The main thing that drew me to it was the 1950s New Orleans setting. However, it's nothing more than a back drop for a lackluster story.

*Purchased Kindle edition in September 2013

55) The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Boratz-Logsted*

4 stars-For a long time, I thought I knew how the book was going to end, so I was discouraged. However, I still enjoyed reading. I was pleasantly surprised very near the end to find out I was wrong. I don't want to say more as this is a mystery and I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say (as a very picky reader) that this is one of my favorite books. This is also an atypical book to come out of the ya genre. Not to knock ya, but I mean that in the best possible way. After years of reading the ya genre, I am getting a little burned out, especially since most ya books are very similar to each other. Anyway, read this book! =)

*Purchased Kindle edition in May 2012

56) Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale*

2.5 stars-Enjoyable enough read but a lot of the dialogue was a little too ridiculous and unbelievable. Charlotte grew as a character, but even towards the end she was annoying. Maybe she represents a lot of women, but I felt that her character seemed more like a woman in her early twenties trying to "find" herself, instead of a woman in her thirties or forties? (not sure) who owns and operates a multi-million dollar business. I'm sorry, I just felt like she should have grown a backbone long ago. The first book (Austenland) was much better and more believable. It was fun and campy without being too ridiculous, but this sequel went too far for me.

*Purchased Kindle edition in November 2013

57) City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare*

2 stars-This is the second to last book in a young adult fantasy series that I started reading in 2008. I'm hoping to finally finish the series this year. It was originally meant to be a trilogy (and not a six book series), and it definitely shows. The first three books are five star books for me. The fourth was three stars, and this fifth one is two stars. To be fair, I may have outgrown these books, but for whatever reason, I simply cannot be bothered to care anymore. Given that this book is over 500 pages long, it was really difficult to finish, but I am determined to push through and complete the series! The next book is over 700 pages, so it will be quite the challenge. I'm glad to be done with this book, and can't wait to be done with the series!

*Purchased Kindle edition in April 2013

58) NOS4A2 by Joe Hill*

2 stars-Really cool concept, but poor execution in my opinion. Easily could've been 200 pages shorter. A lot of repetition. The content was incredibly dark, as I'm sure you can guess. I usually appreciate and enjoy dark subject matter; however, this book was too long to be this dark. I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. His other novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is much better.

*Purchased in December 2013

59) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine*

2 stars-This was over-hyped for me. A lot of people say that this book is much better than the film adaptation. However, I remember enjoying the movie when I watched it several years ago. I didn't really enjoy the book.

*Purchased Kindle edition in November 2013

60) Vesper by Jeff Sampson*

4 stars-I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I haven't heard much at all about it, very underhyped. Plus, I have been tiring of YA lately, so it really takes something special to stand out to me. This is unique and intrigued me enough to continue on with the story.

* Bought Kindle edition in December 2011