Reading Challenges of 2014 -- Progress Report

I got too lazy to continue posting progress reports each month.  It happens.  So now that I'm in the mood for it, I'll post a somewhat update of my reading progress so far this year.  And yes, I'm very OCD about lists and keeping track of what books I've been reading.  It's a madness, really...





Anyway, as far as progress goes:


Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge -- My List
BookLikes 2014 Reading Challenge -- My List
Goal: 100 books
Progress:  96/100
See full list on my book shelf under 2014 Reading Challenge.

It's only a little over halfway through 2014 and I'm closing in on my general Reading Challenge goal.  Of course, I need to account for the number of manga and short novella's I've always included into the list, but that can be easily remedied by reading more books, of course!

I'm sure I'll have to bump my goal up after I officially reach 100 books, considering I haven't counted all of my books into other Reading Challenges (see below), which will require my general challenge to be bumped up to at least ~115 to 120 books.

I might still be reeling about that number because it seems so high, but I DO still have six months (including this month) left to read another 20 to 30 books if applicable.

We'll see how things end up.  I've no doubt I'll be at 100 books before July is over.  After all, I have seven library books lined up to be finished and returned by the time August rolls around.


***

 

100 Books in a Year hosted by Book Chick City
Progress:  81/100
See full list on my book shelf under 2014 100 Books in a Year Challenge.



2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen

Getting my heart rate up -- Read 1 - 5 more books -- This one
Out of breath -- Read 6 - 10 more books
Breaking a sweat -- Read 11 - 15 more books
I'm on fire! -- Read 16+ more books 

Goal:  Read 1 to 5 more books
(Last year's total: 101  -- Means I need to read 102 to 106 books)
Progress:  81/102
See full list on my book shelf under 2014 Outdo Yourself Challenge.


The above two challenges (100 Books in a Year and Outdo Yourself Challenge) are an extension of my general Reading Challenge.  Due to the fact that I haven't counted all of the books I've read into these two challenges, my goal is actually a lot higher than 100.  See above explanations.

Anyway, crossing my fingers that I don't suddenly lose my steam and stop reading steadily.  My pattern seems to be the same:  Few books read at the beginning of the year, more and more books read towards the middle of the year, number of books tapers off to an average of 1 to 5 books per month by the time the time October rolls around.

I wonder if I'll hold strong or if the same patter will come about.

***

 
2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader
Goal:  See Ani's 2014 TBR Pile Challenge -- includes full list of books in this challenge
Progress:  5/12
See also: 2014 TBR Pile Challenge (RBR) on my book shelf


I have made no progress on this particular reading list since May, I believe.  It makes me wonder if I should have chosen books I'd have had a better chance of wanting to read, though the whole point is to read the books you haven't been motivated to read that you've been wanting to read... right?  Unfortunately, there are at least 2 books on this list right now that I have no desire to actually read... which means that I'll have to use my alternatives.  And even THAT thought is kind of iffy.

This challenge may end up being incomplete this year.  And next year I'll really have to choose my books wisely.

***

 
2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by The Bookish Team

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - First Kiss
31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling
41-50 - Could this be love?
50+ - Married With Children

Goal:  Sweet Summer Fling (31 to 40 books) --  COMPLETED May 5, 2014
Next Goal:  Married With Children (50+ books) -- COMPLETED June 2, 2014
Progress:  75/50
See full list on my bookshelf under 2014 TBR Pile Challenge (Bookish).



This challenge is complete.  The goals looked overwhelming at first, but really, since my general goal was 100 books anyway, it's not like I wouldn't have been able to finish it.  So there you are!


***

 
2014 Series Challenge hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.

Ani's 2014 Series Challenge post -- includes full list of books read for this challenge.

Bronze Badge:  1 - 3 Series
Silver Badge:  4 - 6 Series
Gold Badge:  7 - 11 Series
Platinum Badge:  12 or more Series

(1/14/2014)
Goal:  Gold Badge (7 to 11 series) -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED --
6/3/2014 -- 11th series finished --> Black CATs by Leslie A. Kelly

(6/3/2014)
Updated Goal: Platinum Badge (12 or more Series) -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 6/6/2014 -- 12th series finished --> Mindhunters by Kylie Brant

(6/14/2014)
Latest update:  12 or more COMPLETED series -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 6/14/2014 -- 12th COMPLETED series finished --> Gamble Brothers by J. Lynn

(7/17/2014)
Latest update: Previously stated personal goal officially completed.
New Goal:  Read 12 or more completed series (first book to last)

Progress:  18 series completed/caught up with for 2014.
See 2014 Series Challenge on my bookshelf for a list of books completed for this challenge.


I just recently updated a progress report for this challenge.  See this post for details.

***


2014 1st In A Series Challenge hosted by Darlene's Book Nook

Ani's 2014 1st In A Series post -- includes full list of books read for this challenge.

There are four levels for the challenge:

a. Series Novice: Read 5 books that are first in a series.

b. Series Lover: Read 10 books that are first in a series.

c. Series Expert: Read 20 books that are first in a series.

d. Series Fanatic: Read 30 books that are first in a series.

My Goal: Series Fanatic -- 30 1sts -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 7/17/2014

Completed:  30/30

See Also: 2014 1st in a Series Challenge shelf

***


2014 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen
The Goal is to read 10 Romantic Suspense Novels.
Completed:  34/10

See also: 2014 Romantic Suspense Challenge Shelf

Ani's 2014 Romantic Suspense Challenge post -- includes list of books read for this challenge.

CHALLENGE COMPLETED!  As of May 9, 2014, I've finished reading 10 Romantic Suspense novels!

6/3/2014 -- Completed 20 Romantic Suspense novels.  See shelf for list of titles.

6/29/2014 -- Completed 30 Romantic Suspense novels. See shelf for list of titles.

***

I Love Library Books 2014 Reading Challenge hosted by Book Dragon's Lair

Ani's I Love Library Books 2014 Challenge post -- includes full list of books read for this challenge.

Levels:

• board book - 3
• picture book - 6
• early reader - 9
• chapter book - 12
• middle grades - 18
• Young adult - 24
• adult - 36
• just insert IV - 50

My Goal:  just insert IV - 50
Completed: 42/50
See Also: 2014 Library Books Challenge shelf

***


So there we have a cumulative update of all the challenges I'm participating in this year.  Four challenges are officially completed (Series Challenge, 1st in a Series Challenge, Romantic Suspense Challenge, and Bookish's TBR Pile Challenge).

I only need to read 8 more library books to finish the I Love Library Books Challenge, which won't be hard--I've currently got 5 books checked out from the library to be read.  It'll only be a matter of checking out 3 more and there are so many I want to check out right now it's not even funny.  After all, I'm still in the middle of one pile before I can start a new pile.  /sigh

Man... there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the world...

A reading update for 2014

Reblogged from my BookLikes page: Ani's Book Abyss
(Books page updated as of 2/27/2014)


I was wanting to do a progress update each month on what I'm reading, but January was not a good month for reading.  Because as much as I love to read, I also love anime and video games, and so that is what happened in January.

(**coughcough**FullMetalAlchemistmarathon**coughcough**)

Nonetheless, I still got some reading in (even if I might have had to cheat a little bit, but, hey, as my little brother defends: "A volume of a manga series is technically a book, too!"), so according to my calculations, I have managed to read 6 books in January... 4 of which were four volumes of manga of which I'm not certain whether or not they count for some of the challenges I'm participating in, so I'll at least be fair in that aspect.

Which is fine.  It just means I have more books to read in order to add onto each challenge and my end goals for 2014.

February ended up a bit better than January, so at least I feel like I'm making better progress.

A forecast for March has me listing several more titles in a row... so hopefully I don't burn myself out (as if that could happen), though my lists never go as planned, so we'll see.  I may create a March post, or I may wait and do bi-monthly posts... which might be better now that I think about it.

Anyway...

Related posts:
More Reading Challenges!
2014 TBR Pile Challenge -- Roof Beam Reader

Challenges:
100 Books in a Year hosted by Book City Chick
Outdo Yourself Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen
2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader
2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Bookish
2014 Series Challenge hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.

***

The four volumes I read of Sukitte iinayo will only be included in the generalized Reading Challenges on Goodreads and BookLikes.
I wrote a compiled review for all four volumes:  Review -- Sukitte iinayo, Vol. 1 to 4.

All other books read are automatically included in the above two challenges as well.

2014 Reading Challenge:
1.  Sukitte iinayo, Volume 1 by Hazuki Kanae  -  Review, Volumes 1 to 4
2.  Sukitte iinayo, Volume 2 by Hazuki Kanae
3.  Sukitte iinayo, Volume 3 by Hazuki Kanae
4.  Sukitte iinayo, Volume 4 by Hazuki Kanae
5.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak  -  Review 
6.  The Distance Between Us by Kasie West - Review
7.  The Unbound (The Archived, book 2) by Victoria Schwab - Review
8.  Split Second (Pivot Point, book 2) by Kasie West - Review
9.  The Giver by Lois Lowry - Review
10.  Serial Hottie by Kelly Oram - Review
11.  The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima - Review
12.  This Is What Happy Looks Like - Review


Otherwise, here is my January and February progress for each of the other challenges listed:



100 Books in a Year hosted by Book City Chick 
Present Progress:  8 books read

January
1.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak -- Review
2.  The Distance Between Us by Kasie West -- Review

February
1.  The Unbound by Victoria Schwab -- Review
2.  Split Second by Kasie West -- Review
3.  The Giver by Lois Lowry -- Review
4.  Serial Hottie by Kelly Oram -- Review
5.  The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima -- Review
6.  This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith -- Review




Outdo Yourself Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen
Goal: 102 to 106 books
Present Progress:  8 books read

January
1.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak -- Review
2.  The Distance Between Us by Kasie West -- Review

February
1.  The Unbound by Victoria Schwab -- Review
2.  Split Second by Kasie West -- Review
3.  The Giver by Lois Lowry -- Review
4.  Serial Hottie by Kelly Oram -- Review
5.  The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima -- Review
6.  This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith -- Review




2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader
Goal: 12 pre-selected books
Present Progress:  2 books read

No progress in January.

February
1.  The Giver by Lois Lowry -- Review
2.  The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima -- Review




2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Bookish
Goal:  31 to 40 books
Present Progress:  6 books read

January
1.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak -- Review
2.  The Distance Between Us by Kasie West -- Review

February
1.  The Giver by Lois Lowry -- Review
2.  Serial Hottie by Kelly Oram -- Review
3.  The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima -- Review
4.  This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith -- Review




2014 Series Challenge hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.
Goal:  7 to 11 series
Present Progress:  2 series

No progress in January.

February
1.  The Unbound by Victoria Schwab / Book 2 of The Archived series -- Review
2.  Split Second by Kasie West / Book 2 of Pivot Point series -- Review

See also:  2014 Series Challenge 

Just as well, The Book Thief was chosen as a read-along with my BFF for our own personal Mini Book Club.

***

I promise I'll come up with a better format for my next update post.  This one seems kind of clunky and chaotic, but I suck at finding a good structure or format until after the fact.  What would really make my day would be the ability to include tables in my blog posts...  I... might think about inserting photos of my actual tables I keep on an excel spreadsheet for my book lists and reading lists, though I wonder if that might be too extreme.

Amateur Mini Book Club, Day One

Day One

Location -- Noisy Coffee Shop where I prove that I CAN be much noisier than the noise.

- Goodreads

- BookLikes

- Amazon

This is pretty much how it went down in a not so very brief-tastic summary with probable exaggerations and some paraphrased conversations because my memory sucks at exact details and maybe I should have been recording everything, but I didn't.  Anyway, long day aside, this is my best friend and my first attempt at committing to something like a book club.  But we tend to be more or less easy-going about books, so we agreed on simply discussing how we feel about the book thus far with no "high school style" deep analysis.

The session was overall pretty laid back, and as my best friend likes to remain anonymous within the online world (she doesn't even have a social networking account of any kind outside of her GR account that she rarely frequents), I shall refer to her as BFF.

Me: 

Shows up 15 minutes late and immediately starts talking about how life sucks and our table is in the middle of too much crowd.  Wonders what kind of fattening fancy coffee shop drink to get.

BFF:

"Yeah, it's really crowded tonight."  Proceeds to talk about book and how she had wanted to read more than our agreed upon ten chapters because she was enjoying it.  "I read all ten chapters in one whole sitting... then I sort of started on the next chapter a little bit..."

Me:

"Oh right.  The book."  Plops down onto the chair.  "Um... I'm enjoying it too.  But honestly, I liked Puck's portion of the narration more than the other guy."  Because Puck sounds wittier and livelier and I like wit and sarcasm and liveliness.  And I also like the relationship between Puck and her brothers.

Gives very brief "I can relate" segway with a roll of the eyes and wave of the hand about Puck's relationship with her brothers.  Continues to wonder what type of fancy drink to indulge in.

BFF: 

"I thought of that too!"  Proceeds to flip through book to end of Chapter 3 after Puck's elder brother, Gabe, announced that he's leaving the island... for good.  Puck feels abandoned, little brother Finn is semi-trying to keep the peace.  Puck tries to act nonchalant and brave.  

"I especially made the connection at this part," points to book, "here when Puck goes to her room and says something like, 'Jackass', or whatever.  I thought it sounded like you and your brother."

(Random tangent)

Well, the actual line is, "Selfish bastard," right before Puck sobs into her pillow after putting on a strong front and proclaiming that she's going to participate in the races that could get people killed because they'll need the money if she can win it.  But nonetheless, the sentiments and the feelings are there.  And yes, while I don't relate with Puck too much (she's pluckier and has more determination than I do), I can relate with her situation somewhat.  The difference is that her parents are gone and mine are still here, but between the "selfish bastard" big brother and the strange little brother with disjointed behavior and unpredictable color commentary, I think that's pretty similar in some ways.

(Random tangent end)

Me: 

Talks about the difference between Sean and Puck and why Puck is more easily related to than Sean.  Sean is too dark and broody -- dark and broody doesn't always work for main male characters.  

BFF:

Talks about some lines in certain chapters she has highlighted and why.

Me:

At some point during the discussion that I can't quite remember, points at a nearby taller table that just got vacated.  With a happy grin: "Window table."

And so the two of us scramble to the new table with our crap in tow as I finally decide that I need to get me one of those fancy coffee shop drinks before we get serious.  Moments later, when I return to the table, we start chatting about the book again, but there is a very distinct agreement between the two of us about certain things:

1)  The book is enjoyable and Puck is a nice, fun girl to follow.

2)  Sean is too broody and we both found his parts of the story too somber and too monotone so far.  We understand that he's broody for a reason (he'd recently lost his father to a water horse "accident" and watched his father die and he's stuck in this endless cycle of the Scorpio Races where everyone wants his opinion), but we believe that broodiness is just his way of being male and dramatic at the same time.  If he were a woman, people would be telling him to build a bridge.  

Also, we determined that Sean seems to have this complex where he seems to see himself on a different level than everyone else around him, in an arrogant, "I know more than you about these water horses" type of way which we think makes him feel superior to everyone else.

And the idea that Sean is drawn to the water the same way that the water horses are drawn to the sea... a little disturbing.

(Random personal tangent): When I first read the description of this book, I had pictured Sean as some gangly, young kid with a big-person ego too big for him to handle.  I was thinking of him as some stubborn child wanting to prove a point by racing in the Scorpio Races against professionals.  And now after reading the book, I realize that my pre-impression of him was quite wrong since he is obviously the Water Horse Yoda on the island.  Go figure.  (Random personal tangent end)

3)  BFF and I are both interested in seeing the first interaction between Sean and Puck with their differing personalities.  Puck lost her parents to water horses during one of the annual races as well in a "tragic accident", but she maintains a rather light view of life as seen here:

Setting them out on the table, three lonely plates where once there would've been five, depresses me, so I busy myself making some mint tea to go with them.  As I arrange and rearrange the teacups by our plates, it occurs to me, too late, that mint tea and apple cake might not go together.

The way in which Puck's mind operates is hard to grasp since these tiny little details also tells so much about how she feels, bringing a possible somber, melancholic moment into a more thoughtful, puzzling moment.  This is also setting aside the fact that the siblings are having apple cake for dinner.

4)  Water horses are super creepy.

5)  Maggie Stiefvater is awesome!

Okay, maybe that last one was all me, but there is no amount of words I can use to describe why I love Maggie's writing.

Moving along, we make other comments about the book.

My BFF seems to like big romantic ideals and gestures, so she points out that she highlighted the moment when Puck first sees Sean as he rides past on his red stallion... and then is known to her as "the rider on the red stallion" (BFF:  "That just sounded so hot!") until she learns his real name not long afterwards.  We both take note that Puck is attracted to Sean first (since he is obviously good looking as a main YA male character) and because he's "kinda hot" as the "rider on the red stallion". In hindsight, I agree that it was quite the description and rather grand; I take note and file the idea away for further blogging.

Surprisingly, despite my being a hopeless romantic, that moment that BFF mentions was completely overlooked by yours truly.  I seemed to have veered more towards the sibling relationship and enjoyed more moments between Puck and Finn:

- Puck and Finn racing in the first chapter.

- Puck and Finn having stilted conversation after Finn is shaken by the encounter with the water horse.

- Finn making hot chocolate in the morning for himself and Puck, but managing to botch it somehow and leaving the smell of burnt something on the stove as this exchange happens:

"You made this?"

Finn looks at me.  "No, Saint Anthony brought it to me in the night.  He was very put out I didn't give it to you right then."

[...]

I am shocked, both by the reappearance of Finn's humor and the gift of the hot chocolate.  I see now that the counter is an absolute mess of pots that Finn used to distill a single cup of cocoa, and I'm certain now that the odor hanging on the air is the smell of milk spilt on the hot burner, but it doesn't matter in the face of his intention.  It sort of makes my lower lip not quite sure of itself [...]

And basically the entirety of the whole hot chocolate scene makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, because despite the sarcastic bantering and jibes, you can tell that these are siblings who care about each other a lot.  And it reminds me of my own relationship with my younger brothers.  I'm curious about Puck's relationship with Gabe, pre-"Gabe-is-a-selfish-bastard-who-is-abandoning-us", because I want to see what it was like.

And then we go into another 45 minute segway, detouring back to the sibling relationship as relates to Puck, Gabe and Finn... until we segway completely into the relationship between myself and my brothers.  And then we talk about work and life in general and about how my mother is super human; and some guy nearby shoots me frustrated looks as he puts on his head set because I am getting too loud.  And then I need another scone.  But none of that is really too important, though I have a feeling we'll keep coming back to the sibling relations as relates to myself and my brothers...

By the end of the little mini book club meeting between me and my best friend, we've decided that maybe 10 chapters was a little short and we were unable to grasp completely what's going on in the book as of yet, but that we are extra excited to continue.  Although I have a feeling that the excitement is really reserved for the fact that we are book-clubbing more so than for reading the book itself, despite how enjoyable I find it so far (because while enjoyable, it hasn't quite hooked me yet).

Due to my extremely good fortune, I have a mini-weekend and so we've agreed to try to finish another ten chapters by the next day and meet up again for more discussion.  Maybe this time I'll try harder to record our conversation so that it may be transcribed into blog form a bit better than what I managed this time around.

Although, to be fair, I DID show up late and hadn't had a chance to set up my laptop for note-taking on this session.  And then I just got lazy.

Finally, BFF will be reading this blog and will be allowed to demand editing of said transcript if she so desires.  I'm sure she'll appreciate the liberties I took to spruce up our conversation a little bit with my own perceived version of our amateurish mini book club discussion.  In all honesty, we're not very exciting people, but I try to make it sound like we are if I can.

I wish we could include other, more experienced book-bloggers, but we are also a bit concerned about sounding stupid in front of other people rather than sounding stupid between ourselves.

Until next time... which won't be long.

This post originally posted at Book Abyss @ BookLikes.com

Continuing: The Diviners

by Libba Bray


Picking up where I left off about a month ago.  So this is sort of a first impression opinion post.

Anyway...

When I first read Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle series, this phenomenon seemed to happen: I just could NOT get into the story at all.  A Great and Terrible Beauty had some beautiful writing and great attention to detail.  I don't know what it was, but I had started reading the book and put it on hold a total of three times before I finally hunkered down and got past that strange barrier.  And after that, I enjoyed the book alright -- it wasn't the best of reads, but it was enough to keep me hooked in and interested.

And now, with The Diviners, the same exact thing has happened.

Here is a brief rundown of my thoughts written by the chapter up to how far I'd gotten before I put it on hold due to one series marathon, new book releases, and other interests...


First Chapter: A Late-Summer Evening
I'm sure I skimmed over half of this chapter without really knowing what the significance of describing an entire city in intricate detail merits if we won't even be seeing it again.  As far as the summary depicts, our heroine is leaving the town anyway.  The scenes taking place with the Ouija board and then the very last paragraph of the entire chapter were the only parts I cared enough about to pay attention to... so, whatevs.

I've read this first chapter three times (due to that mental block that keeps drawing me away from this book), and it still doesn't get any better.  If anything, I'm starting to wonder if this is my blatant disinterest in historical fiction, or if Libba Bray's introductory style just turns me off since I had the same problem with A Great and Terrible Beauty.  While I love her writing style, her pacing just hits me as being kind of slow.


Second Chapter: Evie O'Neill, Zenith, Ohio
No big comments.

Not sure how I like Evie right now -- spoiled, snobbish, selfish, destructive trouble-maker...  Things I absolutely hate in main characters.  Then again, she's different and outlandish, so this might be fun and unconventional from typical YA females.  I certainly ended up liking Gemma Doyla in a neutral I-don't-outright-hate-you way by the time I finished the last book in that trilogy.  Not saying that I loved her or that I'll love Evie, but we'll see where this goes.

Dialogue and narration might be a bit tacky, but I'm not familiar enough with 1920s lingo to know whether or not this fits the time period.  As I've mentioned, my interest in historical fiction is a little on the meh side.  However, I might start up a counter for how many times someone says "pos-i-tute-ly" or ends their exclamations with a "-ski".  I feel like a teenager trying not to roll my eyes at the thought of lame parents trying to sound cool...


Third Chapter: Memphis Campbell, Harlem, New York City
Not much to go on.  Moving along now.


Fourth Chapter: The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies
I totally want to see a Museum of Creepy Crawlies (says the nerd in me).  Cause THAT is an interesting chapter title too.

Anyway... about the book itself:

"If God is an all-knowing, all-powerful deity, how can he allow evil to exist?  Either he is not the omnipotent god we've been told, or he is all-powerful and all-knowing, and also cruel, because he allows evil to exist and does nothing to stop it." 

"Well, that certainly explains Prohibition..." 

-- page 37, Nook edition

Yeah.  I can't believe it actually started getting a little exciting.  I should have seen it coming.  I wish I would have caught up with the museum and Uncle Will before I had decided to start a new book (nay, a completely new SERIES of four books I borrowed from the library that lasted me four weeks since THAT excursion flopped as well...)

Evie, Evie, Evie... maybe it's the nerd in me speaking.  While I like your penchant for sarcasm and wit... how could you NOT find interest in the free guided tour of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult?  I could spend hours in a place like that and never get bored.  And Jericho, the young history nerd buff?  I'm interested already!  :D


Setting that aside...We're jumping into the thick of the story now: The Diviners is finally coming to light.  I'm almost wondering if she couldn't have shortened the first three chapters into one prologue to show us the "troublesome Evie" stuff and introduce Memphis, then send her off to New York.  And then, Chapter Two, BANG! we get into the religious controversy speeches with a dash of Diviners talk laced into it.

Then again, I guess even if I didn't know how to appreciate the build-up from the first three chapters, others might find it good.

Looks like this is the chapter that finally did it for me and I choose not to drop the book for this reason.

***

Gemma Doyle hooked me with character development and writing style and story creation.  Hopefully The Diviners does the same.  As a first impression, I see a very solid 3 star rating in this book's future.  If reading a book feels like such a chore to me, it's hard to give it more than an average rating even if I end up enjoying it in the end.  Unless there's some surprisingly pleasant twist or whatever that truly catches me in awe.

So we'll leave it at that for now.

Review to Come: Cinder

by Marissa Meyer


- Goodreads -
- BookLikes -
- Amazon -


3.5 Stars out of 5 (leaning more towards 4)


Well... maybe a review to come.

I find that despite the fact that I feel like I really liked this book (I certainly read through the entire thing like I had a physical need to find out what happens next), I can't think of anything to say about it.

I take back what I said about the blocky Asian dialogue -- I had only read the first chapter and was a little concerned with the world building being based on a futuristic Asia (known in the book as the Eastern Commonwealth).  But everything turned out pleasantly awesome... in a way.

I'm going to take some time to think about this book before I finally decide whether or not I want actually write a review about it.  For the meantime, I really DID enjoy it a lot, though I can't exactly pinpoint what I liked about it and what didn't work for me.  The book just kind of... happened and I was satisfied with it as a whole.

I will say, there were some awesome feels going on during some points of the story.

For certain, I AM going to read the next book and have put the rest of the series on my To Read list.  I'm just going to pace myself since the third book won't be out until February and it seems there are talks of the ending of the second book being a suspenseful hanger.  Not fond of those...

And lately I've been contemplating just waiting for the entire series of certain books to be completed before starting them.  Cliff hangers are just going to be the death of me one of these days.  Especially if I've grown attached to the series and its characters.



Reblogged from BookLikes