Book Challenges- Week 11

Popsugar Challenge

(11/50) Over 20%!

A book by someone of a different ethnicity than you: The Mothers, by Brit Bennett– I wrote about this book earlier in the week. I was so excited about it that I hadn’t even finished it before I had to write about it in my blog 5 Books I Regret Putting Off. The ending was, unfortunately, disappointing. Not enough for me to hate it, but just enough for me to wish the author had done something a little different. It was still a good book and worth reading, but instead of a 5-star book, it’s between 3.5 and 4 stars for me (which means it’s somewhere between “I liked it” and “I really liked it”).

A book about time travel: Fortunately, The Milk, by Neil Gaiman– This is a cute middle-grade book with illustrations, about a father who goes out to buy milk, stays too long, so makes up a story about being kidnapped by aliens. It was fun, and a well-needed break from reality.

While I Was Reading Challenge

(4/12) 33% done

The Unread Shelf

Running Total: 3

5 Classic Books

(0/5) No progress

Miscellaneous Reading

Uncommon Type: Some Stories, by Tom Hanks– I’m not sure how I heard about this book, but I’ve had it on hold at the library since last year. It finally came in the same week as another book I’d put on hold months ago. Because, of course.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but the stories are consistently sweet and funny, only tied together by the thread that every one of them contained a typewriter reference. I do love books of short stories, and this was an easy read with some unexpectedly poignant stories about life and love.

Yes, Please! by Amy Poehler– I was driving this week, so I needed an audiobook. In general, I prefer books by comedians. Maybe it’s because they’re used to making their voices accessible to everyone that they’re so easy for me to understand while I’m driving.  This book was interesting and funny and serious and not serious. Ms. Poehler talks about her life in funny vignettes and touches on serious topics like her divorce. She seems like the kind of person who’d be fun to share a drink with. One of the things I liked is that she’s pro-girl; she believes in lifting other women up and supporting them when possible and kept it classy without a single moment of cattiness.

Abandoned

None this week.

2018 Running Total: 29

 

Have you made any progress on your TBR or book challenges?

5 Books I Regret Putting Off

I’ve complained a few (million) times about all the books on my TBR, and how the stack seems never-ending.

Some of them I was excited to read at one time. Others made their way onto the pile because of recommendations from other people or because it was cheap at a library book sale, or because Book of the Month recommended it.

But the book goes on a shelf and doesn’t get read. I pass it over in favor of books I’ve met at the library or something new and interesting.

That’s why I get so aggravated with myself when I realize that I’ve put off reading a book that’s so phenomenal I think everyone should read it. Immediately.

It’s like a little piece of wonderfulness was sitting on my shelf all that time, and I never knew it.

Here are some of the best books I put off reading.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling Yes, seriously. I was told over and over again that I needed to read this book. I only read it to prove everyone wrong, that it wasn’t really the greatest thing since sliced bread. I learned my lesson.
2. Anything by Neil Gaiman I “discovered” Neil Gaiman last year. (Yes, I know. *sigh*) Sometime before 2003, I attended a writer’s conference in Pennsylvania. I wrote up a list of books recommended to me, and then never followed through with a single one of them. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? Why do I do this to myself?
3. Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton A friend bought me this book when I was in high school. I didn’t read it. It languished in a box somewhere until I literally bought the exact same book, then realized I’d already owned it for years. Seriously, if you haven’t discovered the wonderfulness of Hamilton’s early (like first 10) Anita Blake books, do yourself a favor.
4. The Mothers, by Brit Bennett I’m not completely done with this book yet, but it’s fantastic so far. I had a stranger stop me as I was reading it and say that she’d just finished it and loved it. That doesn’t happen to me often, so it bodes well.
5. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon I’m almost as ashamed to admit this one as I was to admit Harry Potter. But at least the Harry Potter books I can blame on the arrogance of youth. For this one, I got nothing. I found a scribbled paper from the supervisor I had at my internship, recommending this book to me in 2010! I cheated myself out of 7 years of happiness. Though, to be honest, I don’t remember her warning me that the first 100 pages were slow, so maybe I would have quit it. Maybe everything happens the way it does for a reason.

Fess up… what’s the book you most regret putting off reading?