Book Survey 2014

Book and Literature Challenge 2014

1.     Your 10 favorite books of all time.
This is really hard.

1.  The Bible
2.  Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
3.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4.  The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
5.  The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
6.  Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
7.  Lisey’s Story by Stephen King
8.  State of Fear by Michael Crichton
9.  A Song of Ice and Fire Series by JRR Martin
10. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

2.     Your 5 least favorite books of all time.

Oh gosh, I try to forget them.

1. Who Moved My Cheese -First book I didn't like
2. The Little Prince -First novel that seemed pointless
3. Every Day by David Levithan  -There are so many things wrong with this I don't even know where to start.
4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner  -This is tell, not show on crack.
5. Everneath by Ashton Brodi  -This is my least favorite book in the last two months or so. It is awful and you can read my review on it find out why. 

3.     Your favorite characters (and which books they’re from).

Karuo, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: Karuo inspired me with her creativity, past, and passion. 
Francisco D'Anconia, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Francisco is  the dream man. His success, loyalty, intelligence, and willingness to sacrifice are what makes him unique in a world where his type have been stereotyped to death.
Darrow, Red Rising by Pierce Brown: Darrow is arrogant, intelligent but lacking wisdom, determined, and loyal. He can be so many things without being perfect. His flaws are what makes him and this story worth reading. 
Elisa, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: Elisa is on this list because she is actually smart and not just because the author says so. She also breaks a lot of stereotypes and makes you feel comfortable rather than awkward. Her faith, self esteem issues, and logical mind are rare gems in the YA world and all were classy and well done. 
Liam, The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken: Liam is basically my ideal fantasy man. He makes "the feels" happen. Shallow? Surprisingly not. He's the good boy with a dangerous edge and lots of love and loyalty. 
Ragnar Danneskjold, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: Ragnar is one of my favorite character because he exists as an antithesis to another popular character. He was created with just enough vagueness to be mysterious without unknowing, and peppered with all the things we love to love in a character like: being a pirate for good, having cool tech, good looks, being the best captain on the sea. Plus he saves people's money from thieves. 

4.     Characters you hate.

Edward Cullen, Twilight: This guy has no personality, is cold, sparkly, a creeper/pedophile, selfish, and is a terrible vampire. I am in good company with this one. 
Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games: I'm so sorry. I feel bad about hating him, and my hate only stems from his survival which makes me an even worse person. But the fact he survived when so many others that were better qualified didn't. Plus I feel like he is the only that got a happy ending when the characters I loved didn't. This makes Collins a genius but I still don't like Mellark. So maybe I just loathe him, not hate him.....
Petyr Baelish, A Song of Ice and Fire: I am not sure there is anything to like about this guy. He is ultimately responsible (in my eyes) for the seven realms going to Hell in a hand basket.
King Joffery, A Song of Ice and Fire: Joffery's cruelty and arrogance thankfully landed him dead but no soon enough. This kid was awful in every sense of the word, a true horror show. 
Clary, The Mortal Instruments: She could be anybody, which I guess is the point but that's boring. She also had what she believed to be an incestuous relationship with a creepy dude. Plus she has no redeeming qualities.

5.     If you were stranded on a desert island, what five books would you take with you? Include one reason for each.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy- I haven't read it and the length would entertain me, more bang for your buck.
The Bible, NIV-because spiritual growth can still happen on a desert island and God will be my only company anywayA Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants-I really like to eat
How to Survive Almost Anything from National Geographic-I know next to nothing about surviving alone and I'm lazy, not a good combination
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen- because civilization and wit must not be forgotten. 
 

6.     The best book you've read in the last year.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I picked this one because I don't give it enough love. I have read a lot of good books in the last year but this was the most well round of them. It was written well, had a great subject, and taught me the most. 

7.     The worst book you've read in the last year.

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren-I don't know what possessed me to read this but it was awful. Every little thing, but it didn't make my least favorite books of all time list because most people know this. I don't have to save them. 

8.     Your favorite quotes from books.

"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."

"I live for you," I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

---Red Rising 
_____

The Money Speech from Francisco D'Anconia. I can't put the whole thing here. Go look it up, it might change your life.

9.     Your favorite quotes about books.

I invoke phone a friend option: My friend says skip this one. 

10.   Name five absolutely great film adaptations of books.

I am not sure there are five great adaptations but let's give it a go!

1.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. This is the best one on my list, they incorporated so many nuances I thought would get left out and I thought the acting was fantastic. Very impressive.
2. Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton. It's a classic, it's a masterpiece.  
3. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 
4. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 
5. Yeah, I've got nothing. 

11.   Name three absolutely awful film adaptations of books.

This one is much easier. Whew.

1. Sphere by Micheal Crichton
2. The Mist by Stephen King
3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

12.   Your favorite author(s).
So I only picked authors I have read at least three books from. That was the criteria I gave myself.  

Tana French. She is a doll and has a wicked, clever mind that she is gracious enough to share with us.
Micheal Crichton. I love how well thought out and explained everything he write is. Jurassic Park, Sphere, Timeline, Sate of Fear, Congo. They just capture me.
JRR Martin. Gosh that man is sneaky. He is the tortoise in the Tortoise and the Hare. He doesn't necessarily immediately grab you, but you find yourself immersed and caring but not sure when that happened exactly. He also doesn't churn out the books every year.......
Jane Austen. I haven't read anything from her I didn't like and the undercutting humor is top notch. Plus you learn about the fine art of the insult and charm. 

13.   Your favorite book from childhood.

Shadows In the Water by Katherine Lasky. This book was so beautiful, fun and the setting was in the Florida Keys. It was wonderful. Truly. It had TWO sets of twins that were telepathic and dolphins. Pretty amazing. 

14.   A book you regret not having read sooner.

Atlas Shrugged, but maybe I wouldn't have been mature enough to get it. I wish people would read it and understand.

15.   A book you haven’t read, but is on your “will read” list.

Just one?! I have over a hundred. Probably Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo or The Demon King by C Chima.

16.   A book you haven’t read and have no intention of ever reading. (If you want, tell us why you don’t want to read it.)

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  First, because Oprah is so adamant about it and she doesn't have the best track record to picking books I like, plus our over society's over emphasis on class welfare and victimization at this time, (NOT the time this was written). I just feel over stimulated by the subject matter.   

17.   A book you want to like, but can’t get into for whatever reason. Why can’t you get into it?

A Cuckoo's Calling by Robert G. (Aka JK Rolling). I don't know why I couldn't get into it. The characters were good, the plot was good. Maybe it was the wording? The pace? It could be the pacing. 

18.   A book you think is highly overrated.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. I do not know why people are excited about this at all. The character's relationships make no sense and the world building was pretty but fell flat. 

19.   A book you think is woefully underrated.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. 
If you have not read this series and enjoy strong, well developed characters that experience true conflict handled in a logical matter that has adventure, magic, and all sorts of meaningful relationships then this book is for you. Plus Prague. 

20.   The environment you most enjoy reading in.

I like being home alone in bed snuggled up. I like the idea of reading outside but Florida general doesn't cooperate. 

21.   The most disturbing book you’ve ever read.
Pet Semetery by Stephen King ---Let me tell you that is some freaky craft right there. I won't be reading that one again. 

22.   A book you once loved, but don’t anymore. What changed?

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. *le sigh* Honesty is the best policy. Well I thought the whole premise was beautiful and fun in high school but I reread it right after college and saw the error of my ways. The characters are shallow, except Jake (I'm holding out for him!) and there are actually really twisted concepts that are acceptable. 

23.   A book you once hated, but now like. What changed?

I have not had the pleasure of this experience. But I have tried- I gave the Little Prince a second change in college. I gave the Great Gatsby a second chance last year. I also retried Divergent. I almost gave the Picture of Dorian Gray another shot but it just didn't work out. But I challenge you to challenge me! 

24.   Your favorite series.

My mind says A Song of Ice and Fire. One, because it isn't finished. Two, the diversity is sublime. Three, it's long and complex. My heart says Card Captor Sakura but I don't think graphic novels are apart of this survey.

25.   The nerdiest book you’ve ever read.

         Black Bodies and Quantum Cats by Jennifer Ouellette ---It's a collection of stories about physics principals with elaborate analogies. 

26.   Your favourite type of non-fiction book. 
Biographies like the Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Bedford or cookbooks because food.

27.   Your favorite genre.

Well my favorites list would have you believing it was young adult dystopian. But I think my favorite is crime solving mysteries. 

28.   The first book you can remember reading on your own.

        Wizard of Oz, my grandma had this big, gorgeous illustrated version. It was shorter than the original but it is one of my first memories. She read it to many so many times, eventually I remembered the words. 

29.   An author you wish was more well-known.

Maggie Stiefvater. I think her writing would appeal to the masses in general plus the dark fun in her Raven Boys series is unique. 

30.   The book you’re reading right now:

Written in Red by Anne Bishop. My thoughts on this one are: such a fun world but also annoying. I like the characters. The main character, Meg, is tolerable but not entirely believable. I am also listening to the Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling). I don't have any opinions on that yet.  

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Everneath by Brodi Ashton

I picked up this novel because  the book bloggers I really respect all had great things to say about this. I have never so ardently disagreed.

 In the first page, the main character is pathetic.  "It's so hard to open my eyes!" I am stuck to a boy and he stole everything that made me myself. We spent 100 years cuddling. Hot boy and main character are surprised she has a special power to simply survive. How demeaning. For this I will not name her; she will simply be "the main character." (And also because she is Clary/Bella/Could be anyone). There is also zero introduction which I have never experienced before. It was not pleasant. At first I was convinced I picked up a book from the middle of a series. This has never happened to me before. 

Well in the first scene she wants to go home to her honey after "being asleep" for 100 years. Yeah, that's a great idea.  But lucky for her, only 6 months have passed on "the surface". That is a pretty useless time warp since nothing happened except sleeping/cuddling in the 100 years she was gone. 

When she returns, no one is seemingly happy to have her back. Her dad "tastes" disappointed. Other than the fact the MC is now tasting emotions, her dad is apparently horrid. No one runs to great her when she gets back in school, they just gossip about her being a druggie. Then her honey is, perfectly, in her first class of the day. But aghast! she hasn't thought about what to do now that she has traveled worlds to find him. She gets tongue tied and all she can say is "hi." I honestly don't know if I can stand a few more hours of this torture. 

The writing style is also annoying because the author withholds so much information that the narrator knows. Then sometimes she goes back to explain scene set up after the scene happens. Also, the main character has bouts of memory loss, that is never actually a problem because she remembers everything and it's casually thrown in there after all the memories come back. It's like it was just a clause thrown in there to help the writer get herself out a jamb. This sloppy and confusing. It is also filled with gems like "I heard one of them sigh but I didn't know which one."It's like the author lacks confidence and understanding of language. She added 60% more words to a sentence so that repeats the same idea. The story bounces between a 'now' and 'then' time frames which is both helpful for getting essential details since nothing was provided in the beginning and a waste. Had the story been told chronologically it would have been much better because as I learned how the MC to ended up in her position I did soften to her a tad. It would have also helped the character to make sense. 

Speaking of character that don't involve the female protagonist let's review them. First there is Cole, the bad boy, ever living, emotion eater, rock band guitarist. He is in love with the main character for no discernible reason. Then there is Jack, the wholesome love interest that was the best friend and then the boyfriend. I normally adore this type. Jack will be my exception because he isn't especially endearing, he is just too plain. 

The side characters include Jules, the main character's best friend. This character was treated as simply a role, not a character at all. It was painful. The main character's family, Tommy and Dad, were developed slightly better. The emphasis that the MC puts on them in her mind is not the same emphasis that her actions describe. This sort of illusion is actually dangerous because thinking feelings is not the same as living them out. I will say that the very end of book sort of switches gears in this but for all the wrong reasons and way too late. The only other characters worth noting are Mary, Will, and the MC's English teacher. Mary was actually not bad, but there was a major plot hole connected with her. Maybe it will be addressed in the future but I'll never know. The English teacher was role a filling. But Will, now here is proof that Ashton can write a good character. He has real problems that stem from serious events in his past but he changes over time to combat them. I liked Will. Aston did so much with so little screen time with him.  

Then there are sorts of fabricated problems that feel thrown in like this nugget about a quarter way through: 

"My eyes started to sting even though I wasn't sure if I had recovered enough emotions to cry." What? When did this become a problem? She hasn't had trouble "feeling" anything before. She has been boiling with emotion from the beginning. 

Then there is the MC weird sense of humor. "I smiled at the way he said 'guest' like that was my name or something."

About two thirds of the way through, the main character's father is suddenly a lawyer as well as the major which is revealed in a comment that addresses the way he addresses juries. It's this sort of want to be critical thinking lesson that jars the flow of the book and distracts the reader from the action. 

Good things: 

+Beautiful cover. Like drop dead gorgeous. 

+The author brings up some interesting questions about being famous, like "do famous people always feel like others are waiting for them to perform?" 

+Random burst of good humor like when Cole has a good quip about turning a frown on it's *ss. That was actually funny. 

+The main character also does that thing where she assumes because the rock band is famous on a grass roots level that they are like the famous people she sees on TV. This is a great nuance that adds depth to the main character.  

The ending of this book is suppose to be shocking and true love's glory but honestly the foreshadowing was more like a neon sign than anything remotely subtle so it felt stale. So how I managed through it all thanks to the Good Reads book challenge (only two more for this year's goal!), otherwise it would have been a dnf. 

I realize that this review is pretty harsh but not calling out the problems isn't in the spirit of writing good reviews. I don't actually write well enough to write good reviews but I need all the practice I can get. I give this book one guitar out of five. 

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