Current Listen: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Wow. I'm really not sure that it's possible for me to like a book any more than I liked The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Also a HUGE shout out to the translator, Lucia Graves. This book takes place in post-WWII Barcelona, which already intrigued me since I visited Spain in the summer of 2013. Daniel Sempere is a young man whose father owns a used and rare bookshop. Daniel's father takes him to the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and it is there where Daniel discovers a novel called The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. It is the best book Daniel has ever read, but when he tries to find more books by the author he discovers that they are almost impossible to find. He embarks on a journey to discover more about the author and about his novels, encountering some incredibly well-written characters along the way.
God what a great book. One of those where you don't want to start anything else for awhile and just revel in it. It has several sequels that apparently also center themselves around the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, but SADLY I do not own any of those, so I won't be reading them for awhile. I need to cut down on the ordering things from the library, also, or I won't be able to get anywhere with the main goal of this blog.
Speaking of library books...I was weak and do currently have three checked out. They are three that the internet would NOT stop talking about. I really trust Kristina Horner and Sanne from booksandquills, and they book have recommended these at one point or another, and they've also appeared on a number of Pinterest-y book lists from Buzzfeed and Bustle and other such listy places. After this next one, An Ember in the Ashes, I'll be doing The Wrath and the Dawn and then Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. They're all YA, which means I should get through them quickly and get back to my list. I'm also not sure that I'll be able to fit them all into my reading challenge, so that's stressing me out (though I am doing VERY well and will be fine...I just need to calm down). School starts on Monday, which is a sad thing, since that cuts down the reading time considerably. The pool will still be open for a month, though, so there's that, plus I've been reading a lot at the gym lately.
Here's an updated reading challenge, if you were curious:
A book with more than 500 pages: Drums in Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
A classic romance: Rebecca
A book that became a movie: Paper Towns by John Green
A book published this year: Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins
A book with a number in the title: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A book written by someone under 30: My Drunk Kitchen by Hannah Hart
A book with nonhuman characters: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A funny book: Grace’s Guide by Grace Helbig
A book by a female author: Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
A mystery or a thriller: Doll Bones by Holly Black
A book with a one-word title: Scarlet - Marissa Meyer
A book of short stories: Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri
A book set in a different country: Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
A nonfiction book: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
A popular author’s first book: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet: Fairest by Marissa Meyer
A book a friend recommended: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
A Pulitzer Prize-winning book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
A book based on a true story: Odette's Secrets by Maryann Macdonald
A book at the bottom of your to-read list:
A book your mom loves: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
A book that scares you: The Noon Day Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon
A book more than 100 years old:
A book based entirely on its cover: Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zail
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t:
A memoir: Yes, Please! by Amy Poehler
A book you can finish in a day: Hidden by Helen Frost
A book with antonyms in the title: Sunlight and Shadow? Darkness at noon? Fat man and little boy? Midnight in the garden of good and evil?
A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
A book that came out the year you were born:Good Omens!, Jurassic Park, The Things They Carried
A book with bad reviews: Frogged by Vivian Vande Velde
A trilogy: Legend trilogy by Marie Lu
A book from your childhood: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
A book with a love triangle: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
A book set in the future: Cress by Marissa Meyer
A book set in high school:
A book with a color in the title: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
A book that made you cry: The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford
A book with magic: Wild Born by Brandon Mull
A graphic novel: Watchmen by Alan Moore
A book by an author you’ve never read before: Almost Super by Marion Jensen
A book you own but have never read:
A book that takes place in your hometown: All the Bright Places
A book that was originally written in a different language: Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A book set during Christmas: Let it Snow
A book written by an author with your same initials:Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
A play: Raisin in the Sun
A banned book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
A book based on or turned into a TV show: Wolf Hall
A book you started but never finished:
I looked through my owned books spreadsheet and did find a few promising ones for the antonyms one...I just really didn't want to read War and Peace, haha. I'm sure it's a great book, but I have enough classics on the list that I already own to get through first. Alrighty then, off to get stuff done. That's all she wrote!
