Current Listen: Armada by Ernest Cline
Hey all! Time for a tipsy blog post. I love me some double IPA. Finished not one but TWO books today!
First, I finished my Audible version of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Though it was definitely dated (I need to google some of the things he talked about to see if they've become better or worse since 1998), it was definitely an enjoyable memoir. He hiked the Appalachian Trail in a one of a kind way. This book tells the story of how Bryson attempts to through hike (the term for hiking all 2000+ miles in one go) the trail with his sort of friend Stephen Katz. With every chapter is a fair amount of history, ecology, or trail lore that give a great context to Bryson and Katz's misadventures. It was very interesting to listen to as someone who is probably going to be doing a lot of hiking in the next year (I'm planning to hike the Sacred Valley of the Incas next summer) and as someone who has dreamed of hiking the AT itself. Bryson definitely does not pull punches, and he tells you about certain mountains along the trail that are famous for being murderous and about the perils of nature itself. He mentions the sheer beauty and splendor of it even more, though. A trail hike (not a THROUGH hike, but eventually hiking all of it) is definitely on my bucket list. Side note: I think I just read that this is going to be a MOVIE next year????? That will be funny, but I'm not sure it'll be quite as successful as Wild. They can try, I support.
Secondly, I felt the need to finish Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes tonight. This one was first from the Library to read list because it's the one that I had to wait the longest to get and cannot renew--Penguin is promoting the SHIT out of this book, and with good reason. Tahir uses a backdrop of Middle Eastern-esque folklore and setting to just create the PINNACLE of the YA dystopian novel. The book is told alternately through the perspective of a slave who is part of the Resistance and a soldier of the Empire who is trying to escape his fate as a soulless killer. Obviously these two have fates that intertwine and there's all sorts of juicy romantic tension that's just LOVELY. It was hard to put down. It's also being heralded as having one of the best villains of this year's crop of YA novels in the Commandant, who runs of the Empire's military academy. I loved it, and I am SO SO SO GLAD that it's officially getting a sequel. It's a little bit unbelievable that it was written as a stand alone, since the ending is very much the prompt for a part two. Here's a reading challenge update, if you're interested!
A book with more than 500 pages: Drums in Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
A classic romance:
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:
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:
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:
A book written by an author with your same initials:Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
A play:
A banned book: I Know
A book based on or turned into a TV show:
A book you started but never finished:
Up next on the docket listening-wise is the new Ernest Cline novel, Armada, which I'm SO SO SO excited about, in part because Wil Wheaton is again the narrator. Also Aristotle and Dante, since I think I need to do some contemporary fiction and not immediately jump into another dystopia with a different premise. Too confusing. Enough for now. That's all she read! Ooooooooooh. I like that better than that's all she wrote. #bloggingnoob #strugglebus #workinprogress
No comments:
Post a Comment