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Of the books you read during this challenge, which would you recommend the most? Which challenge was it for you ? I think we'd all love some ideas for great books to read!


For me, the book I recommend the most is Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones. I read it as "a book that contains non-human characters." It was a beautiful book and so creative.

The book's description:

"The Dog Star, Sirius, is tried for murder by his heavenly peers and found guilty. His sentence: to be reborn on Earth as a dog until such time as he carries out the seemingly impossible mission imposed on him.

In his Earth guise, Sirius, renamed Leo, truly lives a dog's life. Although he is the pet of a girl who loves him, both child and dog are mistreated by the family with whom they live. But the worldly obstacles Leo faces are minor when compared with his chilling encounters with the Dark Powers that are set against him. His quest seems hopeless until at last Sol, Moon, and Earth itself come to his aid.

Dogsbody is a tense, exciting, sciencefiction fantasy, a thriller, and a touching dog story all in one."

I liked a lot of the books I read, but many of them I had chosen not because of the challenge but because I wanted to read them and was able to fit them in (inside the O'Briens, dad is fat, the cuckoo's calling and open heart open mind were all favourites but none were chosen because of the challenge) so I am going to choose one that I did read to fit into a category that I was having trouble filling. I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson for a banned book. I got the recommendation from this group actually and I just loved it. I thought it was thought provoking and beautifully written. I think every adolescent girl AND boy should read it. Girls will be able to relate to the first person voice and her struggles and boys may be able to see how devastating and serious sexual harassment or assault is for a girl. At the end of the book there was a q&a with the author and it was one thing that stood out for her; how many boys read it and then commented to her that they didn't understand what the big deal was but were able to empathize with it by the end of the book.

That's a great question, but it is hard to pick just one!

I would say my top two were:

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton (book more than 500 pages)

Description: During a summer party at the family farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson has escaped to her childhood tree house and is happily dreaming of the future. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon is over, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that challenges everything she knows about her family and especially her mother, Dorothy—her vivacious, loving, nearly perfect mother.

Now, fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress living in London. The family is gathering at Greenacres farm for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this may be her last chance, Laurel searches for answers to the questions that still haunt her from that long-ago day, answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past.

Dorothy’s story takes the reader from pre–WWII England through the blitz, to the �60s and beyond. It is the secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds—Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy—who meet by chance in wartime London and whose lives are forever entwined. The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams and the unexpected consequences they sometimes bring. It is an unforgettable story of lovers and friends, deception and passion that is told—in Morton’s signature style—against a backdrop of events that changed the world.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - Daniel James Brown (book with a number in the title)

Description: Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.

The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.

Drawing on the boys� own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant. It will appeal to readers of Erik Larson, Timothy Egan, James Bradley, and David Halberstam's The Amateurs.

This is a good question. The first half of the year I just read books and they just happened to fulfill prompts. The second half I scheduled out my books and planned the remaining part of the year out. I would have never read a classic romance (Little Women), a Pulitzer prize book (All the Light We Cannot See), or a 100 year old book (Peter Pan) if it wasn't for this challenge. There were plenty of deadbeat books (funny because I read D is for Deadbeat for book that came out in my birth year and didn't care for it) but majority were books I had planned to read anyway! It was a fun way to plan out my reading!

That being said, I think my favorite book was You which I used for Book That Scares you. I went a little outside the box because I didn't use a book that had zombies or ghosts or anything from the horror category. This book "scared" me because the main character is a male stalker. He worked in a book store and stalked a girl he liked by using her twitter, facebook and her own personal email account! This "scared" me because we all so mindlessly post updates to our social media accounts and its so easy for any one to follow us around or break in to our places when they see our vacation photos online. It really made me think that things like this probably do happen in real life. There's going to be a second book to this (Hidden Bodies) and it just so happens to come out next year - planning on using it for book published in 2016!

Such a great idea for a post! I haven't finished the challenge yet, but I'm at least halfway through the last couple books left.

Honestly, my two favorite books that I read this year were Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (38. A Book that Made You Cry) and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (5. A Book with a Number in the Title). However, I feel like I was super late on the bandwagon for these books and most of the other group members have already read them or put them in their tbr pile, so my recommendation will be...

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson (4. A Book Published This Year)

If you visit any historically preserved colonial town or re-enactment in America, in the Town Square on a risen platform there will be a set of wooden stocks or a pillory. Colonists and citizens (mostly the poor) would be placed in these wooden contraptions for crimes ranging from theft to public drunkenness to homosexual activities. While the accused was restrained, denizens of the town would gather around the square and punish the offender by throwing rotten fruit, forcibly tickling, mocking and insulting, or even whipping them. This sentence and public shaming in general is now illegal almost everywhere in the United States, not because it was ineffective at stopping crime, but because it was deemed cruel. Cruel to the poor man or woman trapped inside, and cruel making to the citizens who delighted in their torture.

Recently, public shaming has made a resurgence in the Western world - through the internet. All of us probably do it - you probably do it, I definitely do it, and so does Jon Ronson. Honestly, I felt some weird sense of justice when I saw a post on Facebook that Martin Skreli's bail had been arbitrarily raised by 5000%, the same percentage which he raised the price of his company's AIDS medication. While Mr. Skreli is a criminal who made sick people's lives miserable and could arguably deserve the hatred of millions of people, most of the people we publicly shame on the internet are less guilty. Some recent headlines include: "LSU Bro Shows Class How to Seduce Women: 'Make Her Believe She Doesn't Have a Choice'"(Jezebel), "Video of Couple Having Sex in Dressing Room Goes Viral"(Playboy), and "Multiple Firings After Racially Charged Facebook Remarks Mocking a Black Child Go Viral"(Atlanta Black Star).

While perpetuating rape culture and racially mocking a young child are completely unacceptable, the question that Jon Ronson raises in his book is if being publicly mocked by popular websites such as Gawker and Buzzfeed is too harsh a retribution. We're human and we make mistakes, but, as they say, the internet is forever. We hope that by posting these articles and publicly shaming these people on twitter or by getting them fired from their job or suspended from their school that they will learn their lesson and reform. But is that always how it works? And if they do learn their lesson, is there any way to escape your past mistakes from showing up on your next employer's or date's google search? Are we better people or making the world a better place by sharing these images, names, and screencaps? If you've ever wondered about this (or are wondering about it now after reading this post), pick up this book (or audiobook) at your nearest library, bookstore, or internet commerce location.

Great question! My favorite book that I never would have read if not for this Challenge was Station Eleven (read for: book w/ a number in the title). I really like dystopians, but I was leery of "adult literary dystopians" after reading - and being disappointed by - California. But I needed a book with a number, and I HAD been curious about Station Eleven, so I gave it a try. I loved almost every page of it!! Yes, it's a story about what happens to society after today's civilization collapses due to a health epidemic - but it's not depressing. It is poignant, and melancholy, and even scary in places, but in the end I found this story very uplifting. It said: yes, here is all this shit that floats to the surface, but there is all of the truly good and strong parts of humanity that hold together.

I enjoyed most of the books I read this year, but I do have a few favorites:

Like Sara, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics was one of my favorite books of the year. I couldn't stop talking about it while I was reading it. It has everything a good sports story should: a compelling central figure, adversity, a seemingly unattainable goal, etc. And it made me want to learn to row. For me this fulfilled the "book set in your hometown" prompt.

I also loved The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore. I listened to the audiobook while baking Christmas cookies and laughed my ass off. Moore isn't for everyone, but I really enjoy his work. It will probably become a new holiday tradition for me. (BTW, the narrator of the book was a bit drawl-ly for my taste, so I listened at 1.25X speed which made it perfect.)

I've really enjoyed the tidbits/facts in A Reader's Book of Days: True Tales from the Lives and Works of Writers for Every Day of the Year. It's been very informative, but not really a book you need to read straight through.

I also enjoyed my re-reads of The Mysterious Affair at Styles and Mama's Bank Account.

The Coronation, Something Fishy, and Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death would also be very high on my list of recommendations depending on the audience.

Alexis wrote: "For me, the book I recommend the most is Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones. I read it as "a book that contains non-human characters." It was a beautiful book and so creative."
Ah, I love Diana Wynne Jones! That's a good one.

The books I'm recommending are the ones I wish people around me had read so I could discuss them as soon as I finished: Still Alice which I read for a book that makes me cry, and Water for Elephants which I read for my love triangle. I had some other favorites, too, but those are the ones I most want to spread.

Of the books I read this year I would most recommend The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Books I-II

Yes it is long and but it was both of one the best and most depressing things I'd ever read. It filled in a lot of blanks in history for me and had some really interesting human nature something going on in there.

I mean when have you ever seen this disclaimer at the beginning of a book.

"In this book there are no fictitious persons, nor fictitious events. People and places are named with their own names. If they are identified by initials instead of names, it is for personal considerations. If they are not named at all, it is only because human memory has failed to preserve their names. But it all took place just as it is here described.�

I am planning on reading the other two installments next year.

I read so many books that I enjoyed this year, but my absolute favourites that I would recommend to others would be The Book Thief which I read for the prompt a book with more than 500 pages.

The Help which I read for a book that became a movie.

If you like crime books I'd definitely recommend The Killing trilogy which I read for the trilogy.

And finally if you like slow, melancholy love stories which are beautifully written, look no further than Hotel du Lac which I picked for the prompt a book that came out the year you were born.

My favorite book so far was a tie between The Ruby Circle by Rachelle Mead and Winter by Marissa Meyers. Both were endings to series. They both wrapped up the series in a satisfactory way. I read quite a few I wouldn't have without the challenge, they weren't my favorite but I'm glad I read them.

My favorite books from this challenge were Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt (a book with more than 500 pages), Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives (a book published this year), and especially K.J. Charles's Think of England (a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit).

As Meat Loves Salt was a brutal, intense read set in 1600s England that left me feeling like I'd been stripped down to my bones and then put back together - it tested me as a reader, engaging my empathy for a main character who was objectively monstrous but who I could never quite hate. Better than Before helped me learn a lot about myself in ways that made concrete changes in my life seem attainable. And Think of England was a smart, fun, sexy novel with engaging characters, excellent dialogue, and a near-perfect tone throughout.

The books I rated the highest this year (5 stars) were:

1. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (another country, more than 500 pages, published this year, female author)
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (takes place in high school, female author)
3. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize winner, short stories, female author)
4. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Pulitzer Prize winner, more than 500 pages, another country)
5. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (another country, can read in a day)

Some of these I read for pleasure because they didn't fit categories I had remaining but all would fit prompts in 2015 or 2016.