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I did however manage to complete 5 and 1/2 challenges.
1984 by George Orwell
I think that this is a book you should go into this without knowing much but I will give a brief outline.
1984 is a dystopian classic written the 1949 as George Orwells prophecy to how the world will end up by the 1980s and it follows Winston who works for the Government rewriting history for the purpose of indoctrination while silently hating the party and going through life terrified of the thought police.
This was the first book I managed to read and it completed the challenge of read a book from a genre you've read the least of this year as I haven't read as many classics as I would have liked.
I ended up really enjoying this book and I found it really interesting as it brought up some interesting themes as well as giving as many questions as it gave answers. It started off quite slowly for me and felt a bit heavy but it really picked up about half way through amd by the end it felt completely unpredictable which I really enjoyed. I also liked the fact that the ending wasn't all tied up neatly and that it left questions unanswered as I thought it highlighted the ideas and topics which the book addressed.
The Specatacular Now by Tim Tharp
Sutter's the guy you want at a party. He'll get very one dancing. He'll get everyone in your parents' pool. He has no plans for university and will probably end up folding men's shirts for a living. But right now life's pretty good.
Until he meets Aimee. Aimee's clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help. It's up to Sutter to show her a splendiferous time and then let her go.
But Aimee's not like other girls and before long he's in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else's life - or ruin it
This book completed the read a book someone picked for you and it only completed half of the read and watch the book-to-movie adaptation because unfortunately I didn't get on to watching the film. The Spectacular Now was not at all like how I expected it to be as I thought it was going to be a cute love story which it really wasn't. I still really enjoyed it, though not as much as I hoped to. I found the story interesting and the writing style was really good. The characters were also really well developed and interesting. However, they didn't feel very relatable and I wasn't able to form a complete opinion on them which is the main reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked. Despite this, I would still reccomend it and I think that many people would love this book.
Winger by Andrew Smith
Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. He’s also madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.
With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.
This completed both the challenge to read a book with pictures and the challenge to read a book with red on the cover. Aah this book, it was just... I mean I can't even... Whaaaaaaat? I still haven't been able to deal with this, I mean....the ending..!! If anyone has read this then you will know exactly what I am talking about. This books was brilliantly written, completely and realistically capturing the essence of a 14 year old boy. Andrew Smith couldn't have hit the nail on the head more accurately- the characters were perfect in how real and relatable they could be. I mean, I'm not a boy so I couldn't directly relate, but I still could in the way that it is how I understand that boys tend to act. I loved the drawings in it too, it added an extra bit of humor to this already very funny book. Wow, I just really, really loved it - emotional, real, funny and addressing things that are actually a big issue in today's society. You need to read this.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #3) by Arthur Conan Doyle
12 short stories showcasing 12 different cases the detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson work together to solve. The 12 stories are: A Scandal in Bohemia, The Adventure of the Red-Headed League, A Case of Identity, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.
I bended the rules a bit by using this book to complete the start and finish a series challenge as it is a series of 12 short stories within the Sherlock Holmes series. Although I've only counted it as one book, I have counted it as a series but I'm not sure if others would but oh well... Anyway, I again thought this was a really good instalment of the series and er much enjoyed reading more of Holmes and Watson's adventures. They are great little stories which are lots of fun and are good for popping inbetween two long books. However, for some reason (maybe it's the old fashioned language, or maybe it's just because I'm reading them on the kindle app) I always find them slightly slow-paced and harder to get through than other books.
Did you take part in the booktube-a-thon? How much did you read, what challenges did you manage to complete?
Ellen xxx
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