Reading Challenge: April 2018

I had spring break this month, so I was able to read more books than ever. And what good books they were! This has been a great month for reading.

The Selection by Kiera Cass (a bestseller from the year you graduated high school)
Honestly? Not the best book I've ever read. The writing and the plot were pretty "eh" and predictable and the stakes never really felt real, but it's not a bad book. It's just . . . fine.

Warcross by Marie Lu (a book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to)
Suspenseful. Non-stop. Good, like I've come to expect from Lu. The ending felt weird, but I'm excited to read the next one.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (a book about feminism)
I've been wanting to read this book since I read the excerpt about Shakespeare's sister. For someone who lived 100 years ago, Woolf really knows how to make life vivid and meaningful. In fact, it's almost sad that feminists of 100 years ago talked about things that are still a problem today.

Meet Cute by various (a book that's published in 2018)
Like the title implies, cute! Since this was written by several different authors, some of the stories were better than others, but all in all a good read.

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (a novel based on a real person)
Chris Hadfield is my hero. He debunks the stereotypes about astronauts so well. 

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (a book with characters who are twins)
Nelson's writing is so vivid, it's like I'm there, feeling the pangs of young love and passion all over again. Her characters feel so real, so flawed, so stupid, so broken. There were some definite problems with the book too, but the good points pretty much made up for them.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (a book about time travel)
Maybe I just don't get classics? but this book did not work for me. I liked (is that the right word?) the anti-war message, but I have no clue what time travel had to do with it all.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (a book by two authors)
Wow. This book got me to care about the characters so much I almost ripped out all of its pages and threw it across the room at one point (those of you who have read it KNOW WHAT PART), which isn't something I say often. Such a dark, intense book, but soooooo good.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab (a book about a villain or antihero)
There's nothing like an antihero to show that life isn't black and white and nothing is as it really seems. Vicious really goes to show how damaged even "good" people can be.

Also read, but not for the challenge:
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson writes such interesting stories and worlds! I didn't like this one as much as I expected to (I felt like it had some wasted potential, and also needed a firmer editor), but such a good idea! And a deceptively simple ending.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash