Top Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently That Weren't My Typical Genre

Presented by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently That Weren't My Typical Genre

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

I don't really do science fiction, pretty much ever.  If I delve into that side of literature I go towards fantasy, but this book was amazing.

2. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

I actually read this as a brand new book, that I requested through the library because it had been on the bestsellers lists (or at least the author had).  I don't typically read mainstream, new releases, but this was kind of hilarious.

3. Breakwater Bay by Shelley Nobel

Just a basic family drama/romance, not normally exciting for me.

4. Awesome Sh*t My Drill Sergeant Said by Dan Caddy

This was straight up hilarious, and nonfiction is not my favorite genre by far.

5. If You Feel Too Much by Jamie Tworkowski

Again, nonfiction, but it's from To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), so I had to because I love them, and I loved this.

6. Raising My Rainbow by Lori Duron

Blah memoirs usually, especially whiny ones about how someone is different and life is hard, but I found this rather inspiring.

7. American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Again, memoir, but war.  I love war movies, not typically books.  This was the best book I read in 2015 hands down.

8. Entwined With You by Sylvia Day

I normally find myself embarrassed by reading books that are known to be about sex and not much more, but this series has actual plot and Sylvia Day can actually write, so I make the exception for her.

9. Who Was Alfred Hitchcock? by Pamela D. Pollak

Need I say memoir again?  I'm starting to think I read these more than I think, but this was childrens level.  If you have a child and they don't like nonfiction, introduce them to this series of books, they'll love it.

10. The Terrorist's Son by Zak Ebrahim

Memoir!  Mostly I loved it because it was related to a Ted Talk, and if you don't know what Ted Talks are, then google it.  Now.  Seriously.

Review: The Martian

Title:  The Martian
Author:  Andy Weir
Rating:  6/5

Summary:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Review:

I cannot express how much I truly loved this book.  I would say it was my favorite this year, but considering it's only February, that is setting myself up for a year of shitty reading that couldn't compare.  Oddly enough I was given this book as a present on a first date (awesome, right?), and I started reading it that night.  It started off for me as a book I heard was highly recommended and I wanted to read it before I saw the movie (which now I'm not sure I want to see).  It ended up being amazing though!

Yes, sure, there was a lot of technical science talk, but the humor amidst it more than made up for parts I didn't understand.  I think I would have actually been satisfied if the only point of view the entire book was from Mark, but I did enjoy seeing NASA scramble in the aftermath.

So basically I'm recommending this book to absolutely anyone I can think of who reads and hasn't read it yet.  I've already converted a few people.  Even if you don't normally like science fiction (like me) you should read this!

Review: 5 to 1

Title:  5 to 1
Author:  Holly Bodger
Rating:  2/5

Summary:

In the year 2054, after decades of gender selection, India now has a ratio of five boys for every girl, making women an incredibly valuable commodity. Tired of marrying off their daughters to the highest bidder and determined to finally make marriage fair, the women who form the country of Koyanagar have instituted a series of tests so that every boy has the chance to win a wife.

Sudasa doesn’t want to be a wife, and Contestant Five, a boy forced to compete in the test to become her husband, has other plans as well. Sudasa’s family wants nothing more than for their daughter to do the right thing and pick a husband who will keep her comfortable—and caged. Five’s family wants him to escape by failing the tests. As the tests advance, Sudasa and Five thwart each other at every turn until they slowly realize that they just might want the same thing.

This beautiful, unique novel is told from alternating points of view—Sudasa’s in verse and Contestant Five’s in prose—allowing readers to experience both characters’ pain and their brave struggle for hope.


Review:

This book left me wanting a lot.  The first thing that drew me in was the magnificent artwork on the cover, and next that the majority of the book was in poetry.  However, those two points are about the only things I liked about this book.

I love dystopian novels, but this felt as disjointed as an imagined future world seems to be.  The writing was loose and there several grammatical errors that I'm unsure how they passed editing.  The concept was very interesting, especially considering China's one-child policy and the likelihood of this situation (outnumbering girls) will happen in that country.

The first time the author switched points of view I was lost.  The paragraphs were dense blocks of text with little meaning and less emotion.  This story could have gone two ways, and should have chosen one of these paths:  [1] been a short story of no more than 75 pages and only in Sudasa's point of view; or [2] been lengthened by at least 100 pages and have Kiran's point of view more developed.

Lastly, the title is just ridiculous.  It makes the book hard to search for and while it applies to the book well, I think something symbolic of the poems that were mentioned would have been a much better fit.

Top Ten Swoony Quotes From Books

Top Ten Swoony Quotes From Books

I don't keep track of quotes as well as I used to, so these aren't my favorites, but they are some of my most liked ones from books that I've read in the last few years.

“He had a nice smile. Seeing it, I felt like I’d won a prize, because he was so sparing with them.” 

― Sarah Dessen, Saint Anything

“I miss you."

"That's stupid," she said. "I saw you this morning."

"It's not the time," Levi said, and she could hear that he was smiling. "It's the distance.” 

― Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

“I play the music of Steven

for Steven;

ragged, helpless,

it owns me, enveloping me

with an incomprehensible love -” 

― Stasia Ward Kehoe, The Sound of Letting Go

“Oh, I wouldn't mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.” 

― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“Angel, a crowd of millions couldn’t hide you from me. I found you once. I’ll always find you.” 

― Sylvia Day, Entwined with You

“I'd rather argue with you, angel, then laugh with anyone else.” 

― Sylvia Day, Reflected in You

“Love is wild and when it is cut returns again, stronger whether you want it to or not.” 

― Jessica Anthony, Chopsticks

“I love you now for what we've already shared, and I love you now in anticipation of all that's to come.” 

― Nicholas Sparks, Nights in Rodanthe

“Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world.” 

― Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue

“My love is selfish. I cannot breathe without you.” 

― John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

Top Ten Books I've Recently Added To My TBR

Top Ten Books I've Recently Added to My TBR

This is an ironic top-ten because I actually finally cleaned out my Goodreads TBR this past month.  I have added a few though, let's see if it's enough for this list.

1. One with You (Crossfire, #5) by Sylvia Day

2. Halfway House by Katherine Noel

3. Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

4. The Martian by Andy Weir

5. The Bear by Claire Cameron

6. Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton

7. The Small Hand and Dolly by Susan Hill

8. A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger

9. The Gorgeous Nothings by Emily Dickinson

10. On the Fence by Kasie West