2014 End of Year Review

Better late than never!

I only signed up for 2 challenges cuz I know how bad I am at completing these. But I didn't get either of them done again this year. My life took a different turn shortly after I signed up for my two.

Finish the series challenge...I did not finish one series this year even though I could have :( The next one was a non-fiction challenge...I said 20 and ended up with 19. So damn close but no cigar.

No official challenges for myself this year when it comes to reading. I may make up a few. There's Amazon's 100 books to read in a lifetime, Bitch Magazine's 100 books for young feminists, and 501 Book to Read in a Lifetime...So I still have a good list to work from. Plus all the series I can still finish this year!

I didn't even get my 75 books in for my Goodreads challenge...60 books. Not a bad show, though.

Favorite Fiction:

1. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black.

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This was surprising. I figured it would be another trivial trope-filled vampire novel. Boring. It was trope-filled but with a purpose! It was funny and even had a creepy yet adorable vampire romance. Lots of blood and smarts. It was great!

2. Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

OK, I did finish a series. This one! Yay! The first book was only so-so for me when I read it two years ago but a friend convinced me to finish the series off. So glad I did. It was gripping and well-written.

3. Under the Never Sky series by Veronic Rossi

OK, another series finished. Also a great dystipian series.

4. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

This was a great psychological thriller. Better than Gone Girl for me.

5. Pines by Blake Crouch

Also a fabulous thriller. I read this in one night. It's crazy!

This wasn't my best year for literary fiction. I read a few smart fiction books but they didn't stand out for me!

Favorite Nonfiction:

1. Yes Please by Amy Poehloer

Funny and interesting. She's a great writer too. It bogged down toward the end but overall fabulous!

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2. Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz

Love has not been the main reason for marriage ever until after the industrial revolution. She takes us down history lane. Great work.

3. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burke

This one was written for me. I loved it!

4. Secrets & Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy by Sanjiv Bhattacharya

A fascinating and yet disturbing look at various polygamous sects. He humanizes and tells their stories. Not all polygamists are the same. Great work.

5. NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson

I loved the interesting articles. These ideas were only introduced in individual chapters. Some have more studies behind them than others but in any case they were all thought-provoking.

This year hasn't been my best in posting or interacting well with my fellow bloggers. It's unfortunate and I hope to be better this next year, though don't we all. I still have some challenging times ahead and some big changes so I can't guarantee anything but look forward to trying.

I was not great at reviewing my movies at all this year. I still saw plenty but didn't put my thoughts down anywhere, unfortunately. I really hope to rectify that.

I saw 55 new to me movies this year! Thank you Netflix and Amazon!

Favorites:

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1. The Lego Movie: This is one I keep quoting and watching over and over....

2. Agora: The tragic history of the destruction of the Library of Alexandria and the murder of Hypatia. We were setback over 1000 years because of this. Just think of where we could be. Powerful.

3. Her: What's love? What makes us human? So many deep ideas in this amazing movie.

4. Philomena: This was a difficult one. Beautiful and oh so sad.

5. Stuck in Love: Just a big fat surprise of funniness and adorableness.

6. The Sapphires: Another sleeper hit for me. Can Chris O'Dowd do wrong?

7. Guardians of the Galaxy: I wasn't expecting much with this one and was really blown away by its sheer awesomeness!

8. How to Train Your Dragon 2: I cried. It was better than the first one!

9. Mockingjay Part 1: This was my favorite. It was better than its source. Lots of amazing action and story and strong women. Just a kick-ass film.

10. Veronica Mars the Movie: It wasn't the best; it could have been better but hey it was a Kickstarter project and I love Veronica Mars and it was great.

I may do a post on my least faves but for now this is good! I'm even getting this out before the new year! Yay me.

Paper Towns by John Green

I recently discovered that John Green and his brother Hank vlog together. They even have created crash courses on anything from history to chemistry and psychology. They're a great duo and I love watching them. Good stuff.

I also own every book Green has written. I loved "Looking for Alaska." I enjoyed "Will Grayson, Will Grayson." And "The Fault In Our Stars" was also very good. But I hadn't picked up "Paper Towns" yet. It's been sitting on my shelf for a few years. So when I saw him onset for the filming of "Paper Towns," I knew that was a sign I needed to get it read. ;)

A story about a boy who loves a girl and goes on a journey to discover who she really is and in turn discover who he is.

I liked it. It wasn't as good as "Looking for Alaska" but it was still thoughtful and interesting. Green is a curious and scientifically- and philosophically-literate person. He thinks. And it shows in his his books. Which I find really incredible because so many young adult books nowadays do NOT do that.

Can you love someone and still be you and let them go free? Do you love a person or just the idea you have of that person?

I always enjoy the characters Green writes. The women are usually smart and fiercely independent. The men are straight arrows that learn to live a bit through these smart and independent women.

But the story of "Paper Towns" left me a bit cold. He puts big ideas into this story and sometimes that works but it didn't quite work for me here.

Overall, it's a good read and would still recommend it even though it's not his best, in my opinion. And I will definitely give the movie a go when it comes out next summer.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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I read the book the first time right after I had watched the first movie way back when. I remember really enjoying it. But I also remember being slightly disappointed that the book didn't quite match up with the movie.

So silly of me. The second time is a charm. The initial love and lust of the movies have warn off. They are beloved movies and classics and I can now peel away the layers and look for those beautiful treasure troves. Now I can take the book on its own without the movie. It does influence how I picture the characters now. I'm seeing things I didn't see the first time around.

When I read "The Hobbit" last month I realized how Bilbo really becomes the leader in the book. He takes charge and gets stuff done. The movies don't quite portray that, I think.

Same goes for "The Fellowship of the Ring." Aragorn is more sure of his destiny than he is in the movie. Frodo is a lot older in the books and commands a bit more respect, I think, than in the movies as well.

I think the movies help add to the books but the books is where the meat lies, the heart of it all.

Tolkien truly created the pinnacle fantasy series. I only wish he had added more depth to the story by adding more women. I think there are only 3 major female characters in the series and they never talk to each other.

Overall it's the stuff of epic myth and story. Stories stay with us and make us want to be better, do better, and avoid the dark paths. Heroic imagination at its best. (This relates to the whole series not just the first book).

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking and Other Mini Book Reviews

I've been pretty sporadic on my blogging since I found out and moved to Japan. But now that I'm starting to get a routine and rhythm to my day, I'm able to cut out some time to blog again and get a bit more organized. So here are some books I've managed to read over the last couple of months.

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman

I loved this book! It's a happiness book for pessimists, like me :) Burkeman takes us on a journey through ancient ideas and philosophies that are more conducive to finding a fulfilling and meaningful life and thus happier life.

1. Don't try too hard to be happy.

2. Practice the stoic art of imagining worse-case scenarios.

If they do happen you'll find they're never as awful as you imagined.

3. The Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment.

Whether good or bad just let it be, in the moment.

4. Don't get too goal-crazy. You can become consumed with goals.

5. Get rid of our sense of self, our ego. Focusing on others as well as meditation and learn how to watch our thoughts and let them float by.

6. Let go of certainty. Be happy in insecurity.

"Above all, living in a situation of such inherent insecurity, while very far from preferable, was clarifying. Nobody would envy it. But living with fewer illusions meant facing reality head on." Realize change is constant and to embrace it.

7. Failure is always an option.

8. Death

"...imagine you are eighty years old...and then complete the sentences 'I wish I'd spent more time one...' and 'I wish I'd spent less time on...'This turns out to be a surprisingly effective way to achieve mortality awareness in short order."

Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising (2 & 3 Grisha Trilogy) by Leigh Bardugo

I read the first one last Fall and read the last two in a matter of a week. Fantastic young adult fantasy series. Layers, characters and world, have them in abundance. Strong female protagonist and actual love triangles with meat to them. She had me rooting for all the guys. I was kind of hoping she'd have her way with them all! Ha! Highly recommended :)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read this one back junior high. I thought it was time for a re-read with the movies almost all out. It was great to come back to it. I had forgotten what a strong character Bilbo truly is. He really takes charge in the end with the dwarves. It's still one of the best fantasy series ever.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

It's a cute and fun juvenile fantasy series. A bit simplistic but still a solid series. I will read the next one.

Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

He's a great writer. He takes us on his journey studying up and training for the memory competition. He tells us what he's learned about memory and how we can improve to. Memory palaces are real. But it takes time and effort to creat them. Not for me. But good to know. Fascinating read.

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Fascinating fantasy series! The art of paper folding turned into magic. I loved the idea. It was a fast read. It was fun. Strong female character. The details were a but under-developed but overall a great start to a series.

Pines by Blake Crouch

This was one of the best thrillers I've read since "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn. What the hell is going on? I was anxious and curious and disturbed and on the edge of my seat the whole book. I neglected my son....child? What child? Fascinating mystery-thriller.

*All images were taken from Goodreads.com

More Mini Book Reviews

It's been a pretty crazy few months with moving to Japan and all. While I have read a few books along the way, I haven't really had time to get my reviews up. So I'll do a quick review of them instead and will just have to call that good :)

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1. A Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony by Hector Garcia.

This was recommended by my culture class teacher. She said it would help to give me a little bit of insight into the country I was going to be occupying for two years.

Garcia had a fun and informal tone. He provided some interesting history and cultural tidbits. It helped to open my eyes to the beauty and diversity of Japan.



2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

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I read this for my book club back in the States. They even FaceTimed me in for some of it, though it was hard to hear everyone or pipe in with anything I wanted to say but it was fun nonetheless.

Gaiman has a way of writing about the sad. The story was a fable of what is, how are lives so often go. The title character (he never receives a name) meets three powerful women who live down the lane from him. One seems a little older than him and yet she seems like a full-grown adult. He can't make sense of the daughter, mother, and granddaughter. One day he is thrown into their world of magic. And it changes his life forever.

Beautifully written, difficult to fully grasp, though, for me and just left me with a sad feeling. Not my favorite but still a worthwhile read.

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3. Secrets and Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy by Sanjiv Bhattacharya.

I normally don't read books about polygamy. It hits to close to home as a former Mormon and usually any tales to read are filled with abuse and brainwashing. So  I was pleasantly surprised to read this one. He takes the stance of one finding out why polygamists practice. Are there groups that are open and tolerant of the outside world? He found both and some in between. It opened a whole new world of polygamy for me, good and bad. He's a fantastic writer and I enjoyed going on the journey with him.



4. Horrorstor: A Novel by Grady Hendrix.

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What do you get when you combine a knock-off store of Ikea with an old creepy penitentiary full of creepy prisoners and a warden? You get a horror store! This was really creepy. I read it over three nights and got scared a couple of times. The pacing was a bit weird at times and the characters were a little 2-dimensional but I overlook that due to its awesome story and scariness! I'm looking forward to the sequel!

*Received an e-book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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5. Killing Ruby Rose by Jessie Humphries.

An ass-kicking teenage girl who solves crimes! I had to read it! It was good overall but it had some really slow parts at the beginning. This is Humphries first book and she's also an attorney for her day job. I'm wondering if the kinks will get worked out as she becomes more experienced. And I wondered if she should have toned it down a bit to be a more believable young adult book or if she should have amped it up for a more worthwhile adult crime series....I have hopes Humphries will come through in her second book. Interesting characters and an interesting mystery made it a worthwhile book.

Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi

Goodreads.com

This is definitely one of the better young adult series I've read in a long time. There is a plethora of young adult dystopia right now and a story can get lost amongst the competition. But this one deserves its status.

I read all three in the trilogy: Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, and Into the Still Blue. It is young adult but I still felt like the characters were in their world and not too teen-like nor too adult-like.

Earth has been ravished by electromagnetic fields. 300 years ago the rest of civilization dispersed into the world or into 'pods', aka with technology. The magnetic fields caused enhanced mutations for the outsiders while the dwellers became addicted to technology.

Aria is a dweller who comes into contact with Perry, and outsider when they meet during a fire in her pod.

The two set out together to find the people they love, her mom and his nephew.

It's a nice love story. They really hate each other for along time and we see their relationship blossom and grow over time. There are no love-triangles, thank goodness. I hate those. Just some jealousies and misunderstandings.

All three novels focus on their relationship and the relationships they form with those around them. The ultimate goal is to make it to paradise or "The Still Blue", a spot where the magnetic fields have created a bubble with blue skies and drinkable water.

It's a great story on love, loyalty, friendship, and loss. I would recommend it for anyone.

Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage: A Mystery With Hoverbots, Bristle Bots, and Other Robots You Can Build Yourself by Bob Pflugfelder

Another great addition to the Nick and Tesla series! This time their new friend's dad's store is broken into and a very valuable comic book is stolen. It's up to Nick and Tesla to find out who or what is stealing things in this town.

They build lots of mini robots along the way to help them spy and conduct their investigations! And they still show you how to build all the neat stuff that Nick and Tesla make.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Fiction Mini Book Reviews

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White:

I read this one aloud with Gabe. He really enjoyed it. He asked questions and we had some good talks. Then we watched the movie.

It's an excellent book on friendship, love, life, and death and everything in between. A wonderful children's classic.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan:

This was a really funny read. Brennan is pretty humorous and I liked her witty female protagonist. But it wasn't a book that really stood out (paranormal young adult fiction). It was cliche all the way through and slighted other characters that didn't need slighting. It didn't hold my interest enough to finish the series but I enjoyed the few laugh-out-loud moments.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi:

Now this is a fabulous young adult dystopia/sci-fi fiction. Rossi brings out her characters in this and that makes all the difference for me. She doesn't focus too heavily on the whys and hows of how this dystopia wasteland Earth came to be and I appreciated her even more for that.

I mean there are the few undertones of saving the environment but not too heavy-handed and I think that's important anyway. It's a character-driven novel without the teen love triangle drivel that permeates so many YA fiction nowadays. Love.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman:

I really enjoyed Stedman's overall story. It's an ethical and moral one that is supposed to make us think. She mainly focuses on Tom and the ramifications his choices make in the future.

The main reason I didn't love it was I felt Stedman didn't appreciate Tom's wife enough. She made her a mad woman stereotype. I didn't identify with her at all and I wanted to. So it made the story a bit too breezy and settled than I feel it should have been.

But overall a really beautiful novel.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi:

This is the second book in the Never Sky trilogy. The first half was a bit slow. They had to set some plot up and break apart our two lovers. But once it got going it was as excellent as the first.




Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston:

I read this for my feminist book club. Hurston was a brilliant writer. She loved her characters and she loved her people and she treats them so real and tenderly in her story about Janie, a black woman living in Florida during the 30s. We follow her as she learns about who she is and how she finally learns to love. So much more to say. It's a classic and should be read by everyone.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers:

A 14-year-old black teenager is on trial for his life. He's been accused of being complicit in the murder of a store owner during a robbery.

We see all things through Steve Harmon's perspective. He decides to make a movie about his trial, so we read the trial as a script for a movie. We also get to see his journal notes that are spread throughout.

The title and thus the book, including our protagonist Steve want us to think about what constitutes a real monster. Is he one? Is he innocent? Is he still a monster even if he made some bad choices not knowing the results? It's a fascinating look at our criminal justice system and how it effects those who are just in the wrong circumstances.

We had a very fascinating discussion in our book club. I really enjoyed it.

The only problems I had with it were the miniscule details. It seems like there was also a few stereotypes that were played into in order to move the story line along.

But I think the main point was to provoke discussion and it does.

Non-fiction Mini Book Reviews

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman:

Kahneman is a psychologist who also focuses on behavioral economics. He's been around for awhile and has done many studies on how our brains work.

Basically, we have two systems. One is fast and one is slow. The fast one is our intuitive side; it makes fast decisions since our slow system is too lazy. Our slow system is our rational and logical side but it takes more energy to work through it so many times we rely too heavily on our fast side and end up making blundering errors.

An excellent book on how our brains think. Him and Tversky pioneered these studies. Amazing.

NutureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman:

The authors focus on some interesting studies that make us rethink our ideas about children and how we rear them as educators and parents.

The ones that stuck out to me were:

Chapter Two: The Lost Hour:

Kids need their sleep even more than adults do to keep those brains growing and learning properly. We need schools to start later. Yes it messes up working adults' schedules but it's serious stuff and needs to be done. Even just an hour seems to help significantly.

Chapter Three: Why White Parents Don't Talk About Race:

White parents don't know exactly what to say and are afraid they'll say the wrong thing but that ends up making kids not knowing what their parents think and make up their own biases. They don't go into any details about how to do that but emphasize that it needs to be done. It's helped me think about how to do that with my own son.

Chapter Seven: The Science of Teen Rebellion:

Studies showed that parents who set boundaries and were able to renegotiate with their kids about rules and boundaries were the ones with the least rebellious teens. So communicating and listening to their kids and allowing them to make a case for an exception for a curfew or whatever really influenced them to be more honest and to rebel less. Fascinating.

All of the chapters were fascinating but I chose my top three. I highly recommend this for anyone.

Container Gardening For Dummies by Bill Marken:

I have no yard since I live in a town home but I've been wanting to try my hand at planting a few flowers during the Spring and Winter months. So I picked this one up to help me!

It's a great one for beginners and I definitely fit that category. It's still a bit too chilly around here for me to pick up flowers to plant but I am prepared! I'm hoping only a couple of more weeks!!!

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I'm finally getting some book reviews up! Go me! Between sickness, gaining new skills (programming), life, and catching up on some reading, I haven't had as much time to blog like I want to. Hopefully I can find some good life balance and get my posts up more often.

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I finally got around to reading The Handmaid's Tale back in January for my new feminist book club. I saw the movie with Natasha Richardson way back when I was a teen and it really disturbed me. I knew the book wouldn't be any different and so I waited.

It's a powerful novel. We see the world of Offred through her eyes. We catch little snatches of how things were before and how Offred has slowly grown accustomed to her way of life.

She lives in a future where rival religious sects have plundered the U.S. government and are warring with each for their own brand of totalitarian theocracy. Women are property, have no rights, and are only useful based on how useful their uteruses are.

The excuses given are women need protecting from men who can't control themselves. Don't give them too much freedom or they'll get raped or murdered. Even Offred's partner when the fall of the government happens and her money and property are put into his hands, seems nonchalant about the whole thing. He seems to love being in control and telling Offred it's all going to be all right.

It's a book that is just as relevant today as it was in the 80s. Separation of church and state allows all to benefit and Atwood describes so tellingly of what can happen when that isn't the case.

It's disturbing but it should be. It should make us all sit up and do something. Many women and children and other minorities and misfits in the world have something like this being done to them daily.

Freedom to be who we want to be, freedom of consciousness, freedom to believe or not to, freedom to doubt and dissent is so important in any society.

Before I Go to Sleep, Shatter Me, Hunted (Mini Book Reviews)

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Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson:

This book was 50 First Dates and Memento's love child. It was a great thriller with quite a few plot holes but it's so fast-paced I didn't mind them too much. Looks like this is going to be a new movie this year as well. Starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth! Woot!



Shatter Me by Teherah Mafi:

I read this for Misty's (from Book Rat) Wednesday YA book club.

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It's a unique book. Mafi writes this as first person stream-of-consciousness. It's odd and off-putting. It's really a romance thrown into a dystopic setting. She uses the dystopic world to throw out a few jabs about how evil humans are for killing the world but for the most part it's second fiddle to her love triangle with the hero Adam and the evil villain Warren. Overall, it's an interesting story and since the books are pretty short, I think I may pick up the rest of the series just to see how it all ends. But it didn't hold me. There weren't a lot of stand out characters or storyline to keep me hanging on the whole time. There were a few action scenes but overall it just left me unimpressed.


Hunted by Kevin Hearne:

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This is the 6th book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. I've reviewed the first 5 here, here, and here.

The Greek and Roman goddesses Dianna and Athena are after Atticus and Granuile and their Irish wolfhound Oberon. Lots of fighting, death, new alliances and old ones come into play.

Once again I adore Hearne's way of bringing mythology to life in such a glorious and funny and creative way.

Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We Live by Marlene Zuk

We haven't ever been perfectly evolved for any environment at any time. Zuk lays down what people seem to have missed when they claim that we need to go back to our "paleo" days since our brains and bodies were perfectly suited for life in the "savannas." She tells us about evolution and how it actually works and has worked and how it is continuing to do so.

She attempts to lay out the facts in a down-to-earth manner. I enjoyed her writing style and her approach to science. 

It was a relatively fast read and I think anyone could tackle this one.

I read this for my local skeptic book club. Also a part of my Nonfiction Reading Challenge.

Find Momo: Hide and Seek With an Adventurous Border Collie by Andrew Knapp

I had never heard of Andrew Knapp or his beautiful dog Momo until I was asked to review the book. Knapp took Momo into the woods to play fetch one day and Momo didn't bring the stick back. Instead he was playing hide-n-seek. From then on Knapp thought he'd do a new twist on "where's Waldo." Knapp takes beautiful pictures and Momo hides. It's a beautiful book with a fun twist of finding out where Momo's hiding.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.




This is also apart of my Nonfiction Reading Challenge.

Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-tale Endings by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Publisher's Summary from Quirk Books:

You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But the lives of real princesses couldn’t be more different. Sure, many were graceful and benevolent leaders—but just as many were ruthless in their quest for power, and all of them had skeletons rattling in their royal closets. Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe was a Nazi spy. Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian empire slept wearing a mask of raw veal. Princess Olga of Kiev murdered thousands of men, and Princess Rani Lakshmibai waged war on the battlefield, charging into combat with her toddler son strapped to her back. Princesses Behaving Badly offers minibiographies of all these princesses and dozens more. It’s a fascinating read for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story.

This was a fun book! These women were all so different. McRobbie made them all come to life and I loved it. She writes with a "folksie" style meaning there were a lot of awesomes and other colloquial writing. It made the stories more down-to-earth. I think these would be awesome bedtime stories to read to older children. One could use these stories to talk about history in context, especially how women have been used and abused throughout history.

So in that sense, it was also sad. Like the title suggests, most of these princesses did not get their fairy-tale endings. But some turned their lives around and learned how to run their companies, countries, etc!

There was only one instance where I thought McRobbie's language was a bit too judgy with one princess. But for the most part, McRobbie humanized these princesses and brought us their stories. They were all complex human beings just like the rest of us.

*I received this from Quirk Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This also counts in my Non-fiction reading challenge :) My goal is to read over 16 non-fiction books this year and this is number 3!

Mini Book Reviews

I can get really behind in my book reviews. Some I don't even bother reviewing since it's been too long...but here's a short list from over the holidays.


1. Forever His by Shelly Thacker. Historical romance. I got this one for free for my Kindle app on my phone and I was sick and this was sheer brain candy. The sexy scenes were fun but that's about it. The whole book was full of male and female stereotypes, which is why I don't usually read historical romances.

2. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I saw the movie adaptation way back when. So I finally got around to reading the book. The movie was adapted for a wider audience, for those who don't normally read magical realism. They took out those elements that I kind of find endearing and quirky in magical realism books. But the story was a bit uneven and it wasn't a favorite.

3. Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales edited by Paula Guran. I love fairy tales and fairy-tale retellings so this one was a hit. Some were better than others but I really enjoyed the retelling of the 12 swans. I highly recommend this one!

4. You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney. Fun and quick book about cognitive biases, heuristics, and fallacies that make us all not quite so smart. Very enlightening.

5. Night Film by Marisha Pessl. I didn't quite like how it ended

but the overall story and the experience of reading it with news articles, and web pages and portfolios actually scanned into the book so you feel like you are reading and seeing what the characters are was new and I liked it. It was dark and gritty and kept me up a few nights longer than I wanted to be :)

6. Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. A sci-fi and somewhat dystopic classic that's been on my list for quite some time. It was well-done. I was highly disturbed. And those are the kinds that make us think. It's one that should be read by everyone.

7. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay. A dystopic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I liked it. I didn't love it. The world didn't quite jump out at me but I enjoyed the romance and easy ending.

8. The Pyschopath Test by Jon Ronson. I love this author. He's funny and real and quirky and it made the story human. He focuses on psychopaths this time around and the history of how the psychopath test was formulated. He pokes wholes, makes us paranoid, and makes us realize we all have a little bit of the psychopath within. Good stuff.

9. Skyjumpers by Peggy Eddleman. This was a breath of fresh air. Just when I thought I had to give up on young adult dystopia. There was enough story and character to really make this stand out. I enjoy it more when the author decides to not give too much detail about why the world is a dystopia, maybe a few hints, but nothing too glaring. She combined the efforts beautifully and I really look forward to more in the series.