Kate's Reading Adventure... The Best Books of 2013

Okay, I think I am about to go into withdrawal. I already have Divergent downloaded on my Kindle to start tomorrow. Over the last few days, the blog has had much reflection as I took time to think about how the books impacted me this year.

As most of the last few post have taken time to reflect on the adventure as a whole, this post is for the books (and maybe a few stats).

Without further ado, throughout the 31,000+ pages here are my thoughts on the books!

The Longest Book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling
The Shortest Book: The Wastleland, Prudfrock, and Other Poems T.S. Elliot
Best Fiction: The Alchemist Pauelo Coleho
Best Classic: Lord of the Flies William Golding
Best Series: Harry Potter ( but new series Heroes of Olympus)
Best Non-Fiction: Half the Sky
Best Memoir/Biography:  The Art of Racing in the Rain Garth Stein
Best Life Help Book: Tuesday with Morrie
Most Challenging Book ( but amazing): The Book Thief
Book Everyone Should Read At Least Once:  To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee
Worst Book: Beloved Toni Morison and The Casual Vacancy J. K. Rowling

Other Favorite Books:
The Color Purple Alice Walker
Fault of Our Stars John Green
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells
FISH Stephen Lundin
Outliers Malcolm Gladwell

With this post I say the end to 2013. I will be back in 2014, but the blog may look a little different. I wish you all a wonderful New Year in 2014.

Happy Reading.

100th book.. A Classic Fantasy

Tolkien is truly brilliant. After reading the entire Lord of the Ring series, I understand why many people credit  Tolkien with the modern fantasy genre. The Return of the King was an epic end to the Lord of the Rings saga.

Like Two Towers, TRTK is told over two parallel books of Aragon story and Frodo's final trip to Mount Doom. The epic battle scene are amazing on screen, however, unlike the Harry Potter final battle scenes, these were a little harder to follow. I think it boils down to the vast amount of characters in the books. Don't get me wrong. I thought this was an excellent book; I just had to work  hard to stay focused and keep up with characters.

Any true fantasy reader should read The Lord of Ring series at least once. It is a good read and shows where so many fiction writers pulled some of their inspiration. Tolkien took the time to develop a language and back story for every race in Middle Earth as well as lay out many more details in the appendices. While some are better than others, make sure you read those as well.

With this post, I am saying farewell to the 100 books of 2013. I've read over 31,000 pages and spent countless hours reading, but it has been so so much fun. I can't wait to see what the next year holds!

Happy Reading and Have a Wonderful New Year!

Next Steps

Tonight, I will crawl in bed and read for the last night of the 100 book challenge. I have about 100 pages of LOTR appendices to read. It has been an amazing ride. It is such a great feeling to know I accomplished this goal. Thanks to all my family and friends who supported me along the way. Facebook you have been an awesome way to connect so many friends and family to the blog.

As I look forward to 2014, I am taking time to create life goals and reading goals. While I do not plan on reading 100 books next year, I think I am going to read 52 books. I have spent much time debating about how to handle the blog. While I will keep my Goodreads shelf pretty up-to date with books I am reading, I think I am only going to post 3-4 times a year about the books I am reading. I have other goals and interest that I want to spend on 2014. However, I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you all. Maybe I will change my mind. 

A few Baltimore friends have asked if I would start a book club. I think I am going to put a few feelers out to friends in the area to see who is going to be interested ( I am already in one and joining another in 2014). We will see how this adventure goes.

Finally, I am so excited for some of my reads in 2014. Throughout the year many books were recommended to me. I also just had some I wanted to read. Here are some of the books I know I am reading in 2014:

Divergent Veronica Roth

The Goldfinch Donna Tartt

The Game of Thrones George Martin

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  Jonathan Foer

Here is a link with my 2014 shelf

With that the year is almost done. Tomorrow, I will post a recap of Return of the King and the Top Books of 2013. 

Happy Reading!

The Last 50.. Reflecting Back

The time has come my friends to take a look back on the last 50 books. I am reading the appendices for the Return of the King so I feel confident in evaluating the last 50 books. It is hard to believe this adventure is almost over. Throughout the year, I enjoyed sharing my reading and thoughts with everyone. July-December brought some really great books and some really bad books. Without further ado, here are my favorite books of the last six months.

The Color Purple Alice Walker
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
The Fault in Our Stars John Green
Bossypants Tina Fey
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card
House of Hades Rick Riordian
FISH: A Remarkable Way to Improve Morale and Boost Results Stephen Lundin
Animal Farm George Orwell
The Art of Racing in the Rain Garth Stein
The World's Strongest Librarian  Josh Hanagarne
A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams 

In case you missed it, here were the best books of the first 50.

Happy Reading!

A Little Philosophy in the Mix

In college, I had at least two classes where we discussed Machiavelli's The Prince: Western Civilization and Political Philisophy. I realize now that in my philosophy class we did read all of the Prince.

The Prince is one of those books that every reader should read at least once. I am not sure why I felt the need to read it again. There are great comments and thoughts on morality, political beliefs and right and wrong.  However, this version has a great introduction, notes, and comments section. If you have never read/discussed Machiavelli, I highly recommend this version.

While everyone has their own thoughts and beliefs on Machiavelli, I think he was revolutionary for his time on questioning the faith morality and mainstream political ideals.

I leave you with some of the more famous quotes from The Prince to ponder.

Happy Reading!


“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” 
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

“I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” 
― Niccolò Machiavelli

“There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.” 
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Machiavelli Niccolo : Prince

“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” 
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

“There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, and the third is useless.” 
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

When a Book restores your Faith of Humanity

It is hard to believe 2013 is coming to an end and with that my 100 book challenge. They say it is good to saved the best for last and I think The World's Strongest Librarian is one of the best books I have read this year.  In Josh Hanagarne's memoir, he tells a story of battling Tourette's, finding his faith, and the importance of family. 

While memoirs tend to be good reads, Josh captivates the readers with his easy-following tone and quirky personal stories. His earliest childhood memories are retold and continued up until the book is published. I finished the book wanting to read more stories. These are my favorite books. When the author speaks to me like a friend, I am forever a fan.

If anyone needs a pick-me up or wants to remember the power of family or the good in an individual, I would highly recommend this book. (Thanks to numerous other book bloggers for finding this gem!) It is a great read!

Off to dive into a little philosophy before I end the year with Tolkien!

Happy Reading!

Merry Christmas Eve

It is hard to believe the year is almost coming to an end. I have 7 days left to read about 900 pages. Lucky for me I am off of work these entire 7 days. Thanks to you all who have joined me on my journey of reading 100 books. Over the next week, I hope to post about my favorite of the last 50 and my top 10 favorites. Finally, I am still debating about what next year looks like for the blog, but I will always keep reading!

My grandmother was a librarian for many years. Her love of reading was spread to my dad and aunts and then onto me. Their reading taste definitely show through in the blog. My dad will read the blog in his email, but my grandmother is not quite as technical savvy. For Christmas, I spent time printing out the blog so that she may have the opportunity to read the blog and see the books I have been reading.  Special shout out to my niece, Jenna Grace for helping me print 100+ post! I am excited for this very special Christmas gift in the morning.

I want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas. I hope you all enjoy this time with friends and family. Maybe you will even find a few moments to read!

Happy Reading!

The English, their Tea, and Churchill

In the midst of the holiday season,  I am managing to get through these books day by day. This morning, I finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.  In Helen Simonson debut novel, small-town politics, love affairs, and family drama was apart of this great novel. While at first, I was worried that this book was shaping out to be similar to Casual Vacancy, it turned out to be much better with a stronger plot line and character development. 

Major lives in a small town in the English countryside. When his brother dies, his brother's heirloom Churchill gun brings the family drama on the heir to the gun. The death also brings together Mrs. Ali and Major as their similar lives intertwine throughout the village. 

While I avoid plot summaries in most of my post, this book was a great take both of English rural life as well as intercultural relationships. The characters are easy to relate and the plot moves relatively fast. This is a great read for most anyone.

Happy Reading! 

When the Silver Screen ruins the book

It is beginning to look at lot like Christmas, and in the true Christmas spirit, I read Charles Dickens famous A Christmas Carol-This weekend. It is a truly short read (less than 100 pages), but I am not sure  how I feel about this  book. I have seen about every version of the movie Christmas Carol. I know the story backwards and forwards, but I truly appreciated how Dickens conveyed character's feeling along with slight political commentary throughout the book. However, since I knew the story oh so well, I had to make an effort to compare it over and over with any of the movies.

A Christmas Carol is a book everyone should read at least once, but be sure to not compare it with the movies.

And then there were four. I am finishing up a book tonight and am racing to the finish line for the last 3 books. 

( I read the version with Chimes and Cricket on the Hearth. I skimmed both of these books. They were both interesting twist on Christmas tales. I think I may go back and re-read them.)

Happy Reading and Merry Christmas!

A little "light" reading to start the Holidays

Well, there are 9 days left of the year, and I have 4 books left. It is a true race to the finish in the mist of holiday season.  I have read two books since Friday and I am close to being back on track.

In graduate school, a professor told us that any of us in Student Affairs needed to take a closer look at Richard Arum's Academically Adrift. Well, a few years later, I finally got around to reading the book. In this extremely long study (and highly technical journal article,) a study analyzed the rising cost of tuition compared to the amount of actual learning that occurs in higher education.

While other studies have brought up some of these fears ( students are not increasing their critical thinking, students are not reading and writing enough,etc.,), I had trouble with this book as a whole because of the measurement used. I did find it interesting, yet expected, about the impact of socioeconomic factors have on success and learning in college. As a whole, I found this book to be okay, but not a earth-shattering as far as  news in the higher education world.

The best thing about this book was that it reminded me that I needed to keep reading scholarly articles in order to stay up to-date in to trends in higher education.

I just finished a Christmas Carol. 4 more books to go!

Happy Reading!

Little Girls...

I have been putting off this post for a while as Lolita was one of the weirdest books I have read in a while. In this book, Humbart falls for Lo after her mother dies. Their affair shapes Lo's life as she runs into a hard dramatic life. While I can see how the book was recognized for its writing, the content was so far off, I had a hard time reading it.

It was one of my least favorite book of the year. Before I decided if I liked the characters, they were being asked to make major life decisions. As a whole, I think I could have spent my time reading other books.

Such is life. On the whole, I am glad I only have one day left of the semester at work. The holiday season is busy and fun, but hard on the reading schedule. Over the next 10 days, I will be reading mighty fast! Here we go!

Happy Reading!

When a Time Warp meets Politics

Being There is Jerry Kosinki take on an man's unexpected fall into the world of the elites and politics. After gardening his entire life, he is kicked out of the home when the owner dies. By a chance accident he is taken in by a powerful family and rises to influence Wall Street and the President's Fiscal party.

While the book is a little far-fetched, it has some brilliant quotes and simple ideas. It is a fairly quick read, but I am not sure I followed the entire book. Good ideas and interesting mix of philosophy and fiction. Decent read on the whole.

Happy Reading!

I was dancing with my darling... to the Tennessee Waltz

... I mean Tennessee Williams. Ahh I know it has been over a week since I have updated the blog. The good news is that by the end of the weekend I should be all caught up on the blog and reading ( I am only about 1/2 book behind on reading!)

The holiday season is full of busy times, friends, family, socials, shopping, and not much down time. I am feeling it this time of year. When I usually read late at night or early in the morning, I just want to crawl into bed and sleep.

Already this month, I read two books that are not on the blog. Keeping with tradition, they will get their own post (today).

While I have seen Tennessee Williams's  A Streetcar Named Desire in person, I was surprised by the quality of writing and emotions that came across in the written drama. Plays are not always the easiest to read, but this was great. Stella, Stanley, and Blanche come alive.

It is a story of passion, love, southern culture, and family. All in all a great quick read.

Happy Reading!

December Books

Wow, It is hard to believe it is already December and that I only have 30 days left in this challenge. Luckily, I only have 9 books to go. It has been a truly amazing adventure. Meeting people, learning what other people read. All in all it has been amazing. Here are the last 10 books ( yes I realize one will not be read, but I also know that sometimes I can't get my hands on one.)

December is a challenging time month, but I know I can do it! Right now, I am currently deciding what to do with the blog and just reading in general for 2014. Yes, I will keep reading, but I am debating about how much I share and the number. I will keep you all posted. Thanks for all your support.

And now for the books:

The Return of the King- JRR Tolkien
A Streetcar Named Desire- Tennessee Williams
Lolita- Vladimir Nabokov
The World's Strongest Library- Josh Hanagarne
The Prince- Niccolo Machiavelli
Being There- Jerzy Kosinski
Academically Adrift: Richard Arum
A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
Major Petigrew's Last Stand- Helen Simonson

Happy Reading!

** Note to self: There is a difference between save and publish. Now this post is ready.
** Edited the list slightly due to time to get books read and time constraints.

When A Book Grows on You

There are certain books that everyone should read at least once to better understand the world. Middlesex was one of those books for me. While I was not sure how I felt about the book as I was reading it, Jeffery Eugenines puts together a story of misunderstood population that is both memorable and intriguing.

Callie becomes Cal as a family secret is discovered, and a world is discovered. While I have read and become familiar with some different lifestyles, this literary piece is an amazing piece of work to show the emotions involved.

The allusions to Greek literature and the historical references are great. While parts of the book are just weird and hard to relate, I am glad I read this book. It puts the world in perspective.

December Books are coming up. I was traveling and all.

Happy Reading!