Weejane's 2015 Attempt at 75!

So, I'm back for I think my 4th year (!!!). I really think I did well last year breaking into the 60s for the first time, but that's still not 75.

I know I'm not around much, but RL has really taken its toll. Hopefully, as the boys get older, I can find a little more time to sneak away and come visit you all!

The main challenge I'm working on right now is the U.S. Presidents' Challenge. My own twist is that I'm reading them in order. I'm currently on James Garfield.

And now, on to the books!

January:
1. Tarkin: Star Wars by James Luceno (hardcover)
2. Aquaman Vol. 4: Death of a King by Geoff Johns, et al. (comic)
3. Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth Ackerman (President's Challenge, e-book)
4. Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges (audio)
5. Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller (audio)
6. An American Plague by Jim Murphy (audio)
7. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (audio)

February:
8. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt (audio)
9. Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeve (President's Challenge, ILL book)
10. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (audio)
11. The President is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth by Matthew Algeo (President's Challenge, Library book)
12. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

March:
13. Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey by Geoff Johns
14. The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud (audio)
15. Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne (audio)
16. The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore (WT library)
17. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Susan Vowell (audio)
18. Benjamin Harrison by Charles W. Calhoun (President's Challenge, ILL book)
19. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (audible)

April:
20. The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites by Libby O'Connell (audio)
21. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (audio)
22. Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas by Dale Carpenter (audio)
23. The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century by Scott Miller (President's Challenge, Library book)
24. My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family by Zach Wahls (audio)
25. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (audio)

May:
26. Lords of the Sith: Star Wars by Paul S. Kemp (audio)
27. The Big Fat Surprise by Nicole Telcholz (audio)

June:
28. The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) by Chris Hardwick (audio)
29. 1861: Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart (audio)
30. Thor: Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aron
31. Stories I Only Tell my Friends by Rob Lowe (audio)

July:
32. Fit2Fat2Fit by Drew Manning (audio)
33. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
34. The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort (audio)
35. TR: The Last Romantic by H.W. Brand (Presidential Challenge)
36. Aquaman: Vol 5: Sea of Storms by Jeff Parker
37. Pompeii: A Novel by Robert Harris (audio)
38. Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (audio)

August:
39. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg (audio)
40. The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1787-1789 by Joe Ellis
41. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman (audio)

September:
42. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
43. Armada by Ernest Cline

October:
44. Eona by Alison Goodman (audio)
45. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (audio - by Wil Wheaton!!!!!)
46. William Howard Taft: Confident Peacemaker by David Burton
47. William Howard Taft: The President who became Chief Justice by Bill Severn
48. Rise of Rome by Anthony Everitt (audio)
49. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

November:
50. Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (audio)
51. Thor Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 2 (comic)
52. Walter Johnson by Henry W. Thomas

December:
53. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (audio)
54. Woodrow Wilson by August Heckscher (Presidential Challenge)
55. Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry (audio)
56. Ready Player One by Ernest Client (audio)

Welcome back!

Book 1. Tarkin: Star Wars by James Luceno

This book was a gift from my trainer and one of the first novels in what is now considered the "new canon" for Star Wars. It was an excellent book in my opinion and makes me want to go back and analyze the relationship between Darth Vader and the Grand Moff. I highly recommend it to anyone with more than a passing interest in Star Wars.

Happy New Year Brit! I wish you a year of love, happiness and good health.

May it be filled with lots of laughter and wonderful books to read.

Brit!! Yay!!

Happy New Year to you and that beautiful family of yours!

Dropping my star, Brit! I was wondering about that Star Wars book for my son - glad to know that it's a good one.

Hi Brit! Happy New Year to you and your family!

Glad to have you Brit! I know what you mean about RL and having young ones. Just join in when you can. :D

Hi Brit! I know what you mean about RL. I hope you are enjoying your little ones! My oldest gets his learner's permit this month. I can't believe how fast it has gone!

#2 - drneutron - looks like we posted at the same time so I must have missed it when I was posting about Tarkin! Glad to be back!

#4 - Linda my Friend! I wish *you* a year of good health!! I know I am a little far away, but I would like to plan a trip to the crayola factory for the boys and maybe we could have lunch. . . I'll have to ask Whit when would be a good weekend (she is finishing grad school until May, and we are buying a house).

#5 - Hello Amber!!! I will need to get to your thread too! I love the pictures of Charlie! In some of them he looks like such an old soul! I would love to see his reaction to meeting my crazy WillWill!

#6 - Hello Mamie! Tarkin was very good! I expected a decent book, but this one was really much better than I expected. It has the added bonus of also being part of the "new" canon - depending on how into SW your son is. I would say that it might be one of my favorite SW books.

#7 - Anne, Hi!! I certainly need to catch up with your thread! How are your girls?! Happy New to you and your family as well!

#8 - Valerie!!!! I definitely need to catch up with you!! I feel like you have opposite schedules and have been ships passing in the night on LT.

#9 - Hello Amy!! How are you!? I will have serious heart palpitations when my oldest gets his permit! I meant to reach sooner, but my wife is getting her masters in Change Leadership and Organizational Psychology.

Okay, two more books finished!

#2. Aquaman Vol. 4: The Death of a King by Geoff Johns, et al.

Johns clearly has established a solid character in the New 52 universe with Aquaman (IMO). This is the last volume written by Johns who went out with a very interesting story. It also featured Aquaman sporting a beard. I did not like that look and was very glad when his romantic interest, Mera, told him to shave at the end of the book. It's a long wait until Vol. 5 comes out this summer.

#3. Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth Ackerman

This is for the U.S. Presidents Challenge and it was an excellent book! I was a little worried that I would not find an interesting biography about Garfield since he was only in office for such a short time, but this book read like a modern political thriller. One facet of the book that really made me think was how the relationship between Garfield and Arthur was really non-existent. While I have yet to read a book on Chester A. Arthur, Ackerman did a have a little epilogue about the remainder of Arthur's presidency and life. Even with that glimpse, it is clear that Arthur's political career and how he handle his ascendency to the nation's highest office was effected greatly by Garfield's assassination and the politics around it. Perhaps the saddest part of the book though was hearing the medical malpractice of Garfield's doctors. Just when Garfield established himself solidly, he was shot. It is clear that it was not the actual gunshot wound that killed him but his doctor's failure to handle the situation with any modicum of care or standards (even for 1881).

4. Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

This book looked so fascinating! And it was such a bore! I downloaded the book from Audible and made it through just over half of it. I'm still not sure what Turing's contribution was - other than he helped crack the enigma code. It was just not a good book. I was very disappointed. I've heard the movie is better - and I'm still going to see it.

***

Currently reading: Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller (audio). Waiting on Gentleman Boss by Thomas C. Reeves to come through inter-library loan.

Sorry about that last book, Brit - sounds like you took one for the team. My son liked that Star Wars book that you just started, so hopefully that will be a good one for you. I passed on your recommendation of the Tarkin, and he is going to read that one! Happy Monday to you, dear!

>11 weejane: I'm reading it now. I'm about 1/3 through. It’s... dense. I’d suppose easier to read than to listen; among other things, diagrams help. I saw the movie before I started the book, and I wondered how accurate or oversimplified it was, found a couple of useful reviews:
The New York Review of Books review is quite negative, considers the movie a misrepresentation of both the man and the facts.
The New York Times review is generally positive.

Mamie - See below for my thoughts on Star Wars: A New Dawn - I hope he likes Tarkin!

qebo - Yeah, I thought about the diagrams helping, but I also got the feeling that I should be able to tell what his contributions were. I am slightly bummed that I didn't get to read more about him as a gay man because I think I would find that interesting, albeit extremely tragic.

***

Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller

Miller's writing was fantastic (well, at least, it sounded fantastic). I was very wary of this book at first because I wasn't sure how I felt about the new show, by the end though, I really liked it. I found myself feeling bad for Kanan at having been Padawan during the Order 66 Purge and not quite knowing what to do. I felt that Miller captured his conflicted feelings well. I hope there is a second book as a follow-up to this book that will show Kanan's growth and acceptance of himself as a Force-user. The one part of the book that left a huge sour taste in my mouth was the foreward by Dave Filoni that came as an afterword in the audio version. It was clearly an apologetic statement attempting to appease the masses about the decision to "re-canonize" only certain aspects of the Star Wars universe. I understand that the decision was controversial, but I think the statement by Filoni only made it worse.

ETA: I'm know just about done listening to An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy.

Book 6. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy (audio)

This book was a very quick little volume despite the narrator's terrible pacing. The story itself was not that interesting and I felt there was no actual narrative arc, rather just a regurgitation of facts and news clippings. I was rather disappointed.

***

Book 7. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (audio)

This book on the other hand was incredibly entertaining. Vowell takes a pop-history look at Hawai'i and American's annexation of the archepelago. It is fantastic. She is both witty and thoughtful, a very difficult balance to strike. Her dry sarcasm is fantastic. I am sure I would have felt the same way had I read the book, but hearing the book read by her is awesome. I remember feeling the same way listening to Assassination Vacation. I will definitely listen to her other book!

(Note: I have a large and mundane project at work which allows me to listen to book currently - otherwise, I would probably fall asleep at my desk!)

>15 weejane: Unfamiliar Fishes
I read this last year, a random-ish book off the shelf, and it was fun, bet it would be more fun in her distinctive voice. It inspired me to read Blue Latitudes, another fun one.

qebo - I can't imagine reading one of Sarah Vowell's books after hearing her read them!

Book 8. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt (audio)

This book was incredibly interesting! I would highly recommend to anyone with an interest in Shakespeare. Hearing an analysis of how the plays he wrote may shed light on Shakespeare's life was fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed! It makes me want to go back and read many of the plays. I also was uneducated as to how bloody and totalitarian the reign of Elizabeth I really was! Now I need to go find a good biography on her!

Still working my bio of Chet Arthur (Presidential Challenge), I am hopeful I could finish this weekend, but it might be a stretch. For audiobooks, I downloaded The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, the first book of the Bartimeaus trilogy which I have heard many good things about.

9. Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeves

This little-known biography was quite good. It gave a very in-depth look at "Chet," especially his complex relationship with rascal Roscoe Conkling. While he certainly was a reluctant President, he devoted his presidency to overcoming the cronyism which defined his prior political career. It is clear that Garfield's assassination and prolonged march to death weighed heavily on Chet, especially during the early months of his Administration. While I would have appreciated more focus on his Administration's affairs, rather than on the continued in-fighting of New York Republicans, it was certainly a very good into the mind and life of this President.

10. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (audio)

This book, the first book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, was recommended by Westtown's Librarian to me some time ago. I am so glad that I finally hit it on my reading list! It was wonderful!! I truly loved listening to it too! It is a very interesting look into an alternate reality wherein magician's are the upper-elite in England. Perhaps was really fascinated me was how that did not change the fact that they thrived on intrigue and corruption - not unlike many politicians without magical abilities! While the fact that a 12 year-old apprentice is (eventually) able to stop a plot that would have consumed the entire upper echelon of the British government was a bit incredible, it was still a wonderful book to read and I quickly downloaded the sequel (The Golem's Eye)!

***

11. The President is a Sick Man by Matthew Algeo (Presidential Challenge, Library)

Well, this book was meh. First half was interesting, followed by a very boring and poor 1/3 and ended on an upswing. If I had to do it over again, I'm not sure I would have chosen this book for my read on President Grover Cleveland. It was, however, a nice break from the tomes I am generally prone to choosing. While book did a nice (and concise) job of discussing Cleveland's early political life and leaning in Buffalo, the main part of the book was really focused on the harrowing oral surgery performed on him over the July 4th holiday of 1893. The ensuing "vilification" (author's classification) of the journalist who published the truth was pretty poorly written and I would hardly have used the word. Despite that part of the story, the ending was fascinating as it explained the publication of the truth by one of surgeon's over 20 years later.

12. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I decided to read this book aloud to Will and he loved it! Although he did keep asking me when the battle was going to happen. He missed it! Since it was only a paragraph after the big build-up, that part was a bit of a let-down for him. Anyway, I love this book and I almost had forgotten how charming it is! On to Prince Caspian!

>12 Crazymamie: YAY! Charlie loved that one too (we read it together not too long ago)!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of my favorites so I'm looking forward to reading to my boys when they are older. Glad to see Will loved it. :)

The Chronicles of Narnia is so magical!! Reminded me a bit of how I felt reading Harry Potter - which is another series that I cannot wait to read to my boys!!!!

Just finished No. 14: The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud (audio)

This is the second book of the Bartimaeus trilogy and while the character of Bartimaeus is fabulous, the rest of the book was really a drag. I thought the plot rather plodding and dull. Only in places did it feel like the first book. I'm on the fence about whether or not to finish the trilogy . ..

***

I'm now listening to Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne and reading on The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore. On my nightstand I have my Benjamin Harrison biography ready to go!

Oh, bummer about that second book - I hate when that happens. I have The Secret History of Wonder Woman on my shelves, so I'll be interested to see what you think of that. I'll have to ask because I get the books confused, but I am thinking that my son quite liked Heir to the Jedi.

Happy Thursday, Brit!

Hey Mamie! Heir to the Jedi was ok. . . (see below). . . and I'm starting to lose focus on The Secret History of Wonder Woman. . .

***

No. 15 Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne (audio)

As part of the "new" canon, I was intrigued by Heir to the Jedi; excited that it was a new Star Wars book, but wary that it was written from Luke point of view. The first part of the book was quite good and the story was interesting. I found myself looking forward to listening to it which is always a good thing. I was disappointed by one aspect of the book and that was with Luke's love interest. It just made very little sense and seemed forced (no pun intended). Also, the book kept hinting that Han and Chewie were not currently with the Alliance, but that doesn't make sense given the timeline of the movies. The assumption is that Han goes to pay off Jabba right before the Battle of Hoth, while the book alludes to the fact that he has already left for that purpose (and it is only after the Battle of Yavin IV). I would say that this book was certainly not as good as Tarkin but if a fan is willing to choke down the love interest angle, then they might be able to enjoy the book.

Oh, dear!

No. 16 The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

I give up. This book started out very promising and quickly turned into a bore (at least for me). Marston, Wonder Women's creator, appears as a creep. Although he knows about smart women, marrying a Mount Holyoke alum. The book was more a slog through Martson's lurid life with anecdotes relating to Wonder Woman here and there. I was bummed. And I couldn't finish. Life is too short for boring books.

Ok, so two more books finished!

17. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell (audio)

She is hysterical! And I think the best part is having her read her own books. I'm not sure reading the books would give me th same satisfaction as hearing her wit and sarcasm in the author's own voice. She is a raging liberal, who is able to poke fun at both sides. I thoroughly enjoy her books!

18. Benjamin Harrison by Charles W. Calhoun (Presidents Challenge, ILL book)

Of the books I read previously from Schlesinger's American Presidents series, I was not much enamoured and was not pleased to find that not many other biographies of the younger Harrison exist. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was a very nice and concise biography with very little bias - I did not notice any. The author was engaging, although enjoyed showing his scholarly prowess with some SAT word selections. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking to find out more about an oft-forgotten president who actually accomplished a great deal legislatively in only one term.

19. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (audio)

I know this book was recommended on LT and I'm so glad I found it! I listened to it and I think I enjoyed it even more in that medium. At the beginning of the book, the author comments that there is a something soothing and magical about being read to; she is right. This was a wonderful compilation of essays about the joy of reading and books. I would highly to recommend it to anyone on LT.

I liked that one, too - who did the narration of the audio?

Crazymamie - Suzanne Toren did the narration. It was beautiful and so soothing!

***

20. The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites by Libby O'Connell

My mother gave me this book and it was a thoughtful gift combining several interests - cooking, reading and history. The book did not live up to my expectations (which were not that high to begin with). I found her to only focus on certain Native American tribes (mostly those of the Northeast and Great Lakes region). Her placing of certain food items in certain eras did not always make sense to me. I think that had the book not been given to me, I probably would not have picked it up. Very meh and bland.

I did pick start my McKinley book this evening, The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century by Scott Miller. While not a strict biography, this monograph seemed more my style than any of the biographies that were within my range.

I'm listening to The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I started listening to this several months ago through my library's on-line audio player, but encountered severe technical difficulties such that I gave up. This time, I just sucked it up and purchased it on audible.

21. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (audio)

This was an excellent book. I'm not sure I could have read it because of the pacing, but listening to it was fine. I was very impressed with the author and his ability to write well and beautifully from three different perspectives. I was bummed about the ending, but kind of understand why it had to be. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone looking for a more "literary" read. Certainly not a light read.

22. Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas by Dale Carpenter (audio)

This book started out very promising. I think the author erred, however, by delving so deeply into the history of the gay rights movement in Houston. While some history of the movement was helpful, the great detail was superflous and unnecessary. Once the actual history and underlying facts of the case were laid out, the book really picked up. Perhaps the biggest drawback, however, was the narrator. He was incredibly slow; to the point where I found it necessary to speed up the narration. Furthermore, the narratorthe narrator was incapable of pronouncing any legal terms; and not just the"legalese" but words like "appellate". I will certainly be avoiding that narrator in the future.

23. The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century by Scott Miller

I thought this book would be a good monograph of the McKinley presidency and assassination. Unfortunately, it was terrible. There was zero narrative arc. The author flip-flopped between chapters on the birth of anarchism and McKinley's foreign policy. In fact, it was so poor that I will be reading another biography of McKinley because I feel like I did not learn anything new.

ETA: Upon further reflection, I've decided that I will not read another biography of McKinley and will just move on to Theodore Roosevelt who seems much more interesting.

24. My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family by Zach Wahls

This was a fantastic audiobook! It had been on my list for sometime after hearing that this impressive young man from Iowa wrote a book. Many know Zach Wahls as the young man who stood in front of the Iowa House Judiciary Committee and courageously proclaimed that his being raised by two moms had zero effect on the content of his character. I highly recommend this book to anyone, even though opposed to gay marriage, perhaps especially to them. I only hope that I can raise my sons to be like Zach Wahls.

Oh, I didn't realize that Wahls had written a book! Love him and his amazing speech. Onto the wishlist!

Amber - it was so good!

25. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This is one of the first books that went on my wishlist after joining LT. Unfortunately, it was just not my cup of tea. I just could not get into it. I'm impressed with the world Westerfeld managed to create and happy that many others have found it interesting.

26. Star Wars: Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp (audio)

I was very hopeful of this book, especially after Tarkin and the Luke Skywalker books. Unfortunately, this book was a serious dud. I had trouble following along and found there was no real narrative arc.

27. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet by Nina Telcholz (audio)

This was a very interesting book! While I have always tended toward a high protein diet, it was not until the introduction of the Paleo diet about a year and a half ago that I began to also realize the benefit of adding more fat to my diet. This book only reinforced what I came to understand was true for myself - low fat, high carb diets do not work and are not good for me. This is totally worth a read, even if you're a skeptic.

Well, I guess was a super-busy month. Unfortunately, I feel like I have hit a rut in my quest to complete a biography on every President. I'm on Teddy Roosevelt, currently, and while I would think this is an incredibly odd place to get stuck, the book I choose is not very good. The research is good enough, it is fairly balanced, yet it completely lacks any engaging qualities, like a narrative arc, for instance. I chose it because it was available at the Westtown library and I didn't want to look to hard for a book. There was another, slimmer option, which was actually the Pulitzer Prize-winner from 1931, but I opted for the tome. :| Why do I do this to myself!?

Anyway, I did manage to finish an incredible audiobook to kick-off June:

28. The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) by Chris Hardwick (audio)

I am a fan of the Nerdist website and know that Hardwick is a funny guy, so I knew this book couldn't suck because at the very least, with Hardwick narrating, it would be funny. Well, not only was it funny, but this man spoke to me - on a deeper level. He speaks my language as to several things, most particularly anxiety. I'm sure that my therapist has tried to explain many things that were explained in this book, but Hardwick's ability to speak in Nerd made everything comprehensible. Some chapters were not really for me as far as the advice went, but it was an incredibly awesome book. I will now be purchasing the paperback!

Hi, Britt! Sorry about the Roosevelt book - it's sort of a crap-shoot with some of these presidential biographies, isn't it?
The Hardwick book sounds great - I'm adding it to my wishlist!

29. 1861: Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart

This was an audiobook that sounded very promising. It did not live up to my expectations. I listened to about half of it (a good 10 hours) so I'm counting it as read. There was no real thread to weave the odd chapters together.

30. Thor: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron, et al.

This was an amazing comic! It is the first combined volume of the new Thor. It begins with an underwater Roxxon station being attached by Frost Giants. Thor is on the moon unable to lift Mjolnir. He is devastated, to say the least. Upon hearing that Midgard (i.e. Earth) in under attack, he makes his mortal-ish ways to the battle. Then someone, a woman, appears on the moon and is able to pick up Mjolnir . . .

Oh! I wondered about that one!! I just saw it in the bookstore recently, and now I know to snag it on my next trip. Thanks, Brit!

Mamie - Thor was soooooooo good!!! I loved it! I cannot wait to get the next volume!!

***

31. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe (audio)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book. I didn't know if it would turn out to be trashy or sappy. I was pleasantly to find I go poignant. It was a very thoughtful memoir and Lowe didn't shy away from the hard stuff. I'm always impressed when people admit their wrongs, even when their mistakes are hard. I loved Rob as Sam Seaborne. An excellent book made even better by his telling of it.

>48 weejane: I loved listening to that one, too - I'm so glad you liked it!

32. Fit2Fat2Fit by Drew Manning (audio)

This was a book written by a personal trainer who decided to step into the shoes of his overweight clients. He took 6 months in which he had no diet restrictions and stopped working out. Over that time he gained 75 pounds. The following 6 months he went back to his plain diet and started working out again and lost the weight. it was fascinating to hear hwo his self-image changed negatively as he gained weight but how by the end he was in a better position to empathize with his clients. The author narrated the book and he wasn't the greatest, but it was still worth the time.

33. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This was a re-read because the book is so amazingly and decadently good! I love it! And I think it is one of my all-time favorites!

34. The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort (audio)

I couldn't finish this book. It was horrid and vulgar. I think the movie might be interesting because being over the top in a movie seems to make sense to me, but the book was awful. The man clearly has a warped sense of reality.

35. TR: The Last Romantic by H. W. Brand (Presidental Challenge)

I was fairly disappointed in TR as a person. I thought that he would be one of the more interesting presidents to read about but he came of as pompous and arrogant. Oh well. Perhaps if had a touch of humility and saw the world less as a him v. everyone, he could have been better and less polarizing.

Ooof, you're already up to Teddy Roosevelt?! I'm so far behind on the challenge...

How are those adorable little men you have living in your house? Are they - and you and your wife - having a good summer?

Yeah, I was kinda of disappointed with TR. . . But again, I couldn't quite tell if it was the book or the subject.

Our boys are doing great. They just turned 6 and 3! eeekkkk! We are having a great summer! Lots of work with the house, but things are going well!

***

36. Aquaman: Vol. 5: Sea of Storms by Jeff Parker

I really am enjoying Aquaman. This story was less about Aquaman so much as his struggles in attempting to deal with his dual roles (King of Atlantis, and human). It was fascinating, but not quite as good as the first few volumes.

37. Pompeii: A Novel by Robert Harris (audio)

This was a very good and intriguing look at the world of a Roman province immediately prior to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. I appreciated that it was clear the author had done his homework, especially through the incorporation of Pliny. What I could have done without, however, was the incredibly long slog through the eruption and resulting destruction. It was a bit too graphic and lengthy for my taste.

38. Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (audio)

This book was phenomenal! The movie is incredible and it was amazing how much of the movie stayed true to the book. I would highly recommend this novella to anyone - especially those who loved the move, but have not read the book.

Three?! 6 I get, since mine is turning 7 soon (yeesh), but how is that littlest munchkin of yours three already?!

I haven't brought myself to read any Harris yet, fearing that he'll annoy me with inaccuracies, but I should get over it, since I braved Madeline Miller's novel and *loved* it.

And also, yay for Shawshank! I loved the book *and* the movie!

Right!? - I can't believe he's three!

39. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg (audio)

Ok, I know this book is very polarizing, but I really enjoyed it. As a professional woman trying to balance a career in which I have goals and Mom, it rang very true to me. I don't necessarily agree with all of Sandberg's choices, but that's not the message or point. She is correct - we need more women leaders. I would high recommend this book to any woman who is already attempting to balance a career and family or to any young woman who desires both in the future.

40. The Quartet by Joe Ellis

Hmm. . . .the touchstone isn't working. Anyway, here is a link to my review. As many of you know, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Joe Ellis (he was my thesis advisor at Mount Holyoke), so perhaps I'm biased, but it was an amazing book.

https://www.librarything.com/work/15459185/120854773

41. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman (audio)

This was an LT recommendation (I apologize, I forget by whom) and it was wonderful! I'm usually not that into Eastern mythology, but I found myself really getting into it. I think the dragons helped. Everything is better with dragons. I've been on the fence about reading the next book because I wasn't sure how long the series is. I find it hard to get into a series only to be let down by later books that are not as good. (I'm thinking of the Bartimaeus Trilogy). This book is only the first of a duology though, so I'm gearing up for the second!

42. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

I bought this book when it first came out but it has taken me a while to come back around to read it. It was a very thoughtful and beautiful book. Probably the closest I get to chick-lit. I would certainly recommend it though.

43. Armada by Ernest Cline

I finished this book in less than a week - which is saying something for me. I stayed up waaaaay too late the last two nights. It was so good. A bit more emotional than Ready Player One but still amazing. This may be one of the best books I've read this year. I highly recommend to any sci-fi fan, gamer or nerd!

Oh my! Not much reading has been done over the last month. :(

I read about half-way through the Taft biography William Howard Taft The President Who Became Chief Justice by Bill Severn. It was terrible. So terrible I had to switch to a different Taft bio (of which there are not many). I am currently reading William Howard Taft The Confident Peacemaker and listening to The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire by Anthony Everitt. Rushing out the door for my kid's soccer class, will add my books later.

44. Eona by Alison Goodman (audio)

I was looking forward to this book being as good as the first, but was greatly disappointed. I found the protagonist to have turned into a whiny complainer and the plot dragged. I was bored with it but I tried to push through. I finally gave up.

***

45. Ready Player One by Ernest Client (audio by Wil-freakin-Wheaton!)

Ok, so I know I already read this book earlier this year, but this time I listened to it. Why? Because it was narrated by Wil Wheaton who voiced the protagonist so perfectly! His sarcasm and inflection made it so that he almost sounded like he was actually Wade Watts. Anyway, even if you've read Ready Player One, I recommend you take the time to listen to it!

46. William Howard Taft: Confident Peacemaker by David Burton

This book was serious disappointment. It was a book of essays about Taft's life as a diplomat. While the essays kind of followed the chronology of Taft's life, the essays themselves were poorly organized and written. While I can say that I have read a biography (actually 2) on Taft, I still feel like I know nothing about him. I feel cheated.

****

47. William Howard Taft The President Who Became Chief Justice by Bill Severn

While I read just over half of this biography, I'm counting it because the length of what I read in this book was at least as long, if not longer, than the other Taft book in toto. This book was too juvenile and not academic enough for me. It was like reading a biography meant for a 3rd grader (which is great if you're a 3rd grader, but I'm not).

Whoa, not a lot of luck with the Taft biographies, eh? Dang.

OMG - the Taft biographies were awful. I should have chosen the bio from that series that Schlesinger, Jr., edits but I'm stubborn. :P

****

48. Rise of Rome by Anthony Everitt (audio)

I was very disappointed by this book. Normally I find Everitt's writing mostly engaging and with a good narrative. This book had neither. I found it very scattered and much more textbook style - lots of dates and names. In my opinion, he should stick with biographies.

49. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

This book was pretty good, but got off to a slow start. There were many references for fans of Riordan's previous books which was fun, but I imagine a reader not familiar with the Riordan universe might feel lost. There were also times were I thought Riordan got a little too cute. I did appreciate the wide range of characters and their diversity, I thought that was very well done. While I was not as familiar with Norse mythology as Roman and Greek, I still found the book very enjoyable and would recommend to fans of Riordan's previous books.

50. Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (audio)

Admittedly, I'm a huge fan of Sarah Vowell's books which I only listen to because hearing the author read her own book is such an amazing experience. I'm not sure her caustic wit would come through the page quite as well. These are more than audiobooks to me; they are performances. In this book, Vowell looks to uncover why the Marquis de Lafayette holds such a highly regarded place in American history. It was a very fascinating book that also delved into parts of the American Revolution. Her research took from Europe to Chadds Ford (where the Battle of the Brandwine occurred). While I may not have learned too much more than what I already know (being an early American history junkie), it was such an enjoyable book that highly recommend it.

Hey, Brit! I just started listening to Nick Offerman's Gumption and I think you might love it - at least in the first section, he's talking about the founding fathers, and of course he's hilarious.

Amber - Thanks for the recommendation!! I'm always looking for good audiobooks!

****

51. Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 2

This comic revealed who is behind the new armour and included an awesome fight sequence that included many female Marvel Superheroes. I was disappointed that the last half of the book was variants and shorter strip which I was not really interested in. Oh well.

***

52. Walter Johnson by Henry W. Thomas, narrated by Ian Esmo (audio) - touchstone not working

I think this was a book that I would have enjoyed more if I had read it. The narrator was terrible. It was a good book about Johnson's pitching career, but I felt it lack an overall narrative arc. It was fact-based. I would recommend for any fan of baseball history with the caveat that you should really get the book rather than suffer through this narrator!

53. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (audio)

A native Seattle-ite who has been transplanted to the East Coast, many, many people have told me to read this book. I finally did. And it was absolutely amazing! University of Washington rowing is huge in Seattle and, when I was little, I desperately wanted to go to the UW (or U-dub). Once I was old enough to realize that a large university was not for me, that did not dampen my strong feeling for the UW. This book brought all those childhood feelings of pride and nostalgia back. It was so, so good!

54. Woodrow Wilson by August Heckscher

This was my 2nd biography of Woodrow Wilson. My first attempt was the book by A. Scott Berg and it was much too over-the-top. The flair and flowery language were just too much for me. This second biography was much more straightforward, but still incredibly long and wordy. The book also lacked a clear narrative arc or theme. Once WWI started and then followed by the Paris Peace Conferences, the author was very scattered. It would have been nice if the author either stuck with a chronological look at that period, or with themes. The jumbling of both hurt the book from a readers perspective. It was clear the author's research was solid, but the book need a much better editor.

55. Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry

This was such a great and fun little book! It was adorable and geeky. While not the greatest piece of literature ever, it was so charming. A charming tale of two gamers who haphazardly come together and then battle through an online game with a ragtag team. A great little book for any gamer fan.

Well, I finished Ready Player One (on audio), again so I guess that brings my total up to 56 books read in 2015. Not too shabby, although I was hoping to break 60 again. I'm thinking that the Presidential bio challenge has slowed me down because those books have gotten quite lengthy and are slow to read.