Challenge 26: A book based on a true story

Ida's choice: "What Happened?" by Hillary Clinton (Simon & Schuster, 2017)

I started reading this back in february this year (2018) but as of October (still 2018) I haven't had a chance to finish it. It's not that it's boring or anything, it's actually quite enlightening and I like the writing, but I just get so tired and angry. However, I think the book fits neatly in to this challenge, so I'm gonna aim to finish it soon.

Comments:

I managed to get this as an audiobook which helped greatly! It's a really great book and very much an important one too.

Challenge 25: A book that is more than 10 years old

Ida's choice: "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown (Corgi Books, 2000)

I actually considered this for the "a book that everyone but you has read" challenge, but then decided against it. Seeing as it also fits this challenge I'm gonna give it a shot (I quite like The DaVinci Code).

Comments:
Well. I mean, the story is fine but the writing is really annoying at times. I hate when accomplished female scientists (or any job field, really) is reduced in writing to how hot they are. Stop it. You as the author need their expertise for the plot, so treat your characters right. Also, in this case, I felt Brown didn't even need her expertise for the plot, she was simply there to act as a damsel in distress and I do not subscribe to that use of women in litterature. So yeah, no thanks Dan Brown - try harder!

Challenge 24: A book you loved... read it again!

Ida's book: "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin's Press, 2013)

At first I had decided on a different book for this challenge, but life happened and it just had to be this one. It's a YA (young adult) novel and it is brilliant. As someone who would happily describe herself as a fangirl and who has written fanfiction, I see myself way too much in the main character of this book. 

Comments:

Not much to say here except: it felt like coming home.

Challenge 23: A book from the library

Ida's book: "Dødevaskeren" by Sara Omar (Politikkens Forlag, 2017).

This book was all the rage when it was published last year. It wasn't something I would normally read so I put in a reservation for it at my local library - I was the 17th in line for the book, and I got it the day after my last exam for uni. The title means someone who washes the dead that no one else wants to wash - mostly women who have been cast out by society.

Comments:

This was a tough book to read, although it only took me two days. It tells the story of a little girl, Frmesk, who are born into a family who does not want another girl. To be fair, the violence in this books makes it almost unbearable to read. With so much violence against women in the world today, I read mostly to escape from all that, but there was no escape in this book. Nevertheless, it was a good and important read. 

Challenge 22: A book with pictures

Ida's book: "The Body Book" by Roz MacLean (Promontory Press, 2016).

So this challenge was a bit out of the ordinary, but then I remembered that I'd bought this little book last year, as part of an effort to have and read more body positive/fat activist inspired books, so I gave it a go!

Comments:

Every child should read this book, every adult too, for that matter. There is so much hatred for our bodies in society and if we can stop that at an early age and make children understand that all bodies are great, then we can truly do something good.

Challenge 21: A book with a great first line

Ida's book: "Rivers of London" by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollanz, 2011)

"It started at one thirty on a cold Tuesday morning in January when Martin Turner, street performer and, in his own words, apprentice gigolo, tripped over a body in front of the West Portico of St Paul's at Covent Garden.".

Comments:

Normally I don't judge a book on its first line. My way of finding out whether a book is interesting is to find a random page and read it - if I am I intrigued enough to find out what happens next (and sometimes what happened before) I either buy the book or take it out of the library. So this challenge was a bit tricky, as I found a lot of books can have very boring first lines. This book has been on my reading list for a long time, but I'd forgotten all about it until I spotted it at my local library. I took it off the shelf, did my random page test and took it home with me. A few days later I remembered about this challenge and I looked at the first line. I liked the writing style of it so I thought it would be a perfect fit for this challenge. The book itself was pretty good, I might give the follow ups a chance too although I do find the main character a bit annoying at times. 

Challenge 20: A book 'everyone' but you has read

Ida's book: "The Lord of The Flies" by William Golding (Faber & Faber, 2011)

Somewhere among the many suggestions for the last challenge, this title kept coming up. I therefore decided to use it for this challenge as I haven't read it, and obviously, quite a few people had!

Comments:

Well. Along with Brave New World, this is one of those books that leave a lasting impression, but which isn't really that good to read. It wasn't until the last 30 pages or so I actually felt invested in it and wanted to find out what would happen. I think I see so much of male violence in everyday society that reading a book about it felt too much. It's the stuff I normally try and shield myself from (why wallow in reading about it when real life seems to be so much more worse), so it was a hard read. I can see why so many people recommend this book, I can see why it has gained status as a classic, but it is not because it's a pleasure to read.

Challenge 22: A Book With Pictures

Donna's Book: We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young by Lt Gen Hal Moore and Joseph Galloway (Presidio, 2004)

I think I may be going against the spirit of this challenge by choosing this book, but it does have a collection of photos in it, and so I'm making it count.  To be totally honest, after finishing We Are Soldiers Still, this is the only book that I wanted to read (again). 

Comments

Challenge 21: A Book With a Great First Line

Donna's Book: We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam by Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway (HarperCollins, 2009)

To be honest, I don't think that a good book will ever have a bad first line.  As a published author (albeit of history text books) I know how many hours I spent getting that first line just right.  So this is really an excuse to read one of the books that's been on my reading list for ages, but hasn't really fit into any of the categories so far.

This one fits, and it also has a great first line as a bonus:  "It has been more than forty years since those nightmarish days of November 1965, when an understrength 450-man battalion of the 7th US Cavalry launched an audacious helicopter air assault into the heart of enemy territory in the Ia Drang valley."

Comments: 

This i' one of the most beautiful and powerful books that I've ever read. I never had the privilege of meeting Lt Gen Moore but, just from reading his book, I know I would have followed him into the Ia Drang valley in November 1965, and anywhere else since. Every chapter brought tears to my eyes. But mostly what made me sad is the complete and utter contrast with the so-called 'leadership' in America today.

I never met Lt Gen Moore but I can still follow where he led: "Never quit. There's always one more thing you can do to influence any situation in your favour."

I am the proud daughter of a Vietnam veteran. I am proud to be an American. And I will never quit.
#resist

Challenge 20: A Book "Everyone" But You Has Read

Donna's Book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling (Pottermore, 2015)

I've never got the Harry Potter craze.  I watched the films, reluctantly, mainly because Jackie Spencer and I were going on Pointless (BBC TV quiz show) and there had been a lot of Harry Potter-related questions during the time we were preparing for the show.  And I still didn't really get what all the fuss was about.  When I was preparing for this challenge, I asked all my friends what I should read and, pretty much unanimously, the answer was one of the Harry Potter books.  So here goes nothing ...

Comments:

Another confession.  I was as reluctant to read this book as I had been to watch the films, but a challenge accepted is a challenge accepted, so I didn't have much choice.  Plus, it was available for free via the Amazon Prime Kindle Library so I really didn't have any excuse. 

Within a couple of pages, though, I realised that I'd committed the cardinal sin.  I'd watched the film BEFORE I read the book!  Where as I'd never been grabbed by the film, within a couple of pages I was engrossed in the book.  It really is good!!  I'm sure I don't need to share any of the storyline - after all, 'everyone' but me seems to have read it!  But I really enjoyed it.  The story was entertaining and dramatic, the characters had depth, and the descriptions really fired the imagination. 

I'm still not sure that I totally get the Harry Potter craze, and I'm not sure that I'll read any more of the series ... but I might!  And I never thought I'd say that about the Harry Potter books.  So a good challenge, and a good recommendation from my friends!

Challenge 19: A Book You Were Supposed to Read in School But Didn't

Ida's book: "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley (Vintage, 2004)

I've always been a keen reader, to the point where I got assigned extra reading at school to keep me occupied. So it was pretty impossible to find a book that I should have read, but didn't. Instead, I asked my Facebook friends which book from their schooldays I should read, and I got a lot of good suggestions. This won out because my friend had already lent it to me 6 months ago, so I felt bad for not reading it. 

Comments:

Well, this book is pretty thought-provoking once you've finished it, but the reading experience in itself was pretty miserable. I didn't like the writing style so it was an uphill battle to finish the book.

Challenge 19: A Book You Were Supposed to Read in School But Didn't

Berlie Doherty, Street Child ( HarperCollins, 2009)

I have to confess that I cheated on this one.  There honestly isn't a single book from school that I was supposed to read, but didn't.  So I took advice from my friends who are parents, and this seemed like a great suggestion for a book that is being read in schools today.

Comments: 

Reading this book made me understand (even more than I did already) why this is a good theme for a reading challenge.  Books aimed at children are GOOD!  I really enjoyed this, and even thought it was clearly written for children there was enough sophistication to the language and storyline to satisfy any reader.  The only thing is that I ended up wanting to know more about Dr Barnardo!  But again, that's what makes it a great book for children, and for adults!

Thanks to all my friends who suggested this book!  Definitely a good suggestion.

Challenge 18: A Book With a Blue Cover

Rosalynn Carter, First Lady From Plains (University of Arkansas Press; 1994)

This has been sitting in my pile of books to read for at least two years, and it has a blue cover!  It seems like destiny!

Comments:

A wonderful, wonderful book that gives a fabulous insight into the life, personality, character and determination of a strong, inspirational, courageous and fascinating woman.  (Can you tell I'm a fan?!)  This made me laugh, when Mrs Carter was describing some of the ways they dealt with things that went unexpectedly wrong; it made me cry, particularly when she described visiting the refugee camps in Cambodia, and my heart absolutely ached for her, when she was talking about the way that Jimmy Carter was treated and the unfairness and injustice he often experienced.  It's clear that she took his defeat in 1980 much harder than he did, and the closing line "I don't like to lose," is poignant.  However, in the years since she wrote her memoir, the Carters have done so much that we now know that she didn't lose, and the Carters won in a far bigger way than anyone could ever have expected.  As well as providing a detailed insight into Mrs Carter, this shows what it's like behind the scenes in the White House.  It really is a treasure and I feel bad that it took me so long to read it.  Thank goodness it had a blue cover!!