A book you own but haven’t read
A book that was made into a movie
A book you picked solely because of the cover
A book a friend loves
A book published this year
A book by an author you’ve never read before
A book by an author you love
A book at the bottom of your “to-read” pile
A book with a color in the title
A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
A book you started but never finished
A book with a female heroine
A book you learned about because of this challenge
A book with a blue cover
A book you were “supposed” to read in school but didn’t
A book “everyone” but you has read
A book from the library
A book you loved…read it again!
A book that is more than 10 years old
A book based on a true story
A book picked for you by your spouse, SO, child or BFF
A book set on a vineyard or farm
A book written by a celebrity
A book set in your favorite season
Re: Book Challenge - Week of 6/27/16
Title of Book: Gateway
Author: Frederik Pohl
Category from Book Challenge: A book written by an author I've never read
Review/Thoughts: This book actually comes from my own personal reading challenge - reading every Hugo Award Winner. There has been considerable contention within the Hugo family that makes me very sad and conflicted, and I will abstain from getting into here, but several really phenomenal books have been winners.
Gateway was written in 1977, but for a book that could fall into a "hard" sci fi category it read extremely current. The tech and systems he used were devised in a way that they hold up past technological and scientific advancement, and that is often not the case of science fiction. Dated books, even with a great premise, do not always read well a few decades later. It could have been written last year.
Like my favorite sci fic (and lots of classic sci fic- looking at you Heinlein, PKD, etc), Gateway deals more with the topic of humans and dealing with things we learn and discover that are beyond our current imagining and ability to handle. This story centers on the main character, and splits his time between current time and therapy to try and work through something horrible in his past, and a timeline in which he ventures into the unknown and earns him his incredible riches. Both timelines are very well written, and leave you wanting more from the next chapter.
The best part of this book is that the twist at the end is extremely satisfying. It leaves you with an emotional gut-punch. Even a few weeks out I'm still wowed by the ending. Really really great read.
Ive read: Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Man in the High Castle, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Gateway, Foundation's Edge, Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Hyperion, The Diamond Age, and HP and the Goblet of Fire.
I have last year's winner, The Three-Body Problem, on deck after I finish my current book to get me to 12, and instant 13 if Seveneves wins this year's award.
This is where I earn my "Super Nerd" title!
Title of Book: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
Category from Book Challenge: A book you were “supposed” to read in school but didn’t
Review/Thoughts: I was supposed to read this book in my high school freshman English class, but I skimmed it instead, so I thought I’d pick it up again. It’s a classic. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Great Expectations is about a boy named Pip who is chosen by a crazy old lady named Miss Havisham to “play” with her adopted daughter. After a time, he’s dismissed as a playmate and ends up apprenticing as a blacksmith. He suddenly learns he has “expectations” from an unknown source (though he believes it to be from Miss Havisham) and is sent to London to learn to be a gentleman. I wouldn’t say this was a difficult read, but it was dense. I enjoyed the story and the character development and would recommend this heartily.