Books – Page 84

Categories: Books

Reading Habits Survey: Halfway Point 2015

Fair warning: this may be the geekiest post I will ever write! It’s no secret that reading is my favorite hobby. I’m obsessed with books and my downtime is spent in two ways: reading and blogging. The reason I can read as much as I do is because I make time for it. Whenever people express jealousy for how many books I read, there’s not too much I can say. My life isn’t very exciting (at least to other people, I would guess) and I have a lot of downtime that allows me to read.

Anyway, this year, I’ve taken my love for reading to a geeky level as I’m keeping a detailed spreadsheet of the books I read. My spreadsheet (which I’m happy to share with anyone who is interested!) keeps track of much more than just the title, author, and my rating, but also the genres, formats, where I’m getting them, why I’m reading them, how much they cost me (if applicable), and more. It’s been so fun to keep track, and I thought today would be a good day to survey my reading habits for the first half of 2015. This will be similar to the reading habits survey that Book Riot puts out once a year, which is basically where I got my idea for this post.

How many books read? 48

How many pages read? 15,866

What percentage of books read has been in print? E-books? Audiobooks?

46% print books
44% e-books
10% audiobooks

I’m not too shocked about that – I read about the same amount of print books as I do e-books (I always opt for the e-book, but if the wait list is too long at my library or they don’t have the e-book version, I’ll request the print copy.) Also really happy with my audiobook listening in the first half of the year! This is the first year I’ve really gotten into audiobooks and I find them a really fun way to consume literature.

How many books were bought? I wound up buying 7 of the 48 books I read, which amounts to 15%. The library is my best friend when it comes to reading – I don’t spend a ton of money on books!

How much money has been spent? $40.43. This amounts to spending $6.74 a month on books or 84 cents per book. I’d say that’s a good average!

What are the percentage breakdowns for the genres read?

Fiction – 25%
Nonfiction – 20%
Mystery – 19%
YA – 13%
Chick lit – 13%
Romance – 10%

It shocks me that nonfiction is my second-most-read genre. I have been trying to read at least one nonfiction book per month, and I’m doing more than that, it seems. I’m also surprised that romance novels are my lowest-read genre. I used to solely read romance novels, so this shows I am really trying to diversify my selections.

How many diverse reads? 8 – 17%. Something I still need to work on, but it’s getting better!

Where did I get my books?

Overdrive (e-books and audiobooks): 15
Library (physical copies of books): 12
Amazon: 9
Free, in exchange for a review on my blog: 8
Through postal book club: 2
As gifts: 2

Over half of my books were from Overdrive or the library. How I love the library so! 🙂

Some other random stats:

Most books read in one month: March (10)
Least books read in one month: February (6)
Book with the most pages: The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro (469 pages)
Book with the least pages: Home by Toni Morrison (147 pages)

Top 3 books read so far in 2015:

1. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – This book gripped me from beginning to end, as it follows a family as they deal with the death of their teenage daughter. The writing is just exquisite.

2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – This book dealt with some heavier subjects (domestic violence and bullying), but it did so in a light-hearted manner. I fell in love with the characters and I thought the way the author wrote about domestic violence was vividly real. It wasn’t over-the-top, but I think a lot of people would be able to relate to it (sadly!).

3. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton – I am so glad I did I finally read this book! It’s such a special novel. It is written from the perspective of Ponyboy, a 14-year-old boy who is in a gang called The Greasers. The novel was so easy to read and really fun to follow – the language was phenomenal. It was sad in parts, but I really enjoyed my experience reading it.

How many books did you read in the first half of 2015? Do you use the library, or do you buy the majority of your books?

Categories: Books

What I Read // June

I don’t really know how it happened, but I managed to read 9 books in June. I think I read a lot of easy reads that only took me a few days to finish because it’s not as if June was a low-key, boring month for me! Hmm. I am so pleased with my reading progress this year – I’ve read 48 books and I am on pace to read 70+ books this year. Wahoo! This month, my favorite book was Big Little Lies and my least favorite was A Deadly Wandering.

Book club selection: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park (5 stars)
This book was just downright adorable. It followed a girl who moves to Boston to attend college and when her living situation falls through, she moves in with her mother’s old college roommate and her family. The main character, Julie, realizes the family is a little… strange… and she gets to work on figuring them out. It’s a book about family, love, and finding yourself. My favorite thing about this book was the dialogue. It was quick and funny and smart, and I was drawn into the story from the get-go because of it. If you like YA and novels that explore dark themes in a light-hearted way, I’d definitely recommend this novel.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a book published this year): The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (3 stars)
I liked this book, but I didn’t find it as gripping or engaging as I had hoped. It was one I could easily set down. It’s marketed as “the next Gone Girl” but I can’t compare it to that book. I loved Gone Girl and it was a book that gripped me from beginning to end. This book was different. It was still good. It was still intriguing. I found the characters incredibly infuriating, but also interesting and well-developed. I was engaged enough to where I wanted to keep reading and find out what had really happened.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a romance novel): Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas (4 stars)
Romance novels are my favorite genre to read (it used to be the only genre I read until I started diversifying my selections), so this was an easy category to mark complete for the Book Riot challenge. I’m making my way through Lisa Kleypas’ historical fiction novels, and they are just such fun, easy reads. I like how much depth and personality the characters have; I genuinely felt sad when I finished this novel because I would miss the characters. (Thankfully, it’s the first novel in a series, so I’ll get to read about them again soon!)

TLC Book Tours Read: A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel (2 stars)
I reviewed this on my blog earlier this month and you can read my review here.

Others (read for fun!)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (5 stars)
I am officially a huge fan of Moriarty. I had previously read The Husband’s Secret, which I thought was fantastic, and a friend raved about this book so I knew I had to read it. I’m pretty sure this book will end up as one of the top three books I read this year. It was just so good. I love the way Moriarty finds a way to talk about heavy subjects (in this case, domestic violence and bullying) in a light-hearted manner. Not making light of the issues, but writing in such a way that the topics don’t feel heavy or depressing. I loved this book from start to finish and I wholly recommend it. And I would like Madeline to be my BFF, please and thank you.

Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu (4.5 stars)
This book was eye-opening. I have been obsessed with elite gymnastics since I was a little girl and I remember how much I looked up to Dominique Moceanu (even though I wasn’t a gymnast, or even very athletic!) This memoir gave such a detailed perspective into the world of elite gymnastics and how a girl winds up on a gold-medal Olympic team at the age of fourteen. I am impressed by Dominique’s dedication, strength, and bravery because what she went through, both in the gymnastics world and in her personal life, was gut-wrenching. Definitely a must-read book for those who are as obsessed with elite athletes as I am.

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro (4 stars)
This book gripped me from beginning to end. The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I felt the ending was a little rushed, and it left me wanting a little bit more. But I loved the setting of this novel – Paris in the mid-1950s and New York in the 1920s – because I don’t read too many books involving that time period. It was an enchanting novel with an interesting plot and such likable characters. I also loved getting a glimpse into what it’s like being in the perfumery world.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (4 stars)
I listened to this on audiobook and the reader couldn’t have been more perfect. She had such a pleasing tone to her voice, which made it easy to follow along. And this story was so charming! The setting was perfect, the sisters were so different and yet so alike. I loved their transformation throughout the novel; it felt natural and authentic. And I honestly couldn’t get enough of the father and his penchant for spouting wisdom through Shakespeare’s quotes. The plot might seem a little slow to some people, but I think that’s what made this book so special to me. It didn’t need to be fast-paced or super gripping – it was a story about change and growth and finding yourself, and most times, that happens at a slow and steady pace.

To the Limit by Cindy Gerard (4 stars)
So, romance novels are my favorite genre to read, but more than that, romantic thrillers are my jam. A good romantic thriller will have characters that aren’t too brooding or badass, a twisty-turny plot that keeps you guessing, and steamy love scenes. A novel by Cindy Gerard has all of that and more. This is actually my third time reading this novel (sorry I’m not sorry?) and I fell in love with the characters all over again.

BOOK STATS // JUNE

# of books read: 9
# of pages read: 3,317
quickest read: Flat-Out Love (4 days)
longest read: The Weird Sisters (13 days)
multicultural: 5
formats: ebooks (4), physical books (4), ebooks (1)

What was the best book you read in June?

Categories: Books

Book Review: A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel

A Deadly Wandering Raise your hand if you’ve ever texted while driving.

Raises hand.

I’ve made a concentrated effort to not use my phone while I’m driving, but it still happens.

A DEADLY WANDERING is a book that explores the science behind attention and distraction – specifically, how modern technology is distracting us more than ever before. In doing so, Richtel weaves together a real story about a 19-year-old boy, Reggie, who killed two men in September 2006 because he was texting and driving.

At this time, there were no laws against texting while driving. This technology was so new at the time that there wasn’t enough evidence to support a law (though there had been a number of fatal accidents due to people texting and driving), and many opponents thought a ban like this would be hard to regulate.

My favorite part of the book was learning about Reggie and everything that led up to his conviction. It was hard not to feel empathy for him, for all that he went through, even if he was in the wrong. I’ve been a distracted driver before and I even got into a fender bender a few years ago because I was answering a text and accidentally hit the car in front of me. (Luckily, we were stopped already and the light had turned green, so I eased up on the brake, looked down at my phone for a split second, and hit the car in front of me. Luckily again, no damage was incurred for either car but it was a freaking scary moment and I felt so dumb for causing this because I was on my phone.)

I thought I would really be interested in the neuroscience parts of the book – learning about the brain and attention span and how modern technology is affecting both. But my eyes glazed over during those sections and I found myself just skimming them. It just seemed like a regurgitation of facts and studies, but it was hard to connect that with the wider storyline. Honestly, I would have preferred if the book had cut those portions out completely and just focused on telling Reggie’s story and the impact distracted driving can have.

I also found that the book was a little too wordy in parts. It seemed like every person introduced – from Reggie to the wives of the men who were killed to the victims advocate Terryl to the prosecutor to the defense attorney – had a back story that we had to be introduced to before delving into the meat of why they were introduced. Even some of the pioneers of the research Richtel cited were given a back story before being introduced to their importance. I think a lot of that could have been cut out to make the story more concise and impactful.

All in all, though, a powerful book that tells an important message about distracted driving, modern technology, and the way our attention span can shift in an instant.

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Matt Richtel, this is a brilliant, narrative-driven exploration of technology’s vast influence on the human mind and society, dramatically told through the lens of a tragic “texting-while-driving” car crash that claimed the lives of two rocket scientists in 2006.

In this ambitious, compelling, and beautifully written book, Richtel examines the impact of technology on our lives through the story of Utah college student Reggie Shaw, who killed two scientists while texting and driving. Richtel follows Reggie through the tragedy, the police investigation, his prosecution, and ultimately his redemption.

In the wake of his experience, Reggie has become a leading advocate against “distracted driving.” Richtel interweaves Reggie’s story with cutting-edge scientific findings regarding human attention and the impact of technology on our brains, proposing solid, practical, and actionable solutions to help manage this crisis individually and as a society.

A propulsive read filled with fascinating, accessible detail, riveting narrative tension, and emotional depth, A Deadly Wandering explores one of the biggest questions of our time–what is all of our technology doing to us?–and provides unsettling and important answers and information we all need.

You can connect with Matt Richtel on his website. His book is available to buy from Amazon, IndieBound, and Barnes & Noble.

Click here to add this book to Goodreads!

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.

No affiliate links were used in this post.

Categories: Books

What I Read // May

May was a solid reading month for me – 8 books read! I am really happy with my yearly book reading progress so far, as I am at 39 books read, which means I could maybe hit 80 books for the year. We shall see! This month, my favorite book was The Predictions and my least favorite book was Love and Miss Communication.

Book club selection: Hush by Kate White (3 stars)
I was the one who suggested this book for book club in May. And it was okay. It’s a thriller, about a woman who has a one-night stand with a guy she works with, only to find him dead when she wakes up in the morning. Knowing she’d become the number-one suspect, she flees the scene and then tries to solve the murder herself. It sounds enticing, right? And it was an interesting read… it just wasn’t as fast-paced as I would have liked it. I was expecting twists and turns, but nothing felt too shocking and I never felt on the edge of my seat. It’s a good read if you’re just looking for an easy mystery, but not if you’re hoping to read a really engaging thriller.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a book that someone else has recommended to me): The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (4 stars)
I have had multiple people recommend this book to me, most recently a coworker. So it was an easy one to tackle for the recommendation category for the Book Riot reading challenge. It was such a sweet novel! I expected it to be much more of a tear-jerker, but it didn’t make me cry. (Surprising, I know!) Instead, I just found the ending to be so perfect and heartwarming. Enzo is one of my new favorite literary characters. He was so easy to love and while I know it’s a work of fiction, it gave me some insight into my own dog. (I dearly hope he has a rich inner life as Enzo did!) If you love dogs, I highly, highly, highly recommend this book. I didn’t care too much for the racing parts, but I did get caught up in the excitement because of how passionate Enzo was about them!

TLC Book Tours read: The Predictions by Bianca Zander (5 stars)
I reviewed this novel earlier this month and you can find the review here.

Publisher review: Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland (2 stars)
I reviewed this book earlier this month and you can find the review here.

Others (read for fun!)

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (4 stars)
This is the second book in Oliver’s “Delirium” series and it was really good! I found it really fast-paced and engaging. I really liked hearing about her time in New York City, as it seemed like more was happening to move the plot forward there. All in all, a really good read, but I do have to say the ending of both novels in this series have left me with a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Sadness, maybe? There’s always a cliffhanger that makes my stomach knot up… and remain that way for a few days. I’m hoping the last book ties up this series in a good way… and that I’m not left with a stomach in knots at the end!

On the Rocks by Erin Duffy (2 stars)
I really wanted to like this book because I loved Duffy’s first novel so much, but it just fell flat for me. I didn’t really like the main character. The writing was a little cheesy and some of it felt really, really outdated, as this book was supposed to take place in 2012 and there were mentions of using Myspace and beepers. (?!) So, an easy beach read, but not one I would necessarily recommend.

The One by Kiera Cass (3 stars)
This is the last book in The Selection series by Cass, a dystopian trilogy. This has been one of my favorite dystopian trilogies so far because it’s just fun. It’s light-hearted and silly and romantic. Most dystopian novels are so serious and heartbreaking and intense. There was definitely conflict and some sad moments in this novel, but overall, it was a nice, light vacation read. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and I think the author could have cut out some of the conflict with the rebels at the beginning to flesh out the ending so it felt more satisfying. Still, just a really fun dystopian series that I would recommend.

Hot on the Hunt by Melissa Cutler (3 stars)
This is a Harlequin romance novel, but it’s by an author I really love. This is the last book in a series I started reading a few years ago and it was okay. I didn’t love either main character throughout any part of the novel (not even the ending), so it wasn’t easy to root for them. I didn’t find the ending to be all that satisfying. Still, a fast-paced read that kept me engaged the entire time, and I do hope to see more from this author!

BOOK STATS // MAY

# of books read: 8
# of pages read: 2,717
quickest read: On the Rocks (2 days)
longest read: Hush (9 days)
multicultural: zero
formats: ebooks (5), physical books (3)

What was the best book you read in May?

Categories: Books

Book Review: Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland

As someone who has taken month-long Internet sabbaticals before, I was thoroughly intrigued by the premise of this book: a girl giving up the Internet for an entire year. I grow weary of the Internet very quickly, and I often need a break from updating my online dating profiles, scrolling through Twitter, reading Facebook posts, Instagramming every big moment of my life. Once a year, I try to step away from blogging and social media for a month and I find it really recharges me.

Evie, the protagonist in this book, is different. She not only gives up her online dating profiles and her social media feeds but the entire Internet, which includes email and texting. She wants freedom from living tied to her phone and her computer, which is something I really identified with.

Alas, this book did not live up to my standards. I never felt a true connection to the main character, and I felt the author tried too hard to turn her into a ditzy chick-lit character (a la Becky Bloomwood, one of my most disliked chick-lit characters). She made a lot of dumb decisions, seemed to be a pretty awful friend, and I couldn’t understand her appeal.

I also thought the book seemed a bit dated. For one, Evie’s main cell phone was a flip phone and I just… my grandparents don’t even have flip phones. (I can’t remember the last person I saw using a flip phone!) For another, her work cell phone was a Blackberry. I’ll admit I don’t know all that much about what companies are using nowadays for work cell phones, but a Blackberry seems passé.

Another issue I had was the length the main character went with her Internet sabbatical. I understand wanting to live a life free from the Internet, but we also live in a technological world. You need the Internet for work, you need it to keep in touch with friends. I didn’t understand how texting was considered using the Internet, quite frankly. I think it’s fine to give up Internet pursuits, like social media, online shopping, online dating, maybe even email, but when it starts affecting your work and your friendships, it may be going too far.

All that said, I did think this novel told a really interesting story and I really, really loved the ending. I also found it hard to put the book down about 60% in and wanted to see how things would wrap up for the main character. If you love chick-lit, especially for those who loved the Shopaholic series, I’d recommend this book.

Goodreads summary:

This unforgettable debut novel asks us to look up from our screens and out at the world…and to imagine what life would be like with no searches, no status updates, no texts, no Tweets, no pins, and no posts

Evie Rosen has had enough. She’s tired of the partners at her law firm e-mailing her at all hours of the night. The thought of another online date makes her break out in a cold sweat. She’s over the clever hashtags and the endless selfies. So when her career hits a surprising roadblock and her heart is crushed by Facebook, Evie decides it’s time to put down her smartphone for good. (Beats stowing it in her underwear–she’s done that too!)

And that’s when she discovers a fresh start for real conversations, fewer distractions, and living in the moment, even if the moments are heartbreakingly difficult. Babies are born; marriages teeter; friendships are tested. Evie just may find love and a new direction when she least expects it, but she also learns that just because you unplug your phone doesn’t mean you can unplug from life.

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.

Have you ever taken a break from the Internet?