2015 Reading Summary

I'm glad to say that I have completed all my reading challenges for 2015 successfully. I just wished I had more time to posts my review for all the books I've read this year and participate in the challenge discussions held by the hosts for each challenge.

Anyway, even though I've met my challenges, I felt that I kinda cheated cause most of the books are really books I read/listened together with the kids.

However, I did read a lot of series. I FINALLY finished reading the full installment of Sookie Stackhouse. I stopped reading Sookie Stackhouse when the TV series came out. I figured I had the complete books, so I should just get it over and done with. Slightly disappointed with the final outcome of the series but glad that I finished it nonetheless.

My favorite series for the year is The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. I love all the characters and absolutely love the storyline. The narration on audiobook is really excellent. I honestly can't wait for book six to be out sometime in 2016.

We Were Liars is my most memorable read for 2015. Hands down.

To sum up, I participated in three challenges this year and read/listened to a total of 39 books. Woohoo...

Here are my list of books for 2015:

1. Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Format: E-book

Challenge: 2015 Ebook Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Format: E-book

Challenge: 2015 Ebook Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

3. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Format: E-book

Challenge: 2015 E-book Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

4. Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Format: E-book

Challenge: 2015 Ebook Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

5. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Format: E-book

Challenge: 2015 E-book Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

6. Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles) by Kevin Hearne

Format: Audiobook

Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

7. The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper 

Format: Audiobook

Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

8. Jack & the Beanstalk by Richard Walker and Niamh Sharkey

Format: Audiobook

Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

9. The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Format: E-book

Challenge: 2015 E-book reading challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

10. The Interrupted Tale (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, #4) by Maryrose Wood

Format: Audiobook

Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

11. Usborne Very First Reading: Book 1 - Pirate Pat by Mairi Mackinnon

Format: Hardcover

Challenge: Goodreads 30 books in 2015

12. LegoStar Wars: A New Hope by Emma Grange

Format: Paperback

Challenge: Goodreads 30 books in 2015

13. LegoStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Emma Grange

Format: Paperback

Challenge: Goodreads 30 books in 2015

14. Usborne Very First Reading: Book 2 - The Dressing-Up Box by Mairi Mackinnon

Format: Hardcover

Challenge: Goodreads 30 books in 2015

15. We Were Liars by E.Lockhart
Format: E-Book
Challenge: 2015 Ebook Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

16. Going Gray by Briand Spangler
Format: E-Book
Challenge: 2015 Ebook Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

17. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

18. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

19. The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

20. Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

21. The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

22. The Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet by Tom Fletcher & Dougie Poynter
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

23. Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

24. The Very Busy Spider
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

25. The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

26. Reasonable Doubt by Whitney G
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

27. Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

28. Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

29. Flesh and Bone by Jonathan Maberry
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

30. The Unmapped Sea (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #5)
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

31. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Format: Audiobook
Challenge : 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

32. The Fold by Peter Clines
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

33. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

34. A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Format: Paperback
Challenge: Goodreads 30 books in 2015

35. The Little Shop of Monsters by R.L. Stine
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

36. Fire and Ash: A Rot and Ruin Series by Jonathan Mulberry
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

37. The Remaining by D.J. Molles
Format: Audiobook
Challenge: 2015 Audiobook Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

The Gray Series: Omnibus Edition by Brian Spangler
38. Book #2: Gray Skies
39. Book #3: Blinded by Sight
40. Book #4: Union
Format: E-Book
Challenge: 2015 E-Book Reading Challenge | Goodreads 30 books in 2015

Here are the total books read per challenge:

Listened: 24/15

Read: 11/10

Read: 39/30

So that's my reading list for 2015. I'm googling challenges for 2016 to see what I can participate in next year. I'll definitely repeat all three challenges again next year but will commit to more books.

If you know of any great book reading challenges that is going around right now, do drop me a note.

Hugs.

Book Review: The Never List by Koethi Zan

Written by: Koethi Zan

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Penguin Books

Publishers Summary: 

For years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the “Never List”:  a list of actions to be avoided, for safety’s sake, at all costs.  But one night, against their best instincts, they accept a cab ride with grave, everlasting consequences. For the next three years, they are held captive with two other girls in a dungeon-like cellar by a connoisseur of sadism.

Ten years later, at thirty-one, Sarah is still struggling to resume a normal life, living as a virtual recluse under a new name, unable to come to grips with the fact that Jennifer didn’t make it out of that cellar. Now, her abductor is up for parole and Sarah can no longer ignore the twisted letters he sends from jail.

Finally, Sarah decides to confront her phobias and the other survivors—who hold their own deep grudges against her. When she goes on a cross-country chase that takes her into the perverse world of BDSM, secret cults, and the arcane study of torture, she begins unraveling a mystery more horrifying than even she could have imagined.

Review:

It’s been a while since I read anything from the mystery, thriller genre and I think this selection was quite a good break from all the young adult books that I have been reading of late. 10 years after escaping from her sadistic abductor, Sarah is forced to leave the comforts of her secure home to find out what really happened to her friend Jennifer. Her quest unravels something darker and sinister surrounding the events of her abduction.

To my surprise The Never List was actually a quick read. I actually read it in two seatings. It was engaging and gripping from the first page till the last and I could not put it down. The storyline provided a fairly good mystery and I felt the suspense was quite consistent throughout.

Though it does not tell you the details of the torture Sarah went through, I still found it dark and twisted. To be honest, I’m quite glad that the author didn’t go through the gory details because I don’t think I would have finished the book if she did.

Overall, I would think that this is something one can pick up if one wants a light thriller that’s quite easy to read.

I gave this book a 5 over 5 on goodreads because it was dark, suspenseful and had a great plot.

Audiobook Review: Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Written by: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris

Length: 6 hours 25 minutes

Format: Audiobook

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Publisher's Summary:

From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new collection of essays taking his listeners on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.

Review:

This is my first exposure to David Sedaris’s work. I heard it on Audible. The essays were short and mostly revolving around his life experience covering some stories of his family, his life in France etc.

The first essay, Dentists without Borders got me laughing so hard I was afraid I’d get into an accident while driving. Most of his work is hilarious, especially the essays that are related to his own personal experience. He definitely has a very quirky view of life.

Not all the essays were ‘laugh out loud’ material but I generally enjoyed listening to this book. I think this book is better on audio format as Sedaris’s reading style does bring his essays to life and makes it feel a bit more personalized; for me it felt like I was having a conversation with a friend on his experience with his father, losing his passport and mourning the loss of his computer.

Sedaris’s piece on China is the one that I will remember the most. Thanks to you Mr Sedaris, I have decided never to visit China cause now all I think about when I hear China, is phlegm. Yuck…

I gave this book a 4 over 5 on Goodreads.

Colouring Books for Adults

I’m loving this new craze of colouring books for adults. I'm sure these books have been around for a while but I've just made the discovery about a month ago. 

I’m not an artistic person but I’ve always had a set of colour pencils with me. I know it sounds weird but I use it to colour my Moleskine notebook which I use as my daily planner. When I’m planning my day I use colours to identify meetings, to-do list, urgent or non- urgent matters etc. I’ve always found colouring an enjoyable activity, sort of a de-stresser when I list out my often long and always URGENT to do list.

So, when they started selling the colouring books at MPH I got myself two copies. These are not the books that I wanted but since it’s my first time trying this out I got the ones that interested me the most amongst the pile available at the book store. These are the two copies I got for myself.

I haven’t done much colouring as I’ve been pretty busy lately but this activity is quite enjoyable to do with the kids. The kids have their own set of colouring books and colour pencils and we coloured our books together. Though I have to say the kids need a little bit more practice when it comes to colouring their books… 

I hope I’ll be able to have more time to spend on my colouring books soon but I’m doing it bit by bit every night. This is my first attempt which is still a work in progress:

Are you into colouring? Share with me your work in progress, I’d love to know what you are coloring right now. 

Book Review: Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman

Written by: Neil Gaiman
Designed by: Chip Kidd
Format: Paperback
Publisher: William Morrow

Publishers Summary:

This book is a reprint of Neil Gaiman’s speech to the graduates of Philadelphia’s University of the Arts in May 2012. In his speech, he shares a bit of his experience and how he succeeded as a writer. The nineteen minutes speech also covered his thoughts on creativity, bravery and strength. Neil Gaiman’s ‘Make Good Art’ Speech is not a normal book, the speech is printed in stylish graphic design by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd.

Review:

I absolutely love this book. One because it was so bright, colourful and beautifully crafted by Chip Kidd that it was really pleasing to read. Two, though Gaiman’s speech was specifically targeted to art graduates I felt that there were a few pointers that anyone regardless of age can take as good advise in order for them to succeed in what they do.

There are two quotes that I love from this book. The first:

“I tended to do anything as long as it felt like an adventure and to stop when it felt like work, which meant that life did not feel like work”

I totally agree with this. I hold the same principle and believe that one should have passion in what they do then only will they enjoy the work.

The second quote I like from Gaiman’s speech was on why people will still get work, they don’t have to be perfect but at least good in one of these three things and people would re-hire them regardless.

“1. Their work is good,

2. and because they are easy to get along with,

3. and because they deliver the work on time.

And you don’t even need all three.

Two out of three is fine.”

I have much respect for Gaiman and have always thought of him as a very talented writer. I have enjoyed all of the books I've read from Gaiman so far. This book opened up my eyes to the fact that even though he is a great writer, he too faced challenges, made mistakes and faced failures in his journey to success.

This book will take less than one hour to read. It’s definitely a keeper on my book shelf for the insightful content as well as the colourful style it was presented in. I gave it a 5 over 5 in Goodreads.

Book review: A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Written by: Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by: Axel Scheffler

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Authors Summary:

“Wise old man, won’t you help me, please?
My house is a squash and a squeeze.”

This was my first book, published in 1993, but it started its life earlier still, as a song which I wrote for children’s television. There is also a Big Book, a board book, a Braille edition, a Let’s Read edition, a 20th anniversary edition with early drawings from Axel’s sketchbook and audio version with Imelda Staunton, Steven Pacey and Julia which includes both story and song (I sing the part of the little old lady!)

A Squash and a Squeeze features in a Scamp play called Tiddler and other Terrific Tales which frequently tours the UK. For performing details visit www.scamptheatre.com

"a bit of a classic… a goat on the bed and a cow on the table tapping out a jig? My readers collapsed in heaps, and then had to have it read again. And again."  Vivian French in The Guardian.

Review:

The kids and I are exploring a lot of Julia Donaldson’s books this year. So far the boys’ favourite is The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom. We have these in both paperback and audiobooks formats. Whenever we travel in the car, the kids will definitely want to hear either one of these books. I think my eldest has even memorized the whole Gruffalo book by now.

A squash and a squeeze is a simple story of a woman who thought her house was too small and had asked the advice of a wise old man. The old man then had asked the woman to bring one animal after another into her house and then take the animals out again one by one. It was not until all the animals were out of her house did the old woman realized that her house was not small after all.

I really liked this book. The story has a nice rhyme to it and I quite enjoyed reading it to the boys. The illustrations were colourful and bright and the kids loved asking about the animals. However, the kids didn’t seem to be as engaged with the story as much as they were with The Gruffalo or Room on the Broom. I’ve tried reading this book to them a couple of times already but they were just not interested in the story but were more inquisitive on the animals. Maybe stories of little old ladies don’t appeal to them? Oh dear...

Regardless of how the kids reacted to the book, I personally think this was an enjoyable book to read.

In the author’s website, Donaldson mentioned that this book started off as a song for a children’s television show. So I googled and got a video of it on YouTube of the song which is sung by none other than the author herself. I’m going to try sharing the video with the kids instead and see if the kids will like the video better.

We have a couple more books from Julia Donaldson which I haven’t started reading to the kids yet but I really like her work so far. I gave this book a 3 over 5 in Goodreads.