Review  My 17 Book Challenge
#31
(10-19-2023, 04:30 AM)Moonshroom Wrote: I still need to update this thread properly, but I thought this was worth mentioning: book #51 was the only English book on the list (but the second British one), it was also the worst by ratings I had seen online (barely holding on to a 3/5, although I have since rated it myself) and it was also... one of the most enjoyable ones on the whole challenge. Easily a top 15 material.

I don't know why, but I loved both main characters and I simply flew through the pages. Pretty wild!

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, even if others didn't think too much of it!

Was it one of those books that's fun to read but not great-quality (in the same way that a McDonald's burger is tasty but will never win a Michelin star), or is it just that you have different tastes from everyone else?
[Image: XJXXxYq.png]

Board Information and Policies
Affiliation | Coffee Credits | Ranks and Awards | Name Changes
Account Deletion | BBCode Reference


Moonface (in 'Woman runs 49 red lights in ex's car')' Wrote: If only she had ran another 20 lights. :hehe:

(Thanks to Nilla for the avatar, and Detective Osprey for the sig!)
Quote

#32
(10-19-2023, 04:32 PM)Kyng Wrote:
(10-19-2023, 04:30 AM)Moonshroom Wrote: I still need to update this thread properly, but I thought this was worth mentioning: book #51 was the only English book on the list (but the second British one), it was also the worst by ratings I had seen online (barely holding on to a 3/5, although I have since rated it myself) and it was also... one of the most enjoyable ones on the whole challenge. Easily a top 15 material.

I don't know why, but I loved both main characters and I simply flew through the pages. Pretty wild!

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, even if others didn't think too much of it!

Was it one of those books that's fun to read but not great-quality (in the same way that a McDonald's burger is tasty but will never win a Michelin star), or is it just that you have different tastes from everyone else?

Actually, I think it's good in its own right. The conflict is fun, the characters are believable and I do feel like I'm reading dumb teenagers when scanning their actions and dialogue. This one isn't going to dethrone "Cut" anytime soon, but it's leagues better than the bottom 20.
Coffee Coffee ~~Powered by C8H10N4O2~~ Coffee Coffee

[Image: F1s-VRh7-X0-AAXZc5.webp]
[-] The following 1 user Likes Moonshroom's post:
  • Kyng
Quote

#33
(10-19-2023, 04:40 PM)Moonshroom Wrote:
(10-19-2023, 04:32 PM)Kyng Wrote:
(10-19-2023, 04:30 AM)Moonshroom Wrote: I still need to update this thread properly, but I thought this was worth mentioning: book #51 was the only English book on the list (but the second British one), it was also the worst by ratings I had seen online (barely holding on to a 3/5, although I have since rated it myself) and it was also... one of the most enjoyable ones on the whole challenge. Easily a top 15 material.

I don't know why, but I loved both main characters and I simply flew through the pages. Pretty wild!

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, even if others didn't think too much of it!

Was it one of those books that's fun to read but not great-quality (in the same way that a McDonald's burger is tasty but will never win a Michelin star), or is it just that you have different tastes from everyone else?

Actually, I think it's good in its own right. The conflict is fun, the characters are believable and I do feel like I'm reading dumb teenagers when scanning their actions and dialogue. This one isn't going to dethrone "Cut" anytime soon, but it's leagues better than the bottom 20.

In that case, I can see why it received those negative reviews :lol: . A lot of people who are after deep and compelling narratives aren't going enjoy dialogue from "dumb teenagers", but if that's who the book is about, then anything else would just seem unnatural :lol: !
[Image: XJXXxYq.png]

Board Information and Policies
Affiliation | Coffee Credits | Ranks and Awards | Name Changes
Account Deletion | BBCode Reference


Moonface (in 'Woman runs 49 red lights in ex's car')' Wrote: If only she had ran another 20 lights. :hehe:

(Thanks to Nilla for the avatar, and Detective Osprey for the sig!)
Quote

#34
(This post was last modified: 12-26-2023, 03:20 AM by Moonshroom.)
I want to update this topic SO badly, but I don't know how.

Most of the books I have read since I updated the thread last involve murder, murder-suicide and massacre, most of them by and against young adults, teenagers and literal children. How do I even review that? Some of the cases are truly fascinating, and deserve to de discussed. But damn it! It's a tricky balance to find.
Coffee Coffee ~~Powered by C8H10N4O2~~ Coffee Coffee

[Image: F1s-VRh7-X0-AAXZc5.webp]
Quote

#35
(This post was last modified: 04-30-2024, 09:02 PM by Moonshroom.)
Yo! Wanna hear something funny? Somehow, the 17 Book Challenge turned into... the 102 Book Challenge! I just couldn't stop reading!

Now, I'm not gonna review ALL of these books (some are not suited for it, anyway... like, how do you even give a score to a murder victim's diary?), but I'm gonna give a score out of five to any book that can be graded. Anything three and up, I encourage you to check out. Anything four and up, I'm very serious about. Anything sporting the elusive five/five has my seal of approval and I can't recommend enough. Got it? Let's go!

"Alone" by Megan Freeman - 5/5.

"A Mother's Reckoning" by Sue Klebold - 5/5

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell - 5/5.

"Baby-Faced Butchers" by Stella Sands - 3/5.

"Columbine" by Dave Cullen - 3/5.

"Columbine: A True Crime Story" by Jeff Kass - 3/5.

"Compromised" by Heidi Ayarbe - 3/5.

"Confessions of a Sociopath" by M.E. Thomas - 2/5.

"Drama" by Raina Telgemeier - 2/5.

"Evidence Ignored" by Rita Gleason - 4/5.

"Goth Girl: Queen Of The Universe" by Lindsey Zrull - 2/5.

"Homeless: Thrive & Recover" by Anna Nonnim - 3/5.

"How To Survive Everything" by Emma Morrison - 2/5.

"I Don't Like Mondays - The True Story Behind America's First Modern School Shooting" by N Leigh Hunt - 2/5.

"Killer Children" by Danielle Tyning - 3/5.

"Killer Kids Volumes 1-13" by Robert Keller - 5/5.

"Lifted" by Hilary Freeman - 4/5.

"Let's Kill Mom" by Donna Fielder - 3/5.

"Love You Madly" by Michael Freeman - 2/5.

"Nightingale" by Deva Fagan - 2/5.

"No Easy Answers" by Brooks Brown - 4/5.

"Rachel's Tears" by Darrell Scott & Beth Nimmo - Cannot be graded.

"Runaway: Diary Of A Street Kid" by Evelyn Lau - 2/5.

"Sing, Wild Bird, Sing" by Jacqueline O'Mahony - 4/5.

"Sycamore Year" by Lee Mildred - 5/5.

"Teen Titans' Raven" by Kami Garcia - 3/5.

"The Columbine High School Massacre" by Katie Marsico - 1/5.

"The Last Of Us" by Brett Hansen - 3/5.

"The Spring Will Be Ours" by Andrzj Paczkowski - 3/5.

"Unexplained Volumes 1-7" by Robert Keller - 4/5.

"Walking On Daniel's Shoes" by Tom Mauser - Cannot be graded.

"War Of The Rats" by David Robbins - 3/5.

"Wicca: Finding Your Path" by Lisa Chamberlain - Cannot be graded.

"Wicca For Beginners" by Judith Guise - Cannot be graded.

"Wicca: Spellcraft For Men" by AJ Drew - Cannot be graded.

I would like to talk about some of these books in greater detail sometime, but for now... yeah, that's what I have been up to!
Coffee Coffee ~~Powered by C8H10N4O2~~ Coffee Coffee

[Image: F1s-VRh7-X0-AAXZc5.webp]
Quote

#36
Updated with a new read!
Coffee Coffee ~~Powered by C8H10N4O2~~ Coffee Coffee

[Image: F1s-VRh7-X0-AAXZc5.webp]
Quote

#37
Sounds like you've read some great books here!

What was wrong with "The Columbine High School Massacre", that earned it a grade of 1/5? (And how bad would a book have to be to get 0/5 :lol: ?)
[Image: XJXXxYq.png]

Board Information and Policies
Affiliation | Coffee Credits | Ranks and Awards | Name Changes
Account Deletion | BBCode Reference


Moonface (in 'Woman runs 49 red lights in ex's car')' Wrote: If only she had ran another 20 lights. :hehe:

(Thanks to Nilla for the avatar, and Detective Osprey for the sig!)
Quote

#38
(This post was last modified: 03-27-2024, 01:36 AM by Moonshroom.)
(03-24-2024, 03:51 PM)Kyng Wrote: Sounds like you've read some great books here!

What was wrong with "The Columbine High School Massacre", that earned it a grade of 1/5? (And how bad would a book have to be to get 0/5 :lol: ?)

It says a whole bunch of nothing.

I wouldn't give a 0... I would have to actively hate it.

I just finished a couple more and am about to enter what I like to call "The Heavy-Hitter Gauntlet". I'm excited.

What I finished:

"Luna" by Lora Powell - 3/5.

"Sisters" by Raina Telgemeier - 4/5.

"Out Of Range" by Heidi Lang - 4/5.
Coffee Coffee ~~Powered by C8H10N4O2~~ Coffee Coffee

[Image: F1s-VRh7-X0-AAXZc5.webp]
Quote

#39
(This post was last modified: 03-28-2024, 06:21 PM by Moonshroom.)
You know... one of the reasons for which I started this challenge was the chance to go gold-digging, and Salla Simukka's Snow White Trilogy did just that.

Bluntly put: if I redid my ranking, these books would easily pierce the Top 5 (either as a unit or as individuals) and the only things able to withstand them would be Wendelin Van Draanen's twin offerings and Patricia McCormick's Cut (the "Slam Dunk!") of the challenge.

Also... I learned that my reader app keeps track of stuff and apparently I have opened 296 books in the last two years, of which I finished 159, totalling 302 reading hours and 32.000 pages flipped. Weeeeew!
Coffee Coffee ~~Powered by C8H10N4O2~~ Coffee Coffee

[Image: F1s-VRh7-X0-AAXZc5.webp]
Quote

#40
Wow, congrats on doing all that reading :O !

Do you think you'll ever go back and finish any of the books that you started reading, but didn't finish?
[Image: XJXXxYq.png]

Board Information and Policies
Affiliation | Coffee Credits | Ranks and Awards | Name Changes
Account Deletion | BBCode Reference


Moonface (in 'Woman runs 49 red lights in ex's car')' Wrote: If only she had ran another 20 lights. :hehe:

(Thanks to Nilla for the avatar, and Detective Osprey for the sig!)
Quote




Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)