#DoubleLettersTBRathon wrapup!

Our very own readathon is done for this year. Or, for this season anyway. Who’s to say we won’t have another one towards winter. We think it’s a great opportunity to push yourself to read books you actually own, instead of picking up library or review books. I know one of us – Tiina – gets really carried away with those! Occupational hazard, I guess!

Here’re our wrapups:

Coll

So I finished eight of the 12 books (I was reading some other books on the side), which is not bad for six weeks I suppose. So in the order I completed them, here we go! Tiina and I buddyread Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (#1) and it is my favorite read so far this year. I used it as my “book I really want to read” and man was I right to want it so badly. The story was amazing and intense, and the composition of the book was creative and so awesome. A must read! Then for the “one word title” I chose Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (#2), a graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran during the Israeli revolution. I absolutely adored this book, both story and the illustrations. It’s a great history lesson that is entertaining and heart-wrenching at the same time. For an “ebook owned 2+ years” I read A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (#3), a re-telling of Grimm's Hansel and Gretel with a twist. I enjoyed it was just not what I expected and I felt something was missing for me.

For a “physical book owned 2+ years” I read The Buddha and the Terrorist by Satish Kumar (#4). It is a retelling of a Buddhist parable that deals with terrorism, its root, good and evil, forgiveness, and how to work towards understanding and a better world. Very moving and enlightening. For my “400+ page book” I read Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (#5). It is part of the Expanse series and you can think of it like ASOIAF but for sci-fi fanatics. It’s a kick-ass story that deals with the beginning of a war in the solar system between the three colonist groups, and a disturbing and dark discovery that could hold the fate of the universe in its hands. LOVED this book so much and I know this series will become one of my favorites. For my “book with a foiled cover” I chose The Jedi Path by Daniel Wallace (#6). This is a manual for students of the force and reads like a textbook of sorts, explaining everything from Jedi history to lightsaber combat/tactics. Every Star Wars fan should read this, but be ready to feel heartbroken that you’re not a Jedi.

My choice for “four letter author name” was Slayers by C.J. Hill (#7). This was not your typical fantasy/dragon book, and at first I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. But by the end I was loving it! It combines YA, some romance, fantasy, and action into a unique story where descendants of dragon slayers must train to fight a present-day dragon threat. Great book and I am immediately moving onto the second in the series. Finally, the book I squeezed in at the last moment to cover “four word (or more) title”, The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron by Ross E. Lockhart (#8). A mouthful, right? This anthology of short stories was more creepy than scary, which I didn’t mind at all, and very out of the box. Each tale pays tribute to a unique aspect of Barron’s style, many including a Lovecraftian element, yet each story still maintains its author’s particular style and talent. If there is one horror short story/anthology you read this year, make it this one. In the end I was incredibly happy with my choices for this summer’s TBRathon and, like always, I look forward to the next.

Tiina

Tiina's reads

As you might remember, we had 12 challenges in total. I sort of forgot about the fact I have to read some library and review books that I can’t count for the readathon, so I couldn’t actually get to all of them. I did finish eight books in total. First of all, I started off the readathon with a buddyread with Colleen. We read Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (#1) together and neither of us could put our emotions and positive feelings into a manageable amount of words. Hence, no review. Suffice it to say, however, that we both really loved the book.  I used that for “a book that is longer than 400 pages”. Sure, it’s cheating a bit since the pages aren’t completely filled with text but hey, I’m the boss of my own readathons! Then I finished up a war fiction book that I counted for reading something that’s “out of my comfort zone”. Fives and Twenty-Fives my Michael Pitre (#2) was definitely that! Very grim, but also hopeful in a way. It struck a nice balance, ending with a positive note after ripping my heart out. I also read Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (#3) for my real life book club and managed to cross off “a book with over four-letter title”. It was a fun literary mystery, and I’d definitely recommend it to book lovers.

Then I decided to start a new series that I’ve looked forward to reading: the Every Breath books by Ellie Marney. Every Breath (#4) counted for “a book I really want to read” and Every Word (#5) for “a book in a series” challenge. I’m on to the third one now and I can’t wait to finish off the series. These are inspired by the Sherlock Holmes universe and I really recommend them. There’s something for everyone: there’s a certain grittiness that comes with the detective novel genre – despite being YA – but there is also some steamy romance for those of us who enjoy a dash of that in our novels.

The last three challenges were the following: “one-word title”, “non-fiction”, and “author with a four-letter surname”. I really enjoyed all of these! George by Alex Gino (#6) counts for the first. It is such an important book and I would like to recommend this middle-grade title to everyone. I think it goes a long way to help cis people understand the struggles a transgender child can go through. It’s not a perfect book, but like I said earlier, it’s an important one. My non-fiction selection was Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (#7), which is an interesting memoir about a month of madness in her life due to a mysterious illness. I swear, it read like a House MD episode; I have a review up of it on the blog!  And last but not least, a squeezed in a comic. Alex + Ada  by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn (#8) has been on my radar for  a while now and I finally took the plunge. It’s a finished sci-fi series and I’m eagerly awaiting the second and third volumes in the mail to read them during the Booktubeathon. Thankfully, I really liked all the books I read for this readathon, and I can’t wait to do it again!