40 Book Challenge

I'm attempting a 40 Book Reading Challenge for this school year. As of now, I plan to conquer the following books (bolded text indicates a book I have finished):

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
3. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
4. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
5. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
6. Smile by Raina Telgemeier
7. The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson (Graphic Novel)
8. The City of Ember by Jeanna DuPrau
9. Wool (Graphic Novel) by Hugh Howey
10. Shift by Hugh Howey
11. Dust by Hugh Howey
12. Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
13. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (#1) by Jeff Kinney
14. Bone by Jeff Smith
15. The Ability by M.M. Vaughan
16. Life of a Loser - Wanted by Lou Zuhr
17. Matched by Ally Condie
18. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
19. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
20. The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld
21. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
22. Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson
23. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
24. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
25. The School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin
26. Stupid Perfect World by Scott Westerfeld
27. The Cloak Society by Jeramy Kraatz
28. Mouse Heart by Lisa Fidler
29. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
30. Mosquitoland by David Arnold
31. In Real Life by Cory Doctorow
32. The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
33. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
34. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
35. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
36. George by Alex Gino
37. TBD
38. TBD
39. TBD
40. TBD

Suggestions are welcome for the final four books...

A Brief Review of My Summer Reads

Fun Home - Alison Bechdel
I'm not sure why Duke University freshmen are giving this graphic novel such a hard time. While it does contain themes of changing adolescence and sexuality, they are entering college. The book shows us the author's personal struggles growing up (family drama, discovering the self/personal identity, making her mark on the world, etc.)...which would be the same general things these Duke freshmen would be (hopefully!) beginning to experience in college. Furthermore, as college students these kids should be open and wanting to learn about different cultures/perspectives. If they plan to be remotely successful, functioning members of society post-graduation, these students need to learn to accept being exposed to "different" themes. As usual, I am stuck and frustrated about how a person can shut down a book (saying it will "violate their Christian morals") without actually reading it. Being shielded or staying away from a certain topic or idea isn't going to make that topic go away. Alas, I have strayed from actually commenting much on the novel itself; it is a fabulous story that a reader of any age (above middle school) will find entertaining and engaging. The art and general comic style is also well thought out and developed. Oh, and did I mention this graphic novel has been made into an award-winning broadway musical? No?

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
I'm not sure how this science fiction piece eluded me for so long...

Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell
Immediately after finishing this book, I got on Amazon and ordered the sequel. Hopefully that says a bit about how great this book was. My boyfriend actually picked this book up for me because he thought is seemed a bit like Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job. He was spot on in that notion. Bazell has an eerily similar propensity for mixing the sardonic with the sad. Like Moore's pieces, I found myself laughing at things that I certainly had no right to be laughing at.










Orphan #8 - Kim van Alkemade

I picked up this novel with the notion of reading it only because it was written by an English professor from my Alumni (Shippensburg University). I put down this novel, finished, about two hours after I picked it up. I'm not sure how I managed to get so lucky with my summer book choices, but you definitely won't find me complaining.

The Sculptor - Scott McCloud
Saga - Brian K. Vaughan
Wool - Hugh Howey
An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir
Secondhand Souls - Christopher Moore