Disclaimer: This is not really intended for other people to read, but I guess I can’t stop you, so go ahead if you want I guess. The purpose of this is so that I can keep track of my ladders, so that I don’t lose them. Thank you. 🙂
Order: Whichever comes to my memory first
| Book Title | Author | Rating | # of Pages |
| Anthem | Ayn Rand | 4/5 | 105 |
| The Rule of Three | Eric Walters | 2/5 | 432 |
| I’ll Give You the Sun | Jandy Nelson | 5/5 | 371 |
| Their Eyes Were Watching God | Zora Neale Hurston | 4/5 | 264 |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | 3/5 | 141 |
| The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah | 4/5 | 85 |
Page Total : 1398
Pages Per day : 15.7
Rating System (Yup, the same one from last time)
1/5: I felt forced to read this from start to end. It wasn’t fun, wasn’t very
interesting, or I felt like a Vietcong POW while reading it.
2/5: Still felt forced but was bearable. Kind of like a 9-5 job to feed yourself and pay for rent.
3/5: Didn’t feel forced per say but was a decent read. I wasn’t really captivated at all but it was easy enough to get through. Like most social courses.
4/5: Now we’re getting to the good stuff, didn’t feel forced, was interesting most of the time, and I enjoyed it.
5/5: A very rare achievement, in order to get this, you must hold my unforced
attention for longer than 45 minutes. Something I might consider sharing with a friend and be interesting from page one all the way till (insert last page of book here).
Anthem- I enjoyed reading this book enough. The story is presented in a dystopian setting and really gave me “Hunger Games” vibes, especially because of the way the main character initially lived this gray, poor, and bland lifestyle. I think the best part of this entire book, for me, was when protagonist goes to show the more knowledgeable people his discovery and they straight out shot him down. It was just so different to what I was expecting that I kinda just laughed when I read it. Like, the super smart guys, that know more than everyone else don’t care about this piece of foreign technology, but do care about punishing the person out of place who is trying to help them? It really didn’t make a lot of sense to me, because they were being forced into their positions as well. Also, everything after the point where the protagonist runs away seemed really unrealistic to me because he had zero experience in anything besides sweeping, but he had no problem surviving the jungle with wild animals, or with hunting. Besides my many questions, this was still a really enjoyable read because it felt so different from our reality, that it became more of a dark fantasy.
The Rule Of Three- So I was recommended this book by a couple of my friends who really enjoyed it, and I think that it was their enthusiasm that resulted in my feelings for this book. I think that because I had really expectations, I didn’t enjoy it as much. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good dystopian storyline, but this one felt weird. It felt like I was studying instead of reading in a weird way, as if I was reading it in a textbook which makes no sense whatsoever. One thing that I noticed was that the romance was lacking this depth and struggle which kinda disappointed me because That was supposed to be a break from the dark and pressured mood held throughout the rest of the story. I wasn’t really satisfied with the ending either, as it didn’t really end? I’m not sure, but I pulled through that book anyways so yay me.
I’ll Give You The Sun- I don’t think I’ve read a book that made me feel this way in a lot of years. Not even a lot of movies have physical impacts on me, but this novel was like a true emotional roller coaster. Throughout the story, I held this understanding between both the characters that made me feel like I was somehow in the situations instead of them. The story showcased both the flaws and the beauty in every character so that no single one could be called the bad guy or the good guy, which brought them to life even more. This is the kind of book that I could imagine myself reading again because it does more than tell a story; it submerges you into it.
Their Eyes Were Watching God- Lots of people thought that this book was really hard to read, but honestly, I didn’t really have a problem with it. I think it’s because of my habit of reading out loud in my inner voice (does that make sense??). Once I got the hang of the vocabulary, I found this book to be a really heartfelt piece, as I could understand Janie’s struggle of not being able to realize what she was actually looking for in a partner, and how she had to explore the possibilities before she could accept someone. Not only did she have to make multiple mistakes, but she also had to sacrifice parts of her life in order to find the true happiness she was looking for. Janie’s story stood out from the many stories I’ve previously read, so it really impressed me when I read this novel, which was both original and realistic, while also being an entertaining life lesson.
The Great Gatsby – This book was very deep, and after reading it, I feel like I didn’t pay enough attention to the details. I’m not sure if I was just rushing through it or there was just too many things to remember (like the names of streets and people). I don’t think I spent enough time on this book just because I couldn’t keep track of everything. This probably contributed to the fact that I’m not too fond of this novel. However, I found the main story of Gatsby’s love for Daisy to be a one of pain, and it really made me sad to see someone who was so dedicated to the other’s love, only to be denied. It just kind of hurt to see him fail to reach his ultimate goal of being with Daisy, and how he literally gave up everything for her: even his life.
The Nightingale- Wow, this is kinda pathetic. I got this book at the beginning of the year and I’m still not finished (facepalm). I think I just had so many other books that I was prioritizing over this book, that it kinda got forgotten. The beginning isn’t bad, I guess it’s just a little slow, but I think once I get past the beginning, it’ll get interesting, especially since you recommended it to me. There’s really not much more for me to say except I need to finish reading this.
Ahahahhahahhah. I totally failed my goal. I read mostly just the book club books and the assigned books, so my reading rate is looking kinda pathetic. It doesn’t help that I’m leaving soon either, and I probably won’t be reading a lot in India. Like, I’ll say that I want to, but at same time, I totally know I’m not gonna read just because there will be too much going on. My goal is really just to read Death of a Salesman while I’m gone, and then at least one more book (200+ Pages) before the end of January. I think I just need to get back into my roll of reading and then I’ll be good. I’m keeping this goal short just because I know that I’m not going to have the time while I’m gone or when I come back, so I expect myself to at least do this.
