Madhatter's 2015 Reading Challenge

I was away from LT last year and ended up reading about half the number of books I usually do. Coincidence??
This year I'm trying to complete the 75 Books Challenge and to have at least 35 of those be "off the shelf" books - meaning that I already owned them prior to this year, and that I get them permanently off my shelves after reading them.







December
62. M Train - Patti Smith (on & off the shelf in 2015)
61. Dear Mr. You - Mary Louise Parker (on & off the shelf in 2015)

November
60. Bazaar of Bad Dreams - Stephen King (borrowed)
59. Vampires in the Lemon Grove - Karen Russell Off the shelf!
58. Humans of New York - Brandon Stanton (borrowed)
57. Brooklyn - Colm Toibin (on & off the shelf in 2015)
56. Another Day - David Levithan (borrowed)
55. Just Kids - Patti Smith Off the shelf!
54. Slade House - David Mitchell (borrowed)

October
53. Alice - Christina Henry (on & off the shelf in 2015)
52. Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson (borrowed)
51. In Big Trouble - Laura Lippman (on & off the shelf in 2015)
50. Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own - Kate Bolick (on & off the shelf in 2015)
49. The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat - Edward Kelsey Moore (borrowed)
48. In Other Words - Jhumpa Lahiri (on & off the shelf in 2015)

September
47. Butcher's Hill - Laura Lippman (borrowed)
46. Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town - Jon Krakauer (borrowed)
45. Bite Me - Christopher Moore Off the shelf!
44. Why Not Me? - Mindy Kaling (borrowed)
43. Between the World and Me -Ta-Nehisi Coates (borrowed)
42. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen Off the shelf!
41. Charm City - Laura Lippman (on & off the shelf in 2015)

August
40. Baltimore Blues - Laura Lippman (on & off the shelf in 2015)
39 Teenage Romance: Or How to Die of Embarrassment - Delia Ephron Off the shelf!
38. Bad Haircut - Tom Perrotta (on & off the shelf in 2015)
37. We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (on & off the shelf in 2015)
36. Hood - Emma Donoghue Off the shelf!

July
35. There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby - Ludmilla Petrushevskaya Off the shelf!
34. Let's Be Less Stupid - Patricia Marx (borrowed)
33. Finders Keepers - Stephen King (borrowed)
32. Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari (borrowed)
31. Girl in a Band - Kim Gordon (borrowed)
30. Sick in the Head - Judd Apatow (borrowed)
29. The Almost Nearly Perfect People - Michael Booth (borrowed)

June
28. Soulless - Gail Carriger Off the shelf!
27. Kindred - Octavia E. Butler Off the shelf!
26. God's Hotel - Victoria Sweet (on & off the shelf in 2015)
25. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo (on & off the shelf in 2015)

May
24. The Dark Tower by Stephen King Off the shelf!
23. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (borrowed)
22. Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher (borrowed)
21. How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (on & off the shelf in 2015)
20. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (on & off the shelf in 2015)

April
19. How to Grow Up by MIchelle Tea (borrowed)
18. The Song of Susannah by Stephen King Off the shelf!
17. Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King Off the shelf!

March
16. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (keeping)
15 Wizard and Glass by Stephen King Off the shelf!
14. The Wastelands by Stephen King Off the shelf!

February
13. The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King Off the shelf!
12. The Gunslinger by Stephen King Off the shelf!
11. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley Off the shelf!
10. Man Seeking Woman by Simon Rich (borrowed)

January
9. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit (borrowed)
8. Moranthology by Caitlin Moran (keeping)
7. Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel (borrowed)
6. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn Off the shelf!
5. The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg (borrowed)
4. The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman Off the shelf!
3. Revival by Stephen King (borrowed)
2. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman - Off the shelf!
1. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (keeping)

Welcome back!

Orange Is The New Black - Piper Kerman

There's an interview with Piper Kerman following the book where she says it really unsettles her when people tell her that her experience didn't sound so bad. I felt a little sheepish that I'd thought the same thing several times while reading this book. I'm sure this was partially because I've already seen the very fictionalized, more violent TV show. It's also because although Kerman does convey the terror of the unknown when first entering prison, the demoralizing treatment by guards and the soul-sucking monotony, what stood out to me was her description of the community the women build to endure their time there. She also became very aware that she had it much easier than most of the women there, due to her relatively short sentence and all the support she had from family and friends during and after her incarceration.

Style-wise, the narrative was a little clunky at times, but I enjoyed the story, which was funny, heartbreaking and infuriating. The amount of waste, neglect and mismanagement inside the prison was eye-opening, as were the statistics concerning how many women have sentences out of proportion to their nonviolent crimes, and how little effort there is at rehabilitation or post-prison support.

Revival - Stephen King

For a long time I read everything Stephen King wrote, and then I didn't. (Was it The Tommyknockers? Dreamcatcher?) If you had the same experience, and haven't jumped back in yet, jump back in. In the last few years he's really been back to form (11/22/63, Under the Dome, Doctor Sleep).

This is one of his slow-burners, which is something he does really well. The story of Jamie Morton begins at age 6, when he first meets Reverend Charles Jacobs, and follows him for the next 50 years as they cross paths again and again. There are no evil clowns or serial killers, no vampires or parallel universes or telekinesis. This is just the story of a life. But, being Stephen King ... there are hints. Things a little off-kilter. Ominous. Not quite right around the edges.
The story builds - suspense, tension, fear - and then - ! What the ... what??

As happens with many of King's books (though nowhere near as many as some people complain about), I got to the end and felt a little perplexed. This wasn't a bad ending. This wasn't an It ending. (Still not over that. 1000 pages of perfect character development and his most chilling Big Bad and then - what??) I just wasn't quite satisfied. But I still found it worth reading. And I'm still thinking about it. The man can paint some very vivid and terrifying pictures.

Wow, your King experience is virtually identical to mine! The one that brought me back was Duma Key. I haven't read this one yet, but it's on the list.

>5 drneutron: I will have to go back and read Duma Key then. Wasn't sure where it fell on the spectrum. ;)