Book challenge

At the beginning of the year I decided I would read one book per month, at least, this year. It has been a challenge for me to do that though. Taking time out of my busy day to read proved to be quite a challenge. I do read going to and from work but that's not enough to be sure I'll finish on time. You see, I read quite slowly. I taste the words, look at how the sentences are constructed and the style of writing.

I would say I also pondered the topics of the books I'm reading. Deep as the would be. Sadly enough the books I read are not very high brow. Quite the contrary actually. Still I like it, reading. I have been missing out on a lot by not reading. The thing is, I live in my own little world where not a lot of people and news from the outside are allowed in. My drunken aunt always said I was in my own little world, just skipping by on my own oblivious to whatever went on outside of it. Maybe that's why I discovered that I like reading so much. Because I get a touch of something from the outside yet still it's all fine and dandy. Plus I don't have to stare at, or converse with any of those horrible common people on the train.

So, here are the books I've read so far.

Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler. I liked this book a lot actually as it was a good action adventure book. I liked the idea and although the main character Dirk Pitt didn't appeal to me at first he sort of grew on me.

Clive Cussler has a horrible sense of style and I have a feeling he thinks wearing flannel is posh. It took me aback that anyone could be so clueless. That being said, the tired old plot was pretty exciting and I didn't find a dull moment.

Whenever I find something I like I keep at it until it gets tired and boring. So naturally the next book I read, Sahara was also written by Clive Cussler.

It wasn't nearly as good as Atlantis Found and I found the beginning really dull. Then I noticed that I already knew the story as I have the movie Sahara on DVD. It's based on that book. How disappointing, especially as the casting of the movie was so appalling when you take the book into consideration. Still the book ended up being different from the movie and that was a good thing. I ended up liking it. Even if I didn't love it.

If it ain't broken, don't fix it. So Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler was next. Still same main characters with some surprise additions of course.

This was much better than Sahara and I have to say, even if it isn't revolutionary in any way it was a good read. I was fully entertained and that was exactly what I was going for.

Very nice plot twists. Still very appalling sense of style.

My. My. Another Clive Cussler book. You may ask, "doesn't he ever get tired of Mr. Cussler and his appalling sense of style?". The answer is "yes". I did. This book, although a fine read was not at all a book I would ever read again.

A little boring, the story straight out of some horrible B movie and I actually struggled finishing it.

Less descriptions of clothes though. That was a plus. The scary thing though is that you get used to Dirk Pitt, the main character, wearing awful outfits and the author describing them. Especially because you can sort of sense how proud he feels of himself describing something he thinks is very nice.

Next up I took the advice of the fabulous Miss Dinah (she may say nothing, but I like that nothing very much) in one of her Canada posts.

She mentioned Will Fergusons Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw and so I joined Will Ferguson on his highly amusing trips around Canada and loved every second of it.

In fact I read this book in less than a week. You could say I got obsessed to the point where I would be at work just wishing to be on the train on my way home reading.

There was especially a fabulous reference to James Bond in one of the chapters. Oh I laughed. Out loud. For a long time.

After having one successful experience with a book that the fabulous Miss Dinah had suggested on her blog I decided to try another one.

Bitter is the New Black Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office by Jen (don't call me Jennifer) Lancaster. It sounded exactly like my kind of book and it was.

I nodded, smiled and indentified myself with it for much of it. Although I still think she got a little soft by the end. Those dogs were the end of hardcore Jen. Or was that in the sequel? Jen is my kind of girl.

So yes, another Jen Lancaster book. This one with the fabulous title: Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why It Often Sucks in the City, or Who Are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?

How can you not love a title like that? Also mentioned by the fabulous Miss Dinah.

The same bitchy style of the other Jen Lancaster book but I found her to become a little more mellow and down to earth. Still I loved every word of it and I just didn't want it to end. I almost went into a depression when it finished.

On all the other books I'd at least read something about. Either the blurb on the back cover or someone mentioned them on their blog. Clicking her Heels by Lucy Hepburn was solely bought because of the cover. How can you not want to read that book?

It has stilettos, gold and pink stars on the cover and the author is named Hepburn. How can you go wrong? The answer is, you can't. This is chicklit at it's best or corniest. Basically a girl named Amy gets dumped by her boyfriend who sells ALL her designer shoes (including her late mothers ballerina slippers) on ebay because of a misunderstanding. Amy then goes on a quest around the world to recover them.

It then becomes more of a journey of self discovery than retrieving her shoes. A real, the wind from one door closing, opens another. Corny, sweet and loads of shoes. Yes, yes, yes. Also quite amusing.

That is my list of books so far. I'm a little proud of myself.