One Half from the east by Nadia Hashimi

One Half from the East by Nadia Hashimi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great companion novel to The Pearl That Broke Its Shell. This might be a spoiler, I wasn't reading too carefully, but this is told from the point-of-view of Rahim/a's best friend when she was a bacha posh, Obayd/a. But it's just that, a companion story, it doesn't add very much just goes into more detail about what its like actually being a bacha posh.

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The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

This was an excellent book. Andy Weir really knows how to write a book. Mark Watney was a very likeable character, he knew just how to add suspense, this thing was a masterpiece. However, I was bored by the science-y parts, there comes a point where you're just reading words on a page and don't understand anything, that was the science-y parts for me.

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I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read books by British authors before, but I've never read something so british. The narrator lives in London so she uses all the phrases and words a british person would use; not to mention the constant talk of turning on kettles and drinking tea.

This is the perfect book if you just want to read a story and not have to think too hard, its all about the story. I could see it being the premise for a movie.



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Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't very impressed with this at first. I struggled to find a plot as it just seemed like we were following Samantha through a year of high school. She was complaining that her group of friends seemed very shallow while being one of the most popular people at school. Then she starts writing poetry and has a crush on a guy she and her friends used to bully. We didn't even get that much of a glimpse of what OCD was like, just that she liked the number 3 and would sometimes spend hours on the computer researching a subject.

Then the thing happened. I'm not sure how I feel about the thing, on one hand I'm a bit angry this happened, on the other hand it adds a layer of depth to the story that was sorely missing.

I'm giving it 3 stars because I don't know how I feel about it.

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The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea by Bandi

The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea by Bandi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fifty years in this northern land
Living as a machine that speaks
Living as a human under a yoke
Without talent
With a pure indignation
Written not with pen and ink
But with bones drenched with blood and tears
Is this writing of mine

Though they be dry as a desert
And rough as a grassland
Shabby as an invalid
And primitive as stone tools
Reader!
I beg you to read my words
-Bandi

About 2 years ago I read Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West for the first time. It opened my eyes about the horrors going on inside North Korea; a country I previously hadn't known anything about. I became hungry for more information and watched a bunch of documentaries.

So, when I heard about this book I knew I just had to get it. I was not disappointed. Though the stories get boring at time, they provide a realistic view as to what life is like in North Korea. There is no distance, it hasn't been fed through the propaganda machine, its just one man's look at life in North Korea.

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Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner

Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

I haven't looked too much into historical accuracy, but a skimming of her Wikipedia article makes it sound pretty accurate.

I love reading novels like this instead of biographies because the person is so much more alive. You might not get entirely factual information, but you should know the general picture.

The author did such a good job writing her character, Mademoiselle Chanel came back to life in these pages. I was immersed in the story til the last page.

I know Coco Chanel was a famous designer (who's not familiar with her logo?) I had never really thought about what the meant until now. Up until the '60s or even the '70s women were expected to marry and have babies anything else was a scandal. Coco fought against these ideals to work at her shop. She was the first woman who designed clothes for women, which actually explains corsets quite well which she fights against in the book. She was truly something of a feminist even if she didn't see that of herself.

You don't need to enjoy fashion to understand this book, but what the characters are wearing are more important in this book than any other. And Coco is always describing her new line.

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American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While reading this I struck up a conversation with someone who has lived in different parts of the country and she agreed with the premise of the book. I have only lived in what he calls "The Left Coast" but even I can see the theory he's putting forth.

He's not trying to generalize people, he's generalizing locations. Each nation has its own "feel", for lack of a better term. Somebody growing up in Yankeedom may feel more at home in Tidewater.

When I'm watching a documentary on Netflix I will turn it off if its not interesting enough. With nonfiction books however, I took the time to pick out the book or even bought it so I'm not going to put it down so easy. If this was a documentary I would have stopped watching somewhere around the 10-20 minute mark, but I'm glad I pushed through it.

All in all its a great read about why our country can't seem to get it together and agree on something.

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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

...

I had so many thoughts while reading but now that I'm trying to put them into words I can't seem to recall them.

One problem I had, and this just might be because I'm mormon, was the breaking up of marriages because one had been divorced before. Marriage is sacred and should be treated as such. If you had to enact such a law why not grandfather it in so current marriages aren't affected?

The whole point of Gilead seemed to be to force their idea of religion onto everybody. But, as we see through Offred's point of view living a religion and wanting to live a religion are 2 different things. You can't force someone to believe in something. That's not what Jesus wanted, he wanted people to choose to follow Him. They weren't saving anybody. Actually they took away Heavenly Father's most precious gift to us, agency. These people were not choosing to live the gospel.

This is actually the manuscript of a box of cassette tapes that were found (read historical note) and it reads a such. There's not a lot of dialogue, she narrates a lot of it.

I'm super excited for the Hulu series!





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Shannon's Choice Awards 2016

Best Book:



Best 2016 Release:



Best YA:



Best Historical Fiction:



Best Nonfiction:



Nicholas Sparks Award:



Movie Award:



LOL Award:



Snooze Award:



Bucket List Award:



Rules:
- The award must be awarded to a book that has a finished reading date in 2016.
- All books read in 2016 have a chance; not just those that were released in 2016.
- An award can go to as many as 3 books.
- A book can receive multiple awards.

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Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks

Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pros:Follows a different formula.

Cons: Boring.

**Mild Spoilers Ahead**

When I first read the blurb I didn't read it all the way and I got excited because it sounded like he was doing something different for a change. I was also terrified. Nicholas Sparks is like a warm comfy blanket that you can't seem to get rid of.

I got around to reading the entire blurb and realized it was just the same old story he always writes, I was both disappointed and relieved.

I was disappointed again when I started reading it. The first half is an anti-love story, or reverse romance, whatever you want to call it; it chronicles his first marriage and the divorce. Even though I found it boring, I realized it was important. The marriage is a part of the love story and they had a life together, that shouldn't be treated as unimportant.

The second half was a bit more like his usual stuff but the romance still took a backseat to the other stuff going on in his life. Sometimes I bump a rating up a star for a really good ending and was almost tempted to do it here, but I didn't. Compared to his other works this was just such a disappointment.

Throughout the story, Russ the main character, is continually making observations about "back in his day" and how kids aren't able to do that anymore. I subscribe to this philosophy as well but it was still really annoying to have it brought up all the time.

This combined with See Me is making me question if I ever want to buy another of his books again. Who am I kidding, I probably will.

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Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It always bothers me when a book is "written" by the main character and the writing is too good. Not so with this one. It reads like it was actually written by a teen girl who writes popular fanfic. All in all it was a huge nostalgia trip to the time I was a screaming *NSYNC fan.

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Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is told from 3 points of view:

-The White Supremacist father
-The well meaning white lawyer who is ignorant about racism
-The black nurse

The father's chapters are the worst thing I've ever read. It took me 3 tries to read Lolita and I thought that was one of the sickest things I've ever read. These chapters are cringe-worthy at best and riot-inducing at worst.

They lawyer's chapters were very relatable. She's very awkward around Ruth at first because she's trying so hard not to be racist while at the same time not knowing what that looks like. I've spent the past 18 months-2 years educating myself about this topic and I know I still I have a lot to learn.

The nurse's chapters gave everyone a snapshot of what it's like to be a POC. Just so everyone will have an idea what it is everyone is talking about when they say "racism".

Winner of Shannon's Choice Awards 2016:
Best 2016 Release
Bucket List Award


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Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"But hoping," he said, "is how the impossible can be possible after all."

Amazing. You know how the story's going to end but you hope for the happy ending all the same. I liked how the author made Wonderland seem normal. There's a scene where they're playing croquet so I'm picturing a normal game of croquet. But then hedgehogs and flamingos are mentioned and I'm like oh yeah, this is Wonderland. The romance was just an ordinary Victorian era romance that just happens be in Wonderland.

*twitches eye* I really could have done without the The Raven quotes though.



I'm blaming Marissa Meyer and Gayle Forman for my love of macarons. How had I gone 26 years without trying one?

The King's hands were soggy in hers and the wind was burning her cheeks, and all around her lobsters were being tossed out to sea and their partners were diving in after them.

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My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was just what I needed. Reading about a war for the British crown made this election look tame-ish in comparison.

It was equal parts silly and serious, while not downplaying either one of them. It had lots to offer, romance, sword fights, magic, feminism...

I don't really understand satire in novel form nor do I know the history that inspired the novel, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. There were Monty Python and Princess Bride references, if there were any more I wouldn't have known.

I would definitely recommend this to someone who wanted more Princess Bride.

Winner of Shannon's Choice Awards 2016
Best 2016 release
LOL Award


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To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

1.5 stars

I like fluff. I think it has a time and a place. If fluff is like a cupcake, then this book is a can of frosting. There's no substance to it whatsoever.

I usually don't like to give away more than the blurb says, but I don't see a point holding it back right now. The blurb has you thinking she's dealing with drama with a bunch of different guys right? Actually she ends up fake-dating one of them to get back at another. You could turn on The Disney Channel and find a similar plot.

Lara Jean may have been more likable if she'd been 12 instead of 16. She sounded and acted like a 12 year old, and the plot was more like something middle schoolers would do. (I was a loner in junior high and high school, so correct me if I'm wrong.)

This book was a waste of my time and a waste of natural resources.

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The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is what I was talking about.

The 2 main characters seem like they were recycled from You Are Here. A motherless boy being raised by a distant father and a loner girl. They're changed so they're not entirely different but I got a feeling of deja vu reading it.

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was unputdownable.

Lately I've been giving myself a set amount to read during my daughter's nap time and the rest of it would be spent watching tv. I read right over the set amount and kept on reading until she woke up, even then I only put it down reluctantly.

I chose this to read with Finding Audrey because both Cath and Audrey suffer from social anxiety, of which I am also afflicted. Cath's social anxiety was more like my own though. She's not shut up in her house but is very uncomfortable and has a hard time meeting new people.

I thought this would be geekier but its not. Its not about being a fangirl, its about a fangirl.

My only problem with is was that the fanfic sections were kid of boring. I barely read them, I just glazed over them.

Winner of Shannon's Choice Awards 2016:
Best Book
Best YA



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Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What else is there to say other than I LOVED this book?!?!

I suffer from social anxiety so I could relate to Audrey. Her family was so vibrant and colorful and normal. I laughed out loud a couple of times.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get inside my head.

Winner of Shannon's Choice Awards 2016:
Best Book
Best YA
LOL Award

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The beginning of this book was everything that made me put A Tree Grows in Brooklyn down after 150 pages, really slow with nothing exciting happening. I almost wanted to put it down too but I trudged on.

I'm glad I did. It was slow and I had a hard time paying attention at times but it dealt with things like racism and sexism. You got to see the seedy underbelly of a seemingly normal family (every family has secrets).

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Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One day I was wondering what a modern Pride and Prejudice would look like. A few days later I was browsing Goodreads' giveaways and this was on there. After not winning the giveaway I pre-ordered it on Amazon and eagerly awaited its arrival. I wouldn't say it was worth a 2 month wait but it would be fine if you happened to see it in a book store and bought it.

The author uses a kind of faux austenian style and language. It seemed a bit much at first but I got used to it, it even came to be normal. The beginning uses most of the narrative style Jane Austen was fond of, while the rest of the book leaned more toward dialogue, while still using some of the narrative style.

I will say I was determined to not compare this to the original. That was hard. I kept comparing the events in the book to their austenian counterparts. It was mostly a good match, but we weren't looking for a word for word remake, were we?

I enjoyed meeting some of the other Bennett sisters. Mary and Kitty are featured much more prominently in this version.

If you have ever wondered what a modern Pride and Prejudice would look like, this is your book.

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