The Next Best Book Club discussion

I have three goals for this year.

1) Read 75 books (or more!).

2) Read at least one book by an author of color per month.

3) Read more classics (especially, finish War and Peace and Ulysses).

Here's what I have so far:

1) The Servants' Quarters by Lynn Freed - Really good character voice, but no really likable characters. The writing style was mostly what kept me going. 3 stars.
2) The Everafter by Amy Huntley - Good idea, but kind of boring in execution. I almost want to demote this to 2 stars, but I did give it 3.
3) A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - Flawed characters that really grow on you. Enjoyed this way more than I was afraid I would. 4 stars.
4) Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - Simultaneously disturbing and heart-breaking. In other words, Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest. I still think that Speak is better, but Wintergirls was amazing in its own right. 5 stars.
5) Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater - I started this thinking, "Brain candy!" but it turned out even better than that. Loved the characters and the take on faeries. The ending was totally awesome. 4 stars.

6) Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman - Loved the characters and the setting. I'm really looking forward to the sequel. 4.5 stars.
7) Write. 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block. Period. by Karen E. Peterson - Nowhere near as helpful as I was hoping. I thought it focused too much on the right brain/left brain divide, and only had a few good points. 2 stars.
8) Fire by Kristin Cashore - I keep trying to compare it to Graceling and failing because they are completely different shades of awesome. I will say that I loved Fire herself more than Katsa, but I think this one did take a little longer to read than Graceling. Still, 5 stars.
9) Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich - Just as much fun as its predecessors. 4 stars.
10) Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie - When I'm in the right mood, Jennifer Crusie's books are just perfect. I love her characters and the relationships between them, and I loved this book. 4 stars.
11) Victory Conditions Elizabeth Moon - Good ending to a fun series. I really need to read more stuff by Elizabeth Moon. I enjoy her writing. 4 stars.
12) Stitches: A Memoir by David Small - Eloquent in both word and picture, and a completely unforgettable story. 5 stars.

I really need to pick up the pace. :-/

Long post is long. This is what happens when you stop keeping track of things for six months.

13) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Can a book be simultaneously boring and captivating? Those are definitely the two emotions I remember best from this one. 4 stars.
14) Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner - I remember being surprised by how very not silly this book was. Liked the character-building a lot. 4 stars.
15) Four to Score by Janet Evanovich - Just as fun as the others in the series. 4 stars.
16) Pink brain, blue brain : how small differences grow into troublesome gaps--and what we can do about it by Lise Eliot - Interesting reading, and far less divisive than I had thought it would be. 4 stars.
17) Meridian by Alice Walker - I think that I like Alice Walker a whole bunch. Not as good as The Color Purple, but still really good. 4 stars.
18) Here be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman - Holy detailed historical fiction. Engrossing, but treading the line with too much detail. 4 stars.
19) Owlsight by Mercedes Lackey - Ah, the beginning of my current Mercedes Lackey kick. Sometimes it's nice to just read something predictable. 4 stars.
20) Foundation by Mercedes Lackey - Far more captivating than it should be, given everything. I guess it goes to show that I'm still a sucker for the whole 'mistreated teen finds a place in the world' trope. 4 stars.
21) Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater - Wow, I kind of love the characters from this series. 4 stars.
22) Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie - Let's just say that Jennifer Crusie is way funny and leave it at that. 3 stars.
23) Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer - Eye-opening. 4 stars.
24) Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs - Patricia Briggs remains my favorite paranormal romance author. She's kick-ass, just like Mercy Thompson. 4 stars.
25) Open Secrets: Stories by Alice Munro - I'm not a fan of short stories, but Alice Munro makes them great. 4 stars.
26) Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce - Young adult fantasy with an awesome female character. Just what I wanted. 4 stars.
27) Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella - Way better than I thought Sophie Kinsella would be. 4 stars.
28) Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Fun wish-fulfillment style fiction. 4 stars.
29) Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - Fast-paced, with interesting ideas, but a little too reliant on action over character. 3 stars.
30) Monkey Man by Steve Brewer - Not spectacular, but fast-paced enough that it wasn't painful either. 3 stars.
31) Soulless by Gail Carriger - Not as good as I was hoping, but still mildly amusing. May be worth it to borrow the next book in the series from the library. 3 stars.
32) Wellspring of Chaos by L.E. Modesitt Jr. - Like visiting with an old friend; occasionally awkward, but mostly satisfying. 4 stars.
33) Dark Whispers by Bruce Coville - Somewhere, the magic was lost. 2 stars.
34) The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle - That only took forever. Still, liked it when I could motivate myself to read it. 3 stars.
35) Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde - Quirky and imaginative, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series, even if it has been done before. 4 stars.

36) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I had so much trouble getting through this, and while I get get emotionally invested in Jamie and Claire's relationship, there were definitely some things that I strongly disliked. 3 stars.
37) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn - Easy to read. Difficult to get through. Uneventful. Interesting. Can you tell I had mixed feelings? 3 stars.
38) Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman - I loved how almost all of the characters were women, and I loved how quirky and interesting those women were. 4 stars.
39) The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran - Interesting concept, somewhat flawed execution. Still, enjoyable. 3 stars.