books & books

So as it can be seen here, I have a goal this year to read twenty books. I know that this may not seem like a lot of books, but considering I'm a first year college student and there's a lot of work that comes along with that, I figured it'd be a nice goal to have.

Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do, ever. In high school, I was hardly ever caught without a book in my bag or in my hands, and sometimes I was even reading during my walk to & from classes. But at the end of the last school year and over the summer, I was severely lacking in the amount of books I was reading. Mostly I was just rereading old favorites, which is nice, but there are so many fantastic books out there that must be read. So this is my goal for the year, and maybe (hopefully) the amount of books in next year's goal will be more.

This far into the game, I've read five books (well, six if you count one that I started at the end of 2012 and finished after the new year). They are:

1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

This is a book that I had to read for my Focused Inquiry 2 class. For the most part, I did find it interesting. However the fact that I had to read it and take note of all of the characters, vocabulary and write chapter summaries made it infinitely less appealing (as I think it would for everyone). 

2. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Okay, well I'm not actually sure if this one counts, considering I had already read it before. BUT I DID READ IT IN THE YEAR 2013, so there's no denying that and it's going on my "read" list.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book, I feel, was a long time coming. For the longest time I could not get myself to pick it up, simply because it was "too popular" (yes, I was that person), but one day I found myself at a Barnes & Noble. I saw it there and it was $9, so I said to myself, "Why not?" Once I finally read it, though, I couldn't put it down. I finished it within 24-hours of starting it, and I was way more pleased with it than I thought I would be. So much in fact, that I almost immediately ordered Catching Fire. 

4. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

This is another one of those books where I found myself at the bookstore thinking, "Why not?" So I bought it, and honestly? I was extremely disappointed. I'm not sure why I wanted to read this book so badly, but I did not like it. Since I had heard a lot of good things about Eugenides, I figured why not try this book out? It took me a little bit over a week to finish this book, and that felt like eons. 

5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Alright, here's the second one that I know you've been waiting for. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as well. I remember back in May (or somewhere around there, I really don't remember), one of my friends was picking up the series for the first time, and said that she enjoyed the first book, but the second one just felt like a repeat of it. I completely disagree. While they share similar aspects, I don't think that the two are very similar at all. 

As for what I'm currently reading, there are two books. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (which, honestly, is my main priority), and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, which I've been wanting to read since I saw the movie (but I'll put more about these once I've finished them!). 

So, there you go. Your little peek into my world of books and opinions on them, with guest appearances by short reviews. There will be more in the future, so stay tuned for that! 

Ta-ta for now! :)