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My 2017 Goodreads Challenge Recap


I’m the sort of person that needs a specific goal in mind if I’m going to accomplish anything, so the personal reading challenges on Goodreads are a great tool. For those that are unfamiliar, Goodreads offers the option to set a reading goal for the year. If you track your progress while reading a book, it’s added to the list of books you read that year once you finish it. I won’t pretend that I had an impressive reading goal for this year—I set my goal at 10 books—and though I reached my goal in mid-October, I’m obviously still reading. However, for the purposes of this post, I will only be discussing the first 10 books.

1. World’s Bloodiest History by Joseph Cummins

This non-fiction work is a collection of some of the most violent, terrifying, and/or impactful events from many different conflicts, countries, and time periods. This book is graphic and disheartening, but if you also enjoy being disturbed like yours truly, this is an amazing read. Nothing is quite as scary as real life, and you get to educate yourself in the process. Cummins’ book has something for everyone, offering details of gruesome events from ancient times to modern history.

2. The Never List by Koethi Zan

The Never List tells the story of Sarah and Jennifer, two friends who live their lives according to a very strict list of things they must never do, all in the sake of safety. One night, Sarah and Jennifer take a chance, straying from the guidelines of the list, and accept a ride from a stranger. It is a decision they will always regret. Zan’s novel tells the story of Sarah and Jennifer’s lives while in the captivity of depraved man, as well as life after one of the girls manages to escape. This book is absolutely amazing. As a young woman, the themes addressed in the book really resonated with me, and the plot takes an amazing and shocking turn. There is a great cast of characters, it is excellently written, and it offers a great story that is sure to stick with you.

3. Twisted History: 32 True Stories of Torture, Traitors, Sadists, and Psychos by Howard Watson

This is similar to World’s Bloodiest History, except with some bomb illustrations. I know, the title would not suggest very alluring illustrations, but this is another book for those intrigued by the macabre. Watson’s book offers 32 profiles of some of the most sinister people and brutal deaths recorded in history, from the execution of Joan of Arc to Vlad the Impaler. This is a pretty quick read and, personally, I think it would make for a great coffee table book to go with your Halloween décor.

4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I started American Gods a couple of years ago, but never finished it. I decided to give it another go when I saw the previews for the new show. Ugh. I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but didn’t think it lived up to the hype. I was so disappointed, too, because Norse mythology is incredibly interesting, and Gaiman is a fantastic author. Unfortunately, the book just did not hold my attention. A lot of the plot was so slow moving I had trouble convincing myself to pick it up some days. However, I know plenty of other readers who loved this book, so don’t let me stop you from diving in.

5. The Complete Marquis de Sade translated by Dr. Paul J. Gillette.

Okay, people. If you don’t know who the Marquis de Sade is, allow me to brighten your world. The marquis was a French nobleman who spent most of his life either in prison or in insane asylums, because he was a textbook sexual deviant. The word “sadism” was derived from his name. He was also consistently locked up, because he was one of the first smut writers—IF you can truly call it that. Guys, this book is gross. “Smut” does not begin to cover the plethora of deviant acts covered in this collection of Sade’s writing. “Well, Stephanie, why did you read it, then?” you may ask. First, we’ve established that I enjoy reading things that bother me. Second, I watched the film Quills, which is about the marquis (stellar cast, by the way), and I just had to know what this man could have written to be locked up and subjected to the tortures ever so present in early mental institutions. Please, read it. This is the only book that has made me laugh, made me nauseous, and made me think, “Huh…that’s actually a pretty good idea.”

6. The Desperate Season by Michael Blaine

-_____-. I don’t even know where to start. The Desperate Season is about a teenage boy with severe schizophrenia who has been released from a mental institution, and a series of events led to him taking his family hostage and keeping them at gunpoint. Sounds, exciting, right? It was so not. I’m all for background and character development, but ohmygoodness this book had me drowning in it. The meat of the plot—you know, the hostage taking and guns?—didn’t happen until 3/4th of the way through the book. Also, I personally think the varying perspectives format of this book just did not work with the story. It was difficult to follow, and there were a couple of characters whose perspectives were unnecessary.

7. Piercing by Ryu Murakami

This book was fantastic. If you’re looking for a scary read that you can get through quickly, look no further. Piercing is about Kawashima, a young man whose wife has just given birth to their first child. Every night since, Kawashima stands over his daughter’s crib and is overcome with the urge to stab her with an ice pick. Whoa, back up. Yes, baby stabbing. Obviously, Kawashima does not want to lose control and actually stab his child, so he does the only rational thing—he plans to stab someone else. This book is very well written, and it’s an interesting observation of this indescribable late night urges (to the extreme degree). If you’re a fan of true crime, you would enjoy this, too, because you get to follow Kawashima as he literally plans a murder.

8. This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This sort of felt like reading something written by the other students in my college writing classes: good, but it needs polished. The concept of this book was great. School shootings are a very real danger and, as a student, it never really leaves your mind. This story follows multiple students over the course of about an hour as most of the student body is trapped in the auditorium and held hostage by a disturbed classmate. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but the execution was meh. The characters felt horribly cliché, and it failed to capture how real teenagers interact with each other. It’s The Breakfast Club with guns.

9. The Three by Sarah Lotz

Hands down, this was my favorite book of the year. The Three is about four planes that crash nearly simultaneously, all on different points of the planet. A woman survives one of the crashes just long enough to record a message on her phone. Three children survive these crashes, and the message left by the woman sparks crazy conspiracy theories about the crashes and the children that survived them. Ugh, I loved this book. Amazing plot, interesting book-within-a-book format, and a complex cast of characters. If you want a mind warp, read this book. Like, now.

10. Redemption Road by John Hart

I almost didn’t finish this book, but I am so glad I did. It had a slow start, but once you get into the meat of the story, it is amazing. Redemption Road is about Detective Elizabeth Black. Black is being investigated for her actions regarding Channing Shore, a young woman who was kidnapped, raped, and held hostage for over 40 hours. The two men who kidnapped Channing were shot 18 times, but Channing and Black are tight lipped about what happened. This book also follows Adrian Wall, a police officer who spent 13 years in prison for the murder of Julia Strange. He maintained his innocence while in prison, but upon is release, another woman is killed in identical fashion. Hart’s novel is great. It’s a testament to human perseverance and self-preservation, and it has an amazing cast of characters.

What was your reading goal for this year? Have you reached it yet? If you’ve read any of the books listed above, let me know what you thought!

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