So 2019’s Reading Rush is over so it’s time to do a small review for every book I read. If you read my Reading Rush TBR blog then you’ll know what I had planned. If you were one of my few friends on TRR website, you’ll know that I half stuck to my plan. What did I plan on reading? What did I actually read? And what did I think of the books I read? Give a read and find out.
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism
by Naoki Higashida
Page Count: 150
Promt: Debut Novel (Originally: Book with five or more words in the title)
Original Book for Prompt: Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
I read this book after it was recommended to me by Anne. That’s usually the way I discover non-genre books. She reads it, thinks I’d like it, and I do. This is a book written by a 13 year old Japanese kid with autism and he asks questions he thinks people would ask and then proceeds to answer them. I found it to be an outstanding book. It can come across as repetitive but that’s because Naoki’s biggest message is “be patient with us.” The Reason I Jump is equal parts heartbreaking and informative. It’s a super quick read as some of his answers are a paragraph long but the message is clear. Most of the negative reviews I’ve read about this book are people who don’t believe a 13 year old even wrote the book. Those people must be fun at parties. So ignore those idiotic haters and listen to me instead. This is a gem of a book that’s well worth a read.
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism gets an 11 out of 11
The Nightingale
By Kristin Hannah
Page Count: 564 (314 pages were read before the readathon)
Prompt: Read a book you meant to read last year.
Original Book for Prompt: No Change.
This is one of Anne’s favorite books and one she tried to get me to read for a while. I finally picked it up before the readathon started at had enough of it left that I figured I could count it for The Reading Rush. I had about 250 pages left, so why not? I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and it’s now on my list of favorite books of all time. This takes place during WWII in France which is a story I don’t think we learn about a lot. The French surrendering is kind of a running gag, isn’t it? I feel that’s because we don’t hear the whole story a lot. Though this book is a work of fiction, there’s a lot of truth in it. How hard things were for the French, the fact that there were those who fought back, and horrors the Nazi’s perpetrated.
Kristen Hannah is a talented writer wrote an engaging book, created real and relateable characters, and even reminded us that some of the Nazis were just regular people. She reminded us that while a lot of the Nazis were the evil incarnate history remembers them as, some were just people who didn’t believe in the “solution” Hitler had but couldn’t just walk away. The book follows two sisters who both ended up fighting in their own way and how the war that separated them helped them understand each other. Let me finish this blurb with three words: Read this book.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah gets an 11 out of 11
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom
By Sylvia Plath
Pages: 64
Prompt: Read a book in the same spot the entire time
Original Book for Prompt: No Change
This was a random find by Anne during one of our many trips to our local library. Normally I would try and read a longer book for a readathon, but I have an average reading speed, so I knew I’d have to pick some short books if I was to read seven books in seven days. This is an artsy children’s story and exactly what I expected from a writer of “literature.” It was fun, but it read more like a shadow of a Dr. Seuss book. It wasn’t bad at all. I enjoyed it, but I just felt that it was incomplete. I do understand that the answers the book never gave us were an artistic choice to leave more up to the reader’s imagination but it failed to come across that way and instead presented itself as a very clever and interesting, yet unfinished tale. Just like Log, it’s better than bad, it’s good.
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom by Sylvia Plath gets a 7 out of 11
Mary Poppins
by P.L. Travers
Page Count: 232
Prompt: Read and watch a book to movie adaptation
Original Book for Prompt: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald.
I didn’t plan on reading this book at all, but Anne and I had taken a break from our reading to watch a film and we chose Mary Poppins, which sparked the idea to pick up this book while at the library. Let me start by saying that this is one of the few cases were the movie was better than the book. The book wasn’t bad at all, but it’s a basic kids book that’s more on the mediocre side of good. The biggest difference between the book and movie are that in the book Mary Poppins is quite stern and doesn’t have a funny bone in her body while in the movie she may try to be serious but you can see the twinkle in her eye. Another difference is that there are two more Banks children. Brother and sister fraternal twins who are still infants are left out of the movie, and for good reason. They don’t serve much of a purpose. Like I said, the book wasn’t bad at all. Just when compared to the movie it falls quite short and unfortunately when it comes to such a classic as Mary Poppins, it’s hard not to compare it to the movie.
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers gets a 6.5 out of 11
Alcatraz Versus The Scrivener’s Bones
by Brandon Sanderson Alcatraz Smedry
Page Count: 322
Prompt: Read a book with five or more words in the title
Original Book for Prompt: The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old with Autism
This book is just like Randy Orton’s RKO, it came out of nowhere (WWE jokes anyone? No? Cool). I had no plans to read this but halfway through the readathon I started to panic, thinking I wouldn’t finish in time. So that’s when I started switching books around and I needed to find something else for the prompt. I was staring at bookshelf when this book jumped out at me. This is the second book in the Alcatraz series and it follows Alcatraz Smedry as he fights against a cult of evil librarians that secretly rule the world. This YA novel is a cute quick read that I think is very enjoyable and very easy to pick up and get lost in. Sanderson… sorry Smedry (it is an autobiography after all), has a wonderful way with words and the story flowed smoother than silky peanut butter. The biggest complaint about the book that I’ve heard is the narrator and how it seems like he talks down to the reader. I wouldn’t listen to those people as they’re just idiots. If you just don’t like the book, that’s one thing, but getting upset because an imaginary person from a YA book is talking down to you makes me think that maybe you need to chill out. But lets wrap this up and say that I loved this book but as always, read the first book first. If you don’t like it, then you won’t like this either.
Alcatraz vs The Scrivener’s Bones by Brandon Sanderson gets an 8 out of 11
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
by Hiro Arikawa
Page Count: 277 pages
Prompt: Read a book with a non-human main character
Original Book For Prompt: Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
This was a book Anne bought me and I’m assuming she bought it for me because she wants to make me cry (not really though). This is a book that originated in Japan and was translated into English, just like The Reason I Jump. Unlike, The Reason I Jump, this is a fiction novel and a very well written one at that. This book follows a man as he travels around Japan in a van with his cat. Why is he doing this? He can no longer keep his cat and is looking for someone to take the cat in. Along the way we meed a colorful cast of characters and learn about the man’s life, his history with cats, and learn what Nana (his cat) think about life. Part of the book is told from the cats point of view and part from a human perspective. The cat parts of the book were funny and charming and really helped the novel stand out. This was an enjoyable book from start to finish and is now on my list of favorite books of all time. The book made me feel all the feels and I know that one day I’ll reread this and fell those feelings all over again.
The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa gets an 11 out of 11
Welcome To Night Vale
by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Page Count: 401
Prompt: Read a book with purple on the cover
Original Book For Prompt: Same
If you’re a fan of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast then you’ve either already read the book, or don’t need to hear anything further and are rushing to buy your copy right now. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the podcast, it is a bi-weekly podcast about a desert town called Night Vale as told through their community radio with host Cecil Baldwin. This book, however, is one long tale from that city. When you think of Night Vale you should think of this: What if both the Twilight Zone AND The Outer Limits both took place in the very same city. This town would make the Addams Family look normal. As for this particular tale it revolves around two women who are brought together by two things. The first is a slip of paper that says King City on it and the second is a man who disappears one day and whose existence is immediately forgotten by anyone who sees him. This book was well written and perfectly captured the charm of the podcast. The only downside was that it was a big long winded. I think the book could have been about a hundred pages less and been the better for it. Too much time was put into the relationship between a character and her son and there wasn’t enough pay off for it. Other than that, it was an entertaining book. Word of warning though, listen to the podcast first. At least the first 20 episodes.
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor gets a 7 out of 11
So ends my wrap up of The Reading Rush 2019. I had fun. I enjoyed the books, but I’m so glad I don’t have to read seven books in a week again. The next readathon has already started and it’s the Harry Potter themed Magical Readathon by YouTuber Book Roast. This time around it’s the N.E.W.T.S and you can find all the relevant information in her video here. I’ll see you again Wednesday when I post some other book related blog. Keep on reading, my friends.
Total Pages Read: 1,696
Total Books Read: 7
Favorite Book: The Nightingale
