It's Kind of a Funny Story

Book #257 (Unique books)
Book #5 in 2015

It's Kind of a Funny Story

by Ned Vizzini

"Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.

Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness."

August 7th to 11th - 5 days - 444 pages

Notes:

Started reading this in like 2010, then had to stop because a camper committed suicide and I couldn't get myself to continue reading the book about a suicidal teenager. I was finally ready to read it again.  I really liked it. I think this book is important.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (re-read)

Book #4 in 2015

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

"Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years."

May 27th to June 25th - 30 days - 216 pages

Notes:

Re-read #4.

Girl at Sea

Book #256 (Unique books)
Book #3 in 2015

Girl at Sea

by Maureen Johnson

"Sometimes you have to get lost . . . 

The Girl:

Clio Ford, seventeen, wants to spend the summer smooching her art-store crush, not stuck on a boat in the Mediterranean. At least she'll get a killer tan.

The Mission: 

Survive her father's crazy antics. Oh, and also find some missing underwater treasure that could unlock the secrets of civilization. 

The Crew: 

Dad's wacky best friend Martin, his bizarre research partner Julia, hervoluptuous daughter Elsa... and then there's Aidan, Julia's incredibly attractive, incredibly arrogant assistant. What's going on behind Aidan's intellectual, intensely green eyes, anyway?

As Clio sails into uncharted territory she unveils secrets that have the power to change history. But her most surprising discovery is that there's something deeper and more cryptic than the sea-her own heart... to find what you're looking for."

April 22nd (late) to May 27th - 35 days - 323 pages

We Should Hang Out Sometime

Book #255 (Unique books)
Book #2 in 2015

We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, A True Story

by Josh Sundquist

"A bright, poignant, and deeply funny autobiographical account of coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor, from Josh Sundquist: Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star, and motivational speaker.

Josh Sundquist only ever had one girlfriend.

For twenty-three hours.

In eighth grade.

Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: What went wrong?

The results of Josh's semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation are captured here. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), to a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love--or at least a girlfriend--in all the wrong places. "

March 26th to April 20th - 26 days - 326 pages

Why We Broke Up

Book #254 (Unique books)
Book #1 in 2015

Why We Broke Up

by Daniel Handler

"I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped."

March 2nd to 26th - 25 days - 354 pages

Notes:

This book was done in a really interesting way, I really liked it. I didn't know Lemony Snicket had books published under his other name. This was the first book I've been able to finish in about 5 months.