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.

Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death

Book #253 (Unique books)
Book #33 in 2014

Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death

by Chris Riddell

"Preparations for the Ghastly-Gorm Garden Party and bake-off are under way. Celebrity cooks are arriving at the hall for the big event and, true to form, Maltravers, the indoor gamekeeper, is acting suspiciously. Elsewhere at Ghastly-Gorm Ada's wardrobe-dwelling lady's maid Marylebone has received a marriage proposal. Ada vows to aid the course of true love and find out what Maltravers is up to, but amidst all this activity, everyone, including her father, appears to have forgotten her birthday! "

October 29th to 30th - 1 1/2 days - 224 pages (plus Marylebone's book)

Notes:

I got to meet Chris Riddell on Halloween! He was lovely and drew me a picture of Ishmael.

Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse

Book #252 (Unique books)
Book #32 in 2014

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse

by Rick Riordan

"IT'S NOT EVERYDAY YOU FIND YOURSELF IN COMBAT WITH A HALF-LION, HALF-HUMAN.

But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster.

Oh, and guess what? The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive..."

October 19th to 28th - 10 days - kindle version

Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters

Book #251 (Unique books)
Book #31 in 2014

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

by Rick Riordan

" In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come."

October 15th to 18th - 3 1/2 days - kindle version

Notes:

Read in Edinburghhhh.

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

Book #250(!) (Unique books)
Book #30(!) in 2014

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

by Chris Riddell

"Ada Goth is the only child of Lord Goth. The two live together in the enormous Ghastly-Gorm Hall. Lord Goth believes that children should be heard and not seen, so Ada has to wear large clumpy boots so that he can always hear her coming. This makes it hard for her to make friends and, if she's honest, she's rather lonely. 

Then one day William and Emily Cabbage come to stay at the house, and together with a ghostly mouse called Ishmael they and Ada begin to unravel a dastardly plot that Maltravers, the mysterious indoor gamekeeper, is hatching. 

Ada and her friends must work together to foil Maltravers - before it's too late!"

October 8th to 9th - about 24 hours - 219 pages (plus Memoirs of a Mouse)

Notes:

I enjoyed this so much. The story and the art. Reminded me of a cross between A Series of Unfortunate Events and A House Called Awful End. Maybe I'll have to check out Chris Riddell's other books, hmm...

The Sherlock Files: The 100-Year-Old Secret

Book #249 (Unique books)
Book #29 in 2014

The Sherlock Files: The 100-Year-Old-Secret

by Tracy Barrett

"Xena and Xander Holmes think living in London will be boring. But one afternoon they’re handed a cryptic note that leads them to a hidden room—and a secret society. When they discover they’re related to Sherlock Holmes and inherit his unsolved casebook, life becomes so much more exciting. The siblings set out to solve the cases their famous ancestor couldn’t, starting with the mystery of a prized painting that vanished more than a hundred years ago. Can two smart twenty-first century kids succeed where Sherlock Holmes could not?"

October 6th to 8th - 3 days - 176 pages

Notes:

Yet another book I am impatiently waiting for the sequel to. Sapphire thinks she's lent that one out... We found #3 and #4.

Cool idea, fun and fast read.