The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger

From Goodreads.com
   Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

    This is a cheesy YA book. Predictable? Sure. Did I care? Heck no. It was a great just-forget-the-world-for-a-few-hours book. I admit, I was hoping the ending would surprise me, but I wasn't disappointed. As the book was drawing to a close and I was reading what I now know to be the last paragraph, I was so wanting just one more chapter. I would definitely call this book a "guilty pleasure."
   The DUFF has some of your standard coming of age themes. I don't want to completely spoil the ending (as predictable as it was) but I like what the author did with the word Duff in the last few chapters. Words really only have the power you give them, they're just words after all.
      I recommend it to older young adults, maybe 14-15 years and older. The "enemies with benefits" thing...I'm just not sure how I feel about teens reading that, it really sends a poor message. Adults (probably women) who enjoy a light read would also have fun reading this I think.

Revival by Stephen King

From the hardcover:
   In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing in the yard with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Reverend Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs-including Jamie's mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
   Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family's horrific loss. In his mid-thirties - addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate - Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that "revival" has many meanings.
   This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. it's a masterpiece from King, brilliantly illustrating why he "is right at the center of an American literary taproot that goes all the way down...to Hawthorne, to Poe, to Melville" (Margaret Atwood The New York Times Book Review.)

   I should tell you upfront, I like Stephen King. I haven't read every book he has written, but I've read quite a few and love them all. Revival is no different. I didn't want to put it down. King has created one creepy (fictional) human in Reverend Jacobs. There really wasn't a moment in this whole book that I trusted him even a little.
   I expected an interesting ending after reading a few reviews on Goodreads.com and even the synopsis on the book. The ending is definitely haunting. One of his best ever? I'm not sure, but I finished this book about a week ago and I'm still thinking about that ending.
   I know this recommendation isn't a lot to go off of, but the synopsis sums up the book extremely well so I don't have much to add to it. I'd recommend this to fans of science fiction. Also, if you haven't yet read Stephen King or are a casual reader of his works, I'd choose this to be one of the books you read. It's a great stand alone book and while being exceedingly eerie it isn't particularly scary.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

From the paperback:
  When The Fountainhead was first published, Ayn Rand's daringly original literary vision and her groundbreaking philosophy, Objetivism, won immediate worldwide interest and acclaim. This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him. This edition contains a special Afterword by Rand's literary executor, Leonard Peikoff, which includes excerpts from Ayn Rand's own notes on the making of The Fountainhead. As fresh today as it was then, here is a novel about a hero-and about those who try to destroy him.

   The Fountainhead was our first randomly drawn Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge book. It was a great way to kick off such a list. It was told in four parts each concentrating on a different character type. I admit it was slow going during a couple of them, reading this took a little longer than I anticipated.
   I loved Roark. I love his courage to unflinchingly stick to his beliefs. I love that he has no care of most people's opinions. I love that he's so incredibly sure of his self and his passion. I think that one of my favorite things about this classic is that our hero is actually an atheist, but an atheist with a belief in something. A belief so strong that he lives his entire life while staying true to this uncommon and misunderstood belief.
   A person's beliefs are extremely personal, no matter what they may be. I like that Ayn Rand created this strong, nearly perfect man, who does not conform to a more traditional belief system. I think that belief in something is important, to have some guide for your personal morals and I liked that Roark's wasn't based on a belief in a higher power. Instead it was something he felt within his self to be right.
   There's a great reason this book has become a classic. I'm sure it could be and has been dissected in a hundred different ways, but as a pleasure reader I liked most of the characters, and loved to hate one particular character. I enjoyed going along with Roark on his life journey.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

From the Goodreads.com:
   Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers are about to cross paths. From that moment on, their world will collide and lives intertwine.
   It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.

   I love this book. I wish I had read it sooner and will soon be pushing it on a few of my coworkers. It doesn't matter if you don't like musicals, you don't have to to appreciate Will Grayson, Will Grayson. John Green and David Levithan each wrote their own Will Grayson. I love the two alternating and  distinct writing styles, each matching each Will Grayson perfectly.
   Aside from the writing, I really enjoyed the story. I became quite attached to the characters, all of them. It isn't often you find a book in which you like each character you're introduced to. There are some pretty valuable life lessons contained in these 310 pages as you learn and grow with Will Grayson and Will Grayson. I sincerely hope someone makes this into a movie, a musical movie. I am worried they would not do it credit, but I'd love to see someone try.
   If you're a sucker for a coming-of-age novel (like me) you'll like this book. I also recommend this book to those who love John Green (of course) but also if you've enjoyed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sanez.

Sand Omnibus by Hugh Howey

From Goodreads.com:

   The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. 

   Palmer has never been the same since his father walked out twelve years ago. His elder sister, Vic, is trying to run away from the past; his younger brothers, Connor and Rob, are risking their lives to embrace it. His mother, left with nothing but anger, is just trying to forget.

   Palmer wants to prove his worth, not only to his family, but to himself. And in the barren, dune-covered landscape of his home, there is only one way to earn respect: sand-diving. Plunging deep below the desert floor in search of relics and scraps of the old world. He is about to embark on the most dangerous dive of his young life, aiming to become the first to discover the rumored city below.

   Deep within the sand lies the key to bringing his family together - and tearing their world apart.

   This is a surprising read. I found it through one of the many sites that send me daily emails of free or bargain Kindle books, because you can never have too many books. I admit I was first intrigued by the cover (shame on me,) it's beautiful and the words, "No one will come for us. No one will save us. This is our life." How could I not be interested? I read Sand. almost immediately.
   Sand. takes place in a barely recognizable world. Pieces of the old world, of our world, are salvaged from beneath the ever shifting sand, they are the keys to survival in this new landscape. I continually wondered what happened to make such a sandy wasteland of our world. I was intrigued by sand diving. Scuba diving is the only thing I could compare it to, but (and having never been diving I can't say for sure) I think it's a poor comparison. The diver has to control the flow of the sand around them which allows their movement and also relieves the pressure from tons of sand.
   I wouldn't put this up there with the best books I've read. However, once I started I did not want to put this down. I became attached to every member of Palmer's family. As with most books, the need to know what happens kept me going at a fast pace. I was even surprised a couple times.
   If you're a fan of science fiction this book is for you. If you like some dystopian, maybe give this a try. It is not dystopian but it has a post-apocalyptic feel to it. I know I will be reading more of Hugh Howey's work. 

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

From Goodreads.com
   What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?
   As a boy William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.
   Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.
   What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.
   In short, it's about everything.

   I did not watch this movie growing up. A tragedy, as I understand it. But not watching gave me a fresh view on the book. First I must say, the story inside a story, inside a story (that's right three!) was a little strange at the beginning. It really threw me off. The part of the synopsis that says Goldman claimed to love his father reading The Princess Bride is a part of the story. After a little research, a friend and I realized S. Morgenstern never existed except in the mind of William Goldman.
   William Goldman created something like I've never read. It is written like he is telling S. Morgenstern's tale to his grandson. He interrupts the story of The Princess Bride, telling us what has happened in the pages left out of his father's telling, with the occasional interruption of his grandson. To complicate matters more, at the end of the book Stephen King pops up, in discussions of the making of the film's sequel. It definitely left me wondering how much was actually true.
   The tale itself is quite entertaining. It's about a girl, who loves a man, very deeply, with every fiber of her being. He leaves to make his fortune only to meet disaster on the sea. Hopeless of ever loving anyone again, Buttercup becomes betrothed to a prince, and is kidnapped by an odd trio.
   I watched the movie after reading The Princess Bride. So many details of both Fezzik's and Inigo's background were left out (of the movie.) I'd recommend this book to those who grew up loving the movie. If you're a fan of Fezzik or Inigo you won't be able to help but fall more in love with them through the original book.

Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge Book Jar

   A friend and I have been reading books together for about a year, just randomly choosing books we both wanted to read. We found the idea of a book jar on Pinterest and loved it. No more choosing at random (well relatively speaking.) We just had to decide which books to put in our jar. 

   Pinterest is my favorite way to find book lists, so I started looking. I saw a list of the 339 books mentioned or referenced during the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls. Perfect, I used to watch Gilmore Girls and introduced her (years later) to the beauty that is Gilmore Girls, the quick dialogue, the mother/daughter relationships, growing up, and the literary and movie references. All 339 titles are now in our book jar. 

   After talking about it we decided that we couldn't have it truly random, neither of us wanted to get stuck reading a lot of nonfiction or classic after classic after classic, so I color coded the titles. Nothing too specific, and it's probably not as accurate as it could be, but for our purposes it'll work just fine. I just used some Mod Podge to stick the key on one side of my jar to help us when drawing our next read. 

   The first book drawn is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Some of the books look dreadful (A Monetary History of the United States anyone?) but we plan to give each book a chance.