Extreme Book Challenge

 CHALLENGE CATEGORY #4 A CELEBRITY BOOK CLUB PICK Try as we might, my friends and I cannot seem to put together a regular book club. To be honest, even though we make book recommendations all day long, the hardest part is always picking out the right  book. That's why category number four is a celebrity book club pick!  My Husband  by Maud Ventura I might not be a celebrity, but here's my pick out of the celebrities' picks. In August 2023, the Belletrist book of the month was My Husband  by Maud Ventura. In this relatively short (just under 300 pages) book translated from French, Ventura puts the definition of passion to the test. How much love is too much love, and what are its consequences? Our unnamed protagonist battles her own relationship in a suspenseful love story that may not be a love story after all. Make it easy on yourself, and pick a book picked by Reese, Oprah, Jenna, or any other celebrity with a book club! Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson Dirty...

C HALLENGE CATEGORY #3 A B OOK PUBLISHED IN 2023   The third category in 2024 is a book published in 2023. Sometimes, I get so caught up in my TBR that I miss some great new releases. This week, I've put together a list of books that were published last year that you might have missed. Maame  by Jessica George T here were so many fantastic books released in 2023, so I really struggled to pick just one, but Jessica George’s 2023 debut,  Maame,  is one book I can’t stop recommending to everyone! Grief is so human and so personal but so universal .  Maame is a book of self- discovery, warmth, and personal growth. It's a lovely story about becoming yourself and realizing you always were yourself, even before you knew what that meant. It' s about patience and vulnerability and a longing for vulnerability , and it might have been my favorite book of 2023 . With this mix of fiction & nonfiction, you can't go wrong:   The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Life...

CHALLENGE CATEGORY # 2 A FEEL-GOOD STORY The second category in the 2024 Extreme Book Challenge is a feel-good story! A lot of different things can fall under the requirements of a feel-good story; just pick anything that makes you feel good. For me, I kno w something always certain to leave me feeling good is a memoir of triumph. For this category , I put toget her a list of books that center around self-discovery, found- family, and happy endings , fiction and nonfiction.   What You Are Looking For Is in the Library  by Michiko Aoyama It's no surprise that my feel-good pick is about a library. in Aoyama's 2023 release, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, our protagonist is a librarian! Sayuri Komachi spends the day making the perfect recommendations for their patrons, helping each person in ways unimaginable. As she makes these recommendations, readers learn about each patron, their stories, and what makes the library so special. This story is a compilation o...

CHALLENGE CATEGORY #1 A BOOK YOU MEANT TO READ LAST YEAR It’s 2024! I don’t know where 2023 disappeared to either, but somehow, it’s already in the rearview . Speaking of the rearview, did you get to read everything you said you were going to read last year? I know I didn’t . For Category #1 of the 2024 Extreme Book Challenge, let’s play a little bit of catch-up with a book we meant to read last year. Wuthering Heights  by Emily Bronte There was only one category I didn’t complete last year, and that was category #55 , a classic. I can feel the judgment radiating through the screen, but I am certainly not a good role model for reading the books you’re supposed to read. This year, my goal is to finally read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Emily’s only novel promises to be a gothic romance unlike anythin g else and written well before its time . If yo u haven ’t read Wuthering Heights either and are really starting to feel bad about it, please read it with me this yea...