Enrichment Reading Reflection

Hello everyone,

today brings an end to the enrichment reading class that brought me to this blog, and though the blog will continue, it's time to rate the books I've read this semester! Here are my eleven books ranked!

1. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (1107 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-wise-mans-fear-by-patrick-rothfuss.html

Normally book twos can't hold a candle to the book before them, but Rothfuss broke this trend in the story being certainly as wonderful as the first book, except with even more glorious shenanigans as we see Kvothe beginning to grow up.  This is certainly my favorite book of the semester.

2. The Name of the Wind by  Patrick Rothfuss (722 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-name-of-wind-by-patrick-rothfuss.html

The first of The Kingkiller Chronicle is a beautiful book, with perhaps the best writing since The Lord of the Rings and is a series I will forever treasure as one of my favorites.

3. The Night Angel Trilogy Book Two: Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks (634 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-night-angel-trilogy-book-two.html

I continuously expect Brent Weeks to do something bizarre and bothersome with this series but continues to prove me wrong by being a talented and engaging writer whose endlessly witty and complex storytelling keeps The Night Angel Trilogy in a very special place.

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (213 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-perks-of-being-wallflower-by.html

Very few other narratives are as personally stunning as this novel.  For having so little in common with Charlie, as the reader I had a beautiful sense of kinship with him that very few books can provide.  It was a priceless read and definitely a book that changes the reader.

5. The Lost Heiress by Catherine Fisher (373 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-lost-heiress-by-catherine-fisher.html

The sequel to The Hidden City is a wonderful continuation of the story, the characters continue to grow further, and Galen is becoming one of the priceless members of the snarky, rude, and lovely men's club.
Aside from that, it's a very fast and fun read.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (502 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/12/challenge-7-jane-eyre-by-charlotte.html

I had always heard so many wonderful things about Jane Eyre, but I still never imagined I would have enjoyed it as much as I did.  I adored it.  Jane's narrative is rich and engaging, and Mr. Rochester may have one up on Mr. Darcy.
7. Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins (172 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/11/sailing-alone-around-room-by-billy.html

Billy Collin's poetry proved to be rich and engaging, and a pure joy to read.  Poetry will never satisfy me as much as novels, but Collins has certainly joined my list of favorite poets with his skilled execution of the English language and firm understanding of the human experience.

8. The Dark City by Catherine Fisher (372 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-dark-city-by-catherine-fisher.html

I really liked this book, normally it may not be this far down on the list, but even though the writing wasn't brilliant, I really enjoy Catherine Fisher's work, and found this to be a wonderful first installment of a highly entertaining series.

9. West of the Moon by Margi Preus (197 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/12/west-of-moon-by-margi-preus.html

I very much enjoyed the folktale aspects of this book, but the plot seemed to weak to be an adult read, but too racy and heavy in parts to be for children, and the characters had very little development.

10. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King (293 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/11/ask-passengers-by-as-king.html

Though much more enjoyable than the magicians, I also wasn't terribly fond of this book.  Though I enjoyed some of the more whimsical aspects of the plot, as well as the down to earth narration, the relationship dynamics seemed ultimately off-putting.

11. The Magicians by Lev Grossman (402 pages)
http://platypusofthefeywoods.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-magicians-by-lev-grossman.html


This book is rated last, it was weird.  Terribly, terribly weird, and the only reason I got through it was because it was so weird, yet weak characterization, weak plot, but mighty weirdness.

Total Pages Read: 4,987