Wednesday, May 31, 2017

What I Read: May 2017

Hey everybody! I've read an absolute crap ton of books this month. I read 24 books (holy crap), which puts me at 45 for the year. I've had so much more free time lately, since I just finished school and got back from vacation. A lot of the books I've read aren't really worth mentioning, but I will talk about some of the ones I've enjoyed this month. I did focus on reading a lot of YA books and graphic novels this month, which really helped me finish a lot of books in a short amount of time. I feel like I've read way too much lately and sort of burned myself out a bit, so next month will probably be a slower month reading wise. One last side note before I talk about some of the books I've read. Sorry for the lack of interesting posts on here. As you can tell from this post, I've spent pretty much all my free time reading instead of working on new posts. Without further ado, let's talk about some of the cool or lame books I've read this month.

One that I really enjoyed was Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. I absolutely love any books that are based around crime. I don't know why, but I ever since I was a kid, I thought the processes surrounding how crimes are solved were super interesting. This book is all about how the FBI began their criminal profiling program. It talks about different serial killers and other criminals and how the police eventually caught these people. It's so scary how accurate these profiles are and all the patterns the FBI has discovered. The FBI can figure out so many details of your life from just a few things, like how you commit your crimes or from evidence left behind. It talks about a lot of other ideas to, such as how the media can play a role in solving these crimes and whether criminals are born that way or shaped by something in their life. Very interesting overall, and I'd definitely recommend it if you're into that sort of thing.

I feel like I haven't talked about many books I've absolutely hated in these monthly wrap-ups. I do a lot of research before I pick up a book, so most of the time, I already know I'll enjoy the book I pick out. That was not the case with Loner by Teddy Wayne. It was very popular on a site I look at and I think a bestseller a couple years ago, so I figured it was worth the read. Basically, it's all about this whiny kid that is starting college at Harvard. I didn't mind the main character at first, but as he goes through the year obsessing over this one girl, he becomes more and more of a douchebag. This book didn't have many redeeming qualities for me. I liked that it was short but hated how many obscure words the author used. The odd words make sense, since it's from the point of view of this Harvard nerd, but still, it was annoying to read. The ending was absolute trash. I wouldn't recommend it at all.

This post is getting sort of long, so I'd like to quickly go through some other books I've enjoyed. I finished Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee, and I'd have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It follows the main character, Jean Louise (or Scout as she goes by) from To Kill A Mockingbird, as she's older and returning to her hometown. I liked the plot and thought it was a cool read. The graphic novel series I've been into lately is Saga. I've finished all seven volumes of it, and I have to say I've got mixed opinions. It's pretty interesting and all, but there's some elements of it that really annoy me. The art is amazing though, and the overall plot is neat. I would recommend it if you're into sci-fi or comics in general. I'm getting more into reading non-fiction, so I've been reading some books on statistics and economics. I enjoyed Naked Statistics by Charles Wheelan but didn't like Freakonomics or SuperFreaknomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner as much as I thought I would.

I think that's about it for this monthly wrap-up post. I've read a lot of other stuff, but these were the ones I think deserve mentioning. At the end of the year, I think I'm going to post my entire list of books I've read, in case any of you are interested in seeing what books I read that I don't mention. I don't think I'll ever read this many books in a month again, so going forward, I should be able to talk about each one a little more in depth. Hope you all are enjoying these sort of posts! Thanks for looking!

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