Reading Challenge Update: June 8th

I've had a productive week with my Best of the Best Reading Challenge project. I'm very close to my 25 books, but I will probably keep going until the end of June to see how far I can get. This week, I'm up to 23!

How They Croaked (audiobook)
by Georgia Bragg
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Jaina Rating: A+
This week I branched out and tried an audiobook from the Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list. I don't listen to too many books, but I loved this one. I'm sure it is a very informative, entertaining book as well, but there's something fun and macabre about having it read to you. The book describes, in graphic detail, the deaths of a variety of famous people. It also goes into the history of old medicine and definitely makes you glad that you live in the modern era, where antibiotics exist and where leeching, blood-letting, and blistering are no longer considered cures for diseases. A great read-alike to one of my favorite adult books, Stiff by Mary Roach.

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media
by Brooke Gladstone, illustrated by Josh Neufeld
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Jaina Rating: C+
While I left the book How They Croaked highly informed and highly entertained, I merely left this book highly informed. This graphic novel gives a great history of the media, from ancient times to the present, but it often reads like a textbook with pictures. Expect to learn a lot and impress your teachers, but this isn't necessarily a beach read.

A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
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Jaina Rating: A
A stunning book. A boy, dealing with his mother's cancer, is repeatedly visited by a destructive monster living in his backyard. The book is hauntingly illustrated and- in case it matters - it reads fast because it has a lot of pictures. This is one of the better books I've read in this project. I'd recommend it to all kinds of readers. It's sad without being depressing and the emotions and characters (except for the monster) are realistic.

23 down, 2 to go!