My 2016 Reading Wrap-Up

Over the past couple of years, I have documented every film that I have watched and reviewed them all using Letterboxd.

As a way to motivate myself to read more, I thought I would do the same for what books I have been reading, using Goodreads as a way to set myself a reading challenge.

So, this year I set myself a challenge of reading 18 books, and for the first time since doing so, I have managed to exceed my target, hooray!

Here’s how my 2016 challenge went, with a short review and rating for each of the books:

Book v Film: The Lovely Bones

“Murderers are not monsters, they’re men. And that’s the most frightening thing about them.”

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and tells the compelling story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus finding herself trapped in the ‘in-between’, haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she sits in her “own perfect world” in heaven, watching her family – her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), and her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon) – fall apart in dealing with their despair.

Film Review: The Lovely Bones

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and tells the compelling story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus finding herself trapped in the ‘in-between’, haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she sits in her “own perfect world” in heaven, watching her family – her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), and her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon) – fall apart in dealing with their despair.

Book Review: The Lovely Bones

“Murderers are not monsters, they’re men. And that’s the most frightening thing about them.”

The Lovely Bones is a best-selling book written by Alice Sebold in 2002, telling the compelling story of the narrator, Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered by her neighbour on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus she finds herself trapped in the ‘in-between’ as she is haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she watches her family fall apart in dealing with their despair from her “own perfect world” in heaven.