Alphabet Challenge 2023

If you've never heard of the Alphabet Challenge, it's a book reading challenge where you try to read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet. I attempted to do this last year and ended up a few letters short, but I did manage to complete it for this year! Honestly, I'm really shocked that I was able to get it finished in October, but I made it. In honor of completing this challenge, I'm going to do a rapid-review of the book for every letter.

Before we get into the books, there are the guidelines I used:

• I originally counted the first book that I read that matched every letter, but for the sake of this video, I'm going to use unique books for each one. That means that if a book is part of a series, no other book from that series can be used.

• Words such as "the," "a," and "an" are not counted as the start of the title.

• Any genre counted, but it did have to be a whole book.

So, here we go. Here is a rapid-fire review of 26 books I've read so far this year.

A: American Kingpin by Nick Bilton (3.5/5)

This is a true crime book about Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road (the massive drug empire on the dark web), and what happened in the website's lifetime. I'm not sure how journalistically sound the book is, and it's clear to me that the book takes some creative liberties, but it's a good narrative regardless.

B: Bird Box by Josh Malerman (3.5/5)

Yes, like the Netflix movie. I don't remember the movie very book, but the book was shocking. I was genuinely terrified and nervous. Like, this book fully gave me nightmares. The prose is remarkable. I have some aspects of the story that I just don't know if I love, but overall it's a great experience.

C: Coraline by Neil Gaiman (4/5)

This classic Children's Horror book is one that I didn't read until I was an adult, but it's a fun story. Gaiman's writing is incredibly unnerving, and while I wasn't really scared, I still enjoyed reading it. Plus, I believe there's something special about books written for specific children that you can feel while you read it, and I just love that.

D: Don't Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino (4/5)

A quick little historical fiction/romance that tells its story well. It's maybe not the most lifechanging story, but I enjoyed it. The characters are lovely, which really carries the story. The plot is very simple and incredibly convenient and predictable, but it was sweet.

E: Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (4.5/5)

One of the most unique mystery books I've seen in a long time. The main character is wildly witty and clever. I did struggle sometimes to follow the plot, but everything got wrapped up well by the end.

F: Fairy Tale by Stephen King (3/5)

Probably not King's best work. I saw someone on Goodreads say that this book is The Talisman but worse, and I agree. The length is not at all justified. I liked the beginning and the middle, but the ending felt incredibly lackluster. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't that good either.

G: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (5/5)

I was shocked by how good this YA mystery/thriller trilogy is. This book in particular was everything I hope for from a mystery. The characters were young but not obnoxiously so (it realistically motivated their actions), and it sets up the rest of the series really well. Honestly it was just so good.

H: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (3.5/5)

I'm obsessed with this series on Netflix, and the book is so different but still so good. If you like short stories like The Lottery and The Yellow Wallpaper, you'd like this short little book too. It's so immersive and unsettling, and it forces you to really sit with the story.

I: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (3/5)

I reread this trilogy because I wanted something simple but fun to read, and it worked for that purpose. I enjoy that this book is a mystery that doesn't center on murder, and the author does a good job of keeping up with a significant amount of details without dropping them. I just cannot stand the love interests for the main characters, which ruins so much of the book for me.

J: Just Stay Away by Tony Wirt (2.5/5)

It was fine. The only thing more worrying than the creepy child was the main character's bad parenting, which directly caused the whole plot. I found the plot to be effectively scary, but I couldn't get over my distaste for the main character.

K: Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg (3/5)

The concept of this light fantasy romance book was good, but the execution really wasn't. The main characters were good, and I loved the house, but so much of the story was based on miscommunication and unnecessarily-hurt feelings. I just wanted a bit more.

L: The Last Flight by Julie Clark (3.5/5)

A quick and easy feminist thriller. It's not the most remarkable book I've ever read, but I had fun reading it. The characters were good and the plot was well executed. Some of the organization of the story was odd, but overall it was good.

M: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (3.5/5)

Honestly, I'm just a big fan of legal dramas from Picoult. I'm less familiar with Boylan, but the parts where I assume to see her influence were also good. The story did feel quite predictable, especially for people who are familiar with Picoult's books, but I still enjoyed it. The way the story is structured was the best part.

N: Never Lie by Freida McFadden (3/5)

Reading this book was fun in the moment, but when you think about it for even a second, the whole thing falls apart. Plus, I just can't stand mystery books where the plot only works because they're lying to me.

O: One of Us is Back by Karen McManus (5/5)

I'm a long-term fan of McManus, so I think a lot of my rating are based on that. But I have fun with her books. They're not the most complex YA mysteries, and they are a little predictable, but I like it. Especially this, which is the third book is a trilogy, because I know these characters so well.

P: The Princess Bride by William Goldman (5/5)

This book is so funny. If you've watched the movie, you'd love the book. They're so similar. As satire its so funny, and the narrative technique of writing it as an "abridged version" was incredibly unique and effective.

Q: The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey (2.5/5)

It was fine. I wish it had been written as a thriller instead of a mystery, as neither me nor the main character had any doubts about who did it. The themes brought up were timeless, which I appreciated, but otherwise it was just underwhelming.

R: Room by Emma Donoghue (5/5)

Having Jack, the child, be the narrator made this book so much worse than it had any right to be, in a good way. I found myself way too invested in these characters (especially Jack), and it was just a really well-told story.

S: Scythe by Neal Shusterman (5/5)

I haven't loved a dystopian series like this since the Hunger Games. The story, the characters, the world-building — everything is just so good. I was constantly being surprised, and there was so much to take in. I really love this book.

T: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (4/5)

This book will not be for everyone, but I liked it. The video game tie-ins were brilliant (and I want to play them so badly). I will say, it's almost more slice-of-life; the plot comes from character development and watching them react to one another. It worked for me, but not for everyone. [Pretty sure the author is a Zionist too though, so I don't know if I'd recommend it now]

U: Upside Down by NR Walker (1.5/5)

This book took romance tropes to their extreme. The main characters were obnoxious, the plot was silly, and it felt as though the author was more concerned with proving to me that she understands asexuality than writing a good story. And, spoiler alert, she really doesn't do either of those things.

V: The Village Healer's Book of Cures by Jennifer Sherman Roberts (4/5)

I was drawn in by the atmosphere of this book more than anything else. It's historical fiction, and I really loved how clear the environment was. The writing had a tendency to tell instead of show, which I didn't love, but I still mostly enjoyed it.

W: The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings (3.5/5)

Another amazing dystopian novel. Normally books where the plot is "all women are/do x" have the tendency to learn transphobic, but this book did a good job of not leaning into that. The worldbuilding was fascinating, but the pacing was really strange.

X: XX: Poems for the Twentieth Century by Campbell McGrath (3.5/5)

I'm not a big fan of either poetry not history, which put me at a huge disadvantage for this book. I liked the poems, but I thought it needed more of its own narrative structure as opposed to relying on my knowledge of history.

Y: The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs (3.5/5)

This is a clever memoir that handles complex ideas really well. The ending falls flat as the author has a major life change and since he cares much more about the Old Testament. It also had a tendency to get a bit repetitive, but overall I still enjoyed it overall.

Z: The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer (3.5/5)

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Normally books in this genre (legal/political thrillers) all hit the same annoying plot points, but this one managed to stay away from that. The characters were much more dynamic and real, and the plot twist was WILD. Honestly, probably one of the most shocking plot twists I've seen this year.