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2017 Reading Ladder

  • Madyson Podojil
  • Nov 20, 2017
  • 4 min read

Obviously, this is not ALL of the books that I've read this year, but this is a reading ladder of most difficult and least difficult books I've read SO FAR this year.

Most Difficult

Left to Tell Immaculee Ilibagiza

V for Vendetta Alan Moore

Jay’s Journal Anonymous, Published By: Beatrice Sparks

Room Emily Donoghue

Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk

Shutter Island Dennis Lehane

Go Ask Alice Anonymous, Published By: Beatrice Sparks

Hyperbole and a Half Allie Brosh

Least Difficult

For the order of my ladder, I really focused on one thing: how easy or difficult it was for me to get through the book. For instance, the bottom two books (Go Ask Alice and Hyperbole and a half) were books I finished in two days or less. Whereas with the ones toward the top, they were more difficult for me to understand/comprehend, therefore taking longer amounts of time to get through. The books more toward the middle of my ladder were weighted a bit differently. For instance, Room is listed above Fight Club, but Room actually took me longer to read. These books in the middle were ones where I took content into account. If the content was more explicit or difficult to read, it’s higher up on the list than a book thats contents were not as harsh.

  1. Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibagiza - This book was the hardest for me to read because a, I had to read it for school, b, the usage of language was odd and I came across words that I’d never seen before, and c, the content was real. I’ve read about the Rwanda Genocide, but never from the perspective of a survivor who lost most of her family. This book was by far the best RAC book I’ve read, as it had true value and morals that were easily applied to the real world. I’m actually happy I read this book, and I can’t say that about any other RAC book that I’ve read, because all of the ones in past years have been a bit cliche in my opinion.

  2. V for Vendetta, Alan Moore - I praised this book in class in my letter essay assignment, and I continue to praise it now. This was a difficult read because I had never read a graphic novel before, and I had to learn how to do so. There was definitely an adjustment period, but once I got through it the book was a breeze. I love the message in the book and fell in love with the idea of the main character never showing his face, as to remain a symbol/idea. The book really tells you to just think about and observe the world around you which I think is fantastic for any young reader.

  3. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk - This book was a bit of an exception of mine. I used to have this rule of if-I’ve-seen-the-movie-I-refuse-to-read-the-book, but this was the first time I’d broken that mindset. The book was SO much better than the movie, but also extremely different. The book is much more crude than the film, and the character of Marla Singer definitely had to be toned down for the movie. This book drew me in, because it was also very unexpected. A small part of the book is actually about “Fight Club.” The bulk of it has to do with the main character’s relationship with Tyler Durden, a relationship I won’t spoil in case you’d like to read it. :)

  4. Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane - Once I got over the hill in this book (the beginning is a bit slow) I couldn’t put it down. Talk about trippy. Again, I’ve seen this film as well, and I actually liked the changes made in the movie, but still prefer the book. It’s one that definitely messes with your mind, and the ending is pretty up to interpretation, as you’re not sure if the main character is crazy or not. The twists and turns in the story make it absolutely incredible and totally unexpected. The novel was VERY thought out by its author, Dennis Lehane.

  5. Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh - There’s only one way to put this. Funniest. Book. I. Have. Ever. Read. I couldn’t put it down for two days, and it put me in a great mood. It’s an incredibly easy read, because really, it’s mostly pictures. Pictures that are absolutely hilarious, and illustrated by Allie Brosh herself. This book is an easy one to like, I think, by anyone’s standards. I don’t even like comedies or autobiographies, really, but this one had me hooked at the start of the introduction.

Side Note: Jay’s Journal is close to the top because despite only being like 200 pages long it felt like eons of reading because I deeply disliked it but felt determined to finish it because it was such a short book.

 
 
 

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