2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[KimR]

Goal 72

#52 Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay

Very good thriller about a small time reporter whose wife goes missing & of course the husband is the main suspect. Lots of twists & turns.
4 & 1/2 half stars. Would definetly recommend.

Thank you for this recommendation! I went to the B&N site and checked out his books - they sound like they are right up my alley. Very similar to Harlan Coben, whom I love. That's about 10 more books I can add to my list.

 

[zippitydoo]

Book 27 of 30

Unseen by John Michael Hileman

A waste of time, only good thing about was that it was free.

 

[BearcatsFan]

40/50 - The Road by Cormac McCarthy

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

I powered through this book in a day and a half. Not because it was so good, mind you, because it was oh so bad.

Where to begin? There was very little punctuation used - no quotation marks, hardly any apostrophes, and no commas. "But, how can you tell what is dialogue and what is narrative without quotation marks", you might be asking. Simple answer - it's very difficult.

There were two main male characters, neither had names, simply referred to as "the boy" and "the man" (minus the quotation marks, of course). Sometimes I'd get confused about which "he" the story was referring to because it didn't explain.

Occasionally there would be two people talking in the same paragraph ... only there was no break, no "he said" or "she said" to make it easier to figure out who was talking.

I'll sum up the story for you. A boy and a man are together in a post-apocalyptic world. They walk. They build a fire. They eat. They sleep. They run out of food. It rains, they're cold and they shiver. They're hungry. Just in the nick of time, they find food, and they eat again. They run into cannibalistic rogues and somehow they survive.

Wash, rinse, and repeat ... until the end, which somehow is uplifting in a weird sort of way, but it's kind of what you were expecting and hoping for.

I kept asking myself, "Really? This is the story? THIS won a Pulitzer Prize?" 2,000+ reviews on Amazon, tons of them praising the book and how life-changing it was. They wept, etc.

Maybe I'm just too dumb to get all the symbolism.

1/5 stars

 

[portia9]

Goal 100

Book #82 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

 

[Glynis]

Goal 100

#80 Shakespeare by Bill Bryson. Not a lot I didn't know about Shakespeare but still an interesting read.

I just picked up this book a couple of days ago. I like his writing style. While the information may not be anything new, his voice is unique, and I'll be able to use it with my students this fall.

 

[Christine]

Thank you for this recommendation! I went to the B&N site and checked out his books - they sound like they are right up my alley. Very similar to Harlan Coben, whom I love. That's about 10 more books I can add to my list.

I read one of his earlier this year: Trust Your Eyes, or something like that. It was pretty good.

 

[wilma-bride]

I read one of his earlier this year: Trust Your Eyes, or something like that. It was pretty good.

His first one, No Time For Goodbye, is my absolute favourite

 

[GaBelle]

4. The Boleyn Inheritance- Philippa Gregory. Excellent read if you love Tudor history and historical fiction like me. Unique views on Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, Henry the 8th's fourth and fifth wives.
5. The Other Queen- Philippa Gregory. Tragic tale of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. For me, a bit slower on the start.

Been on a Philippa G kick, obviously! Next up: Death comes to Pemberley.

 

[threeboysmom]

40/50 - The Road by Cormac McCarthy



I'll sum up the story for you. A boy and a man are together in a post-apocalyptic world. They walk. They build a fire. They eat. They sleep. They run out of food. It rains, they're cold and they shiver. They're hungry. Just in the nick of time, they find food, and they eat again. They run into cannibalistic rogues and somehow they survive.

Best book summary! This totally cracked me up!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

40/50 - The Road by Cormac McCarthy



I powered through this book in a day and a half. Not because it was so good, mind you, because it was oh so bad.

Where to begin? There was very little punctuation used - no quotation marks, hardly any apostrophes, and no commas. "But, how can you tell what is dialogue and what is narrative without quotation marks", you might be asking. Simple answer - it's very difficult.

There were two main male characters, neither had names, simply referred to as "the boy" and "the man" (minus the quotation marks, of course). Sometimes I'd get confused about which "he" the story was referring to because it didn't explain.

Occasionally there would be two people talking in the same paragraph ... only there was no break, no "he said" or "she said" to make it easier to figure out who was talking.

I'll sum up the story for you. A boy and a man are together in a post-apocalyptic world. They walk. They build a fire. They eat. They sleep. They run out of food. It rains, they're cold and they shiver. They're hungry. Just in the nick of time, they find food, and they eat again. They run into cannibalistic rogues and somehow they survive.

Wash, rinse, and repeat ... until the end, which somehow is uplifting in a weird sort of way, but it's kind of what you were expecting and hoping for.

I kept asking myself, "Really? This is the story? THIS won a Pulitzer Prize?" 2,000+ reviews on Amazon, tons of them praising the book and how life-changing it was. They wept, etc.

Maybe I'm just too dumb to get all the symbolism.

1/5 stars

Ha- Ha! I think I will skip this one!

 

[CaliBear]

18/40 Running behind...

I finally read. Gone Girl. I doubt I would've read this book had it not been reviewed so positively here, so thank you thread! I did enjoy it!

 

[phorsenuf]

40/50 - The Road by Cormac McCarthy



I powered through this book in a day and a half. Not because it was so good, mind you, because it was oh so bad.

Where to begin? There was very little punctuation used - no quotation marks, hardly any apostrophes, and no commas. "But, how can you tell what is dialogue and what is narrative without quotation marks", you might be asking. Simple answer - it's very difficult.

There were two main male characters, neither had names, simply referred to as "the boy" and "the man" (minus the quotation marks, of course). Sometimes I'd get confused about which "he" the story was referring to because it didn't explain.

Occasionally there would be two people talking in the same paragraph ... only there was no break, no "he said" or "she said" to make it easier to figure out who was talking.

I'll sum up the story for you. A boy and a man are together in a post-apocalyptic world. They walk. They build a fire. They eat. They sleep. They run out of food. It rains, they're cold and they shiver. They're hungry. Just in the nick of time, they find food, and they eat again. They run into cannibalistic rogues and somehow they survive.

Wash, rinse, and repeat ... until the end, which somehow is uplifting in a weird sort of way, but it's kind of what you were expecting and hoping for.

I kept asking myself, "Really? This is the story? THIS won a Pulitzer Prize?" 2,000+ reviews on Amazon, tons of them praising the book and how life-changing it was. They wept, etc.

Maybe I'm just too dumb to get all the symbolism.

1/5 stars

When I was reading your description I was thinking that it sounds just like a movie I had seen. I think it is.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/

 

[DisneyWalle]

Gosh, I can't remember if I read this one! Title sounds SO familiar, but I don't remember that plotline. Guess I'll need to look this one up!



Glad you liked it! I loved Gone Girl so much that I'm currently rereading it, lol!



My FAVORITE Ted Dekker book!!

Have you read his Circle series yet?

I haven't but its on my list. I've found so many good books lately tgat I'm going to increase my goal to 50.

 

[DisneyWalle]

#25 - Love You More by Lisa Gardener

This was a good book. Very suspenseful and plot twisting.

WHO DO YOU LOVE?
Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?
AND HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO . . .
As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?
. . . TO SAVE HER?
For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn and no one to trust. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.

#26 - All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison

This book was ok. The story was good but with 200pages left to read, the author gave the killer away.

When a local girl falls prey to a sadistic serial killer, Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, find themselves in a joint investigation pursuing a vicious murderer. The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast, leaving a gruesome memento at each crime scene-the prior victim's severed hand.
Ambitious TV reporter Whitney Connolly is certain the Southern Strangler is her ticket out of Nashville; she's got a scoop that could break the case. She has no idea how close to this story she really is-or what it will cost her.
As the killer spirals out of control, everyone involved must face a horrible truth-the purest evil is born of private lies.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

#59 Sonoma Rose by Jennifer Chiaverini

Review: Ok, I haven't been reviewing as I should. Been really busy but I have still kept up reading! Ok, this is one of the Elm Quilt Books but honestly I found the connection to this story and the Quilt books to be vague. However, I am not saying that Sonoma Rose wasn't good. It was!

#60 Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

Review: AMAZING!

 

[DisneyWalle]

#27 - The Jigsaw Man by Gord Rollo

I picked this up at our local 2nd hand bookstore as I was about to walk out the door. It was decent -- definitely nothing I would re-read. The book is similiar to the movie Saw.

Homeless Michael Fox is about to commit suicide when a mysterious billionaire surgeon stops him and offers him two million dollars…for his right arm. But Fox’s arm is only the beginning, as the surgeon continues his mad experiments, removing parts of Fox’s body bit by bit and reassembling him from other parts. And Fox isn’t the only one the doctor is experimenting on.

 

[DisneyWalle]

#28 - 8 Days to Live by Iris Johansen

This book was recommend by the owner of our local 2nd-hand bookstore. I really didn't care for this one but can't put my finger on why. Guess the story just didn't grab my interest.

It all begins with a painting called Guilt. Eve Duncan’s daughter, Jane, has no idea why she painted the portrait of the chilling face that now hangs in a Paris gallery. But those who belong to a powerful cult—one that dates back to the time of Christ—know both the face and the significance behind it…
They believe that Jane must die—when the moment is right, and not an instant before she leads them to an ancient treasure whose value and power are beyond price. But for now, they target those close to Jane, killing without mercy or conscience.
From Paris to the Scottish isles to the Holy Land, Jane finds herself in a desperate race against time to unravel the mystery surrounding her painting…and save her own life. Even with Eve’s help, can she possibly succeed before her time is up?

 

[Christine]

I finished Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella. This was the first Sophie Kinsella book that I was okay with. It was definitely a light read, what I would call a "beach" read and wasn't as over the top as some. It did make me want to go to Greece!

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #50- Animal Farm by George Orwell

I never read this b4 so thought I should. I didn't realize it was such a short book. It only took me 2 hrs to finish. This reminded me, when it comes to politics, how people easily forget or don't realize exactly what politicians are doing. Politicians have their own agendas & truly don't work for us as they should. I would like to hope that the American people are not manipulated by our Government as the animals were by the pigs, but I am afraid we are. It will continue this way as long as politicians can make careers out of public service & make deals on the side.

Next book: If you were here

 

[tinkerbellfan6880]

Sorry I have not replied to this thread in awhile. Been busy reading a ton of books. I have now read 54 out of 80 books. Reading two books at the moment:

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Yep it is the book that the movie with Scarlett Johansen was in. I think that's how you spell her name.

Wards of Faerie The Dark Legacy of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Read it last year when it come out. Reading it again to refresh my memory of it before I read the second and third books in the series.