2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[Swimnoid]

106. Don't Go by Lisa Scottoline

The story is about a surgeon who is a reservist working in Afganistan who learns that his wife has died apparently of an accidental self inflicted knife wound. He finds out things that dont add up so he digs deeper to uncover the real story. This was very good and delved more into the characters than just the plot.

107. He Sees you when you're Sleeping by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

Sterling has been sitting in the waiting room to heaven for 46 years. He desperately wants to finally get through the gates by Christmas. He is given a task to help a little girl back on earth and if he is successful he will earn his entrance into heaven. Very sweet with some good plot action.

108. The Christmas Secret by Anne Perry

From Goodreads: Dominic Cord and his wife, Clarice are sent to the village of Cottisham to take over for an elderly Vicar who has gone on vacation. The villagers are very nice and the young couple fall in love with the place...that is until they find a body in the basement. There are plenty of suspects, most of whom you don't want to see found guilty and several others you would like to be the murder, but it seems as if they couldn't be. The answer is clever and comes after some little bit of danger and a lot of suspense.

This was a short engaging read.

Favorite Books of 2013
Kitchen House
Gone Girl
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

 

[PigletsPal2]

My favorite authors/books, in no particular order, because they're all terrific for different reasons:

Anything by Anne Perry (Inspector Pitt or William Monk)
Anything by Charles Todd (Inspector Rutledge or WWI Nurse Bess Crawford)
Anything by Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache)
Anything by Jacqueline Winspear (Psychologist/investigator Maisie Dobbs)
Anything by Jane Austen or Jane Austen wanna-bes

Queen Colleen

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I did not put it on hear but my fave was girl stolen I can't say anything with out giving the book away

 

[StephMK]

#48 - This is Your Life - Susie Martyn - Kindle .99 book - 4 days before her wedding, Lizzie finds a letter from her mother who passed away a year ago. This led her thinking about her life & choices and goes on to what happens.

There were so many characters that it was really hard to keep them straight and probably my only frustration of reading on the Kindle. It was entertaining enough to keep me reading but not something that I couldn't put down. It felt like it took me forever to get through it! It was ok but tried to hard to build in a message and was very wandering through the story.

#49 - Still Waters -Misha Crews - this held my attention & I finished it in a day. More of a family drama than a mystery but involved family secrets in a family during 1940's/1950's Virginia. A woman's husband dies and she finds a mysterious photo in his drawer. It goes from there.

I did not read other reviews until I finished and agree that some of the info was not historically accurate. But that said, it was a good story & hard to put down. The ending felt a little rushed though.


3 more til goal & I think I'll make it!

 

[portia9]

#139 An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson
#140 The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson
#141 All I Have to Give by Melody Carlson
#142 Pemberley Mistletoe A Pride and Prejudice Christmas by Ayr Bray

I might make it to 150 after all! Thank you Christmas novellas.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

#139 An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson #140 The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson #141 All I Have to Give by Melody Carlson #142 Pemberley Mistletoe A Pride and Prejudice Christmas by Ayr Bray I might make it to 150 after all! Thank you Christmas novellas.

I love melody Carlson

 

[threeboysmom]

Would people like a separate thread with favorite books organized? If so, post your top three or so books from 2013 here, and I'll organize and post them all on a separate thread after Christmas. Part of this is selfish-I'd like to see everyone's top three alphabetically by author so I can get some ideas of what to read next year.

Wow, that's awesome! Thanks so much!

My top books for 2013 would be:

#1 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (ok, so it was a re-read - I originally read it in 2012, but it was just as good the second time around, lol)

#2 Defending Jacob by William Landay

#3 Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (not my typical genre, but absolutely loved the quirkiness of this book - looking forward to reading more by this author in 2014!!)

Also loved Five Days in May, Into the Darkest Corner, and Zoo.... gosh, I really did read a lot of great books this year!!!

 

[threeboysmom]

I'm on my last book!! Wow, didn't really think I was going to make goal this year!

#48 Inferno by Dan Brown - loved this book. It was well worth the waiting line for it.

#49 Salty Like Blood - my mom recommended this book to me. Didn't like it. At all. (sorry, Mom!) Even the title stinks, lol.

Currently reading #50 out of 50

Burn by Ted Dekker - very good so far. I am intrigued. Dekker hasn't really disappointed me yet with a book...

 

[threeboysmom]

OK, I went ahead and started the 2014 thread this morning (while it's on my mind and I have the time, lol)

I am linking it here...

2014 Reading Goal Challenge

 

[Caseheidi]

I just realized that I missed a book I recently read, so will add as #71


Takedown Twenty (Stephanie Plum Series)

This book is exactly what you expect from a Stephanie Plum novel. Fun, zany adventure that makes you laugh. All the sexual tension and confusion are still there while she fights her attraction to Ranger as she is with Morelli. If you enjoy this series, then add this one to your list.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 100 books this year.

#95 down and done

The Clue is in the Pudding by Kate Kingsbury. When the Pennyfoot Hotel's housekeeper is suddenly called away at Christmas, hotel manager Cecily Sinclair Baxter needs a quick replacement. The agency sends ill-tempered Beatrice Tucker, who antagonizes the whole staff and even manages to fight with the Pennyfoot's VIP guest, the famous actor Archibald Armitage.

When Armitage drops dead after Beatrice serves him some plum pudding, everyone assumes the huffy housekeeper is the culprit. But as Cecily investigates, the list of suspects grows and solving this case may not be as easy as pie...or pudding.

I've "visited" the Pennyfoot Hotel many times and it seems like Christmas is not a good time to go! There's been a murder over the holiday everytime I've visited! Seriously, this is an entertaining series, well written, with likeable characters.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#35/35 (Made my 2nd goal!)

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

Typical Stephanie Plum story. Quick, light reading.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#86 Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

I found this review from GoodReads that about sums it up for me:

I would like to rename this book: "Exhaustively and Minutely Detailed Memoir of the Most Boring Person Ever."
This book read like an MFA program gone wrong. Stories should have details, yes, but ones like 'I sped up to get into the next lane, passing a van,' should not be one of them. And first person is a choice one makes when one has a personality - not when we are merely slogging through the day - and thoughts - of a person who is just words on a page.

Undoubtably one of the most boring books I have ever read

This may or may not be my last book of the year. Have nothing else in the house to read (which is why I finished this one, lol), and don't know if I'll make it to the library during the 'busyness' of the next few days.

 

[tinkerbellfan6880]

Goal 72

#86 Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

I found this review from GoodReads that about sums it up for me:

I would like to rename this book: "Exhaustively and Minutely Detailed Memoir of the Most Boring Person Ever."
This book read like an MFA program gone wrong. Stories should have details, yes, but ones like 'I sped up to get into the next lane, passing a van,' should not be one of them. And first person is a choice one makes when one has a personality - not when we are merely slogging through the day - and thoughts - of a person who is just words on a page.

Undoubtably one of the most boring books I have ever read

This may or may not be my last book of the year. Have nothing else in the house to read (which is why I finished this one, lol), and don't know if I'll make it to the library during the 'busyness' of the next few days.

I read this book back in October. Took me a long time to get into it. Not something I would read again.

 

[phorsenuf]

#58 (of 52) The Mist on Bronte Moor by Aviva Orr. From Amazon;
When Heather Jane Bell is diagnosed with alopecia and her hair starts falling out in clumps, she wants nothing more than to escape her home in London and disappear off the face of the earth. Heather gets her wish when her concerned parents send her to stay with a great-aunt in West Yorkshire. But shortly after she arrives, Heather becomes lost on the moors and is swept through the mist back to the year 1833. There she encounters fifteen-year-old Emily Bronte and is given refuge in the Bronte Parsonage.

Unaware of her host family's genius and future fame, Heather struggles to cope with alopecia amongst strangers in a world foreign to her. While she finds comfort and strength in her growing friendship with Emily and in the embrace of the close-knit Bronte family, Heather's emotions are stretched to the limit when she falls for Emily's brilliant but troubled brother, Branwell.

Will Heather find her way back to the comforts and conveniences of the twenty-first century? Or will destiny keep her in the harsh world of nineteenth-century Haworth?

This was a total fluff book and quick read. I was actually kind of surprised how much I liked it.

#59 (of 52) Run Through the Jungle (Jeremy's Run) by G.F. Gustav. From Amazon;

Thirty-six hours have elapsed since the power died and most everything with it. A day-and-a-half. It has been said that society is ever nine meals from chaos. True, perhaps, were humans civilized.

Though young and fit, Jeremy and his friends are much like people we know. They’ve made no preparations. Each possesses certain skills, but the only member of the group with some infantry experience, Kade de Silva, is recovering from a gunshot wound.

When they return to Karina’s ex-boyfriend’s house, hoping the loot they’d found in the prepper’s pad is still there, they find the pantry empty. The canned goods gone. The backdoor destroyed.

Night is falling fast, and those who took the loot are coming back for more.


This is book 3 of the series Jeremy's Run. I am loving these books. I blew through this one in no time at all. Now I wait.

Not sure what's next......

 

[phorsenuf]

OK, I went ahead and started the 2014 thread this morning (while it's on my mind and I have the time, lol)

I am linking it here...

2014 Reading Goal Challenge

Thank you so much for this years thread and starting up next years. I cannot believe I read as many books as I did and doubt I would have if it had not been for the challenge. So thank you sooooo much!!!!

 

[portia9]

#58 (of 52) The Mist on Bronte Moor by Aviva Orr. From Amazon;
When Heather Jane Bell is diagnosed with alopecia and her hair starts falling out in clumps, she wants nothing more than to escape her home in London and disappear off the face of the earth. Heather gets her wish when her concerned parents send her to stay with a great-aunt in West Yorkshire. But shortly after she arrives, Heather becomes lost on the moors and is swept through the mist back to the year 1833. There she encounters fifteen-year-old Emily Bronte and is given refuge in the Bronte Parsonage.

Unaware of her host family's genius and future fame, Heather struggles to cope with alopecia amongst strangers in a world foreign to her. While she finds comfort and strength in her growing friendship with Emily and in the embrace of the close-knit Bronte family, Heather's emotions are stretched to the limit when she falls for Emily's brilliant but troubled brother, Branwell.

Will Heather find her way back to the comforts and conveniences of the twenty-first century? Or will destiny keep her in the harsh world of nineteenth-century Haworth?

This was a total fluff book and quick read. I was actually kind of surprised how much I liked it.

I am fascinated by the Brontes. I have been to their home when I traveled in the UK. It was really emotional for me.

 

[StephMK]

#50 - Next Year I'll Be Perfect - easy fiction book about a girl (on her 25th bday) who wrote a list of goals to accomplish by the time she turned 30. On her 29th bday, she found the list & realized how much she had not done yet. It was a cute, funny read about how she was determined to finish the list in a year and what she learned along the way. Cute & light.

After all the stress of work, I can't get into anything heavy at this point! Two more to goal & I should be able to pull it off. Trying to decide what to start next though.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #86 - American Gods by Neil Gaiman

This is a tale about a war on Earth between the old gods (Thor, Odin, etc.) and new gods (technology). I really struggled with this book. I like this author & have enjoyed a number of his books, but not this one. There was just too much added that was not necessary for the main story. I started skimming thru about halfway. I say don't bother with this one. If you want to read something from this author, read The Graveyard Book or The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Next book: Mother, Mother

 

[threeboysmom]

I'm still plugging away on my last book of 2013 - Burn by Ted Dekker. Not that it's bad, but I simply can't find the time to read with everything going on with the holidays.

The first third was gripping, middle third of the book was a little on the boring side I thought, but wow, the last third has knocked the socks off me, lol. My brain is confuzzled with where the plot is going. Cannot WAIT to see how this book ends!!

This author never fails to amaze me sometimes...