2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?
- Thread starter threeboysmom
- Start date
My top three for the year:
#3: Defending Jacob by William Landay (The ending haunted me for days!)
#2: The Eighty Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
by Elizabeth Letts (Not quite finished yet, but so loving it! So inspiring and informative!)
#1: Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (Love his books! So funny!)
#3: Defending Jacob by William Landay (The ending haunted me for days!)
#2: The Eighty Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
by Elizabeth Letts (Not quite finished yet, but so loving it! So inspiring and informative!)
#1: Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (Love his books! So funny!)
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
Goal 2
#87 Winter Haven by Athol Dickson
Was interesting enough, but a little drawn out towards the end.
#87 Winter Haven by Athol Dickson
Was interesting enough, but a little drawn out towards the end.
nemofans
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2007
Finished book #87 - Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas
This was an interesting story of a twisted, cruel mother & how she emotionally abuses her family. It is incredible how she manipulates each of her kids & husband. Because of this, her family is so screwed up, especially Will, the youngest of the kids. If you liked Gillian Flynn books (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects), you would like this.
Josephine Hurst has her family under control. With two beautiful daughters, a brilliantly intelligent son, a tech-guru of a husband and a historical landmark home, her life is picture perfect. She has everything she wants; all she has to do is keep it that way. But living in this matriarchs determinedly cheerful, yet subtly controlling domain hasnt been easy for her family, and when her oldest daughter, Rose, runs off with a mysterious boyfriend, Josephine tightens her grip, gradually turning her flawless home into a darker sort of prison.
Resentful of her sisters newfound freedom, Violet turns to eastern philosophy, hallucinogenic drugs, and extreme fasting, eventually landing herself in the psych ward. Meanwhile, her brother Will shrinks further into a world of self-doubt. Recently diagnosed with Aspergers and epilepsy, hes separated from the other kids around town and is homeschooled to ensure his safety. Their father, Douglas, finds resolve in the bottom of the bottlean addict craving his own chance to escape. Josephine struggles to maintain the familys impeccable façade, but when a violent incident leads to a visit from child protective services, the truth about the Hursts might finally be revealed.
This was an interesting story of a twisted, cruel mother & how she emotionally abuses her family. It is incredible how she manipulates each of her kids & husband. Because of this, her family is so screwed up, especially Will, the youngest of the kids. If you liked Gillian Flynn books (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects), you would like this.
Josephine Hurst has her family under control. With two beautiful daughters, a brilliantly intelligent son, a tech-guru of a husband and a historical landmark home, her life is picture perfect. She has everything she wants; all she has to do is keep it that way. But living in this matriarchs determinedly cheerful, yet subtly controlling domain hasnt been easy for her family, and when her oldest daughter, Rose, runs off with a mysterious boyfriend, Josephine tightens her grip, gradually turning her flawless home into a darker sort of prison.
Resentful of her sisters newfound freedom, Violet turns to eastern philosophy, hallucinogenic drugs, and extreme fasting, eventually landing herself in the psych ward. Meanwhile, her brother Will shrinks further into a world of self-doubt. Recently diagnosed with Aspergers and epilepsy, hes separated from the other kids around town and is homeschooled to ensure his safety. Their father, Douglas, finds resolve in the bottom of the bottlean addict craving his own chance to escape. Josephine struggles to maintain the familys impeccable façade, but when a violent incident leads to a visit from child protective services, the truth about the Hursts might finally be revealed.
Kimmers127
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2008
I've read 140 books so far this year. My GoodReads goal for myself was 150, not sure if I can pull that off at this point!
I've just added Mother Mother to my wish list. That sounds creepy and fantastic.
I've just added Mother Mother to my wish list. That sounds creepy and fantastic.
Soldier's*Sweeties
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2009
I've read one extra for the year and it is DEFINATELY one of my faves!
Parasite(Parasitology book #1)
Mira Grant
I LOVED this book and seriously can not wait until the next one comes out. It was a little predictable, but other parts were unexpected. I could not put this book down. I wanted answers and it did a good job of delivering them!
Parasite(Parasitology book #1)
Mira Grant
I LOVED this book and seriously can not wait until the next one comes out. It was a little predictable, but other parts were unexpected. I could not put this book down. I wanted answers and it did a good job of delivering them!
Kimmers127
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2008
Ooh. This one has been on my wish list for a while, I really need to pick it up!
PigletsPal2
Queen of the Realm
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2008
Goal: 100 books this year.
#96 down and done. I'm still plugging away, I might make it to 100!
A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry. The latest in Perry's Christmas novels featuring minor characters from her novels about William Monk and Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. This one focuses on the efforts of a society volunteer at Hester Monk's clinic to clear a man falsely accused of the murder of a prostitute. It's been so long since I read the original mystery, it took me awhile to recognize the main character in this book. As usual, I was absorbed from beginning to end.
Queen Colleen
#96 down and done. I'm still plugging away, I might make it to 100!
A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry. The latest in Perry's Christmas novels featuring minor characters from her novels about William Monk and Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. This one focuses on the efforts of a society volunteer at Hester Monk's clinic to clear a man falsely accused of the murder of a prostitute. It's been so long since I read the original mystery, it took me awhile to recognize the main character in this book. As usual, I was absorbed from beginning to end.
Queen Colleen
K and K's Mommy
<font color=blue>WISH Biggest Loser/Blue Team</fon
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2003
#32 and #33
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - This book is written in a different style. It is mostly told through e-mails and letters. The daughter also tells the story. It was okay. I'm glad I read it, but I expected better. It is about a mother who is supposed to go on a trip for her daughter's graduation present, but she has severe anxiety about it. It is a heavy topic, but the book has enough humor you won't get depressed - unless you really think about the poor mom's state.
Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber - This was a little fluff Christmas story. It was fine.
I am about 3/4 of the way through Quiet. It might not get finished until 2014! I like it, but I cannot read it fast like I can a lot of books!
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - This book is written in a different style. It is mostly told through e-mails and letters. The daughter also tells the story. It was okay. I'm glad I read it, but I expected better. It is about a mother who is supposed to go on a trip for her daughter's graduation present, but she has severe anxiety about it. It is a heavy topic, but the book has enough humor you won't get depressed - unless you really think about the poor mom's state.
Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber - This was a little fluff Christmas story. It was fine.
I am about 3/4 of the way through Quiet. It might not get finished until 2014! I like it, but I cannot read it fast like I can a lot of books!
K and K's Mommy
<font color=blue>WISH Biggest Loser/Blue Team</fon
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2003
Top Three!
I just went through all my books. (I had to learn how to search my name in just this thread!) I wrote down 9 books that I really liked so it was hard to narrow it down, but here it is:
The Book Thief
The Night Circus
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
But, if you want a book that is fun, and a quicker read, I really liked Crazy Rich Asians and Cuckoo's Calling. Sometimes you just need to have fun with a book!
I just went through all my books. (I had to learn how to search my name in just this thread!) I wrote down 9 books that I really liked so it was hard to narrow it down, but here it is:
The Book Thief
The Night Circus
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
But, if you want a book that is fun, and a quicker read, I really liked Crazy Rich Asians and Cuckoo's Calling. Sometimes you just need to have fun with a book!
KrazyPete
skeleton
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2006
Goal - 28 books
Book #30 - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - I started this book once before, read a chapter, and put it aside. I don't remember why I stopped reading it then but I always intended to come back to it. It seems like everyone loves this book. It's well reviewed and when people see me reading it they stop to tell me how great it is. Personally, I found it to be a little tedious. The constant one step forward, two steps back of the plot was depressing. It has at least 700 pages of the most bleak storytelling that I've ever read. Even the love-making of the couple featured in the romance of the story became repetitive. And, if Lord William had raped one more maiden I would have been forced to put the book aside for the second time.
Even so, I can see a great deal of craftsmanship in the writing. The characters are well described. All the various sub-plots were woven together perfectly and tied up very neatly at the end. Overall, I liked the book but not enough to put World Without End on my reading list for next year.
Next up - The Shining by Stephen King - I'm sure I'll have to review this one in the 2014 thread.
Book #30 - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - I started this book once before, read a chapter, and put it aside. I don't remember why I stopped reading it then but I always intended to come back to it. It seems like everyone loves this book. It's well reviewed and when people see me reading it they stop to tell me how great it is. Personally, I found it to be a little tedious. The constant one step forward, two steps back of the plot was depressing. It has at least 700 pages of the most bleak storytelling that I've ever read. Even the love-making of the couple featured in the romance of the story became repetitive. And, if Lord William had raped one more maiden I would have been forced to put the book aside for the second time.
Even so, I can see a great deal of craftsmanship in the writing. The characters are well described. All the various sub-plots were woven together perfectly and tied up very neatly at the end. Overall, I liked the book but not enough to put World Without End on my reading list for next year.
Next up - The Shining by Stephen King - I'm sure I'll have to review this one in the 2014 thread.
StephMK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2004
#51-The Memory Thief- loved this, so sad but drew me in quickly. Not my usual subject matter or style but had trouble putting it down. Some spicy scenes and tearjerker moments. Too hard to post summary from my phone.
#52-Learning to Swim- good start, started falling apart towards the end. Girl jumps off ferry because she thinks she sees a boy fall off a passing ferry. Saves him then wonders why no one is looking for him.
Goal met 52 done! Looking forward to next year!
#52-Learning to Swim- good start, started falling apart towards the end. Girl jumps off ferry because she thinks she sees a boy fall off a passing ferry. Saves him then wonders why no one is looking for him.
Goal met 52 done! Looking forward to next year!
#36/35:
The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts
from Amazon:
Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harrys modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Their story captured the heart of Cold Warera Americaa story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshotsand their win was the stuff of legend.
I loved it! It was so heartwarming and informative. I read it on my Kindle, so the pictures were very small. I give it 4.5 stars!
The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts
from Amazon:
Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harrys modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Their story captured the heart of Cold Warera Americaa story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshotsand their win was the stuff of legend.
I loved it! It was so heartwarming and informative. I read it on my Kindle, so the pictures were very small. I give it 4.5 stars!
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
Goal 72
#88 Just One Look by Harlan Coben
Grace picks up a packet of pictures she had developed. Among the pictures is a snapshot that is at least 20 years old. 5 people in the snapshot & 1 of them looks strikingly like her husband. When her husband sees the picture he denies that it is him but later that night after everyone else has gone to bed he drives away without any explanation.
This was a very good book up to the last few chapters when the author appeared to be trying to tie up the story lines and explain each characters part in the story. So to me the ending of the book was more like he was just trying to get it finished, lol.
#88 Just One Look by Harlan Coben
Grace picks up a packet of pictures she had developed. Among the pictures is a snapshot that is at least 20 years old. 5 people in the snapshot & 1 of them looks strikingly like her husband. When her husband sees the picture he denies that it is him but later that night after everyone else has gone to bed he drives away without any explanation.
This was a very good book up to the last few chapters when the author appeared to be trying to tie up the story lines and explain each characters part in the story. So to me the ending of the book was more like he was just trying to get it finished, lol.
PigletsPal2
Queen of the Realm
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2008
Goal: 100 books for the year.
#97 down and done (sorry Christine!)
The Last of the Duchess by Caroline Blackwood. A sad account of the last few dismal years of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. The book was quite detailed, but with most (if not all) of the contributors and the author dead, it was difficult to know how much of the info is true or made up. There's lots of dialog in quotes; who remembers conversations so exactly? The author confesses that she was not allowed to record the conversations with the Duchess' lawyer, who served as her major caregiver. Also, it was written at about the eighth grade level. Oh well, it was interesting and a quick read.
Three days left in 2013 and three books to goal. We're going to Barnes and Noble tomorrow, so maybe I can knock off a couple there!
Queen Colleen
#97 down and done (sorry Christine!)
The Last of the Duchess by Caroline Blackwood. A sad account of the last few dismal years of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. The book was quite detailed, but with most (if not all) of the contributors and the author dead, it was difficult to know how much of the info is true or made up. There's lots of dialog in quotes; who remembers conversations so exactly? The author confesses that she was not allowed to record the conversations with the Duchess' lawyer, who served as her major caregiver. Also, it was written at about the eighth grade level. Oh well, it was interesting and a quick read.
Three days left in 2013 and three books to goal. We're going to Barnes and Noble tomorrow, so maybe I can knock off a couple there!
Queen Colleen
3smithboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2008
Goal - 50
#53- I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
#54- Cross My Heart by James Patterson
#55- Inescapable by Amy Bartol
#56- Intuition by Amy Bartol
#57- Indebted by Amy Bartol
#58- Incendiary by Amy Bartol
None of these changed my faves for the year.... but the Amy Bartol series is a fun read... reminds me of the Twilight series but with Angels...not great literature for sure... I Am the Messenger was written by the same author as The Book Thief.... it was very good. I did not like it quite as much as The Book Thief; however, I LOVED that book!! Cross My Heart is another Alex Cross book.... always love them!
#53- I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
#54- Cross My Heart by James Patterson
#55- Inescapable by Amy Bartol
#56- Intuition by Amy Bartol
#57- Indebted by Amy Bartol
#58- Incendiary by Amy Bartol
None of these changed my faves for the year.... but the Amy Bartol series is a fun read... reminds me of the Twilight series but with Angels...not great literature for sure... I Am the Messenger was written by the same author as The Book Thief.... it was very good. I did not like it quite as much as The Book Thief; however, I LOVED that book!! Cross My Heart is another Alex Cross book.... always love them!
28. The Little Russian- Susan Sherman Another bad choice I made this year. It took me forever to read bc it was so boring!!
29. Kitchen Confidential- Anthony Bourdain- This was exactly what I expected. It was a nice light break after a boring book but nothing earth-shattering. I did learn some things I didn't know about the restaurant business and chefs so I enjoyed that.
30. I'm not done yet with One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier, but I'm at 90% so I think it will be my final book for 2013. It's a nice enough read. I like stories with a town full of odd characters and it delivers that.
I hope I will do better at choosing books next year. This thread has led me to good choices. Amazon's suggestions for me at the website have been ok. The suggestions on the Kindle itself have been the losers so I need to learn to ignore those next year! I have much more pre-selected for next year than I did last year so I'm hopefully on the right track and won't impulse buy.
29. Kitchen Confidential- Anthony Bourdain- This was exactly what I expected. It was a nice light break after a boring book but nothing earth-shattering. I did learn some things I didn't know about the restaurant business and chefs so I enjoyed that.
30. I'm not done yet with One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier, but I'm at 90% so I think it will be my final book for 2013. It's a nice enough read. I like stories with a town full of odd characters and it delivers that.
I hope I will do better at choosing books next year. This thread has led me to good choices. Amazon's suggestions for me at the website have been ok. The suggestions on the Kindle itself have been the losers so I need to learn to ignore those next year! I have much more pre-selected for next year than I did last year so I'm hopefully on the right track and won't impulse buy.
phorsenuf
Not so New Rule author
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
Finished The Book Thief last night (#60). What a fantastic book. I ended up loving the way it was written, so very different.
I have 2 days for one last book. Started one last night that I should be done with by the first.
What a great year of reading. I still can't believe I read as many as I did!
I have 2 days for one last book. Started one last night that I should be done with by the first.
What a great year of reading. I still can't believe I read as many as I did!
Share this page
-
See This Incredible Green Twist on Disney's Stuffed Toys!
-
Pixar Fest Fun at Disneyland - Parade, Fireworks & More!
-
Full Guide to Food for 2024 Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
-
Walt Disney World Bounce Back Offer Can Save You 25-35%
-
Tokyo Disneyland to Replace Buzz Lightyear with Wreck-It Ralph Attraction
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
