2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[StephMK]

StephMK, I'm not sure how old your kids are, but Divergent and Insurgent are supposed to be in the same genre as HG as well. They are a bit more YA though. My 8th grade son just finished Divergent and LOVED it, and it's hard to get him away from the xbox! I still have not read either... (he took Divergent while I read Legend)

I know the Librarian was stopping students who were younger than 8th grade from buying Divergent/Insurgent at our book fair without their parents because they are supposed to be for a "older" audience.

Thanks! They are 6th & 7th grade. I'll check into it. DS is a huge xbox player too so it's always good to get him into a long book!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Book #25 War Brides by Helen Bryan

Review: I got this one for free and usually I don't expect much from the free kindle books (I just got a new one after an accident with the last Kindle) but War Brides wasn't so bad. I did find some of the phrasing the author used to be a bit off and some parts of the story is rushed but all in all I did like this one. There are some editing issues in the Kindle version. The story is engaging and always changing.

The book is about five women who live in a small town in England during WWII. Elsie, Tanni,Evangeline, Alice and Frances face difficulties such as rations, husbands leaving for the war and their own personal struggles. The women are independent and diligent in the war effort. However, this book is described as a romance novel but I didn't see it that way. There are romances in the story but I felt it was in the back round and it is really the story of the five women that is more prevalent.
I totally suggest it!

You talked me into it! Borrowing it on my Kindle Prime!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Currently reading book #23, "Water for Elephants". It seems like I'm probably the only person in America who hasn't already read it. So far, I like it, but I haven't yet decided it's super-dooper. But it seems I'll be happy I read it.

 

[tiggrbaby]

We were on vacation last week, so I got a bit of reading in:

#8: Harbor Ice by K.D. Mason
A mystery that I found to just be meh.

#9: A Painted House by John Grisham
Not one of his courtroom dramas, but very enjoyable. A young boy in 1950's Arkansas experiences many secrets and life changes one cotton season.

#10: The Dark Monk by Oliver Potzsch
This is the second book in The Hangman's Daughter series. It is a mystery that takes place in Bavaria in the 1600s. This one had them chasing clues to find a hidden Templar treasure.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I'd love to read either one - are you the author for Campfire?


QUOTE]

I authored both books. I sent you a private message just respond letting me know which book you would prefer.

 

[MollyMom]

I may need to look this book up. I've been low carbing for the past several months and so have "accidentally" eliminated gluten from my diet (by accident, I mean I wasn't intentionally doing it, it's just a result of low carb). But WOW! I was suffering from moderate joint pain and it's ALL GONE!

I've added you both to the first post of this thread with your book goals.

Happy Reading!

Thanks for adding my book goals to the thread threeboysmom. (Now the pressure is on!) I have now finished 1 out of 12, so I'm on my way.

Re: your comment on joint pain. I've been off wheat for over a week now and I have to admit, I seem to be noticing the same thing: a less achy back and hips. I'm not ready to attribute it entirely to lack of wheat products, but we'll see. Even more importantly, I'm eating far less and not craving food all the time. It's great!

 

[StephMK]

#16 Caught - Harlan Coben. Here is the amazon summary -

Reporter Wendy Tynes is making a name for herself, bringing down sexual offenders on nationally televised sting operations. But when social worker Dan Mercer walks into her trap, Wendy gets thrown into a story more complicated than she could ever imagine. Dan is tied to the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old New Jersey girl, and the shocking consequences will have Wendy doubting her instincts about the motives of the people around her, while confronting the true nature of guilt, grief, and her own capacity for forgiveness.

It is definitely more complicated than just a pedophile case. There is a missing girl and conspiracy about something that happened in the past.

It was pretty good, I'd give it a 3. I can't put my finger on it but it didn't grab me like some other books I've read lately. It did tie things up well and had some twists along the way.

 

[Ginny Favers]

My 17/50 was a YA book that I found so bad and preachy that I don't even want to name it. The author used it as a platform to talk about her stance on everything from organized religion to environmental issues. I wanted to rip the book into tiny pieces.

Now, I'm onto FALSE MEMORY by Dan Krokos. So far, so good.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #27 The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

Review: I have to admit that I do like the 'Elm Creek Quilts series. The premise of the series is Sylvia Bergstrom arrives back to her home after a nasty fall out with her sister decades ago. Her sister has died and the family manor with its wide acres is in disrepair and Sylvia is at risk of losing everything. With the help of her friends, Sylvia fixes the place up and reopens Elm Creek as a quilting retreat. Every summer, guests arrive to learn new forms of quilting. It is kind of a quilting summer camp. The book series have formed to tell the stories of not only Sylvia and her friend but also the teachers and the guests who arrive. There are also a lot of quilting tips (not a quilter myself I do find the descriptions interesting)

OK so the Giving Quilt is about an event called Quiltsgiving in which guests arrive to the Manor for free and create quilts to give away to charity. The guests in this story, Michaela, Karen, Paulette,Linnea and Jocelyn. Each of the stories are engaging but my only complaint is that the author's political views come into the story a lot. I have nothing against that but it does take away a little bit from the story. I wouldn't suggest this book without reading some of the Elm Creek books to get a good idea about the series.

 

[Swimnoid]

Goal = 75

36. The Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet by The Mayo Clinic
This is a very informative book emphasizing proper eating for the diabetic. The focus was not on eat this, this and this for meal #1, etc but more about proper healthy eating for the long run. It focuses on making 5 new good habits, breaking 5 bad habits and adopt 5 new good habits. It also gives very in depth information on food and nutrition.

37. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
This is the 2nd book of the Rizzoli and Isles series. Isles is just introduced in this book and does not play a big role yet. Rizzoli is investigating another series of murders and again she is almost killed by the suspect. With her luck I think I would look for another line of work.

38. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Usually when I read "vampire" in a book description I run the other way. But since they made a movie from it I thought let's see what the attraction is. I loved it! The book starts in Abe's childhood at the death of his mother and covers all the biographical high points of his life. But the author weaves in vampires into the whole thing and makes it sound reasonable!

 

[3smithboys]

Book # 13 - I read this yesterday for school. It's an older book, but it's a great one - we are using it as a 6th grade novel now.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

 

[PigletsPal2]

Book #27 The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

Review: I have to admit that I do like the 'Elm Creek Quilts series. The premise of the series is Sylvia Bergstrom arrives back to her home after a nasty fall out with her sister decades ago. Her sister has died and the family manor with its wide acres is in disrepair and Sylvia is at risk of losing everything. With the help of her friends, Sylvia fixes the place up and reopens Elm Creek as a quilting retreat. Every summer, guests arrive to learn new forms of quilting. It is kind of a quilting summer camp. The book series have formed to tell the stories of not only Sylvia and her friend but also the teachers and the guests who arrive. There are also a lot of quilting tips (not a quilter myself I do find the descriptions interesting)

OK so the Giving Quilt is about an event called Quiltsgiving in which guests arrive to the Manor for free and create quilts to give away to charity. The guests in this story, Michaela, Karen, Paulette,Linnea and Jocelyn. Each of the stories are engaging but my only complaint is that the author's political views come into the story a lot. I have nothing against that but it does take away a little bit from the story. I wouldn't suggest this book without reading some of the Elm Creek books to get a good idea about the series.

If you like Jennifer Chiaverini's style of writing, you may enjoy Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. I reviewed it a few posts back, and I enjoyed it very much, especially since I had recently seen the movie Lincoln.

Queen Colleen

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Book 14 only you Sierra

Sierra was nervous about the future. She had always been the bold, free-spirited type. But then, her whole foundation of home and family had never before been rocked.

Sierra Jensen settled back into her seat and gazed through the train window at the English countryside. So much was on her mind, and her heart was flooded with emotions. She hoped the friendships she had made with Katie and Christy this past week during the Europe missions trip would last forever.

She dreaded the flight back to the State, knowing that everything would be completely different when she returned home. While in England, Sierra's family had moved to a different state. She hated the thought of going to a new high school in the middle of her junior year, where everybody already had their cliques and boyfriends. The prospect of another dateless year made her heart sink.

She wondered if she'd ever find love, and then in a London airport, she met Paul. Her heart, which had sunk so low, leapt! But of course, it was just a chance meeting-wasn't it? She would never see him again-would she?

I loved it, it was a great spin off from the Christy miller series that I could not put down

 

[CaliBear]

Goal 40, book 7: Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mayhew Bergman

Here is the summary from Amazon:

Exploring the way our choices and relationships are shaped by the menace and beauty of the natural world, Megan Mayhew Bergman’s powerful and heartwarming collection captures the surprising moments when the pull of our biology becomes evident, when love or fear collides with good sense, or when our attachment to an animal or wild place can’t be denied.

In “Housewifely Arts,” a single mother and her son drive hours to track down an African gray parrot that can mimic her deceased mother’s voice. A population-control activist faces the conflict between her loyalty to the environment and her maternal desire in “Yesterday’s Whales.” And in the title story, a lonely naturalist allows an attractive stranger to lead her and her aging father on a hunt for an elusive woodpecker.

As intelligent as they are moving, the stories in Birds of a Lesser Paradise are alive with emotion, wit, and insight into the impressive power that nature has over all of us. This extraordinary collection introduces a young writer of remarkable talent.

I rarely read short story collections, and I read this book for the wrong reasons. I somehow got it into my head that the stories were narrated by birds. Why did I think this? I have no idea, and at first I thought I had made a huge mistake choosing this book as the first three stories, including the titular one, were really boring. But I started to like them after a dull start and then the last three were also kind of boring. A few stories I liked were:

"Saving Face"- a formerly beautiful veterinarian copes with a disfiguring attack from a patient
"Yesterday's Whales"- an activist for population control realizes she's pregnant and her feelings are more conflicted than she expected them to be
"Another Story She Won't Believe"- A recovering alcoholic is called upon to single-handedly save lemurs from an unexpected frost.

I would give it 3 stars.

Next up is either Gone Girl or The Night Circus. I'll decide tomorrow.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #19: One Second After by William Forstchen

This book is good at scaring you into going to the store, buying supplies & food just in case, especially w/a Foreword from Newt that says this will probably happen to us some day. Those who have read Under The Dome will see some similarities about a community trying to survive, but this situation could happen. I really hope our government is figuring ways to prevent or survive an attack like this.

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.

Next book: Into the Darkest Corner

 

[WowLookAtThat]

If you like Jennifer Chiaverini's style of writing, you may enjoy Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. I reviewed it a few posts back, and I enjoyed it very much, especially since I had recently seen the movie Lincoln.

Queen Colleen

Sounds good I'll put it on the reading-to do list!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

#4 Nightmare Affair
I really liked the book.I would give it 3.5 to 4 stars but its one of those books that I was so excited when I read the summarry.
It just that it seemed to work hard to almost not to break the mold of so many other books. Still I liked it.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

THe vampire relationship guide
when night falls

 

[Christine]

#10 finished FINALLY. The Twelve by Justin Cronin

This is book #2 of The Passage trilogy. I read The Passage about 4 years ago I think. I liked it. I have forgotten most of it. While I liked The Twelve I really struggled at times because there are SO many characters and many of them have a history from the first book--a history that was only cobwebs in mind!!! I'd give this book a 3 out of 5. A solid read, an interesting story line but didn't knock my socks off.

 

[KimR]

#10 finished FINALLY. The Twelve by Justin Cronin

This is book #2 of The Passage trilogy. I read The Passage about 4 years ago I think. I liked it. I have forgotten most of it. While I liked The Twelve I really struggled at times because there are SO many characters and many of them have a history from the first book--a history that was only cobwebs in mind!!! I'd give this book a 3 out of 5. A solid read, an interesting story line but didn't knock my socks off.

This is why I've been sitting on The Passage for about a year now. I want to wait until the 3rd book comes out next year and read them all back to back.

Right now I'm reading 'The House at Riverton' by Kate Morton. I'm enjoying it although not as much as 'The Hidden Garden'. I have two more of books of hers to look forward to after this one.