2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[stacy347]

Goal 30
Book #6

Jane Was Here by Sarah Kernochan

Amazon description: A mysterious young woman calling herself Jane turns up in a small New England town. She claims a fragmentary memory of growing up in this place, yet she has never been here before in her life. Upon her arrival, strange and alarming things begin happening to some of the town's inhabitants. As Jane's memories reawaken piece by piece, they carry her back in time to a long-buried secret, while the townspeople hurtle forward to a horrific event when past and present fatally collide.

Some parts were really intriguing, but overall I just didn't love this book. 2.5/5 for me.

 

[dismom301930]

Goal: 40

Book 2 - Matched (YA - book 1/3 in the series)
Book 3 - Crossed (YA - book 2/3 in the series)
Book 4 - Defending Jacob (http://www.amazon.com/Defending-Jac...id=1359563659&sr=1-1&keywords=defending+jacob) I read it based on the recommendations on this thread......stayed up late last night to finish it! It did not disappoint.

Next up: Reached, the final book in the YA series by Ally Condie. I read the first one (Matched) because my DD12 asked me to (we had both read the Hunger Games series and she enjoyed discussing it with me). This series is not as good as Hunger Games, but I can't wait to see how it ends!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Can anyone suggest good first person, was thinking something similar to "To Serve Man" episode.

 

[3smithboys]

Goal - 30

Finished book #3

Defending Jacob - really enjoyed this book! Read it from recommendations on this thread. I did find that I was predicting parts of the story as I was reading, but that's ok... I would read other books by this author if they were this good.

next up... Everyday. This is a YA book. I tend to switch back and forth since I teach 6tth grade and like to be able to recommend books to my students too.

Also, I know many of you are on Goodreads and I started an account on there, but did not find it very user friendly. I use Shelfari with my class, and it is very user friendly. SO easy to use....

 

[Swimnoid]

11 of 75

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

FINALLY finished this! I started it last summer when my daughter played Meg in the Little Women opera. She put the book on my Kindle and I started it back then. It just couldnt hold my interest to keep at it and I would drop it for weeks at a time.

 

[kimblebee]

11 of 75

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

FINALLY finished this! I started it last summer when my daughter played Meg in the Little Women opera. She put the book on my Kindle and I started it back then. It just couldnt hold my interest to keep at it and I would drop it for weeks at a time.

I have this one on my to read list. I've decided to try reading some classics. You know, the ones that you feel you should read, if only to say yeah I've read that LOL

I tried Anna Karenina a few years ago but had to put it down. It was so thick with words, for lack of a better description. I'd read two pages and it felt like I had read 100. My sister is a teacher and she said it sounded like the book was too hard for me. She explained it happens for adults, even avid readers. So, that is one book I will never attempt again.

 

[kimblebee]

Goal 50


#10 Cell by Stephen King

4.5/5 just because a book has to stop me in my tracks to be a 5 LOL. Another winner by Mr. King. I can't think of one book of his I haven't enjoyed. Oh wait, IT. I actually threw that book out because it scared the bejesus out of me. Yikes! Anyways, this book had a really interesting premise and he saw it through with 'realistic' outcomes. This one wasn't overrun with characters or descriptions which he can do. I liked that because you could get to know the few characters better. I thought it ended perfectly although I wish there was an epilogue. I hate when you are reading a book and you know you are near the end and you suddenly realize there aren't enough pages left to get all the answers you want!

I've read quite a few serious books lately so for #11 I am going with How to Eat a Cupcake, based on recommendations made here.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Goal 50


#10 Cell by Stephen King

4.5/5 just because a book has to stop me in my tracks to be a 5 LOL. Another winner by Mr. King. I can't think of one book of his I haven't enjoyed. Oh wait, IT. I actually threw that book out because it scared the bejesus out of me. Yikes! Anyways, this book had a really interesting premise and he saw it through with 'realistic' outcomes. This one wasn't overrun with characters or descriptions which he can do. I liked that because you could get to know the few characters better. I thought it ended perfectly although I wish there was an epilogue. I hate when you are reading a book and you know you are near the end and you suddenly realize there aren't enough pages left to get all the answers you want!

That's the brilliance of Stephen King. I read CELL when it first came out and I can STILL remember the last line of that book. I still want to know what happened after that phone call. He definitely knows how to make things stay with you!

My 7/50 was ISLAND by Richard Layman because it was a Kindle Daily Deal and people said that Layman was Stephen King's raunchier brother. Since I love horror, and this book was about a group of people stranded on an island with a madman loose, I thought I would love it. But it's sort of akin to a later installment in the Friday the 13th franchise.... focused on sex, kind of campy, unrealistic, and not scary at all. I did not dig it. I've been told you have to be a certain kind of person to like this author's work, and obviously I am not it.

I wanted to mention that Rae Carson's THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS is a daily deal today for the Kindle. It's a really good YA novel with a kickbutt heroine. If you haven't read it yet, now's your chance!

 

[keenercam]

#14/52 Always the Designer, Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker-
I started this series a while ago, so when this one came up for free on Kindle, I bought it. It's very light reading about a wedding gown designer and it revisits the lives of the characters who appeared earlier in the series, which is always nice. It had some underlying themes of Christian faith which contributed to the story rather than overrunning it. I'd probably give it a 4/5, but that might be because I've read so many 5s lately.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#10 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Read a lot of mixed reviews for this one, but had to read it for myself.
I thought it was just "ok"

 

[jenny105]

#14/52 Always the Designer, Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker-
I started this series a while ago, so when this one came up for free on Kindle, I bought it. It's very light reading about a wedding gown designer and it revisits the lives of the characters who appeared earlier in the series, which is always nice. It had some underlying themes of Christian faith which contributed to the story rather than overrunning it. I'd probably give it a 4/5, but that might be because I've read so many 5s lately.

I read Always the Baker, Never the Bride. I got it free on amazon. I didn't realize this was a series. I'll have to check the rest out!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Finished #3/25: The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland, Age 42 and Three-Quarters by Barbara Silkstone.

4/5

From Amazon:
Alice Harte's life is falling apart. Her boss at the real estate firm where she works is a litigious and murderous man with ties to "The Mob" in Florida. She KNOWS he has literally beheaded someone in the past.

Her whole life she has dreamed of living in England and meeting a man similar to John Cleese. In an attempt to start breaking away from her boss who is threatening her with a lawsuit, she flies to England to meet Nigel Channing, who has been charming her through e-mails and phone calls.

As her life in Miami falls apart, with mobsters and a pending fraud lawsuit, her romantic savior in England looks more and more tarnished by the hour. And then she stumbles across a beheaded mob boss. How will she ever keep her head and win the lawsuit? And what about love?

Reminded me of a Janet Evanovich-type book. It was fun to see how the author worked in the Alice theme. At some point, I will try one of her other books.

 

[phorsenuf]

Finished reading The unit by Ninni Holmqvist
#5 of 26
2 stars out of 5

I picked this up as a Kindle freebie. Sounded pretty interesting. The premise is different but I felt it was too wordy. Too descriptive, if that makes any sense. It finally picked up towards the end but up to that point it dragged on. I almost gave up on it but just couldn't. I have such a hard time abandoning books, plus I just did that with my previous one.
My next choice better be a winner.

From Amazon;
When Dorrit Wegner turned fifty, the government transferred her to a state-of-the-art facility where she can live out her days in comfort. Her apartment is furnished to her tastes, her meals expertly served, and all at the very reasonable non-negotiable price of one cardiopulmonary system. Once an outsider without family, derided by a society bent on productivity, Dorrit finds within The Unit the company of kindred spirits and a dignity conferred by 'use' in medical tests. But when Dorrit also finds love, her peaceful submission is blown apart and she must fight to escape before her 'final donation'.

 

[wvjules]

Finally got a book to hold my interest...Barred to You!

 

[kimblebee]

Goal 50


#11 How to Eat a Cupcake

3/5. A nice easy read. Read it based on recommendations from this thread. Good story and good characters. One part I found a bit hokey but it didn't ruin the book for me. A good book if you are just looking for some fluff.

Next up The Litigators by John Grisham

 

[portia9]

Book Goal 100

#17 Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

I really enjoy this author. This is the story of a character called Judith Dunbar and starts when she is 14 and going to boarding school. It deals with all kinds of relationships she has against the backdrop of WW2. Recommended.

 

[threeboysmom]

WOW, you all are doing so awesome!!

I just finished #5 out of 30 (I think that's right, lol)...

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani (what a name!!)

Overall, it was a good read. I don't normally go for romance novels, but this one had good reviews so I gave it a try. It was not hokey at all (my usual complaint with this genre). The characters were real, honest, and had a lot of depth to them. It's a love story between Ciro and Enza, two Italian teenagers who fell in love, but circumstances that happened in their lives repeatedly kept them apart from each other for years. Story began in Italy and moved to America on the brink of the World Wars. A well-written story, but nothing spectacular.

I give it a 3.5 rating; however, I give the main character, Enza, a 5 star rating for her determination, her spunk, and her courage. I love finding inspiration in the characters I read about.

Onto next.... I have 2 books on hold from the library and neither have come in yet! ARG!

I guess I'll read Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino. Not thrilled about it since I have so many good books waiting for me on my list, but my sister wanted me to read it (and hey, it's Disney!). It should be a very short read.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #9 Jade by Ruth Langan

Review: So, now we have Jade (two more books to go...if Onyx didn't have anymore kids in the continental US) who has arrived to Hanging Tree to be with her sisters and open a casino. This has the residents of the town angry and honestly, they have valid points. The place could bring the type of people who are not good for the town but Jade ignores them and therefore in the book, the residents are called judgmental which was annoying. The person who is trying to keep peace between Jade and the townspeople is Reverend Wade Weston. He has a past (don't they all?) and is under a assumed named. Soon they fall in love and blah blah...honestly I didn't care anymore.

The book tries to be different than the two others as some of the romance takes place outside of Texas among other things but honestly the love story fell flat. What could have been good...just wasn't. I think it had to do that there was more to Pearl and Diamond's books than just the love story, Pearl had teaching while Diamond had to solve her father's murder and learn about her three sisters but it really seems that all Jade was about was Wade. Her backstory isn't interested as Wade's is which is a little sad because Jade is a better written character in the other books. Her character is just boring.

The one thing I found different is the love story between Jade's mother Ahn Lin and Onyx. Pearl's mother isn't given a name and her reason for not marrying Onyx is flimsy but Jade's mom is not only given a name but a personality. Ahn's reason for not marrying him is simple. She was already in an arranged marriage with a man back in China who had given her the money to go to the US and start a casino in San Francisco. He is considerably older and still lives in China. The arranged marriage is more than a business deal but Ahn would not divorce him and marry Onyx. I think she died more recently because the book's prologue takes place three years before the series began. The prologue was a pretty good part of the book which was a letdown.

Would I suggest it...if you are a person who can't stop a book in the middle and must read a series all the way through...Jade you are going to have to muddle through so nope.

 

[Swimnoid]

12 of 75

The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

This is an early book in the Harry Bosch series. Harry has been put on suspension for attacking his supervisor. While he is off he tries to solve the open case of his mother's murder from when he was a young boy.

I like this series and this is a good installment. Good action and fast pace.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 52 books this year.

Book #8 down and done.

Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard was outstanding! I'm not a fan of O'Reilly's, but this book was just jam-packed with facts, excellent character description, vivid scene descriptions and some astounding authentic photographs, taken in the 1860's. We just saw the movie "Lincoln" for the second time on Wednesday, and this book added tremendously to my appreciation of the events of that time. Highly recommended.

Next up: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny. This is a series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Surete du Quebec. I wish I had been able to start reading this series with the first book, but it wasn't available in the library. Oh well, I'll catch up.

While browsing through the Kindle Store, the name of an author jumped out at me: Rainy Kirkland. The name sounded familiar to me, so I checked it out, and sure enough it was a childhood friend of mine! I then remembered reading a couple of her books probably 30 years ago, and although they weren't my favorite genre (they were period romances), they were well-written and I did enjoy them. Unfortunately, Rainy didn't write another book until the past couple of years, so I lost track of her.

Now she has a book out called Florida Heat, a murder mystery, my favorite! I downloaded it and will read it after book #9 noted above. Then I'll try to contact Rainy (she lives here in Florida) and try to set up a lunch to catch up on old times. This is going to be such fun!

Queen Colleen