2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[Glynis]

I love this series too! Have you read Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker? It's also by Jennifer Chiaverini, and although it's written as a novel, it's historical. I really liked that, too.

Queen Colleen

I haven't read it, yet! It's on my list, though. I love the El Quilt Series, since they are just gentle, kind reads! Sometimes, we really need that, you know? It's nice to picture a world that is so ideal!

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 52 books this year.

#33 down and done.

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery is a continuation of the Anne of Green Gables series. In this book, Anne has earned her teaching certificate and has returned to teach at her former school, where her unorthodox teaching methods and loving personality win over most of her students; how will she reach the reluctant few? Anne suffers loss in this book but also finds new friendships where she least expects them.

This a sweet, gentle series, one most readers have finished long before I even started. The stories are a lovely break from my favored genre of murder and mayhem, death and destruction.

Queen Colleen

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #37 Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie

Review: What a read! The life of Catherine the Great of Russia is certainly long and full. This book was interesting but at time got a little tedious. Sometimes my interest swayed but I stuck to the book and I thought it was worthwhile in the end.

 

[donac]

Is it too late to join. I love to read and just bought myself the latest Nook.

In the last few weeks I have read The Shell Seekers, Debbie Reynolds new bio, Bob Newhart's bio, Beach House and I just started Casual Vacancy by JK Rowlings.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#33 The Dinner by Herman Koch

This book was just 'meh' to me. The author rambled too much. I don't think I would recommend it.

 

[Glynis]

Is it too late to join. I love to read and just bought myself the latest Nook.

In the last few weeks I have read The Shell Seekers, Debbie Reynolds new bio, Bob Newhart's bio, Beach House and I just started Casual Vacancy by JK Rowlings.

How was this? I adore Debbie Reynolds and am looking forward to reading it.

 

[Ginny Favers]

32/50: Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly

Definitely the McDonald's of history books. But since I'm not like my husband who likes to read about these things in exhausting detail, I enjoyed it.

 

[Christine]

Goal 72

#33 The Dinner by Herman Koch

This book was just 'meh' to me. The author rambled too much. I don't think I would recommend it.

I felt the same way. That narrator was rambling on. I think it was a way for the author to show us that he was sort of nutty but it did get tiresome.

 

[RunningGirl]

#26 - To Kill a Mockingbird. I went to see it done as a play, and then went and re-read the book.

#27 - The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz. Book one of a series, it was light and enjoyable. A good beach book. I'll probably read more of the series when I'm looking for something light.

#28 - Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. Last book (13) of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Pretty satisfying conclusion to a series.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#34 The Kingdom Keepers/Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson

Finished a few days ago but forgot to add.
This was pretty good. Started kinda slow but got better about half way thru. Now I'll have to read the others in the series.

 

[Briarmom]

Book #37 Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie

Review: What a read! The life of Catherine the Great of Russia is certainly long and full. This book was interesting but at time got a little tedious. Sometimes my interest swayed but I stuck to the book and I thought it was worthwhile in the end.

This is what I'm reading! Well, I just started.
I keep looking through this thread wishing I had time to read (getting my MA in Literature=no time for fun reading).

Does it talk about her roller coasters that she built? My 9 year old dd keeps asking me to find out about this interesting tidbit.

 

[donac]

How was this? I adore Debbie Reynolds and am looking forward to reading it.

I got through the first 120 pages and it sounded like it was over but then she went through all her movies and what she liked about each one. It is not completely about her early life until she gets to the movie section. It is mostly about her third husband and her quest to get a movie museum and how she lost it all. It was an easy read.

 

[ebtbmom]

I have just finished reading 2 books bringing up to 7/15, almost 1/2 way!

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is a teen/young adult supernatural thriller. It's about a boy who's a ghost hunter and he gets called in to destroy the violent ghost of a teen girl, as if you can't see where this is going! It was ok, I'd give it 3.5 stars, not great literature and the end kind of jumped the shark, but overall I was entertained.

Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon is a two perspective story about a little girl that goes missing. She claims to have discovered a portal to the fairy world and disappears into the woods. Years later her brother and his girlfriend start looking for her again and creepiness ensues! I really enjoyed this one 4 stars! If you like supernatural fiction you'd love this one!

 

[BearcatsFan]

21/30 - Mercy by Jodi Picoult

I got a little ways into this and realized I had read it before. I didn't remember how it ended though, so I went ahead and forged on. Not one of my favorite Picoult books, but it was okay.

3/5 stars

Don't know what I'll read next. I'm still waitlisted for the two Gillian Flynn books - hopefully that hold will come through soon.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 52 books this year.

#34 down and done.

Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me: A Memoir...of Sorts by Ian Morgan Cron. Cron walks us through the drama of his life, making us laugh and cry with him every step of the way. From growing up with an alcoholic father who can't keep any of the high-powered, high-salaried jobs he holds, to his own personal crisis of faith, Cron is a very good writer telling a very good story, one which may give hope to any reader in search of it.

With the religious background of this book, it may not be for everyone, but I was intrigued by the title. I'm glad I read it.

Queen Colleen

 

[3smithboys]

Book #18 - The Matchmaker by Jodi Picoult - This was one of the better books that she has written lately. (I actually made it all of the way through!) Her books are very predictable, and I was able to figure out the typical Picoult "twist" that she puts a the end of all of her books....

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Goal: 25 Completed: 10

#9

Whiskey Beach
Nora Roberts

"For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore—and its secrets. But to Eli Landon, it’s home…

A Boston lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigations after being accused of—but never arrested for—the murder of his soon-to-be-ex wife.


He finds sanctuary at Bluff House, even though his beloved grandmother is in Boston recuperating from a nasty fall. Abra Walsh is always there, though. Whiskey Beach’s resident housekeeper, yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist, Abra is a woman of many talents—including helping Eli take control of his life and clear his name. But as they become entangled in each other, they find themselves caught in a net that stretches back for centuries—one that has ensnared a man intent on reaping the rewards of destroying Eli Landon once and for all…"

This is not one of my favorite Nora Roberts books. I found it hard to get into and boring in the beginning. I like her more suspenseful books better(Blue Smoke, The Rescue etc.) It was okay...but blah for me.



#10
Sleeping With Paris
Juliette Sobanet

"Charlotte Summers is a sassy, young French teacher who is two days away from moving to Paris with the love of her life and from fulfilling her dream of studying at the prestigious Sorbonne University in France. But when she discovers her fiancé’s online dating profile and has a little chat with the busty red-head he’s been sleeping with on the side, she gives up on committed relationships altogether and decides to navigate Paris on her own.

Determined to stop other women from finding themselves in her shoes, Charlotte creates an anonymous blog on how to date like a man in the City of Love—that is, how to jump from bed to bed without ever falling in love. But, with a slew of Parisian men beating down her door, a hot new neighbor who feeds her chocolate in bed, and an appearance by her sleazy ex-fiancé, she isn’t so sure she can keep her promise to remain commitment-free.

And, when Charlotte agrees to write an article for a popular women’s magazine about her Parisian dating adventures—or disasters, rather—will she risk losing the one man who’s swept her off her feet and her dream job in one fell swoop?"

This was one of the cheapie Amazon deals.(I think it's $2.99 right now)

I don't really think it was worth it. $.99 MAYBE (I have found some great cheap books)

I thought it was cute, but it was predictable.

 

[Christine]

I just finished The Burgess Boys. Gosh I can't even remember the author's last name but she wrote Olive Kitteridge.

I liked this book. It is basically about family relationships and what you think you know about someone isn't always how it seems.

I wasn't crazy about the ending. It just kind of left off. There could easily be a part 2 to this book because it didn't really finish up (one of my pet peeves), but I did like the book for the most part.

 

[erincon23]

32. Wrath of Angels, John Connolly

I've really enjoyed reading this series, which is sort of action/adventure with religious overtones (fallen angels, Satan personified), but this one wasn't the best in the series.

33. Secrets of the Past, Barbara Taylor Bradford

A Woman of Substance is one of my favorite books, written by Bradford, but this one more sounded like she let one of her junior writers take it for her. Dialogue was terrible (which is one of the reasons I've stopped reading Danielle Steele), and it's a combination of gush, sentiment, and overdone plotlines.

I've got a John LeCarre up next -- hopefully that will be better, since I'm not enjoying the recent string of sub-par books.

34. The Exile, Diana Gabaldon (graphic novel, part of the Outlander series -- not a necessary addition to the series)

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Just finished the clique it is the same as the movie with slight changes instill enjoyed it