2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[threeboysmom]

Holy moley, phorsenuf!!!

That was quite the review you posted! Someone needs to update her reading goal big time!

Good to see you back! Don't be a stranger next time!

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #44 I Do and I Don't:A History of Marriage in Movies by Jeanine Basinger

Review: This book goes into the history of "marriage movies" from silent films into more modern flicks. I Do and I don't is pretty well documented and shows how marriage in film, like in society has changed a bit. Of course, she visits old favorites such as the Thin Man series and the Ma and Pa Kettle flicks and addresses films where either marriage is a great thing and others where you wonder about if the couple should have tied the knot. Sometimes the book gets a little dry but a good read.

Book #45 7 Days to a Brand New Me! by Ellen Conford

Review: No I did not read a self-help book. I needed a fast and funny read after reading I do and I don't and Secret of the Bulls. This YA book is about Maggie Kemper describes herself as dull and "sparrow-like", she is pretty shy which stinks because her crush, Adam has a locker right next to hers. So, to get him to notice her she gets a book entitled 7 Days to Brand New Me to really dazzle him.

So, this book cracks me up.It reminds me of being a teenager and the awkwardness of it all. Maggie is adorable and like me (as a teen and now) reads historical romance novels. Maggie does have some pretty good lines and unlike other YA I read as a kid, she isn't super smart, pretty or have something extraordinary about her. She is just a normal girl.

 

[3smithboys]

Book #19 Inferno by Dan Brown - I really enjoyed this one - it kept me interested and wanting me to read more!

I've just starting reading Iris Johansen's book - Taking Eve. It's the first book in her new trilogy coming out this year! It's good so far!

 

[portia9]

Goal 100

Book #68 Merivel:A Man of His Time by Rose Tremain-a sequel to Restoration which I read a couple of weeks ago. Set in the time of Charles 11. Really enjoyed this character and time period.

 

[phorsenuf]

Holy moley, phorsenuf!!!

That was quite the review you posted! Someone needs to update her reading goal big time!

Good to see you back! Don't be a stranger next time!

Haha...yeah. Don't forget to credit one book for you.

Well, I may as well go all the way and change my goal to 52.

Right now I am reading NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.

 

[threeboysmom]

Haha...yeah. Don't forget to credit one book for you.

Well, I may as well go all the way and change my goal to 52.

Right now I am reading NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.

Updated you!

Think of all the additional books you'll now push yourself towards! HAPPY READING!

 

[Swimnoid]

Goal = 75

57. Progressive Dinner Deadly by Elizabeth Spann Craig
this was a free Kindle book. Myrtle Clover is an octogenarian whose son os the sheriff of a small North Carolina town. Myrtle helps solve murders much to her son's chagrin. The novels are funny and predictable but I liked this one. There were a lot of murders in this case though, a little unrealistic for this small town.

58. The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner
The 3rd installment of the DD Warren series. In this one young mother disappears. Her husband who seems to be holding something back becomes the primary suspect but there are other possibilities. Warren and crew navigate the twists and turns of the case.

59. Caught by Harlan Coben
From Goodreads: 17-year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst.

The story has a bunch of tangents to follow which come together at the end but it is distracting to follow at first. It was good though.

60. Alex Ko: From Iowa to Broadway by Alex Ko
This tells the story of the author who has a gift for dance and eventually ends up playing Billy Elliot on Broadway. The book is quick and written in his own young voice. It is gripping though as it delves into his family life events that shape him. Very good.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#40 The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

One day, while Talmadge is in town selling his fruit, he dozes off at his stand. Two pregnant girls rob him of his cash; they're hungry and savage-like, described as feral.
The girls - Jane and Della - follow Talmadge to his orchard and out of kindness and generosity he begins to feed and shelter them. The story continues thru many years before the ending.
This is one of those books that make me think "this would be a good made for tv movie" for the Hallmark channel, lol.

 

[Christine]

I read this one. I enjoyed it enough. Not one of my favorites, but a decent story.

Goal 72

#40 The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

One day, while Talmadge is in town selling his fruit, he dozes off at his stand. Two pregnant girls rob him of his cash; they're hungry and savage-like, described as feral.
The girls - Jane and Della - follow Talmadge to his orchard and out of kindness and generosity he begins to feed and shelter them. The story continues thru many years before the ending.
This is one of those books that make me think "this would be a good made for tv movie" for the Hallmark channel, lol.

 

[willowsnn3]

I read this one. I enjoyed it enough. Not one of my favorites, but a decent story.

I know. Not a book I would want to read more than once. Kinda long and drawn out at times but just not enough 'excitement' for me.

 

[Christine]

I know. Not a book I would want to read more than once. Kinda long and drawn out at times but just not enough 'excitement' for me.

Yeah, it seemed like there was a lot of sitting around and watching the fruit grow kind of thing going on!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Goal:25 Completed:13


#13
Zoo
James Patterson

"World

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.

Destruction

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide."


I enjoyed this book a lot! It's my first from this author.

It was a unique take on the apocalypse, similar to the zombie ones.

My favorite parts were the freakish animal attacks and the chapters from Attila's perspective.

 

[BearcatsFan]

30/50 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

It took me a while to read this, but I have to say it's one of my favorite Stephen King books ever! It ranks right up there with Bag of Bones and The Stand. Great characters, wonderful plot, held my interest all the way through. AND I loved the ending.

5/5 stars

I don't know what I'll be reading next. I have to check the library list and see if anything good has come through yet.

 

[Christine]

30/50 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

It took me a while to read this, but I have to say it's one of my favorite Stephen King books ever! It ranks right up there with Bag of Bones and The Stand. Great characters, wonderful plot, held my interest all the way through. AND I loved the ending.

5/5 stars

I don't know what I'll be reading next. I have to check the library list and see if anything good has come through yet.

I really enjoyed this book also. Kind of surprised me because the more recent Stephen Kings disappointed me. He is a great storyteller but I hated how in ended Cell and Under the Dome. I felt he got it right with 11/22/63.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #46 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Review: With summer here I was reminded of some reading I did as a kid and Tom Sawyer was always on the list.

 

[phorsenuf]

30/50 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King

It took me a while to read this, but I have to say it's one of my favorite Stephen King books ever! It ranks right up there with Bag of Bones and The Stand. Great characters, wonderful plot, held my interest all the way through. AND I loved the ending.

5/5 stars

I don't know what I'll be reading next. I have to check the library list and see if anything good has come through yet.

Check and see if your library has Heart shaped Box. It's written by Joe Hill, who is Stephan Kings son. His style is very similar to SK's earlier works. I'm reading another one by him now called NOS4R2.

 

[Christine]

Check and see if your library has Heart shaped Box. It's written by Joe Hill, who is Stephan Kings son. His style is very similar to SK's earlier works. I'm reading another one by him now called NOS4R2.

phorsenuf:

Have you noticed/noted that Joe Hill's books are a tad bit more graphic than his father's? I first noticed it on Heart Shaped Box. I thought it was more graphic (sexually) than Stephen King ever got. I am in the middle of NOS4RA2 and I am finding this one to be VERY much like Stephen King's It, Pet Semetery days; however, I find Hill's violence to be a bit more graphic. Certainly King's could be at time but he somehow managed to leave more of that to the reader's imagination. I don't mind the difference at all; however, I was just wondering if you had noticed that.

 

[phorsenuf]

phorsenuf:

Have you noticed/noted that Joe Hill's books are a tad bit more graphic than his father's? I first noticed it on Heart Shaped Box. I thought it was more graphic (sexually) than Stephen King ever got. I am in the middle of NOS4RA2 and I am finding this one to be VERY much like Stephen King's It, Pet Semetery days; however, I find Hill's violence to be a bit more graphic. Certainly King's could be at time but he somehow managed to leave more of that to the reader's imagination. I don't mind the difference at all; however, I was just wondering if you had noticed that.

No, I didn't really notice. I now some of SK's books got a little too graphic for me at one point. Rose Madder comes to mind. Did you read that?
I'm really enjoying NOS4A2. It is very much like the books you mentioned. I'm only about 1/4 - 1/3 way through it.
Another one I thought was good by SK was The Long Walk. The subject is a bit unsettling but it was a good read all in all.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Check and see if your library has Heart shaped Box. It's written by Joe Hill, who is Stephan Kings son. His style is very similar to SK's earlier works. I'm reading another one by him now called NOS4R2.

Thank you for the recommendation, phorsenuf. I'm actually already wait-listed for Heart-Shaped Box, but I'm 56th in line, so I'll be waiting a while! I figured if I was that far back on the list, it must be good.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Book #12 was The Book Thief. Loved it! I finished the last pages outside, and my DS 8 made me go inside because I was crying so hard. I've had this book for about 5 years but never got around to reading it. My oldest has to read it this summer, so I thought I might as well, too.