2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[nemofans]

Finished book #70: The Shining by Stephen King

I never read this back in my Stephen King reading days b/c the movie freaked me out enough. Now that he wrote a sequel w/Danny Torrence (Doctor Sleep), I knew I had to read this first & not just go off the movie b4 I read the new book. I'm glad I did b/c it is different from the movie (of course). Just so creepy...

Next book: City of Bones

 

[KrazyPete]

Maybe someone here can help me.

I hear a lot about the "Temperance Brennan" series by Kathy Reichs (the inspiration for the "Bones" tv series) because she's an author that is local to me. Should I start with the first book in the series, Deja Dead, or could I jump ahead to the more recent Charlotte/NASCAR oriented Flash and Bones?

 

[willowsnn3]

Finished book #70: The Shining by Stephen King

I never read this b/c back in my Stephen King reading days b/c the movie freaked me out enough. Now that he wrote a sequel w/Danny Torrence (Doctor Sleep), I knew I had to read this first & not just go off the movie b4 I read the new book. I'm glad I did b/c it is different from the movie (of course). Just so creepy...

Next book: City of Bones

I've read the Shining two or three times over the years and the book is so much better/creepier than the movies!!
My dd came home from the library the other day with Dr. Sleep, they had just put it out. So as soon as she finishes it I hope to read that copy before people start putting it on hold then it will take forever to get a copy from the library.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#71 Gone For Good by Harlan Coben

Review from the back jacket: A powerhouse of suspense and a haunting tale of love---the love between brothers, between lovers, between family members. It is one of those rare thrillers that not only make the pulse pound, but stir the heart as well.

Mmmm, not so much for me. Thought about putting it down a couple times, then it would get interesting so I decided to finish it.
The author has gotten such good reviews here and on another board that I had to try him. Maybe some of his other work is better. Not rushing out to pick another from him tho.....

 

[CaliBear]

23. The Love Wife by Gish Jen. I read this because I recalled enjoying two other books of hers. This one wasn't for me, but I can highly recommend Typical American and Mona in the Promised Land by the same author, especially to those of us who cross cultures and/or borders in one way or another.

24. The Iron King by Maurice Druon. This is the first book in the Accursed Kings series, the inspiration for George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones etc). I can see the reference and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a deep epic with well-drawn characters like the GRRM books. It's doubtful I'll continue with the series, but I'm glad I tried the first book.

25. Confessions of a Prairie ... by Alison Angrim. I believe I got this recommendation here, and I enjoyed this. It's a very quick read.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal - 28 books

Book #26 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - I liked this ok. I enjoyed the "fight the power" vibe of it. I think my main criticism would be that McMurphy (the protagonist) seemed adolescent to me despite all of his worldly experience. The best part of this book was carrying around a 40 year old paperback with Jack Nicholson on the cover. Everyone wanted to talk about it.

Next up - On Writing by Stephen King - Yeah, maybe I'm another "wanna be" writer, so what? You won't be laughing when the next great American novel says "Krazy Pete" on the author line.

I'd read a book by an author called Krazy Pete. When you've finished your writing, I can recommend a terrific editor.

Queen Colleen

 

[portia9]

Goal 120

#107 The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland-ok chick lit.

#108 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs-I really enjoyed this but hated how it ended.

 

[threeboysmom]

Goal 120

#108 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs-I really enjoyed this but hated how it ended.

Me too!! But I did hear a sequel is in the works, so that made the ending a little more palatable for me....

 

[KrazyPete]

I'd read a book by an author called Krazy Pete. When you've finished your writing, I can recommend a terrific editor.

Noted, thanks. It will probably be a long time before I get to that point though.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72---Met my goal.....

#72 Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
Annie was abducted and held captive for a year. This is her story as told in sessions with her therapist.
This is one of the best books I've read this year. I greatly recommend this author. She has written 3 books & the 2 I have read were really good.

 

[zippitydoo]

Book 40 of 45

Blood & Justice by Rayven T. Hill

When sixteen-year-old Jenny James goes missing, and the local police are unable to find her, the girl's frantic mother hires private investigators Jake and Annie Lincoln to search for her daughter.

When the body of Jenny's boyfriend is discovered, the mystery of her disappearance deepens. Shaken out of their comfort zone of Internet searches and poring over public records, the couple soon find themselves facing the frightening possibility they are looking for the latest victim of a serial killer.

As more bodies pile up, the town is gripped with fear. It seems no one is safe, and the Lincolns race to solve an impossible puzzle before they become the killer's next victims.


A private investigator series of criminal thrillers on kindle, this thriller detective series features Jake and Annie Lincoln.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #71: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This is a pretty good YA book. I like it much better than Twilight. This main character (Clary) is not as annoying as Bella from Twilight. There are a few twists in this 1st book which I was able to predict ahead of time, but this is for young adults. I will definitely read the rest of the series & won't be surprised if this ends up a movie too. Oops, my mistake, I guess this movie was just out this past summer!

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murdermuch less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. Its hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothingnot even a smear of bloodto show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clarys first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Its also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jaces world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Next book: Where'd you Go, Bernadette?

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Next book: Where'd you Go, Bernadette?

That is my next book, too!

 

[portia9]

Goal 120

#109 In The Past Imperfect by Isabelle Solel-not recommended

#110 Farewell to Prague by Miriam Darvas-written about the author's experience during WW2. It wasn't terribly good.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just finished book #68-"Wedding Night" by Sophie Kinsella. I just love all her books. I think of "I Love Lucy"-the book. She's so funny!

 

[KrazyPete]

Maybe someone here can help me.

I hear a lot about the "Temperance Brennan" series by Kathy Reichs (the inspiration for the "Bones" tv series) because she's an author that is local to me. Should I start with the first book in the series, Deja Dead, or could I jump ahead to the more recent Charlotte/NASCAR oriented Flash and Bones?

Nevermind, B&N has the "Deja Dead" eBook for $2. A bargain trumps everything!

 

[Glynis]

Goal - 100 books

Book #60 - "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley.

From Goodreads: "Flavia de Luce 11 is an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. In the summer of 1950, a series of inexplicable events strikes her home, Buckshaw, a decaying English mansion. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.

For Flavia, both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw."

I absolutely LOVED this book!!! It was delightful! Full of British humor, and a lot of fun twists and turns! Flavia is a wonderful heroine! Can't wait to read the sequels!

Next up: "What Happened to Hannah" by Mary Kay McComas

 

[K and K's Mommy]

#31 Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

This was a fun book and exactly what I needed after a long, drawn out, very serious book! I got the suggestion here and am glad I read it. A girlfriend goes with her boyfriend to Singapore for a wedding. She has no idea how rich his family is. Quick, fun, easy read!

 

[Deffenm]

Book #6 of 10 - Christmas Train

This was a really good book. It was about a columnist who was not allow to fly so he had to take a train from washington DC to california. He meets a lot of interesting characters on the train and meets up with a long lost love. I would like it if they made this into a holiday movie as it had a bit of mystery, drama, comedy, and love story all rolled into a heat warming holiday story.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #72- Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I did not care for this book (1.5/5 stars). Instead of having the story told by a narrator or 2, it is told through emails, letters, reports, any correspondence between a bunch of different characters. There is some narration from Bernadette & her daughter. I found this type of storytelling to be too choppy. There are also typing errors through it. I found this plot to be far fetched & ridiculous too.

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.
To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

Next book: City of Ashes