2013 BOOK CHALLENGE! Are you in?

[luvmarypoppins]

I just finished #6
The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall

It was another Amish fiction book and I really liked it

I am half way through my goal I think. I think I aimed for 12 books for the year, 2 a month. I will see how it is going as I already started #7.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#31/35
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

From Amazon:
Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.

This book is really a series of short stories with characters whose lives intersected at some point. For example, although the description describes talks about Sasha working for Bennie, you really don't read about them together. Some of the characters were very interesting, but I would only rate this 3/5 because the stories jumped around in time periods and characters which made it a bit difficult to follow. Also, I had originally borrowed it from the library on my kindle and one of the chapters is written in a slide format, which didn't display properly, so I had to go get the book anyway.

 

[tiggrbaby]

The Whiskey Rebellion book was a cute, fun read. Honestly the only reason I picked it was because it was free for the Kindle.

Free? You talked me into it!

 

[jenny105]

Just finished book 24 of 25 - Gone Girl. I loved it until the end. I couldn't believe she got away with it!

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #75- City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

I called the big twist in this book, but it kept my interest. It is action packed & I am curious to what will happen in the next book.

I met my goal! Although, I moved my goal 3 times!

Next book: City of Fallen Angels

 

[WowLookAtThat]

It's been a while! I have been reading the Potter series so here it goes

#83 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

#84 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

#85 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

#86 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Secrets

#87 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

#88 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

And finally

#89 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Phew.

 

[portia9]

#115 The Year at Thrush Green by Miss Read. Reading these feels like you are living in an English village.

 

[Glynis]

Goal - 100 books

Book #64 - "The Kingmaker's Daughter" by Philippa Gregory

From Goodreads: The Kingmaker's Daughter is the gripping story of the daughters of the man known as the "Kingmaker," Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters, Anne and Isabel as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women.

My review: I absolute LOVED this book! It was written so well. Sometimes Gregory's novels can get a bit off topic with regards to sex, etc., but this one was amazing! I've always been intrigued with the War of the Roses, and in this series of books (the Cousins series), Gregory explores all sides of the question. You get the feeling that there is no wrong or right, just a lot of heartache for everyone.

Next book: "The Woman in Black" by Susan Hill

I honestly don't know if I'll reach my goal of 100 books, but considering that I started the year with a goal of 50, I feel pretty good!

 

[tiggrbaby]

#32/35:
The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

From Amazon:
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight. Matsu is a samurai of the soul, a man devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world, and Stephen is a noble student, learning to appreciate Matsu's generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu's soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.

I enjoyed this book! It was very different from what I usually read, but I found the story had a hold on me. I would rate this 4.5/5!

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #76- City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

This is book 4 of the Mortal Instruments series & I read this in 1 day! I liked the way the story played out in this one. It is an interesting take on vampires, werewolves, warlocks, & demons.

Next book: City of Lost Souls (book 5)

 

[StephMK]

#42 - The Good Life - a woman is dumped by her hubby and her friend gives her a list of things to accomplish by the end of the summer to cheer her up. Cute, fun, easy chick lit read.

#43 - The Pollyanna Plan - a serious, workaholic woman goes through some major life events and her friend convinces her to try to keep a positive attitude going forward. It results in some good/bad changes and she has to take a look at her life and past decisions. Easy read, another chick lit cute romance with some messages included.

I was not in the mood for anything dark and these fit the bill perfectly! I have 2 books checked out from the library on my Kindle to work on this week. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie & The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

 

[Meetmeinmontauk]

My goal was 12 books! Looks like I have a lot of reading to do over the next 2 months

#1 - Ender's Game
#2 - Fifty Shades of Grey
#3 - Fifty Shades Darker
#4 - Divergent
#5 - Insurgent

I'm currently reading Fifty Shades Darker, A Game of Thrones, & Allegiant!

 

[Simba's Mom]

#42 - The Good Life - a woman is dumped by her hubby and her friend gives her a list of things to accomplish by the end of the summer to cheer her up. Cute, fun, easy chick lit read.

#43 - The Pollyanna Plan - a serious, workaholic woman goes through some major life events and her friend convinces her to try to keep a positive attitude going forward. It results in some good/bad changes and she has to take a look at her life and past decisions. Easy read, another chick lit cute romance with some messages included.

I was not in the mood for anything dark and these fit the bill perfectly! I have 2 books checked out from the library on my Kindle to work on this week. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie & The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Thanks! I looked up the two you've read on Amazon, and they both look like "my kinda book". I appreciate the recommendation.

 

[threeboysmom]

It's been a while! I have been reading the Potter series so here it goes

#83 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

#84 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

#85 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

#86 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Secrets

#87 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

#88 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

And finally

#89 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Phew.

Whoa!! I always envy people that can read a series back to back like that! I'm reading through the Potter series too, but I have to take breaks in between which stinks. Reading #6 now and I've TOTALLY forgotten what happened in book #5. Grrrrr..... Some day I'd love to reread them all in a row!

I was not in the mood for anything dark and these fit the bill perfectly! I have 2 books checked out from the library on my Kindle to work on this week. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie & The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Sounds like you're hungry!!!

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 100 books this year.

#84 down and done.

The Baseball Hall of Shame: The Best of Blooperstown by Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo. This a collection of more than 200 stories about the wacky players, managers, umpires, and fans, the most outrageous plays, superstitions, pranks, errors, cheating incidents, hotheaded meltdowns, and in general the most bizarre happenings in baseball, dating back to the early days of the sport.

I'm a baseball junkie and now that the season is over, I'm going into withdrawal. I may have to dig out some of my old baseball books. In the meantime, thank goodness for the Baseball Network on DirecTV!

Queen Colleen

 

[portia9]

#116 Resurrection Row by Anne Perry-great Victorian mystery

#117 Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Canarvon-this book is written by the owner of the house that is featured in Downton Abbey and chronicles the time of the countess prior to and during WW1. Well written and interesting.

#118 With Love at Christmas by Carole Matthews- Carole Matthews write good, humorous chick lit. Great escapist fiction.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Whoa!! I always envy people that can read a series back to back like that! I'm reading through the Potter series too, but I have to take breaks in between which stinks. Reading #6 now and I've TOTALLY forgotten what happened in book #5. Grrrrr..... Some day I'd love to reread them all in a row!

See, I envy people who could take a break in the series,lol. The thing with Harry Potter is I read the series back to back to be immersed in the world but the problem is when I read a series and take a break I tend to forget what happened in the last book, like for instance I read A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin last year. Since that is a book that is a total investment I took a break and then read the next book in the series, A Clash of Kings and forgot some of what happened in the book before so I had to look up the characters and some of the events online to remember.

#90 Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh.

Hilarious but also takes an unflinching look at the author's depression. For anyone who has followed the blog, Allie wrote a book and some of the pieces are in there but there are other stories in there such as the time when she was a kid and her dad basically put her in a chili sauce eating contest with a 45 year old man.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I forgot to update my #23 so this will be two books

#23
A Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
David Kirby

Death at SeaWorld centers on the battle with the multimillion-dollar marine park industry over the controversial and even lethal ramifications of keeping killer whales in captivity. Following the story of marine biologist and animal advocate at the Humane Society of the US, Naomi Rose, Kirby tells the gripping story of the two-decade fight against PR-savvy SeaWorld, which came to a head with the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Kirby puts that horrific animal-on-human attack in context. Brancheau’s death was the most publicized among several brutal attacks that have occurred at Sea World and other marine mammal theme parks.

Death at SeaWorld introduces real people taking part in this debate, from former trainers turned animal rights activists to the men and women that champion SeaWorld and the captivity of whales. In section two the orcas act out. And as the story progresses and orca attacks on trainers become increasingly violent, the warnings of Naomi Rose and other scientists fall on deaf ears, only to be realized with the death of Dawn Brancheau. Finally he covers the media backlash, the eyewitnesses who come forward to challenge SeaWorld’s glossy image, and the groundbreaking OSHA case that
challenges the very idea of keeping killer whales in captivity and may spell the end of having trainers in the water with the ocean’s top predators.

I think to say I "enjoyed" this book would be poor wording. It was very interesting. I won't give my opinion on Cetaceans in captivity(that's a whole different thread). I did find this book one sided(as was expected). What I enjoyed the most about this book was the scientific information on the Orcas themselves and the recounting of the biologist's field studies and research. Some of it read like a textbook, but I never found it boring.



#24
Manhunting
Jennifer Crusie

Kate Svenson may be a dynamite businesswoman—but after three failed engagements, she's decided she's hopeless at romance. What she needs is a Business Plan to help her find Mr. Right. The Cabins resort is ripe with eligible bachelors, all rich and ambitious—just her type. But they're dropping like flies, and after fishing Kate's latest reject out of the swimming pool Jake Templeton is convinced that Kate is nothing but trouble. Especially for him. A man who's sworn off ambition and a woman hanging from the top of the corporate ladder don't have much in common. But in that unpredictable territory known as the heart, anything can happen…

I really needed a lighter read after the last book. This was just that. It was typical Jennifer Crusie. Funny, shallow, predictable.... But I love fluff books like this so I enjoyed it.

 

[nemofans]

I am the same way. I need to read a whole series back to back b/c I love being fully immersed in the story. I read the Harry Potter series this way & LOVED it! If I can't, then once I am able to get my hands on the next book, I forget what happened to that point b/c I have read other books & usually find I don't enjoy it as much. I am currently reading the Mortal Instruments books (waiting to get book #5) & I just found out that there will be a book 6 next summer. I thought the series was done, but now I will have forgotten the whole storyline by then & most likely won't enjoy the final book. I read the 2 Divergent books months ago & really liked that series. The 3rd book just came out & I find that I am not drawn into it as much.
So I now I wait to see if the whole series is done b4 I begin to read it, even if it means waiting a while.

 

[jenny105]

That's one thing I don't like about series. You think it's over and then the author decides to write another one! This happened to me with both the Maze Runner and Pretty Little Liars. I wish Sara Shepard would just stop!