Annual Reading Challenge 2019

[Colleen27]

#40/130 - One Second After by William R. Forstchen
#41 - One Year After
#42 - The Final Day

The first book in the trilogy was a re-read for me, and a title I didn't love the first time through. The premise is amazing, though - unlike a lot of dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction, the scenario that triggered the end of the (civilized) world is disturbingly plausible and that made the book a worthwhile read despite the fact that the characters fell a little flat and were, in some cases, rather unlikable to me. The best parts of the trilogy were, perhaps unsurprisingly when you consider that the author is a professor of military history, the parts that dealt with the science and strategy of both the EMP attacks that wiped out most of the developed world and the reactions and recovery attempts. The first two books were the strongest, I think. The third went a bit off the rails with a more cynical, less survival oriented foray into the "deep state" and power politics, which was less authentically unsettling because it just went so far into the sort of paranoid stuff you encounter on "prepper" forums... which also probably shouldn't be that surprising, since the author now makes appearances at prepper conferences/events, but felt like a departure from the very realistically troubling scenarios presented in the first two books.

 

[Swimnoid]

27. Dog Gone Back Soon by Nick Trout
A veterinarian moves back home to take over his dad's practice. He must battle a corporate vet practice trying to take over his practice. The main character is funny and awkward...a fun book

28. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
True story of the author's participation in an archeology exhibition in Honduras. Kind of dry but fascinating.

29. Detective Cross by James Patterson
Book shot story of Alex Cross and his wife, Bree as they try to find a bomber loose in DC

30. The Wishing Thread by Lisa Van Allen
Three sisters reunite after the death of their aunt. All have problems they must face and gather strength from their sisters.

31. Without Warning by David Rosenfelt
Chief of Police, jake Robbins, must discover who is on a murder spree, especially since all the evidence points to him!

32. Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan by Bill O'Reilly
An intricate account of the American/Japanese conflict of WWII. I learned a lot.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Have you read The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington? It is an alternate history imagining that Washington is captured and brought to England to stand trial for treason.

I will check to see if library system has.

 

[Kirby]

#38/130 - The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri

This book is what chick-lit should be, in my opinion. Beautifully written, with the kind of detail that makes the setting - a small Gaelic-speaking town on the Atlantic coast of Ireland - almost a character in and of itself, and with a touch of Irish magic woven throughout. Although the main character does have a love interest, the focus of the book was the relationships between the women of the lace-making circle and how the arrival of an outsider changes and challenges long-established patterns. The characters were well written and very real, with their own flaws and insecurities and depth that supporting characters can sometimes lack, and the whole story was uplifting and just kind of left me with a smile on my face.

I read this book a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.

12/50 - Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Genre - Historical
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge - until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility's cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiance, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals - in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country - Lisa Wingate's riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

My book club's choice for this month. I would score it a 5 out of 5. Orphans were considered useless back then and while horrible things happened to some of the children that were taken by the organization mentioned, it did help pave the way and changed the thought process to adoptions were a good thing. Too bad that it couldn't have been achieved another way.

 

[rigs32]

30. A book about a hobby – What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman

31. A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book - The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

32. Last Vampire 1 by Christopher Pike

33. A book featuring an amateur detective – The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

34. Last Vampire 2: Black Blood by Christopher Pike

35. A Killer in the Family by Amanda Howard

36. The New Girl by R.L. Stine

 

[scrhsa]

#8 of 15

My Antonia by Willa Cather
“My Ántonia” evokes the Nebraska prairie life of Willa Cather’s childhood, and commemorates the spirit and courage of immigrant pioneers in America. One of Cather’s earliest novels, written in 1918, it is the story of Ántonia Shimerda, who arrives on the Nebraska frontier as part of a family of Bohemian emigrants. Her story is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a neighbor who will befriend Ántonia, teach her English, and follow the remarkable story of her life. Working in the fields of waving grass and tall corn that dot the Great Plains, Ántonia forges the durable spirit that will carry her through the challenges she faces when she moves to the city. But only when she returns to the prairie does she recover her strength and regain a sense of purpose in life. In the quiet, probing depth of Willa Cather’s art, Ántonia’s story becomes a mobbing elegy to those whose persistence and strength helped build the American frontier

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. This was a challenge within a challenge for me. Read a classic I haven't read before. I was expecting it to be boring and difficult to slog through. I really enjoyed it! What was fun about it was the Bohemians in it. I come from a Czech back ground and I could see personality traits in a lot of family members

 

[bobbiwoz]

26/75. Another fan of Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri

I am happy for those who recommended this book about friendship!

 

[Tiggerish]

Tweak by Nic Sheff. Autobiography of a recovering crystal meth and heroin (or anything available) addict. This was a recommendation by Colleen27 and the companion book to his father's book, Beautiful Boy. I read the father's book first then this and that is what I would recommend.

I agree with Colleen27 that this is a hard read because the author is brutally honest about how all consuming his desire to get high was. The book was written in 2008 so I googled the author and discovered that as of the fall of 2018 he was still clean and sober. I was struck by the fact that Nic struggled with the concept of there being a "Higher Power". His inability to believe in God was actually a barrier to getting clean.

37 of 104

 

[willowsnn3]

#22/50 The Fix by David Baldacci
Amos Decker witnesses a murder just outside FBI headquarters. A man shoots a woman execution style on a crowded sidewalk, then turns the gun on himself.
Even with Decker's extraordinary powers of observation and deduction, the killing is baffling. Decker and his team can find absolutely no connection between the shooter - a family man with a successful consulting business - and his victim, a schoolteacher. Nor is there a hint of any possible motive for the attack.
Enter Harper Brown. An agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency, she orders Decker to back off the case. The murder is part of an open DIA investigation, one so classified that Decker and his team aren't cleared for it.
But they learn that the DIA believes solving the murder is now a matter of urgent national security. Critical information may have been leaked to a hostile government - or, worse, an international terrorist group - and an attack may be imminent.

This was the third in the Amos Decker series. While I really enjoyed the first two, this one was very long & drawn out. Kept hoping it would get better & was glad when I finished it.

 

[virge]

15/50 Educated by Tara Westover This memoir was the February selection for my book club, but the copy I had on hold at the library didn’t come up until recently. I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t like it as much as Hillbilly Elegy or The Glass Castle. My view may have been tainted by listening to the book club discussion before reading it.

16/50 Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming Twenty-something adults from Brooklyn try to survive the zombie apocalypse. Interesting take where the characters make fairly smart/realistic decisions. It helps that the main character was raised by “preppers”. There are 2 more books & 1 novella in the series. I’ll keep reading.

 

[Kirby]

13/50 - The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore. Genre - Young Adult Fantasy
The sixth book in the thrilling, action-packed, New York Times best-selling I Am Number Four series.

For years the Garde have fought the Mogadorians in secret. Now all of that has changed. The invasion has begun. If the Garde can't find a way to stop the Mogs, humanity will suffer the same fate as the Lorien: annihilation.

There is still hope. When the Elders sent the Garde to Earth, they had a plan - one the Garde are finally starting to understand. In the climax of The Revenge of Seven, a group of the Garde traveled to an ancient pyramid in Mexico known to their people as the Sanctuary. There they awoke a power that had been hidden within our planet for generations. Now this power can save the world...or destroy it. It will all depend on who wields it.

 

[tazdev3225]

I have been busy reading but not updating. The list is long

22/60 Point of Light by John Ellsworth
WWII Historical fiction set in Paris.

23/60 First Degree Murder by Christy Barritt
24/60 Attempt to Locate by Christy Barritt
25/60 On the Lookout by Christy Barritt

More books in the Lantern Beach series

26/60 A Curve in the Road by Julianne Maclean
Set in Nova Scotia a doctor has a horrible accident with a drunk driver. It turns her world upside down. Very good book.

27/60 The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen
28/60 Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen

Two excellent books and well worth reading.

29/60 A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni
30/60 Close to Home by Robert Dugoni
31/60 The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni
32/60 In the Clearing by Robert Dugoni
33/60 The Conviction by Robert Dugoni
Tracy Crosswhite and David Sloan series of books.

34/60 Beantown Girls by Jane Healey
Three friends volunteer for the Red Cross as Clubmobile Girls during WWII.

35/60 Jacobite: The Early Years by Jon Parker
36/60 Jacobite: Book 2
37/60 Jacobite: Book 3
I was actually looking for something more along the lines of history when I stumbled on these books. More along the lines of historical fiction leading up to the Jacobite Rebellion, the rebellion and the aftermath. They were very good though if you like Scottish history and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

38/60 Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
39/60 Drums of Autumn
40/60 The Fiery Cross
Back to the Outlander series again. I still pick up things I have missed each time I read them.

I am on pace to read more books than I planned yet again, especially with several of my favorite authors releasing new books this year.

 

[Disney_Alli]

10 of 50: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton - Julia Quinn. Probably my favorite of the series. Now 1/2 way through the 8 Bridgerton children.

 

[sjrec]

Thank you everyone for all your recommendations!

9/50 The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear. The latest installment in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series.

10/50 Aftermath by Rhidian Brook. Set in Berlin right after the war, a British intelligence officer and his family share a house with the German owner and his daughter.

11/50 Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. An elegant novel about two couples and their friendship over the years. Loved this.

12/50 A Step So Grave by Catronia McPherson. Another historical mystery set in 1930s Scotland. Think P.G. Wodehouse and Nancy Mitford. Fun read.

These are all non-fiction:

13/50 Murder by the Book: The Crime that Shocked Dicken’s London by Clare Harman

14/50 The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

15/50 Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson

16/50 A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester

 

[Colleen27]

#43/130 - We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff

Another title in the vein of Beautiful Boy and Tweak. I guess I'm a bit of a masochist, but when I saw Sheff had a newer title out I had to read it. This one was lighter, somehow, than Tweak, even though it still dealt with the same heavy subject matter of addiction and relapse and recovery, perhaps because he didn't sink quite as low and because the trajectory of his journey was so markedly positive even though there were still down times. Much of the book takes place during the time he was writing Tweak and the subsequent book tour, and it was really interesting to read about how he operated as a functional addict, sticking to pot and avoiding hard drugs but not really getting clean, while he was speaking about his sobriety. It was also fascinating to hear a recovering addict speak so critically of the twelve step model that dominates the American approach to rehab, because that is so often held up as the ONLY way to successful recovery, and to follow along as he made his peace with the advantages and limitations of that view.

#44 - The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran
#45 - That Scandalous Summer
#46 - Your Wicked Heart

One of my long-established reading habits is to take "breaks" for fluff fiction when I'm reading a particularly intense or dense non-fiction title, and I found an author that perfectly fits that bill with a number of titles available through Scribd. All three of these are regency romances, and Duran has a knack for writing unconventional but not unbelievable heroines who push against the norms of the era without being written as though a modern woman were dropped a century and a half in the past, which makes the storytelling quite fun. Romance novels are seldom particularly memorable for me and these are no exception to that, but they were very enjoyable for a few hours of pre-bedtime escapism.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Thank you everyone for all your recommendations!

9/50 The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear. The latest installment in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series.

10/50 Aftermath by Rhidian Brook. Set in Berlin right after the war, a British intelligence officer and his family share a house with the German owner and his daughter.

11/50 Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. An elegant novel about two couples and their friendship over the years. Loved this.

12/50 A Step So Grave by Catronia McPherson. Another historical mystery set in 1930s Scotland. Think P.G. Wodehouse and Nancy Mitford. Fun read.

These are all non-fiction:

13/50 Murder by the Book: The Crime that Shocked Dicken’s London by Clare Harman

14/50 The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

15/50 Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson

16/50 A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester

How was the Maisie Dobbs? I have that in my queue.

 

[sjrec]

How was the Maisie Dobbs? I have that in my queue.

I liked it very much. Have you read her stand alone novel The Care and Management of Lies? I really enjoyed that one.

 

[Heatherhy01]

#43/130 - We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff

Another title in the vein of Beautiful Boy and Tweak. I guess I'm a bit of a masochist, but when I saw Sheff had a newer title out I had to read it. This one was lighter, somehow, than Tweak, even though it still dealt with the same heavy subject matter of addiction and relapse and recovery, perhaps because he didn't sink quite as low and because the trajectory of his journey was so markedly positive even though there were still down times. Much of the book takes place during the time he was writing Tweak and the subsequent book tour, and it was really interesting to read about how he operated as a functional addict, sticking to pot and avoiding hard drugs but not really getting clean, while he was speaking about his sobriety. It was also fascinating to hear a recovering addict speak so critically of the twelve step model that dominates the American approach to rehab, because that is so often held up as the ONLY way to successful recovery, and to follow along as he made his peace with the advantages and limitations of that view.

#44 - The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran
#45 - That Scandalous Summer
#46 - Your Wicked Heart

One of my long-established reading habits is to take "breaks" for fluff fiction when I'm reading a particularly intense or dense non-fiction title, and I found an author that perfectly fits that bill with a number of titles available through Scribd. All three of these are regency romances, and Duran has a knack for writing unconventional but not unbelievable heroines who push against the norms of the era without being written as though a modern woman were dropped a century and a half in the past, which makes the storytelling quite fun. Romance novels are seldom particularly memorable for me and these are no exception to that, but they were very enjoyable for a few hours of pre-bedtime escapism.

Have you seen the movie, Beautiful Boy, based off of both books? It is on Amazon Prime...Very good!

 

[Colleen27]

Have you seen the movie, Beautiful Boy, based off of both books? It is on Amazon Prime...Very good!

I haven't yet. For as much as I read, I find I have serious attention span issues for TV/movies at home so I have a to-watch list a mile long and almost never get to any of it. I wanted to read the book first, and then got sidetracked by the return of American Gods and now Game of Thrones.

 

[tiggrbaby]

I liked it very much. Have you read her stand alone novel The Care and Management of Lies? I really enjoyed that one.

Yes! It was a wonderful book!