Annual Reading Challenge 2019

[mmouse37]

Whew...haven't posted since March...not going to give a synopsis for each but will just list them.

8/30 - Thin Air by Lisa Gray
9/30 - The Stone Diaries by Carol Sheilds
10/30 - There was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron
11/30 - The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons (I really like this book....very long, sweeping epic love story)
12/30 - Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn
13/30 - Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn - Enjoyed both of these books
14/30 - The Caretakers's Wife by Vincent Zandri
15/30 - Wholly Unraveled by Keele Burgin
16/30 - The Viking's Woman by Heather Graham
17/30 - Salem's Burning by Daniel Sugar
18/30 - That Darkness by Lisa Black
19/30 - Shelter by Jung Yun
20/30 - Rotten Little Things by Justin M. Woodward
21/30 - Tamer Animals by Justin M. Woodward
22/30 - The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillian
23/30 - The One Man by Andrew Gross - This was a really great read. A page turner about a man who sneaks into Auschwitz to extract a professor who has knowledge of how to built an atomic bomb.
24/30 - The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger
25/30 - Flat Lake in Winter by Joseph T. Klempner

I have to start writing down whenever I finish a book and date it. I read all the above and had to look back on my Kindle app to see what I read and try to remember when I read them.

MJ

 

[virge]

43/50 Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
A short story collection by Neil Gaiman. Some stories were better than others, but I love Neil Gaiman, so I enjoyed them all. I’m sure I will come back to this book again.

 

[tiggrbaby]

43/50 Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
A short story collection by Neil Gaiman. Some stories were better than others, but I love Neil Gaiman, so I enjoyed them all. I’m sure I will come back to this book again.

Just put a hold on this!

 

[Kirby]

28/50 - No Ordinary Life by Suzanne Redfearn. Genre - Mystery (I don't agree with this genre but that's what Fantastic Fiction has it down as).
Suzanne Redfearn delivers another gripping page-turner in her latest novel, a story about a young mother's fight to protect her children from the dangerous world of Hollywood.

Faye Martin never expected her husband to abandon her and their three children . . . or that she'd have to struggle every day to make ends meet. So when her four-year-old daughter is discovered through a YouTube video and offered a starring role on a television series, it seems like her prayers have been answered. But when the reality of their new life settles in, Faye realizes that fame and fortune don't come without a price. In a world where everyone is an actor and every move is scrutinized by millions, it's impossible to know whom to trust, and Faye finds herself utterly alone in her struggle to save her family.

Emotionally riveting and insightful, NO ORDINARY LIFE is an unforgettable novel about the preciousness of childhood and the difficult choices a mother needs to make in order to protect this fragile time in her children's lives.

 

[KevM]

It’s the end of another month, so time for my round up of books read. July was actually a bust month with doing other things, so I actually only ended up reading one book, bringing my total for the year to 37. Without further ado, my one book in July was:





37) The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist by Marcus Rediker - Biography. Lay lived in England, Barbados, and Pennsylvania (Abington) from 1682 - 1759 and as the title says he was an early voice in the abolitionist movement.He was known for making dramatic protests against Slave owners, especially Quakers. Those protest would include putting a bladder filled with beer juice into a hollowed out Bible and then when he was speaking against slavery he would find a slave owner in the crowd take a knife, plunge it into the Bible and spray the slave owner with “the blood of Christ.” But besides that he was also an early feminist, vegetarian, and railed against multiple social institutions. He printed one book, attacking slavery and everyone that owned slaves, and hundreds of pamphlets attacking everything from prisons, to capital punishment, to the wealthy (particularly wealthy Quakers in Pennsylvania). He was truly a fascinating man who should be much more well known. 4.5/5.

 

[bobbiwoz]

46/75 Clock Dance by Anne Tyler

It had been mentioned here, and I thought it was enjoyable. It’s a look at a woman at different points of her life. It seems at the end, she finally finds a place she is comfortable with!

 

[willowsnn3]

39/50
WiZrD by Steve Zell
Fourteen-year-old Bryce Willems, whose family has just arrived from New York, is beginning to appreciate the unfamiliar charms of his new home. But gradually it becomes apparent that something about the town is very strange.

As he and stepsister Megan discover the terrible secret of the nearby Wizard mine, they are caught up in a clash of ancient, vengeful powers that cannot rest until a deadly wheel of destiny is set in motion once again.

I don't know....this was very good in places & disjointed in others. So, just ok in my opinion.

 

[Disney_Alli]

32/50 Behind the Lines: The Corps Book VII

I love this one because it really goes into the guerrilla operation in the Philippines under "General" Fertig in WWII which is a fictionalized version of real events and is a very unknown story from that war.

 

[bobbiwoz]

47/75 A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen

A lighter mystery takes place in England pre WWII.

 

[virge]

44/50 On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

“Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons... On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.”

While not a sequel to The Hate U Give, this novel has the same setting and references the events from it. I really liked this book. It made me look at the art of rapping differently and do some serious thinking.

 

[Tiggerish]

Along the Broken Bay by Flora J. Solomon. Historical fiction. This story was based on what happened to Americans trapped in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded and drove out MacArthur and the American army. Although a fictionalized account, it was fascinating reading about how the native Filipinos, non-Americans and the Americans in hiding worked together to survive. I am not very familiar with WWII in the Japanese theater so I did have to google some of the references to fill-in the story.

68 of 104

 

[willowsnn3]

#40/50
The Good Children by Kate Wilhelm
When they move to a new home in Oregon, the McNair family know they're where they belong. But when tragedy strikes the family, the children face the prospect of being separated by the state. Rather than being sent to different foster homes, the four children decide to lie. And it's a big lie. The sort of deceit that can hold a family together or tear it apart . . .

Really liked this one, would recommend.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Update time again! For some reason, every book I read this month is 4 stars. But that will definitely change with the one I'm reading now.

#29-"The Best Doggone Bakery" by Ellen Gilman-kind of cute, a must for dog lovers

#30-"The View from Alameda Island by Robyn Carr-kind of typical Robyn Carr book

#31-"The Secret Orphan-historical fiction from WWII

#32-"Chateau of Secrets" by Melanie Dobson-set in two different eras, WWII and present day-actually I liked this a little better than 4 stars, but not so great as to be 5.

#33-"Laughing at My Nightmare" by Shane Burrow-young adult autobiography by someone in a wheelchair. Kind of juvenile humor in spots, but well-tied together at the end.

Hope I got the numbers right!

 

[OKW8297]

24. The Beach House by Mary Alice Munroe. Overall enjoyable. Dragged near the end. Certainly gives you an appreciation for low country, South Carolina

 

[Kirby]

29/50 - His Guilt by Shelley Shepherd Gray. Genre - Inspirational
Mark Fisher has returned home to Hart County, determined to put the past behind him. Two years ago, after being wrongly accused of assault, he left the Amish community, though never forgot his home. When the one person who had helped him through his rough times asks for help, Mark returns. But it is pretty Waneta Cain who makes him want to stay...

Neeta is one of the few people in Hart County who doesn't believe Mark is guilty of hurting anyone. However, his worldliness and tough exterior do make her uneasy. As she begins to see the real man behind all the gossip and prejudice, she wonders if he is the man for her.

Just when Mark starts to believe a new life is possible, a close friend of Neeta's is attacked. Once again, everyone in the community seems to believe he is guilty. But what hurts most is Neeta's sudden wariness around him. When another woman is hurt, a woman who is close to both Neeta and himself, Mark fears he knows the real culprit. And time is running out. Will Mark be able to find him before Neeta becomes his next victim?

 

[Disney_Alli]

33/50 - The Texan - Joan Johnston. My holds came through and I raced through this one in a day.

 

[Disney_Alli]

34/50 - The Loaner - Joan Johnston. Man I’d forgotten so much about this book and then I’d remember just before it was revealed.

 

[tiggrbaby]

July:

#41/90: Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow (5/5) (historical fiction)
Sheilah Graham is a rising star in 1937 Hollywood, hiding her true past. She encounters the struggling F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the two begin a relationship that would endure until his death.

#42/90: The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose (4.5/5) (fiction)
Based on actual performance art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2010, this tells the story of several fictional people whose lives were impacted by their interactions during the installation.

#43/90: A Merciful Promise (Mercy Kilpatrick # 6) by Kendra Elliot (4/5) (suspense)
Mercy must help the AFT by infiltrating a group suspected of stockpiling stolen guns, but there is a catch. She cannot let anyone, including her fiancé, know where she is or what she is doing.
This is the last book in the series.

#44/90: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (5/5) ( historical fiction)
A story of the heartbreak and resilience of four generations of a Korean family who end up settling in Japan.

#45/90: The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (4.5/5) (nonfiction)
Historical account that reads like a thriller.

#46/90: The Gods of Newport by John Jakes (3/5) (romantic historical fiction)
During the Gilded Age, a “robber baron” infiltrates the world of the rich and mighty in Newport to find his daughter a place in society, and hopefully a husband. But he must keep her from the poor local that she loves.
More romance than historical fiction for my taste.

#47/90: Daughter of Moloka’I by Alan Brennert (4/5) (historical fiction/Japanese internment camps)
A young girl left in an orphanage on the island of Oahu is adopted by a Japanese family. When they move to California. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, they are forced to give up their home and business and live in camps as enemy of the US.
Apparently this is a sequel, but I think it worked without reading the first book.

#48/90: Clock Dance by Anne Tyler (4/5) (realistic fiction)
Moving from time periods, covering Willa’s unstable childhood, impetuous decision to marry, and sudden widowhood, we end up with Willa taking a phone call to come and care for the daughter of her older son’s ex-girlfriend. Second husband in tow, Willa heads to Baltimore and finds herself caring for the little girl.
Was a quick read.

#49/90: The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict (4/5) (historical fiction)
Told in first person narrative, it covers Hedy Lamarr’s early adulthood in Austria through her attempt to help the US government with a wartime invention.

#50/90: The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce # 10) by Alan Bradley (4/5) (mystery)
Twelve year old Flavia has teamed up with Dogger to open an agency. Their very first case ends up with a dead client. Surprisingly, Undine becomes a help rather than a hindrance.

#51/90: The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (Illustrated by Chris Riddell) (4/5) (YA)
This short and beautifully illustrated book is a delightful twist on traditional fairy tales!

#52/90: A Dangerous Talent (Alix London #1) by Charlotte and Aaron Elkins (3.5/5) (mystery)
The daughter of a convicted art forger tries to make her living as an art consultant and becomes embroiled in deceit and murder.
This was a choice for the Kindle owners’ lending library.

#53/90: A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler (4.5/5) (biographical fiction)
Tells the tale of Alva Smith’s rise from a poor but connected family to the cream of society in her marriage to a Vanderbilt grandson.
Good one to read after The Gods of Newport.

 

[bobbiwoz]

48/75 Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen

The book cover describes the series as “A perfect fix between Downton Abbey addicts.” Maybe that’s it, I just put a hold on the next book!

 

[willowsnn3]

#41/50
Run Away by Harlan Coben
You've lost your daughter.
She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.
Then, quite by chance, you see her busking in New York's Central Park.
But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is wasted, frightened and clearly in trouble.
You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.
She runs.
And you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Where criminal gangs rule, where drugs are the main currency, and murder is commonplace.
Now it's your life on the line. And nowhere and no one is safe.

I usually like Harlan Coben's books and this one was ok but characters just didn't seem to have any depth to them. Story line was good but as said before all the characters were shallow & under developed.