ANNUAL READING GOAL CHALLENGE for 2015!

6/65: The Year We Met by Cecilia Ahern

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A thoughtful, captivating and ultimately uplifting novel from this uniquely talented author

Jasmine know two things: one, she loves her vulnerable sister unconditionally, and will fight to the death to protect her from anyone who upsets her. Two, she's only ever been good at one thing – her job helping business start-ups.

So when she’s sacked and put on gardening leave, Jasmine realises that she has nothing else to fill her life. Insomnia keeps her staring out of her bedroom window, and she finds herself watching the antics of her neighbour, shock jock Matt, with more than a casual eye. Matt is also taking a forced leave of absence from work, after one of his controversial chat shows went too far…

Jasmine has every reason to dislike Matt, and the feeling appears to be mutual. But not everything is as it seems, and soon Jasmine and Matt are forced to think again
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I enjoyed this one and gave it a 4/5


I am now reading "The Good Girl" by Mary Kubica. Second thriller of the year for me. Pretty good for someone who generally does not read thrillers. I am enjoying it so far.
 
Book 13 The Husbands Secret By Liane Moriarty - this was good, a quick read like her other books. I love her writing style but I liked Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot better.

Currently I'm reading Undaunted by Christine Caine. She came and spoke at our Bible study on Tuesday and I really enjoyed listening to her speak so I bought one of her books on the way out. So far I'm enjoying it.

I have some books on order from Amazon that will hopefully come next week but they are diabetes/health related so I'm hoping to get in one or two more "fun" books before they arrive and I dig into those.
 
Book 4/50: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

I really enjoyed this book--a real page turner in the "suspense/thriller" genre.

Rachel rides the train everyday into London and as she gazes out the window she sees the same couple outside everyday and imagines a romantic lifestyle for them.

One day, Rachel sees something strange, another man, and then suddenly she no longer sees the couple.

She investigates only to stumble into a murder, domestic abuse and the surprise (to the reader) of how Rachel is linked with all of it.

Next up: The Boston Girl by Anita Diamante (author of one of my all time favorite books, The Red Tent).
 
8. Fade Away by Harlan Coben
From Goodreads: The home was top-notch New Jersey suburban. The living room was Martha Stewart. The basement was Legos and blood. For sports agent Myron Bolitar, the disappearance of a man he'd once competed against was bringing back memories of the sport he and Greg Downing had both played and the woman they both loved. Now, among the stars, the wanna-bes, the gamblers and groupies, Myron is unraveling the strange, violent life of a sports hero gone wrong, and coming face-to-face with a past he can't relive, and a present he may not survive.

This is a good continuation of the Myron Bolitar series. If you like sports mixed with mystery you will like it.

9. Seconds Away by Harlan Coben
From Goodreads: When tragedy strikes close to home, Mickey and his loyal new friends—sharp-witted Ema and the adorkably charming Spoon—find themselves at the center of a terrifying mystery involving the shooting of their classmate Rachel. Now, not only does Mickey need to keep himself and his friends safe from the Butcher of Lodz, but he needs to figure out who shot Rachel—no matter what it takes.

This is the second of the Mickey Bolitar YA series. There was a lot of action and Uncle Myron played more of a part this time. This book tied closely with the first so it would be best to read the first one before this one.

Now I am flitting back and forth between about 4 books. Almost finished with another Blake Crouch which is not part of his Wayward Pines series.
 

8. Fade Away by Harlan Coben
From Goodreads: The home was top-notch New Jersey suburban. The living room was Martha Stewart. The basement was Legos and blood. For sports agent Myron Bolitar, the disappearance of a man he'd once competed against was bringing back memories of the sport he and Greg Downing had both played and the woman they both loved. Now, among the stars, the wanna-bes, the gamblers and groupies, Myron is unraveling the strange, violent life of a sports hero gone wrong, and coming face-to-face with a past he can't relive, and a present he may not survive.

This is a good continuation of the Myron Bolitar series. If you like sports mixed with mystery you will like it.

9. Seconds Away by Harlan Coben
From Goodreads: When tragedy strikes close to home, Mickey and his loyal new friends—sharp-witted Ema and the adorkably charming Spoon—find themselves at the center of a terrifying mystery involving the shooting of their classmate Rachel. Now, not only does Mickey need to keep himself and his friends safe from the Butcher of Lodz, but he needs to figure out who shot Rachel—no matter what it takes.

This is the second of the Mickey Bolitar YA series. There was a lot of action and Uncle Myron played more of a part this time. This book tied closely with the first so it would be best to read the first one before this one.

Now I am flitting back and forth between about 4 books. Almost finished with another Blake Crouch which is not part of his Wayward Pines series.

I love Harlan Coben and I've read most of what he's written except for his YA series, I haven't had a chance to try those yet. He has a new book coming out this spring I think.
 
Book 4/50: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

I really enjoyed this book--a real page turner in the "suspense/thriller" genre.

Rachel rides the train everyday into London and as she gazes out the window she sees the same couple outside everyday and imagines a romantic lifestyle for them.

One day, Rachel sees something strange, another man, and then suddenly she no longer sees the couple.

She investigates only to stumble into a murder, domestic abuse and the surprise (to the reader) of how Rachel is linked with all of it.

Added this one to my library list. I'm #452. And I've moved in to the 300s for All The Light We Cannot See. I'm #334. Woohoo!

I'm reading The Girl You Left Behind now. Only on Chapter 3 but I like it so far. I'm also waiting on 2 more JoJo Moyes at the library too. (One Plus One and The Last Letter from Your Lover).
 
Added this one to my library list. I'm #452. And I've moved in to the 300s for All The Light We Cannot See. I'm #334. Woohoo!

I'm reading The Girl You Left Behind now. Only on Chapter 3 but I like it so far. I'm also waiting on 2 more JoJo Moyes at the library too. (One Plus One and The Last Letter from Your Lover).

I've run through all the JoJo Moyes books too. I really like them. I have been on hold forever for Ship of Brides, which is a limited release JoJo Moyes book that my library just happens to have on e-book.

I try to read everything on my Kindle but my library doesn't have All the Light We Cannot See, so I'm going to have to break down and do the old fashioned book thing on that one, I think, because I really want to read it.
 
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Hi all -
#4/40 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Mark Haddon. I reread this in anticipation of seeing the show currently on Broadway, but the blizzard had other plans! Luckily I was able to exchange the tickets for another date - I choose late March, hoping to be snow-proof! It's such a good story. I love the insight into the way the boy thinks - it really helps you understand the struggle that goes on in a mind that's wired differently. I can't wait to see how they handle the thought process in the show.

Next up, One Plus One by Jojo Moyes.
 
Book 8/100 was Court of Traitors by V.E. Lynne. From Goodreads:

Anne Boleyn is dead and the faction that surrounded her utterly destroyed. In the wake of her mistress's execution, former maid of honour Bridget Manning has left the dangerous world of the court, determined never to return. But Henry VIII has other plans for her. He issues a royal summons and Bridget is in no position to refuse him. Once more she finds herself drawn into the orbit of the Tudor court where she must navigate a new but equally tumultuous landscape: the Pilgrimage of Grace has recently threatened the stability of the throne; Jane Seymour has become queen but will not long enjoy the honour and the king finally has his yearned for son and heir. Once the prince is born though his father's paranoia is given full rein and there is nothing he won't do to protect his inheritance from the court of traitors that threatens to swallow them all.
 
Love Jojo Moyes! My new favorite author from 2014. :goodvibes

Me too. I got an iPad mini recently and have been borrowing ebooks from the library. I've read Me Before You and One Plus One. I'm reading the Girl You Left Behind but it's not keeping my interest as much as the other two.

I'm on book 7 for the year. I'm not sure if I read 7 books for pleasure in the last decade.

I've also read three Liane Moriarty books which were great and Orphan Train.
 
Me too. I got an iPad mini recently and have been borrowing ebooks from the library. I've read Me Before You and One Plus One. I'm reading the Girl You Left Behind but it's not keeping my interest as much as the other two.

I'm on book 7 for the year. I'm not sure if I read 7 books for pleasure in the last decade.

I've also read three Liane Moriarty books which were great and Orphan Train.

JoJo Moyes and Liane Moriarty are my two favorite discoveries in the past year. I really liked Orphan Train, too!
 
A sad note tonight - the wonderful Colleen McCullough, author of The Thornbirds, has passed away. I'm sure I'm not alone in loving her work. Many thanks to her for many wonderful hours spent in the worlds she created. Rest in peace.
 
I started a little late but I finally finished my first book.

1 out of 30

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

From Goodreads:

And Then There Were None

The World's Bestselling Mystery

"Ten . . ."
Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious "U. N. Owen."

"Nine . . ."
At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead.

"Eight . . ."
Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . as one by one . . . they begin to die.

"Seven . . ."
Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?


It's Agatha Christie, what can I say?

Five Stars!
 
Finished another one. I had 2 on the go this week and this one was hard to put down.

#7/65

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

From Goodreads:

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"I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will."

Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia Dennett moves against the grain as a young inner-city art teacher. One night, Mia enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. With his smooth moves and modest wit, at first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.

Colin's job was to abduct Mia as part of a wild extortion plot and deliver her to his employers. But the plan takes an unexpected turn when Colin suddenly decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota, evading the police and his deadly superiors. Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them, but no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.

An addictively suspenseful and tautly written thriller, The Good Girl is a compulsive debut that reveals how even in the perfect family, nothing is as it seems….

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Wow! great thriller! I could not put it down. I kept thinking I would stop at the end of chapters and then keep continuing. Lol. This book as a surprising twist that I did not see coming at all. I give it a 5/5.


Next up is First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen who is one of my favourite authors so I am looking forward to it.
 
I am getting a late start so I am going with a goal of 12 books this year. I really need some suggestions for some good quick reads!
 
VILLAGE SCHOOL
VILLAGE DIARY
Two short quick reads, gentle stories about a country village and it's school, set in an idyllic past that probably never existed but a gentle read
SIDE JOBS a collection of short stories about Harry Dresden. A fun urban fantasy
 
Goal: 30 books this year.

#5 - A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry. Caroline Fielding and her much younger actor husband Joshua, along with Joshua's acting troup, are spending Christmas in Whitby, the fishing village where Bram Stoker's Dracula first touches English soil. Joshua has arranged to stage a production of an adaptation of Dracula, written by the daughter of a wealthy benefactor of the acting group. The arrival of a blizzard and a mysterious stranger bring a brooding evil to the surface and instead of theatrical triumph, there is murder - shocking and terrifying.

#6 - A Christmas Garland by Anne Perry. Young lieutenant Victor Narraway is chosen to defend a medical corpsman against the charges that he aided and abetted the getaway of an Indian spy being held by the British army after the siege of Cawnporn. John Tallis is arrested simply because he is only soldier who can't account for his presence at the time of the getaway. Although not encouraged to try very hard to prove Tallis innocent, Narraway's own stubborn faith in justice inspires him to determine the truth despite overwhelming odds.

Anne Perry writes a novella every Christmas and it's my open-on-Christmas-eve gift every year. This year I was treated to two stories (in the same book) and as usual, Perry comes through with flying colors.

Queen Colleen
 
Well I just read my first 5 star book, after reading 5 in a row that were mediocre. This was Sheila Roberts' "The Cottage on Juniper Ridge". Maybe not 5 star for everyone-I admit it was a very simple, predictable romance. However, any book that ends with me smiling and getting tears in my eyes, thinking "Awww!" deserves 5 stars from me. Anyone enjoy any of her other books? I'm sure going to look for more by her now. If you like Debbie Macomber and Sherryl Woods, I predict you'll like her.
 
Just finished I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends by Courtney Robertson. I've never watched an episode of the Bachelor in my life but I know who she is because of the tabloids. Quite the read lol.
 

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