willowsnn3
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Goal 72
#65 That Night by Chevy Stevens
#65 That Night by Chevy Stevens
ANNUAL READING GOAL CHALLENGE for 2015!
- Thread starter threeboysmom
- Start date
Cogswel_Cogs
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Live in NY, will have to check it out. Was really glad teacher picked book for class, she had read some other really dreadful books in the class, don't know how this one squeezed in.
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Swimnoid
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 28, 2003
- Messages
- 3,074
81. Cast Into Doubt by Patricia Mcdonald
From Goodreads: A gripping novel of domestic suspense - Shelby Sloan, a successful Philadelphia businesswoman in her early forties, has one child, a daughter whom she raised on her own. She gives her daughter, Chloe, and son-in-law, Rob, a Caribbean cruise as a gift, while she takes the opportunity to mind her four-year-old grandson. But life becomes a nightmare when Rob calls to tell her that Chloe has disappeared overboard. The police decide it was an accident, but Shelby refuses to accept the official verdict .
Good suspense!
82. The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark
From Goodreads: Television producer Laurie Moran is delighted when the pilot for her reality drama, Under Suspicion, is a success. Even more, the program - a cold case series that revisits unsolved crimes by recreating them with those affected - is off to a fantastic start when it helps solve an infamous murder in the very first episode.
Now Laurie has the ideal case to feature in the next episode of Under Suspicion: the Cinderella Murder. When Susan Dempsey, a beautiful and multi-talented UCLA student, was found dead, her murder raised numerous questions. Why was her car parked miles from her body? Had she ever shown up for the acting audition she was due to attend at the home of an up-and-coming director? Why does Susan's boyfriend want to avoid questions about their relationship? Was her disappearance connected to a controversial church that was active on campus? Was she close to her computer science professor because of her technological brilliance, or something more? And why was Susan missing one of her shoes when her body was discovered?
It was ok, some good suspense, more towards the end. Mostly just plodded along.
83. Casting About by Terri DuLong
From Goodreads: In the four years since Monica Brooks moved to Cedar Key, she's found a home, a husband, and now a business to love. Taking over her mother's bustling knitting shop is a welcome challenge, but Monica's exciting plans are waylaid by unexpected news. Her husband's ex-wife has been deemed an unfit mother, and custody of their eight-year-old daughter, Clarissa, is to be transferred to Adam.
Going straight from honeymoon to motherhood--especially when she's unsure she wants children--leaves the normally even-keeled Monica doubting herself at every turn. Yet in a place like Cedar Key, nobody goes it alone. With help from friends and relatives, Monica, Clarissa, and Adam begin to forge a close-knit family of their own--one that will need to be strong enough to withstand all the surprises set to unravel.
Fairly interesting family drama.
84. The Final Note by Kevin Alan Milne
From Goodreads: Ethan met and fell in love with Anna while studying music abroad in college. He married her, and fully expected to grow old with her. After all, they were young, life was good, and faith in each other came easily, as evidenced by the Love Notes Anna periodically left between the strings of his guitar.
On their wedding day, Ethan promised to love, honor, and cherish his wife...and to write a song for her. Fast forward to the present day. Despite his grand promises, reality has proven to be much harder than he anticipated. Instead of composing hit songs, he's working long hours to provide for his family, and still promising to finish Anna's song. His formerly hopeful spirit is almost too heavy to carry, weighed down as it is by regret.
I liked it. It was a story of what can happen to a couple over the years and how to repair lost chances.
85. Bag of Bones by Stephen King
From Goodreads: Four years after the sudden death of his wife, forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is still grieving. Unable to write, and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the western Maine summerhouse he calls Sara Laughs, Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway. There, he finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, whose vindictive purpose is to take his three-year-old granddaughter, Kyra, away from her widowed young mother, Mattie. As Mike is drawn into Mattie and Kyra's struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors. What are the forces that have been unleashed here—and what do they want of Mike Noonan?
Not your typical King horror story. I really like most of his books like this. A perfectly plausible dilemma with a little frightening spookiness thrown in.
86. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
From Goodreads: Entrenched on the same land since the early 1800s, the Howlands have, for seven generations, been pillars of their Southern community. Extraordinary family lore has been passed down to Abigail Howland, but not all of it. When shocking facts come to light about her late grandfather William’s relationship with Margaret Carmichael, a black housekeeper, the community is outraged, and quickly gathers to vent its fury on Abigail. Alone in the house the Howlands built, she is at once shaken by those who have betrayed her, and determined to punish the town that has persecuted her and her kin.
Very good, especially since it won a pulitzer in 1965 and is just as relevant today.
87. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
From Goodreads: WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
This was good; different from Gone Girl but horrifying in its own way.
From Goodreads: A gripping novel of domestic suspense - Shelby Sloan, a successful Philadelphia businesswoman in her early forties, has one child, a daughter whom she raised on her own. She gives her daughter, Chloe, and son-in-law, Rob, a Caribbean cruise as a gift, while she takes the opportunity to mind her four-year-old grandson. But life becomes a nightmare when Rob calls to tell her that Chloe has disappeared overboard. The police decide it was an accident, but Shelby refuses to accept the official verdict .
Good suspense!
82. The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark
From Goodreads: Television producer Laurie Moran is delighted when the pilot for her reality drama, Under Suspicion, is a success. Even more, the program - a cold case series that revisits unsolved crimes by recreating them with those affected - is off to a fantastic start when it helps solve an infamous murder in the very first episode.
Now Laurie has the ideal case to feature in the next episode of Under Suspicion: the Cinderella Murder. When Susan Dempsey, a beautiful and multi-talented UCLA student, was found dead, her murder raised numerous questions. Why was her car parked miles from her body? Had she ever shown up for the acting audition she was due to attend at the home of an up-and-coming director? Why does Susan's boyfriend want to avoid questions about their relationship? Was her disappearance connected to a controversial church that was active on campus? Was she close to her computer science professor because of her technological brilliance, or something more? And why was Susan missing one of her shoes when her body was discovered?
It was ok, some good suspense, more towards the end. Mostly just plodded along.
83. Casting About by Terri DuLong
From Goodreads: In the four years since Monica Brooks moved to Cedar Key, she's found a home, a husband, and now a business to love. Taking over her mother's bustling knitting shop is a welcome challenge, but Monica's exciting plans are waylaid by unexpected news. Her husband's ex-wife has been deemed an unfit mother, and custody of their eight-year-old daughter, Clarissa, is to be transferred to Adam.
Going straight from honeymoon to motherhood--especially when she's unsure she wants children--leaves the normally even-keeled Monica doubting herself at every turn. Yet in a place like Cedar Key, nobody goes it alone. With help from friends and relatives, Monica, Clarissa, and Adam begin to forge a close-knit family of their own--one that will need to be strong enough to withstand all the surprises set to unravel.
Fairly interesting family drama.
84. The Final Note by Kevin Alan Milne
From Goodreads: Ethan met and fell in love with Anna while studying music abroad in college. He married her, and fully expected to grow old with her. After all, they were young, life was good, and faith in each other came easily, as evidenced by the Love Notes Anna periodically left between the strings of his guitar.
On their wedding day, Ethan promised to love, honor, and cherish his wife...and to write a song for her. Fast forward to the present day. Despite his grand promises, reality has proven to be much harder than he anticipated. Instead of composing hit songs, he's working long hours to provide for his family, and still promising to finish Anna's song. His formerly hopeful spirit is almost too heavy to carry, weighed down as it is by regret.
I liked it. It was a story of what can happen to a couple over the years and how to repair lost chances.
85. Bag of Bones by Stephen King
From Goodreads: Four years after the sudden death of his wife, forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is still grieving. Unable to write, and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the western Maine summerhouse he calls Sara Laughs, Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway. There, he finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, whose vindictive purpose is to take his three-year-old granddaughter, Kyra, away from her widowed young mother, Mattie. As Mike is drawn into Mattie and Kyra's struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors. What are the forces that have been unleashed here—and what do they want of Mike Noonan?
Not your typical King horror story. I really like most of his books like this. A perfectly plausible dilemma with a little frightening spookiness thrown in.
86. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
From Goodreads: Entrenched on the same land since the early 1800s, the Howlands have, for seven generations, been pillars of their Southern community. Extraordinary family lore has been passed down to Abigail Howland, but not all of it. When shocking facts come to light about her late grandfather William’s relationship with Margaret Carmichael, a black housekeeper, the community is outraged, and quickly gathers to vent its fury on Abigail. Alone in the house the Howlands built, she is at once shaken by those who have betrayed her, and determined to punish the town that has persecuted her and her kin.
Very good, especially since it won a pulitzer in 1965 and is just as relevant today.
87. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
From Goodreads: WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
This was good; different from Gone Girl but horrifying in its own way.
Christine
DIS Legend
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- Aug 31, 1999
- Messages
- 32,580
#40/50: Dark Corners by Ruth Rendell: This was a decent book that promised to be kind of a creepy, psychological thriller which certainly played out that way most of the way through the book. I kept waiting for the "gotcha" twist at the end but oddly enough it had a very strange, tame ending. Not sure how I feel about the book.
#41/50: Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain: This is the second Diane Chamberlain book I've read this year and I'm enjoying her work. She has good character development and story lines.
#41/50: Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain: This is the second Diane Chamberlain book I've read this year and I'm enjoying her work. She has good character development and story lines.
threeboysmom
Living the dream - near Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2001
- Messages
- 9,428
Hmmm... sounds like a semi-blah year for reading for most of us this year.
Nobody has a "you have GOT to read this!!" type of book?
Nobody has a "you have GOT to read this!!" type of book?
Cogswel_Cogs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2005
- Messages
- 5,748
#12 The Martian
Enjoyed it. Mark gets left behind by crew on mars after Wind Storm. Would by no mean say it favorite book this year but enjoyed it.
My favorite books this year were definitely Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'anbe in my top ten favorite of all time, even though Ready Player One was pretty much pure fluff. Its just so much of was my childhood.
(As always if anyone is interested in reading any of my works gladly send kindle or gift copies (Cemetery Girl, Three Twigs for the Campfire, Written for You or Reigning).
Enjoyed it. Mark gets left behind by crew on mars after Wind Storm. Would by no mean say it favorite book this year but enjoyed it.
My favorite books this year were definitely Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'anbe in my top ten favorite of all time, even though Ready Player One was pretty much pure fluff. Its just so much of was my childhood.
(As always if anyone is interested in reading any of my works gladly send kindle or gift copies (Cemetery Girl, Three Twigs for the Campfire, Written for You or Reigning).
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Simba's Mom
everything went to "H*** in a handbasket
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
- Messages
- 36,646
#63 of #65, "Fixing to Die" by Elaine Viets. Although it was pretty enjoyable, I think I'm going to take a break from cozy mysteries for a while. I can't get over being annoyed that so often the author doesn't give the reader the one hint needed to solve the mystery until about 80-90% of the way through the book. Just curious, has anyone else taken a temporary break from a particular writing style? Did it make that style seem more enjoyable later? And I'll volunteer to compile a list of "best books of 2015". Post your favorite 3-5 books of the year, title and author, but I won't do anything until after Christmas until around January 3.
JaneBanks
Lime Cordial, delicious!
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2010
- Messages
- 2,233
13 - The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent 3/5
From Goodreads -
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendant of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.
14 - The Red Queen (The Cousin's War #3)- Phillipa Gregory - 3.5/5
From Goodreads -
Margaret Beaufort never surrenders her belief that her Lancaster house is the true ruler of England, and that she has a great destiny before her. Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and a mother at only fourteen, Margaret is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy. Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy Elizabeth of York’s daughter. As the political tides constantly move and shift, Margaret masterminds one of the greatest rebellions of all time—all the while knowing that her son has grown to manhood, recruited an army, and awaits his opportunity to win the greatest prize in all of England.
The Red Queen is a novel of conspiracy, passion, and coldhearted ambition, the story of a proud and determined woman who believes that she alone is destined, by her piety and lineage, to shape the course of history.
From Goodreads -
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendant of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.
14 - The Red Queen (The Cousin's War #3)- Phillipa Gregory - 3.5/5
From Goodreads -
Margaret Beaufort never surrenders her belief that her Lancaster house is the true ruler of England, and that she has a great destiny before her. Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and a mother at only fourteen, Margaret is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy. Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy Elizabeth of York’s daughter. As the political tides constantly move and shift, Margaret masterminds one of the greatest rebellions of all time—all the while knowing that her son has grown to manhood, recruited an army, and awaits his opportunity to win the greatest prize in all of England.
The Red Queen is a novel of conspiracy, passion, and coldhearted ambition, the story of a proud and determined woman who believes that she alone is destined, by her piety and lineage, to shape the course of history.
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BonnieF
Is it time for Food & Wine Yet??
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 652
Yes, exactly the same.
nemofans
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2007
- Messages
- 2,662
Finished book 79 - On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
This is book 1 of a series for kids (around ages 10 and up) and I LOVED it! It is quirky and fun, yet a story with depth and suspense. Similar type of humor to The Princess Bride. I like all the characters and can't wait to read the rest of the series. There is some violence in this (battles with the Fangs Of Dang, Toothy Cows, Horned Hounds, & such) depending on your child. My 10 yr old would enjoy this.
Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog Nugget. Janner Igiby, his brother Tink, their crippled sister Leeli are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice and pursue the Igibys who hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.
Next book: Book 2 of this series - North! Or Be Eaten
This is book 1 of a series for kids (around ages 10 and up) and I LOVED it! It is quirky and fun, yet a story with depth and suspense. Similar type of humor to The Princess Bride. I like all the characters and can't wait to read the rest of the series. There is some violence in this (battles with the Fangs Of Dang, Toothy Cows, Horned Hounds, & such) depending on your child. My 10 yr old would enjoy this.
Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog Nugget. Janner Igiby, his brother Tink, their crippled sister Leeli are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice and pursue the Igibys who hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.
Next book: Book 2 of this series - North! Or Be Eaten
willowsnn3
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
- Messages
- 47,409
Goal 72
#66 The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood
Everyone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn't they wouldn't be renting rooms in a dodgy South London building for cash, no credit check, no lease. The bathrooms are shared theres mold in the hallway, the landlord is a lecherous old creep. It's the kind of place you end up when you've run out of other options. The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don't know is that one of them is a killer. He's already chosen his next victim and he'll do anything to protect his secret.
This turned out to be a pretty good book. A little slow on the takeoff then turned into a real page turner
#66 The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood
Everyone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn't they wouldn't be renting rooms in a dodgy South London building for cash, no credit check, no lease. The bathrooms are shared theres mold in the hallway, the landlord is a lecherous old creep. It's the kind of place you end up when you've run out of other options. The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don't know is that one of them is a killer. He's already chosen his next victim and he'll do anything to protect his secret.
This turned out to be a pretty good book. A little slow on the takeoff then turned into a real page turner
BonnieF
Is it time for Food & Wine Yet??
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 652
32/40 - A Christmas Beginning, Ann Perry. A perfect little book for this time of year - a 'light' murder mystery and an enjoyable, quick read for a busy time of year.
I'm starting to think I just might make my goal!!
threeboysmom
Living the dream - near Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2001
- Messages
- 9,428
Woohoo! I found my book of the year! Nothing like waiting to the last minute! I was a little bummed that even though I read a lot of great books this year, I didn't have that *one* that just made me want to rave about it to everyone under the sun. Well, I have that book now…. although I'm not quite finished with it (about 20 pages to go) so there's still room for the author to totally blow the ending (I HATE when that happens!!).
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill. I am loving it! In fact, I started it Saturday night and I cannot put the thing down. So good! It is a young adult fiction just in case that turns some off - not a genre I normally read, AND it's about time travel, which again, is not something I normally would read! In fact, I'm really not sure HOW this book got on my "to read" list, lol - must have been a DIS'er's recommendation perhaps?
If you're still looking for a book to finish out the year with a bang, try this one!
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill. I am loving it! In fact, I started it Saturday night and I cannot put the thing down. So good! It is a young adult fiction just in case that turns some off - not a genre I normally read, AND it's about time travel, which again, is not something I normally would read! In fact, I'm really not sure HOW this book got on my "to read" list, lol - must have been a DIS'er's recommendation perhaps?
If you're still looking for a book to finish out the year with a bang, try this one!
threeboysmom
Living the dream - near Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2001
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- 9,428
I did enjoy it very much. I think I liked the Grandmother one better though.... I think.
CONGRATS!
WowLookAtThat
DIS Veteran
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- Jul 30, 2011
- Messages
- 1,108
Book #101 All the Ways to Ruin A Duke by Sophie Jordan
Book #102 A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin by Sophie Jordan
Book #103 Christ the Lord by Anne Rice
Book #104 Origin of Christmas by Joseph Kelly
Book #105 Wishing and Hoping by Wally Lamb
Book #105 The Great Christmas Knit off by Alexandra Brown
Book #106 The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
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