ANNUAL READING GOAL CHALLENGE for 2015!

[queenofthehive]

This sounds right up my alley! I love to read and certainly need to make more time for it. My goal will be 25 books. My favorite author (Sandra Dallas) has two new books out that I need to read. Also, I saw an interesting e-book on Amazon titled "Maude" that I will start with until my books arrive in the mail. Looking forward to hearing about everyone's good reads.

 

[dizluvah]

#1 (goal is 80)
Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis

From Goodreads:
Occult investigator Quincey Morris and his "consultant", white witch Libby Chastain, are hired to free a family from a deadly curse that appears to date back to the Salem witch trials.

My review - 3 stars
lots of characters to keep straight and the beginning you feel like you get threads of several different stories. By the end each thread is woven together (sort like a 6 degrees of separation vibe) you understand how each character fits together to make a whole cohesive story. IMHO it gets a little far-fetched...Definitely not my typical genre but thanks to my friend for loaning to me.

 

[Glynis]

I know I'm super late to the party, but can I still join up? My goal for 2014 was 70 books, and I didn't get to it. I blame my kids, me starting graduate school, and a new job as the reasons. Hopefully, I'll be able to get things on an even keel this year, and do some reading for fun!

My goal for 2015 will be 40 books. Since I'm trying to earn my Master's in a year, that's going to be my main focus (doesn't help that I'm having to switch focus areas right now, but what can you do?). I think 40 will be doable! My new job is as an assistant librarian, so I'm surrounded by books! Dream!!!! I work a lot of nights, and as things get slow, I read. That should help!

Anyway, I've already read a few books since January 1. Here they are:

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Filming of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. I really liked this book. I found it charming and full of fun stories of one of my favorite movies!

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts. I have never read anything by her, but I really liked this supernatural romance. Not too over the top, and really fun to read.

The Amazing Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Richard Yancey. I checked this book out for my son, but I got pulled into it, instead. A fun modern take on the Arthurian legend. I'm hoping to read the rest in the series.

Currently, I'm reading "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling). I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would!

 

[Christine]

I was looking at it, as well.

I'm wondering how many new releases they have.

I looked at this a little bit and it seemed that the categories of books they showed seemed a little stale to me. Now maybe you can see more once you have an account, but I just didn't think I could get enough out of it for $9.99 a month. My library has a pretty good selection of e-books. Enough to keep me reading for free most of the year. I have the occasional need to buy a book that I just can't get, but I don't spend that much and, I'd be ticked off it Oyster didn't have them either, after I paid.

 

[pkelly6]

Can I join? I forget how much I enjoy reading until I get into a book. Hope this helps keep me reading!

My goal is 24 for 2015.

Thanks!

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 30 books this year.

#1 - A New York Christmas by Anne Perry. The year is 1904, and Thomas and Charlotte Pitts' daughter Jemima, is traveling from London to New York as chaperone to Delphinia, a young English girl who is planning a wedding to the son of one of the richest families in America.

At the request of Delphinia's future brother-in-law, Jemima agrees to try to find Delphinia's mother, who abandoned her family many years ago. The mother is reported to be living in New York, and using many of the skills learned from her police officer father, Jemima finds her - dead. Now Jemima must use her own skills and intelligence to avoid being charged with the murder and to bring the guilty to justice.

Once more, Anne Perry delivers a suspenseful, deeply moving novel that captures the essence of the holiday spirit.

I actually finished this book in one day, but I'm in the middle of three other books at the same time.

Queen Colleen

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I think you are the first person I've seen that said Orphan Train was awful. I enjoyed that book a lot.

As for me I fnished Outlander on Dec 30. Right now I am about 75% through Dragonfly in Amber.

I am #558 on my libray list for All the Light We Cannot See. The more reviews I read about it the more I am looking forward to reading it.

I am really enjoying All the Light We Cannot See--hope you like it. I don't read much historical fiction, but this one is great.

About Orphan Train...I know, right??? I read only rave reviews so I was surprised when I didn't like it much. I didn't like how the second half of the book just sped through things compared to the first half, and I did not care for the back and forth that involved the teenage girl--that character and her step mom just seemed so contrived.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Book 1 done! A Christmas Guest, by Anne Perry. It's one of a series she did a few years ago. This one is a murder mystery in a Downton Abbey-like setting. A nice, quick. read for an afternoon by the fire.

Next up, finishing Dark Places.

I love the Anne Perry Christmas novellas. I get the new one every year in my Christmas stocking and read them on Christmas Eve. She's written 12 of them, each featuring a character from one of her major novels. I think they're all characters from the Thomas Pitt series, but there may be one or two from the William Monk series.

If you like Perry's writing and you like mysteries, I can't recommend these highly enough. She also wrote a shorter series (5 books) featuring a family investigating a plot to overthrow the British government during WWI. Very descriptive and informative.

Queen Colleen

 

[PigletsPal2]

#5 A Weekend with Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly-characters go to a historic English country house for an Austen weekend. Romantic fiction but quite well written for the genre.

piglet'spal-there are a whole series of Austen themed modern books by Victoria Connelly. Some are short novellas but who cares!? I am currently reading the second one.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll be on the lookout for this series, at both the library and the bookstore (I got a "honkin' big gift card" to Barnes & Noble for Christmas!)

Queen Colleen

 

[ZuZugal]

Jumping in!! My goal is 30 books.

1/30
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Listed as a teen read, I enjoyed it. Many reviewers find "Death" an intrusion in the book, I rather liked Death.


My youngest is in middle school, and he likes it when I read the books he reads for book reports, so I will also be reading Eragon soon.

I started reading The Land of Steady Habits by Ted Thompson last night. Didn't want to put it down, so far so good.

Also downloaded The End of Power by Moises Naim. It is the first book on Mark Zuckerberg's book club list.

 

[threeboysmom]

Updated through here!

Welcome all! I'm so looking forward to all the books we will read in 2015!

 

[Pig Pen]

#1 - Bedside Manner by Emily Burke

A young German boy, orphaned and abused, grows up to become a doctor in the Nazi regime and is recruited to conduct "research" in the prison camps. While he abhors the horrific treatment of the prisoners, he is too frightened to do anything about it. This book shows a little insight as to how people were coerced into carrying out Hitler's insane orders.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Book 2 of 30:

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
From Goodreads: Two kids with the same name lived in the same decaying city. One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.

In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also ran a series of articles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery. The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers. One was named Wes Moore.

Wes just couldn’t shake off the unsettling coincidence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same newspaper. After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting him: Who are you? How did this happen?

That letter led to a correspondence and relationship that have lasted for several years. Over dozens of letters and prison visits, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own: Both had grown up in similar neighborhoods and had had difficult childhoods, both were fatherless; they’d hung out on similar corners with similar crews, and both had run into trouble with the police. At each stage of their young lives they had come across similar moments of decision, yet their choices would lead them to astonishingly different destinies.

Told in alternating dramatic narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world

Disclaimer. I read this book for a book discussion at work. However, I'm including it, because once I learned about it, I realized that it was a book that I would have read anyway. I work with a very diverse group of students economically, and these could be my students. I found this book to be very engaging, very well written, and inspiring, yet haunting. It really left me with a lot to think about.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Book 2 of 30:

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
From Goodreads: Two kids with the same name lived in the same decaying city. One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.

In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also ran a series of articles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery. The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers. One was named Wes Moore.

Wes just couldn’t shake off the unsettling coincidence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same newspaper. After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting him: Who are you? How did this happen?

That letter led to a correspondence and relationship that have lasted for several years. Over dozens of letters and prison visits, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own: Both had grown up in similar neighborhoods and had had difficult childhoods, both were fatherless; they’d hung out on similar corners with similar crews, and both had run into trouble with the police. At each stage of their young lives they had come across similar moments of decision, yet their choices would lead them to astonishingly different destinies.

Told in alternating dramatic narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world

Disclaimer. I read this book for a book discussion at work. However, I'm including it, because once I learned about it, I realized that it was a book that I would have read anyway. I work with a very diverse group of students economically, and these could be my students. I found this book to be very engaging, very well written, and inspiring, yet haunting. It really left me with a lot to think about.

I read this years ago and was also haunted by the similarities but different outcomes.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Well, I just finished the first book of 2015, "Finding Mary Blaine" by Jodi Thomas. Actually I started it in 2014, but since I finished it in 2015, it counted as my first book of the year. That fact seemed kind of strange, but I imagine that since I'm scheduled to read 60 books this year, this half a book won't matter. And the book didn't really matter when I read it. Normally I'm a big Jodi Thomas fan, but this one was just OK.

 

[Glynis]

Just finished book #4 " The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling. I really enjoyed the book! I love a good detective story, and this one was really good! There was some language, and I wouldn't recommend it for my teenagers, but I enjoyed it! Loved the characters, and can't wait to read the next one.

Next up: "Shadow Spell" by Nora Roberts

 

[mumloveseeyore]

2THE LAST CHANGELING br fr maher
from Amazon
All of history is secrets and lies.
The present is just a cover story.

Metahominids: Mêta'hôm'i'nîdz: (pl.) n.
Ancient Greek: meta = other, hominids = men.*

*From Doctor John Dee's 1583 'Inventory of Magickal Correspondences'

Malign beings of folklore and legend, metahominids are humankind's oldest enemy; if they don't kill you, they will destroy your peace of mind. As recently as the 17th century, a farm-hand encountered them upon a Welsh hillside and was almost 'danced to death', and a century later, babies were still being stolen and replaced with 'changelings'.
Even the finest brains are not immune to metahominid influence. When Sherlock Holmes' brilliant creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fell victim, they made him believe that photographs of cut-out paper figures were images of real fairies. In short, the metahominids - traditionally called fairies - used Conan Doyle's fame and reputation to prove they do not exist.
Within their traditional haunts of hill fort, woodland and barrow, these creatures are dangerous enough; but now, like urban foxes, they are abandoning the countryside to infest our city spaces. They prey upon us within our own territory - and modern life offers us no protection. Our unwillingness to believe in these 'other men' leaves us wide open to attack. They ramp up the trance music in our clubs, leaving us unable to resist dancing to certain tracks, and woe betide the young mother who suddenly realises her baby isn’t hers… no one will believe her. Thus they move amongst us, still destroying lives as they always have done, yet now, suddenly, in greater numbers than ever before…
As this centuries old, covert war heats up, it falls to a shambling figure known only as 'D', and his pitifully underfunded department, to keep us safe - and ignorant of the nightmares that lurk, hidden in the every day world that we call 'reality'.

A contemporary British fantasy, The Last Changeling reveals the hidden story behind present day real people, historical figures, and true events

this was ok, enjoyable in parts but the characters just didnt grip me. 2/5

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

https://www.oysterbooks.com/book/sU88SyYcG879XGSCuexbyR/the-customer-is-not-always-right


Just some Cool stories how some customers are right

4/52

 

[kt_mom]

I think I'd like to join the challenge this year. I followed this thread last year and read several books I really enjoyed becuase of it. Last year I read 75 books but I'm not sure I'm going to have as much time this coming year to read so I'd like to set my goal at 50.

So far this year I've read

1. The List by JA Konrath - I enjoyed his Jack Daniel's series but this one was kind of weird.
2. With a Twist - a short story by JA Konrath
3. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I really enjoyed this book. I read What Alice Forgot last year and loved it too.

I'm currently reading book 4 - Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty and enjoying it a lot as well.

 

[Tasha228]

Just finished book # 1...

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult.

I love her stuff, because she takes a lot of issues that most people see as black and white and shows you all the potential shades of grey. She also knows how to give a really good twisted ending. I never even saw the ending coming to this one, though I guess maybe there were signs.