Annual Reading Goal Challenge for 2016 - Come and join us!

[cayennews]

I saw this thread and I want to join. I used to be an avid reader, but since I had my son I have had less time to read. This may motivate me to pick up a book more often. I will set my goal at 5 and hope for more!

 

[MochaDrinker]

20/200 After Camelot by J Randi Taraborelli. About the Kennedy family

21/200 Generation Me by Jean Twenge

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Book #6 out of 35.

Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger (Book #2 in The Diaries) by V.C. Andrews

Picking up where Christophers Diary: Secrets of Foxworth leaves off, Kristin Masterwood and her boyfriend up the ante by going into her attic to re-enact scenes described in Christopher Dollangangers journal. Jealousy, tragedy, survival, and revenge& the discovery of Christopher's diary in the ruins of Foxworth Hall brings new secrets of the Dollanganger family to light and obsesses a new generation. With Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind both now major Lifetime TV events, the first new Dollanganger stories in nearly thirty years is a timely look at the events in the attic from teenage Christophers point of view. Christopher Dollanganger was fourteen when he and his younger siblings Cathy and the twins, Cory and Carrie were locked away in the attic of Foxworth Hall, prisoners of their mother's greedy inheritance scheme. For three long years he kept hope alive for the sake of the others. But the shocking truth about how their ordeal affected him was always kept hidden until now.

Seventeen-year-old Kristin Masterwood is thrilled when her father's construction company is hired to inspect the Foxworth property for a prospective buyer. The once grand Southern mansion still sparks legends and half-truths about the four innocent Dollanganger children, even all these decades later. Foxworth holds a special fascination for Kristin, who was too young when her mother died to learn much about her distant blood tie to the notorious family. Accompanying her dad to the forbidden territory, they find a leather-bound book, its yellowed pages filled with the neat script of Christopher Dollanganger himself. Her father grows increasingly uneasy about her reading it, but as she devours the teen's story page by page, his shattering account of temptation, heartache, courage, and betrayal overtakes Kristin's every thought. And soon her obsession with the doomed boy crosses a dangerous line.




I really have enjoyed reading Christopher's side of this story. Kristin, on the other hand, is completely unbelievable. She is nothing like what teenagers are. Some of the words she uses are so out of date that they would do better in Christopher's side of the story. And other times, she speaks so awkwardly. Not one teen I know would EVER use the words "Disc Jockey". It is a DJ, simple as that.

But I'll continue to plod on, and read the third book, despite the horrible reviews.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

7. Mail Order Bride: A Surprise Christmas Bride by Emma Morgan
Sweet novella to the Twelve Bride Series. Reading one a month until Christmas.
8. I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
9. The Duke and I by Julie Quinn

10. The Viscount who loved me by Julie Quinn
11. An Offer from a Gentlemen by Julie Quinn
12. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julie Quinn
13. Cat Confessions: A "Kitty-Come-Clean Tell-All Book"by Allia Zobel Nolan
14. To Sir Phillip with Love by Julie Quinn
15. When He Was Wicked by Julie Quinn

 

[Kirby]

10. The Viscount who loved me by Julie Quinn
11. An Offer from a Gentlemen by Julie Quinn
12. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julie Quinn
13. Cat Confessions: A "Kitty-Come-Clean Tell-All Book"by Allia Zobel Nolan
14. To Sir Phillip with Love by Julie Quinn
15. When He Was Wicked by Julie Quinn

You must really like Julie Quinn!

 

[WowLookAtThat]

My husband

You must really like Julie Quinn!

My husband surprised me with the Bridgerton seires (all 9 books....) and so I felt like I HAD to read them. I am so surprised. Ususally with a long romance series, the stories can get a bit boring and a re-hash but in this case, she writes unique stories with really good plot lines. I am a new fan!

 

[BonnieF]

7/40- Sheltering Rain, Jojo Moyes - an early book, tells the story of a teenage girl growing up in the shadow of a grandmother with a past, and a mother struggling with her present. Good, but kind of predictable.
8/40- My Name is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout - although I didn't like Olive Kitteridge, I gave this a try. I'm still trying to make sense of it. Lucy tells her story in bits and pieces, but the unifying thread escapes me. If you're on the fence about this one, give it a pass.

9/40 - Roses, Leila Meacham- the prequel to Somerset (I actually read them backwards -it didn't matter!) I love books that follow generations - I get so involved with the characters, they become like friends. I really recommend this, and its sequel.
10/40 - Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff - had a hard time with this - I just didn't care about the characters and couldn't figure out the idolization of one of them.

 

[dromio42]

I'm in! I mostly listen to audio books while driving and doing house work. I'll aim for 35 books. Just finished A Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (J>K>Rowling). LOVED IT! Love the characters and It's just the right genre for me. Great actor reading as well - that can ave a huge impact on how much I enjoy a book. Currently listening to Saturn's Run by John Sandford, science fiction is not my thing but I am a huge Sandford fan.

 

[wilma-bride]

Good morning all from a grey and overcast England. Sorry I have been MIA for a little while - had a few issues here and real life kinda caught up with me. I have updated the 'books read' list this morning and am just sorry that I don't have the time to reply to everybody individually.

to all the newcomers
Well done to @tinkerbellandeeyor on reaching your goal - would you like to increase your goal now? Can't wait to hear what you have read recently.

Thank you to everybody else for sharing your recommendations

I shall update the thread later with the latest books I have read too.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Book 3 of 15: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963

The Newbery Honor-winning American classic, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 , celebrates 20 years with this anniversary edition featuring a special letter from Christopher Paul Curtis and an introduction by noted educator Dr. Pauletta Bracy.
Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's thirteen and an "official juvenile delinquent." When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a visit to Grandma, Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons set out on a trip like no other. They're heading South to Birmingham, Alabama, toward one of the darkest moments in America's history.

Audio book (read by Levar Burton!). Christopher Paul Curtis is the Newberry award winning author of Bud, Not Buddy. I really loved the author's voice. As an adult, my favorite aspect of the story was how the parents interacted with one another. Told in vignettes, the Watson family sees how life is different for black Americans in 1963 between Michigan and Alabama.

4 out of 5 stars.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#8/50: Criminal Intent by Sheldon Siegel (Daley/Fernandez #3/Kindle lending choice)(4/5 stars)

#9/50: Terms of Use by Scott Allan Morrison (Kindle first choice) (technology thriller) (4/5 stars)

 

[moniqueand2]

6/30 - Scrapper by Matt Bell

Detroit has descended into ruin. Kelly scavenges for scrap metal from the hundred thousand abandoned buildings in a part of the city known as “the zone,” an increasingly wild landscape where one day he finds something far more valuable than the copper he’s come to steal: a kidnapped boy, crying out for rescue. Briefly celebrated as a hero, Kelly secretly avenges the boy’s unsolved kidnapping, a task that will take him deeper into the zone and into a confrontation with his own past and long-buried traumas.

7/30 - Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family.

8/30 - The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Callie Vee, Travis, Granddaddy, and the whole Tate clan are back in this charming follow-up to Newbery Honor-winner The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

To be honest, I didn't really love any of these three.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Welcome back Wilma I would like to up it to 24

I finished snicker of magic

About a girl who moves to a old magic town and everyone believes she has magic

Two being Kizzy Ann stamps who over comes racism

I well put in the authors when I get home from work

Natalie loyd snicker of magic

Jerry ways Kizzy Ann stamps

 

[rigs32]

#13 - I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50 by Annabelle Gurwitch

#14 - Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin... Every Inch of It by Brittany Gibbons

What struck me about these memoirs is that Gurwitch has lived a pretty charmed life as an actress, yet her writing was dull in many of the chapters and I found myself wondering if I should even finish the book. Whereas Gibbons has had a relatively normal life with struggles until her writing career took off and yet her writing is so much more engaging.

I would recommend Gibbons' book and not recommend Gurwitch's.

 

[Christine]

Good morning all from a grey and overcast England. Sorry I have been MIA for a little while - had a few issues here and real life kinda caught up with me. I have updated the 'books read' list this morning and am just sorry that I don't have the time to reply to everybody individually.

to all the newcomers
Well done to @tinkerbellandeeyor on reaching your goal - would you like to increase your goal now? Can't wait to hear what you have read recently.

Thank you to everybody else for sharing your recommendations

I shall update the thread later with the latest books I have read too.

Glad you are back! I was worrying about you....

 

[miksilver]

#9/35 Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. Loved it. This is her second book. I liked the first one a bit more that this one and I read her blog daily for years and love her fun style of writing. I recommend the book if you're not easily offended. If you're unsure I'd read her blog a bit first as this book are just longer blogposts in chapter form.

 

[Glynis]

Finished another book. I think it's number 12 or 13. Not sure. Anyway, the book is "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much" by Allison Hoover Bartlett. This was our book club's selection this month. From Goodreads: "Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be."

I enjoyed this book a lot! It was fascinating to see what motivated this man to steal rare books. It was amazing to see how easy it was for him to do it.

Next up: John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines"

 

[Kirby]

9/40 - Roses, Leila Meacham- the prequel to Somerset (I actually read them backwards -it didn't matter!) I love books that follow generations - I get so involved with the characters, they become like friends. I really recommend this, and its sequel.

I loved Roses!

#9 - 2nd Chance by James Patterson. Genre - Mystery

When a little girl is shot on the steps of a San Francisco church, Detective Lindsay Boxer know's it's time to reconvene the "Women's Murder Club". Reporter Cindy Thomas, assistant DA Jill Bernhardt and medical examiner Claire Washburn, along with Lindsay soon track down a mystifying killer.

I enjoyed this book as I did the first one. I'm going to continue reading this series.

 

[Cantw8]

#8/50: Criminal Intent by Sheldon Siegel (Daley/Fernandez #3/Kindle lending choice)(4/5 stars)

#9/50: Terms of Use by Scott Allan Morrison (Kindle first choice) (technology thriller) (4/5 stars)

How did you like Terms of Use? I also picked that as my Kindle First but haven't read it yet

 

[wilma-bride]

Welcome back Wilma I would like to up it to 24

I finished snicker of magic

About a girl who moves to a old magic town and everyone believes she has magic

Two being Kizzy Ann stamps who over comes racism

I well put in the authors when I get home from work

Natalie loyd snicker of magic

Jerry ways Kizzy Ann stamps

Thank you, I have increased your target and congratulations again

Glad you are back! I was worrying about you....

Thank you Christine, hopefully all back to normal now (fingers crossed)

Finished another book. I think it's number 12 or 13. Not sure. Anyway, the book is "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much" by Allison Hoover Bartlett. This was our book club's selection this month. From Goodreads: "Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be."

I enjoyed this book a lot! It was fascinating to see what motivated this man to steal rare books. It was amazing to see how easy it was for him to do it.

Next up: John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines"

It was number 13 Let me know what you think of An Abundance of Katherines - this is on my 'to read' list but I can't seem to get started with it.

#9 - 2nd Chance by James Patterson. Genre - Mystery

When a little girl is shot on the steps of a San Francisco church, Detective Lindsay Boxer know's it's time to reconvene the "Women's Murder Club". Reporter Cindy Thomas, assistant DA Jill Bernhardt and medical examiner Claire Washburn, along with Lindsay soon track down a mystifying killer.

I enjoyed this book as I did the first one. I'm going to continue reading this series.

I enjoyed the Women's Murder Club series until about book 4 or 5 when they started to get a bit 'samey'. Enjoyable and easy to read though