Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[AEpoppins34]

Is it too late to join? I'm setting an incredibly modest goal of 12 books. I used to read all the time, but 6 years and 3 kids later (youngest 6 months) and I am lucky to keep my eyes open long enough to finish a chapter. I'm so impressed and inspired by all of you!

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Pretty sure the movie is based on book #1, Vampire Academy. It comes out in theaters 2/14, I think.

Thanks, just placed the hold!

 

[ksjayhawks]

goal is 52.

 

[portia9]

Goal 100

#1 blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris. If this was any other author I don't think I would have persisted but I am very glad I did. Really interesting book and highly recommended.

#2 It Happened One Summer by Polly Williams. Light read but enjoyed it.

 

[portia9]

Just wanted to re iterate the recommendations for the Alan Bradley Flavia de Lune books and The Husband's Secret. Also I don't usually read fantasy but I have read the first two Game of Thrones books and they are great. Fascinating characters.

I love the idea of listing books and bolding them as I read them. I think I will just add as I read for now but I might decide to do that later.

 

[Darcy03231]

Just finished number 2


The Book is A walk to remember by Nicolas Sparks and looking at the cover really doesn't give you any indication of what the book is about so I wouldn't analyse the cover too much or judge it by it's cover because I've read the book and don't even understand the cover.
Anyway onto the book's plot, It starts as Landon Carter at 57 explains that when he was seventeen his life was changed forever and that he is going to tell the story of how it changed. He starts talking about his childhood and his rich family before he gets onto the actual story that he is telling and while this drags on a little it is all relevant later in the story. He then starts explaining about how he chose performing arts in his senior year because he thought it would be easy, this is how he gets into the kind of meeting with Jamie Sullivan. I say kind of because he has known her his whole life but this is the first time he actually has a real conversation with her. She is the ministers daughter, a Minister who Landon and his friends used to call names and pick on him. Despite being misjudged by her peers Jamie doesn't change who she is to fit around other people , he describes her to make her seem like a misfit who wears jumpers and her hair always in a bun but he never says she is ugly and observes that she could be pretty if she tried harder to be. He also explains that she is one of the most giving people you will ever meet and volunteers and an orphanage most weekends.
He takes her to the homecoming dance later in the story only because he has to go because he is class president and doesn't have a date. this starts their friendship and she asks him for a favour to be in a play that her father wrote as a leading roll opposite her. When he accepts they start spending time together and he soon realises that he has unintentionally fallen in love with her.After a while he makes his move and kisses her and tells her the depth of his feelings for her. This is where I have to stop telling you any more because if I keep going I know I will reveal Jamie's secret and ruin the shock of this particular story.
Like all Nicolas sparks books it is so romantic and it pulls you into and tells you mostly everything about the characters from their upbringing to their deepest thoughts and feelings which makes you fall in love with them and the same thing goes for Landon and Jamie. By the time the twist came to the story I was so emotionally attached through the story that for the last half of the story I literally had to have a box of tissues next to me because I cried so much. The Ending was my favourite part of the book because instead of telling you exactly what happened he leaves you to decide for yourself what happened because he says it so one of two things could have happened and you can decide which one you would rather it be.
In a whole this book just made me feel so many emotions and I couldn't put it down after a started the first page. The only reason I put it down was to go to school which may be pathetic to some people but to me it's perfectly normal. I felt every emotion for the characters in the book and That is definitely what I look for in the perfect book.


From good reads and I loved it

I haven't read the book, but love the movie! I agree with you though, you definitely need a box of tissues.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Big snow and cold meant lots of reading!

#1/40 Don't Dare a Dame by M. Ruth Myers

From Amazon: Maggie Sullivan risks losing her P.I. license — and her life — when two spinsters hire her to learn the fate of their father, who vanished twenty-six years earlier. She’s barely started when her main suspect commits suicide and Maggie is summoned before the powerful chief of police. A stroke of his pen will revoke her license, and he warns her he’s getting complaints about her from City Hall.

With her livelihood on the line, fortified by a nip of gin and her .38, the intrepid detective follows a trail all but obliterated by time and the catastrophic Dayton flood of 1913 in which the vanished man went missing. It leads her to a local politician with bigger ambitions — and possibly secrets to hide. It takes her into dime stores, cheap hotels, and a violent ambush by men wearing brass knuckles.

As a cop wages a wily campaign to win her affections, and a rag-tag newsboy pushes to become her assistant, crimes of the past explode in the present. Maggie fights to survive foes who must destroy her to destroy each other.

Fans of strong women sleuths and historical atmosphere have dubbed this tough little private investigator “Sam Spade in a skirt.”

This is the third book in the series about Maggie. I borrowed the first two through my Amazon Prime, but this one is currently free form Kindle download. I have thoroughly enjoyed the books. They take place in Ohio during the 1930s, and Maggie is very spunky. They are easy and pleasant reads. 4/5

#2/40: The Widow File by S.G. Redling

From Amazon: Dani, a data analyst with an elite security firm, possesses the unnerving ability to read people by the trash they leave behind. Receipts, parking tickets, the detritus of daily life—if you leave it behind, she will figure you out.


Her latest case involves high-tech industrial espionage at a corporation with ties to the military. But when a team of assassins sweeps through the firm, stealing all files and killing her coworkers, Dani narrowly escapes. Whoever ordered the strike thinks Dani has vital information and they put a hit man named Booker on her trail.
Armed with only her wits and a bag of random investigation materials, Dani must figure out who the enemy really is while playing a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the cunning hit man who has an agenda of his own.

Dani was the opposite of the usual gutsy female: petite, shy, unassuming. But her unorthodox upbringing gave her skills that helped her to survive while a hit man was after her. The relationship between Booker and Dani was a little creepy. The ending made me feel like the author was leaving it open to write a sequel. 3.5/5

 

[wgeo]

Ok I finished 1/30. Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

This is the first book in a new supernatural trilogy. It follows the pattern of pretty much every other supernatural trilogy that Roberts writes - and there's a lot of them! The book was an enjoyable fluff read. It's set in Ireland which I like. I'm sure I'll read the other 2 books when they come out because I like how Roberts develops her characters, just wish the plots weren't so similar from book to book.

Just went to the library and picked up:
Mirage by Clive Cussler
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Star Island by Carl Hiassen

I had Six Years checked out but didn't get a chance to read it, and am back on the hold list.

 

[Darcy03231]

I finished #2 out of 52 today. Rapture in Death by JD Robb/Nora Roberts. It's #4 in the in Death series. From Amazon:

They died with smiles on their faces. Three apparent suicides: a brilliant engineer, an infamous lawyer, and a controversial politician. Three strangers with nothing in common--and no obvious reasons for killing themselves. Police lieutenant Eve Dallas found the deaths suspicious. And her instincts paid off when autopsies revealed small burns on the brains of the victims. Was it a genetic abnormality or a high-tech method of murder? Eve's investigation turned to the provocative world of virtual reality games--where the same techniques used to create joy and desire could also prompt the mind to become the weapon of its own destruction...

It was a good quick read. I'd give it 3/5 stars. While I'm enjoying the series I've just read the first four in a row and I think I'm going to read something else before I go back to the series.

Book Challenge: #1 Immortal in Death, #2 Rapture in Death

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Finished book #1 - The Bad Beginning - A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

This is the 1st book of the series. A very quick read (1.5 hrs) about sad events that keep happening to these kids. I just want to reach in the book & take these kids home w/me. I think it is well written & will continue to read the rest while hoping for a happy ending for these kids.

I read the first half or so of the series years ago and never finished reading them. They were enjoyable and I should read the rest.

I'd like to join in for 2014 please.
My goal will be 30.
I tend to go for easy reads, I like feel good 'Chick Lit' too.
My major goal this year is to get through the Harry Potter Series and the Game Of Thrones series. I have tried to read the first HP several times and just get bored. Hopefully I will be able to preserver…
ATM I am almost finished The Language of Flowers and am really enjoying it. My next book is 'The Festival Of The Sea' by June Loves (Australian author).
I am also going to TRY and read 50 Shades…Well, just because I can …

Thanks all. I am Miss Hippy on Goodreads too….

The Potter books are wonderful! I may reread a few just cause.

My interest is piqued by GOT since I keep on hearing about it, but I haven't seen the show so don't really have any idea at all what it's about.

I just finishes the first book out of 30. The Mockingjay. I really enjoyed reading the Hunger Games series.
I started One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. It's the first book of the Stephanie Plum series.

My aunt said she enjoys the Stephanie Plum series, I may have to check them out. What did you think of it? And I love the Hunger Games, but the last book was my least favorite.

If you've seen the first two Harry Potter movies you can skip the first two books. They're pretty similar. The story starts evolving more starting with book 3 - Prisoner of Azkaban.

I would read all of them.

Finished #1 of 50

My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock

I LOVED this book! I came across a quote a few years ago by Eleanor Roosevelt - "Do one thing every day that scares you" and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. Then I discovered this book which has that exact quote as its central theme - how perfect is that?! I knew I HAD to read it, and so glad that I did.

Yes, it's lighthearted and fun (the author is a hoot), but I also felt the seriousness of it as Noelle tried to overcome her fears and stretch herself to be the person she was meant to be.

This book resounded with me because I'm a timid person by nature and enjoy staying within the boundaries of my "comfort zone." I continually have to prod myself to try something different, to speak up, to not settle into an "easy" way of life. I am trying to teach myself to not let fear or worry or anxiety keep me from living life to its fullest and to certainly not let any of those things prevent me from being ME.

As mentioned, the author has a great sense of humor and her "easy" writing style reflects that.

So far, I've started off the new year with a treasure!

Next up is a book by Linwood Barclay - Trust Your Eyes - No idea what it's about or how it ended up on my "to read" list on Goodreads, lol. Most likely was a recommendation from someone here on the DIS...

That sounds really good, and it's cheap for the Kindle edition, I may have to get it.

I've finished my first two - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum and Deadly Night by Heather Graham.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a reread for me from my childhood when I read the whole series. My boys and I read it together, and it scores a 5/5 of course! For a book that is 114 years old, it holds up so well.

Deadly Night is a crime/mystery novel, the first in a trilogy about the Flynn brothers, a trio of private investigators. I chose this book b/c of the genre and because it was set in New Orleans, one of my favorite places on earth. I give this book a 3/5. Girls in their 20s are disappearing without a trace, and there are clues within a haunted plantation. Would I read the rest of the trilogy? Maybe, but I'm not busting down any doors to get to them. I'm not sorry I read it, because it was a pretty entertaining story, but it wasn't very well written.

I bought the Oz books for my Kindle last year. I have only ever read the original Wizard of Oz, but I'm determined to read the rest!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

My aunt said she enjoys the Stephanie Plum series, I may have to check them out. What did you think of it?

I loved the first 10 or so. Then they got old.

 

[JaneBanks]

Just posting to make sure my new signature looks okay!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just finished book four of 52 - "The Barkeep" by William Lashner.

Amazon's description: Justin Chase is the perfect barkeep, tending bar as he lives his life, in a state of Zen serenity. At least until Birdie Grackle, a yellow-haired, foul-mouthed alcoholic from Texas, walks into his bar, orders a Mojito, and makes a startling confession.

Six years ago Justin's life was ripped apart when he discovered his mother's bludgeoned corpse in the foyer of the family home. Now Justin's father is serving a life sentence and Justin, after a stint in the asylum, drowns his emotions in a pool of inner peace. But when Birdie Grackle claims to be the hit man who murdered Justin's mother for the money, Justin is hurled back to the emotions, back to the past, and, most frighteningly of all, back to the father he has tried to leave behind.

Who hired Birdie Grackle to kill Justin's mother? As Justin pieces together the truth, a merciless killing machine begins stalking the barkeep, leaving a trail of dead in his wake. Someone wants to bury the truth, and maybe Justin, too. As the terror closes in, Justin had better find some answers and find them fast, because the stakes have been raised, his life is on the line, and murder is so not Zen.

And my review: While the writing was a bit verbose in places, and there were one or two irritating little editing errors (i.e. giving two unrelated characters the same surname in the same sentence), I thought the book was intriguing. Enough different characters were introduced, along with real and imagined reasons who may have "dunnit", that I finished this book in less than 24 hours.


I thought the Zen references were boring, but then i try to avoid religion in my pleasure reading. Overall, the story was nicely convoluted - enough to keep my interest.

 

[T1130]

H!i Is it to late to join? I meant to do it last week but then got I got busy preparing for the new year. My goal is 25 books but i am hoping to read more. I am in the middle of The Good Sister by Wendy Cortsi Staub and Consequences by Aleatha Romig.

 

[portia9]

JaneBanks-The Witching Hour is one of my favourite books. Not my usual genre either but I love that book.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #1/65 O Little Town by Don Reid

Book #2 The Blythes are Quoted by LM Montgomery

 

[Kimmers127]

Book #3 of 200: If You Find Me, by Emily Murdoch.

GoodReads summary:

There are some things you cant leave behind&

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Careys younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that wont let her go& a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasnt spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

My Thoughts: I loved this one. Easily 4/5 stars. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in one sitting.


Book #4 of 200: Outpost, by Ann Aguirre

GoodReads summary:

Deuces whole world has changed.

Down below, she was considered an adult. Now, topside in a town called Salvation, shes a brat in need of training in the eyes of the townsfolk. She doesn't fit in with the other girls: Deuce only knows how to fight.

To make matters worse, her Hunter partner, Fade, keeps Deuce at a distance. Her feelings for Fade havent changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Deuce signs up to serve in the summer patrolsthose who make sure the planters can work the fields without danger. It should be routine, but things have been changing on the surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks have grown smarter. Theyre watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters dont intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide.

My Thoughts: This is book 2 of a trilogy. I'd put it around 3 or 3.5 stars - I'm interested to read #3, but I'll read a few other books first. I can't quite put my finger on what is keeping me from loving these books more. They're solid "likes" but not destined for my favorites shelf.

I've just started book #5: Death at SeaWorld. After seeing Blackfish I was dying to read this.

 

[Momof3dogs]

Book 3/50
Hope in a Jar--- Beth Harbison

Picked this book up in a cute little used book store (yay for supporting small businesses!) in New Jersey. I tried a book by this author last year and liked it. This book was good. It flipped back and forth between present day and when the characters were in school, but it was easy to follow. The story kept me interested.
This isn't deep reading, and it's nice when you just want to get lost in a story and not think.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Wow do I feel slow I am only on book 3

 

[Caseheidi]

Book 1-3 of 60

I had Carpel Tunnel on my right hand a week ago, so have basically been able to do nothing but TV and read while elevating my hand this past week. And with the pain killers, I went for light and fluffy fun reads, so here they are:

Book 1 Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)
by Lisa Kleypas (Goodreads Author)
From GoodReads
Reckless and wild, beautiful Lily Lawson delights in shocking proper London society and in breaking any rule to flaunt her independence. Now shes determined to rescue her sister from an undesirable marriage to the ruthless Alex Raiford, the arrogant Earl of Wolverton. She succeeds in rescuing her sister, but in the meantime Alex decides that Lily must be his. He has resolved to make her pay dearly for her interference -with her body, her soul...and her heart.

I have a thing for Fun Historical Romances when I want an escape, and this one delivered. I started it on New Years Eve and completed it New Years Day. I enjoyed the characters, and in my drugged state even liked the predictability of the story.

Book 2 Wanted Wife
by Gwen Jones
From GoodReads
Andy Devine is advertising for a wife on a utility pole, and interviewing him is the last thing TV reporter Julie Knott needs. Especially after her cheating fiancé just tweeted their disengagement. Now she has got to choose: get the story  or become it?

Wanted: Wife

Landed, Financially Secure 40-Yr-Old Male

* Handsome, but with old-school communication skills and a secret past *

Seeks Healthy, Athletic Female

* Preferably a pretty reporter with a messy love life who has never spent a day in the woods *

For Marriage and Family

* What could possibly go wrong? *

If you love the humor and romance of Rachel Gibson and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, don't miss the fabulous debut of Gwen Jones!(less)

This book was Okay. It had a lot more sex in it then I prefer personally (Not planning to read 50 Shades of Gray here!) so that did turn me off a little.It was an easy read, but not my favorite.

Book 3 Saved by the Rancher (Hunted #1)
by Jennifer Ryan
From GoodReads
From the moment rancher Jack Turner rescues Jenna Caldwell Merrick, he is determined to help her. Soon, he is doing more than tend her wounds; he is mending her heart. Jenna is a woman on the runhunted down by her ex-husband, David Merrick, from the day she left him, taking part of his company with her, to the second she finds herself in the safety of Jack's ranch. More than just a haven, Jack's offering the love, family, and home she thought were out of reach.

Jack's support will give Jenna the strength she needs to reclaim her life. The hunted will become the hunter, while David gets what he deserves, when they have an explosive confrontation in the boardroom of Merrick International. But not before Jack and Jenna enter into a fight & for their lives.(less)

This was just Okay. The characters were a little too perfect, and everything worked out a little too perfect for my taste. However, it was well written.

Next up (I think) is Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner
by Jack Caldwell

I am a fan of Pride & Prejudice, but this is the first time I have tried one of these type of stories. We will see!