Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[portia9]

I'm way behind on my reading because DH is home, we've had a lot of medical appointments, we've been driving for friends who can't (he's had hip surgery and she doesn't drive) and we've had out of town visitors, BUT I found out that my friend from out of town, whom I haven't seen in more than ten years, is another Jane Austen freak!

She had no idea that there were other authors who wrote in Austen's style, used Austen's characters and continued her stories. So I made up quite an extensive list for her, combining all the contributions from last year's reading challenge, of Jane Austen fanfic. Needless to say, your contributions made up most of the list! She was ecstatic and planned to hit the bookstore as soon as she returned home (She has a Nook rather than a Kindle, so I'm not sure how many are available for download).

So you can take part credit (or blame?) for another Jane Austen junkie!

Queen Colleen

That is awesome!

#17 Belles on Their Toes-the sequel to Cheaper By The Dozen. Not as good as the first one but their mother was such an impressive and admirable parent.

 

[Ginny Favers]

4/25: ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME by Julie Berry

Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family.



Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who's owned her heart as long as she can remember--even if he doesn't know it--her childhood friend, Lucas.



But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever.



This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith's passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last.

I just . . . can't . . . (sob!) . . . this book was so heartwrenching that I was expecting it to end badly, and then . . . I read it in the space of a few hours. Really gripping.

 

[mumloveseeyore]

10/150 one summer America 1927 by bill bryson.
This follows the many historical events taking place , centering on Charles Lindbergs transatlantic flight. I am a great fan of Bill Bryson and whilst i really enjoyed some sections i felt this was a overly long and i got a bit bogged down by all the baseball detail,, A good book but not in the same league as At Home or A brief history of nearly everything by the same author.

 

[Swimnoid]

Goal = 75

5. Innocence by Dean Koontz

If you are a Koontz fan you will not be disappointed. He keeps you wondering what the heck is going on all the way to the end.

From Good reads:
He lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from society, which will destroy him if he is ever seen.
She dwells in seclusion, a fugitive from enemies who will do her harm if she is ever found.
But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance—and nothing less than destiny—has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching.

6. The 5th Horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

From Goodreads:
An angel of death is stalking the halls of a San Francisco hospital. Recuperating patients on the verge of release are suddenly stricken and die. Nobody can identify the cause -- or the culprit. In their most gripping case yet, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club convenes to track down a killer who hides among healers. A powerful hospital and courtroom thriller.

This series can be hot or not. I liked this installment.

7. Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson

From Goodreads:
In this fantastical novel, Disney's Magic Kingdom suddenly becomes a bit eerie. Finn Whitman and four other teens have been hired as Disney World guides, but with an odd twist: With cutting-edge technology, they have been transformed into hologram projections capable of leading guests around the park. What begins as an exciting theme park job turns into a virtual nightmare as Finn and his pals attempt to thwart an uprising by a menacing group of Disney villains

I read the first couple of these a few years ago and wanted to re-read them before going on with the series. I liked this one better the first time through. It is written on a middle school level which is fine but in my old age I find I am too skeptical to accept some of the situations. Still it is fun, set in my favorite place on earth!

 

[kinntj]

1 Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This book was not my cup of tea in the beginning and middle. It picked up at the end and it was enjoyable then.

1 done / 11 to go

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Finished book four 24 and a half wishes, the she had to proof she was not guilty of killing her mom

 

[phorsenuf]

4/75 Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden

As owner of the 57th Illinois Watch Company, Mollie Knox's future looks bright until the night the legendary Great Chicago Fire destroys her beloved city. With her world crumbling around her, Mollie will do whatever it takes to rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating fire.

Zack Kazmarek, an influential attorney for one of Chicago's finest department stores, is a force to be reckoned with among the city's most powerful citizens. Bold and shrewd, he's accustomed to getting exactly what he wants--until he meets Mollie Knox, the beguiling businesswoman just beyond his reach.

In the tumult as the people of Chicago race to rebuild a bigger and better city, Mollie comes face-to-face with the full force of Zack's character and influence. Zack believes this may finally be his chance to win her, but can Mollie ever accept this man and his whirlwind effect on her life, especially with her treasured company on the line?


I really enjoyed this book quite a bit and read it in a few nights. It is lendable if anyone is interested. It is in a Kindle format.

 

[CallieMar]

4/50 - Inferno by Dan Brown

These books are pretty formulaic at this point but still very entertaining. I love reading about all the places that Robert Langdon visits (they're all on my bucket list). My only problem now is that I'll spend another couple hours Googling to figure out which of Dan Brown's "facts" are actually true lol.

 

[wrestlingchick26]

Book 14- valentine murder- Leslie meier
I really enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and entertaining with enough of a twist to keep you guessing.
Highly recommend

 

[rigs32]

#6 - The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

The last of the Heather Wells mysteries. I realized I read all the books for the standard chick lit parts and didn't care much for the mysteries. They rarely aided in character development; they just served as an alternate plot line.

Now starting Killing Kennedy

 

[threeboysmom]

Late to the party but I hope y'all won't mind. My goal for 2014 is 52 books, which has been my standing personal challenge for years and one I fell a bit short of last year. I lurked a bit on last year's thread for book recommendations, so I thought I'd jump in this year.

I would also like to join in with a rather ambitious (for me) 50 books. I tend to spend more time on the computer than reading books, but I am hoping to do better this year. I've been lurking around the site for a while, and was following last years book thread off and on. Hopefully having someplace to keep track of my progress will help motivate me.

Welcome!! I've added you both to our ever-growing list! So glad you could join us!!

Just finished: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch.

This story is about a girl who lives in a camper in the woods with her little sister and mother. Her mother is a meth addict and often leaves them alone for long periods of time. One day, social services comes calling and nothing is ever the same. Now Caarey and Jenessa must adapt to a father they have never known, high school, appliances, the list goes on. It is made harder by the fact that Carey is hiding a dark secret that could rip her away from Jenessa forever.

Review: 5/5 stars. I absolutely loved this book. The way she tells the story took a little getting used to, but once i did, it was really wonderful. I read it in 2 days because I just could not put it down. The characters are authentic and powerful. I love that they are all very complex, some good and bad qualities. The voice of Carey is a very interesting perspective and she keeps you guessing right until the end. I dearly hope she writes a sequel as it is one of those books you become invested in and when you are finished it's like you lose a part of yourself when you are forced to leave their world.

4/25: ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME by Julie Berry

Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family.

Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who's owned her heart as long as she can remember--even if he doesn't know it--her childhood friend, Lucas.

But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever.

This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith's passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last.

I just . . . can't . . . (sob!) . . . this book was so heartwrenching that I was expecting it to end badly, and then . . . I read it in the space of a few hours. Really gripping.

Thanks for the reviews! I need to look up these books and add them to my Goodreads list!

 

[Darcy03231]

Just finished #8 and #9 - Holiday in Death and Conspiracy in Death by JD Robb. From Amazon:

Holiday in Death

"No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New York's most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it is the season to bring lonely hearts together. But Lieutenant Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic serial killer, has made a disturbing discovery: all of the victims have been traced to Personally Yours. As the murders continue, Eve enters into an elite world of people searching for their one true love--and a killer searching for his next victim. A world where the power of love leads men and women into the ultimate act of betrayal... "

Conspiracy In Death

"Streetwise cop Eve Dallas and her trusty sidekick Peabody face a methodical killer in this latest addition to the In Death series by J.D. Robb, better known as the bestselling author Nora Roberts.

In the late 21st century, on the streets of New York City, a street sleeper is found murdered, his diseased heart removed with surgical precision. His death would typically drop to the bottom of a list of senseless and inexplicable killings, but Lieutenant Dallas, who "would stand for the dead and the living," is not about to let that happen. When her research uncovers similar crimes in several cities that were dropped under mysterious circumstances, Dallas knows she's facing a killer cruel enough to prey on the weakest in society and powerful enough to conspire an extensive coverup."

I really liked both books and look forward to continuing this series. I think I'm going to take a break though and read some other books I have that I haven't gotten to yet.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #8 - Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

I have never read Anne Rice books b4 b/c I mostly read Stephen King & figured I should try one. Well, I much prefer Stephen King. This book was okay, some parts intriguing, but it is so drawn out. I don't think I will bother w/another of her books.

Next book: Hollow City (book 2 of Peculiar Children series)

 

[portia9]

#18 A Perfect Life by Raffaella Barker. Didn't enjoy this very much. It was hard to warm to the main characters so was a struggle.

 

[dismom301930]

Book #4/50 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Amazon Review: It's hard to articulate just how much--and why--The Goldfinch held such power for me as a reader. Always a sucker for a good boy-and-his-mom story, I probably was taken in at first by the cruelly beautiful passages in which 13-year-old Theo Decker tells of the accident that killed his beloved mother and set his fate. But even when the scene shifts--first Theo goes to live with his schoolmate’s picture-perfect (except it isn’t) family on Park Avenue, then to Las Vegas with his father and his trashy wife, then back to a New York antiques shop--I remained mesmerized. Along with Boris, Theo’s Ukrainian high school sidekick, and Hobie, one of the most wonderfully eccentric characters in modern literature, Theo--strange, grieving, effete, alcoholic and often not close to honorable Theo--had taken root in my heart. Still, The Goldfinch is more than a 700-plus page turner about a tragic loss: it’s also a globe-spanning mystery about a painting that has gone missing, an examination of friendship, and a rumination on the nature of art and appearances. Most of all, it is a sometimes operatic, often unnerving and always moving chronicle of a certain kind of life.

I loved most of this book, but I think it was too long (almost 800 pages). I found myself skimming a bit toward the end, which is a shame since the writing is so wonderful. This would have been an amazing 500 page book.

Up next: Just One Day by Gayle Foreman

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Book #4/50 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Amazon Review: It's hard to articulate just how much--and why--The Goldfinch held such power for me as a reader. Always a sucker for a good boy-and-his-mom story, I probably was taken in at first by the cruelly beautiful passages in which 13-year-old Theo Decker tells of the accident that killed his beloved mother and set his fate. But even when the scene shifts--first Theo goes to live with his schoolmate’s picture-perfect (except it isn’t) family on Park Avenue, then to Las Vegas with his father and his trashy wife, then back to a New York antiques shop--I remained mesmerized. Along with Boris, Theo’s Ukrainian high school sidekick, and Hobie, one of the most wonderfully eccentric characters in modern literature, Theo--strange, grieving, effete, alcoholic and often not close to honorable Theo--had taken root in my heart. Still, The Goldfinch is more than a 700-plus page turner about a tragic loss: it’s also a globe-spanning mystery about a painting that has gone missing, an examination of friendship, and a rumination on the nature of art and appearances. Most of all, it is a sometimes operatic, often unnerving and always moving chronicle of a certain kind of life.

I loved most of this book, but I think it was too long (almost 800 pages). I found myself skimming a bit toward the end, which is a shame since the writing is so wonderful. This would have been an amazing 500 page book.

Up next: Just One Day by Gayle Foreman

I just downloaded this. Thanks for the review

 

[mumloveseeyore]

book 11/150 Monuments men by Robert Edsel
I loved this, it was a fascinating and unexpectedly dramatic story. I was aware of Nazi looting of art treasures but knew very little about the programme to trace and recover them.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#4/40: Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

From Amazon:
Meet 22-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen-and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster.

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her "undercover stunt double," Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too "indisposed"-- meaning wasted -- to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott.

Now the challenge for Cherry's handlers (über-stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker-wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry's public -- and from Cherry herself. The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink, the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp, and now he's heading for Miami to find her . . .

Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry's motley posse does? All will be revealed in this hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane.

I thoroughly enjoy Hiaasen's silliness! 4.5/5

 

[threeboysmom]

#4/40: Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

From Amazon:
Meet 22-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen-and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster.

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her "undercover stunt double," Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too "indisposed"-- meaning wasted -- to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott.

Now the challenge for Cherry's handlers (über-stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker-wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry's public -- and from Cherry herself. The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink, the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp, and now he's heading for Miami to find her . . .

Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry's motley posse does? All will be revealed in this hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane.

I thoroughly enjoy Hiaasen's silliness! 4.5/5

I bought this one for $1 at a bookstore in the fall, but have been holding onto it for summertime (when I enjoy lighter reads). Good to know you gave it a good review!

 

[wgeo]

6/30 Bad Monkey by Carl Hiassen

I really enjoyed this book. Hiassen is over the top, and his story lines are rather absurd, but that's what makes it so much fun. And on top of that he had some twists/turns in his plot line that I didn't see coming. I enjoy reading a book where it isn't all a long build up to a really quick climax and wrap up at the end, this one was fun all the way through.