Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[Darcy03231]

#11 Six Years by Harlan Coben. From Amazon:

"Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.

But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for…but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for almost two decades, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.

As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found, or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart, who lied to him, soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on a carefully constructed fiction."

I read this based on some PP's reviews. I really liked it a lot. I've read some of his other work and will now be looking for more. I'd give it a 4/5.

 

[keenercam]

I'll be back soon to post the list of what I've read so far this year, but I just wanted to thank whomever recommended "The Rosie Project". What a delightful, insightful and unique read. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to all who recommended it!

 

[Ginny Favers]

6/25: ALL WE LEFT BEHIND by Nancy Herman

In 1846 the Reed and Donner families leave Illinois on a 2,000-mile journey to California in search of free land and a healthy climate. Thirteen-year-old Virginia Reed is thrilled to ride ahead of the wagons each day beside her adored father. But enthusiasm turns to alarm when her father and other party leaders make decisions that put the families dangerously behind schedule. Provisions dwindle. Hardships mount. Anger erupts. In a frantic effort to reach California before winter, the Donner Party takes an untried shortcut, with heartbreaking results. As hardships and losses mount on the trail, Virginia acknowledges the fallibility of the adults in her life and begins to rely on her own judgment. When the party becomes trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by early snows, she must find the courage to defy her father in order to save the rest of her family. Of all American pioneer stories, the Donner Partys is the most tragic. Eighty-seven ordinary people dreaming of new lives made a series of bad decisions and encountered a run of bad luck, resulting in their winter entrapment. All We Left Behind: Virginia Reed and the Donner Party takes the reader on Virginias emotional journey as she evolves from an obedient daughter to an independent young woman during the crossing.

I had a hunger (pun intended) for reading an account of the Donner Party because I'm doing some research on that area of the US. This was a YA historical fiction about one of the young women who crossed (and survived the winter) with the Donner Party in 1846. I can not tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I hadn't realized the facts surrounding this tragedy and it was altogether heartbreaking. And it reminded me of just how strong people were back then. I read it in a few hours (plus it's free right now on the Amazon Prime lending library).

 

[xlsm]

New Year Island
Paul Draker...


it just got plain weird. I feel like it had SUCH potential and the ending fell short.

I totally agree! I read this right after Christmas before this reading challenge started, and I really enjoyed the book...until the last part. I kept picturing Doc Octopus from Spiderman, LOL!!!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I totally agree! I read this right after Christmas before this reading challenge started, and I really enjoyed the book...until the last part. I kept picturing Doc Octopus from Spiderman, LOL!!!

Yeah it was pretty unbelievable lol.

 

[Deffenm]

I would love to join in again. I joined late last year and met my goal of 10 books. This year I will set my goal at 30 books. I have actually read 3 so far this year. It has been so cold here that we don't want to leave the house.

I read Seaside Christmas, Starry Night, and America's cheapest family. The two christmas books were your typical warm hearted, girl and guy fall in love over the holiday books. They were easy reads. America's Cheapest Family is a little old but I was looking for inspiration to start off the new year.

Goal
3/30

 

[threeboysmom]

I would love to join in again. I joined late last year and met my goal of 10 books. This year I will set my goal at 30 books. I have actually read 3 so far this year. It has been so cold here that we don't want to leave the house.

I read Seaside Christmas, Starry Night, and America's cheapest family. The two christmas books were your typical warm hearted, girl and guy fall in love over the holiday books. They were easy reads. America's Cheapest Family is a little old but I was looking for inspiration to start off the new year.

Goal
3/30

Welcome! It's never too late to join! So glad you found our thread again. Happy Reading!

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #9 - Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I know some of you weren't crazy about how the 1st book ended, but it was due to a 2nd book coming out to continue the story. And I recommend you read this 2nd book b/c it continues the story & I feel it's even better than the 1st book. The Peculiar children are on the run. I will warn you that you most likely won't like this ending either b/c it doesn't finish the story. It's more of a "To Be Continued..." type ending for a 3rd book, like the 1st. I really enjoyed it & hope the 3rd book is out soon.

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrines island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.
Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.


Finished book #10 - City Of Thieves by David Benioff

I read this for my Feb. book club book. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to reading this b/c all I knew about it was that the story takes place during WWII. But, it was only 250 pps & the other ladies in my book club really liked it, so I decided to read it. Well, I am glad I did! It is sad & depressing at parts, but also light hearted & funny in other parts. The overall message is survival. I wish I could meet Kolya! I enjoyed this story & do recommend it.

During the Nazis brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughters wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.
By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

Next Book: Golem and Jinni

 

[portia9]

I'll be back soon to post the list of what I've read so far this year, but I just wanted to thank whomever recommended "The Rosie Project". What a delightful, insightful and unique read. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to all who recommended it!

Wasn't it wonderful? And I think people that read most genres could read this and enjoy it. It was so engaging and clever.

 

[xlsm]

Finished book 9 of 45 - The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanna Fluke.

This book was ridiculous.

Maybe I disliked it so much b/c I started reading it while waiting for two hours in the drs office??

I generally enjoy cozy mysteries, even the formulaic awkward,overweight-with-a-pretty-face and/or super driven single female protaganist with a cat plot lines that seem to overwhelm this genre. Most of them are pretty entertaining. This one just did not do it for me. At all.

Hannah owns a cookie bakery, has a cat, a meddling mother who tries to set her up with every eligible bachelor in town, AND a younger more glamorous sister. Her brother-in-law is a deputy who has just passed his detective exam and is hoping for a promotion. A local milk delivery man is murdered outside of Hannah's shop and she finds the body. Her brother-in-law asks Hannah to help him solve the case. Later in the story she finds a second body (owner of the dairy the milk man worked for), making this a double homicide.
Basically, she solves the whole thing and I'm not sure what work the brother in law actually did at all. She breaks about a million laws, conceals evidence, etc...


I won't be reading any more of this series. I know it has its fans, but I'm just not one of them. If you're looking for an easy, fast, fluffy read this would be an ok choice, but I rate this 2/5 stars.

One good point - every so often she throws in a cookie recipe. I like cookies. So it isn't all bad, lol!!

 

[Dahly]

8/10
First Friends by Marcia Willett

from GoodReads
Cass and Kate meet at school--and are firm friends for the rest of their lives. Both marry naval officers, but Cass's infidelity has far-reaching consequences for her children--and Kate's. Many of the characters in First Friends (published in the UK as Those Who Serve) reappear in later Marcia Willett novels, and we meet their children as well. As always, Marcia Willett's wise understanding of love, loss, marriage, and parenthood is conveyed with honesty, generosity, and compassion

Kate lets her husband walk all over her, which gets old very quickly. Cass meddles in every one's lives, and "plays around" like it is no big deal, until it is a big deal. Didn't care for the author's "wise understanding" of friendship and marriage.

2 of 5 stars

 

[Dahly]

9/100
Bound South by Susan Rebecca White

White's wonderful debut charts the clash of Southern tradition with present-day issues from the perspective of three white females over the years of 1998–2008: Louise Parker, a frustrated, pampered matron living in an affluent Atlanta neighborhood; Caroline, her rebellious teenage daughter; and Missy Meadows, the young daughter of Louise's impoverished housekeeper, Faye. While Missy yearns to reconnect with her father who abandoned the family to become a preacher and Christian TV soap star, Caroline embarks on a scandalous affair during her senior year with Frederick Staunton.
White's wit and graceful prose yield sharp insights about family, friendship and faith in the ever-changing South.

3/5

 

[DisneyWalle]

#8 - The Wildflowers: Cat by V.C. Andrews

from Amazon:
Cat had listened patiently as the other three girls in Dr. Marlowe's therapy group shared their innermost feelings. They had described their broken families honestly, to the point of pain. If Cat doesn't tell her own tale, the others will see it as a betrayal. So she has no choice. Or does she? Maybe she could lie -- just make something up. Anything would be better than the truth. For Cat has the darkest, most horrifying secret of them all....

Another really good book ---- fast read

Next book: The Titanic Murders

 

[wrestlingchick26]

Finished book 9 of 45 - The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanna Fluke. This book was ridiculous. Maybe I disliked it so much b/c I started reading it while waiting for two hours in the drs office?? I generally enjoy cozy mysteries, even the formulaic awkward,overweight-with-a-pretty-face and/or super driven single female protaganist with a cat plot lines that seem to overwhelm this genre. Most of them are pretty entertaining. This one just did not do it for me. At all. Hannah owns a cookie bakery, has a cat, a meddling mother who tries to set her up with every eligible bachelor in town, AND a younger more glamorous sister. Her brother-in-law is a deputy who has just passed his detective exam and is hoping for a promotion. A local milk delivery man is murdered outside of Hannah's shop and she finds the body. Her brother-in-law asks Hannah to help him solve the case. Later in the story she finds a second body (owner of the dairy the milk man worked for), making this a double homicide. Basically, she solves the whole thing and I'm not sure what work the brother in law actually did at all. She breaks about a million laws, conceals evidence, etc... I won't be reading any more of this series. I know it has its fans, but I'm just not one of them. If you're looking for an easy, fast, fluffy read this would be an ok choice, but I rate this 2/5 stars. One good point - every so often she throws in a cookie recipe. I like cookies. So it isn't all bad, lol!!

It's sad you don't like this series, it's one of my favourite. I'm hanging for my trip over to the USA in November so I can pick up the most recent books.

 

[rigs32]

#6 of 50 - The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot. The last of the Heather Wells series.

I thought it was a decent end to the series. Many issues addressed, if not resolved. Once again, I felt like the murder mystery plot detracted from the whole thing.

#7 of 50 - Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly

Easy to read, but I felt like I learned nothing new. Perhaps I'd enjoy Killing Lincoln more as I've read less about his assassination than JFK's. If you haven't read much about JFK and are interested, this is a well written account of what led to his death.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just finished book #5=Rosemary Cottage. I found it an enjoyable read, the only thing I had difficulty with was the fact that initially people didn't tie in the "coincidence" of the 2 deaths only a few weeks apart and the fact that they were both involved with the same member of politics. Other than that, I found the characters believable and enjoyable. I gave the book 4 stars-the "coincidence" was the only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

#3 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

So, I am a little late reading this one. This is the first of a bunch - all of them long! In 1945 Claire time travels to 1743 in the Scottish Highlands. There she meets Jamie and, of course, is torn between him and getting back to present day time and her husband.

This took me a good 150 pages to get into for some reason. Once I got into it, I really liked it, but I do not feel the urge to read the rest right away. There were a few scenes of abuse and torture that really bothered me.

#4 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I really liked this book - so unique. I can't even really explain it, but it has been discussed a lot here. I am excited to read Hollow City soon!

 

[MarieGrace]

I'm in! . My goal for this year is 180.

 

[jenny105]

180?? Wow!

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#7 The Cradle In The Grave by Sophie Hannah

This book deals with the stories of mothers accused of murdering their infants. Was it murder? Were they wrongly accused by a spiteful medical examiner and their children died of natural causes?

I didn't care for this book. The writing style of the author drove me crazy, the story was too 'disjointed' for me to follow. Was so glad when I finished the book.