Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[threeboysmom]

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Threeboysmom...Could you up my goal to 35? I've been reading a lot more than usual and some of the books I have are fairly short and will be read quickly. .

I've updated you! You're off to a fantastic start this year!

Book 17 of 50

Room by Emma Douglas

From Goodreads:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Would you recommend this one? I've had this one on my list for over a year now. No idea what made me add it (I really need to be more diligent about keeping notes as to WHY I add certain books, lol).

 

[threeboysmom]

#7 out of 30 books

Wow, I'm moving right along, faster than I anticipated this year.

Just finished my 7th book - When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

Set in a futuristic America, criminals have their skin dyed to match their crime. Hannah is dyed red to match her crime of murder and released into society to survive.

I'm not sure what to think of this book. I liked it, but yet I didn't like some of the subtle moral undertones to it. I also felt that it was casting Christianity into a negative light.

Can't wholeheartedly endorse it, but it was an interesting read throughout. It's similar to The Scarlet Letter, so if you loved that book, perhaps you may want to give this one a try.

Now onto The Glass Castle based on reviews from last year's book thread!

 

[keenercam]

I just finished a wonderful book, and even though I don't have time to update my list and figure out what number book this is, I really wanted to recommend it.

Making Faces by Amy Harmon.

This is very likely to end up as one of my top books for the year. I really liked it.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #17 - The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

This is such a creepy book! I swear almost every chapter creeped me out! This is one of those books that you don't want to read at night. A good mystery/thriller that you can't put down. The story keeps you guessing til the end. It's a little confusing at first figuring out who is talking & in what time that chapter takes place, but eventually you get the hang of it. I definitely recommend this book if you don't mind being spooked.

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

 

[jenny105]

Finished book 7/30 Summer and the CIty by Candance Bushnell. I'm a sucker for anything SATC related.

I have about 40 pages to go with Labor Day. Should be finished with it soon!

 

[allenfane]

Finished book 7, My Man Jeeves, a collection of short stories by P.G. Wodehouse. Now back to Verne, who I think has now become one of my favorite authors (along with Agatha Christie and Tony Hillerman).

I've actually started two books this time, both by Verne. I'm reading The Count of Chanteleine (a physical book) at home. This is another of the "recently translated into English for the first time" Verne novels. It is a tale about the French Revolution and is described as a swashbuckler. The other I'm reading as an E-book during my work breaks is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. That book is much longer, especially as I have chosen a newer translation that restores the nearly 25% of the material cut out by early publishers and translators.

Allenfane

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Finished book 7, My Man Jeeves, a collection of short stories by P.G. Wodehouse. Now back to Verne, who I think has now become one of my favorite authors (along with Agatha Christie and Tony Hillerman).

I've actually started two books this time, both by Verne. I'm reading The Count of Chanteleine (a physical book) at home. This is another of the "recently translated into English for the first time" Verne novels. It is a tale about the French Revolution and is described as a swashbuckler. The other I'm reading as an E-book during my work breaks is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. That book is much longer, especially as I have chosen a newer translation that restores the nearly 25% of the material cut out by early publishers and translators.

Allenfane

Is the Wodehouse book anything like the Jeeves and Wooster series?

 

[wilma-bride]

Finished book #8 of 60 - Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson

It's been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I've decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I'm coping so well without him - they have no idea what I've been hiding or what I do away from prying eyes. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed something so devastating it could destroy our family all over again, and my husband's killer has started to write to me claiming to be innocent, I know it's only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I've done is revealed to the world.

My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story.

I quite enjoyed this book. It was a bit 'meh', in that it wasn't particularly exciting and nothing much really happened but it was perfectly readable. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

I started another last night (Out of Sight by Isabelle Grey), which I was struggling to get into so I may ditch that for now and try something else. I have a yearning to re-read The Island by Victoria Hislop so need to try and get hold of a copy.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal this year: 100 books plus the Bible in its entirety.

#9 - Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George. I'm a huge fan of both Elizabeth George and her Inspector Lynley, but this was one honkin' long book! At 700+ pages, I haven't read a book this long since War and Peace. (Well, OK, I never read War and Peace, but this was a looooong book!)

That having been said, it was one of George's finest. Inspector Lynley is still mourning the loss of his murdered wife and unborn son, but little by little his life is returning to normal. This is, until the frantic phone call from his professional partner, Det. Sergeant Barbara Havers, who reports that her neighbor's daughter has been kidnapped. No, not from anywhere in England, where Lynley has contacts and influence and clout...but in Italy, where he knows no one, but does know the language.

The many twists and turns of this plot are all believable and the story would suffer without them. The dialogue is liberally sprinkled with Italian words and phrases, but George manages to convey the meanings without making the reader feel like an idiot. She excels in plot and character development and by her descriptions, I would know in an instant that I was in Lucca, Italy should I ever find myself in Italy again.

Queen Colleen

 

[threeboysmom]

I just finished a wonderful book, and even though I don't have time to update my list and figure out what number book this is, I really wanted to recommend it.

Making Faces by Amy Harmon.

This is very likely to end up as one of my top books for the year. I really liked it.

Just looked it up on Goodreads - sounds good! I'm not really into romance, but this has too many good reviews to ignore - added it to my summer list! Thanks!

Goal this year: 100 books plus the Bible in its entirety.

Queen Colleen

Curious to know where you're at in your Bible reading?

 

[PigletsPal2]

Just looked it up on Goodreads - sounds good! I'm not really into romance, but this has too many good reviews to ignore - added it to my summer list! Thanks!



Curious to know where you're at in your Bible reading?

I'm following the plan on www.biblereading.com. which doesn't go straight from Genesis to Revelations, unfortunately. Each day's reading is two or three chapters in one book, but the readings are all over the place! The first week I read from Genesis, Joshua, Psalms, Job, Isaiah, Romans and Matthew.

I forgot to take my Bible when I went up north to visit DH, so I'm a week behind. But I'll catch up, especially now that I've finished Elizabeth George's book!

Queen Colleen

 

[Momof3dogs]

10/50
Keep Calm and Carry A Big Drink----Kim Gruenenfelder
(I thought I posted this before but can't seem to find it.) It's the sequel to "There's Cake In My Future". Cute, quick read. Again, I felt myself liking and hating characters.

11\50
The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane---Kelly Harms
*From Authors website: THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS OF SHIPWRECK LANE is the story of two women with the same name, each of whom believes she is the rightful winner of a Dream Home Sweepstakes. For Nean, winning the house means an escape from a string of dead-end jobs and bad boyfriends. For Janey, it's a chance to build a life outside of the shadow of her fiancé's death. Both Janine Browns head for Christmas Cove, Maine to claim the house, and when their lives intersect, they discover that more than just a million-dollar dream home awaits them at water's edge. Filled with wit and charm, THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS OF SHIPWRECK LANE is an enchanting, heartfelt debut about the many ways love finds us, the power of a home-cooked meal, and what it really means to be lucky.


While this was a "slow" read, I absolutely adored the book. I felt myself laughing with/at the characters, crying with them, and rooting for them. This was the authors debut novel and I really hope she writes more!

 

[allenfane]

Is the Wodehouse book anything like the Jeeves and Wooster series?

Part of it is. Four of the eight short stories are Jeeves and Wooster, the others are of a similar vein. This is my first time reading anything by Wodehouse, but my understanding is that this book is the first of the series.

Allenfane

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Part of it is. Four of the eight short stories are Jeeves and Wooster, the others are of a similar vein. This is my first time reading anything by Wodehouse, but my understanding is that this book is the first of the series.

Allenfane

Thank you! I'll be looking for the book at the library now.

Next up since Game of Thrones is ongoing: The Hobbit by CS Lewis (I just saw the second of The Hobbit films and loved it!).

 

[portia9]

I haven't updated for ages. I have started a few books and not finished them and then was reading some larger books which took a while to get through.

#25 The Rebuttal by Romell D Weekly

#26 A Storm of Swords by George R.R.Martin

#27 A Feast for Crows by George R.R.Martin

 

[mumloveseeyore]

finished book 24/150Pompeii by mary beard
I really enjoyed this study of the finds at Pompeii and what archeologists have been able to deduce about the lives of people there. Iwould have prefered a physical book to better appreciate the illustrations

book 25/150 an unlikely witch by debora geary
One of my favourite series of fantasy/romances. A fun light read

 

[portia9]

I have not been able to keep up with posts here but have gotten a few books read lately.


#5 - Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Jenny Lawson - 5 stars - this was hysterical! I was LOL, tears running in several spots. Lots of cussing and inappropriate sections so it probably won't appeal to everyone. I tried to read it while waiting for DS's haircut and had to put it away because I was laughing too hard to appear sane.

Not sure what to read next!

I read her blog and I always end up giggling so hard. I could never read a book of hers in public without embarrassing myself. She has such a brilliant way with words and of looking at the world.

 

[jenny105]

I finished book #8/30 Labor Day by Joyce Maynard at lunch yesterday. Good book and I was surprised by the ending. Happy ending but not the way you'd expect.

I just started Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and will be starting Vampire Academy soon. I won it so why not read it before I sell it on ebay? lol

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I finished book #8/30 Labor Day by Joyce Mayn
I just started Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and will be starting Vampire Academy soon. I won it so why not read it before I sell it on ebay? lol

But as an author it hurts.
Heck at least you arte reading it.

 

[camreesmom]

I finished book #4 - The Affair by Collette Freedman. I read this book last year but a friend told me that she had the sequel The Consequences out so I wanted to re-read the first one. I would and have recommended this book to friends.

From Amazon: After eighteen years of marriage, Kathy Walker has settled into a pattern of comfortable routines--ferrying her two teenagers between soccer practice and piano lessons, running a film production business with her husband, Robert, and taking care of the beautiful Boston home they share. Then one day, Kathy discovers a suspicious number on her husband's phone. Six years before, Kathy accused Robert of infidelity--a charge he vehemently denied--and almost destroyed their marriage in the process.
Now Kathy must decide whether to follow her suspicions at the risk of losing everything, or trust the man with whom she's entwined her past, present, and future. As she grapples with that choice, she is confronted with surprising truths not just about her relationship, but about her friends, family, and her own motivations.

Skillfully crafted and deeply insightful, The Affair sensitively explores the complexities of love and the challenge of ever knowing another person fully, even as we endeavor to understand our own deepest longings.

I'm now halfway thru The Consequences and enjoying it also