Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[wgeo]

3/30 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. I liked this, didn't know what it was going to be about but saw it listed a lot so I picked it up. I really enjoyed it very different from what I normally read but really fun, seems like it's set up for a series and I would read more by this author.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just finished my second book, "Bad Monkey" by Carl Hiassen. I'd be surprised if, at the end of the year, it goes down as one of my faves, but I did enjoy it. But what was funny, was that it took a while for me to enjoy it. I got about a third of the way through thinking "People really loved THIS?" I kept going just because I figured it had to get better. Thankfully, it did get much better-but it took a while.

 

[CaliBear]

Finished book #6 - Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Put this on my list as well, thanks!

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Finished book 3 safe heaven I have to say I love the author I want him to keep writing he is perfect.

 

[Caseheidi]

6 & 7/60


Lucky Like Us ( The Hunted #2) by Jennifer Ryan
Summary by GoodReads
The Hunted series continues as Special Agent Sam Turner discovers that protecting the FBI's star witness is more difficult than he thought!

Bakery owner Elizabeth Hamilton's quiet life is filled with sweet treats, good friends, and a loving family. But all of that is about to turn sour when an odd sound draws her outside. There's a man lying unconscious in the street, a car speeding toward him. Without hesitation, she gets the man out of harm's way before they're run down.

Unwittingly, Elizabeth has put herself in the path of a serial murderer, and as the only one who can identify the FBI's Silver Fox Killer, she's ended up in the hospital with a target on her back.

All that stands between her and death is Special Agent Sam Turner. Against his better judgment, Sam gets emotionally involved, determined to take down the double threat against Elizabeth—an ex desperate to get her back, despite a restraining order, and a psychopath bent on silencing her before she can identify him.

They set a trap to catch the killer—putting Elizabeth in his hands, with Sam desperate to save her. If he's lucky, he'll get his man … and the girl.

The Right Bride (The Hunted #3) by Jennifer Ryan
High-powered businessman Cameron Shaw doesn't believe in love—until he falls head over heels for beautiful, passionate, and intensely private Martina. She's perfect in so many ways, immediately bonding with his little girl. Martina could be his future bride and a delightful stepmother … if only Cameron weren't blinded by his belief that Shelly, the gold-digging woman he's promised to marry, is pregnant with his child.

No matter how much his friends protest his upcoming marriage to Shelly, Cameron knows he has a duty to his children, so he's determined to see it through.

Will he find out in time that Shelly's lying and Marti's the one who's actually carrying his child? It'll come down to the day of his wedding. After choosing Shelly over Marti at every turn, will he convince Marti she's his world and the only woman he wants?

I needed some more light reading, so decided to continue this series. I enjoyed both books, and gave them each 3 stars on Good Reads. I will admit that by the end of The Right Bride I did not care for one of the main characters and thought he was an idiot.

Next up I am in. Historical romance mood, so still not anything too deep.

 

[Pig Pen]

Finally finished #1 on my list, Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones.

It's about a young native girl on a South Pacific island who discovers the "outside world" through her white school teacher and the writings of Charles Dickens (specifically Great Expectations). Side plots consist of her religious mother's jealousy and disapproval of the teacher, the mysteries surrounding the teacher's life and how he came to be on the island, and an ongoing rebellious uprising of guerilla-type soldiers who frequently raid the village.

Having never read Great Expectations I think some of it was lost on me. There was lots of detail about that book's plot woven through the story. I yearned for a little more detail about island life and wished for more character development. This book reminded me of a very simplistic version of Bel Canto.

The most interesting parts came towards the end of the book when the main character discovers secrets about her teacher and is forced to change her views of him.

This book won many awards - it was okay....I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Next up - Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout (author of Olive Kitteridge which I loved).

 

[xlsm]

Well, I just posted about finishing book 4 last night, but now I've finished book 5 of 45...I started reading Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling last night and I flew through it in a little over an hour.

Oh.My.Lord. At times I was laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face. If you enjoy The Office or The Mindy Project, you will love this book. She is hilarious, and it was fun to see inside her life a little bit, and what makes Mindy, well, Mindy.

After reading it, I feel like she would be a really great friend that I would roll my eyes at a lot, lol.

I rate this a 4.5/5

 

[Kimmers127]

Just finished #6/200: Hate List by Jennifer Brown. Loved this one!

GoodReads Summary:

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. It was one I read in a day because I just couldn't put it down. I'll definitely be reading more by this author!

 

[Glynis]

Goal - 70 books

Book #2 - The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

From Goodreads: At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

My review: I really enjoy these books! Riordan's writing style is engaging, and he gives the ancient myths a breath of fresh life with these plot lines. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in this series. The thing I love most about them is that these books got my non-reader son reading! He has become an expert on Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology in the last 4 years. I applaud any author that can inspire that!

Next up: How To Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams. DH got it for me for Christmas. I think he's finally accepting the "other man" in my life!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Book number eight - "Tony Partly Cloudy" by Nick Rollins

Goodreads description: A "literary equivalent of My Cousin Vinny," Tony Partly Cloudy is a fish-out-of-water comedic novel with a distinct Sopranos vibe to it.

The guy's got a degree in meteorology. And he can predict the weather with a level of accuracy that's downright freakish. Still, Tony Bartolicotti - or, as his "connected" friends in Brooklyn call him, Tony Partly Cloudy - can't even get an audition to be a TV weatherman. The problem? He comes across like a Mafia goon: a hulking brute who dresses like a Blues Brother and freely uses "bada bing" as both a noun and an adverb. Not exactly the image most news stations are looking for.

But all that changes when a distantly related mob boss steps in on Tony's behalf. Soon Tony's career starts to take off, as America falls in love with the only weather anchor on TV who would predict "a whole lotta freakin' snow." Then the mob decides to call in the favors they've done for Tony. That's when things get stormy...

Tony Partly Cloudy combines elements of comedy, satire, Mafia lore and romance into a slick, funny novel that readers of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen will enjoy.

My review: This is the first book in a long time that I really _enjoyed_ reading. I was smiling, if not laughing, through almost the entire book. The characters are well-drawn and the writing is excellent. Tony is a realistic, enjoyable character as is almost everyone else. The end is a tiny bit predictable, not that there's anything wrong with that...

 

[kaytieeldr]

Number nine: The Alternative Guide to Nursery Rhymes

Amazon description "Once upon a time, someone decided it would be a good idea to invent little rhyming stories and fairy tales to put children to bed with. The problem is most of these stories don't make any sense.

This book is a collection of short stories designed to give a bit of back-story to some of the more common nursery rhymes and fairy tales and provide a bit more characterisation in order to provide substance to the otherwise absurdity of them."

My review: Funny but crude. Definitely not for kids. This book is the author's interpretation of the stories behind some of the best-loved fairy tales. It certainly makes the tales more interesting, but not for the easily offended.

 

[Kinziepoohsmom]

Finished book #1 Sycamore Row by John Grisham. Have read all his books and have never been disappointed. Next up is Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Number nine: The Alternative Guide to Nursery Rhymes

Amazon description "Once upon a time, someone decided it would be a good idea to invent little rhyming stories and fairy tales to put children to bed with. The problem is most of these stories don't make any sense.

This book is a collection of short stories designed to give a bit of back-story to some of the more common nursery rhymes and fairy tales and provide a bit more characterisation in order to provide substance to the otherwise absurdity of them."

My review: Funny but crude. Definitely not for kids. This book is the author's interpretation of the stories behind some of the best-loved fairy tales. It certainly makes the tales more interesting, but not for the easily offended.

Adding this one to my list.

 

[Dahly]

Book 4/100

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (YA)

I think this one has already been reviewed here, so i will just say this - i picked it up at the library when DS was looking for another book by the same author (Looking for Alaska). An Abundance of Katherines was interesting, but too full of the same jokes and phrases over and over. and the footnotes at the bottom of the pages were a little annoying.
Story itself was ok.

2 out of 5

Book 5/100
The House Girl by Tara Conklin

From GoodReads
Virginia, 1852. Seventeen-year-old Josephine Bell decides to run from the failing tobacco farm where she is a slave and nurse to her ailing mistress, the aspiring artist Lu Anne Bell. New York City, 2004. Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in an elite law firm, is given a difficult, highly sensitive assignment that could make her career: she must find the “perfect plaintiff” to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves.

It is through her father, the renowned artist Oscar Sparrow, that Lina discovers Josephine Bell and a controversy roiling the art world: are the iconic paintings long ascribed to Lu Anne Bell really the work of her house slave, Josephine? A descendant of Josephine’s would be the perfect face for the reparations lawsuit—if Lina can find one. While following the runaway girl’s faint trail through old letters and plantation records, Lina finds herself questioning her own family history and the secrets that her father has never revealed: How did Lina’s mother die? And why will he never speak about her?

Moving between antebellum Virginia and modern-day New York, this searing, suspenseful and heartbreaking tale of art and history, love and secrets, explores what it means to repair a wrong and asks whether truth is sometimes more important than justice.

Page turner kind of book, as I really wanted the truth to come out, but the last 30 or so pages jammed so much information on the who, how and why, it felt forced. i do love historical fiction, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. Overall, a compelling story, but could have been better.

2.5 out of 5

Currently Reading The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani

 

[CallieMar]

6 & 7/60

Next up I am in. Historical romance mood, so still not anything too deep.

Do you have any authors that you recommend? I tend to reread my Lisa Kleypas novels if I'm stuck with no new library books coming in. I really like her but haven't branched out beyond her work.

 

[zippitydoo]

Book 4 of 50

Louisiana Longshot(Miss Fortune Mystery #1) by Jana Deleon

From Goodreads:
CIA Assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever--in Sinful, Louisiana.

With a leak at the CIA and a price on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small, bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.

Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly-inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly-sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation may blow her cover and get her killed.

Armed with her considerable skills and a group of old ladies referred to by locals as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #6 Christmas Angel by Jo Beverly

 

[jenny105]

I just finished book #3/30 Hopeless during my lunch break. Thanks for the recommendation from this board. Wow. I was blown away by this book. At first I thought it was the typical YA boy meets girl first love story but it's SO much more than that. I loved it. I checked online to see if my library had Losing Hope. They don't and I had a $10 amazon credit so I just purchased it for Kindle not even 10 minutes ago. I can't wait to read it!

 

[wvjules]

I just finished book #3/30 Hopeless during my lunch break. Thanks for the recommendation from this board. Wow. I was blown away by this book. At first I thought it was the typical YA boy meets girl first love story but it's SO much more than that. I loved it. I checked online to see if my library had Losing Hope. They don't and I had a $10 amazon credit so I just purchased it for Kindle not even 10 minutes ago. I can't wait to read it!

Wait a month or so before reading it. It is the same story from Holder's perspective so it is a bit redundant. I think if you wait a little while you will enjoy it a lot more.

 

[Darcy03231]

Do you have any authors that you recommend? I tend to reread my Lisa Kleypas novels if I'm stuck with no new library books coming in. I really like her but haven't branched out beyond her work.

I know this wasn't directed at me, but when I'm in the mood for historical romance some of my favorite authors are Johanna Lindsay, Beatrice Small, Julie Garwood and Jude Devereaux.