Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[threeboysmom]

I lurked on the 2013 thread, but want to join in this year! I read through the thread and marked 32 books to read.

50 books is my goal.

Welcome!! Just added you!

Goal = 50

Book #3: My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock
This was reviewed by PPs in this thread and that is why I picked it up. So glad I did. The author had just been fired from her job and was trying to figure out the next steps in her life when she came across a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: "Do one thing every day that scares you." She decided to take this advice literally and for the next year did one thing she feared every day, from the small to the large. I really enjoyed this book and it was a very quick read for me. I was inspired by many of the Eleanor Roosevelt quotes scattered throughout the book - I read many of them aloud to my daughters. I am so glad I read it - thanks for the recommendation!

Up next - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

So glad you enjoyed My Year with Eleanor! I have The Goldfinch on my list since it was named Amazon's top book for 2013. Can't wait to hear your review!!

You didn't miss me at all - that was my first post...Sure would help if I told you how many books to add....100 is my goal for 2014

OK, gotcha!

That was one of my favorite books last year. I also read her other two books "Sharp Objects" and "Dark Places" which were good reads, but "Gone Girl" was the best of the lot.

Sooooo agree! Gone Girl still remains my favorite book - first read it in 2012 and reread it in 2013. Can't wait to see the movie now in 2014! It's a love it or hate it type of book ... and I LOVED it!

Too late to join? This would be a great challenge!

I'd love to aim for 30

I am going to attempt this again this year, I failed last year. I did love reading about what others enjoyed - or didn't - for the past year!

I have so much reading to catch up on, but let every little thing get in the way.

I am going to say 25, and then see where I am at 6 months.

So glad both of you could join us! Added!

I just want to say that I am REALLY enjoying the book New Year Island so far.

Just wanted to let everyone know in case anyone is in a lurch and looking for something to read.

Thanks!! I will look this one up!

Hmmm, so many of you are commenting on Orphan Train and The Language of Flowers - must add these also to my ever-growing list!

Keep those reviews coming!

 

[threeboysmom]

Sorry, I've been away for a while on vacation. This thread should be caught up to here now. Please please let me know if I've missed anyone so far!

 

[Kimmers127]

I really liked New Year Island too- does anyone know of any similar books? As soon as I finished it I was dying to read something in the same vein but so far I have come up empty.

 

[BeckyEsq]

I just discovered this thread and I hope I'm not too late to join. My goal will be 40 books. I've read one so far: The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice. It was not one of her best but still worth reading.

 

[threeboysmom]

Wow! So many of you are FAST readers!

Just finished #2 out of 30

Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay

A paranoid and map-obsessed guy who never leaves his bedroom in order to study a computer 3D program (similar to Google Earth) stumbles upon what he believes to be a murder seen in an upstairs window while on his computer. He convinces his brother to travel to the "scene of the crime" to investigate for him, ultimately pulling both of them into a deadly conspiracy.

I couldn't put this book down. So many sub plots and action going on from page 1 right to the end - kept my interest going the entire time.

First book by this author, but definitely won't be my last!

Now onto.... Dr. Sleep by Stephen King. LOVED The Shining (read it back in college) so am curious to see how King can pull off a sequel ...

 

[threeboysmom]

I just discovered this thread and I hope I'm not too late to join. My goal will be 40 books. I've read one so far: The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice. It was not one of her best but still worth reading.

So glad to have you! Welcome!

 

[wilma-bride]

First book by this author, but definitely won't be my last!

Love Linwood Barclay - if you are going to read another of his, may I suggest No Time For Goodbye. This is my absolute favourite of his books

 

[zippitydoo]

Book 5 of 50

Dirty Little Secrets(J.J. Graves Mystery #1) by Liliana Hart

From Goodreads

J.J. Graves has seen a lot of dead bodies in her line of work...

She's not only in the mortuary business, but she's also the coroner for King George County, Virginia. When a grisly murder is discovered in the small town of Bloody Mary, it's up to J.J. and her best friend, Detective Jack Lawson, to bring the victim justice.

The murders are piling up...

The residents of Blood Mary are dropping like flies, and when a popular mystery writer shows up on J.J.'s doorstep with plans of writing his new book about the Bloody Mary Serial Killer, J.J. has to decide if he might be going above and beyond the call of duty to create the spine tinglers he's so well known for. It only clouds the issue and puts her reputation on the line when the attraction between them spirals out of control.

And passions are rising...

J.J and Jack are in a race against time. They discover each victim had a shocking secret, and the very foundation of J.J.'s life is in danger of crumbling when it turns out she’s harboring secrets of her own—secrets that make her the perfect victim in a deadly game.

 

[Darcy03231]

#5 Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

I am not a Tolkien Fan (ack! sacrilege I know). However one of the authors who brought me back to the world building/fantasy genres was David Eddings. I adore this series. If you are a fantasy sword and sorcerers fan I highly recommend this series (The Belgariad is the first Series in this world and Pawn of Prophecy is the first book).

I was in the mood for a little fantasy so picked this up in audio, I reread the entire series (5 in the Belgariad and 5 in the Mallorean) about every other year. He also has another series that is very similar in characters but a different world. Love that one as well.#6 Delicious by Shayla Black

I am always trying to work on Reader's Advisory and one of the most asked RA series is Shades of Gray. This author was recommended by another customer so I decided to try it and see if it was a good one. Ehhh. It was crazy in a Lifetime woman in peril meets 80's horror flick Michael Myers wont die kinda way. The heroine has enough people out to kill her that it's a never ending array of break ins, attacks and evil notes impaled by sharp knives left in awkward places. That is sandwiched in between some pretty hard edged sex. Not quite Shades of Gray BDSM, but way more graphic than Nora Roberts/Sandra Brown types. Turns out this was book 3 in the series (intermingled characters but not time line necessary to read in order) so I'm going to go back and try the first one and see if maybe it was just one mediocre plotting nightmare in an otherwise decent list.

I have read Divergent. I loved the first book, plodded through the 2nd book and was very let down by the third, which ironically was exactly my experience with The Hunger Games as well.

This is one of my favorite fantasy series! I haven't read it in a while so I may have to dig it out.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#3/40: The Last Place by Laura Lippman

From Amazon:
In hot legal water—and court-ordered therapy—private investigator Tess Monaghan accepts an assignment with a local nonprofit organization to review police documents for inconsistencies and investigative blunders surrounding five unsolved Baltimore homicides. The cases seem unconnected except for the suspicion that each brutal death was the result of domestic violence.
But curiosity is soon pulling Tess off the paper trail and into dangerously unfamiliar territory, as she joins forces with a police officer obsessed with bringing a murderer down. Scant leads and intuitions are pointing the disgraced p.i. toward the most remote corners of Maryland, where a psychopath can hide as easily in the fabric of a tiny fishing community as in the alleys and shadows of Charm City. And a single, shocking common thread seems to be tying all the loose ends together into one bloody knot: Tess Monaghan herself.

This is book 7 in a series about Tess. I have thoroughly enjoyed each book and plan on continuing the series. 4.5/5

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I really liked New Year Island too- does anyone know of any similar books? As soon as I finished it I was dying to read something in the same vein but so far I have come up empty.

I haven't read it yet, but I have a book on my Kindle called "Flesh Worn Stone" that sounds along the same lines.(I'll edit this post with a link tomorrow when I'm on my computer.)

 

[wgeo]

4/30 Star Island by Carl Hiassen

I have never read Hiassen book before, but now I have a good idea what his writing style is like. Very over the top, very crazy but still a fun story/plot underneath all the crazy. I really enjoyed it and have picked up Bad Monkey to read in the next week or so.

 

[CallieMar]

If you hated Mockingjay, Requiem and Allegiant will probably not do much to restore your love for trilogies.

You are right to be worried about Requiem. Lol.

Sigh, I was afraid of that. I'll still read them just to find out how they end.

 

[portia9]

#11 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. I love Kate Atkinson but this isn't my favourite of her books. I did find it interesting and I love the way she writes but I had hoped to love this more.

#12 A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf-have always meant to read this. This book is an essay based on a collection of lectures she gave in the 1920's. It was thought provoking, feminist and her writing is beautiful.

I absolutely loved this part “... a book is not made of sentences laid end to end, but of sentences built, if an image helps, into arcades or domes.”

#13 The Rosie Project by Graham Simsion-I would be surprised if this doesn't make it into my Top 3 this year. The protagonist is a scientist who clearly has Asperger's and isn't aware that he does. It is very funny, the book is written from his perspective but you have sympathy with the other characters too. It's a great storyline; you want to keep reading to see what happens and you are really hoping for the best for him. Great book.

 

[JennaTX]

Finally finished my first book, A Storm of Swords! I am about half way through A Feast For Crows.

I knew these last three books of the Game of Thrones series would take a while to read.

After this I have 2 JD Robb books to read and a Nora Roberts book to read.

Then I am thinking that I will try again to read The Book Thief. I half-heartedly tried to read it before, but could not get past the first few pages. Everyone on here says how good it is as does my DD, so I will try it again.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys their reading!

 

[tiggrbaby]

4/30 Star Island by Carl Hiassen

I have never read Hiassen book before, but now I have a good idea what his writing style is like. Very over the top, very crazy but still a fun story/plot underneath all the crazy. I really enjoyed it and have picked up Bad Monkey to read in the next week or so.

Glad to hear it! That's the next one for me! I have read many of his books and just love the craziness.

 

[Darcy03231]

Finished #7/52 - Vengeance in Death by JD Robb. From Amazon:

"He is an expert with the latest technology...a madman with the mind of a genius and the heart of a killer. He quietly stalks his prey. Then he haunts the police with cryptic riddles about the crimes he is about to commit--always solved moments too late to save his victims' lives.

Police lieutenant Eve Dallas found the first victim butchered in his own home. The second lost his life in a vacant luxury apartment. The two men had little in common. Both suffered unspeakable torture before their deaths. And both had ties to an ugly secret of ten years past--a secret shared by none other than Eve's new husband, Roarke."

Another good book in the series. 4*

 

[Kimmers127]

I haven't read it yet, but I have a book on my Kindle called "Flesh Worn Stone" that sounds along the same lines.(I'll edit this post with a link tomorrow when I'm on my computer.)

Thank you! I looked that up and it was free on Amazon, so I downloaded it. I'm a little worried that it might be a little too graphic for me - I don't mind violence and gore, but I usually dislike graphic rape scenes. But since it was free, I'll give it a shot!

Got any books about Egypt/mummies?

 

[threeboysmom]

Love Linwood Barclay - if you are going to read another of his, may I suggest No Time For Goodbye. This is my absolute favourite of his books

Thanks! I've added it!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Thank you! I looked that up and it was free on Amazon, so I downloaded it. I'm a little worried that it might be a little too graphic for me - I don't mind violence and gore, but I usually dislike graphic rape scenes. But since it was free, I'll give it a shot!

Got any books about Egypt/mummies?

Actually...


I'm thinking you MAY be beyond a level 4 reader though.