Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[nemofans]

Finished book #24 - Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

This is my 2nd book by Joe Hill & I really enjoyed it. He has a talent for writing creepy stories, just like his father Stephen King. It's about an aging rock star (who likes to collect macabre artifacts) & he buys a haunted suit online. But the suit ends up not being from a stranger, but someone out to seek revenge.

Aging death-metal rock legend Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals...a used hangman's noose...a snuff film. But nothing he possesses is as unique or as dreadful as his latest purchase off the Internet: a one-of-a-kind curiosity that arrives at his door in a black heart-shaped box...a musty dead man's suit still inhabited by the spirit of its late owner. And now everywhere Judas Coyne goes, the old man is there—watching, waiting, dangling a razor blade on a chain from his bony hand.

Next book: Mrs. Poe

 

[wrestlingchick26]

Book 18- Adopting Jenny
Book 19-The dog with 9 lives
Both were cute animal reads, enjoyed both

Book 20- The Infection- Craig DiLouie
Book 21- The killing floor- Craig DiLouie
These books started off really good, but they lost me when the infected people started turning into monsters, and the ending was just bizarre

Book 22- Ride the wind- Anne McCullagh Rennie
Another good book

Book 23, 24 and 25- Southern Cross Secrets- Barbra Hannay.
This was a 3 books series featuring the same 3 characters and follows there story of meeting the love of their lives- really enjoyed this series.

Book 26- Infected- Scott Sigler- I found this book really odd, didn't enjoy it at all, was waiting for something exciting to happen.

Book 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32- Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse- Shawn Chesser- I LOVED this series, was fast pace, full of action and just as good if not better than the walking dead tv show. Can not recommend this series enough.

Book 33- Zombie Fall out- Mark Tufo, this book started off good but got a little odd by the end, not sure if I will continue the series or not.

Book 34- Dog tales- This was a cute book full of little stories from people about their dogs.

Next- I am not sure, have about 4 on the go at the moment.

 

[CaliBear]

10 of 30 The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

from amazon:

For maverick LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch, the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal...because the murdered man was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who had fought side by side with him in a hellish underground war. Now Bosch is about to relive the horror of Nam. From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit. Pitted against enemies inside his own department and forced to make the agonizing choice between justice and vengeance, Bosch goes on the hunt for a killer whose true face will shock him.

It took awhile to get into, but this was good. I'll probably read the next one eventually. Someone listed a Harry Potter fanfic upthread that seems to have a lot of good reviews so I'm giving it a try. I'm enjoying it. I wasn't able to get it through amazon so I'm reading it with google books on my phone, and I like how google books "looks". Does anyone know if this is how paperwhite looks?

 

[3Gsandme]

So, I'm behind on updating. LOL! I knew I wanted to sign up for this, but didn't remember if I had and didn't check into whether or not I did. But, I appears I did.

Good reads tells me I'm five books behind schedule, so I'd better step it up. I'll keep the info on this brief since there's 17 of them at once...

Book 1
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Book 2
Tornado Hunter Stefan Bechtel

Book 3
My Last Fight:The True Story of a Hockey Rock Star by Darren McCarty

Book 4
The Center of Everything by Laura Moriatry

Book 5
There's Cake in my Future by Kim Gruenenfelder

Book 6
Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Book 7
The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

Book 8
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Book 9
The Everafterby Amy Huntley

Book 10
Wool Omnibus Hugh Howey

Book 11
Shift Omnibus by Hugh Howey

Book 12
Cast Member Confidential Chris Mitchell

Book 13
Mousechawitz by Angela Lovell

Book 14
Stories from a Theme Park Insider by Robert Niles

Book 15
Mousetrapped by Catherine Ryan Howard

Book 16
Amber Earns her Ears by Amber Michelle Sewell

Book 17
The Fault in our Starsby John Green

I'll give more in depth information now that I'm caught up.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#21 The End of Everything by Megan Abbott

From Goodreads:
Thirteen-year-old Lizzie Hood and her next-door neighbor, Evie Verver, are inseparable, best friends who swap clothes, bathing suits, and field-hockey sticks and between whom, presumably, there are no secrets. Then one afternoon, Evie disappears, and as a rabid, giddy panic spreads through the balmy suburban community, everyone turns to Lizzie for answers.

I didn't care for this book at all. Kept reading to find out if the missing girl was found. Toward the end the storyline headed off in a direction that I didn't like. A lot of stuff hinted at but left unsaid.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#10/40 Under A Wing: A Memoir by Reeve Lindbergh

From Amazon:
Reeve Lindbergh's memoir offers a uniquely intimate portrait of her family led by her intensely private father, aviator Charles Lindbergh, and mother, writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Under a Wing captures both her parents' complex personalities with immediacy and intimacy. Reeve explores the contrast between a loving father who "would parade imaginary animals across our backs" and the exacting patriarch who, upon return from his frequent absences, called each of his five children into his office to peruse a handwritten list of their achievements and failures. She seems anguished in her response to one of Charles's notorious, bigoted speeches: "How could someone who spoke the words my father did in 1941," she asks, "how did such a person then raise children who by his instruction and his example, day after day and year after year, had learned from him ... that such words were repellent and unspeakable?" She offers too a blunt but tender portrait of Anne in old age--she has been physically and mentally impaired by a series of stroke--that proves she has a mature understanding of a deeply loving woman who nonetheless always held some part of herself in reserve for her writing. This impressive memoir brings readers close to the private people within two legendary public figures. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This was a very interesting book with an intimate look into the family life. It was written before the revelation of the other families, so there is no info on them. 4.5/5

 

[Colleen27]

Finished #21 - The Walking Dead: The Fall of The Governor, Part Two.

I'll be honest - The Walking Dead novels aren't the best writing in the world. They're fluff at best and a little repetitive and wordy at worst, something I chalk up to a comic book writer's attempt to capture the imagery of his usual format using words alone. However for a fan of the series the books are still worth a look. This is the 4th of 4 and I have them all. They're all quick, fun reads, overly gruesome in parts as any fan of the comic or the show would expect, and the focus on one of the comic's most interesting and most frightening characters makes for an exciting story.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 100 books plus the Bible in its entirety.

#12 - Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen. This is the latest in the Royal Spyness series. Lady Georgianna Rannoch, great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and 35th in line to the throne, is recruited to groom the newly-located heir to the Duke of Eynsford, fresh from the outback of Australia, in the ways of the British aristocracy so he'll be ready to assume his duties when the incumbent duke dies, presumably in the distant future.

As we expect, the duke is murdered, and the Australian heir is the prime suspect, especially since his knife was the murder weapon! A couple of unexpected twists make this whodunit interesting, and I was surprised to find out actually whodunit.

Rhys Bowen also writes the Molly Murphy series, set in turn-of-the-century New York and the Constable Evan Evans mysteries, set in Wales. Both are also good reads.

Queen Colleen

 

[threeboysmom]

Book #10 - Stolen by Rebecca Muddiman

I was reading this during every spare minute I had at WDW last week, even choosing to arrive late at the park one day so I could read a bit more.

Wow... if that isn't a stellar recommendation for a book, I don't know what one is!!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Wow... if that isn't a stellar recommendation for a book, I don't know what one is!!!

I know, my DD was getting really impatient with me

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #28 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Book #29 Gigi, Julie de Carneilha, and Chance Acquaintances: Three Short Novels by Colette

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#22 Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

From Goodreads:
'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life

Well it started out good but got increasingly unbelievable. Was interesting enough to make me finish the book tho. Had lots of potential to begin with but somehow fell short.

 

[wilma-bride]

Goal 72

#22 Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

From Goodreads:
'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life

Well it started out good but got increasingly unbelievable. Was interesting enough to make me finish the book tho. Had lots of potential to begin with but somehow fell short.

I felt exactly the same about that book. It started well and got really gripping and then just got a bit stupid really. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what happened and I pretty much guessed how it would end and who her husband was.

 

[threeboysmom]

Goal 72

#22 Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

From Goodreads:
'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life

Well it started out good but got increasingly unbelievable. Was interesting enough to make me finish the book tho. Had lots of potential to begin with but somehow fell short.

Was this the book where the woman had to read her journal every morning so that she could "remember" who she was?

I *think* I liked this book, but don't remember now how it ended. Grrrr... I HATE my memory!!

 

[mumloveseeyore]

book 39/150the snake, the crocodile and the dog elizabeth peters
more Amelia peabody adventures in Egypt. 4/5
book 40/150 the uncommon reader by alan bennet
from Amazon
Walking her corgis one night the Queen stumbles upon a mobile library. Not wanting to seem rude she borrows a book, and then another. Soon she has been bitten by the bug and finds herself reading whenever she gets a moment. She becomes adroit at reading in the car while waving with her free hand and seems to be neglecting her once impeccably performed duties. She reads capriciously and diversely, everything from Proust to Vikram Seth and soon the seditious world of literature has her questioning her life and the political world around her.
This was funny and thought provoking 4/5
book 41/150Damsel in Distress by carola Dunn
Another in the Daisy Dalrymple series of cosy mysteries seti n the 1920's a fun light read.

 

[willowsnn3]

Was this the book where the woman had to read her journal every morning so that she could "remember" who she was?

I *think* I liked this book, but don't remember now how it ended. Grrrr... I HATE my memory!!

Yes, that's the one. Christine, husband Ben & Dr. Nash. Maybe that will help you remember.

 

[Swimnoid]

23. The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer
Jeffrey Archer writes books that span generations and are rich in detail. The Prodigal Daughter is the 2nd of a trilogy. I had read the first book, Kane & Abel a couple of years ago. Kane & Abel were enemies. This book continues the saga focusing on Abel's daughter from her birth until her mid 50s. Early on she meets Kane's son. It was very interesting and I am looking forward to the final book.

24. The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
A young man is trying to return home when a snow storm grounds all planes. He meets a young woman in the airport while waiting on the plane's status. She is trying to get home to attend her wedding the next day. On a whim he finds a private pilot who will fly him to the next airport so he finds the woman he had met and off they go...and the plane crashes. What follows is their tale of survival. I liked it. I've read other books by the author and they have all been good. There is a little twist at the end I didnt really see coming but finishes it up nicely.

25. A Dog's Purpose by W Bruce Cameron
This story starts out with a puppy just becoming aware of himself as a being and follows what happens to him. I dont want to say a lot about the plot because not knowing what was going to happen was the best part of it for me. But if you like books about dogs you should love this. I just had to put my dog of 15 years to sleep about a month ago and this really hit home. It is sad in parts but also very uplifting. Highly recommended for dog lovers. Possibly my favorite book of the year so far.

26. The Fifth Assassin by Brad Melzer
This is the second of a series about the Culpa Ring, a super secret entity of the government. When I picked it up I didnt realize it was part of series but the story sounded interesting. Once I was into it I realized I had read the first one. The story line was a good one but the book lagged in places and made it hard to get through.

 

[Simba's Mom]

24. The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
A young man is trying to return home when a snow storm grounds all planes. He meets a young woman in the airport while waiting on the plane's status. She is trying to get home to attend her wedding the next day. On a whim he finds a private pilot who will fly him to the next airport so he finds the woman he had met and off they go...and the plane crashes. What follows is their tale of survival. I liked it. I've read other books by the author and they have all been good. There is a little twist at the end I didnt really see coming but finishes it up nicely.

Thanks! Now it's on my "Want to Read" shelf. I'd never heard of this author, now the book. However, your review intrigued me so I did a little research and it sounds terrific-just the type of book I'd like. This is why I love this thread.

 

[kittengal13]

Due to work and university, I have had NO time for reading, it sucks!! Once my exams end in May, and I am working, I will have evenings free and can read so will hopefully still reach my goal

Book 3/60 Irvine Welsh- Trainspotting

The best book I have read in a long, long time

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #25 - Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

I was a fan of Edgar Allen Poe in college & thought I would check this out. I learned a lot about him, but the story moved too slowly for me. It's an OK story. I give it 3/5 stars. If you have an interest in Edgar Allen Poe, then read this. If not, then don't bother.

The triumphant success of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” compels fledgling poet Frances Osgood to meet her literary idol, a mysterious, complicated man who soon has her under his seductive spell in an all-consuming affair. And when Edgar’s frail young wife breaks into their idyll to befriend her rival, Frances fears that deceiving Mrs. Poe may be as impossible as cheating death itself. . . .

Next book: The Weight of Blood