Reading Challenge 2022

[willowsnn3]

 

[RangerPooh]

7/10 Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Book 2 of the Hannah Swenson series.

I liked the idea shared up thread. Here's my January books in visual forms. (All previously accounted for)

 

[bobbiwoz]

3/30 The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection.

But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle's complexion isn't dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.

It was an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

Just picked this up at library!

 

[Walt's Dream]

8/75 Remembering Woolworth's: A Nostalgic History of the World's Most Famous Five and Dime.
Remember shopping and eating at Woolworth's? As a junior high school student, I remember shopping with girlfriends in the mid 70's and always having a grilled cheese (with pickle chip!) and coke for lunch.
This book gives a detailed account of Woolworth's from it's beginnings with Frank Woolworth to it's unfortunate demise. There was a good description of the Greensboro Sit-Ins that tied in with a children's book I have and read to my kids every year for Black History Month.
I loved this book.

 

[willowsnn3]

#7/50 The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin
The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a long cold spell, warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats--leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At just the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard struck without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn't get lost in the storm?
Based on a true story, I enjoyed this one. I think I saw it listed on this thread or maybe last year.

 

[evilmommie]

6/20 The Return by Nicholas Sparks
It’s about an injured Navy doctor whose life intertwines with two women and their secrets. PTSD, heartbreak, family and love. 3.5 stars out of 4. +

 

[Shellsbutt]

#7/50 The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin
The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a long cold spell, warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats--leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At just the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard struck without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn't get lost in the storm?
Based on a true story, I enjoyed this one. I think I saw it listed on this thread or maybe last year.

I'm reading this right now! I'm trying to finish by tomorrow when it's due at the library. It took me awhile to get into it but what a story, so sad.

 

[drwitz]

Continuing my Stephen King re-readthrough:

11-12. Desperation by Stephen King and The Regulators by (Stephen King writing as) Richard Bachman

I'm reviewing these two together because they deserve to be read together. Both stories feature the same villain, a mysterious entity named Tak who might be a demon, might be an alien force, or might just be an ancient spirit. Both books also feature characters with the same names (although not necessarily playing the same roles). Both books also profile aspects of the Southwest, namely Nevada (one in the "real world" and one in the "pretend world"). Somewhere I saw these two books described as a religious-themed horror story, and a secular one. It isn't a bad description. Desperation is really a battle between good and evil with a young boy hearing the literal voice of God. The Regulators tells of another young boy, autistic, but brutally smart and wildly good who fights with the evil spirit trying to inhabit him. Both novels were fascinating but in this case I preferred the Bachman story over the King one. Maybe it is the overtly religious tone of Desperation, or the length of the book (over 700 pages) but it just didn't have the same appeal as The Regulators did for me. Again I love Stephen King's work (if you hadn't figured that out by now), so I would still give Desperation 4 out of 5 stars, but to me The Regulators was the better book (and shorter, about 450 pages). If you've read both, I would love to hear your thoughts.

13. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

Oh I just love the Dark Tower series. I am not a fan of westerns generally, but with Stephen King I make an exception. Of course, others may not think it is a western, but in this fourth novel in the series, we finally get more of Roland's (the Gunslinger) backstory, and it is a wonderfully constructed tale of young love, honor, betrayal, and revolution, all played out in a true Western style. What makes this extended flashback even better is that it is surrounded by sections set in the "present day" of the story, with an opening that resolves the "Blaine the Train" story of novel III and "exposes" our heroes to the world of The Stand, and an ending that begins to show how all of King's work is really tied together through this universe (and - best of all - Randall Flagg is revealed). Can't wait for more Dark Tower novels to come during this re-read.

More in the Stephen King re-read series:

14. Bag of Bones by Stephen King

A haunted love story and mystery reminiscent (and calling back) to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. I feel the book stumbled a little in the beginning, particularly with the malaise of the narrator following his wife's death, but once we begin with the ghost story, this one moves along beautifully. Again, not a scary novel per se, and not really a horror novel, this is much more a piece for general readers. A story that has some shocking moments, and some beautiful ones - at one point I had tears running down my face - this is worth a read.

15. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

I forgot how good this was. A young girl gets lost in the woods on the Massachusetts / New Hampshire border and tries to find her way out. Her only companion - a walkman radio (where she listens to the Boston Red Sox play-by-play) and the spectral presence of real life baseball player Tom Gordon. This is a short book, and moves fast.

16. Storm of the Century by Stephen King

A screenplay of the made-for-TV miniseries. Stephen King calls this a novel for television, and he isn't wrong. The screenplay has lots of narrative description and the story is complete within its pages. It was fascinating to read this and visualize the images on screen (and then to go back and find the actual series to watch online). Fun (and scary) read.

 

[willowsnn3]

I'm reading this right now! I'm trying to finish by tomorrow when it's due at the library. It took me awhile to get into it but what a story, so sad.

I know. I kinda hated to say I enjoyed it. Maybe should have said "interesting"...

 

[evilmommie]

More in the Stephen King re-read series:

14. Bag of Bones by Stephen King

A haunted love story and mystery reminiscent (and calling back) to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. I feel the book stumbled a little in the beginning, particularly with the malaise of the narrator following his wife's death, but once we begin with the ghost story, this one moves along beautifully. Again, not a scary novel per se, and not really a horror novel, this is much more a piece for general readers. A story that has some shocking moments, and some beautiful ones - at one point I had tears running down my face - this is worth a read.

Thanks for your review on this book. Am going to pick it up!

 

[Disney_Alli]

I’m in for 100 this year. I’ve already read 20 so I’ll come back and update with a line or two about… most… this weekend.

 

[MGMmjl]

3/30 - The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton

Description:
"When her grandmother’s will wrenches Sara back home, she learns more about Margaret Van Buren in the wake of her death than she ever knew in life.

After her last remaining family member dies, Sara Jenkins goes home to The Hideaway, her grandmother Mags’s ramshackle B&B in Sweet Bay, Alabama. She intends to quickly tie up loose ends then return to her busy life and thriving antique shop in New Orleans. Instead, she learns Mags has willed The Hideaway to her and charged her with renovating it—no small task considering her grandmother’s best friends, a motley crew of senior citizens, still live there.

Rather than hurrying back to New Orleans, Sara stays in Sweet Bay and begins the biggest house-rehabbing project of her career. Amid drywall dust, old memories, and a charming contractor, she discovers that slipping back into life at The Hideaway is easier than she expected.

Then she discovers a box Mags left in the attic with clues to a life Sara never imagined for her grandmother. With help from Mags’s friends, Sara begins to piece together the mysterious life of bravery, passion, and choices that changed her grandmother’s destiny in both marvelous and devastating ways.

When an opportunistic land developer threatens to seize The Hideaway, Sara is forced to make a choice—stay in Sweet Bay and fight for the house and the people she’s grown to love or leave again and return to her successful but solitary life in New Orleans."

I really liked this one!

 

[virge]

It by Stephen King
I first read this 30 something years ago. I haven’t seen the recent movies, so I had forgotten a great deal about the book. The story as a whole stood the test of time for me, but there were elements that have not held up. Overall, it’s a great epic horror novel and was worth the reread.

Down & Dirty: Jag (Dirty Angels MC Series Book 2)
Down & Dirty: Hawk (Dirty Angels MC Series Book 3)
Down & Dirty: Diesel (Dirty Angels MC Series Book 4)
Down & Dirty: Slade (Dirty Angels MC Series Book 5) all by Jeanne St. James (romance)
Fast and easy reads.

16/75

 

[melk]

6/35 Wish You Were Here by Jodi Piccoult

It’s March 2020 and Diana and Finn are about to go on their dream trip to the Galapagos. But Finn, a surgical resident in NYC, is told by the hospital he can’t have the time off because the Covid virus is gaining momentum. He tells Diana to go without him, thinking it will only be a matter of a few weeks before things are back to normal. So off she goes and everything changes.

This had such an interesting premise, knowing before the characters did just how wrong things were going to go. The story did not take the route I thought it was going to at all. While there were a couple of turns I didn’t care for, there was a shock I didn’t see coming at all, which I always enjoy being caught off guard like that. Overall I really enjoyed it.

 

[OKW8297]

2. A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett. About a family bank in Victorian England. Very good book.

 

[bobbiwoz]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (9/50)

It‘s the coming of age story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her formative years in turn of the century Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn.

Amazingly, I had never read this before! It’s an American classic. NYC in the 19teens! 4.5/5

 

[RUDisney]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (9/50)

It‘s the coming of age story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her formative years in turn of the century Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn.

Amazingly, I had never read this before! It’s an American classic. NYC in the 19teens! 4.5/5

That is a book that I read and loved in HS.

 

[willowsnn3]

I’m in for 100 this year. I’ve already read 20 so I’ll come back and update with a line or two about… most… this weekend.

Great! Adding you to the list.

It by Stephen King

One of my favorite King books.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (9/50)

Love this one also.

 

[willowsnn3]

#8/50 Penumbra by Carolyn Haines
From Goodreads:
Jade Dupree is a beautician and an undertaker's assistant with a gift for smoothing the ravages of death from the faces of her clientele.
Jade is half-black and the unacknowledged bastard daughter of Drexel's "first lady," the imperious Lucille Longier. Jade's half sister, the pale, fragile, and legitimate Marlena, is married to Lucas Bramlett, the wealthiest man in the region. While the entire town knows of the blood bond between the two women, no one dares speak the truth out loud.
Though her talents as a hairdresser are highly sought after by Drexel's elite, Jade accepts that she'll never truly be part of the town and lives her life the best she can. But on one hot summer day in 1952, Jade's world is turned inside out when Marlena, on a tryst with her lover, is savagely beaten and her young daughter kidnapped. Determined to find her niece before it's too late, Jade accepts help from a white sheriff's deputy, Frank Kimble. The forbidden attraction that ignites between them threatens to add to the violence already brewing in town.

I enjoyed this one. Funny, it was on the bottom of the stack I last brought home from the library & I started not to start it a couple days ago as it is actually due back today. But finished it this afternoon & will put it in the drop box tomorrow morning on the way to work.

 

[Frwinkley]

6/35 Wish You Were Here by Jodi Piccoult

It’s March 2020 and Diana and Finn are about to go on their dream trip to the Galapagos. But Finn, a surgical resident in NYC, is told by the hospital he can’t have the time off because the Covid virus is gaining momentum. He tells Diana to go without him, thinking it will only be a matter of a few weeks before things are back to normal. So off she goes and everything changes.

This had such an interesting premise, knowing before the characters did just how wrong things were going to go. The story did not take the route I thought it was going to at all. While there were a couple of turns I didn’t care for, there was a shock I didn’t see coming at all, which I always enjoy being caught off guard like that. Overall I really enjoyed it.

I found this book very hard to believe. I didn't like the direction it took at all. Just my opinion.