Reading Challenge 2022

[willowsnn3]

#35/50 Elevation by Stephen King
Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That's why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition he's losing weight without getting thinner, and the scales register the same whether he is in his clothes or out of them, no matter how heavy they are.
Scott also has new neighbors who have opened a "fine dining experience" in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals: Deirdre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly conform to a lifestyle the community approves of. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be warm and friendly, but Deirdre is as cold as ice.
As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12K run, Scott begins to understand the prejudices the women face, and tries to help. Unlikely alliances form, and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

What can I say? Stephen King, excellent as always.

 

[RangerPooh]

32/40 Rim to Rim by Jeanne Meeks.
An empty nester is served with divorce papers as she's about to embark upon a backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon. Murder, mystery, self exploration, and friendship is discovered throughout this book.

 

[drwitz]

#35/50 Elevation by Stephen King
Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That's why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition he's losing weight without getting thinner, and the scales register the same whether he is in his clothes or out of them, no matter how heavy they are.
Scott also has new neighbors who have opened a "fine dining experience" in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals: Deirdre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly conform to a lifestyle the community approves of. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be warm and friendly, but Deirdre is as cold as ice.
As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12K run, Scott begins to understand the prejudices the women face, and tries to help. Unlikely alliances form, and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

What can I say? Stephen King, excellent as always.

It is a shorty but a goodie. I will catch up to it eventually ("everything's eventual") but I did love this one the previous 2 times I have read it!

 

[JayMass]

Hi Everyone! Seems like I am always taking an extended break between posts! Anyway here are some updates from this summer:

13/40 "There is Someone Inside Your House" by Stephanie Perkins. Because I teach high school English I always feel the need to read a little YA, but it's usually not very interesting. This one was good, but predictable. A new girl moves to town her senior year and someone is starting to kill off the members of her class. Oh, did I mention she has a past? Of course she does, but could whatever it is--because it is unnamed until the end of the book--be that bad? Well, this is YA, the PG-13 of books, so...NOPE. If you like YA this isn't a bad choice, but if you are looking for something more you won't get it here.

14/40 "Await Your Reply" by Dan Chaon. This is my first Dan Chaon book, and I gotta say I really like his writing. It's kind of like three separate stories that meet up at the end. It's dark and depressing with characters who do bad things but have likeable enough qualities about them. The big question--who are we and can we change ourselves?

15/40 "One of Us is Lying" by Karen McManus. Another YA because I like the abuse. Different plot but same reaction as number 13 above.

16/40 "The Word is Murder" by Anthony Horowitz. This was a surprise. Horowitz puts himself in the story as the main character who is to write a book a suspicious death. It has all the classic trademarks of a classic mystery. It kept me guessing the whole time. Loved it.

17/40 "Ill Will" by Dan Chaon. Well, I liked one book by Chaon, might as well try another! This was just as good. Bleak, dark, full of death and secrets. I read this on a Kindle and thought I might have had a bad copy or something because at one point the page is split into columns. Luckily that was on purpose. Interesting story-telling that really works.

18/40 "Later" by Stephen King. Think I'd go a summer with no King? Of course not! This was a really good one, too. A young boy is given a special talent--seeing dead people, but it's not an M. Night Shyamalan rip-off. It's good story telling with a few chills and well developed characters. Loved it.

19/40 "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. I'm still reeling from his death in 2018. I'm not usually shaken by celebrity deaths but Bourdain, Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, and Robin Williams really impacted me. DW and I loved Bourdain's shows--mostly because he was so real and didn't seem to care what anyone else thought. He told it like it was. I had been meaning to read his book but never got around to it and after his death I just couldn't take it. This summer, 4 years later, I was ready to have his voice in my head again as I read. The book was amazing. Yes it was dated and I know he later said he regretted some of the more sexist moments, it was a look into what makes someone want to work in a kitchen. I spent many years in high school dishwashing prep cooking in restaurants so I had a frame of reference, but I always thought the chefs were out of their minds. It's a great behind the scenes look and if enjoy good food I'd recommend it.

 

[JayMass]

#35/50 Elevation by Stephen King
Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That's why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition he's losing weight without getting thinner, and the scales register the same whether he is in his clothes or out of them, no matter how heavy they are.
Scott also has new neighbors who have opened a "fine dining experience" in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals: Deirdre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly conform to a lifestyle the community approves of. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be warm and friendly, but Deirdre is as cold as ice.
As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12K run, Scott begins to understand the prejudices the women face, and tries to help. Unlikely alliances form, and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

What can I say? Stephen King, excellent as always.

I really liked this one too!

 

[RUDisney]

17/25: The Heavens: A Novel by Sandra Newman

This was recommended by Amazon as something I'd like since I've read all of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books. It deals with time travel, but not in the same way as Outlander. The main character is open about her time travel. She does it in her sleep. Everyone thinks she is crazy. I struggled through this book. I skipped over some of her time traveling adventures toward the back of the book. It was AWFUL!!!

I read a lot on my elliptical. Instead of listening to music or watching TV, it can pass the time very quickly. This book had me dreading the time I'd spend on it.

I'm currently reading Wish You Well, as it was recommended above. This is a book that makes 35 minutes of pedaling seem like 5.

I have a bunch of books downloaded for a 10-day cruise I'm taking in a couple weeks. I hope these recommendations work to my benefit, or I'll be rereading Go Tell the Bees... again. I'll do that if I get through the others on my Kindle.

 

[willowsnn3]

#36/50 Later by Stephen King
The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

Really liked this one. Makes two short ones is a row so maybe I'm ready to start that 1100 page 'Imaginary Friend' next.

 

[Caseheidi]

50/60 Kitty's Big Trouble (Kitty Norville Series #9) by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever. Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural? She's got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman. Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter.

But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia. That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play. And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn. . . .

51/60 Kitty Steals the Show (Kitty Norville Series #10) by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty has been tapped as the keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies, taking place in London. The conference brings together scientists, activists, protestors, and supernatural beings from all over the world—and Kitty, Ben, and Cormac are right in the middle of it.

Master vampires from dozens of cities have also gathered in London for a conference of their own. With the help of the Master of London, Kitty gets more of a glimpse into the Long Game—a power struggle among vampires that has been going on for centuries—than she ever has before. In her search for answers, Kitty has the help of some old allies, and meets some new ones, such as Caleb, the alpha werewolf of the British Isles. The conference has also attracted some old enemies, who've set their sights on her and her friends.

52/60 Soul Taken (Mercy Thompson Series #13) by Patricia Briggs

The vampire Wulfe is missing. Since he’s deadly, possibly insane, and his current idea of “fun” is stalking me, some may see it as no great loss. But, warned that his disappearance might bring down the carefully constructed alliances that keep our pack safe, my mate and I must find Wulfe—and hope he’s still alive. As alive as a vampire can be, anyway.

But Wulfe isn’t the only one who has disappeared. And now there are bodies, too. Has the Harvester returned to the Tri-Cities, reaping souls with his cursed sickle? Or is he just a character from a B horror movie and our enemy is someone else?

The farther I follow Wulfe’s trail, the more twisted—and darker—the path becomes. I need to figure out what’s going on before the next body on the ground is mine.

The Mercy Thompson Series has to be my favorite Urban Fantasy series out there. And this book delivers as they always do, and leaves me wanting the next book in the series. If you like Urban Fantasy, and have never read Patricia Briggs, I highly recommend her.

 

[bobbiwoz]

49/50 the next one….An Irish Country Cottage by Patrick Taylor.

50/50
Changing my goal to 75
50/75 An Irish Country Family by Patrick Taylor. This one was 4/5 IMO.

 

[OKW8297]

14. The Lost Summers of Newport. By three of my favorite historical fiction authors, it tells 3 interwoven stories from 3 time periods. Outstanding.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

#5 Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Na'ain Translation of a very early Classic Chinese classic. So many Kung Fu movies and so much more owe this work big time. From the 1300's. Loved another translation years earlier but this one was magnificant.

#6 Fear and Loathing on Campaign Trail by Hunter Thompson Interesting read and to see how politics have and haven't changed.

# 7 Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinninman
Second book of a sci fi comedy series. Humor still pretty good but very similar to first book and taking a break from series for a bit.


Anyone is interested in reading any of my works I would gladly send kindle gift versions of any of them: “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”.
You can see them all reviewed on Goodreads (click on link to view books). If you are interested in reading any of them please message me here or at Goodreads. I would greatly appreciate the effort.

 

[melk]

22/35 The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

Estranged identical twins Harper and Tabitha are thrown together when their father dies. One lives on Nantucket, the other on Martha’s Vineyard and they basically swap spots for the summer due to their lives falling apart.

Typical Hilderbrand novel, simple, easy to read. I usually enjoy one of her light reads each summer and this one didn’t disappoint.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

23/30 - The Cowboy’s Amish Haven by Pamela Desmond Wright. Cowboy returns and helps save an Amish ranch and friendship turns into happily ever after. Ok but it was authors first book.

24/30 - Courting Her Amish Heart by Mary Davis. Book one of series. Amish girl becomes doctor and returns to help her community. It was ok. A little stretch of the imagination.

25/30 - Courting Her Secret Heart by Mary Davis. Book 2 in series. Amish girl secretly models but chooses to help her family and finds love. Ok but again pretty unrealistic.

26/30 - Courting Her Prodigal Heart by Mary Davis. Book 3 and final in series. Young girl returns to her Amish family when she is pregnant, unemployed and homeless. Finally accepted by family and finds love and renewed faith. Again pretty unrealistic with overdone computers, websites, internet and electricity.

Well that put a little dent in my Amish reading challenge and the book I am reading now is not Amish lol.

 

[KevM]

End of the month wrap up.

109) An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong – Non-Fiction/Nature. A fascinating journey covering how a wide range of animals perceive the world. 5/5

110) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt – Contemporary. An interesting, but long story. At almost 800 pages it felt dragged out in parts. 3/5

111) Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao – YA Sci-Fi. A world that has been at war with invading beings for centuries uses meccas to fight. Each mecca needs a male and female pilot, but the female’s life force is always drained after a few missions. But now one woman is about to find out that a lot of what she’s been taught isn’t as it is. 4.25/5

112) Jenny by Sigrid Undset (translator Tiina Nunnally) – Classic. Published in 1911, it’s aout a Norwegian painter in Rome who has an affair with a suitor’s father becoming pregnant and deciding to raise the baby by herself. 3.75/5

113) I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy – Memoir. Wow. That was devastating but also so well written. I didn’t know anything about McCurdy as her time on Nickelodeon was well after when I watched it. But yeah, that titled is well earned. Besides her mom being horrible, just about every adult in her life failed her. And that’s not even talking about the producer/creator of the shows she was on. CW: sexually abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, eating disorders. 5/5

114) Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia by George Makari – Non-Fiction/History. An interesting read on the history of xenophobia and it’s strong resurgent. 4.5/5

115) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Historical Fiction. Reclusive Hollywood Legend Evelyn Hugo is ready to let the world know everything about her life. While writing the legends story Monique Grant is also trying to figure out why Evelyn handpicked her for this job. 4.5/5

116) The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin by Ursula K. Le Guin – Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Anthology. A collection of all 13 of Le Guin’s novellas. All of them were great. 4.5/5

117) Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde – Autobiography. Covering from her childhood in the 1930’s Harlem through her coming of age in the 1950s. Focusing on her relationships with the women in her life 4.5/5

118) Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang – Memoir. Qian’s memoir of growing up in the ‘90s-‘00’s as an undocumented immigrant in New York City. 4.5/5

119) The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon – Non-Fiction/History. On 12/3/1917 a ship packed with explosives heading to the frontlines of WWI exploded in the Halifax harbor. At the time it was the largest manmade detonation ever recorded. An interesting telling of what lead up to the explosion, what caused the explosion, and the aftermath. 4/5

120) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff – Non-Fiction/Technology. A bit dense/academic but still an informative and interesting study of surveillance capitalism. 4.25/5

121) A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe – Non-Fiction/History. Written 60 years after the plague of 1665. A bit dry and mundane. 3/5

122) Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher and Joshua Ravetch – Memoir. Carrie Fisher’s first memoir. A quick a funny read. 3.75/5

123) Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms by Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law – Non-Fiction/Social Justice/Politics. An examination of multiple alternatives to prisons and how many of them actual widen the net of punishment and surveillance. 5/5

124) Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels by Paul Pringle – Non-Fiction/True Crime/Journalism. When LA Times writer Pringle received a tip about a prestigious USC doctor’s involvement with a young woman’s overdose, he thought it would be a quick story. Instead, it turned into a years’ long battle with USC, the Pasadena police, and his own newspaper to get the story out. It also led to findings about another USC doctor’s sexually abusing patients for decades and information on what would become the fake sporting recruitment college scandal. 5/5

125) Blood Feast: The Complete Short Stories of Malika Moustadraf by Malika Moustadraf (translator Alice Guthrie) – Short Stories. Moustadraf is a cult feminist icon in her native Morocco. She tragically died at only 37 from kidney disease in 2006. This collection published earlier this year is the first time her works have been translated into English. 4.25/5

126) Fauna by Alice Guthrie (translator Pablo Strauss) – Sci-Fi/Horror/Short Stories. 10 linked stories about a not-too-distant future revenged by the climate crisis. 3.25/5

127) The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood; Youth; Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen (translator Michael Favala Goldman) – Memoir. Ditlevsen is celebrated as one of the most important writers of 20th century Dutch literature. She wrote these memoirs between 1969-’71, only a few short years before she committed suicide. While the first two have been available in English i=since the ‘80s this collection marks the first time the third volume has been translated into English. Her memoirs cover everything from being an artist, to motherhood (and abortion) to what would finally take her life, addiction. 4.5/5

128) Praises & Offenses: Three Women Poets from the Dominican Republic by Angela Hernández Nuñez, Aída Cartagena Portalatín, and Ylonca Nacidit Perdomo (translator Judith Kermam) – Poetry. A nice collection of poetry from an underserved community when it comes to translated works. Cartagena Portalatín is the elder stateman of the group having been born in 1918 and dying about 15 years before the publication of the collection in 2009. Hernández Nuñez (b. 1954) and Nacidit Perdomo (b. 1965) are more contemporary poets. 4/5

 

[MGMmjl]

21/30 - Free Fire by C. J. Box

Description:
"Joe Pickett, having recently been fired from his job as a Wyoming game warden, is working on his father-in-law's ranch when he receives a call from the governor's office. Governor Rulon-a devious but down-home politico-has a special request, one Joe knows he can't refuse. For weeks, the headlines have been abuzz with the story of Clay McCann, a lawyer who slaughtered four campers in cold blood in a far-off corner of Yellowstone National Park. After the murders, McCann immediately turned himself in at the nearest park ranger station. It seemed like a slam-dunk case for law enforcement-except that the crimes were committed in a thin sliver of land with zero residents and overlapping jurisdiction, the so-called free-fire zone. McCann had taken advantage of a loophole in the law: neither the state of Wyoming nor the federal government can try him for his crime, so he walks out of prison a free man.

Governor Rulon, sensitive to the rising tide of public outrage over the McCann case, wants his own investigation into the murders. The governor will reinstate Joe as a game warden if he'll go to Yellowstone to investigate. Joe, happy to get his badge back, even under these circumstances, agrees. However, it quickly becomes clear to Joe that McCann is deeply involved with some illegal activity taking place in the park-something tremendously lucrative and unusually dangerous. As Joe and his partner Nate Romanowski search in the unlikeliest places to find the key to the murders, they find out that it may be hidden in the rugged terrain of the park itself."

This is book #7 in the Joe Pickett series. I continue to really enjoy the series!

 

[melk]

23/35 Out of the Corner by Jennifer Grey

Memoir by the Dirty Dancing star, chronicling her childhood, romances with Matthew Broderick and Johnny Depp, making her iconic movie with Patrick Swayze, competing on Dancing With the Stars, and of course, her nose job.

I happened to see this at my library and picked it up as I remembered seeing Dirty Dancing so many times as a teenager. It was interesting enough and was a quick read. I really didn’t know anything about her or her famous romances. I only knew she was unrecognizable after her nose job.

 

[willowsnn3]

#37/50 Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Think you know the person you married? Think again…
Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife
Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

This one was pretty good altho I struggled thru it & was glad to finish.

 

[bobbiwoz]

51/75 An Irish Country Welcome by Patrick Taylor. The next to the last in the series loving all the books.

Will be reading other’s posts with an eye to getting more book suggestions!

 

[tiggrbaby]

August:
#60/90: Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain (3.5/5) (fiction)

Laura’s deathbed promise to her father resulted in her husband’s death, which was witnessed by her young daughter, who has not spoken since witnessing her father’s suicide. Now Laura must seek the help of a man see only met once - the real father.

#61/90:The Dark Angel (Ruth Galloway #10) by Elly Griffiths (4/5) (mystery)

Ruth heads off to Italy to help archaeologist Angelo Morelli in what she expects to be a working holiday. But age old secrets and a modern day murder, not to mention Nelson’s sudden presense, create a race to solve a mystery.

#62/90: Wish You Well by David Baldacci (4/5) (historical fiction)

In 1940 a family tragedy sent Lou and Oz from their home in NYC to live with their great-grandmother in the mountains of Virginia. As they adjust to their new lifestyle, tragedy strikes that could upend their lives again.

#63/90: The Shore by Katie Runde (4/5) (fiction)

The Dunne family live year round in Seaside, running a real estate business not far from the boardwalk. But when Brian develops a brain tumor, it affects his wife and daughters.

#64/90: The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (4/5) (historical fiction)

Based on a true story, Mila Pavilchenko leaves her studies and young son to join the Russian forces after her country is invaded by the Nazis. As she has had previous training, she becomes a celebrated sharpshooter, nicknamed Lady Death. She and a delegation are sent to the US to drum up support in their fight. There she bonds with the First Lady, and finds herself a target in a plot to assassinate the President.

#65/90: Why Didn’t You Tell Me? By Carmen Rita Wong (4/5) (memoir)

An immigrant mother’s long held secrets change her daughter’s understanding of her heritage and identity.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Happy National Read A Book Day
Everyone!!