Reading Thread/Goals for 2025

[RangerPooh]

12/15 Missing in the Falls, A Sweetwater Falls Mystery #2. Elle Gray

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

38/104: Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
A woman's husband leaves a cryptic note and disappears, later he commits a horrible crime. A book full of secrets and impossible situations. I felt like it took a long time to get to the point but well written, easy read. 3

39/104: The Favorites by Layne Fargo
A complicated love story set in the competitive world of figure skating. Loved it. 4

40/104: DK Top 10 Las Vegas by DK Eyewitness Travel
Travel guide for Las Vegas

41/104: More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
A novel about a woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder that becomes a stand-up comedian. I didn't finish this book. During her manic cycles it was just too difficult for me to read due to experiences in my life. Very well written, just not for me.

42/104: Carless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Audio Book)
Memoir by a former employee of Facebook that discusses all the nasty behind the scenes issues that were pretty mind blowing yet not unexpected. I listened to this book, which was read by the author and I found it fascinating and disturbing. Highly recommend. 4

43/104: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Thriller about an author whose wife disappears, then he moves to a tiny Scottish Island and starts to see her everywhere. 3

44/104: The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose
Second book in a series (after The Perfect Marriage). We now find the protagonist re-married after her previous husband was sentenced to death in the previous book. Her new husband makes the same mistake as her last husband and now will pay the price for it. Super fast paced read, twist not quite as good as the first book but still great. 4

45/104: Plane Insanity by Elliott Hester
Outrageous stories of air travel by a former flight attendant. 3

 

[Kirby]

#18 - Grace in Strange Disguise by Christine Dillon
Genre - Inspirational
I enjoyed reading it and give it a 4/5.

 

[bobbiwoz]

37/50 “The Choice” by Nicolas Sparks, 4/5. How far will you go to keep the hope of love alive? What a decision!

 

[Needsanap]

I am at 36/50.

It’s been so long since I posted I couldn’t list them all. I hope to try better

 

[willowsnn3]

#13/25 Lila by Marilynne Robinson
I didn't realize this was the third of a four book series.
It was pretty good tho as a stand alone.

 

[bobbiwoz]

38/50.” When Death Draws Near” by Carrie Stuart Parks. The third in the series. I skipped parts about handlings snakes. 4/5

 

[bobbiwoz]

39/50
“My Name is Emilia del Valle,” by Isabel Allende.

For the reading challenge, I needed to real a book that was published this year. A cousin told me about an interview she listened to with Isabel Allende about her new book. Part of the book is set in CA the late 1800, and the book continues in Chile. During revolution the book describes horrors only found in wars, and afterwards it continues in Chile, and comes to a resolution. 4.5/5

 

[MGMmjl]

13/32 - Hidden in Smoke by Lee Goldberg

Description:
"After dozens of Hollywood apartment buildings erupt in flames during a single night of terror, arson investigators Walter Sharpe and Andrew Walker are assigned to catch the serial torcher and end his spree. But then a catastrophic fire destroys a major freeway, crippling the city and forcing Sharpe and Walker to take on another massive case.

Desperate for help, they know exactly who to call: homicide detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone. Together the four detectives must quickly figure out whether the freeway disaster was a tragic accident…or the work of a mastermind with a horrific plan.

As the investigations collide, an old foe with a revenge scheme enters the fray, igniting a race against time to stop a conspiracy of deception, corruption, and murder."

This is book #3 in the Sharpe and Walker series. I really enjoyed it, and it was another good entry in the series.

 

[cayennews]

#18 Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter. This was a stand alone book. It was good, but things seemed to fall into place too easily.

 

[RangerPooh]

13/15 The Girls in the Falls, A Sweetwater Falls Mystery #3. Elle Gray

 

[clappyclaps]

15/30 - The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern. I've never read any of her books before and while I didnt dislike it, it wasnt particularly gripping or memorable. 3/5.

16/30 - We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. Ive loved his Thursday Murder Club series so thought I'd give this a go. It wasn't quite as fun and was a bit ridiculous, but still overly enjoyable. 4/5

 

[Lumpy1106]

6/20 "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn - generous 4 of 5 stars. This was good - had some fun twists, but the characters were all so unlikeable - it really took me out of the story
7/20 "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" byToshikazu Kawaguchi - also generous 4 of 5 stars - this was on a lot of "most read 2024" lists so I put myself on the wait list. The story is there is a cafe where you can go and sit in a particular seat and go back in time but there are a ton of rules. It was good, and there are some fun relationships between the people who chose to go back in time, but...I had a hard time relating to it. I think that's because all the characters are Japanese so the names were hard to connect with. it's also a cultural thing - the way husband and wife interact with each other was quite different than what I would consider normal. Liked it, didn't love it. There are 2 follow up books to this but I don't think I will be reading them.

8/20 "Turtles All the Way Down", John Green 5/5 stars. YA, but really good. Loved that the main character is also struggling with mental illness - just such a brave POV. This book does not end the way you think it will and that's the highest compliment

9/20 "Funny Story" by Emily Henry, 4/5 stars. This book is on a lot of "best of 2024" lists. Main character gets dumped just before her wedding and moves in with the guy who also gets dumped by the woman who the guy runs off with. It's a little predictable but good character development. Worth a read, but not worthy of a "best of" list IMHO.

 

[Wood Nymph]

18/30 - The Splendid and the Vile - by Erik Larsen - 4/5

I decided to read this nonfiction biography of Winston Churchill because of the good review by one of the Dis readers. I loved the book "Devil in the White City" so I knew Erik Lasen could write a good nonfiction book.

The book covers one year of Churchill's time as prime minister, May 10, 1940 to May 10, 1941. This includes the time of the Blitz, when Germany mercilessly bombed British cities. I could see parallels between the helplessness of Britain to stop the bombing and the current situation of Ukraine trying to prevent the same thing from Russia.

A lot of the detail came from diaries. You get a good idea of what Churchill was like, but you also learned about the social life of people around him. It was an interesting book and a little depressing, too. The bombing was terrible.

 

[wvjules]

#16 Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas (Book 3 of 8 of the Throne of Glass Series)
#17 Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (Book 4 of 8 of the Throne of Glass Series)
#18 Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Book 5 of 8 of the Throne of Glass Series)

I am really enjoying this series. I read every spare second I get. There are some slow parts but the story overall is great. I am now reading books #6 Empire of Storms and #7 Tower of Dawn as a tandem read. I hope to finish them before my Disney trip in 19 days. Then I will take a break and come back refreshed to finish Kingdom of Ash.

I'm still undecided on whether I should have read the prequel first or 3rd as I did. So far, I'm on the side of 3rd being the optimal spot. Some new characters in the books I'm on now are from the prequel so they are fresher in my head than they would have been if I read it first.

 

[wvjules]

9/20 "Funny Story" by Emily Henry, 4/5 stars. This book is on a lot of "best of 2024" lists. Main character gets dumped just before her wedding and moves in with the guy who also gets dumped by the woman who the guy runs off with. It's a little predictable but good character development. Worth a read, but not worthy of a "best of" list IMHO.

Have you read any other Emily Henry books? She seems to be popular on TT right now. I'm thinking of picking one up after I finish ToG. I'll need something light and fluffy.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Have you read any other Emily Henry books? She seems to be popular on TT right now. I'm thinking of picking one up after I finish ToG. I'll need something light and fluffy.

I searched back on my Goodreads list because there was a book I read a couple of years back that fits this description - sure enough, I was thinking of "Happy Place" by Emily Henry. I liked that much better than "Funny Story".
I've also been reading a lot of books by Colleen Hoover and Taylor Jenkins Reid - not much I wouldn't recommend from either of them.

 

[willowsnn3]

#14/25 I Need You To Read This by Jessa Maxwell
Alex Marks’s move to New York City is supposed to be a fresh start. She plans to lay low with her mundane copywriting job but the news of the murder of her childhood hero, Francis Keen, throws her for a loop. Beloved staff writer and the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance , Keen’s death is a shock to her countless fans and readers.
When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. But almost immediately, she begins to receive strange letters at the office and soon, Alex wonders why the murderer has never been found. Worse, she can’t help but question if her new boss and editor-in-chief, Howard Dimitri, was involved with Keen’s death.
As she starts her own investigation, the dark secrets of her own past rise to the surface and soon, Alex finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly mystery.

Was just ok, could have been better.

 

[cayennews]

#19 For the Love of Summer by Susan Mallery. I enjoyed this book. It was a feel good story, but not too light and fluffy.

 

[Kirby]

#19 - An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
Genre - Memoir
The true story of an 11 year old panhandler, a busy sales executive and an unlikely meeting with destiny.