Annual reading challenge 2017-come join us

[Kirby]

20/25 - Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Curtis Sittenfeld's sparkling debut is set in an American boarding school, a hotbed of privilege, ambition and neurosis, every bit as snobbish and competitive as anything dreamed up on this side of the Atlantic. Lee Fiora is an intelligent, observant fourteen-year-old when her father drops her off at the prestigious Ault School in Massachusetts; she leaves behind her affectionate family in South Bend, Indiana, her head filled with images from the school's glossy brochure, in which boys in sweaters chat in front of old brick buildings, girls hold lacrosse sticks on pristine athletics fields, and everyone sings hymns in chapel. As Lee soon learns, Ault is quite unlike anything she has previously experienced, a self-enclosed world populated by jaded teenagers whose expectations, values and social rituals are utterly unfamiliar to her. At first an observer of, then a participant in the hyper-vigilant, intricately demarcated life of the school, Lee eventually finds her own place in the pecking order - until a single act of spontaneous folly shatters her carefully honed identity. "Prep" is a sharp and lucid portrait of the pain and the excitement of adolescence, and a remorseless dissection of privilege and class in the cradle of the American establishment.

I enjoyed this YA book for the most part. Some of Lee's angst got a little tiring but then it is typical teenage stuff. I don't agree with the description of the book that she finds her own place though.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#65/80: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (5/5) (memoir)
Stories about his life growing up in South Africa - wow!

 

[Kirby]

21/25 - Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. YA fantasy

Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born !

 

[Tiggerish]

#65/80: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (5/5) (memoir)
Stories about his life growing up in South Africa - wow!

Thanks for this recommendation, I have put it on request list at the library.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

21/25 - Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. YA fantasy

Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born !

Sound interesting, worth the read?

 

[Kirby]

22/25 - Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini

This was my book club's pick for October. It's very easy to read and I found it to be very interesting.

Sound interesting, worth the read?

How much do you like fantasy? The author has a good imagination but I wasn't sure at first when I started the book if I was going to like it or not. I picked it and it's sequel for a great price at Powell's (fabulous place) in Portland a week or so ago when I was there on vacation. Once I got into it I began to like it more. The concept is one I haven't read before. I guess the answer to your question is yes for that point alone.

 

[Tiggerish]

Week 39 - This week I read four books which brings me to 158 of/208. The books I read were:

The Designer by Marius Gabriel - a fictionalized version of how Christian Dior got his start of as a designer of woman's fashion and how the House of Dior began. It begins in Paris immediately after it was liberated from the Germans but while the war was continuing across Europe. It was an interesting read.

Walking Shoes by Lynne Gentry - Christian romance with a slightly different take. The main character is a pastor's wife in a small town. Her husband has just dropped dead of a heart attack while preaching a regular Sunday sermon. The book is about how she starts to cope with the loss and confusion that the death causes. It also introduces their two adult, single children and there are two more books in the series, one for each child.

The Case of The Fallen Hero by Alison Golden. An English mystery. Despite some questionable reviews, I got this as a free Kindle book. I should have heeded the reviews.

Come to Me Again by Leah Atwood - Christian romance that is a follow-up book to one that I have already read. It was a quick read with a the usual happy ending.

 

[disneychrista]

#33 Immortal in Death by JD Robb (book #3)
#34 Rapture in Death by JD Robb (book #4)

#35 Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke (book #2)

 

[zippitydoo]

Book #29/50: Murder to Go (Food Truck Mysteries #1) by Chloe Kendrick

 

[Kirby]

23/25 - The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

Friendship, loyalty, and love lie at the heart of Meg Waite Clayton's beautifully written, poignant, and sweeping novel of five women who, over the course of four decades, come to redefine what it means to be family.

For thirty-five years, Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally have met every Wednesday at the park near their homes in Palo Alto, California. Defined when they first meet by what their husbands do, the young homemakers and mothers are far removed from the Summer of Love that has enveloped most of the Bay Area in 1967. These "Wednesday Sisters" seem to have little in common: Frankie is a timid transplant from Chicago, brutally blunt Linda is a remarkable athlete, Kath is a Kentucky debutante, quiet Ally has a secret, and quirky, ultra-intelligent Brett wears little white gloves with her miniskirts. But they are bonded by a shared love of both literature - Fitzgerald, Eliot, Austen, du Maurier, Plath, and Dickens - and the Miss America Pageant, which they watch together every year.

As the years roll on and their children grow, the quintet forms a writers circle to express their hopes and dreams through poems, stories, and, eventually, books. Along the way, they experience history in the making: Vietnam, the race for the moon, and a women's movement that challenges everything they have ever thought about themselves, while at the same time supporting one another through changes in their personal lives brought on by infidelity, longing, illness, failure, and success.

Humorous and moving, The Wednesday Sisters is a literary feast for book lovers that earns a place among those popular works that honor the joyful, mysterious, unbreakable bonds between friends.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Forever with you Robin Jones Gunn

 

[Simba's Mom]

"Long Mile Home:Boston Under Attack" by S. Helman, a must-read for anyone interested in the Boston Marathon shooting. Include me, so I gave it 5 stars.
"Dose Vidanya" by S Cheever, a typical cozy mystery
"The Prayer Box" L. Wingate, couldn't get into it.
"Clubbed to Death" E. Viets, one of the better cozy mysteries
"The Only Witness" P. Beason about a signing gorilla who was the only witness to a kidnapping and was critical in solving the case. This isn't subject matter I'm comfortable with-I'm skeptical of signing gorillas, and for a long time, I just looked at the book wondering why I'd gotten it. Finally I decided to read it, just to get it off my "to-read" shelf. Surprisingly. I LOVED it-5 stars.

 

[willowsnn3]

#33 Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson
#34 Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

 

[Tiggerish]

Week 40 - I read four books this week which brings me to 162/208. The books I read this week were:

Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society by Amy Hill. 80 yr old Dora is the narrator of a story that took place almost a half century earlier. She tells of how an unlikely group of people become friends in small, sleepy town in Florida. The group is formed by a restless, middle-aged wife and mother who has just moved to the south from Boston and not knowing how things are expected to be done in a southern, small town gets the group into a series of mishaps that change lives. It was an interesting read.

Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry. Mystery/thriller. Troy Chance sees a child thrown into Lake Champlain as she is crossing on the ferry and from there, the story takes us on a ride of emotions as well as suspense. Who is this boy and where did he come from? Troy not only searches for answers to these questions, but answers questions in her own life that she didn't know she had. This book has gotten mixed reviews but I liked it. Possibly because I thought the main character was shown as a whole person, flaws and all.

Unbound Hope by Joy Ohagwu, Book 2 in the Pleasant Hearts Series. Christian romantic fiction with happy ending.

The fourth book was actually a boxed set of three books, all Christian mystery/romance each featuring a strong woman protagonist. I am counting all three as a single book since they were more like novellas than full books. They were:
Deadly Hunt, Deadly Intent and Deadly Holiday by Margaret Daley.

 

[Kirby]

24/25 - Magic by Danielle Steele

It starts on a summer evening, with the kind of magic found only in Paris. Once a year in the City of Light, a lavish dinner takes place outside a spectacular landmark - the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame . . . a new setting each time. Selected by secret invitation, the guests arrive dressed in white, with tables and chairs, white linens, flowers, fine china, sparkling crystal, and an elegant dinner. As the sun sets, thousands of candles are lit. And when the night is over, hundreds of white paper lanterns, each with a flame within, bearing everyone's fervent wishes, are released into the sky. Amid this wondrous White Dinner, a group of close friends stands at the cusp of change.

Jean-Philippe and Valerie Dumas are devoted to each other and their young children. He is a rising star in the financial world, she, an editor at French Vogue. But a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in China may lead to separation - and temptation.

The epitome of a stylish power couple from Milan, Benedetta and Gregorio Mariani run a venerable Italian clothing empire. Gregorio projects strength, but has a weakness that will ignite a crisis in their company and their marriage.

Chantal Giverny, an award-winning screenwriter, and Dharam Singh, one of India's most successful tech entrepreneurs, are singles paired for the evening. They arrive as friends, but their paths will be set on dramatically different courses before the White Dinner ends.

Spanning the globe, this breathtaking novel follows these indelible characters through a transformative year of successes and heartbreaks until the next White Dinner. From the world's most beloved writer, hereis a tale told with extraordinary tenderness and passion, as Danielle Steel explores what it really means to have magic in our lives.

Not my favorite by a long shot but gives that bit of romance and feel good ending that many people long for.

 

[zippitydoo]

Book #30/50: Murder in the Spotlight (Food Truck Mysteries #2) by Chloe Kendrick
Book #31/50: Leftovers (Food Truck Mysteries #3) by Chloe Kendrick

 

[willowsnn3]

#35 Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land

From Goodreads:

Milly's mother is a serial killer. Though Milly loves her mother, the only way to make her stop is to turn her in to the police. Milly is given a fresh start: a new identity, a home with an affluent foster family, and a spot at an exclusive private school.

But Milly has secrets, and life at her new home becomes complicated. As her mother's trial looms, with Milly as the star witness, Milly starts to wonder how much of her is nature, how much of her is nurture, and whether she is doomed to turn out like her mother after all.

When tensions rise and Milly feels trapped by her shiny new life, she has to decide: Will she be good? Or is she bad? She is, after all, her mother's daughter.

 

[Kirby]

25/25 - Order to Kill: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle Mills

In the next thrilling novel in the number-one New York Times best-selling Mitch Rapp series, the anti-terrorism operative heads to Pakistan to confront a mortal threat he may not be prepared for. In fact, this time he might have met his match.

Mitch Rapp is used to winning.

But in this follow-up to number-one New York Times best-selling The Survivor, the CIA operative finds himself chasing false leads from continent to continent in an effort to keep Pakistani nukes from falling into the hands of terrorists. Together with friend and colleague Scott Coleman, Rapp struggles to prevent the loss of these lethal weapons, particularly because Russia is also interested in the nukes, though not for the same reason as Rapp and Coleman.

Soon, it becomes alarmingly clear that the forces in Moscow are bent on fomenting even more chaos and turmoil in the Middle East and Rapp must go deep into Russian territory, posing as an American ISIS recruit. There, he uncovers a plan much more dangerous and insidious than he ever expected, one that could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences.

Written with the same breathless tension and heart-racing action as Vince Flynn's greatest novels, Mitch Rapp's latest adventure is as timely and provocative as ever.

I have come to really enjoy the Mitch Rapp series originally by Vince Flynn. Was so sad when he passed away but am glad that Kyle Mills has continued the series.

Now that I have met the goal I set I'm just going to keep track of the number of books I'm reading.

#26 - Need by Joelle Charbonneau

No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better." Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need...regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises.

In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media but the dark side of human nature.

I picked this book to read after a review on last year's reading challenge. It's an interesting concept, scary in a way.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Went on vacation and read a lot!

#66/80: The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose (5/5) (WWII memoir)
Brave boys in Denmark who worked against the German occupiers.

#67/80: The Neon Lawyer by Victor Methos (3/5) (trial attorney)
It was just okay; like a Lincoln Lawyer wannbe.

#68/80: Ties That Bind by Carolyn Arnold (3/5) (police detective)
Just okay; main character kinda annoying.

#69/80: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (5/5)(historical fiction/WWII)
Written in the form of letters. Amusing and touching!

#70/80: The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer with Susan Dworkin (4/5) (memoir)
Jewish woman posed as a Christian and married an officer to avoid being sent to the camps.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

16 of 20: From a Certain Point of View by various

In celebration of Star Wars’ 40th anniversary, Del Rey is going to shine the spotlight on those unsung weirdos, heroes, and villains with a unique, new anthology. Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, coming October 2017, will bring together more than 40 authors for 40 stories. Each will be told from the perspective of background characters of A New Hope — from X-wing pilots who helped Luke destroy the Death Star to the stormtroopers who never quite could find the droids they were looking for.

Funny, interesting, and heartbreaking. 40 stories from 42 authors, focusing on side characters from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. I didn't dislike any of the stories, although some are more memorable than others. Definitely a few tongue-in-cheek stories. 4 out of 5 stars.