Annual reading challenge 2018- Join in on the Fun

[bobbiwoz]

There are two sequels to this book: After You and Still Me .

I have requested After You. TY.

 

[willowsnn3]

#26 Call The Devil By His Oldest Name by Sallie Bissell

3rd in the Mary Crow series--very good

Haunted by the death of her mother and tortured by the secret that died upon her best friend's lips, assistant district attorney Mary Crow is obsessed with finding the man who holds the key to both those tragedies.
When her infant goddaughter is kidnapped, Mary knows the hunt she's been dreading has begun. In a lethal game of cat-and-mouse that will take her along the Cherokee Trail of Tears, Mary must save the child of the man she loves while she rips the secrets from the heart of a killer who could be mistaken for the very devil himself.

 

[Tiggerish]

Clara's War by Clara Kramer. Non-fiction. Story of 18 people hiding in a bunker dug under a neighbor's house in Poland during WWII. Author was a 15 yo Jewish girl who kept a diary during the 20 months they were hidden. I read this based on seeing it on this thread and I am glad I did.

Painting the Moon by Traci Borum. Fiction. Young American woman inherits a business and a cottage in England when her Great-Aunt, a famous painter who had become a recluse, dies. It turns out the business is in financial distress because of shenanigans of a former employee. In a locked room in the cottage she finds an extremely valuable cache of her Great-Aunt's previously unshown paintings and is able to save the business. She also reconnects with some childhood friends from the summers she spend in England as a child visiting her grandmother.

Condemn Me Not by Heather B. Moore. Historical fiction about the author's 10th great-grandmother, Susannah North Martin who was accused of witchcraft, convicted and hung in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.

31, 32 & 33 of 52

 

[bobbiwoz]

37/50

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

Did not expect the twist at the end!

 

[disneychrista]

#14 Creation in Death by JD Robb

#15 Eternity in Death (Novella) by JD Robb

#16 Strangers in Death by JD Robb

#17 Salvation in Death by JD Robb

#18 Promises in Death by JD Robb

#19 Kindred in Death by JD Robb

I on track to ready 40 books this year, about 12 shy of my goal.

 

[disneychrista]

There are two sequels to this book: After You and Still Me .

I didn't know there was a third book. I read both Before & After. Guess I will have to buy Still Me on my book list.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

14 Beware that Girl by Teresa Toten

I really enjoyed The Girl on the Train. This is about the fourth book I have read since it that was in a very similar style. All four others to me have only reinforced how much I liked, The Girl on the Train.
This was like a cross of that writing style and the TV show Gossip Girl. I only know of Gossip Girl from having teenage daughters. Was not a huge fan.
Oh well till next time xoxo,
Cogwel Cogs

If anyone is interested, I would gladly send a kindle gift version of any of my works “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”. You can see them all reviewed at Goodreads. If you are interested in reading any just message me.

 

[Christine]

Coming back in to update. I'll only post the ones I finished. Had a few bad starts and gave up on some.

15/20: The Elizas by Sara Shepherd
16/20: Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts
17/20: Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? by Mark Hyman

The two fiction books were just average. I'm enjoyed the Food book.

 

[Simba's Mom]

There are two sequels to this book: After You and Still Me .

Thanks, now I'm on the waiting list for them.

Update time.
#26-Gone but Knot Forgotten-4/5-nice, straightforward, cozy mystery (that is, with no last minute twist)
#27-Together Forever-3/5-such a disappointment, it was advertised as a book about the experience of orphan train...oh. yeah-with a "little" romance thrown in. Turns out that the romance was the focus of the book, with just a little of the orphan train, by comparison
#28-Now that you mention it, Kristan Higgins 5/5-not sure why, just a totally enjoyable read
#29-Dangerous Beauty: Encounters with Grizzlies and Bisson in Yellowstone-I had hoped for more specific encounters, but since we've been to Yellowstone several times, I did like the mention of specific places we've been.

 

[bobbiwoz]

38/50

How the Light Gets Through by Louise Penny

Boy, she wrapped up a lot of threads in the ending!

 

[KevM]

In June I read 8 books, bring my total for the year to 93.

86) Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey - The second book in The Expanse series. No sophomore slump for this book. Just as excellent as the first. 4.5/5

87) Gods of Risk by James S.A. Corey - There are a number of side novellas to go along with the Mainz The Expanse series. This is the first of those that I’ve read. It was decent. 3.5/5

88) High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic by Glenn Frankel - A historical look into the Hollywood blacklist during its height. Focusing on High Noon’s screenwriter, Carl Foreman’s battle with HUAC. 4.25/5

89) Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi- The first book in the new Legacy of Orisha series. This is Adeyemi’s debut novel and it’s very good. 4.25/5

90) After the Quake by Haruki Murakami - Short Story collection. The six stories are all connected in that they take place within the days/weeks following the ‘95 Kobe earthquake. 3.75/5

91) Electric Arches by Eve L. Ewing - This is Ewing’s first poetry collection and I found it to be very interesting. 4/5

92) The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems by Pablo Neruda - A collection of 50 poems by the winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature. Considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, this collection shows why. 4.5/5

93) Small Country by Gael Faye- A coming of age story set at the beginnings of the Burundi Civil War and the Rwandan genocide (two subjects I don’t know nearly enough about). While fiction and not autobiographical, Faye himself was born in Burundi and lived their until his family fled the civil war in 1995. I found it a very compelling read. 4.5/5

 

[Tiggerish]

Father's Day by Simon Van Booy. Fiction. I do not remember why I downloaded this book because it is not the type of book I usually am drawn to but ended up very much liking it. It tells the story of an little girl who is taken in by her uncle after her parents are both killed in an automobile accident when she is six years. The uncle, an ex-con and recovering alcoholic, is an unconventional choice but so it the social worker assigned to the little girl's case. The book goes back and forth between the little girl's first years living with her uncle and 20 years later when she is living in Paris making a living as an animator and the uncle comes to visit. Between the two story lines, you come to understand how the two bonded to become a true family. There was also a surprise twist at the end.

34 of 52

 

[tazdev3225]

43/50 Malcolm by Cathy MacRae

44/50 Cade by Diane Darcy

45/50 Watson by L.L. Muir

46/50 Iain by Melissa Mayhue

47/50 Connor by L.L. Muir

48/50 MacLeod by Cathy MacRae

Continuing the Ghosts of Culloden Moor series. Basically the same plot - 2 days to perform a deed and move on from the Moor.

49/50 Exposed: A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel by Lisa Scottoline

Mary DiNunzio wants to represent her old friend Simon Pensiera, a sales rep who was wrongly fired by his company, but her partner Bennie Rosato represents the parent company. When she confronts Mary, explaining this is a conflict of interest, an epic battle of wills and legal strategy between the two ensues—ripping the law firm apart, forcing everyone to take sides and turning friend against friend.

SOMETIMES LOYALTY CAN BE LETHAL (Synopsis again from Amazon)

I like Scottoline's writings and her books are set in Philadelphia and the suburbs so the areas are very familiar.

I am almost finished #50 so I think I grossly underestimated how much I will read this year. I still have 2 months of sitting by the pool.

 

[willowsnn3]

#27 Legacy of Masks by Sallie Bissell

Fourth in the Mary Crow series.

Ex-prosecutor Mary Crow didn’t expect a hero’s welcome when she returned home to Pisgah County, North Carolina. But what she did expect was the job she’d been promised in the D.A.’s office. Instead she found she’d worn out her welcome before she even arrived–and that she has more than a few enemies among the supporters of the corrupt sheriff she’d caught sidelining in murder years before.

The new sheriff was one of Mary’s childhood schoolmates, timid and nerdy Jerry Cochran. Only Cochran is neither nerdy nor timid anymore. And when a young girl is found brutally murdered and everyone, including the girl’s parents and the police, is sure the killer is a young, mystical Ani Zaguhi Cherokee named Ridge Standingdeer, Mary’s first case in her own law firm slams her into the heart of a controversy. As a prosecutor, Mary was used to tenaciously tracking down the guilty. Now she finds herself on the other side of the law, defending a client she’s sure is innocent against a merciless system, a bigoted town…and an even more ruthless killer. With her old lover Jonathan Walkingstick, Mary will have to go where she’s never gone before–a place where a psychopath with the perfect mask and a shocking secret is waiting to add Mary herself to his growing collection of silent victims.

 

[bobbiwoz]

39/50

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

I enjoyed the book. Getting close to the last, most current book!

 

[willowsnn3]

#28 Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's
golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie
disappeared, but Laurel has never given up
hope of finding her daughter.
And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.
Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age.
And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?
Who still has secrets to hide?

This one was really good. A quick read.

 

[willowsnn3]

#29 The Woman In The Window by A. J. Finn

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

Another really good one!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Book 7 of 20: Last Shot (Star Wars): A Han and Lando Novel by Daniel José Older

THEN:

It’s one of the galaxy’s most dangerous secrets: a mysterious transmitter with unknown power and a reward for its discovery that most could only dream of claiming. But those who fly the Millennium Falcon throughout its infamous history aren’t your average scoundrels. Not once, but twice, the crew of the Falcontries to claim the elusive prize—first, Lando Calrissian and the droid L3-37 at the dawn of an ambitious career, and later, a young and hungry Han Solo with the help of his copilot, Chewbacca. But the device’s creator, the volatile criminal Fyzen Gor, isn’t interested in sharing. And Gor knows how to hold a grudge. . . .

NOW:

It’s been ten years since the rebel hero Han Solo last encountered Fyzen Gor. After mounting a successful rebellion against the Empire and starting a family with an Alderaanian princess, Han hasn’t given much thought to the mad inventor. But when Lando turns up at Han’s doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s Fyzen’s assassins that he’s running from. And without Han’s help, Lando—and all life on Cloud City—will be annihilated.

With the assistance of a young hotshot pilot, an Ewok slicer prodigy, the woman who might be the love of Lando’s life, and Han’s best and furriest friend, the two most notorious scoundrels in the New Republic are working together once more. They’ll have to journey across the stars—and into the past—before Gor uses the device’s power to reshape the galaxy.

Eh. I love the characters, including the new ones the author introduces in this book. But I wasn't vested in the story. There wasn't really any urgency to it. It's not like Han or Lando was going to die, or the villain was going to success in his plans. Plus I found hopping around 4 different times to be pretty confusing, and I got lost where I was in all of the flashback stories.

3 out of 5 stars.

I am really behind now. I should have read 10 books by this point. However, my days are getting less busy as my youngest child will be leaving to college in a month. I should be able to read more come this fall.

In fact, it's only been a week and I'm already halfway through my next book.

 

[bobbiwoz]

40/50

After You by Jojo Moyes

Glad I listened to those who recommended it! Will request Still Me!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Book 8 of 20: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts

4 out of 5 stars.

I've watched the Green brothers on YouTube since 2014, but this is the first of John's novels I've read. I've heard people complain about John's reliance on the "manic pixie dream girl" trope, but that wasn't the case here. There is a mystery of a missing billionaire, but that's only a frame for a story about the main character and her struggle with her mental health issues. An easy read and very engrossing.