Annual reading challenge 2018- Join in on the Fun

[tiggrbaby]

#61/90: After Anna by Lisa Scottoline (3.5/5) (suspense)
Told in alternating views (Noah and Maggie), a family is torn apart by the reappearance and murder of Maggie's estranged daughter.
I really liked most of the book, but I was really put off by what I considered a weak ending.

#62/90: A Steep Price (Tracy Crosswhite #6) by Robert Dugoni (4/5) (detective/thriller)
Tracy helps investigate a missing person case while Faz is dealing with both his wife's cancer diagnosis and a difficult murder case.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Update time!
#36/60-Disney Demystified #2-4 stars-as a true Disney fan, I would have given it five, but it had a number of grammatical errors, which made it awkward at times

#37/60-In order to Live, Yeonmi Park-4 stars-true story of a family that escaped from North Korea, very interesting about a geographical area I rarely read about.

#38/60-The High Tide Club, Mary Kay Andrews-5 stars, fiction about an elderly woman who dies and leaves lots of family secrets. Not sure why I gave it 5 stars, but I really, really enjoyed it.

I just finished the last one this morning, and next up either Lizzie's War, based in the Vietnam era, or The Paris Architect, during WWII-can't decide.

 

[Tiggerish]

#38/60-The High Tide Club, Mary Kay Andrews-5 stars, fiction about an elderly woman who dies and leaves lots of family secrets. Not sure why I gave it 5 stars, but I really, really enjoyed it.

Okay, you sold me! I was looking for a "beach read" type book so I requested this for download from my library. Turns out it is quite popular so I am on the waiting list but it is always fun when the email comes saying it is ready for download.

 

[willowsnn3]

#41 Close Call by Laura DiSiliverio

Mistaking a killer’s phone for her own, Sydney Ellison is drawn back to a past she thought she’d left behind for good

After living through the media shaming of a political sex scandal when she was in college, Sydney Ellison fears notoriety above all. So when she stumbles onto a plot to assassinate a senator, she resists contacting the police. Before she can make herself do the right thing, the assassin tracks her down and kills her fiancé. Now a murder suspect and a killer’s target, Sydney reluctantly enlists the aid of her estranged sister, who betrayed her fifteen years earlier. Sydney must overcome her distrust and put all she has worked for on the line to stop the killer and his employer before more people die.

This one was just ok.

 

[zippitydoo]

#15/40: I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
#16/40: A Killer’s Mind by Mike Omer
#17/40: Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
#18/40: Happy Doomsday by David Sosnowski

 

[KevM]

I read 8 books in Aug, bringing my total for the year to 113.

106) The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell - A classic in American exploration literature. Powell and his group where the first to explore the entirety of the Colorado River, including the Grand Canyon. What makes Powell truest extraordinary as an explorer is that as a Union solider he had lost his right arm during the Civil War. 4.25/5
107) The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart by Ilchi Lee - Lee’s memoir of his spiritual expectancies in Sedona. 3.75/5
108) The Only One Living to Tell: The Autobiography of a Yavapai Indian by Mike Burns (Hoomothya) - One of the few saviors of the Skeleton Cave Massacre. He was then adopted by a solider and went on to be a scout for the US Amry. Originally written in 1934, it was not published and was lost until being found and published I. 2012. 3.75/5
109) The Grand Canton Reader Edited by Lance Newman - Anthology of essays, short stories, and more on the Grand Canyon. Dating back to Native myths and going into the 20th century. 3.75(4?)/5
110) Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports by Kathrine Switzer - Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. This is her autobiography. 4.25/5
111) Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey - The 4th novel in The Expanse series. Still a great read. 4.5/5
112) The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin - The first in a fantasy trilogy, of which all three books have won the Hugo. That makes Jemisin the only author to have won in three consecutive years. 4.5/5
113) Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad by Firoozeh Dumas - Dumas’ follow up memoir to her Funny in Farsi. More hilarious stories. 4/5

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

18) Radiant Angel Nelson Demille
Always wanted to read Plum Island as it takes place much in Southold and area I am familiar with. I decided to read this book another one from the series as the threat of a nuclear bomb scares me less than bugs. Radiant Angel takes place on the South shore (Hamptons) another area that I know fairly well. The book was enjoyable though somewhat typical Russian bad guys nuclear suitcase, etc...
I liked it enough to get over hurdle and will try Plum Island bugs or not.

19) The Guest Room Chris Bohjelian
Another book taking place in NY, this time Westchester, which I do not know at all.
More Russians, this time a underage girl forced into prostitution. Really not huge fan and I am now more scared of bachelor parties then I am of bugs. A somewhat realistic depiction of what could happen, for me it just kind of dragged on with the only purpose of the story being, don't host a bachelor party, EVER.

It was weird two such different Russian character types first book was group KGB type of agents, then second book having an upsetting depiction of poor luck Russian girl tricked into slavery of the worst sort.

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.bb

 

[bobbiwoz]

46/50
Comic Sans Murder by Paige Shelton
Light reading. Mystery takes place in Utah, second in a series. A Dangerous Type Mystery.

 

[disneychrista]

#27 Celebrity in Death by JD Robb

#28 Delusion in Death by JD Robb

 

[willowsnn3]

#42 Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
#43 "G" is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton

 

[zippitydoo]

#19/40: The Fallen by David Baldacci

 

[Tiggerish]

Where the Birds Never Sing by Jack Sacco. The cover says, "The true story of the 92nd Signal Battalion and the liberation of Dachau." This is the story of the author's father and is a compelling insight into what a "just average" soldier went through in WWII plus his first hand account and photos of what Dachau looked liked when the allies arrived.

Daffodils by Alex Martin. Historical fiction. Set in England during the First World War it is the story of Katy, a maid at the big manor house and Jem, one of the under-gardeners. As the war is starting, Katy has a flirtation with the son of the manor house and is discharged in disgrace. Jem, her friend from childhood, marries her because he loves her and wants to restore her. The son joins the army and his sister joins the ambulance corp. Jem joins the army ahead of being conscripted and is eventually reported missing and presumed dead. Katy joins the woman's corp so she can get to France and search for his grave. There is a lot of detail about the infantry, the ambulance corp and the woman's corp's daily routine during the war. The details do not glorify war and make it very clear that the trench warfare of the First World War was brutal.

45 and 46/52

 

[KrazyPete]

#6 "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton
I've never read the book before. I'd never even seen the movie either. I know, I KNOW! I can check both of those off my list now. I enjoyed the book a lot. It's basically a fantasy but Crichton puts a ton of research into making it seem plausible. It does what good science fiction always does, it imagines a technology's progress to the point that it requires humans to confront existential questions. Jurassic Park is also just a fun read.

 

[bobbiwoz]

47/50 Home on Apple Blossom Road by Sheila Roberts. Totally predictable love story, but I am a sucker for anything “Apple Blossom.”

 

[Simba's Mom]

47/50 Home on Apple Blossom Road by Sheila Roberts. Totally predictable love story, but I am a sucker for anything “Apple Blossom.”

Love to read about "Life In Icicle Falls". Is this book as good as the others? So far I've read 4 of them.

 

[willowsnn3]

#44 "H" is for Homicide by Sue Grafton

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

20 Go Set a Watchmen by Harper Lee

Pleasantly surprised to not be as upset as I expected to having heart broken. In some ways this book takes a deeper look into complexities may possibly be more relevant book to our time where even companies are bringing issue into marketing of products.
Really seems odd that this book was written first as to me there were some things relating to the first book that did not seem explained enough without having read first.


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.bb

 

[dolewhipdreams]

#16/30 Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin (4/5). A *modern* (written in the late 80s) crime novel set in Edinburgh. It follows an ex-soldier detective on his hunt for a serial killer. I enjoyed it and I think I might check out the next novel in the series.

#17/30 Macbeth by Shakespeare (5/5). I know this one is a play and not a book, but I'm counting it. I read it on the train during my trip to Scotland and it was a cool experience.

 

[willowsnn3]

#45 "I" is for Innocent by Sue Grafton

 

[Tiggerish]

Where The Hurt Is by Chris Kelsey. Murder mystery set in Oklahoma in the early 1960's. The local sheriff investigates the murder of a young black woman whose nude body is found by the railroad tracks just outside of his small town. The girl is a stranger as there are not any African American people in his area, none. Turns out the deceased is a prostitute from a town across the state line in Texas. The investigation is turned over to the state police who quickly decide she was murdered by a transit who was riding the boxcars. The local sheriff is not convinced and conducts his own investigation which reveals the son of the richest man in the county was infatuated with the girl and he, as well as his father, had used her services. Eventually the actual killer is revealed.

47/52