Annual reading challenge 2018- Join in on the Fun

[willowsnn3]

#53 This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash

"After their mother's unexpected death, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their errant father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night.

Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due."


Pretty good little story. The title is confusing to me tho, lol.

 

[KevM]

Ok, it’s the end of October. So it’s time for my monthly reading list. This month I read 14 books, bringing my yearly total to 136. The books I read this month were:


123) The Vital Abyss by James S. A. Corey - A novella is The Expanse universe. Fine, but the least interesting book so far in the series. 3.25/5


124) Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones - A humorous coming of age werewolves story. 4.25/5


125) Great Short Stories by Contemporary Native American Writers by edited by Bob Blaisdell - A collection of 14 short stories by Native American writers. Calling it contemporary is a little misleading though. The oldest story in this collection is from 1893. 3.75/5


126) The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus by Irving Rouse - An interesting, but pretty dry read on the Caribbean natives that lived on the islands Columbus landed on. 3.5/5


127) The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin - The 3rd book in Jemisin’s fantastic trilogy. 5/5


128) Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor - The 1st in a YA fantasy series. From the very start in it highly interesting. 4.25/5


129) #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women Edited by Mary Beth Leatherdale & Lisa Charleyboy - A collection ranging from poems to essays to interviews to artwork on the experiences of being a Native woman. 3.5/5


130) Corpse Whale by dg nanouk okpim - An Inuit port, her poems are very good, she wrote in a few different styles and a few of them I did not entirely like. Still a good poetry collection. 3.5/5


131) Babylon’s Ashes by James S. A. Corey - The 6th novel on The Expanse series. This is clearly going to be one of my favorite series once it is completed. 5/5


132) Land of the Spotted Eagles by Luther Standing Bear - Standing Bear’s account on the Lakotas. From before they meet the white man up through the early 20th century. 4.25/5


133) Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall - A very good like into the Tarahumaras, an Indigenous tribe living in the high sierras and canyons of Mexico. The book also goes into what makes a long distance runner and even the evolution of why humans became the runners that we are. 3.5/5


134) Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - A Dutch horror novel set in the Hudson Valley section of Mew York dealing with a curse and a dead witch haunting a town which on one can leave. 3.75/5


135) Trick Or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton - Covering everything from the ancient Celt fall festival Samhain to the modern day’s celebrations. 3.5/5


136) Independence: A Guide to Historic Philadelphia by George Boudreau - A great read on the historic Philadelphia by looking at a number of historically landmarks and telling their tales and the stories of people both famous and not-so-famous that were involved with them. 4.5/5

 

[bobbiwoz]

54/50
Glory over Everything (Beyond the Kitchen House) by Kathleen Grissom
Could not wait to finish this book and learn about the lives of those people fro, The Kitchen House. It was an excellent read for me!

 

[tiggrbaby]

54/50
Glory over Everything (Beyond the Kitchen House) by Kathleen Grissom
Could not wait to finish this book and learn about the lives of those people fro, The Kitchen House. It was an excellent read for me!

Loved those books as well!

 

[Swimnoid]

Back again for more updates. I have a lot to catch up on.

42. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Don Tilman is very particular about his life. He has routines and he sticks to them. He figures he will never find love then along comes Rosie. What ensues is hilarious!

43. Deadline by Sandra Brown
OK suspense with a good twist at the end.

44. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
I have read Kate's knitting series which is pretty good so I was expecting to like this one. It is pretty good. Totally different people and all with quirks and faults. Makes for a good light read.

45. 12.21 by Dustin Thomason
Good story linking an ancient Maya codex smuggled into the US to a burgeoning killer virus.

46. The Melody of Secrets by Jeffrey Stepakoff
A very good story set both in WWII Europe and the 60s space race.

47. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
It was time...

48. Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons
Dr Steve Mitchell's life is going great...until it isn't! While in line for a coveted position at Boston University Hospital his patients mysteriously start to die. Steve must unravel what is happening to save his name.

49. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
The story of the people who keep coming to a once vibrant now failing lake resort.

 

[willowsnn3]

#54
The Last Wolf by Maria Vale

For three days out of thirty, when the moon is full and her law is iron, the Great North Pack must be wild.

If she returns to her Pack, the stranger will die.
But if she stays…

Silver Nilsdottir is at the bottom of her Pack’s social order, with little chance for a decent mate and a better life. Until the day a stranger stumbles into their territory, wounded and beaten, and Silver decides to risk everything on Tiberius Leveraux. But Tiberius isn’t all he seems, and in the fragile balance of the Pack and wild, he may tip the destiny of all wolves…

Different than what I usually read but still interesting. Happens to be the first of a wolf series...don't think I will continue with it tho.

 

[bobbiwoz]

55/50. Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber.....a short read, about love and whether living just below the Arctic circle could work for someone who worked hard to become a chef.

 

[Tiggerish]

Flory, a Miraculous Story of Survival by Flory A. Van Beek. Autobiography. In 1939, Flory is typical Jewish teenager when the Nazis invade Holland. The book tells the story of how she attempted to escape the country and how she eventually survived sheltered by compassionate strangers. It tells of the hunger, stress and ever present threat of death and the courageous non-Jewish Dutch people who reached out to help. Out of the 140,000 Dutch Jews who lived in the Netherlands at the start of World War II, Flory was one of only approximately 6,000 who survived.

53/60

 

[willowsnn3]

#55 Courting Emma Howe by Margaret Robinson

 

[bobbiwoz]

56/50. Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen
This is part of a mystery series, set in England, in first half of 1900’s. I will read more of them.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

#18/30 Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee (2/5). Follows the story of a run away courtesan-turned-opera singer. Not absolute trash but the plot dragged on and on, with no real character development.

#19/30 Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (5/5). The first of the Cormoran Strike detective series. Set in London, Strike is an ex-military police officer who now owns his own PI agency.

#20/30 The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (5/5). The second in the series.

#21/30 Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (5/5). This one definitely takes a more sinister turn and deals heavily with abuse and sadism. Fair warning.

-All of the Strike novels were re-reads since the newest novel came out recently. Now I'm all caught up and ready for when it's finally my turn to borrow it!

#22/30 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows (5/5). Set just after the end of WWII in Great Britain and written in the form of correspondence between a young author and the people of the island of Guernsey, which was occupied by the Nazis during the war. It's compelling and full of character. I highly recommend it!

-This one was also a re-read. I read it the first time in high school but when I saw that Netflix had made a movie out of it I wanted to read it again before watching. I'm glad I ready it again but the movie was disappointing. I would say don't waste your time on the movie

 

[Tiggerish]

#22/30 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows (5/5). Set just after the end of WWII in Great Britain and written in the form of correspondence between a young author and the people of the island of Guernsey, which was occupied by the Nazis during the war. It's compelling and full of character. I highly recommend it!

I read this last year and agree it was an excellent book.

 

[tazdev3225]

It's been awhile since I updated.

60 (+10) The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
Book 5 in the Outlander Series - Starts in the year 1771 as the Revolutionary War approaches.


61 (+11) A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Book 6 in the Outlander Series - Takes us to 1772

62 (+12) An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Book 7 in the Outlander Series - Has the onset of the Revolutionary War and Jamie and Claire in the midst of the action

63 (+13) Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon
Book 8 in the Outlander Series - We are now up to the year 1778 and the War is going strong in the colonies.

64 (+14) Kings Tide by James Swain
Synopsis again from Amazon

Nicki Pearl is the perfect daughter—every parent’s dream. And that of strangers, too. Wherever she goes, she’s being watched. Each stalker is different from the last, except for one thing—their alarming obsession with Nicki.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nicki’s father is turning to someone who can protect her: retired private detective and ex–Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster. Teaming up with FBI agent and former abduction victim Beth Daniels, Lancaster can help—his way. He’s spent most of his career dispatching creeps who get off on terrorizing the vulnerable. Unlicensed, and unrestricted, he plays dirty…But this case is unusual. Why so many men? Why this one girl? Does Nicki have something to hide? Or do her parents?

Trawling the darkest depths of southern Florida, Lancaster faces a growing tide of secrets and deception. And the deeper he digs, the more he realizes that finding the truth won’t be easy. Because there’s more to this case than meets the eye.


65 (+15) A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer

Three Chicago women have been found strangled, embalmed, and posed as if still alive. Doubting the findings of the local PD's profiler, the FBI calls on forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley to investigate.

Zoe quickly gets off on the wrong foot with her new partner, Special Agent Tatum Gray. Zoe's a hunter, intense and focused; Tatum's a smug maverick with little respect for the rules. Together, they must descend into a serial killer's psyche and untangle his twisted fantasies, or more women will die. But when the contents of three inconspicuous envelopes reveal a chilling connection to gruesome murders from Zoe's childhood, suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted.


66 (+16) 17th Suspect - Women's Murder Club Mystery by James Patterson
A series of shootings exposes San Francisco to a methodical yet unpredictable killer, and a reluctant woman decides to put her trust in Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. The confidential informant's tip leads Lindsay to disturbing conclusions, including that something has gone horribly wrong inside the police department itself.

The hunt for the killer lures Lindsay out of her jurisdiction, and gets inside Lindsay in dangerous ways. She suffers unsettling medical symptoms, and her friends and confidantes in the Women's Murder Club warn Lindsay against taking the crimes too much to heart. With lives at stake, the detective can't help but follow the case into ever more terrifying terrain.

A decorated officer, loving wife, devoted mother, and loyal friend, Lindsay's unwavering integrity has never failed her. But now she is confronting a killer who is determined to undermine it all.


67 (+17) Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

A collection of short stories that fill in gaps in the Outlander series.


68 (+18) Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
Book 1 in the Lord John Series Synopsis taken from Amazon
The year is 1757. On a clear morning in mid-June, Lord John Grey emerges from London’s Beefsteak Club, his mind in turmoil. A nobleman and a high-ranking officer in His Majesty’s army, Grey has just witnessed something shocking. But his efforts to avoid a scandal that might destroy his family are interrupted by something still more urgent: The Crown appoints him to investigate the brutal murder of a comrade-in-arms who may have been a traitor. Obliged to pursue two inquiries at once, Major Grey finds himself ensnared in a web of treachery and betrayal that touches every stratum of English society—and threatens all he holds dear.

I have enjoyed all of the Diana Gabaldon books, Outlander series and the other books. So much so that I am on Book 4 again. I have not included the 1st 3 in my total for the year. There is just so much material to absorb that I found information as I read again.

The short stories and Lord John books fill in gaps but are enjoyable on their own.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#72/90: Fly Girls by Keith O'Brien (4/5) (non-fiction)
Tells the story of early female pilots and the challenges they faced.

#73/90: Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy (4.5/5) (fiction)
Goes from Marilla's teen years to right before taking in Anne. A must for fans of the Anne of Green Gables series!

#74/90: Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad #3) by Tana French (4.5/5) (mystery)
A detective is drawn back to his former neighborhood after the discovery of a suitcase that belonged to his girlfriend who had disappeared years before. It was not necessary to read the previous novels to enjoy this one. Strong language is used in this book.

 

[bobbiwoz]

57/50. The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle by Susan Wittig Albert

The latest in a series of mysteries about the Darling Dahlias, a group of women in Alabama, set in the 1930s. Well, I love gardening, enjoy doing puzzles and very much enjoy reading about small towns, so I think I will be going back to read older stories in this series. One remark that gave me a chuckle was about the rumor that brassiere companies were going to begin making different sized cups, and the Lady’s Home Journal insists on calling them “bras.”

 

[Tiggerish]

Tara Road by Maeve Binchey. The author has written a number of books detailing Irish family life. This one was an Oprah's Book Club pick and fairly interesting.

54/60

 

[willowsnn3]

#56 The Price of an Orphan by Patricia Carlon

Johnnie is a nine-year-old city orphan recently placed with a couple on a cattle ranch in the Australian outback. But he is not quite the foster child they had in mind. He is "cheeky and lazy, cowardly and stubborn". When he claims to have witnessed a murder, they remind him of the boy who cried wolf. Finally, he admits he was lying. As he is about to be sent back to the orphanage, they are invited on a camping trip. A special treat and one last chance for Johnnie, or a cunning trap?

 

[willowsnn3]

#57 A Week From Sunday by Dorothy Garlock

Adrianna Moore has just had a double shock: the death of her father and the discovery that he has left his entire estate to his lawyer. The lawyer, a repulsive social climber, tells her that to regain her inheritance, she must marry him A WEEK FROM SUNDAY. Adrianna takes off, driving desperately to a new life. Caught in a violent rainstorm, she collides with an oncoming truck. Quinn Baxter, the driver of the truck, demands repayment for his lost cargo. They reach a bargain: she will live in his home, tutor his bedridden younger brother, and play piano in Quinn's tavern to pay off her debt. Drawn to the rugged Quinn, challenged by the interaction with the tavern patrons, she also must deal with an intractable foe--Quinn's housekeeper who is scheming to become his wife. And all the while, the spurned lawyer is following Adrianna's trail, determined to find her and force her to marry him.

Less than great reviews on Goodreads, but I really enjoyed this book. One of my favorites so far this year.

 

[bobbiwoz]

58/50
The Solace of Water by Elizabeth Byler Younts....A friend was reading it and enjoyed it, so I got it. It’s an interesting look at interactions that could possibly have taken place in the 1950s. The people are Amish, white folks and Blacks who settled around Lancaster County from Alabama after the death of a child.

 

[disneychrista]

#29 Calculated in Death by JD Robb
#30 Thankless in Death by JD Robb
#31 Taken in Death by JD Robb
#32 Concealed in Death by JD Robb
#33 Festive in Death by JD Robb
#34 Obsession in Death by JD Robb
#35 Devoted in Death by JD Robb
#36 Wonderment in Death by JD Robb
#37 Brotherhood in Death by JD Robb
#38 Apprentice in Death by JD Robb

I'm almost caught up with this series. Guess I will have to come up with a new list of books to read for the upcoming year.

I think I will be about 10 books short of my goal for the year.