Just put this and the new one on hold at the library - thanks!
Annual Reading Challenge 2019
- Thread starter Cogswel_Cogs
- Start date
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
54/50 - An Unconditional Freedom (The Loyal League Book 3) Alyssa Cole
This is the last book in this series to date and is equally as fantastic as the first two. I’m so glad this author was brought to my attention!
This is the last book in this series to date and is equally as fantastic as the first two. I’m so glad this author was brought to my attention!
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
78/75 Read and enjoyed The Dead Don’t Dance. Once again, I read about a book in this thread and enjoyed it myself!
luvmarypoppins
<font color=darkorchid>I am debating whether to pu
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2003
26/30 - The Diva Sweetens the Pie by Krista Davis. Fun cozy mystery.
27/30 - The Abolitionist's Daughter by Diane McPhail. Southern drama but wish it was more historical.
28/30 - Fair Game by Annette Dashofy - cozy mystery at the fair
29/30 - A Savannah Christmas Wedding by Nan Dixon - wedding planner finds love
30/30 - Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn - artist and numbers guy find love in New York
finished my goal!!!!!
27/30 - The Abolitionist's Daughter by Diane McPhail. Southern drama but wish it was more historical.
28/30 - Fair Game by Annette Dashofy - cozy mystery at the fair
29/30 - A Savannah Christmas Wedding by Nan Dixon - wedding planner finds love
30/30 - Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn - artist and numbers guy find love in New York
finished my goal!!!!!
Kirby
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2000
48/50 - Gilded Cage by Vic James. Genre - Fantasy
Magic rules. We serve.
In a darkly fantastical debut set in modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power - and you. If you're not one of the ultimate one-percenters - the magical elite - you owe them 10 years of service. Do those years when you're old, and you'll never get through them. Do them young, and you'll never get over them.
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
Have a quick 10 years....
Magic rules. We serve.
In a darkly fantastical debut set in modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power - and you. If you're not one of the ultimate one-percenters - the magical elite - you owe them 10 years of service. Do those years when you're old, and you'll never get through them. Do them young, and you'll never get over them.
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
Have a quick 10 years....
Colleen27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
#110/130 - The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
A title I picked up based on references to it in one of my earlier reads, this book occupied an interesting space somewhere between self-help and sociology. The narrative is partly aimed at individual transformation but also applied more broadly, to building community and transforming organizations. One of the authors is a conductor with a major symphony orchestra, and musical metaphor carried throughout the book, which probably helped to hold my interest and connect with my way of thinking. For whatever reason, this one was a rarity - a self-help oriented book that I actually enjoyed and felt like I learned something from.
#111 - Hearts Made Whole by Jody Hedlund
Christian romance set in a lighthouse very close to where I grew up, it was the location of this one that caught my attention even though it isn't a genre I read much of. It was a surprisingly charming story that sucked me in completely, even though some of the drama was rather predictable. The characters were likable and convincingly flawed, and the historical elements were well-researched and seamlessly presented. Perhaps most interesting was the post-script about the real people who inspired various characters and facets of the story.
#112 - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
A historical story told in two timelines through the eyes of a single character, a widowed Chinese man reflecting on the events of his youth and on his first love, who was removed from their Seattle community during the WWII internment of the Japanese. This was a lovely read that I think I picked up because of a recommendation on this thread, and I very much enjoyed the dynamics of the two immigrant communities that lived side-by-side and looked so similar to outsiders but which brought the conflicts of the countries they left behind to their adopted homeland.
#113 - Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund
#114 - Undaunted Hope by Jody Hedlund
Two more titles in Hedlund's lighthouse keepers series, both also set in Michigan in places I've visited (including one of the lighthouses itself) and inspired by real people, including historical female lighthouse keepers, that lived in the area in the mid-19th century. I continue to really enjoy her writing style and may actually pick up the other installments in the Beacons of Hope series that aren't set in Michigan. The themes of hope and redemption feature heavily in all of her stories, and the religious elements weave into the stories in a seamless and convincing way that never feels heavy-handed or preachy.
#115 - Paper Wife by Lalia Ibrahim
A beautifully written and deeply moving story about a Chinese "paper wife", brought to the United States during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act using a deceased woman's identity and expected to step into that woman's life and marriage. It was a fascinating look at aspects of the American immigrant experience that don't get a lot of attention - the entry point at Angel Island in San Francisco, rather than the more familiar Ellis Island, the role of human trafficking in migration to the U.S., and the insular networks of immigrants that welcomed new arrivals for good and for ill - but also a complex, emotional narrative of a young woman's almost unimaginable coming-of-age and journey from a rural Chinese village to San Francisco.
#116 - Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas
Victorian romance by an author I generally enjoy for a dependable fluff read. This one fell a bit flat. The conflict just felt much too contrived and the hero and heroine almost comically determined not to learn or understand anything about one another that might resolve it.
#117 - Ravenous by Helen Hardt
The 10th (I think?) installment in a series of mystery-romances I started quite a while ago, almost decided not to finish, and went back to when I wanted something light and instantly available on Hoopla. I should have known from how the initial story arc ended that there would be more... and I'm sure this installment will be drawn out over three titles too because it ended on a cliffhanger. Annoying, since the next book doesn't come out until January, but I just can't seem to resist getting sucked back in.
A title I picked up based on references to it in one of my earlier reads, this book occupied an interesting space somewhere between self-help and sociology. The narrative is partly aimed at individual transformation but also applied more broadly, to building community and transforming organizations. One of the authors is a conductor with a major symphony orchestra, and musical metaphor carried throughout the book, which probably helped to hold my interest and connect with my way of thinking. For whatever reason, this one was a rarity - a self-help oriented book that I actually enjoyed and felt like I learned something from.
#111 - Hearts Made Whole by Jody Hedlund
Christian romance set in a lighthouse very close to where I grew up, it was the location of this one that caught my attention even though it isn't a genre I read much of. It was a surprisingly charming story that sucked me in completely, even though some of the drama was rather predictable. The characters were likable and convincingly flawed, and the historical elements were well-researched and seamlessly presented. Perhaps most interesting was the post-script about the real people who inspired various characters and facets of the story.
#112 - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
A historical story told in two timelines through the eyes of a single character, a widowed Chinese man reflecting on the events of his youth and on his first love, who was removed from their Seattle community during the WWII internment of the Japanese. This was a lovely read that I think I picked up because of a recommendation on this thread, and I very much enjoyed the dynamics of the two immigrant communities that lived side-by-side and looked so similar to outsiders but which brought the conflicts of the countries they left behind to their adopted homeland.
#113 - Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund
#114 - Undaunted Hope by Jody Hedlund
Two more titles in Hedlund's lighthouse keepers series, both also set in Michigan in places I've visited (including one of the lighthouses itself) and inspired by real people, including historical female lighthouse keepers, that lived in the area in the mid-19th century. I continue to really enjoy her writing style and may actually pick up the other installments in the Beacons of Hope series that aren't set in Michigan. The themes of hope and redemption feature heavily in all of her stories, and the religious elements weave into the stories in a seamless and convincing way that never feels heavy-handed or preachy.
#115 - Paper Wife by Lalia Ibrahim
A beautifully written and deeply moving story about a Chinese "paper wife", brought to the United States during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act using a deceased woman's identity and expected to step into that woman's life and marriage. It was a fascinating look at aspects of the American immigrant experience that don't get a lot of attention - the entry point at Angel Island in San Francisco, rather than the more familiar Ellis Island, the role of human trafficking in migration to the U.S., and the insular networks of immigrants that welcomed new arrivals for good and for ill - but also a complex, emotional narrative of a young woman's almost unimaginable coming-of-age and journey from a rural Chinese village to San Francisco.
#116 - Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas
Victorian romance by an author I generally enjoy for a dependable fluff read. This one fell a bit flat. The conflict just felt much too contrived and the hero and heroine almost comically determined not to learn or understand anything about one another that might resolve it.
#117 - Ravenous by Helen Hardt
The 10th (I think?) installment in a series of mystery-romances I started quite a while ago, almost decided not to finish, and went back to when I wanted something light and instantly available on Hoopla. I should have known from how the initial story arc ended that there would be more... and I'm sure this installment will be drawn out over three titles too because it ended on a cliffhanger. Annoying, since the next book doesn't come out until January, but I just can't seem to resist getting sucked back in.
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#60 Overcomer by Alex & Stephen Kendrix
Bible study based on the movie Overcomer.
#61 The Institute by Stephen King
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”
In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.
Good, like most of King's books. A little drawn out in places but still good.
Bible study based on the movie Overcomer.
#61 The Institute by Stephen King
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”
In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.
Good, like most of King's books. A little drawn out in places but still good.
RamblingMad
I'm an 80s kid too.
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2019
My goal is one a month. I started two months ago. I’ve read Mountains of Madness and the City and the City. I plan to knock out the Expanse series next year.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
79/75. I agree that this was extraordinary! Well researched and written.
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
I HIGHLY recommend the rest of the series - I think book two was my favorite!
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
I’ve put a hold on the next one based on your review of that!
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
I’ve put a hold on the next one based on your review of that!
My library only had the first two so I had to buy the third book - I haven't paid more than $0.99 for a ebook for a LONG time but I happily gave Amazon $9.99 just to read book 3 (It's about Daniel and I just had to check on him!)
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
55/50 - Because of Miss Bridgerton- Julia Quinn
This is the first book in the series of the last Julia Quinn one I read (darn waiting lists getting me out of order) and a spin off of the main Bridgerton series I read earlier this year.
This is the first book in the series of the last Julia Quinn one I read (darn waiting lists getting me out of order) and a spin off of the main Bridgerton series I read earlier this year.
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#62 Confessions of a Bigamist by Kate Lehrer
What happens when love strikes twice--and the second time it does you are already satisfactorily, even happily, married?
Michelle Banyon has a successful career as a lifestyle guru and "efficiency consultant." She lives in Manhattan with her kind but thoroughly overworked husband, an international lawyer who spends far more time in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bombay than he does in their Fifth Avenue apartment. They are the perfect twenty-first-century couple: successful, attractive, self-sufficient, and understanding of the all-too-frequent absences that can sometimes make theirs a virtual marriage.
While lecturing in Texas, Michelle literally runs into Wilson Collins as she's backing out of a parking space. The handsome Texan is badly banged up and Michelle feels just awful. She performs one kindness after another as she tries to get him medical help and then get him home. A friendship blooms and, almost as quickly, love does, too.
Unlike everyone else in Michelle's life, Wilson has simple needs and desires and, to her immense surprise, she finds that she is someone very different when she’s with him. It’s not that she doesn't love her husband--she does. She just happens to love two men, and the second one wants to marry her, too.
Well, this one was ok. More of a 'fluff' read than I usually like but it was entertaining.
What happens when love strikes twice--and the second time it does you are already satisfactorily, even happily, married?
Michelle Banyon has a successful career as a lifestyle guru and "efficiency consultant." She lives in Manhattan with her kind but thoroughly overworked husband, an international lawyer who spends far more time in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bombay than he does in their Fifth Avenue apartment. They are the perfect twenty-first-century couple: successful, attractive, self-sufficient, and understanding of the all-too-frequent absences that can sometimes make theirs a virtual marriage.
While lecturing in Texas, Michelle literally runs into Wilson Collins as she's backing out of a parking space. The handsome Texan is badly banged up and Michelle feels just awful. She performs one kindness after another as she tries to get him medical help and then get him home. A friendship blooms and, almost as quickly, love does, too.
Unlike everyone else in Michelle's life, Wilson has simple needs and desires and, to her immense surprise, she finds that she is someone very different when she’s with him. It’s not that she doesn't love her husband--she does. She just happens to love two men, and the second one wants to marry her, too.
Well, this one was ok. More of a 'fluff' read than I usually like but it was entertaining.
Cogswel_Cogs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2005
12 Neon Prey by John Samford
Read a few prior with main character Lucas Davenport have yet to dislike one.
If anyone is interested in reading any of my works. I would gladly send a kindle gift version of any of them: “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”.
You can see them all reviewed at Goodreads (Click on link to view books). If you are interested in reading any of them message me here or at Goodreads.
Read a few prior with main character Lucas Davenport have yet to dislike one.
If anyone is interested in reading any of my works. I would gladly send a kindle gift version of any of them: “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”.
You can see them all reviewed at Goodreads (Click on link to view books). If you are interested in reading any of them message me here or at Goodreads.
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
56/50 - Tight Quarters - Annabeth Albert
A title that was immediately available from the library and was a military romance so I gave it a try. I loved the story of a reporter and SEAL who developed a friendship while the reporter is embedded and it builds to a romance after the assignment ends. Of course obstacles are placed and then overcome but overall I thought it was very well written and I’ve already checked out another book in the series to read on my days off.
A title that was immediately available from the library and was a military romance so I gave it a try. I loved the story of a reporter and SEAL who developed a friendship while the reporter is embedded and it builds to a romance after the assignment ends. Of course obstacles are placed and then overcome but overall I thought it was very well written and I’ve already checked out another book in the series to read on my days off.
Kirby
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2000
49/50 - United As One: Final Book in the I Am Number Four Series by Pittacus Lore. Genre - YA Fantasy
The Garde didn't start this war, but they'll do whatever it takes to end it once and for all. . . .
The Mogadorians have invaded Earth and the Garde are all that stand in the way, but they'll need an army of their own to win this fight. They've teamed up with the US military, but it might not be enough. The Garde need reinforcements, and they've found them in the most unexpected place. Teenagers from across the globe, like John Smith's best friend, Sam, have developed abilities. So John and the others must get to them before the Mogs, because if they don't their enemies will use these gifted teens for their own sinister plan.
But after all that has been taken from John - his home, his family, his friends, and the person he loves most - he might not want to put any more lives in danger. He's got nothing left to lose, and he's just discovered he has an incredible new Legacy. Now he can turn himself into the ultimate weapon. So will he risk his life to save the world, or will he realize that power in numbers will save us all?
The Garde didn't start this war, but they'll do whatever it takes to end it once and for all. . . .
The Mogadorians have invaded Earth and the Garde are all that stand in the way, but they'll need an army of their own to win this fight. They've teamed up with the US military, but it might not be enough. The Garde need reinforcements, and they've found them in the most unexpected place. Teenagers from across the globe, like John Smith's best friend, Sam, have developed abilities. So John and the others must get to them before the Mogs, because if they don't their enemies will use these gifted teens for their own sinister plan.
But after all that has been taken from John - his home, his family, his friends, and the person he loves most - he might not want to put any more lives in danger. He's got nothing left to lose, and he's just discovered he has an incredible new Legacy. Now he can turn himself into the ultimate weapon. So will he risk his life to save the world, or will he realize that power in numbers will save us all?
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
57/50 - Off Base - Annabeth Albert
Book 1 in her military series (I think the first one I read is actually book 4) I really like her writing style and will be continuing this series and checking out her Gaymer series since this series spun off from that one apparently.
Book 1 in her military series (I think the first one I read is actually book 4) I really like her writing style and will be continuing this series and checking out her Gaymer series since this series spun off from that one apparently.
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