ANNUAL READING GOAL CHALLENGE for 2015!

[E&Cmom]

#16/65

Paper Town By John Green
From good reads:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...


#17/65
The Glass Kitchen: A Nove of Sister by Linda Francis Lee

From Goodreads:

Portia Cuthcart never intended to leave Texas. Her dream was to run the Glass Kitchen restaurant her grandmother built decades ago. But after a string of betrayals and the loss of her legacy, Portia is determined to start a new life with her sisters in Manhattan... and never cook again.

But when she moves into a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side, she meets twelve-year-old Ariel and her widowed father Gabriel, a man with his hands full trying to raise two daughters on his own. Soon, a promise made to her sisters forces Portia back into a world of magical food and swirling emotions, where she must confront everything she has been running from. What seems so simple on the surface is anything but when long-held secrets are revealed, rivalries exposed, and the promise of new love stirs to life like chocolate mixing with cream.

The Glass Kitchen is a delicious novel, a tempestuous story of a woman washed up on the shores of Manhattan who discovers that a kitchen—like an island—can be a refuge, if only she has the courage to give in to the pull of love, the power of forgiveness, and accept the complications of what it means to be family.

-----------
I really liked this one and gave it a 5/5

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

#9
Playing for Keeps(Neighbor from Hell)
R.L. Mathewson

Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to start changing. The first thing that she was going to do was to put a stop to all the crap that her aggravating neighbor put her through. What she hadn't expected was to be sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget what the bad boy next door is capable of. The last thing that Jason expected was for his shy little neighbor to go Rambo on him over some ruined flowers, but he quickly got over it once he realized exactly what he'd been missing. After he decides to take her under his wing, he can't help but notice how nicely she fits in his life. Now the only thing left to do was to convince her that this is anything but a game

This is was freebie on my Nook.
It was okay. It was pretty poorly edited and the writing wasn't great. Once I loosened up and got past that the story itself wasn't bad. Predictable and sometimes unrealistic, but every time I was about to give up on it I'd get sucked in again.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #19 Giant by Edna Ferber

Book #20 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Book #21 The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan

Book #22 Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Book #23 Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Book #24 Dangerous Men by Mick La Salle

Book #25 Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn

Book #26 The Star Machine by Jeanne Basinger

Book #27 19 Lessons on Tea

Book # 28-32 The Texas Jewels Series by Ruth Langan

Book #33 The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuz

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #23 - Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Loved this book! It is a light read and pulled me in quick. This story is fairy tale like and reminded me of the movie Practical Magic with Sandra Bullock. Actually it's a mix of Practical Magic and The Language of Flowers book. I love the mystical feeling of it and wish I had a garden like that in my backyard. I finished it so quickly but wanted more. Luckily there is a book 2 i can pick up today at the library.

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it....
The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.
A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants--from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys--except for Claire's rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.

Next book: First Frost (book 2)

 

[timsprincess]

#21/75

Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson
4/5 stars

This book was not what I expected when I picked it up. But after I got over that it was not an Alex Cross story, the story was good. Some of the things that happen are hard to believe they happened but they did. We may not be perfect but we have come a long ways on race relations. It is so hard to think people treat other people like that. Anyway, all of the characters are likeable. The story keeps moving and keeps you engaged in what is happening to all.

From Goodreads:
Separated by timeFrom his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he's written--a novel called Trial.

Connected by blood

As a lawyer in turn-of-the-century Washington D.C., Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his home town to investigate rumors of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse.

United by bravery

When he arrives in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful granddaughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror--but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart.

#22/75
Where is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett
4/5 stars

This is a good relaxed read. I had a little trouble keeping a couple of the characters straight. Other than that, Jimmy spins a good island story mixed with a little flying, drugs, astronomy, voo doo, mystical, and rock and roll. There were laugh out loud parts to this book. Characters were fun and were quite the characters. A pirate story for the modern times.

From Goodreads:
Where is Joe Merchant? That's what his sister, Trevor Kane, the hemorrhoid-ointment heiress, wants to know. For Desdemona, Merchant is the missing link in her ongoing communications with space aliens. Tabloid journalist Rudy Breno only cares that Merchant gets bigger headlines than Elvis. And for renegade seaplane pilot Frank Bama, the mystery of the presumed-dead-but-often-sighted rock star is turning his life upside down.
In his debut novel, Jimmy Buffett cooks up an irresistible gumbo of dreamers, wackos, pirates, and sharks, as he leads Trevor and Frank on a wild chase through the Caribbean Islands to a place where anything can happen . . . and everything does.

I am not counting this book as I did not finish. I couldn't.
House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

This book is just not good. I gave it the good college try but had to quit it. I didn't care about the characters. I could not keep focus on it. It seemed like the story might be a good one if you cut about 2/3 of the book out. It moved so slow that I didn't care what was happening.

From Goodreads
In freezing London, November 1890, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson receive a man unnerved by a scarred-face stalker with piercing eyes. A conspiracy reaches to the Boston criminal underworld. The whispered phrase 'the House of Silk' hints at a deadly foe. Authorized by Doyle's estate.

 

[Deffenm]

#8/#30 - Landline - I really liked this book.
From Goodreads: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...

#9/#30 - 50 Shades Freed - I am glad I finished the series now onto other books.

#10/#30 - Insurgent - I wanted to read it before I took the kids to see the movie. I liked the book, the movie skipped a lot of parts from the book.

#11/#30 - First Frost - I really liked this book, I will read more from this author. I didn't realize Garden Spells was the "first book".
From Goodreads: It's October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree... and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#21 Mallory's Oracle

This is an older book and I read it because it is the beginning of the Kathy Mallory series and one of the later ones sounds good but I always like to read the 'first' in the series first, lol.
Now, I may or may not read more of the series as this one wasn't all that great. I kept confusing some of the characters and Mallory, the main character isn't very likable. Maybe she will 'grow' more later on.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

#21/75



#22/75
Where is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett
4/5 stars

This is a good relaxed read. I had a little trouble keeping a couple of the characters straight. Other than that, Jimmy spins a good island story mixed with a little flying, drugs, astronomy, voo doo, mystical, and rock and roll. There were laugh out loud parts to this book. Characters were fun and were quite the characters. A pirate story for the modern times.

I read this a while ago, wanted to see if I liked Jimmy Buffett books as much as I like Jimmy Buffett songs. I didn't. Didn't even like it as much as I like Jimmy Buffet restaurants, still I agree it was relaxing beach read. Is there nothing that he makes that is nit perfect for a beach.

 

[kmb584]

26/100: A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy

"Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, everyone thinks she is crazy. Helped by Rigger (a bad boy turned good who is handy around the house) and Orla, her niece (a whiz at business), Chicky is finally ready to welcome the first guests to Stone House’s big warm kitchen, log fires, and understated elegant bedrooms. John, the American movie star, thinks he has arrived incognito; Winnie and Lillian are forced into taking a holiday together; Nicola and Henry, husband and wife, have been shaken by seeing too much death practicing medicine; Anders hates his father’s business, but has a real talent for music; Miss Nell Howe, a retired schoolteacher, criticizes everything and leaves a day early, much to everyone’s relief; the Walls are disappointed to have won this second-prize holiday in a contest where first prize was Paris; and Freda, the librarian, is afraid of her own psychic visions."

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #24 - First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

I was disappointed in this book. It didn't have the same mystical, magical feeling in the 1st book. It was more focused on teen love than the garden and apple tree. The mystery of the stranger was build up to nothing much. This book veered away from what worked in the 1st book; Claire and the garden flowers, tree, Waverly family and the town.

Next book: The Hurricane Sisters

 

[timsprincess]

#23/75

Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood
3/5 stars

I did enjoy this book. It was a nice quick read. The story kept moving along and did not stall out. From the beginning, you can kind of guess what the plot is going to be. The author moved it along in that way but the details were not obvious. The end of the book obviously leads to a next book in the series. For me, that always means the loss of a star. Each book must be able to stand on its own. I will probably read the rest of the books but I will not rush out to get them.

From Goodreads:
Rosemary Bliss’s family has a secret. It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, non-magical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun.

So Rose and her siblings experiment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke.

A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn’t cause too much trouble . . . could they?

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

#10
Bird Box
Josh Malerman

Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world—a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.

Something is out there . . .

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

Wow... This has stuck with me since I finished it Saturday night. It's one of my favorites of the year so far.

You can really sense this woman's fear and desperation. I was a little misty eyed more than once just thinking what she must be going through as a mother.

 

[kt_mom]

I finished a few books over the weekend.

#38 The Last Letter From your Lover by JoJo Moyes - I really enjoyed this book maybe more than some of her others I've read.
From Amazon:
A sophisticated, page-turning double love story spanning forty years-an unforgettable Brief Encounter for our times.

It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband.

Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance.

A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers.


#39 Hungry For God, hearing God's Voice in the Ordinary and the Everyday by Margaret Feinberg - I don't think I've read any of her books before and I really liked this one so I've started another book by her.
From Amazon:
In your heart you feel the longing---an emptiness that can't be satisfied by food, or friendships, or entertainment, or success, or anything this world can offer. Only God can fill the void. More than you know, you hunger for God. In Hungry for God, critically acclaimed author Margaret Feinberg puts you in touch with your desire for intimacy with your Creator and what it takes to find fulfillment. Feinberg writes, 'The sound of his voice is spiritual nourishment, his voice a banquet for my soul---every syllable a tasty morsel, every expression flavored with love.' With rare insight into the Scriptures, human nature, and the heart of God, Feinberg invites you to discover the ways in which God speaks to you not from the top of some holy mountain, but in the midst of your everyday affairs. Learning to hear God's voice isn't as much a destination as it is a journey, and if you travel far enough, you'll find yourself abiding in the presence of God. Passionate, honest, and filled with wisdom and inspiration, Hungry for God will help you cultivate the holy intimacy your spirit craves.


#40 The Stranger by Harlan Coben - One of my favorite authors and as always I really enjoyed this book.
From Amazon: #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Harlan Coben delivers his most shocking thriller yet, proving that a well-placed lie can help build a wonderful life-- and a secret has the same explosive power to destroy it.
The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.

Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life.

Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.


Next up I'm reading Pines by Blake Crouch. So far I'm enjoying it.

 

[camreesmom]

#10/24

Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay

From Amazon:

A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife and their four-year-old son. But what begins as a pleasant family outing turns into a nightmare after an inexplicable disappearance. A frantic search only leads to an even more shocking and harrowing turn of events. Until this terrifying moment, David Harwood is just a small-town reporter in need of a break. Now the only thing he cares about is restoring his family. Desperate for any clue, David dives into his own investigation—and into a web of lies and deceit. For with every new piece of evidence he uncovers, David finds more questions—and moves ever closer to a shattering truth.

I LOVED this book.....I'd give it a 5 out of 5. I did not want to put this book down but I also didn't want it to end. If you enjoyed Gone Girl, you'll like this one. It is a thriller that kept on surprising me. I don't want to give anything away because just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, there was another twist.

Coming up:

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay (yes, I'm reading another one of his....lol)

 

[threeboysmom]

Wow, some really great book reviews here!! Going to add a few of them to my ever-growing list. Thanks!

Keep up the good work

 

[willowsnn3]

#22/72

My Real Children by Jo Walton
From the jacket:
It's 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. "Confused today," read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know—what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don’t seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev.

Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War—those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles?

 

[CajunMomof3]

Wow, some really great book reviews here!! Going to add a few of them to my ever-growing list. Thanks!

Keep up the good work

I have a list of books as well that I plan to read that I got from here! Of course, if I keep reading 900+page books, I'll never get to them... Lol

16/35
A Storm of Swords- George R R Martin
I admit it- I'm totally hooked on this series. There were so many plot twists and turns that I feel like any details I give would be spoilers. There were unexpected betrayals, weddings, and deaths. In this book, you gain insight into several characters that have been quite mysterious in previous books. I'm just waiting for book 4 to arrive at the library.

 

[mumloveseeyore]

37 creature comforts by trisha ashley
from Amazon
Fall in back in love with life in this gripping read about fate and second chances.
The eagerly awaited new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

Izzy has broken off her engagement to her feckless fiancée Kieran and returned to her childhood home – the sleepy village of Halfhidden.

She soon realizes that life in the village is anything but peaceful – for one thing she’s living with her mad aunt Debo and her pack of dogs, and for another, Izzy has a lot of unanswered questions.

When she was a teenager, Izzy was involved in a terrible accident, involving various inhabitants of Halfhidden. As she sets out to discover what actually happened on the night of the accident, she realizes that her painful past is actually standing in the way of her future happiness. So when a handsome stranger comes to Halfhidden will she let love back into her life?
Like all trisha ashley a light read, i loved the village characters

38 Garden spells by sarah Addison Allen Thank you to the dis er who recommended this i loved the fairytale feel

39 A year in provence by peter mayle
Peter Mayle and his wife did what most of us only imagine doing when they made their long-cherished dream of a life abroad a reality: throwing caution to the wind, they bought a glorious two hundred year-old farmhouse in the Lubéron Valley and began a new life. In a year that begins with a marathon lunch and continues with a host of gastronomic delights, they also survive the unexpected and often hilarious curiosities of rural life. From mastering the local accent and enduring invasion by bumbling builders, to discovering the finer points of boules and goat-racing, all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life are conjured up in this enchanting portrait. ok so i was a cold wet day and i needed a bit of escapism about hot weather and good food!
40 Skin game by jim butcher
The most recent of the dresden files, really good urban fantasy

 

[CajunMomof3]

17/35
The Last Time They Met- Anita Shreve
I enjoyed this book, even though I almost gave up on it in the first 50 pages... It's written chrinologically backwards which means that there many things that aren't explained until later in the book (which is earlier in time). The love story is fraught with difficulties and tragedies. The ending, literally the last paragraph, was such a surprise that I almost want to reread the whole thing.

 

[threeboysmom]

I'll have to add that one too! Looks good! I have October List on my "to read" list - I believe that's another book that is written backwards. I'm intrigued by that style - not sure if I'll like it or not!