ANNUAL READING GOAL CHALLENGE for 2015!

[Simba's Mom]

I've concluded that 99 cent cozy mysteries are worth about what you pay. When I first got my Kindle 2 years ago, I was so excited when I saw the wide array of cozy mysteries I could get for only 99 cents. Now after reading many of them and almost giving up on cozy mysteries altogether, I've found that the only decent ones are the more expensive ones-Laura Levine, Lynn Calhoon, Susan Wittig Albert, Denise Swanson, etc. Does anyone have any recommendations that might prove me wrong?

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

As an author who often lists works at $.99, or one of the 99%, as I often refer to us, I find your comment hurtful. Sure, sometimes we don't always use all the letters to spell a word, and maybe characters change names mid story, but we have feelings; no sales, but feelings. If we had sales, we'd be selling our books for $3.99. Oh, to dream, but seriously, some of us really do try. Most of the time we fail miserably, but we try.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #29 - Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward

This book is about 2 different females with chapters alternating with their stories. One is Alice and her problems with having a baby while living in Texas. The other is Carla's story about her leaving Honduras for America which is especially heartbreaking and brings light to why people try to come to America illegally. The end is not surprising as I figured out fairly quickly what will happen.

Alice and her husband, Jake, own a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas. Hardworking and popular in their community, they have a loving marriage and thriving business, but Alice still feels that something is missing, lying just beyond reach.
Carla is a strong-willed young girl who’s had to grow up fast, acting as caretaker to her six-year-old brother Junior. Years ago, her mother left the family behind in Honduras to make the arduous, illegal journey to Texas. But when Carla’s grandmother dies and violence in the city escalates, Carla takes fate into her own hands—and with Junior, she joins the thousands of children making their way across Mexico to America, facing great peril for the chance at a better life.
In this elegant novel, the lives of Alice and Carla will intersect in a profound and surprising way. Poignant and arresting, The Same Sky is about finding courage through struggle, hope amid heartache, and summoning the strength—no matter what dangers await—to find the place where you belong.

Next book: Horns

 

[WowLookAtThat]

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

Book #34 Slimed by Matthew Klickstein

Book #35 Hollywood Wives by Joan Collins

Book #37 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

 

[mumloveseeyore]

42 Shadow of night by deborah harkness
43 The book of life by deborah harkness
books two and three of her all souls trilogy, i Loved these, amongst my favourites this year
44 Just one damned thing after another by jodi Taylor first in the chronicles of st Mary's
from amazon
A madcap new slant on history that seems to be everyone's cup of tea...

Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet.

Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process.

But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting.

Follow the catastrophe curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake ...

this was great fun!
45 A symphony of echoes by jodi taylor 2nd in the series.

 

[xlsm]

Book 18 of 46:
Between a Heart and a Rock Place by Pat Benatar

I'm not a huge fan of autobiographies, but I AM a huge fan of Pat Benatar (and Joan Jett...when I was little I wanted to change my name to Jett Benatar, lol), and this was 99cents on my Nook, so I went for it.
I liked reading about her early life, but the book was a little scattered. She'd start talking about one thing and then get off track and talk about something else, then eventually come back 'round to what she'd started discussing. Lots of jumping through time, sometimes just a few sentences at a time, but I was like, "Stay focused, Pat!"

Fascinating to learn how she got started. She is VERY confident in her talent and ability, don't expect any self-deprecating comments, lol! She had to deal with poor management from time to time, but she is very careful not to say anything too bad about anyone. She was rightfully unhappy with her record label, though, and blasts the sexism rampant in the industry at the time.


Overall an interesting read.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

As an author who often lists works at $.99, or one of the 99%, as I often refer to us, I find your comment hurtful. Sure, sometimes we don't always use all the letters to spell a word, and maybe characters change names mid story, but we have feelings; no sales, but feelings. If we had sales, we'd be selling our books for $3.99. Oh, to dream, but seriously, some of us really do try. Most of the time we fail miserably, but we try.

I've read some really great freebies and .99 books! As a matter of fact, I'm fairly sure I got Pines(the first Wayward Pines book) for .99. No loss of love here for the struggling writers!

 

[wvjules]

I just finished "The Last Letter from Your Lover" by Jojo Moyes. I LOVED it! It is my favorite book of hers, and of 2015, so far. I cried at the end. What a great book. I give it 4.5/5

Up next? Beats me. I was going to start back with the Outlander series but I have a lot of packing and organizing to do to prepare for a mid-June move so I need to find something else until then. I might find another JoJo Moyes book.

 

[queenofthehive]

9/25 - Below the Stairs by Margaret Powell

5 stars!! Absolutely loved it!!!
It is maid's memoir that inspired the Downton Abbey series.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#26 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

[wvjules]

Goal 72

#26 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

One of my favorites ever!

 

[Deffenm]

12/30 - Allegiant. I did not care for the last book in the Divergent series. It was my least favorite of the 3.

13/30 - The Art of losing yourself. I liked this book a lot.
From Goodreads: Every morning, Carmen Hart pastes on her made-for-TV smile and broadcasts the weather. She’s the Florida panhandle’s favorite meteorologist, married to everyone’s favorite high school football coach. They’re the perfect-looking couple, live in a nice house, and attend church on Sundays. From the outside, she’s a woman who has it all together. But on the inside, Carmen Hart struggles with doubt. She wonders if she made a mistake when she married her husband. She wonders if God is as powerful as she once believed. Sometimes she wonders if He exists at all. After years of secret losses and empty arms, she’s not so sure anymore.
Until Carmen’s sister—seventeen year old runaway, Gracie Fisher—steps in and changes everything. Gracie is caught squatting at a boarded-up motel that belongs to Carmen’s aunt, and their mother is off on another one of her benders, which means Carmen has no other option but to take Gracie in. Is it possible for God to use a broken teenager and an abandoned motel to bring a woman’s faith and marriage back to life? Can two half-sisters make each other whole?

14/30 - Boston Girl. I was surprised by this book. I didn't think I would like it but I did.
From Goodreads: Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can't imagine - a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love. Eighty-five-year-old Addie tells the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her "How did you get to be the woman you are today."

 

[camreesmom]

#12/24
Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline

From Goodreads:
Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife, Caitlin, he is doing his best as a single dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit at the hospital has just been named number two in the country and Eric has a devoted staff of doctors and nurses who are as caring as Eric is. But when he takes on a new patient, Eric's entire world begins to crumble. Seventeen-year-old Max has a terminally ill grandmother and is having trouble handling it. That, plus his OCD and violent thoughts about a girl he likes makes Max a high risk patient. Max can't turn off the rituals he needs to perform every fifteen minutes that keep him calm. With the pressure mounting, Max just might reach the breaking point. When the girl is found murdered, Max is nowhere to be found. Worried about Max, Eric goes looking for him and puts himself in danger of being seen as a "person of interest". Next, one of his own staff turns on him in a trumped up charge of sexual harassment. Is this chaos all random? Or is someone systematically trying to destroy Eric's life?

This is one of my go to authors so I had this book on pre-order. It didn't disappoint and was a very fast read.

Next up: Between Husbands & Friends by Nancy Thayer

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#27 The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser

Written by Rebecca Musser who was the 19th wife of Warren Jeffs. Interesting.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Goal: 30 books this year.

I haven't posted in awhile, but I have been reading, in between crocheting scarves and baby blankets (six of each).

#11 - Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe. Autobiography of television/movie star. Interesting.

#12 - Yes Please - Amy Poehler. Another autobiography. I think she's one of the funniest women on earth, so I really enjoyed this book.

#13 - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy Kaling. I'm stuck on autobiographies! Another funny (if slightly strange) lady.

#14 - Upstairs at the White House - J. B. West. Chronicles of the While House butler for the past half-century.

#15 - Truman - David McCullough. Yet another autobiography. I consider Truman MY president and I think he was one of the best.

#16 - My Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion. Didion's account of her life in the year following her husband's death.

I've read more, but I have to track them down! My memory is shot!

Queen Colleen

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #30 - Dark Rooms by Lili Anolik

A girl is trying to solve the mystery of her sister's murder. A lot of secrets are discovered, some quite sick and repulsive. There are a few hiccups with the story, but overall kept me interested.

Death sets the plot in motion: the murder of Nica Baker, beautiful, wild, enigmatic, and only sixteen. The crime is solved, and quickly—a lonely classmate, unrequited love, a suicide note confession—but memory and instinct won’t allow Nica’s older sister, Grace, to accept the case as closed.
Dropping out of college and living at home, working at the moneyed and progressive private high school in Hartford, Connecticut, from which she recently graduated, Grace becomes increasingly obsessed with identifying and punishing the real killer.

Next book: A Desparate Fortune

 

[timsprincess]

#25/75

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
3/5 stars

From Goodreads:
llison Weiss got her happy ending: a handsome husband, an adorable daughter, a job she loves, and the big house in the suburbs. But while waiting in the pediatrician's office, she opens a magazine to a quiz about addiction and starts to wonder: Is a Percocet at the end of the day really different from a glass of wine? Is it such a bad thing to pop a Vicodin after a brutal Jump & Pump class, or if your husband ignores you? She tells herself that the pills help her make it through her days; but what if her increasing drug use, a habit that's becoming expensive and hard to hide, is turning into her biggest problem of all?

#26/75
Selfish is the Heart by Megan Hart
2/5 stars

From Goodreads:

To escape an arranged marriage, Annalise Marony decides to become a Handmaiden of the Order of Solace. But she is thwarted at every turn by Cassian, a teacher of the faith, who must test her dedication. Older than most of the girls, Annalise knows that she will be expected to please a patron in pleasures of the flesh-and she is not shy about teasing Cassian. And as they both play out the game of master and student, the secrets in their souls will either tear them apart-or bind them together forever.

#27/75

Video Kill by Joanne Fluke
4/5 stars

From Goodreads:
It is the best script Erik Neilsen and Tony Rocca ever wrote. They call it Video Kill, a shocker about a psycho who videotapes beautiful actresses as he murders them. But when the killings really happen, Erik and Tony must race to keep the video killer from finding more victims!

 

[JaneBanks]

I've had a lot come up these past few months so I'm terribly behind on my reading. Ugh. Anyway, I have two to add to the list.

Goal of 30 books

I plan on reading The Cousins War series in to the Tudor Court series in chronological order, not the order they were written

#3 - The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins War #3) - Philippa Gregory

Goodreads: Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of 19, she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her household for love, and then carved out a new life for herself.

#4 - The White Queen (The Cousins War #1) - Philippa Gregory

Goodreads: Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They ruled before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.

The White Queen tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, who secretly marries the newly crowned boy king. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London. Philippa Gregory brings the artistry and intellect of a master writer and storyteller to a new era in history and begins what is sure to be another bestselling classic series from this beloved author.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#28 Days of Little Texas by R.A. Nelson

 

[Simba's Mom]

I upped my goal on goodreads to 65 books. My goal had been 60 books. Right now I'm almost done with "Bittersweet", a cozy mystery by Susan Wittig Albert. OMG, I love it so much! Mostly because the topics, invasive plants and "canned" hunts of imported, exotic animals are very interesting to me. But I also love that there's no sudden revelation of the important fact, necessary to solve the mystery, in the last chapter. Everything necessary seems to be known. I'm giving this 4 stars. But because of the relevance of the topics, I'd personally give it 5 stars. Maybe my enthusiasm is why I upped my reading goal.