ANNUAL READING GOAL CHALLENGE for 2015!

[zippitydoo]

Book #33 of 50: Crow Hollow by Michael Wallace

From Goodreads:
In 1676, an unlikely pair—a young Puritan widow and an English spy—journeys across a land where greed and treachery abound.

Prudence Cotton has recently lost her husband and is desperate to find her daughter, captured by the Nipmuk tribe during King Philip’s war. She’s convinced her daughter is alive but cannot track her into the wilderness alone. Help arrives in the form of James Bailey, an agent of the crown sent to Boston to investigate the murder of Prudence’s husband and to covertly cause a disturbance that would give the king just cause to install royal governors. After his partner is murdered, James needs help too. He strikes a deal with Prudence, and together they traverse the forbidding New England landscape looking for clues. What they confront in the wilderness—and what they discover about each other—could forever change their allegiances and alter their destinies.

 

[xlsm]

I'm behind in posting. Surprise, surprise, lol.

Finished 18 and 19 of my goal of 46:

Gregor and the Marks of Secret and Gregor and the Code of Claw. The final two books of the Gregor the Underlander series. I've mentioned this before, but they're written by Suzanne Collins of Hunger Games fame.

I truly enjoyed every bit of this series.

If you've missed any of my other updates on the various books, they follow Gregor, an 11 year old boy from New York City. He discovers another civilization living beneath the earth. According to their prophecies, he is The Warrior, the one who will fulfill their destiny.

The books get progressively darker as the series goes on, many characters die along the way. I cried, my kids cried. But every page was worth it.

It was a little sad getting to the last page and knowing our journey with Gregor and his friends and family was complete.

Recommended for ages 9 and up.

School's out for summer, so it's time to get my reading in gear!

 

[monarchsfan16]

I'm behind on both posting and reading. I work in a school, and we are totally in "sprint to the end of the year" mode.

#12/30 I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
From amazon: A MEMOIR BY THE YOUNGEST RECIPIENT OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE "I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday."

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

I give this 5 stars. It was kind of slow at times, with a lot of history, but as I got deeper into the book, I could see why the history was so necessary. It really provides a window into that part of the world. Malala is incredibly well spoken for a teenager, and this was a powerful book. I would love it if it would be mandatory reading for students.

#13/30 What is Visible by Kimberly Elkins
From Amazon:
A vividly original literary novel based on the astounding true-life story of Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind person who learned language and blazed a trail for Helen Keller.

At age two, Laura Bridgman lost four of her five senses to scarlet fever. At age seven, she was taken to Perkins Institute in Boston to determine if a child so terribly afflicted could be taught. At age twelve, Charles Dickens declared her his prime interest for visiting America. And by age twenty, she was considered the nineteenth century's second most famous woman, having mastered language and charmed the world with her brilliance. Not since The Diving Bell and the Butterfly has a book proven so profoundly moving in illuminating the challenges of living in a completely unique inner world.

With Laura-by turns mischievous, temperamental, and witty-as the book's primary narrator, the fascinating kaleidoscope of characters includes the founder of Perkins Institute, Samuel Gridley Howe, with whom she was in love; his wife, the glamorous Julia Ward Howe, a renowned writer, abolitionist, and suffragist; Laura's beloved teacher, who married a missionary and died insane from syphilis; an Irish orphan with whom Laura had a tumultuous affair; Annie Sullivan; and even the young Helen Keller.

Deeply enthralling and rich with lyricism, WHAT IS VISIBLE chronicles the breathtaking experiment that Laura Bridgman embodied and its links to the great social, philosophical, theological, and educational changes rocking Victorian America. Given Laura's worldwide fame in the nineteenth century, it is astonishing that she has been virtually erased from history. WHAT IS VISIBLE will set the record straight.

I gave this 3 stars. It was interesting, but it was SLOW. It took me a very long time to read it.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #41 Room by Emma Donogue

Book #42 Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Book #43 Confessions of a Prairie B***h by Alison Arngim

Book #44 Prairie Tales by Mellisa Gilbert

 

[zippitydoo]

Book #34 of 50: This Thing Called Love by Miranda Liasson

From Goodreads:
New York City self-help editor Olivia Marks faces her toughest assignment yet: parenthood. When her sister dies in a car accident, the career-oriented Olivia suddenly becomes the guardian to her four-week-old niece, Annabelle. She also becomes a challenge for Annabelle’s uncle, Brad Rushford, an old flame whose gorgeous green eyes bring Olivia’s fevered memories rushing back.

As the two circle each other in their small hometown of Mirror Lake, Olivia finds that Brad is as sexy and charming as ever—and now he’s the darling of the town as he expands his successful lakefront restaurant. Is his flirting designed to get serious, or to lower Olivia’s defenses to give up guardianship? When she finds out about the turreted, brick Victorian house Brad tours with a realtor and an attractive, no-strings-attached reporter—the same place where he and Olivia shared an unforgettable night years ago—Olivia wonders if he’s looking for a future with her, or planning to start a new life with someone else?

 

[xlsm]

I misnumbered my previous entry. It should have been 19 and 20, not 18 and 19.

At any rate, we've had a lazy weekend and I've now finished book 21 and 22 of 46.

22. Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier - One of my favorite books of all time is Rebecca, so I have wanted to read Jamaica Inn for quite some time, I just never made the time to do it. It follows Mary Yellan. After her mother dies, she goes to stay with her aunt and mysterious uncle. When she arrives in town, she discovers they are owners of the illustrious Jamaica Inn. An inn where no one ever stays. Her aunt is no longer the vivacious carefree woman she was in Mary's youth, and is now a frightened shell of a woman, and her uncle is loud and dangerous. Mary discovers the secrets of Jamaica Inn and works to turn in her uncle and save her aunt.
This book is a little slow. Not as engaging as Rebecca, but still worth reading.

23. The Summons by John Grisham - Summoned to his childhood home by his ailing father, Ray finds a quiet house upon arrival. His father is dead in his study, apparently a casualty of the cancer with which he'd been recently diagnosed. A copy of his will is lying on the desk, naming Ray the executor of the estate, which is to be split equally between himself and his addict brother Forrest.
Ray finds a large sum of cash in the house. Shocked by the find, he sets out to discover where it came from. In the meantime, he is stalked, threatened, has his apartment broken into, etc...The book follows his search for answers.
I flew through this book! The story was engaging, but the last couple of chapters were lousy. They were really a major letdown from the rest of the story, mainly because it was a pretty obvious place to go.

 

[timsprincess]

#31/75

Photo Finished by Laura Childs
3/5 stars

This is a nice comfortable read. The story moves along at a good pace. It was nice not to have things drag about. I did not have the who did it figured out when she revealed it. The touch of scrapbooking and crafting was nice.

From Goodreads:
New Orleans scrapbooking shop owner Carmela Bertrand is hosting a late-night "Crop Till You Drop" session-when a neighboring antique-shop owner winds up murdered in the alley. Now, the scrapbooking expert must rearrange the jumble of clues and pick out the killer.

 

[willowsnn3]

#33 of 72

#33 The Sacrifice by Joyce Carol Oates

From the jacket: 'When a fourteen year old girl is the alleged victim of a terrible act racial violence, the incident shocks and galvanizes her community, exacerbating the racial tension that has been simmering in this New Jersey town for decades.'

The first half of the book was good. Middle ways thru tho it got a little "wordy", long and drawn out and not making a lot of sense. Was glad when I finally got to the end. And when it ended, it ended. Just like that, lol.

 

[kt_mom]

I'm a little behind in updating, but earlier this month I finished
44- The Sacred Echo by Margaret Feinberg
45- Game Of Thrones - I was hesitant to start this because I didn't think I would enjoy this type of book but I loved it.
46- Storm Clouds Rolling in (#1 Bregdan Chronicles) by Ginny Dye - this was okay I was hoping to like it more. I'll probably finish the series to see what happens.

I've been trying to finish The Diabetes Solution by Dr. Bernstein all month. Its a necessary read but not extremely enjoyable so its really slow going. But as soon as I finish I plan to read the next one in the Game of Thrones series.

 

[zippitydoo]

Book #35 of 50: Private by James Patterson

 

[Christine]

#13/#50 - The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer (previous book The Dive from Claussen's Pier)

From the NY Times review:

“The Children’s Crusade” is deftly structured, running on two alternating tracks. The first describes the siblings’ fretful childhood, raised by a saintly pediatrician father and a mercurial artist mother. The second leaps forward in time to follow the children’s unremarkable, middle-aged fate. They are still unhappy, but in ways that are both more worldly and more diffuse. The novel’s structure thus sets up some large questions: To what degree are we shaped by our childhoods? Can we circumvent the influence of the past? Nature versus nurture?

This was a decent story. Not a real page turner or an on-the-edge-of-your-seat book, but I did enjoy the characters and the overall pace of the story. It's not a perfect book because there were many minor stories within the character's lives that I felt went unanswered or I was left wondering what was the point of even telling parts, but overall I enjoyed the book.

Next up: The Whites: A Novel.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

6 of 12: Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller.

Ever since the Jedi were marked for death and forced to flee Coruscant, Kanan Jarrus has devoted himself to staying alive rather than serving the Force. Wandering the galaxy alone, from one anonymous job to another, he avoids trouble--especially with the Empire--at all costs. So when he discovers a deadly conflict brewing between ruthless Imperial forces and desperate revolutionaries, he's not about to get caught in the crossfire. Then the brutal death of a friend at the Empire's hands forces the ex-Jedi to make a choice: bow down to fear, or stand up and fight.

But Jarrus won't be fighting alone. Unlikely allies, including a bomb-throwing radical, a former Imperial surveillance agent, a vengeful security officer, and the mysterious Hera Syndulla--an agent provocateur with motives of her own--team up with Jarrus to challenge the Empire. As a crisis of apocalyptic proportions unfolds on the planet Gorse, they must stand together against one of the Emperor's most fearsome enforcers--for the sake of a world and its people.

Goodreads

3.5 out of 5. You are only going to read this book if you are a Star Wars fan, and have watched or at least know the characters in the Star Wars Rebels cartoon. However, this is not a children's novel. I was surprised to find that Kanan was both a drinker and womanizer. Those are obviously aren't things you see in a cartoon rated Y-7.

It's been awhile since I've been heavy into the Star Wars universe, so I had to look up what some of the species were that were talked about.

The antagonist of the story has a more personal agenda than I originally anticipated. I think it added more to the overall conflict that he had is own machinations at work outside those of the Empire in genera.

Up next: The Palace Job (the first book in the Rogues of the Republic series) by Patrick Weekes. It's like Firefly, only with wizards.

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Book #43 Confessions of a Prairie B***h by Alison Arngim

Book #44 Prairie Tales by Mellisa Gilbert

Book #45 Eccentric Neighbor by Rosario Ferre

Book #46 Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

 

[threeboysmom]

Finished #19 out of 30 - Life After Life

I did NOT enjoy this one. I'm thoroughly confused as to why this book gets such glowing reviews. But maybe I'm too dense to understand it..... especially how it ended. I must have missed something along the way.

In a nutshell: Ursula keeps living her life over and over again. Every time she dies, her mother gives birth to her again on the same snowy night in February 1910. I'd find myself groaning when she would die because now I have to start her story all over again - it literally felt like I was getting absolutely nowhere in the book. My husband would know instantly... "she just die again?" "Yup." I continued reading thinking surely the ending will explain it all - why this keeps happening. I'm as stumped as ever. Mad at myself for wasting time when I could have been reading something great... like the book I'm currently reading!

Still Alice - I'm a little concerned that this is the 3rd book now in about a month that I've read about a woman who loses her memory... especially since my memory is practically non-existent nowadays, lol, but wow, this book has me hooked emotionally. At times, it's pure anguish to read, but I cannot put this book down!

 

[Christine]

Finished #19 out of 30 - Life After Life

I did NOT enjoy this one. I'm thoroughly confused as to why this book gets such glowing reviews. But maybe I'm too dense to understand it..... especially how it ended. I must have missed something along the way.

In a nutshell: Ursula keeps living her life over and over again. Every time she dies, her mother gives birth to her again on the same snowy night in February 1910. I'd find myself groaning when she would die because now I have to start her story all over again - it literally felt like I was getting absolutely nowhere in the book. My husband would know instantly... "she just die again?" "Yup." I continued reading thinking surely the ending will explain it all - why this keeps happening. I'm as stumped as ever. Mad at myself for wasting time when I could have been reading something great... like the book I'm currently reading!

Still Alice - I'm a little concerned that this is the 3rd book now in about a month that I've read about a woman who loses her memory... especially since my memory is practically non-existent nowadays, lol, but wow, this book has me hooked emotionally. At times, it's pure anguish to read, but I cannot put this book down!

I've read both of these. I also could not stand Life and Life. Still Alice is one of my favorites. The movie was good too but does not do the book justice. Just reading a story from the patient's perspective was unusual. The movie could not capture that at all.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just finished #29/65-"The Holiday Gig" by Erin Bradley. This was such a cute, funny read for me. If you like Sophie Kinsella, this author's for you. I can't wait to read another book by this author.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

#14
The House
Bentley Little

Five complete strangers from across America are about to come together and open the door to a place of evil that they all call home. Inexplicably, four men and one woman are having heart-stopping nightmares revolving around the dark and forbidding houses where each of them were born. When recent terrifying events occur, they are each drawn to their identical childhood homes, only to confront a sinister supernatural presence which has pursued them all their lives, and is now closer than ever to capturing their souls...

I struggled a little with this one. It was a good story, creepy, weird, and even though it was written from five or so different viewpoints, it wasn't hard to follow.
However there is a main character in the book that I had a very hard time reading because of how she is presented. I know that she is not what they think she is, but it was pretty gross. I pretty much skimmed over some of her parts and it didn't take away from the book at all. (I'm trying not to give too much away.)

 

[tiggrbaby]

Waaaay behind in posting! Most recent:

The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story by Lily Keppel (a bit confusing to keep all the wives straight, but very interesting!)

Pardonable Lies by Jaqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs #3; I like learning all the history and seeing repeat characters)

A Crime of Passion by Scott Pratt (Joe Dillard #7; similar to John Grisham books)

I would rate each of these as 4 stars.

 

[sj&k]

Finished 5/20, Me Before You, over the weekend. I must say this is the most enjoyable book I've read this year although the subject matter was slightly uncomfortable for me. I liked the author's writing style although it's not my usual type of book and will probably read more from her in the future. Currently reading The Husband's Secret and it's holding my interest so far.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Still Alice - I'm a little concerned that this is the 3rd book now in about a month that I've read about a woman who loses her memory... especially since my memory is practically non-existent nowadays, lol, but wow, this book has me hooked emotionally. At times, it's pure anguish to read, but I cannot put this book down!

I just finished this one. I put it off because I've had grandparents with Alzheimers. I really liked it!