Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

[sj&k]

Finally finished books 2 and 3-Notorious Nineteen and Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich. I enjoyed them somewhat, but to me this series is hit or miss and pretty much the same plot with a few character and scenario changes for each book. I won't spoil it for anyone who is still working on this series, but I'm not sure if I'll continue after these two. Maybe if I find the books on clearance, who knows, but I don't think I'll seek them out anymore.

Next up, Defending Jacob by William Landay, I think. Hope it's good.

 

[nemofans]

Finished book #22 - Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

This is book 2 of the Pendergast series. Book 1 (Relic) was creepy & excellent, but this book wasn't as good. It was more sci fi. It didn't creep me out enough. Not sure if i will continue with the series although I do really like Agent Pendergast. He wasn't in this book enough which have been why I didn't care for it as much as the 1st book.

Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beast. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare.

Next book: Heart Shaped Box

 

[DisneyWalle]

I have not heard of her but just put this and her other books on my to read list. Have you read any of her other ones? This sounds really cute, thanks for posting!

No, she is a new author to me. However, I enjoyed 29 so I have ordered another one of her books called "Pinch Me".

 

[DisneyWalle]

Infected
Scott Sigler



Wow.

Maybe it's because I am not used to the genre, but wow.

I have a lot of different feelings about this book. It had a few humorous parts, sad parts, scary parts, disgusting parts...

The beginning of the book was creepy and intriguing enough to catch me, but something happens about 20% through that REALLY kept me on the hook. I was actually pretty creeped out.

I definitely think I will continue the series. So far it's one of the standouts from my list.

(I can't remember who reviewed it on the thread earlier, but thank you! I would have never found this book on my own. That's why I love this thread!)

If you enjoyed Infected, you need to try Nocturnal. I'm reading it right now but its a big book so I keep taking breaks.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Mary Roach

The study of sexual physiology - what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better - has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey's attic.

Mary Roach, "the funniest science writer in the country" (Burkhard Bilger of 'The New Yorker'), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is ******l orgasm a myth? Why doesn't Viagra help women or, for that matter, pandas?

In 'Bonk', Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place. 16 illustrations

I've been reading this in between other books for about a month now.

I love this author. She introduces science in a clear and easy to understand format while also finding humor in things that may be strange or uncomfortable to talk about.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Book 5 the station a girl tries to prevent some from committing suicide after she does it

6 for Anna a girl trying to move forward after trying to save a little girl

 

[StephMK]

I've been struggling to find something to read while waiting impatiently for 5 book on the library waiting list.

#6-The Hating Game Talli Roland - fluff book about a woman who goes on a dating game to win prize money. The catch that she finds out is that all of the dating partners are her exes. This was a free rental from Amazon Prime and an ok, easy read.

#7 - The Life List - this came from recommendations on Amazon. I read the sample and ended up paying to buy and finish it. A woman's mother dies and she has to fulfill her teenage bucket list within a year. A few predictable parts but definitely some surprises and a really cute read. I really liked this one and thought the author did a great job with the characters.

Me Before You finally became available on the wait list and will be my next read. So happy because I love having a book already lined up when I finish one.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

If you enjoyed Infected, you need to try Nocturnal. I'm reading it right now but its a big book so I keep taking breaks.

I'm thinking of trying his book Ancestors.

 

[CaliBear]

9/30 The New Centurions by Joseph Wambaugh

This book was so good! If you like to read cop stories, I highly recommend this one as it shows the evolution of three cops from Academy to veteran. It's set in the 60s, but it still seems relevant.

 

[DisneyWalle]

#28 - Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by: Jenny Lawson

from Amazon:
When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

Rarely do I ever find a book that I enjoy enough to keep, but this book is a keeper. I started reading it and then knew my husband would find it funny too --- so I read it to him when we were just laying around. Suddenly, I was reading it aloud in the bed, in the car, on the deck and really just anywhere when we were together. We have throughly enjoyed this book.
Jenny Lawson is an amazing and captivating writer. Be warned she does use some foul language.

 

[CaliBear]

#28 - Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by: Jenny Lawson

from Amazon:
When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

Rarely do I ever find a book that I enjoy enough to keep, but this book is a keeper. I started reading it and then knew my husband would find it funny too --- so I read it to him when we were just laying around. Suddenly, I was reading it aloud in the bed, in the car, on the deck and really just anywhere when we were together. We have throughly enjoyed this book.
Jenny Lawson is an amazing and captivating writer. Be warned she does use some foul language.

This sounds good. Thanks

 

[K and K's Mommy]

#8 The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

My DD 12 told me I would like this, and she was right. It is a memoir by Leon Leyson during the Holocaust. He was one of the youngest on Schindler's List. It is a quick, but powerful, read. It is a children's novel, but I would only recommend it to 5th grade and up. It makes me want to go watch Schindler's List again.

 

[Glynis]

Goal - 70 Books

Book #8 - "The Big 5-Oh" by Sandra D. Bricker

From Goodreads: Olivia Wallace has a birthday curse . . . or so she thinks. It was a broken heart on her 16th, a car accident on her 21st, pneumonia on her 30th, and a fall down a flight of stairs on her 35th. There were Ohio blizzards on her 38th, 39th, and 40th; and six days before her 45th, she lost the love of her life to a heart attack. Numbing grief stole that birthday and a couple more to follow and, on the morning of her 48th birthday, she received the call she’d dreaded ever since losing her mom so many years ago…she was diagnosed with stage-3 ovarian cancer. The doctors didn’t hold out a lot of hope, but Liv survived and maintained her faith. Months of surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed.

But now, as her 50th birthday creeps up the icy Ohio path toward her, her hair has grown back, her energy level is up, and she is officially cancer free. It makes her nervous. After everything she’s gone through, Liv hates the idea of driving on icy roads and returning to work as an O.R. nurse in a local Cincinnati hospital.

Her best friend Hallie knows just the thing to break Liv out of the winter doldrums, while providing a safe haven of warmth, sunshine, and a time to regroup: a holiday in the Florida sunshine!

My Review: This was a cute, fluff book. Perfect for reading at bedtime. I enjoyed the love story, predictable though it was. Definitely a beach read!

I'm still working my way through "A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare 1599", and should have it done this week. I'm also reading "The Amulet" in my spare time.

 

[DisneyWalle]

#29 - Pinch Me by Adena Halpern

from Amazon:
LILY MARRIED THE MAN OF HER DREAMS.THEN SHE WOKE UP.“Never marry a man unless he’s short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.” That is the advice that twenty-nine-year-old Lily Burns has heard her entire life from her grandmother Dolly and her mother, Selma. Despite this, when she meets Gogo, the handsome, successful pediatrician who treats her like a queen, she has no choice but to let her heart take over. When she agrees to marry him, Dolly and Selma are inconsolable. They decide it’s time to tell her the truth: their family is cursed. If she marries for love, there will be unimaginable consequences.Nevertheless, Lily and Gogo elope. Unable to believe her good fortune, Lily asks Gogo to pinch her—to make sure all this isn’t just a dream. The moment he does, Lily finds herself transported back to the house she lived in when she was single. Gogo is gone. When Lily tracks him down, she finds that he’s married to someone else and has no memory of her. In this modern fairy tale, Lily must find a way to break the curse and turn her nightmare back into a dream come true.

This was a good book with a fun storyline. It was another quick read book that I finished within a few hours. I enjoyed following Lilly on this unbelievable adventure -- I kept hoping that she would find her way back to her husband. In fact, at one point I found myself with a lump in my throat ---sympathizing with Lilly's and Gogo's pain.

(The book does contain a few spelling and grammatical errors. But not enough to detract from the story. I'm surprised the editor didn't catch them.)

 

[mumloveseeyore]

32/150not on my patch lad by mike pannett
a light comforting read about life as a policeman in north yorkshire 3/5
33/150 where dreams come true : a year in the arcade by kitty charles
from amazon
The story follows the 12 business who occupy the 13 unit Victorian Angell's arcade in a small seaside town. Each month the owner of one of the businesses takes centre stage and we get to learn about the goings on in the arcade through their eyes.
It was completely addictive and crammed with larger than life characters, dramatic goings on, romance, extra-marital affairs, cross-dressing, a hostage situation, missing children, attempted murder and even a lesbian kiss... Heaven knows how much the insurance must cost to run a business in this arcade!

this was a great fluff read enormous fun!

34/159my family and other disasters by lucy mangan

a collection of newspaper articles from the guardian. Funny but patchy, some were better than others 2/5

 

[Kimberlyann11]

2/20 Die Trying by Lee Child

This is my first Jack Reacher book and it was good enough for what it was. I have another that I picked up for my lunchtime reading. The author has a number of "tics" that I find mildly distracting - for example his characters are always "shrugging". It seems like at least once per page. Once I saw that it wasn't going to go away I made peace with it and was able to enjoy the story.

Next up: Another Reacher book. I don't remember the name and it's at work in my desk so I can't look at it to see. He seems to have interchangeable names for his books. I always have three books going at once. I have my home book which is something that interests me quite a bit, my work book which is mindless reading - not a page turner and my ipad book which is usually something a little heavier - like nonfiction that I have an interest in. The Reacher thing is going to be my work book.

 

[willowsnn3]

Goal 72

#16 The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice
From the jacket:
"Christopher Rice brilliantly conjures the shadowed terrors of the Louisiana bayou----where three friends confront a deadly, ancient evil rising to the surface--in this intense and atomospheric new supernatural thriller."

Started out as a pretty good creepy kind of book, but by the second part of the book it became pretty dumb and not very well written.

 

[Darcy03231]

Here are my last three:

Gentle Rouge by Johanna Lindsay - from Amazon: "Heartsick and desperate to return home to America, Georgina Anderson boards the Maiden Anne disguised as a cabin boy, never dreaming she'll be forced into intimate servitude at the whim of the ship's irrepressible captain, James Mallory.

The black sheep of a proud and tempestuous family, the handsome ex-pirate once swore no woman alive could entice him into matrimony. But on the high seas his resolve will be weakened by an unrestrained passion and by the high-spirited beauty whose love of freedom and adventure rivals his own."

I enjoyed it. I like that this author ties her books in with previous ones so you can catch up on what the characters are doing.

A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane - from Amazon: "A cabal of powerful Boston politicians is willing to pay Kenzie and Gennaro big money for a seemingly small job: to find a missing cleaning woman who stole some secret documents. As Kenzie and Gennaro learn, however, this crime is no ordinary theft. It's about justice, about right and wrong. But in Boston, finding the truth isn't just a dirty business . . . it's deadly."

This is the first book in a series and I loved it! I live just north of Boston where the book is set so that was another plus for me. If you like this type of genre I highly recommend it.

Darkness Take My Hand - Dennis Lehane - From Amazon: "Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro’s latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know something about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they’ve seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate. But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike as secrets long-dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything—including the truth."

Another really good book by Dennis Lehane. I just started the third one in the series.

 

[Kathi OD]

#10 "Room" by Emma Donoghue.

This book got rave reviews from almost everyone I know, but I didn't find it enjoyable at all. How people were compelled to read it in a single sitting is beyond me. The first, oh I don't know, 70 pages or so was torturous, reading 5 year old Jack speak like a 3 year old. Really made it difficult for me to get through the whole thing.

On a more positive note, next up is "The Rosie Project," which I scored from Barnes & Noble for $1.99 on Nook.

 

[Momof3dogs]

12/50
The Book Thief--- Markus Zusak

Read the book and followed it up with watching the movie tonight with my husband. I have to digest this book a bit....thankfully, it's already been fully reviewed here.

I have to many books in my To Be Read pile that I'm overwhelmed! I don't know which to read next.