Reading Challenge 2022

[mrs. magoo]

14/30 - Choppy waters by Stuart Woods - another pick up from the little free library down the road. The author has written over 80 books and this definitely followed a formula. It was boring and I only finished it because I was more than half way. The premise is the president elect is being stalked by white supremacists who want to kill her. It was predictable and it went back in the library the next morning.

15/30 - Wideacre by Philippa Gregory - So I have read many other books by her and for the most part have enjoyed them. I saw this was intrigued since it was her debut novel. This was a long book. Beatrice Lacey is probably the most unredeeming character I have ever seen. She makes Scarlett O'Hara look like a choir girl. The book is definitely not for everyone and the incest was disturbing but not surprising. I do plan to read the other 2 books in the series but not for a while.

 

[RUDisney]

13/25 - The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I've always wanted to read this. My DS started reading it and I thought it's a great thing to be able to discuss with him. I've also recommended that he read The Prince by Machiavelli.

I didn't agree with all of Sun Tzu's treatises. He said that the army who reaches the war field first is better rested and has a better chance of winning. However, during the battle of Grunwald, Wladislaw Jagiello kept his troops comfortable in the shade of the trees, allowing them to eat and drink and rest. The Spanish troops were arranged on the battle field, in the hot sun, without breaks for food or water and the Polish troops had victory because they arrived to the field later in the day. Otherwise, he makes very good points about armies that extrapolates well to business.

 

[threeboysmom]

I have a few pages of this thread to get caught up on - you all are doing such a great job with your reading & recommendations. Keep 'em coming! Hard to believe we are already HALFWAY through 2022! What?! How?!

27/45 - The Midnight Lock by Jeffrey Deaver (real book)
When a woman arrives home to her Manhattan apartment to find that her personal items have been rearranged while she slept, police initially dismiss her complaint. Nothing was stolen, and there's no sign of breaking and entering. But when the same woman turns up dead, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to investigate the murder. The soon learn that the murderer calls himself "the Locksmith." He is obsessed with locks, slipping into homes in the dead of night and tying his victims up with knots or locks, ultimately strangling them. Their hunt for the killer is interrupted when an internal investigation in the police force uncovers what seems to be a crucial mistake in one of Rhyme's previous cases. He is removed from the case, and must investigate the Locksmith in secret to untangle the mysteries behind the psychotic killer before he can set his ultimate trap.

I liked the premise of things being rearranged because that's a real scare factor for me - I can walk into any room and know instantly if anything is a little off. But the author didn't really focus on that - wish they could have played more with the minds of these women haha. The book just fell flat for me. I don't think crime fiction is really my genre.

28/45 - The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (ebook)
As England prepares to fight the Nazis in 1940, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip seven years later whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy—closer...

5 stars for me! Took me almost half the book before I really got into it, but once I did, the book was unputdownable (is that a word?) On waiting list now for The Diamond Eye (newest by Quinn) and can't wait!

29/45 - The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella (ebook)
It's been over two years since Effie's beloved parents got divorced, destroying the image of the happy, loving childhood she thought she had. Since then, she's become estranged from her father and embarked on a feud with his hot (and much younger) girlfriend, Krista. And now, more earth-shattering news: Greenoaks, the rambling Victorian country house Effie called home her whole life, has been sold. When Krista decides to throw a grand "house cooling" party, Effie is originally left off the guest list--and then receives a last-minute "anti-invitation" (maybe it's because she called Krista a gold-digger, but Krista totally deserved it, and it was mostly a joke anyway). Effie declines, but then remembers a beloved childhood treasure is still hidden in the house. Her only chance to retrieve it is to break into Greenoaks while everyone is busy celebrating. As Effie sneaks around the house, hiding under tables and peeping through trapdoors, she realizes the secrets Greenoaks holds aren't just in the dusty passageways and hidden attics she grew up exploring. Watching how her sister, brother, and dad behave when they think no one is looking, Effie overhears conversations, makes discoveries, and begins to see her family in a new light. Then she runs into Joe--the love of her life, who long ago broke her heart, and who's still as handsome and funny as ever--and even more truths emerge. But will Effie act on these revelations? Will she stay hidden or step out into the party and take her place with her family? And truthfully, what did she really come back to Greenoaks for? Over the course of one blowout party, Effie realizes that she must be honest with herself and confront her past before she'll ever be able to face her future.

I had a 6-hour plane trip ahead of me so chose a couple of chick-lit books to hold my attention while being surrounded by people and distractions. I've enjoyed the Shopaholic books by Kinsella, but this one was not a favorite. It kept my attention somewhat but lacked the humor I usually find in Kinsella's previous books.

30/45 - November 9 by Colleen Hoover (real book)
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

I'm sort of embarrassed to admit but this is the 2nd book by Hoover that I have loved! Definitely held my attention and I LOVED the premise of this book - so original. I wish there was more of a twist to the plot. Love the kind of twists that actually make me gasp out loud. Will be adding a couple more of her books to my TBR this year for sure.

Now to get caught up on what you all are reading!

 

[threeboysmom]

8/40 False Witness by Karin Slaughter. My wife recommended this book after reading a few of Slaughter's novels. It was really good. I won't give anything away, but Slaughter is a gifted writer! Some pretty disturbing content, though I will add.

9/40 Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart. This was a highly touted book about a group of friends who ride out the COVID pandemic lockdown together. I thoroughly hated this book. I made it about 85% of the way but gave up. I don't like books that lack sympathetic characters. Now I don't mean I have to like the characters, but I do have to feel some sort of connection with them. Even if it's a murderer or general horrible person ala Walter White, I still want to relate to them in some way. I hated every character in this book. None of them displayed anything that I felt sympathy for. There was nothing redeeming about any of them. This book was a colossal waste of my time.

10/40 Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen. This was a great read. I really like Franzen's ability to tell a story. It's about a a family in the midwest in the 70s (mostly, although there are flashbacks/retellings of earlier years). It's actually supposed to be a trilogy of books, this being the first. If you liked the Dutch House or Middlesex, I'd recommend this.

Just added False Witness to my TBR - I really enjoy Karin Slaughter too.

 

[threeboysmom]

35/60 Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I became interested in this book after the movie trailer came out. So glad I picked it up to read. It is a story about “The Marsh Girl” in a small town of South Carolina. The timeline flips back and forth beginning when Kya (the Marsh Girl) is six in 1952 to 1969 when there is a Murder (or was it murder?) happens. The story is often sad, but also has bright spots. It is a lovely story, and I cannot wait for the movie to come out in July.

LOVED this book! I very rarely reread since I have 300+ books on my TBR, but I am seriously considering this one. Crawdads was my absolute favorite book of the year when I read it in 2020. I still think about it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

13/35 Clear My Name by Paula Daly

Tess works for Innocence UK, a charity that works on behalf of the wrongfully convicted. They take on the case of Carrie, convicted of killing her husband’s lover, and in the process Tess finds she has to confront her own past.

A solid mystery, kept me wondering up until the end.

I read this because of your statement, “A solid mystery!” 28 of 50, and I gave it 4/5.

 

[OKW8297]

11. Bury the Bishop by Kate Gallison I absolutely loved this. Full disclosure, I am Episcopalian so this mystery about an Episcopal priest who solves a murder was a total treat. My only complaint is that my Kindle copy was full of editorial errors.

 

[willowsnn3]

I have a few pages of this thread to get caught up on - you all are doing such a great job with your reading & recommendations. Keep 'em coming! Hard to believe we are already HALFWAY through 2022! What?! How?!

27/45 - The Midnight Lock by Jeffrey Deaver (real book)
When a woman arrives home to her Manhattan apartment to find that her personal items have been rearranged while she slept, police initially dismiss her complaint. Nothing was stolen, and there's no sign of breaking and entering. But when the same woman turns up dead, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to investigate the murder. The soon learn that the murderer calls himself "the Locksmith." He is obsessed with locks, slipping into homes in the dead of night and tying his victims up with knots or locks, ultimately strangling them. Their hunt for the killer is interrupted when an internal investigation in the police force uncovers what seems to be a crucial mistake in one of Rhyme's previous cases. He is removed from the case, and must investigate the Locksmith in secret to untangle the mysteries behind the psychotic killer before he can set his ultimate trap.

I liked the premise of things being rearranged because that's a real scare factor for me - I can walk into any room and know instantly if anything is a little off. But the author didn't really focus on that - wish they could have played more with the minds of these women haha. The book just fell flat for me. I don't think crime fiction is really my genre.

Adding this one to my list. I love crime fiction.

 

[mrs. magoo]

28/45 - The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (ebook)
As England prepares to fight the Nazis in 1940, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip seven years later whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy—closer...

5 stars for me! Took me almost half the book before I really got into it, but once I did, the book was unputdownable (is that a word?) On waiting list now for The Diamond Eye (newest by Quinn) and can't wait!

I really enjoyed Kate Quinn's books - The Alice Network and the Huntress as well. I read a lot of WW2 historical fiction so the Alice Network being WW1 was an interesting change of pace and the Huntress was a good post WW2 book as well. I suggest them if you enjoyed the Rose Code.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I really enjoyed Kate Quinn's books - The Alice Network and the Huntress as well. I read a lot of WW2 historical fiction so the Alice Network being WW1 was an interesting change of pace and the Huntress was a good post WW2 book as well. I suggest them if you enjoyed the Rose Code.

If you like Kate Quinn's books, you might be interested in "The Diamond Eye", one of her newest, that I'm reading now. I can't say too much about it, since I just started it a couple days ago. But so far at least, it's interesting.

 

[mrs. magoo]

If you like Kate Quinn's books, you might be interested in "The Diamond Eye", one of her newest, that I'm reading now. I can't say too much about it, since I just started it a couple days ago. But so far at least, it's interesting.

It is on my summer reading list.

 

[JayMass]

11/40: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. This is the Dickens book I always meant to read but never did. It was very long but overall enjoyable. Dickens deserves all the credit he gets for his writing style. The language is beautiful and his stories are engaging. This one, if you haven't read it, is about a young boy (much like Copperfield himself) who grows up in various parts of England and encounters many interesting people. I really got attached to many of the characters that fill this novel.

12/40 Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of three American Families by J. Anthony Lukas. This is one of those books that I read pieces of but never tackled in its entirety due its length. It's a nonfiction account of three families in Boston that centers around a federal order in 1974 to integrate the city's de facto segregated schools resulting in students being bused across the city and into different neighborhoods than their own. It really paints a much more human portrait of all involved than what news reports of the time would have you believe. The typical story goes something like--the black kids from Roxbury (heavily black neighborhood) were bused into South Boston and Charlestown (heavily white neighborhoods) and were met with racists who threw rocks and bottles at them. Like anything, it's not so simple. While I could never condone the racist epithets, taunts, and violence expressed by some white people in these neighborhoods, I do understand the outrage of forced busing and the collapse of the middle class in Boston. There are lots of outrageous things in this book, but it is also helps me to understand where Boston was and how the legacy impacts Boston now. I am currently a teacher in Boston Public Schools and students are still bused from one end of the city to the other. The middle class families, black and white, departed Boston in the midst of busing but its not entirely because of busing. Boston is now a city where former working class neighborhoods have been gentrified with million dollar condos. The Boston School population is now overwhelmingly poor. It's a city of great economic disparity. Boston is still a great city, but the schools are need of so much. This book should be required reading for all who live or work here.

 

[threeboysmom]

If you like Kate Quinn's books, you might be interested in "The Diamond Eye", one of her newest, that I'm reading now. I can't say too much about it, since I just started it a couple days ago. But so far at least, it's interesting.

On a wait list for this one!

 

[RUDisney]

My friend posted on FB:

Freebie alert!
The Kindle version of my memoir “Just Checking Scores” will be FREE for one day only.
Check the Daily Deal on Amazon’s Kindle Store on Amazon.com beginning tomorrow morning (Wednesday, June 8) at 10 am eastern, 9 am central and 8 am mountain time.
Now’s your chance to read for FREE the explosive and disturbing story of how I, as a top-rated local tv news anchor, was publicly humiliated when my husband's secret sex life involving young boys was exposed.

I really enjoyed this, although my heart broke for Marisa. I remember the scandal and met her after the ordeal was over.

I hope you enjoy reading it, too.

 

[evilmommie]

Hello fellow book lovers. Took a break from reading, as it was busy with my daughter’s wedding. Check! They got married Memorial Weekend.

10/20 - One Italian Summer by Rebecca Searle. 3.5 stars out of 5 ️️️ Pretty sad, yet up lifting. I found it too close to her book In Five Years. Kind of the same plot. LOVED the food and destination descriptions. I adore Positano, so can’t go wrong if you love the Amalfi coast. This is a good beach read.

 

[mgarbowski]

Book 5 of 24 The Stars Are Wrong - Moe Lane
Book 6 of 24 Gentle is the Angel of Death Dean Koontz
Book 7 of 24 Somebody Owes Me Money Donald E. Westlake
Book 8 of 24 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy John Le Carré

******
The Stars Are Wrong is a Kindle Vella serialized story in the Cthulhu tradition. The genre is not entirely my thing but this was a fun enough diversion.

Gentle is the Angel of Death is part of the second Nameless Series of novellas by Koontz. They're all quick finishes and enjoyable. I'm trying to spread out even though I'm very tempted to just power through the remainder in order.

Somebody Owes Me Money is a mystery dramedy from 1969 re-released under the Hard Case Crime imprint. It's about a NYC cabbie who just wants to collect his longshot bet that he received as a tip in lieu of a tip from a fare. But his bookie gets murdered and our hero stumbles across the crime scene before the cops or anyone else arrives and soon he's being chased by the cops and at least 2 crime gangs while trying to make time with the deceased's sister, who is possibly the only person interested in justice, vengeance, or both. Much fun if you like that sort of thing.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy just didn't connect with me, not even a little. it took me forever to get through it. Obviously this is something of a minority opinion. If you like it, great. I won't try to convince anyone the world is wrong. But I doubt I will be reading any more by Le Carré.

 

[drwitz]

And with this post, I reach my annual goal.... as my friends in Boston say, "wicked early". Looks like I am going to definitely reach 100 this year (I hope). But for now:

58. Looking for Alaska by John Green

The last in the series of banned books I am reading. Our local school district banned this book from their school library as well, and I wanted to read it to see what the fuss was about. The novel tells the story of a high school student who goes to a private prep school out of state. Among the new people he meets is a girl named Alaska, and the tale follows their friendship, the group of young adults, and the trials and tribulations of their year. The novel does have some moments of emotional turmoil, some misbehaving (mostly mild), and teens who drink and smoke. But banning it? Not a book I would ban, and certainly one that I did let my teen read when they were in high school.

59. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

I have long wanted to read this one, and I am so happy I did. Published in the 1960s, it still reads as a relevant and beautifully written tale, full of suspense and deep with meaning. A dark carnival comes to town, and best friends Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway are forced to confront its evil while the rest of town falls victim to the carnival's evil. Bradbury's writing is poetic, and this short novel is worth the read.

60. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King

So you have probably figured out I am a fan, right? Yeah, and this 700 pager did not disappoint. I have never considered myself a fan of the genre of westerns, and this novel - part of The Dark Tower series - certainly is written as one, but when King writes I just get lost in his prose and story. The tale of a group of gunslingers there to protect the kids of the town from the violent wolves is page-turning, and has as much science-fiction, fantasy, and (slight) elements of horror to be a wonder mix-up of a number of genres in one. For anyone who hasn't read the series, I think you might get lost starting here (although there are a number of new characters in this one who have not appeared in earlier parts of the story). I do recommend reading the whole series as this is King's magnum opus.

And now I have finished The Dark Tower series, and started it again (lol).

61. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah by Stephen King

And the saga continues. This story sees our protagonists in three different times and places in our world with a coming confrontation which will bring them back together again, and perhaps in a place that isn't great for the ka-tet. This book read quickly (one of the shorter of the series) and I love that a fictional version of Stephen King appears as a character in the story. This runs the risk of being very meta, but it actually adds a lot to the story and it also builds on the concept of the series as his uber work which unites all of his other pieces of fiction. Very compelling read.

62. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower by Stephen King

And here we come to the end of the story. A stirring and emotionally fulfilling completion of the narrative, with lots of resolution and some suspense thrown in. This is a long read (over 800 pages) but it is well worth the read. Again, it is hard to provide specific plot hints without revealing the whole story, but the combination of western, fantasy, science fiction, time travel, and horror is a potent mix which is a pleasure to read.

63. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (revised and expanded) by Stephen King

The original version of the first book of the series was published early in King's career and while he had a vision of where the series was going, things changed. In addition, the chapters in the first book were originally published as short stories in science fiction / fantasy magazines, so the first book was the first collection of the stories all together. So when the opportunity came to publish the final three books in the series, King went back and revised the first novel to tie in better with the series as a whole. Some people struggle with the opening of the book (and that hasn't changed with this revision). King has produced a character story that at first is light on plot, but wow does it build quickly. I appreciated reading the revision and seeing things hinted at which were fully expanded upon later in the series. Glad to have this to add to my collection.

 

[Caseheidi]

36/60 Lake Silence (world of The Others) by Anne Bishop

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others—vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe—one of the shapeshifting Others—discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous—and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive.

If you enjoyed The Other series, this is a fun book.

37/60 Wild Country (world of The Others) by Anne Bishop

There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance and safety.

But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the Blackstone Clan, outlaws and gamblers all, will uncover secrets...or bury them.

This book takes place during the last of The Others books, and has some cross over on characters. Nice to see the story continue and resolve some of the things we saw in that last book.

38/60 The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate.

Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

I really loved this book. It is definitely in the running for my favorite book I have read this year. It follows one women in WWII ravaged Poland, and another in current day America. I was fully engaged in both characters, and read late into the night to the conclusion. Highly recommend this to anywone.

 

[virge]

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
“For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.

But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.”

I really wanted to like this book. It had lots of parts that I liked, but I didn’t like it as a whole. I forced myself to finish it.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

“Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.”

Over the past few years, I’ve had several students who LOVED this book. A small set was donated to my classroom last year. I eventually pieced together enough copies for a full class set and we read it together during homeroom during the last month of school. My students loved it, but I did not. Going into it, I didn’t know how many sad parts the book had! Since my students love it, I‘ll definitely use the set again, but I don’t see myself using it for instruction. I think it will be good to read during homeroom at the beginning of the school year.

31/75

 

[luvmarypoppins]

12/30 - The Sugarcreek Surprise by Wanda Brunstetter. This is the 2nd book in the series. I liked it much better than the first one.

13/30 - The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher. A good contemporary novel as she usually is know for Amish books. Set in Cape Cod at an ice cream shop. I usually crave the food that is written about.

14/30 - Safe House Exposed by Darlene Turner. Romantic suspense. It was good. I thought it was strange that one of the characters had the same first name as the author,

15/30 - Must Love Dogs by Lacy Williams
A very short story about a couple who are friends and fake dating for a wedding. I thought it was ok but way too short.