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Reading Challenge 2022
- Thread starter willowsnn3
- Start date
melk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
20/35 The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
Basically the sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, but can stand alone. This time the story centers on Honey, the daughter of the blue-skinned Kentucky pack horse librarian. Her parents have been imprisoned for having a “mixed marriage” and sixteen year old Honey finds herself taking the job her mother had, delivering library books to the poor of Appalachia. She encounters prejudice, violence, but also good friendships.
I enjoyed the first book very much and I liked this one too. Some of it felt a bit of the same, but overall it was a good story that at times I couldn’t put down.
Basically the sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, but can stand alone. This time the story centers on Honey, the daughter of the blue-skinned Kentucky pack horse librarian. Her parents have been imprisoned for having a “mixed marriage” and sixteen year old Honey finds herself taking the job her mother had, delivering library books to the poor of Appalachia. She encounters prejudice, violence, but also good friendships.
I enjoyed the first book very much and I liked this one too. Some of it felt a bit of the same, but overall it was a good story that at times I couldn’t put down.
MGMmjl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2018
17/30 - Katrina: A History, 1915-2015 by Andy Horowitz
Description:
"Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, but the decisions that caused the disaster extend across the twentieth century. After the city weathered a major hurricane in 1915, its Sewerage and Water Board believed that developers could safely build housing away from the high ground near the Mississippi. And so New Orleans grew in lowlands that relied on significant government subsidies to stay dry. When the flawed levee system surrounding the city and its suburbs failed, these were the neighborhoods that were devastated. The homes that flooded belonged to Louisianans black and white, rich and poor. Katrina's flood washed over the twentieth-century city.
The flood line tells one important story about Katrina, but it is not the only story that matters. Andy Horowitz investigates the response to the flood, when policymakers reapportioned the challenges the water posed, making it easier for white New Orleanians to return home than it was for African Americans. And he explores how the profits and liabilities created by Louisiana's oil industry have been distributed unevenly among the state's citizens for a century, prompting both dreams of abundance--and a catastrophic land loss crisis that continues today.
Laying bare the relationship between structural inequality and physical infrastructure--a relationship that has shaped all American cities--Katrina offers a chilling glimpse of the future disasters we are already creating."
This book was well-written, and although it was sad to read about what happened in a lot of places, I feel that it was an important read.
Description:
"Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, but the decisions that caused the disaster extend across the twentieth century. After the city weathered a major hurricane in 1915, its Sewerage and Water Board believed that developers could safely build housing away from the high ground near the Mississippi. And so New Orleans grew in lowlands that relied on significant government subsidies to stay dry. When the flawed levee system surrounding the city and its suburbs failed, these were the neighborhoods that were devastated. The homes that flooded belonged to Louisianans black and white, rich and poor. Katrina's flood washed over the twentieth-century city.
The flood line tells one important story about Katrina, but it is not the only story that matters. Andy Horowitz investigates the response to the flood, when policymakers reapportioned the challenges the water posed, making it easier for white New Orleanians to return home than it was for African Americans. And he explores how the profits and liabilities created by Louisiana's oil industry have been distributed unevenly among the state's citizens for a century, prompting both dreams of abundance--and a catastrophic land loss crisis that continues today.
Laying bare the relationship between structural inequality and physical infrastructure--a relationship that has shaped all American cities--Katrina offers a chilling glimpse of the future disasters we are already creating."
This book was well-written, and although it was sad to read about what happened in a lot of places, I feel that it was an important read.
Just put in a request for this!
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
I just picked it up! Wish you Well!
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#31/50 The Guise of Another by Allen Eskens
Who was James Putnam? Answering that question may mean salvation for Alexander Rupert, a Minnesota detective whose life is in a serious downward spiral. When he happens across a complex case of identity theft, Alexander sees an opportunity to rehabilitate his tattered reputation.
But the case explodes into far more than he could have expected, putting him in the path of trained assassin Drago Basta, a veteran of the Balkan wars who has been searching for “James Putnam” for years. As his life spins out of control, Alexander’s last hope may be his older brother, Max, a fellow police detective who steps in to try to save his brother from the carnage his investigation has let loose.
This was another 'just ok' one for me.
Who was James Putnam? Answering that question may mean salvation for Alexander Rupert, a Minnesota detective whose life is in a serious downward spiral. When he happens across a complex case of identity theft, Alexander sees an opportunity to rehabilitate his tattered reputation.
But the case explodes into far more than he could have expected, putting him in the path of trained assassin Drago Basta, a veteran of the Balkan wars who has been searching for “James Putnam” for years. As his life spins out of control, Alexander’s last hope may be his older brother, Max, a fellow police detective who steps in to try to save his brother from the carnage his investigation has let loose.
This was another 'just ok' one for me.
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
Just for fun:
Mine is "The House of Dreams River"
Mine is "The House of Dreams River"
The Land of Rose Fog
ilovevacation
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2012
Mine is boring but one of my kids is so good...The Throne of nightmares and blood
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
55) My Killer Vacation - Tessa Bailey
A fun murder mystery romance by one of my favorite authors. Loved it! 5/5
56) Welcome to the Dark Side - Giana Darling
Fallen Men book 2. Love it as much or more than book 1. Motorcycle club smutty romance 5/5
57) Good Gone Bad - Giana Darling
Fallen Men book 3. Possibly my favorite in the series. 5/5
58) Out of Sight - Giana Darling
Fallen Men novella. Fun enjoyable quick read 4/5
59) Fallen Son - Giana Darling
Fallen Men novella. It’s supposed to set up the next novel and I hope it does because it seemed pretty disconnected so far.
60) Keeper - Amy Daws
Harris Brothers series continues Fun though I hate the accidental pregnancy trope. 4/5
61) End Goal - Amy Daws
Harris Brothers novella. Cute short about the wedding of one of the earlier brothers (book 1’s characters) 4/5
62 & 62) Surrender & Dominate
Harris Brothers books 4 & 5 two full length novels about the 4th brother. The surrender ended on a big cliff hanger and I literally finished it and started dominate immediately so I’ve listed them together. 4/5 each
63) Twisted Hate - Ana Huang
An enemy to lovers book (One of my favorite tropes) that’s also a bff’s older brother romance. Great combination of tropes and a great story 5/5
64) Fetish: An Erotic Romance Omnibus - Anonymous
A collection of short erotic stories that each examine different fetishes. Really well written and enjoyable. 5/5
65) The Summer of Christmas - Juliet Giglio
A movie writer writes a movie about her high school romance and it’s filmed in her old home town where her high school boyfriend still lives. I got an advanced copy of this audiobook and honestly… skip it. It’s not good. 2/5
And that’s my July!
A fun murder mystery romance by one of my favorite authors. Loved it! 5/5
56) Welcome to the Dark Side - Giana Darling
Fallen Men book 2. Love it as much or more than book 1. Motorcycle club smutty romance 5/5
57) Good Gone Bad - Giana Darling
Fallen Men book 3. Possibly my favorite in the series. 5/5
58) Out of Sight - Giana Darling
Fallen Men novella. Fun enjoyable quick read 4/5
59) Fallen Son - Giana Darling
Fallen Men novella. It’s supposed to set up the next novel and I hope it does because it seemed pretty disconnected so far.
60) Keeper - Amy Daws
Harris Brothers series continues Fun though I hate the accidental pregnancy trope. 4/5
61) End Goal - Amy Daws
Harris Brothers novella. Cute short about the wedding of one of the earlier brothers (book 1’s characters) 4/5
62 & 62) Surrender & Dominate
Harris Brothers books 4 & 5 two full length novels about the 4th brother. The surrender ended on a big cliff hanger and I literally finished it and started dominate immediately so I’ve listed them together. 4/5 each
63) Twisted Hate - Ana Huang
An enemy to lovers book (One of my favorite tropes) that’s also a bff’s older brother romance. Great combination of tropes and a great story 5/5
64) Fetish: An Erotic Romance Omnibus - Anonymous
A collection of short erotic stories that each examine different fetishes. Really well written and enjoyable. 5/5
65) The Summer of Christmas - Juliet Giglio
A movie writer writes a movie about her high school romance and it’s filmed in her old home town where her high school boyfriend still lives. I got an advanced copy of this audiobook and honestly… skip it. It’s not good. 2/5
And that’s my July!
KevM
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2018
I read 10 books in July.
99) What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass – Non-Fiction/Essay/Race. Douglass’s famous speech delivered on July 5th, 1852, to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. 5/5
100) On the Come Up by Angie Thomas – YA Contemporary. Set a year later in the same neighborhood, but not a direct sequel to The Hate U Give. Focuses on Bri, a 16-year-old trying to breakout as a rapper. 4.25/5
101) You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi – Contemporary/Romance. It’s been 5 years since Feyi became a widow. A hookup at a party leads to a summer she never imagined. 3.75/5
102) Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner – Non-Fiction/Memoir. Judith Heumann’s memoir. She’s a leading force in the disability’s community for civil rights. 4.5/5
103) A Boy’s Will by Robert Frost – Poetry. Published in 1913, this was Frost’s first collection of poetry. 3.5/5
104) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan –Fantasy. Inspired by the Chinese myth of Chang'e, the moon goddess. 1st in a duology. 4.5/5
105) A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray – YA Sci-Fi. Marguerite’s parents invented a way to travel to parallel universes. After her father is killed, she travels the universes to track down her father’s killer. 1st in a trilogy. 3.75/5
106) Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors: A Novel by Sonali Dev - Contemporary/Romance. A story loosely inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, focusing on a wealthy Indian immigrant family in San Francisco. The 1st book in a series. 3.75/5
107) The Personal Librarian by Heather Terrell and Victoria Christopher Murray – Historical Fiction. The fictionalized story of Belle da Costa Greene, the real-life personal librarian for J.P. Morgan. 4/5
108) Seveneves by Neal Stephenson – Sci-Fi. After the moon is destroyed the Earth scrambles to get into space to save humanity. 5,000 years later 7 distinct off-shoots of humanity exist and are ready to see what remains of Earth. An interesting read but man was it slow. 3.5/5
99) What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass – Non-Fiction/Essay/Race. Douglass’s famous speech delivered on July 5th, 1852, to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. 5/5
100) On the Come Up by Angie Thomas – YA Contemporary. Set a year later in the same neighborhood, but not a direct sequel to The Hate U Give. Focuses on Bri, a 16-year-old trying to breakout as a rapper. 4.25/5
101) You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi – Contemporary/Romance. It’s been 5 years since Feyi became a widow. A hookup at a party leads to a summer she never imagined. 3.75/5
102) Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner – Non-Fiction/Memoir. Judith Heumann’s memoir. She’s a leading force in the disability’s community for civil rights. 4.5/5
103) A Boy’s Will by Robert Frost – Poetry. Published in 1913, this was Frost’s first collection of poetry. 3.5/5
104) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan –Fantasy. Inspired by the Chinese myth of Chang'e, the moon goddess. 1st in a duology. 4.5/5
105) A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray – YA Sci-Fi. Marguerite’s parents invented a way to travel to parallel universes. After her father is killed, she travels the universes to track down her father’s killer. 1st in a trilogy. 3.75/5
106) Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors: A Novel by Sonali Dev - Contemporary/Romance. A story loosely inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, focusing on a wealthy Indian immigrant family in San Francisco. The 1st book in a series. 3.75/5
107) The Personal Librarian by Heather Terrell and Victoria Christopher Murray – Historical Fiction. The fictionalized story of Belle da Costa Greene, the real-life personal librarian for J.P. Morgan. 4/5
108) Seveneves by Neal Stephenson – Sci-Fi. After the moon is destroyed the Earth scrambles to get into space to save humanity. 5,000 years later 7 distinct off-shoots of humanity exist and are ready to see what remains of Earth. An interesting read but man was it slow. 3.5/5
virge
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2011
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar
“In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI, are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman—and he's playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. Amid preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into a real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer's reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.”
The book wasn’t terrible, but I was disappointed with it. I felt like he was trying way too hard to be like Stephen King. The nostalgia Stephen King creates in works like It and “The Body” feels forced in this book.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
”Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies...especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.
Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges...a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.”
I tried this book because I enjoy horror and loved his book, The Only Good Indians. This book did not disappoint and the ending was very satisfying. I highly recommend this book to fans of horror movies.
38/75
“In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI, are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman—and he's playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. Amid preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into a real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer's reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.”
The book wasn’t terrible, but I was disappointed with it. I felt like he was trying way too hard to be like Stephen King. The nostalgia Stephen King creates in works like It and “The Body” feels forced in this book.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
”Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies...especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.
Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges...a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.”
I tried this book because I enjoy horror and loved his book, The Only Good Indians. This book did not disappoint and the ending was very satisfying. I highly recommend this book to fans of horror movies.
38/75
drwitz
Living the dream in Florida!
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2008
I've got The Queen of Wind and Nightmares
drwitz
Living the dream in Florida!
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2008
Sorry that you didn't love it, and I kind of agree with your ending summation. I thoroughly enjoyed it though (see my review above somewhere in this thread) and while I agree it isn't comparable to King's best work, I did think the combination of a somewhat real memoir with a fake "true crime" narrative was an intriguing way to tell the story. To me that approach of truth and fiction made it worthwhile to read.
luvmarypoppins
<font color=darkorchid>I am debating whether to pu
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2003
20/30 - In Plain Sight by Marlayne Giron. Amish family encounters two alien brothers. A very different and strange story. I don’t think these two genres go well together.
21/30 - Crime Scene Cover Up by Shannon Dunn.
Romantic suspense about catching an arson killer. Good storyline and characters.
22/30 - Where The Road Bends by Rachel Fordham
Historical romance set in 1880 Iowa. I think this may be my favorite book of the year so far.
Anyone ever do a reading challenge? I committed to doing one for Amish fiction for the next 3 months. At least all the books don’t have to be of that genre. We’ll see how it goes.
21/30 - Crime Scene Cover Up by Shannon Dunn.
Romantic suspense about catching an arson killer. Good storyline and characters.
22/30 - Where The Road Bends by Rachel Fordham
Historical romance set in 1880 Iowa. I think this may be my favorite book of the year so far.
Anyone ever do a reading challenge? I committed to doing one for Amish fiction for the next 3 months. At least all the books don’t have to be of that genre. We’ll see how it goes.
melk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
I have. A few years ago we did one at work for the year. There were 50 topics listed such as: read a book that came out the year you were born, a book that was made into a movie, a book with a one word title, a book with siblings…
that sort of thing. It was a lot of fun and it made me read a lot of books that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. I wish I still had the list!
Toolulu22
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2015
6/12 and 7/12. Jurassic Park and The Lost World, by Michael Crichton. I love these books and have read them several times in the past but its been a while and they felt new to me. Crichton was such a fantastic science fiction writer that he brings you into this world he’s created with believable detail. I will likely reread some of his other books eventually. Both books have similarities to the respective movies, but are also quite different. They feel darker. He wrote strong female characters, and wrote depth into the kids characters as well. I read these straight through, and my eyes started to glaze over the chaos theory/Ian Malcolm mathematics ramblings, but they weren‘t too long. Both books are set on islands off of Costa Rica, where in the genetics ‘race’ for product development a ruthless organization resurrects extinct species ~ dinosaurs ~ and makes many errors along the way. There are a group of protagonists in each story that you hope will make it off the island alive.
I need to adjust my reading goal from 24 to 12. I may have time for one more fun read after vacation before my school book club starts an educational theory (yawn) book in September. I usually read more over summer but, instead of books I’ve been reading the stacks of Real Simple and Magnolia magazines (and health/fitness mags) that I bought over the past 2 years. I need blinders to make it through airport gift shops and grocery store check out counters. I made a promise to myself that I won’t buy anymore until I read all of the ones I bought and never read. I’ve enjoyed reading these so much and have used much of the information to purge, clean, and rearrange my house. I even donated stacks of books to my library. But, I definitely won’t make my original goal.
I need to adjust my reading goal from 24 to 12. I may have time for one more fun read after vacation before my school book club starts an educational theory (yawn) book in September. I usually read more over summer but, instead of books I’ve been reading the stacks of Real Simple and Magnolia magazines (and health/fitness mags) that I bought over the past 2 years. I need blinders to make it through airport gift shops and grocery store check out counters. I made a promise to myself that I won’t buy anymore until I read all of the ones I bought and never read. I’ve enjoyed reading these so much and have used much of the information to purge, clean, and rearrange my house. I even donated stacks of books to my library. But, I definitely won’t make my original goal.
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