Reading Challenge/Goals for 2023--2024 link added

[Allison Joy]

3/15 - Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card

4/15 - The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Reviewing these two together. They are the last two books in Card's "Shadow" series. And while the books weren't bad, I was actually glad when I finished the series. I just really felt that after the first two or three books, it just went on, and the last few books could have been summarized. Or maybe some of the middle books skipped/summarized. And there's still one character you "meet" or at least know about in book 4 that's just.... never mentioned ever again, and it feels like it could have/should have been a key character. Basically, there are children with a gene alteration that allows them to grow both physically and mentally without limit. The physical growth could have/should have caused them to die early, like their father, but they figure out a solution. The "lost" character is the only other human with this gene mutation, who was not reunited with his siblings, but rather kept a secret by his surrogate mother, because the fertilized embryos were implanted without the knowledge and permission of the biological parents.... That is NOT a great explanation, but hopefully you kind of follow. Anyway, the last book was better than most of the middle ones, but honestly, I think this entire series could have and should have been about three books long, not 6.

 

[willowsnn3]

I read this, and knew I had to read the book!

31/75..I read it yesterday, couldn’t put it down. I’m really a lot better regarding Covid. I’ve been outside, riding my bike. DH hasn’t caught it, and neither have my friends whom we were with a lot last Thursday and Friday. So, the shots and boosters didn’t prevent me from getting it, again, but it wasn’t as bad this time.

I gave the book 4/5 rating.

Re: All The Broken Places. If I had known that it was written by the same author as Boy In The Striped Pajamas, (even tho it clearly said on the front cover) I probably would not have picked it up. I haven't read The Boy In The Striped Pajamas but I did see the movie & that has stuck with me a long time. Sooo sad.
Glad you are doing better.

 

[willowsnn3]

Has anyone read Kristin Harmel books?
I am going to start reading an ARC of The Paris Daughter this weekend and wondering how she is as a writer?

I have not but just looked her up & I think one of her books is on one of my many to be read lists so I need to go to my library's page & put it on hold.

 

[willowsnn3]

9 of 24 - Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz
Fifth of six novels in the Odd Thomas series. Eh. I'll finish the series but I have not enjoyed books 4 and 5 as much as nos. 1-3.

I did not realize there were that many in the series. I stopped after book 3 I think, just lost interest.

 

[evilmommie]

11/24 - Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie
Cousens
️️️️ out of 5.
Perfect for summer! Nice mix of predictable and surprising story features. It was comforting and had some nice moments of wisdom. Thoroughly enjoyed.

12/24 - The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
️️️.5 out of 5
Book club selection for May
The first part of the book was good. The end of the book was a little far fetched for me. The explanation of what really happened comes out of nowhere and is wrapped up in one chapter. Avery, the therapist, would be better off if she was a private detective - she seems to be pretty good as a snoop. As a therapist - I would have fired her on the spot when she started snooping on me.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Has anyone read Kristin Harmel books?
I am going to start reading an ARC of The Paris Daughter this weekend and wondering how she is as a writer?

I read The Book of Lost Names - this was a 4 out of 5 for me as well. I thought it was well written and a fascinating story. I have a couple her books on my want to read list. I will be interested in your opinion on the Paris Daughter.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Two more read
#18/56-"Black Out Book Club" by Amy Lynn Green, 4 stars. I found the background story very interesting-how WWII impacted the lives of people along the East coast of the United States. The war wasn't just in Europe and Asia. The main story, about a librarian who takes over for her brother (who goes off to war), has no book knowledge but learns and actually enjoys it and the other characters who impact and are impacted was somewhat predictable, but enjoyable.

#19/56-"The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America" by Matt Kracht, 1 star (I'd give it zero if I could). As a bird watcher, I expected it to be funny, but instead he just gave all the birds "adult-language" names without any explanation, and the only ones who'd find all this humorous would be preteen boys.

 

[bobbiwoz]

…
And in honor of bobbiwoz and her cozy mystery review
12/32 - Deck the Donuts by Ginger Bolton. Christmas cozy that involves a bus crash and later the driver is murdered. Didn’t figure out the killer until the end. Cute town and characters. Lots of Christmas spirit and of course donuts.

I read Deck the Donuts, a cozy mystery! 3.5/5

32/75

I tested negative today and feel great! Now to get on with my life!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Two more read
#18/56-"Black Out Book Club" by Amy Lynn Green, 4 stars. I found the background story very interesting-how WWII impacted the lives of people along the East coast of the United States. The war wasn't just in Europe and Asia. The main story, about a librarian who takes over for her brother (who goes off to war), has no book knowledge but learns and actually enjoys it and the other characters who impact and are impacted was somewhat predictable, but enjoyable.

#19/56-"The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America" by Matt Kracht, 1 star (I'd give it zero if I could). As a bird watcher, I expected it to be funny, but instead he just gave all the birds "adult-language" names without any explanation, and the only ones who'd find all this humorous would be preteen boys.

I read The Blackout Book Club last year and really liked it.

 

[marker123]

Since this isn't a thread strictly about "goals/challenges," I'm taking the liberty to mention a terrific book I recently had the fortune and pleasure of reading. Meghan O'Gieblyn's God, Human, Animal, Machine (subtitle Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning). It deals with the ways in which we talk and think about technology today--in particular, the tendency to think that all social problems have technological solutions, a tendency that marks a new kind of enchantment. Indeed, the book highlights several unsettling, but deeply interesting, similarities between contemporary metaphors used to describe technology and erstwhile theological metaphors. In doing so, it also highlights the various language games and instances of transductive reasoning we employ to maintain that ours is the age of disenchantment. The book shows us that contemporary visions of posthumanism, or Artificial General Intelligence, or the Singularity have religious or theological roots--that the mark of these roots is prominent. At the same time, this is not a dull attempt to discredit any of the metaphors as "backward" or "archaic," but a very good attempt to trace the life and journey of ideas.

 

[MGMmjl]

9/30 - The Fix by David Baldacci

Description:
"Amos Decker witnesses a murder just outside FBI headquarters. A man shoots a woman execution-style on a crowded sidewalk, then turns the gun on himself.

Even with Decker's extraordinary powers of observation and deduction, the killing is baffling. Decker and his team can find absolutely no connection between the shooter--a family man with a successful consulting business--and his victim, a schoolteacher. Nor is there a hint of any possible motive for the attack.

Enter Harper Brown. An agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency, she orders Decker to back off the case. The murder is part of an open DIA investigation, one so classified that Decker and his team aren't cleared for it.

But they learn that the DIA believes solving the murder is now a matter of urgent national security. Critical information may have been leaked to a hostile government--or worse, an international terrorist group--and an attack may be imminent."

This is the 3rd book in the Memory Man/Amos Decker series. I continue to enjoy the series, and look forward to reading more of it.

 

[melk]

9/35 It Looked Different on the Model by Laurie Notaro

Another easy read book with the author’s embarrassing/funny stories. I wanted something light to read while traveling and this fit the bill.

10/35 The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore

Anthony, Joy, and Lu are three strangers on Block Island for the summer. Their lives intersect, bringing unexpected romance, well meaning lies, and damaging secrets.

This is the second book I‘ve read by this author and found it enjoyable. It’s kind of a typical summer read but there were a couple of twists I didn’t see coming.

 

[MGMmjl]

10/30 - The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

Description:
"A mysterious woman, a legendary cursed jewel, and a night train from London to the French Riviera -- ingredients for the perfect romance or the perfect crime? When the train stops, the jewel is missing, and the woman is found dead in her compartment. It's the perfect mystery, filled with passion, greed, deceit, and confusion. Is Hercule Poirot is the perfect detective to solve it?"

A classic Christie novel written in 1928. I always enjoy reading Christie.

 

[RamblingMad]

This month:

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Imazid
Man in High Castle
Alchemist

I’m trying to read 2 books a month. One for book club, and one for myself. I’m also slowly reading through the Enola Holmes books.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I read The Book of Lost Names - this was a 4 out of 5 for me as well. I thought it was well written and a fascinating story. I have a couple her books on my want to read list. I will be interested in your opinion on the Paris Daughter.

33/75 I thought I had read ”The Book of Lost Names” but when I did a search here, I came up empty, so I put a hold on it. What an amazing book. It tells the story of how forgers helped the children of Jewish parents who were taken escape from Germany. I gave it 4/5 as well.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I've read 2 of her books. I haven't read "The Paris Daughter", but based on my experiences with her books, that's only because our library doesn't have it-yet. One of her books, "The Book of Lost Names" was a 5 star book for me, one of the most fascinating books I've read about the French Resistance in WWII. The other book, "The Forest of Vanishing Stars" I enjoyed also. I hope you enjoy your book.

I’ve placed a hold on “The Forest of Vanishing Stars.”

 

[willowsnn3]

I’ve placed a hold on “The Forest of Vanishing Stars.”

I have this on hold also. Says in transit so hopefully soon.

 

[Wood Nymph]

11/30 - Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

This book is a continuation of the story about Cilka Klein, one of the characters from the book, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. She had been sent to a Siberian prison camp for being a collaborator when the Russians freed the concentration camp at the end of WWII. This story is roughly based on the facts that they knew about her but with plenty of fiction to tell the story.

I enjoyed the story about Cilka but found the additional information and history of Vorkuta, the prison camp, to be the most interesting part of the story. And I think the reality of Vorkuta was much worse than was portrayed in the book. After all, the author did not include how horrible the mosquitoes were.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Oh, No! After using Overdrive for 10 years at our library for my Kindle books, I logged on last night to find the library's switched over to Libby. I know they had to, but I'm very computer-illiterate and the library's offered nothing-no classes, no training, on this. This morning I tried to import my Wish List, and couldn't do that even. Please give me some encouragement-the thought of not being able to read makes me so sad, and I can't drive (the reason I got , so I can't even go and take out books "the old fashioned way". Please give me some words of encouragement. I'm so upset!

 

[sdk1231]

#22 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. This was a re-read for me, but it's been so long since I first read it that I'd forgotten a lot of it. This remains one of my top books of all time.