Reading Challenge/Goals for 2023--2024 link added
- Thread starter willowsnn3
- Start date
MGMmjl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2018
26/30 - Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
Description:
"Maybe you don't know your neighbors as well as you thought you did . . .
'This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out.'
In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses--and into the owners' computers as well--learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too.
Who is he, and what might he have uncovered? After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate, and suspicion mounts. And when a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point. Who killed her? Who knows more than they're telling? And how far will all these very nice people go to protect their own secrets?
In this neighborhood, it's not just the husbands and wives who play games. Here, everyone in the family has something to hide . . .
You never really know what people are capable of."
I thought this was a pretty good domestic thriller.
Description:
"Maybe you don't know your neighbors as well as you thought you did . . .
'This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out.'
In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses--and into the owners' computers as well--learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too.
Who is he, and what might he have uncovered? After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate, and suspicion mounts. And when a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point. Who killed her? Who knows more than they're telling? And how far will all these very nice people go to protect their own secrets?
In this neighborhood, it's not just the husbands and wives who play games. Here, everyone in the family has something to hide . . .
You never really know what people are capable of."
I thought this was a pretty good domestic thriller.
luvmarypoppins
<font color=darkorchid>I am debating whether to pu
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2003
I have honestly been in a reading funk since the doctor told me that my cancer is back for the third time. Don’t know where this journey is going yet.
25/32 - Cinnamon Twisted by Ginger Bolton
Cozy mystery. It was ok. Part of a series. Always craving donuts after I read these lol.
26/32 - Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains. This Christmas story was like the movie Groundhog Day. A little annoying reading mostly the same scenarios time and again but it was ok. The happy ending helped me get through this one. The characters were the saving grace of this book.
25/32 - Cinnamon Twisted by Ginger Bolton
Cozy mystery. It was ok. Part of a series. Always craving donuts after I read these lol.
26/32 - Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains. This Christmas story was like the movie Groundhog Day. A little annoying reading mostly the same scenarios time and again but it was ok. The happy ending helped me get through this one. The characters were the saving grace of this book.
melk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
Wishing you the best in your fight
melk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
22/35 Homecoming by Kate Morton
When Jess is summoned home to Australia because her grandmother is dying it is revealed that before she was born a family tragedy occurred that had far reaching outcomes for all involved.
I did enjoy this book, it just took me forever to get through it. It kept flip flopping from present day to 1959, the time of the horrific family tragedy. And while I did figure out some of the plot there were a few twists at the end.
When Jess is summoned home to Australia because her grandmother is dying it is revealed that before she was born a family tragedy occurred that had far reaching outcomes for all involved.
I did enjoy this book, it just took me forever to get through it. It kept flip flopping from present day to 1959, the time of the horrific family tragedy. And while I did figure out some of the plot there were a few twists at the end.
Wood Nymph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2012
27/30 - Hawaii - by James Michener - 3.5/5
summary - This epic novel traces the origins and history of the islands of Hawaii, from their volcanic birth, through the first arrivals of humans from Polynesia, followed by European sailors and missionaries, then Chinese and Japanese laborers, to the modern blending of cultures.
The book was first published in 1959 and I read most of the book a few decades ago but didn't finish it back then. The story has sections where you can't stop and sections when it is a little boring to slog through. This time I managed to read all 1,097 pages of the book and enjoyed it. The time period of the book begins with the volcanoes that built the islands, tells the story of how the islands were settled by Polynesians from Bora Bora, and moves to the story of the missionaries who helped to transform the islands, for good or for bad. The books end in the year 1954, before Hawaii became a state. I learned a lot about the history of Hawaii.
summary - This epic novel traces the origins and history of the islands of Hawaii, from their volcanic birth, through the first arrivals of humans from Polynesia, followed by European sailors and missionaries, then Chinese and Japanese laborers, to the modern blending of cultures.
The book was first published in 1959 and I read most of the book a few decades ago but didn't finish it back then. The story has sections where you can't stop and sections when it is a little boring to slog through. This time I managed to read all 1,097 pages of the book and enjoyed it. The time period of the book begins with the volcanoes that built the islands, tells the story of how the islands were settled by Polynesians from Bora Bora, and moves to the story of the missionaries who helped to transform the islands, for good or for bad. The books end in the year 1954, before Hawaii became a state. I learned a lot about the history of Hawaii.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
74/75
“The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even” by Alexander McCall Smith. The book consisted of short stories, and except for the first, I much preferred the stories in the second part. Generally disappointed in this book. 3/5
“The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even” by Alexander McCall Smith. The book consisted of short stories, and except for the first, I much preferred the stories in the second part. Generally disappointed in this book. 3/5
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#47/50 Salvage This World by Michael Farris Smith
In the hurricane-ravaged bottomlands of South Mississippi, where stores are closing and jobs are few, a fierce zealot has gained a foothold, capitalizing on the vulnerability of a dwindling population and a burning need for hope. As she preaches and promises salvation from the light of the pulpit, in the shadows she sows the seeds of violence.
Elsewhere, Jessie and her toddler, Jace, are on the run across the Mississippi/Louisiana line, in a resentful return to her childhood home and her desolate father.
Holt, Jace's father, is missing and hunted by a brutish crowd, and an old man witnesses the wrong thing in the depths of night. In only a matter of days, all of their lives will collide, and be altered, in the maelstrom of the changing world.
I enjoyed this one but was a bit depressing.
#48/50 When The World Didn't End by Guinevere Turner
On January 5, 1975, the world was supposed to end. Under strict instructions from her Family Leader, seven-year-old Guinevere Turner put on her best dress, grabbed her favorite toy, and waited for her salvation--a spaceship that would take her and her peers to live on Venus. But the spaceship never came.
Guinevere did not understand her family was a cult. She spent most of her days on a compound in Kansas, living with dozens of other children who worked in the sorghum fields and roved freely through the surrounding pastures, eating mulberries and tending to farm animals. But there was a dark side to this bucolic existence: When selected girls in her community turned twelve or thirteen, they were "given" to older men on the compound as wives in training. Turner was part of the Lyman Family, a cult spearheaded by Mel Lyman, a self-proclaimed "world savior," committed to isolation from a world he declared had lost its way. When Guinevere caught the attention of Jessie, the "queen" of the Family, her status was elevated and suddenly she was traveling in the inner-circle caravan between communities in Los Angeles, Boston, and Martha's Vineyard.
Then, at age eleven, Guinevere's world as she had known it ended. Her mother, from whom she had been separated since age three, left the Family with a disgraced member, and Guinevere and her four-year-old sister were forced to go with her. Traveling outside the bounds of her cloistered existence, Guinevere was thrust into public school for the first time, a stranger in a strange world with homemade clothes, clueless to social codes. Now, in the World she'd been raised to believe was evil, she faced challenges and horrors she couldn't have imagined.
Drawing from the diaries that she kept throughout her youth, Guinevere Turner's memoir is an intimate and heart-wrenching chronicle of a childhood touched with extraordinary beauty and unfathomable ugliness, the ache of yearning to return to a lost home--and the slow realization of how harmful that place really was.
Kept me interested but at times I thought it unrealistic how the author could remember such detail from diary entries. And then again, it seems like a lot left unspoken.
In the hurricane-ravaged bottomlands of South Mississippi, where stores are closing and jobs are few, a fierce zealot has gained a foothold, capitalizing on the vulnerability of a dwindling population and a burning need for hope. As she preaches and promises salvation from the light of the pulpit, in the shadows she sows the seeds of violence.
Elsewhere, Jessie and her toddler, Jace, are on the run across the Mississippi/Louisiana line, in a resentful return to her childhood home and her desolate father.
Holt, Jace's father, is missing and hunted by a brutish crowd, and an old man witnesses the wrong thing in the depths of night. In only a matter of days, all of their lives will collide, and be altered, in the maelstrom of the changing world.
I enjoyed this one but was a bit depressing.
#48/50 When The World Didn't End by Guinevere Turner
On January 5, 1975, the world was supposed to end. Under strict instructions from her Family Leader, seven-year-old Guinevere Turner put on her best dress, grabbed her favorite toy, and waited for her salvation--a spaceship that would take her and her peers to live on Venus. But the spaceship never came.
Guinevere did not understand her family was a cult. She spent most of her days on a compound in Kansas, living with dozens of other children who worked in the sorghum fields and roved freely through the surrounding pastures, eating mulberries and tending to farm animals. But there was a dark side to this bucolic existence: When selected girls in her community turned twelve or thirteen, they were "given" to older men on the compound as wives in training. Turner was part of the Lyman Family, a cult spearheaded by Mel Lyman, a self-proclaimed "world savior," committed to isolation from a world he declared had lost its way. When Guinevere caught the attention of Jessie, the "queen" of the Family, her status was elevated and suddenly she was traveling in the inner-circle caravan between communities in Los Angeles, Boston, and Martha's Vineyard.
Then, at age eleven, Guinevere's world as she had known it ended. Her mother, from whom she had been separated since age three, left the Family with a disgraced member, and Guinevere and her four-year-old sister were forced to go with her. Traveling outside the bounds of her cloistered existence, Guinevere was thrust into public school for the first time, a stranger in a strange world with homemade clothes, clueless to social codes. Now, in the World she'd been raised to believe was evil, she faced challenges and horrors she couldn't have imagined.
Drawing from the diaries that she kept throughout her youth, Guinevere Turner's memoir is an intimate and heart-wrenching chronicle of a childhood touched with extraordinary beauty and unfathomable ugliness, the ache of yearning to return to a lost home--and the slow realization of how harmful that place really was.
Kept me interested but at times I thought it unrealistic how the author could remember such detail from diary entries. And then again, it seems like a lot left unspoken.
MGMmjl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2018
27/30 - Firestorm by Nevada Barr
Description:
"A raging forest fire in California's Lassen Volcanic National Park traps exhausted firefighters, including Ranger Anna Pigeon, in its midst. Afterward, Anna finds two from her group have been killed. One a victim of the flames. The other, stabbed through the heart. Now, as a rampaging winter storm descends, cutting the survivors off from civilization, Anna must uncover the murderer in their midst."
This is book #4 in the Anna Pigeon series. I continue to really enjoy the series and look forward to reading more.
Description:
"A raging forest fire in California's Lassen Volcanic National Park traps exhausted firefighters, including Ranger Anna Pigeon, in its midst. Afterward, Anna finds two from her group have been killed. One a victim of the flames. The other, stabbed through the heart. Now, as a rampaging winter storm descends, cutting the survivors off from civilization, Anna must uncover the murderer in their midst."
This is book #4 in the Anna Pigeon series. I continue to really enjoy the series and look forward to reading more.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
This was my 75/75 and I wasn’t familiar with the author, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
I will try to read 10 more books this year!
#1hoosierfan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2010
29/20. Saving Noah
Boy, this was a tough one to read. I’m not going to go into big detail about it here but it does involve child abuse. I read it as a mom of 14 and 16 year old boys. Would love the perspective of a girl mom to see if it is different. Definitely makes you think about the unconditional love for a child.
Boy, this was a tough one to read. I’m not going to go into big detail about it here but it does involve child abuse. I read it as a mom of 14 and 16 year old boys. Would love the perspective of a girl mom to see if it is different. Definitely makes you think about the unconditional love for a child.
evilmommie
Disneyland CM Alumna 80's-90's
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2016
Just a quick check in, as this thread really inspired me to keep track of my reading the past two years. I've decided to not participate on the Disboards as much as I used to...but wanted to report that I'm over my reading goal this year, in part due to checking in here!
Happy Reading, ALL!
Happy Reading, ALL!
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
@evilmommie , Good to see you here!
mgarbowski
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2016
23 of 24 - Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray
Star Wars novel about Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan set about 7-8 years before the Phantom Menace. I liked the main plot and some of the new characters, especially a pair of jewel/mining smugglers. I was less impressed with the ham-fisted portrayal of commerce and forced labor.
Star Wars novel about Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan set about 7-8 years before the Phantom Menace. I liked the main plot and some of the new characters, especially a pair of jewel/mining smugglers. I was less impressed with the ham-fisted portrayal of commerce and forced labor.
DisneyHardin
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
28/26 - Happiness - Danielle Steel - 4/5 Stars. A typical Danielle Steel about a woman who inherits an estate in London from her late uncle that she knew nothing about.
29/26 - Happy Place - Emily Henry - 5/5 Stars - I LOVED this book. I could not put it down. It's about a group of college friends who get together for a weekend at one of the girls family's beach house for one last time before the house is sold.
30/26 - Becoming Free Indeed - Jinger Duggar Vuolo - 3/5 stars - I have always been very intrigued by the Duggars. I liked this book because I think it showed really how Jinger had been able to still be a devout Christian while also realizing that the "Christianity" that she was raised in was a little nutty.
31/26 - How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety - Zachary Auburn - 3/5 stars - This is a funny, satire book that my husband got. It was ridiculous, but still funny.
32/26 - Book Lovers - Emily Henry - 4/5 stars - After reading Happy Place, I wanted to read another of Emily Henry's books. This one was also good, but more like a Hallmark movie than Happy Place.
29/26 - Happy Place - Emily Henry - 5/5 Stars - I LOVED this book. I could not put it down. It's about a group of college friends who get together for a weekend at one of the girls family's beach house for one last time before the house is sold.
30/26 - Becoming Free Indeed - Jinger Duggar Vuolo - 3/5 stars - I have always been very intrigued by the Duggars. I liked this book because I think it showed really how Jinger had been able to still be a devout Christian while also realizing that the "Christianity" that she was raised in was a little nutty.
31/26 - How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety - Zachary Auburn - 3/5 stars - This is a funny, satire book that my husband got. It was ridiculous, but still funny.
32/26 - Book Lovers - Emily Henry - 4/5 stars - After reading Happy Place, I wanted to read another of Emily Henry's books. This one was also good, but more like a Hallmark movie than Happy Place.
Simba's Mom
<font color=green>everything went to "H*** in a ha
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
Time for an update-
#41-"The Boy In The Striped Pajamas", John Boyce-this was a prequel to a book I'd read previously, "All the Broken Places". Yes, I read the sequel first, unknowingly. Historical fiction about 2 young children whose father moves the family so that he becomes the head of a concentration camp. However, the children don't really know what's going on 'over there'. Had I read the 2 books in the correct order, they might have been 5 stars. As it was, they were both strong 4 star reads.
#42-The Secret Society Of Salzburg"Renee Ryan-another WWII book, involving smuggling children to safety. 4 stars.
#43-"Every Day Is A Gift" Tammy Duckworth, an autobiography of how a woman lost her legs and one arm and has still been able to enjoy life as a Congressperson and a mother. This book really disappointed me, because I thought it would be more inspirational, concentrating on her life now. Instead, most of the book talked about her life in the service and her early, physical recovery. That's why it's only 3 stars.
#44-"The Lost Girls of Willowbrook" Ellen Marie Wiseman-based on fact, life in the "state hospitals" of the mid-century. There was a famous one, known as Willowbrook, whose story of abuse, overcrowding, neglect was exposed by a then-aspiring newscaster, Geraldo Rivera, in the early 1970s. I give this 4 1/2 stars. The only reason it wasn't a 5 star was that it left me with unanswered "whatever happened to-?" about some of the residents. However, in researching certain aspects of Willowbrook later, I was impressed with many facts that were presented.
"45-"The Party Crasher", by Sophie Kinsella. After several books about somber facts, I can always count on Sophie to make me laugh. Her father, who's left her mother for a younger, showy woman, is having a "house cooling" (versus a "house warming") as they sell their house. All I'll say is that if you enjoyed the old "I Love Lucy" shows, you'll like Sophie Kinsella. Four stars.
#41-"The Boy In The Striped Pajamas", John Boyce-this was a prequel to a book I'd read previously, "All the Broken Places". Yes, I read the sequel first, unknowingly. Historical fiction about 2 young children whose father moves the family so that he becomes the head of a concentration camp. However, the children don't really know what's going on 'over there'. Had I read the 2 books in the correct order, they might have been 5 stars. As it was, they were both strong 4 star reads.
#42-The Secret Society Of Salzburg"Renee Ryan-another WWII book, involving smuggling children to safety. 4 stars.
#43-"Every Day Is A Gift" Tammy Duckworth, an autobiography of how a woman lost her legs and one arm and has still been able to enjoy life as a Congressperson and a mother. This book really disappointed me, because I thought it would be more inspirational, concentrating on her life now. Instead, most of the book talked about her life in the service and her early, physical recovery. That's why it's only 3 stars.
#44-"The Lost Girls of Willowbrook" Ellen Marie Wiseman-based on fact, life in the "state hospitals" of the mid-century. There was a famous one, known as Willowbrook, whose story of abuse, overcrowding, neglect was exposed by a then-aspiring newscaster, Geraldo Rivera, in the early 1970s. I give this 4 1/2 stars. The only reason it wasn't a 5 star was that it left me with unanswered "whatever happened to-?" about some of the residents. However, in researching certain aspects of Willowbrook later, I was impressed with many facts that were presented.
"45-"The Party Crasher", by Sophie Kinsella. After several books about somber facts, I can always count on Sophie to make me laugh. Her father, who's left her mother for a younger, showy woman, is having a "house cooling" (versus a "house warming") as they sell their house. All I'll say is that if you enjoyed the old "I Love Lucy" shows, you'll like Sophie Kinsella. Four stars.
MGMmjl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2018
28/30 - A Career in TV Meteorology: From the Best Weatherman Ever* *According to the Internet! by Alan Sealls
Description:
"Have you ever considered a career in meteorology? The perception of meteorology is often based on the person delivering weather on TV, seemingly with a glamorous, well-paying career that takes little effort. Many people have given the profession thought, but few follow through because of the calculus, chemistry, and physics involved in earning a meteorology degree!
TV meteorologists are a small percentage of all meteorologists, but they are the most visible ones. There’s a lot that goes into surviving and succeeding in a career that involves science and performance in unscripted presentations, and large amounts of community service. Meteorologist Alan Sealls shares the behind-the-scenes reality of broadcast meteorology. That reality is often satisfying, rewarding, and fun, but it includes many daily deadlines, multitasking, stress in forecasting, and juggling the challenges of dealing with viewers and followers who can be mean, rude, and irrational."
Alan Sealls has been a TV meteorologist in Mobile, AL since the late 1990's. He is retiring in January, and recently wrote this book. I studied meteorology in college, and I watched Alan Sealls's forecasts quite a bit when I was there (he was also a broadcast meteorology professor, but I didn't go the broadcast route and didn't have him for any classes). I really enjoyed the book!
Description:
"Have you ever considered a career in meteorology? The perception of meteorology is often based on the person delivering weather on TV, seemingly with a glamorous, well-paying career that takes little effort. Many people have given the profession thought, but few follow through because of the calculus, chemistry, and physics involved in earning a meteorology degree!
TV meteorologists are a small percentage of all meteorologists, but they are the most visible ones. There’s a lot that goes into surviving and succeeding in a career that involves science and performance in unscripted presentations, and large amounts of community service. Meteorologist Alan Sealls shares the behind-the-scenes reality of broadcast meteorology. That reality is often satisfying, rewarding, and fun, but it includes many daily deadlines, multitasking, stress in forecasting, and juggling the challenges of dealing with viewers and followers who can be mean, rude, and irrational."
Alan Sealls has been a TV meteorologist in Mobile, AL since the late 1990's. He is retiring in January, and recently wrote this book. I studied meteorology in college, and I watched Alan Sealls's forecasts quite a bit when I was there (he was also a broadcast meteorology professor, but I didn't go the broadcast route and didn't have him for any classes). I really enjoyed the book!
#1hoosierfan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2010
30/20 - Britney Spear’s book.
Didn’t love it. Her family is a bunch of jerks. I still have questions after reading it.
Didn’t love it. Her family is a bunch of jerks. I still have questions after reading it.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
So, I finished “Winter Garden” by Kristen Hannah. I was talking to a friend about my family and she said “”this is a quote is from “Winter Garden” by Kristen Hannah and it struck a note with me. “”“You couldn’t control the direction of your family any more than you could stop the continental shelf from breaking apart. All you could do was hold on for the ride.”
So, I decided to read the book. Wow! It wasn’t a story that I expected, but it was a very good book! I give it 5/5!
It was my 76/85, since I said I would try to read 10 more this year.
So, I decided to read the book. Wow! It wasn’t a story that I expected, but it was a very good book! I give it 5/5!
It was my 76/85, since I said I would try to read 10 more this year.
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