Annual Reading Challenge--2020

[MGMmjl]

13/30 - The World of Poldark by Emma Marriott

My wife and I recently watched the latest adapation of Poldark. This book was produced for the first series of the show, and included information about each episode, interviews with cast and crew, and some historical information about the period. I liked the stories and photos, and really enjoyed the book.

 

[tiggrbaby]

My April reads:

#27/90: Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit (3/5) (historical fiction)
All is not serene in the colony of Plymouth when a new arrival is murdered.

#28/90: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (3/5) (suspense)
Three families living together in a London home share sinister secrets that have far reaching effects.
Wasn’t a fan of the last part of the book.

#29/90: Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (4/5) (psychological thriller)
After spending five years in prison for abusing her daughter, Patty is thrilled that her daughter is willing to take her in. But which one of them is going to get revenge?

#30/90: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (4.5/5) (domestic fiction)
Claude is the youngest of five boys, but he feels that he is a girl. When his parents decide to let him embrace who he believes himself to be, it creates problems.

#31/90: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (4.5/5) (historical fiction)
Cussy Mary is a Kentucky Blue, ostracized by others in her Appalachian town. She finds strength to survive the many trails she faces through her work as a packhorse librarian.

I think this is a better book than The Giver of Stars. I enjoyed seeing real photos at the end.

#32/90: The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben (3.5/5) (thriller)
A man with a mysterious past works to find missing teenagers.

#33/90: Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen (3/5) (romantic historical fiction)
Through a twist of fate a young woman is given the opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming a chef by working in the kitchen of Queen Victoria.

#34/90: Magic Hour by Kristen Hannah (4/5) (romantic fiction)
A psychiatrist who just went through a possible career ending trial is asked to return to her hometown to help with the mysterious wolf girl who has appeared in town.

Not as good as some of her other books, but still an enjoyable read.

 

[mini22]

18/35 The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

 

[OKW8297]

23. The Last Bathing Beauty by Amy Sue Nathan

 

[KevM]

Books read in April.

16) The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry. Non-Fiction, Historical/Medical. A very good read on the 1918 Influenza pandemic.covering everything from it’s spread, it’s role in WWI & the peace talks, & the people who worked to figure it out. A few chapters dove into Philly and how Influenza played out here. 4.25/5

17) Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter. Short Novel Collection. Three short Novels, the third of which is where the collection gets its name from. That story deals with the Influenza outbreak in Denver and the relationship between a newspaper woman and a solider. These stories would normally be considered novellas, however Porter hates that term and called the stories short novels. 3.75/5

18) The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years by Sonia Shah. Non-Fiction, Historical/Medical. As the title indicates, it’s a deep dive into malaria and the effects it’s had on human history and evolution. 4/5

19) The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. Non-Fiction, Historical/Medical. The story centers on Dr. John Snow & Rev. Henry Whitehead who were able to map out the outbreak in order to where and how the outbreak started. As the title says, it goes into a much deeper dive. 4/5.

20) Terry Fox: His Story by Leslie Scrivener. Biography. At 19 Fox lost his right leg to cancer. In April 1980, at 21, he set out on the Marathon of Hope, beginning in St. John’s, Newfoundland, to run across the entirety of Canada raising awareness and money for cancer research. 4.25/5

 

[drwitz]

Took a break from the King re-read for two library books which had been sitting in my garage and were (likely) decontaminated by now.

20. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

So I adored her first book - Night Circus and fell in love with her writing, the story and the beautiful imagery in it. Her second novel, I thought, would promise more of the same. And, to an extent, it did, but after finishing it I do have to say I am somewhat disappointed. Let be clear, this had all of the gorgeously detailed prose that you would expect with stunning descriptions of sight, sound, smell and taste that make you feel like you are in the story. And while there was plenty of mythology what I was missing was more story. The conceit of alternating chapters between story and background (to say more would be to give away plot points) felt a bit jarring after awhile. Don't get me wrong, I loved reading (and savoring) this book - it took me 10 days to read because it is long (over 500 pages) and because I wanted to read it slowly - but at the end I can't say I will every go back and read it again.

21. The Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

I first heard about this novel from this thread. @willowsnn3 wrote about it and gave a good description above (post 218). What I want to say about this one is that it is a page-turner full of cliffhangers and thrills. Every chapter ended and I wanted to go immediately on. During the languid humidity of late April in Florida, this novel set in winter Wisconsin is filled with sexual heat and sensual passion, and nothing is what it first appears to be; this was just the sultry novel I needed after the cool passion of Starless Sea. I finished it in one day!

And today my copy of If It Bleeds by Stephen King arrived today, but I am saving it as a reward for when I finish my re-read. Off to the next one on the list -- Cujo. Hope my Yorkshire Terriers don't get any creative ideas.

Back to the Stephen King re-read.

22. Cujo by Stephen King

Another one I have in paperback. So, I noticed this time that the book begins "Once Upon a Time". The introduction promises a fable with monsters and princes on horseback and damsels in distress. You get that. Kinda. We definitely get the monsters. Cujo is a GOODBOY who turns bad through no fault of his own (always blame the bats), and in the end he is as much a victim as are his victims. The book is suspenseful and reads quickly (do you remember the days when Stephen King novels were less than 300 pages long?). The characters seem to be amalgams of people we have seen before (namely the family in The Shining). I do feel like this book is the first time I realized that there was a greater Stephen King universe (and this is made clear from the opening where there is a strong connection to the events of The Dead Zone). The book is a good read and moves quickly to its inevitable conclusion!

23. The Running Man by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman)

This is the last of the four Bachman Books prior to Thinner (which is when the whole Bachman / King thing blew up). This one has more of a sci-fi feel. Set in the far distant future (2025), it tells the story of a poor man who desperately participates in a TV game-show which may end up in his death. I don't want to give too much away, but as the inevitable conclusion draws near I kept on hoping for some kind of "magic door" or other way out. It was well-written, fast-paced, and much better than the Arnold Schwarzenegger film adaptation.

 

[BonnieF]

13/50 - All Mortal Flesh, Julie Spencer-Fleming. The 5th book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series. I read the first book, then, with the shut-down, could only get the fifth book from our library online. So, I've missed quite a bit. But it's okay - I just bought the second book - can't go out to dinner, so - book budget! Lol!

 

[JennM]

22. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I hate winter and snow. So a story set in Alaska wasn’t overly appealing to me. But I love this author and she didn’t disappoint. Her descriptions of the last frontier were vivid and powerful. The storyline is hard. If domestic violence is a trigger for you, don’t read this. Having said this, there were times it was hard for me to read. The mother/daughter relationship this spoke to me. The ending.....well, I cried. This book will stay with me for a long time.

This is my next one to read. Love Kristin Hannah. Appreciate your warning on the storyline.

14/42 Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) - Diana Gabaldon - did not disappoint. I'll get back to this series after I read The Great Alone.

 

[monarchsfan16]

27: The Institute by Stephen King. Stephen King is an author I have always avoided, but reading one of his books was on the book challenge I'm doing this year. I actually thought this was a great book. Very engaging. 5/5

 

[willowsnn3]

Will be so glad when our library opens back up!

 

[OKW8297]

This is my next one to read. Love Kristin Hannah. Appreciate your warning on the storyline.

14/42 Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) - Diana Gabaldon - did not disappoint. I'll get back to this series after I read The Great Alone.

Oooooh! The Outlander books are among my faves!

 

[OKW8297]

27: The Institute by Stephen King. Stephen King is an author I have always avoided, but reading one of his books was on the book challenge I'm doing this year. I actually thought this was a great book. Very engaging. 5/5

I really liked it too!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

#5 Believe Me by JP Delaney
Probably due to having so much work to do did not really pay enough attention to this book. Still I think part of my confusion was due to the book. Hopefully get back on track now that hospital has settled down a little.

If anyone is interested in reading any of my works. I would gladly send a kindle gift versions of any of them: “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”.
You can see them all reviewed at Goodreads (Click on link to view books). If you find any intriguing please PM me here and I can send out. I also have a couple of print copies that I could send out.

 

[SaintsManiac]

15/30 --American Dirt --Jeanine Cummins
It's beautifully written, but made me very anxious in a time when I didn't need to be any more anxious! I really fell in love with the little boy.

16/30--The Identicals--Elin Hilderbrand
This was a re-read for me. I always read at least one of her books again every year. I had only read this once and very quickly, so it was like a new book. Loved it more the second time I think.

 

[OKW8297]

24. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

 

[SaintsManiac]

17/30–So Far Away — Meg Mitchell Moore
Loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. She is now one of my favorite authors.

 

[Colleen27]

#33/156 - Building a Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green

An interesting look at the research and politics of educational reform, with an emphasis on dismantling the myth that the ability to teach well is somehow a personality trait rather than a learned, professional skill. The book was written largely through field studies and profiles of exceptional teachers, mostly in the United States, and of the training programs and school reform ideas that attempt to increase the number of teachers with the skills to be exceptional, and was remarkably readable despite going into some depth on epistemology and the psychology of learning.

#34 - Looking for Alaska by John Green

Having my 18yo daughter home is putting some YA fiction back on my radar. She read this one years ago but I didn't, so when she started watching the small screen version on Netflix one night, I picked it up on the library's ebook platform. It was a good reminder of why I'm not a John Green fan. You could tell that this one was written earlier in his career than The Fault in Our Stars, which is the only other of his books that I've read, because his writing style is rougher and a bit less polished, but it is the same sort of melodramatic teen angst chronicle and that's just not my favorite genre. The story was a bit predictable, as these sorts of stories often are, but the characters were vivid and he clearly has a gift for writing in a way that connects with his target age group.

#35 - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

This one was a read-along with my youngest child, who is 11 and had to read the book for her 6th grade literature class. I adore her teacher because she doesn't shy away from assigning tough books, both in terms of reading ability and in content, and this was a really thought-provoking title to assign middle schoolers in a small, all-white community. Told in the first-person through the eyes of a girl about the same age as the readers, it explores the realities of segregation, sharecropping and racism in the Depression-era South - not light reading by any means! - and does so in a way that makes those big topics very personal by focusing on how they affect one girl and one family, as well as the school and community to which they belong.

#36 & #37 - If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Another one inspired by a television choice. I don't know how we ended up watching If I Stay, but as I half-watched the movie while reading something else I remembered friends talking about the book back when it was newish, or maybe when the movie was first released, and I decided to check it out. The coma-dream angle definitely put a unique spin on the YA love story, and parts of the story were absolutely heartbreaking to read, but it was ultimately a teen-focused book and a very quick read. I enjoyed the first book well enough to pick up the second, since they were both available in Hoopla through my library, and they were both light, quick reads.

#38 - Sin & Lightning by K.F. Breene

I started this series so long ago that this is the second or third (of five) title that I ended up buying on release day because I flagged the series for reminders in my Kindle. The story is set in a world where magical people and creatures coexist openly with mankind, and focuses on the politics and power struggles within the magical world through the perspective of an unlikely but immensely powerful newcomer to the world and her demigod boyfriend. The early books were as much romance as thriller, but the balance shifts over the course of the series as the romantic relationship becomes more settled and the world is more and more developed and complex. Book six is supposed to be the last in the series, and I'm sure I'll be buying that one the day it releases as well.

#39 - The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

My challenge-busting re-read of the Outlander series continues, and the books are no less wonderful upon rereading. I was, however, a bit glad to be through this one because it was more than a little disorienting to go back and forth between the book and the series while I was at more or less the same point in the story in both!

#40 - Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

I picked this one up because of a review on this thread, and very much enjoyed both the premise and the presentation. It was a particularly fitting read for this moment, because we recently spent a couple of weeks up at a friend's cabin in the woods so my girls would have the peace and space to better focus on their school work, so we were in some ways living an experiment in the author's premise. I'm fortunate to live in a rural area where my kids get more exposure to the outdoors and more freedom than many, but I can still see the trends the author describes at work in our lives as well as in the broader culture and I was predisposed to find them troubling already. Reading the research and interviews Louv uses to support his argument for giving kids a better connection to nature only strengthened my agreement that such connections are essential.

#41 - On the Horizon by Lois Lowry

This is an absolutely beautiful book, one of the rare titles that I knew would be a keeper even before I laid eyes on it and made room for on my overcrowded bookshelf. Lowry is one of my favorite authors, even though she writes for children, and The Giver quartet are among my and both my daughters' favorite books. This book is a departure from Lowry's better-known titles, in that it is an illustrated volume of poetry, not prose, but the target reader age is the same middle grades range as Number the Stars. Drawing on her own personal history, which I didn't know but find entirely fascinating - she lived in Hawaii as a young child, when her father was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and then in Japan as a tween, years after the conclusion of the war - she presents lyrical and moving verses about Pearl Harbor in the first section of the book, about Hiroshima in the second, and about the healing and lessons learned from the two in the third. It is part history, part memorial, and part memoir in poetry, and it comes together with simple but charming illustrations to create a remarkable work of art.

 

[melk]

15/25 The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

Set in the south during the civil war this story is told through letters and diary entries. It’s about a newly married young woman whose husband goes to war for two years. When he returns he accuses her of birthing and murdering a baby in his absence.

I loved this book. Because it is told mainly through letters it reminded me of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which I also enjoyed, but that’s where the similarity ends. The story of the young wife comes together like the pieces of a puzzle with each letter and diary entry. Couldn’t put it down.

 

[drwitz]

27: The Institute by Stephen King. Stephen King is an author I have always avoided, but reading one of his books was on the book challenge I'm doing this year. I actually thought this was a great book. Very engaging. 5/5

You may have seen my posts on the full read-through of King's work. He is an amazing author and especially the non-"horror" stories are extremely well-written and entertaining. I just finished reading the novella which is the basis for the movie "The Shawshank Redemption". You may want to try some others. You might just like them.

 

[jen7233]

#5/20: The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+ by Suze Orman.

Nothing all too novel in the book, but then again I'm a long-time Suze fan and listen to her podcast, used to watch her show back when that was on, so I'm used to her statements like standing in your truth, etc. I like Suze more than Dave, just saying.

Next in my list is either my Sally Field book In Pieces I borrowed from the library in early March but can't return. Or, I noticed there's a prequel coming out to the Hunger Game focused on Snow, called the Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds. Don't really feel like paying for it, but I really want to read it soon! Library hold I am at 178, after it opens back up, of course.