Annual Reading Challenge--2020

[mini22]

23/35 The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel

 

[mini22]

23/35 The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel

 

[OKW8297]

32. Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. Couple meets, he doesn’t call when he says he will.........and it has twists and turns. Read this in 2 days. Very good book.

 

[BonnieF]

21/50
The Preacher, Camilla Lackberg - second in a series - listened to the audio book. I'd enjoy it more if the reader didn't have a British accent - it's pretty jarring at times. But the story is pretty good, pretty tangled with a good 'aha' moment.

 

[willowsnn3]

YAY! Yippee!
My public library re opens tomorrow!
They started doing curb side pick up for holds last week but the inside is opening back up tomorrow with limited hours.
I have 2 holds ready to pick up so I will be there when the door opens, lol.

 

[JennM]

17/42 - The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon - still love this series, but this book seemed to ramble a bit.

18/42 - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins - this book is a prequel to the Hunger Games series and focuses on (President) Snow as a student about to graduate from the Capitol Academy. Members of his class are selected to serve as mentors to the Hunger Games tributes. I wanted to like it more than I did.

 

[bobbiwoz]

YAY! Yippee!
My public library re opens tomorrow!
They started doing curb side pick up for holds last week but the inside is opening back up tomorrow with limited hours.
I have 2 holds ready to pick up so I will be there when the door opens, lol.

What state?

 

[bobbiwoz]

37/80. The Tale Teller by Anne Hillerman

Another enjoyable Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito novel!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Since I learned here that Anne Hillerman continued the series that her father Tony Hillerman began, I will offer to send the books to someone here. I bought all 5 on line during the pandemic, and if you want them be the first to start a conversation with me with your address. If you only want one or two, mention that.

These are all paperback.

Books by Ann Hillerman

1. Spider Woman's Daughter
2. Rock with Wings
3. Song of the Lion
4. Cave of Bones
5. The Tale Teller

I’ve enjoyed them all.

Bobbi

 

[drwitz]

27. Christine by Stephen King

This was sooooo much better than I remember, likely because the last time I "touched" this story, I watched the movie. If you have only seen the movie version of Christine, you owe it to yourself to read the novel. As much a tribute to what it means to be a teenager, and to rock'n'roll and car culture, this novel is an entertaining ride. Unlike many King novels, it is written in short, easy-to-read chapters, and the book is in three sections. The first and last section are written in first person (from the POV of the the lead character's (Arnie's) best friend Dennis, with a middle section written in third-person from an omniscient narrator, the structure should fall apart, but once again King handles the heavy lifting with grace and great traction. A fun trip (and I hardly noticed the odometer -- I mean page count -- as I read through it).

28. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

This is one I hadn't read in years and it was as wonderful as I remembered. More a collection of very short chapters (12 of them, one per month) and beautiful illustrations (both color and b&w), this 128 page brief read is beautifully constructed. Telling the story of a small town in (where else?) Maine, and the monster that terrifies its residents, the narrative structure makes this a quick but fun read. For those of you who have seen "Silver Bullet" (the movie), this is the story that the movie screenplay is based on. It definitely made me shiver.

Continuing the King re-read with one scary book, one high fantasy book, and one somewhere in between:

29. Pet Semetary by Stephen King

This is the most "Stephen King" book I have read so far on this re-read. For those who don't know, this is a story of a young family who moves next to a pet cemetery which has been meticulously maintained by the area's children. But it is what lies beyond the cemetery (in the "real" pet graveyard) that provides the horror. I remember when I first read this book, I felt myself descending into the spiral of the story and really disliked the ending. While the ending is still troubling to me, since I knew the outcome I could enjoy the journey more in this re-read. It is a scary story, so if you don't want horror, stay away. If, on the other hand, this kind of story appeals to you, no one does this better than Stephen King.

30. The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

So now for something COMPLETELY different. This is a beautiful high fantasy story about a young prince wrongfully accused of his father (the king's) murder by an evil magician, and the journey he undertakes to right this wrong, along with a group of friends and companions. King wrote the book for his daughter, Naomi, who refused to read any "Stephen King" books because she wasn't into that "vampire stuff"; she then read this book in one setting. What a beautiful example of a moving and well written short novel. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to sample King's writing but doesn't want the horror side of the equation. I really enjoyed this re-read and had forgotten how well done this story was!

31. The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

And now for a blend of both horror and fantasy, and a blend of two authors. The Talisman is the story of one 12 year old boy's journey through our world, and the world of the Territories (a fantasy version of our world), to save the life of his mother. Jack Sawyer travels from coast to coast meeting trouble along the way and finding friends who stay with him to the end. This is a long book (over 600 pages in hardcover) but it has a lot of story to tell. There were times on this re-read where I found myself guessing whether Straub or King wrote a particular passage, and there are some uneven parts where the book moved slowly for me, but I did enjoy the journey. The last 200 pages were a whirlwind; I couldn't put the book down even though I remembered how it all ended. A fun tribute to the kinds of stories that Mark Twain used to write where a boy (think Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn) "lights out" to the Territories.

And now, since I have gained the quarantine 15 (from all of the extra eating I have been doing, and the lack of exercise), it's time to get Thinner.

 

[willowsnn3]

What state?

I'm in Georgia. Just outside Atlanta.

 

[willowsnn3]

#26 The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

"They walked through the rainy dark like gaunt ghosts, and Garraty didn't like to look at them. They were the walking dead."
On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as "The Long Walk." If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying.

This is a re read for me. One of my favorites.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm in Georgia. Just outside Atlanta.

That’s great. There’s something about NJ’s libraries opening, I think 6/22.

 

[bobbiwoz]

38/80 The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

Good! A friend told me it was different and better than the Hallmark movie. I enjoyed it, and don’t remember the movie that well. Did enjoy the ending.

 

[tiggrbaby]

May:

#35/90: The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (5/5) (nonfiction)
Fascinating account of Churchill during the Blitz.

#36/90: A Delayed Life: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz by Dita Kraus (4/5) (memoir)
She details her life from childhood to the horrors of the Holocaust to life after the camps.

#37/90: Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict (3.5/5) (historical fiction)
The story of Winston Churchill’s wife from their marriage through WWII.
Gave a different perspective than Larson’s book.

#38/90: Moral Defense (Samantha Brinkman#2) by Marcia Clark (3.5/5) (legal thriller)
Sam is asked to be the legal advocate for a young woman who is accused of murdering her adoptive father and brother, leaving her adoptive mother clinging to life.

#39/90: Track of the Cat (Anna Pigeon #1) by Nevada Barr (4/5) (suspense)
Anna is a national park ranger in a remote area of Texas. When the death of another ranger is blamed on mountain lions, Anna decides to find out the truth.

Thanks to the DISer who recommended this series!

#40/90: The Trust (Taggart and Lockhart #4) (/5) (suspense)
Liam returns to Ireland after the death of his uncle, only to discover that it appears the man was murdered, and had anticipated his death. Liam now must run the secret trust while trying to discover the truth.

#41/90: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (5/5) (coming of age)
A twelve year old boy is the only survivor of a plane crash. Now he must try to carry on with his life without his family.
This is told through what is currently going on with Edward and flashbacks to what happened on the plane until the crash.

Thanks to the DISer who recommended this book!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Wow, ok, so 17 isn't happening. I'll be lucky if I hit 10. Even with the lockdown, I've been busy.

Book 1 of 17: Vendetta in Death by J. D. Robb

The predator becomes the prey in the newest thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring homicide detective Eve Dallas.

She calls herself Lady Justice. And once she has chosen a man as her target, she turns herself into a tall blonde or a curvaceous redhead, makes herself as alluring and seductive as possible to them. Once they are in her grasp, they are powerless.

The first victim is wealthy businessman Nigel McEnroy. His company’s human resources department has already paid out settlements to a couple of his young victims—but they don’t know that his crimes go far beyond workplace harassment. Lady Justice knows. And in one shocking night of brutality, she makes him pay a much steeper price.

Now Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, are combing through the evidence of McEnroy’s secret life. His compulsive need to record his misdeeds provides them with a wide range of suspects, but the true identity of Lady Justice remains elusive. It’s a challenging case, made even more difficult by McEnroy’s widow, who reacts to the investigation with fury, denial, and threats. Meanwhile, Lady Justice’s criminal crusade is escalating rapidly, and if Eve can’t stop this vigilante, there’s no telling how much blood may be spilled…

Honestly, I'm not even sure why I'm still reading these. I knew who the killer was as soon as we met them. At least Nora realized this and spent most of the book having Eve try to find a way to get enough evidence for a warrant. Bored.

 

[OKW8297]

May:

#35/90: The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (5/5) (nonfiction)
Fascinating account of Churchill during the Blitz.

#36/90: A Delayed Life: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz by Dita Kraus (4/5) (memoir)
She details her life from childhood to the horrors of the Holocaust to life after the camps.


I just ordered The Splendid and the Vile. Larson is one of my fa authors

 

[OKW8297]

33. Maid for Love by Marie Force. Light fluffy romance. Setting is very familiar to me. Perfect mindless brain candy for these days.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Agreed! I love how his nonfiction reads like a thriller!

 

[monarchsfan16]

32: Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict. A novel about Winston Churchill’s wife. It wasn’t a bad book, but something about the writing style just didn’t do it for me. 3/5

33: Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel: This was an engaging, suspenseful read, and overall I enjoyed reading it, but something was missing. 4/5