Reading Challenge/Goals for 2023--2024 link added

[RamblingMad]

#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.

That’s on my list for this year. It’s really long, so I’m holding off for the holidays to read it.

 

[RamblingMad]

12/30 - The Mysterious Affair at Styles: a Hercule Poirot novel mystery - by Agatha Christie

This is the first of the Hercule Poirot novels and I like to start at the beginning of a series. This was a very good mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Agatha Christie included an element that was exactly the same as in the book, The Moonstone, a book that claims to be the base for many subsequent mysteries. I found that to be interesting.

Her early stuff is in the public domain. You can get these for Kindle in Project Gutenberg.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I had a super lazy weekend and read 2 total "junk" books, but they were pretty good.

9/26 - Worthy Opponents by Danielle Steel - 4/5 stars - this one was much better than many of her other recent books, but was still a super predictable story.

10/26 - Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks - 4/5 stars - It was interesting what he did with the story - making you think you were reading two totally unrelated stories and the wove them together at the end.

 

[mrs. magoo]

I like both the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series. In both cases, I like the earlier books better. By the later books (as in this one, #25 in the series), the various love interests and the characters' "quirks" start to get a little wearing.

That is why I want to read some of the earlier ones for Hamish since I found this one I thought I would read it and see what I thought. I will definitely pick up another one.

 

[tiggrbaby]

April:
#16/60: The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate (4/5) (romantic historical fiction)

Jen Gibbs discovers an old manuscript at the publishing house where she now works. She is fascinated by the story of a mixed race girl in turn of the century Appalachia. She has a hunch about who might be the author, and she is drawn back into her old life when she tries to discover the truth.

#17/60: Hang the Moon by Jeanette Walls (5/5) (historical fiction)
Sallie Kincaid was banished from her family home as a young girl. When her step-mother dies, her father brings her back to the Big House. She must learn to navigate the secrets and scandals of her family while she comes into her own.

#18/60: Free Fire (Joe Pickett #7) by C. J . Box (4/5) (mystery)

Joe had been hired to investigate murders in a zone of Yellowstone Park where there is no jurisdiction. So even though McCann turned himself in, he is a free man. But in trying to discover the motive, Joe has now made himself a target.

#19/60: The Finders (K-9 Mystery #1) by Jeffrey B. Burton (4/5) (mystery)

Mace Reid is a dog trainer who specializes in human remains detection. After going through a difficult year, he adopts a golden retriever with a mysterious past who becomes his prize pupil. They become involved in a difficult murder case that puts them on the trail of a serial killer, who now seems to be out for Mace.

Thanks to the DISer who recommended this book! Put in a request to my library to purchase the next two in the series!

#20/60: The Night Agent by Matthew Quick (4/5) (thriller)

Peter Sutherland became an FBI agency in spite of his father being suspected of selling secrets to the Russians. Peter now finds himself assigned to an emergency line in the White House, where he may never hear from anyone.

But one night he receives a call from a frightened young woman. Her aunt and uncle have been murdered, and the killer is hunting for her. Before fleeing, her aunt gave her the hotline number and a message - Osprey was right - it is happening.

Anyone in the White House could be the traitor. Peter now questions everything and trusts no one in his quest to find the truth.

A new series on Netflix.

#21/60: The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict (3/5) (historical fiction)

Leading up to WWII, the aristocratic Mitford sisters become embroiled in the Fascist Movement. Diana leaves her wealthy husband for the leader of the British movement. Unity heads to Germany and becomes intimate with Hiltler himself. Nancy writes fiction that is thinly veiled satire of what is going on. But their cousin’s husband, Winston Churchill, asks Nancy to spy on her sisters.

Written from the perspective of the sisters. I really didn’t like any of them!

#22/60: Blood Trail (Joe Pickett #8) by C. J. Box (4/5) (mystery)

A man is found dead at a hunting camp - strung up and gutted as if he were the game he had been hunting. Joe now must track the murderer before someone declares open season on humans.

#23/60: The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear (4/5) (historical fiction)

The private Miss White lives quietly in the English countryside in a property awarded to her for her service to the Crown. Even though she tries to leave her past hidden, she finds herself drawn to her neighbors, especially their young daughter. The husband is also trying to leave his past behind, but his powerful crime family needs him for an important job. Her quest to discover the truth behind that job leads Miss White down a dangerous path.


Upping my goal to 60 as I've been able to read more than I expected.

 

[bobbiwoz]

36/75
Light reading for a cruise. ” Sweet as Honey by Jennifer Beckstrand.”
The series is about three Amish sisters who are raised by an unconventional aunt because their parents were killed in an auto accident when they were young. Their mother had stipulated in her will that they would be raised by her sister rather than her parents. So her sister came back to the Amish Community in Wisconsin. The sisters are grown now, and each sister has a book about her courtship. This first book is about Lily. I found it enjoyable. 3.5/5

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I may have already shared this but seeing others post about Lisa Wingate, reminds me of how much I did enjoy all of her Tending Roses series of books. I haven't read any of them in years. If I remember correctly, I enjoyed the first book the most and the final book the least. I'll definitely be rereading in the future along with James Herriot's books

 

[Beezle2]

Today's library haul. I realized I am awful at updating even though I read all the time.

 

[Beezle2]

Also recently read his newer book Deluge.

 

[Beezle2]

If you liked Mickey 7 and why would you not, Anti matter Blues was a fun follow up.

 

[Beezle2]

Liked this very much.

 

[Beezle2]

This one gave me creeping horror in it's feeling of immediacy.

 

[Beezle2]

Wayward is the follow up the The Wanderers.

 

[MGMmjl]

11/30 - Smoky Mountain Investigation by Annslee Urban

Description:
"'I'M WATCHING YOU…'

A mysterious caller taunts journalist Kylie Harper with details about a decade-old death, leading her to a new trail of murder. Who is this deranged person…and what does he want from her? Ex-Delta Force captain and Kylie's former love Nick Bentley fled their Smoky Mountain hometown after the murder of their classmate. When family duty calls him back, Nick comes face-to-face with Kylie…and the past he's tried to forget. Now Nick must put everything on the line to save Kylie before she becomes the next victim of a madman."

This is a book I found online through my library. It was pretty enjoyable.

 

[bobbiwoz]

37/75
Continuing light reading on the cruise. The second of the Honeybee Sisters series, A Bee in her Bonnet by Jennifer Beckstrand. 3.5/5

 

[drwitz]

Wow. It's been a LONG time since my last post, but things have been very busy with lots going on, and frankly I got stuck with a book that took forever to read. So finally here is my update.

10. Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

In theory, this should be a book that speaks to me. In it, Taleb explores a concept he calls "anti-fragility" where ideal systems are strengthened by chaos and disorder, rather than weakened by these forces. His book collects a number of aspects to this theory - financial, governmental, economic, scientific, biologic, the list goes on. And yet, this book was a BEAR to read through. I just couldn't find my way through it. I did take over a month (or more) to make my way through 2/3rds of it, and by then I had had enough. The subject promised to be interesting, but the execution wasn't, sadly. I'm still claiming it on my list though!

11. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2023 by Seth Kubersky, Bob Sehlinger, and Len Testa

I was thinking of going to Anaheim this summer. I have a conference in San Diego and it seemed appealing since I have never been to Disneyland. In preparation, I bought this book to read through the information I would need for an amazing visit. Plans have changed, sadly, but my conference will actually be in Anaheim in 2025, so consider this advance advance planning. Good read if you haven't seen this series before (I used to buy the DIsney World version annually).

12. Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King

This next in my series of Stephen King reads, this collaboration with his son, Owen, tells the story of a mysterious sleeping disease that impacts all of the women in the world, spawned by a mystical being who is testing mankind to see whether their warlike or nurturing nature will win out. A beautiful novel, it is also a slow read, very unlike many of the King books I have read. The final third picks up the pace, and the novel pays off in the end.

13. Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks is the best at what she does - taking real characters or situations from history (about whom little is known) and then building a plausible narrative around their stories. This novel tells the story of the (real-life) first Native American graduate of Harvard College (back in the 1660s). It is a beautifully constructed novel told from the perspective of the daughter of an English minister who lives on Martha's Vineyard. The tale alternates between the island and Harvard in Cambridge (in its earliest days). A real treasure and another example of Brooks' penchant for finding the truth in her historical fiction.

14. The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills and the Dreamers and Schemers who Built Them by Stephen M. Silverman

This was a recommendation from another reader on this thread and I am glad I ordered this book (through my local library) to read. This gorgeously illustrated and meticulously researched study of public entertainment through time is a joy to read. I found myself searching on YouTube and Google to see what some of the places mentioned look like now (for example, the Hans Christian Anderson Flying Trunk dark ride in Tivoli Gardens), and listening to music played at some of the parks in the 1800s (Champagne Gallop or Champagnegaloppen). The section on Disney was short (and really only retread some well-known myths), but all in all this was certainly worth a read!

And that's my update. Hopefully it won't be three months before my next one!

Catching up to where I should be this time of year!

15. Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us by Evan Mandery

Admittedly I've worked at several elite colleges, so I am probably the target audience here, and also particularly biased. That said, I find this non-fiction book by turns fascinating and enlightening, and then frustrating and inaccurate. The author does a good job of arguing his main point - that elite colleges reinforce wealth and privilege rather than serving as an equalizer for all. If you have a kid in college, work at a college, or have any interest in colleges, it's worth a read.

16. The Outsider by Stephen King

Imagine a murder of a young boy, and tons of witnesses that place the local little league coach as the doer. But the same coach has an unshakable alibi miles away. He couldn't do it, yet all evidence (fingerprints, DNA) says he did. How to resolve the unresolvable? King introduces us to a mysterious outsider who can take on anyone's appearance, and it is up to a group of local cops, a lawyer, and our friend Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes series - who makes her first appearance halfway through the novel) to find a solution to this problem, and risk their lives in the process. A page turner to be sure!!

17. Fright or Flight edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent

This collection of short stories by a number of authors brings together some classics with a few more modern reads. The subject is horror in the air; what happens between take off and landing when your life is in the hands of the captain and their crew, and you give faith to the laws of physics that your flying tube will make it home safely! A wonderful collection of stories by authors as diverse as Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury, Dan Simmons, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this is a quick and worthwhile read. The standout stories for me were Joe Hill's "You Are Released" and King's "The Turbulence Expert". Fun reading while on a plane too!

18. Elevation by Stephen King

This is a short novel (almost a novella) but well worth the read. King tells the story of a man who is losing touch with gravity, and also tells a beautiful human story of love, misunderstanding, prejudice and ultimately triumph. This one brings me to tears every time I read it. And no "horror" in this for anyone who wants to try King's beautiful prose.

19. The Institute by Stephen King

A return to classic King, this one spins a story about a young boy kidnapped by a secret group of quasi-governmental agents who are running a secret institute whose nefarious purposes aren't quite clear. Also involved is a former policeman who winds up interesting with the story in a very unexpected way. Definitely in the tradition of Firestarter, this is a wonderful page turner whose denouement keeps you guessing.

And as we are now at the end of the Pandemic, I am at the end of the King books I have read before. I have all of the ones that were released during the pandemic ahead of me, and I am excited to tackle them all. Only 5 more (maybe 6 if you count a Chizmar book inspired by King) before the re-read is complete...

 

[sdk1231]

Book 23: Not sure if I can count this Did Not Finish at 50%, but it was such a long slog, I'm counting it. No Name by Wilkie Collins, read after reading the excellent The Moonstone. Unfortunately, No Name was a soap opera-ish drag of a plot, and unbearably wordy. Didn't care about the characters or what happened to them. DNF.

Book 24: Open Season by C. J. Box, first in the Joe Pickett series. Have seen lots of mentions of the C. J. Box Joe Pickett series on here, I figured I'd give one a shot. It was a surprisingly good read. I'm on to book 2.

 

[Allison Joy]

5/15 - Wish You were Here by Jodi Picoult. I loved this book. It's about COVID, actually, so still feels very relevant, but also not "too soon" to "revisit" the early days. The twist was definitely not one I was expecting, (are they ever with her books?) and comes earlier in the book than most of hers, to the point that I kept trying to convince myself that the "twist" wasn't true, and that somehow, it all goes back to "how it was." That's... the best I can do without giving it away.

Also, my next read it "Where the Crawdads Sing" which has been recommended to me multiple times, but I see has gotten some mixed reviews here. I'll report back. I didn't read the full reviews, just someone's response about agreeing that it wasn't as good as they were expecting, based on the praise its received. So don't give anything away. But at the same time... someone warn me if it's really a love story. (As a single almost 40 year old, I'm basically "done" with almost all love stories. Dystopian love is about all I can take now. )

 

[MGMmjl]

12/30 - The Fallen by David Baldacci

Description:
"Something sinister is going on in Baronville. The rust belt town has seen four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks. Cryptic clues left at the scenes--obscure bible verses, odd symbols--have the police stumped.

Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are in Baronville visiting Alex's sister and her family. It's a bleak place: a former mill and mining town with a crumbling economy and rampant opioid addiction. Decker has only been there a few hours when he stumbles on a horrific double murder scene.

Then the next killing hits sickeningly close to home. And with the lives of people he cares about suddenly hanging in the balance, Decker begins to realize that the recent string of deaths may be only one small piece of a much larger scheme--with consequences that will reach far beyond Baronville.

Decker, with his singular talents, may be the only one who can crack this bizarre case. Only this time--when one mistake could cost him everything--Decker finds that his previously infallible memory may not be so trustworthy after all..."

This is book #4 in the Amos Decker/Memory Man series. I continue to really enjoy the series, and look forward to reading the next entry soon.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Last one read in Overdrive, then first in Libby.

#20-"The Magnolia Palace" by Fiona Davis, 4 stars.

Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter’s life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.

Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City’s most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica’s financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.

#21-"The Foundling" by Ann Leary. 3 stars. In all fairness, I just picked it mostly to try to get used to the new Libby download system.

It’s 1927 and eighteen-year-old Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote but scenic institution for mentally disabled women called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age . She’s immediately in awe of her employer—brilliant, genteel Dr. Agnes Vogel.

Dr. Vogel had been the only woman in her class in medical school. As a young psychiatrist she was an outspoken crusader for women’s suffrage. Now, at age forty, Dr. Vogel runs one of the largest and most self-sufficient public asylums for women in the country. Mary deeply admires how dedicated the doctor is to the poor and vulnerable women under her care.

Soon after she’s hired, Mary learns that a girl from her childhood orphanage is one of the inmates. Mary remembers Lillian as a beautiful free spirit with a sometimes-tempestuous side. Could she be mentally disabled? When Lillian begs Mary to help her escape, alleging the asylum is not what it seems, Mary is faced with a terrible choice. Should she trust her troubled friend with whom she shares a dark childhood secret? Mary’s decision triggers a hair-raising sequence of events with life-altering consequences for all.