evilmommie
Disneyland CM Alumna 80's-90's
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2016
*will comeback and add some thoughts
15/24 The Storyteller by Jody Picoult
16/24 The Maid by Nita Prose
15/24 The Storyteller by Jody Picoult
16/24 The Maid by Nita Prose
Reading Challenge/Goals for 2023--2024 link added
- Thread starter willowsnn3
- Start date
Disney_Alli
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
46 - Whiskey Neat (Uncertain Saints MC#1) - Lani Lynn Vale
I liked it until they said something I thought was so incredibly dumb and would have made such a huge plot hole if they'd made it factually correct that it ripped me right out of the book.
47 - The Stranger in Seat 8B - Nikki Castle
Fun to read on my plane on the way to Nashville though I was much further back in the plane.
48 - Puck Me Secretly (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #1) - Odette Stone
Also read on the plane and starts with a plane crash... so a weird choice and meh book. Not sure I'll finish the series.
49 - Hide and Peak (Strutt's Peak #2) - Victoria Wilde
I always love a brother's best friend trope and this one also included forbidden love and the "one bed trope" good fun.
50 - Don't Let Me Break - Kelsie Rae
Finished it and immediately tried to download book 4 in the series only to realize it's not out until August. Bummer!
51 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
LOVED THIS! A reported is asked to tell the story of a famous actress and her 7 husbands and learns about herself and her life along the way. 5/5
I liked it until they said something I thought was so incredibly dumb and would have made such a huge plot hole if they'd made it factually correct that it ripped me right out of the book.
47 - The Stranger in Seat 8B - Nikki Castle
Fun to read on my plane on the way to Nashville though I was much further back in the plane.
48 - Puck Me Secretly (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #1) - Odette Stone
Also read on the plane and starts with a plane crash... so a weird choice and meh book. Not sure I'll finish the series.
49 - Hide and Peak (Strutt's Peak #2) - Victoria Wilde
I always love a brother's best friend trope and this one also included forbidden love and the "one bed trope" good fun.
50 - Don't Let Me Break - Kelsie Rae
Finished it and immediately tried to download book 4 in the series only to realize it's not out until August. Bummer!
51 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
LOVED THIS! A reported is asked to tell the story of a famous actress and her 7 husbands and learns about herself and her life along the way. 5/5
Wood Nymph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2012
13/30 - The Clockmaker's Daughter - by Kate Morton - 3.5/5
I had intended to pick up a different Kate Morton novel. The library claimed it was on the shelf, but it was missing. So, I grabbed this one without knowing anything about it. The story was somewhat hard to follow. It jumped time periods, from roughly the 1820's to 1917, in no particular order. It starts in 2017 but doesn't take long before the time jumps start. The action bounces back and forth between multiple time periods, rather than travel in a straight line. The story was also told by many different characters, including a ghost. I found the stories interesting, and the characters are well formed. But it also left some unanswered questions. The author would suddenly have something happen, like a broken leg for example, but not adequately explain how it happened. But she gets a big thumbs up for creativity.
I had intended to pick up a different Kate Morton novel. The library claimed it was on the shelf, but it was missing. So, I grabbed this one without knowing anything about it. The story was somewhat hard to follow. It jumped time periods, from roughly the 1820's to 1917, in no particular order. It starts in 2017 but doesn't take long before the time jumps start. The action bounces back and forth between multiple time periods, rather than travel in a straight line. The story was also told by many different characters, including a ghost. I found the stories interesting, and the characters are well formed. But it also left some unanswered questions. The author would suddenly have something happen, like a broken leg for example, but not adequately explain how it happened. But she gets a big thumbs up for creativity.
KevM
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2018
Ok, not going to get another book done by tomorrow, so this month' reads:
77) I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom – Memoir/Essays/Mental Health. 4.25
78) Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi – Contemporary. 4.5/5
79) What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen by Kate Fagan – Biography/Sport/Mental Health. 4.25/5
80) That Was Now, This Is Then: Poems by Vijay Seshadr – Poetry.3.75/5
81) Kent State by Deborah Wiles – YA Historical Fiction. 3.5/5
82) Habitat Threshold by Craig Santos Perez – Poetry. 4.5/5
83) Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan – YA Contemporary Romance. 4/5
84) Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness by Jessie Close and Pete Earley – Memoir/Mental Health. 3.5/5
85) Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu – Memoir. 4/5
86) 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence by Howard Means – History/Politics. 3.5/5
87) The Devil Is Here in These Hills: West Virginia's Coal Miners and Their Battle for Freedom by James Green – History/Politics/Labor. 4.5/5
88) Asian American Histories of the United States by Catherine Ceniza Choy – History/Race. 4.25/5
89) The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang – Memoir/Essays. 4/5
90) We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride – YA Magical Realism/Mental Health. 4.5/5
91) Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College by Nancy K. Bristow – History/Race. 5/5
77) I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom – Memoir/Essays/Mental Health. 4.25
78) Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi – Contemporary. 4.5/5
79) What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen by Kate Fagan – Biography/Sport/Mental Health. 4.25/5
80) That Was Now, This Is Then: Poems by Vijay Seshadr – Poetry.3.75/5
81) Kent State by Deborah Wiles – YA Historical Fiction. 3.5/5
82) Habitat Threshold by Craig Santos Perez – Poetry. 4.5/5
83) Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan – YA Contemporary Romance. 4/5
84) Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness by Jessie Close and Pete Earley – Memoir/Mental Health. 3.5/5
85) Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu – Memoir. 4/5
86) 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence by Howard Means – History/Politics. 3.5/5
87) The Devil Is Here in These Hills: West Virginia's Coal Miners and Their Battle for Freedom by James Green – History/Politics/Labor. 4.5/5
88) Asian American Histories of the United States by Catherine Ceniza Choy – History/Race. 4.25/5
89) The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang – Memoir/Essays. 4/5
90) We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride – YA Magical Realism/Mental Health. 4.5/5
91) Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College by Nancy K. Bristow – History/Race. 5/5
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#25/50 The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
I think this one has been reviewed a couple times already. I enjoyed it.
#26/50 The Spite House by Johnny Compton
from Goodreads:
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.
When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them. Mild spooky story
#27/50 The Night Travelers by Armando Correa
Four generations of women experience love, loss, war, and hope from the rise of Nazism to the Cuban Revolution and finally, the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin, 1931: Ally Keller, a talented young poet, is alone and scared when she gives birth to a mixed-race daughter she names Lilith.
Havana, 1958: Now an adult, Lilith has few memories of her mother or her childhood in Germany. Besides, she’s too excited for her future with her beloved Martin, a Cuban pilot with strong ties to the Batista government. But as the flames of revolution ignite, Lilith and her newborn daughter, Nadine, find themselves at a terrifying crossroads.
Berlin, 1988: As a scientist in Berlin, Nadine is dedicated to ensuring the dignity of the remains of all those who were murdered by the Nazis. Yet she has spent her entire lifetime avoiding the truth about her own family’s history. It takes her daughter, Luna, to encourage Nadine to uncover the truth about the choices her mother and grandmother made to ensure the survival of their children. And it will fall to Luna to come to terms with a shocking betrayal that changes everything she thought she knew about her family’s past.
I enjoyed this one also but will have to step away from the Nazi/Jew/German stories for awhile. Too depressing.
I think this one has been reviewed a couple times already. I enjoyed it.
#26/50 The Spite House by Johnny Compton
from Goodreads:
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.
When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them. Mild spooky story
#27/50 The Night Travelers by Armando Correa
Four generations of women experience love, loss, war, and hope from the rise of Nazism to the Cuban Revolution and finally, the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin, 1931: Ally Keller, a talented young poet, is alone and scared when she gives birth to a mixed-race daughter she names Lilith.
Havana, 1958: Now an adult, Lilith has few memories of her mother or her childhood in Germany. Besides, she’s too excited for her future with her beloved Martin, a Cuban pilot with strong ties to the Batista government. But as the flames of revolution ignite, Lilith and her newborn daughter, Nadine, find themselves at a terrifying crossroads.
Berlin, 1988: As a scientist in Berlin, Nadine is dedicated to ensuring the dignity of the remains of all those who were murdered by the Nazis. Yet she has spent her entire lifetime avoiding the truth about her own family’s history. It takes her daughter, Luna, to encourage Nadine to uncover the truth about the choices her mother and grandmother made to ensure the survival of their children. And it will fall to Luna to come to terms with a shocking betrayal that changes everything she thought she knew about her family’s past.
I enjoyed this one also but will have to step away from the Nazi/Jew/German stories for awhile. Too depressing.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
That’s why I have taken a break and have read lightweights!
These books definitely could be read independently.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
48/75
”The Fix” by David Baldacci. 4/5
@MGMmjl Has summarized this already!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/reading-challenge-goals-for-2023.3904936/page-18#post-64768696
”The Fix” by David Baldacci. 4/5
@MGMmjl Has summarized this already!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/reading-challenge-goals-for-2023.3904936/page-18#post-64768696
Last edited:
mrs. magoo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2003
This is one of most recommended books to parents with children in sports. It was absolutely heart wrenching, but a powerful message that needs to be heard.
16/30 - The Titanic: Disaster of the Century by Wyn Craig Wade 3.75/5 - decided to read it after reading another non fiction about the Titanic Disaster. The author chose to concentrate on the senate hearings after the disaster and there was some very interesting details that I did not know about.
From Goodreads:
On that fatal night in 1912 the world s largest moving object disappeared beneath the waters of the North Atlantic in less than three hours. Why was the ship sailing through waters well known to be a mass of floating ice ? Why were there too few lifeboats? Why were a third of the survivors crew members? Based on the sensational evidence of the U.S. Senate hearings, eyewitness accounts, and the results of the 1985 Woods Hole expedition that photographed the ship, this electrifying account vividly recreates the vessel s last desperate hours afloat and fully addresses the questions that have continued to haunt the tragedy of the Titanic.
17/30 - Death of a Gossip and a Cad by MC Beaton 3.5/5 -
From Goodreads:
Death of a Gossip — When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joined the fishing class, she wasted no time in ruffling feathers. Among the victims of her sharp tongue and unladylike manner was Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet not even Hamish thought someone would permanently silence Lady Jane’s shrills – until her strangled body is fished out of the river. Now Hamish must angle through the choppy waters of the tattler’s life to find the murderer.
Death of a Cad — When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her London playwright fiancé home to Lochdubh, everyone in town is delighted – except Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet his affairs of the heart will have to wait. Vile, boorish Captain Bartlett, a guest at Priscilla’s engagement party, has been found murdered – shot while on a grouse hunt. With many titled party guests as suspects, each with a reason for killing the man, Hamish must smooth ruffled feathers as he investigates.
I like Hamish much better in these first 2 books.
Both of these are audible reads. I am still working on my physical book for this month. It has been a crazy month for me with school and home so when I get in bed to read I am often asleep in 10 minutes so not much progress.
bobbiwoz
I'm happy to dance with you!
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2003
49/75, I enjoyed “Steamed Open” by Barbara Ross, too.
May:
#24/60: Below Zero (Joe Pickett #9) by C. J. Box (4/5) (mystery)
Someone has left a message at Joe’s old house for Sheridan. The caller claims to be April, but she perished years ago. As she begins text communications with Sheridan, Joe discovers that the locations match up to areas where environmental crimes have occurred. As Joe gets closer to the truth, he gets closer to the danger.
#25/90: Nowhere to Run (Joe Pickett #10) by C. J. Box (3.5/5) (mystery)
It’s Joe’s last week as temporary game warden in Baggs. He is looking forward to returning home, but he first must investigate strange reports coming from the wilderness. What he finds is like a campfire horror tale, but this is real and deadly.
#26/60: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann (4.5/5) (nonfiction)
January 1742: A ramshackled boat washed up on the shores of Brazil, containing 30 men near death. They had left England in 1740 on the Wager, on a secret mission for the Crown. They survived a wreck on a remote Patagonia island and after facing starvation, built a flimsy boat which brought them to Brazil, where they were hailed as heroes. However, six months later a smaller craft washed up on the shores of Chile with a very different story. They accused the first group of mutiny.
This book tells of the ill fated voyage and the aftermath.
#27/60: The Last Remains (Ruth Galloway #15) by Elly Griffiths (4/5) (mystery)
Just as Ruth is dealing with the threatened closure of her department at the university, she is asked to examine remains found in the construction site of a cafe. The remains turn out to be a young archeology student who disappeared years ago. Suspicion falls on the girl’s university tutor and another member of that group - Cathbad.
During the investigation Cathbad disappears. Will Ruth and Nelson be able to find him in time and exonerate him?
Nice wrap up to the series
#28/60: Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare (3/5) (mystery)
In 1936 London, Lena Aldridge is stuck working in a seedy nightclub, hiding her mixed race heritage. Right after a messy murder occurs while she is singing, she accepts a slightly shady offer to travel aboard the Queen Mary to accept a role on Broadway. But the wealthy family she meets on board loses a family member to an eerily similar death as the one in the nightclub, Lena finds she needs to fight for her life.
First in a series, but I didn’t like it enough to continue.
#29/60: All the Broken Places by John Boyne (4/5) (historical fiction)
Gretel Fernsby has lived most of her life in the same posh London flat. She doesn’t discuss her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12, or the grim years in Paris with her mother. And definitely doesn’t share that her father was the commandant of an extermination camp.
But Gretel witnesses a violent argument between the couple in the downstairs flat. Now she needs to decide if she will interfere to save their young son.
#30/60: A Girl Named Samson by Amy Harmon (3.5/5) (romantic historical fiction)
Deborah is living as an indentured servant in Colonial Massachusetts, but she longs for a life of adventure. Tall and lanky, she disguises herself and joins the Continental Army in the fight for freedom from the British.
This was a Kindle First choice that I really liked until it evolved into a fake romance.
#31/60: I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai (3/5) (fiction)
Bodie Kane is a successful professor and podcaster who has moved on from her traumatic past that included the murder of her former boarding school roommate during their senior year. But when Bodie is invited back to her old boarding school to teach a course, she is drawn back into the old case and wonders if flaws in the investigation lead to the arrest of the wrong man.
#24/60: Below Zero (Joe Pickett #9) by C. J. Box (4/5) (mystery)
Someone has left a message at Joe’s old house for Sheridan. The caller claims to be April, but she perished years ago. As she begins text communications with Sheridan, Joe discovers that the locations match up to areas where environmental crimes have occurred. As Joe gets closer to the truth, he gets closer to the danger.
#25/90: Nowhere to Run (Joe Pickett #10) by C. J. Box (3.5/5) (mystery)
It’s Joe’s last week as temporary game warden in Baggs. He is looking forward to returning home, but he first must investigate strange reports coming from the wilderness. What he finds is like a campfire horror tale, but this is real and deadly.
#26/60: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann (4.5/5) (nonfiction)
January 1742: A ramshackled boat washed up on the shores of Brazil, containing 30 men near death. They had left England in 1740 on the Wager, on a secret mission for the Crown. They survived a wreck on a remote Patagonia island and after facing starvation, built a flimsy boat which brought them to Brazil, where they were hailed as heroes. However, six months later a smaller craft washed up on the shores of Chile with a very different story. They accused the first group of mutiny.
This book tells of the ill fated voyage and the aftermath.
#27/60: The Last Remains (Ruth Galloway #15) by Elly Griffiths (4/5) (mystery)
Just as Ruth is dealing with the threatened closure of her department at the university, she is asked to examine remains found in the construction site of a cafe. The remains turn out to be a young archeology student who disappeared years ago. Suspicion falls on the girl’s university tutor and another member of that group - Cathbad.
During the investigation Cathbad disappears. Will Ruth and Nelson be able to find him in time and exonerate him?
Nice wrap up to the series
#28/60: Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare (3/5) (mystery)
In 1936 London, Lena Aldridge is stuck working in a seedy nightclub, hiding her mixed race heritage. Right after a messy murder occurs while she is singing, she accepts a slightly shady offer to travel aboard the Queen Mary to accept a role on Broadway. But the wealthy family she meets on board loses a family member to an eerily similar death as the one in the nightclub, Lena finds she needs to fight for her life.
First in a series, but I didn’t like it enough to continue.
#29/60: All the Broken Places by John Boyne (4/5) (historical fiction)
Gretel Fernsby has lived most of her life in the same posh London flat. She doesn’t discuss her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12, or the grim years in Paris with her mother. And definitely doesn’t share that her father was the commandant of an extermination camp.
But Gretel witnesses a violent argument between the couple in the downstairs flat. Now she needs to decide if she will interfere to save their young son.
#30/60: A Girl Named Samson by Amy Harmon (3.5/5) (romantic historical fiction)
Deborah is living as an indentured servant in Colonial Massachusetts, but she longs for a life of adventure. Tall and lanky, she disguises herself and joins the Continental Army in the fight for freedom from the British.
This was a Kindle First choice that I really liked until it evolved into a fake romance.
#31/60: I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai (3/5) (fiction)
Bodie Kane is a successful professor and podcaster who has moved on from her traumatic past that included the murder of her former boarding school roommate during their senior year. But when Bodie is invited back to her old boarding school to teach a course, she is drawn back into the old case and wonders if flaws in the investigation lead to the arrest of the wrong man.
DisneyHardin
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
I've got to get reading - I had 4 books I had put on reserve at the Library come in this week!!
DisneyHardin
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
11/26 - Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult - It was a very interesting book - the setting is during the early weeks/months of Covid. I would give 4/5 stars - it had a little bit of a slow start, but then got very interesting.
willowsnn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
#28/50 Off The Deep End by Lucinda Berry
Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one. Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes. Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?
meh....wasn't all that good. Characters had no depth to them. Wouldn't recommend.
Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one. Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes. Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?
meh....wasn't all that good. Characters had no depth to them. Wouldn't recommend.
RangerPooh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2005
15/20 Pirate Gold and Murder (Fiona Fleming Cozy Mysteries Book 13) by Patti Larsen.
16/20 Patent Pending and Death (Fleming Investigations Cozy Mysteries book 1) by Patti Larsen.
16/20 Patent Pending and Death (Fleming Investigations Cozy Mysteries book 1) by Patti Larsen.
lovesmurfs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2006
I've been keeping up on another forum with my reading -- will update my post at some point.
Some good ones:
Fairy Tale by Stephen King (read a little like a young adult novel, not like your normal scary Stephen King)
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (one of the points of view is an octopus in an aquarium, but really read believable!)
Both audiobooks were really well done.
Some good ones:
Fairy Tale by Stephen King (read a little like a young adult novel, not like your normal scary Stephen King)
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (one of the points of view is an octopus in an aquarium, but really read believable!)
Both audiobooks were really well done.
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