Reading Challenge/Goals for 2023--2024 link added

[bobbiwoz]

68/75
After enjoying Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, I thought I would read one of his mysteries. “Iron Lake” is the first of the series. I give it 3.5/5

 

[Allison Joy]

It's about time I update this!

8/15 -- Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
9/15 -- Specials by Scott Westerfeld
10/15 -- Extras by Scott Westerfeld
These are the books that follow "Uglies" which was book 7. I can't describe the next three without giving away the plot of the first book. My favorite of them was probably "Pretties." "Extras" felt..... extra?? lol It was mostly about a different set of characters, with Tally, the main character int he first three being more of a supplemental character. It was a decent read, but I might have ended the series with book 3.

11/15 -- The Giver - this was a re-read, while I was waiting to get to the library to find my next book. I've decided that some books are like songs. You'll never tire of them no matter how many times you read them. I think "The Giver" is one of those books for me. I had just read it in 2022, and still found something different when I read it.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I know what you mean. I LOVE The Giver so much. I never saw the movie because I was afraid it just wouldn't do the book justice.

 

[Allison Joy]

I know what you mean. I LOVE The Giver so much. I never saw the movie because I was afraid it just wouldn't do the book justice.

It didn't. The way the dealt with color was good, but other than that... definitely doesn't do the book justice.

 

[OKW8297]

13. A Time to Change by CallieLangridge enjoyable historical fiction with mystery and time travel

 

[melk]

19/35 March by Geraldine Brooks

This tells the story of the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as he serves in the Union army as a chaplain during the Civil War.

Excellent novel. If you are familiar with Little Women it’s a wonderful addition to fill in the gaps of just what their father was going through in his own story.

 

[marker123]

Just finished Jim Dodge's Stone Junction last night. I really enjoyed it; I'm a slow reader, and I love taking my time with books; even as I took my time with this one, I finished the book in a week, but I'm sure I'll keep thinking about it for a long while and will re-read parts of it routinely. Heck, I even cared enough to get online and say something about the book. The book is polemical, and I understand why some readers might not like it. It focuses on the failures of formal education, the West's morbid fascination with technology we cannot exactly control (nuclear energy in particular), and the ways in which consumerism degrades the planet, The novel deals, in other words, with the West's tendency to regard the planet as it's fundamental niche. As one can see, these are not "new" problems, but what does it say that we've been dealing with the same problems for so long? Perhaps that, now more than ever, there cannot be easy answers.

 

[KevM]

My end of the month wrap up:

140) Book of the Edge by Ece Temelkuran, Deniz Perin (translator) – Poetry. 4/5

141) Girl in the Woods: A Memoir by Aspen Matis – Memoir. 3.25/5

142) The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer – Contemporary. 3/5

143) Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence – Classic/Romance. 3.25/5

144) The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall – YA Fantasy. 4.5/5

145) I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Rigoberta Menchú, Elisabeth Burgos-Debray (editor), Ann Wright (translator) – Memor. 4.5/5

146) Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-ju, Jamie Chang (translator) – Contemporary/Literary Fiction. 4.25/5

147) Diadem: Selected Poems by Marosa di Giorgio, Adam Giannelli (translator) – Poetry. 4/5

148) A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton – Mystery/Thriller. 3.5/5

149) Jaws by Peter Benchley – Classic/Thriller/Horror. 3/5

150) Willow, Wine, Mirror, Moon: Women's Poems from Tang China edited by Jeanne Larsen (translator) – Poetry. 4.5/5

151) A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette – Cozy Mystery. 3.25/5

152) Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run by Martinus Evans – Sports. 4.5/5

153) When the Night Agrees to Speak to Me by Ananda Devi, Kazim Ali (translator) – Poetry. 4/5

154) The Frightened Ones by Dima Wannous, Elisabeth Jaquette (translator) - Psychological Fiction. 4/5

155) The Hotel on St. James Place: Growing Up in Atlantic City Between the Boardwalk and the Holocaust by Molly Golubcow – Memoir. 4.25/5

156) Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein – Memoir. 4/5

157) Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, Anton Hur (translator) – Short Stories/Horror. 4/5

158) The Lost Dressmaker of Paris by Suzanne Fortin – Historical Fiction. 4.25/5

159) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole – Classic/Comedy. 4.5/5

160) Deephaven by Sarah Orne Jewett – Classic. 4.25/5

161) Where Dogs Bark with Their Tails: A Novel by Estelle-Sarah Bulle, Julia Grawemeyer (translator) – Literary Fiction. 4/5

162) Orca by Arthur Herzog – Thriller/Horror. 3/5

163) The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, Ken Liu (translator) – Sci-Fi. 4/5

164) The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza, Suzanne Jill Levine (translator), Aviva Kana (translator) – Mystery/Magical Realism. 3.75/5

165) We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai – Feminism/Politics/Social Justice. 5/5

166) Dogs of Summer: by Andrea Abreu, Julia Sanches (translator) – Bildungsroman. 3.5/5

167) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin – Classic/Sci-Fi. 5/5

 

[bobbiwoz]

#14/56-"The Sunshine Girls" by Molly Fader. Two best friends from nursing school in the late 60s. one small town type, the other heads to the bright lights of Hollywood after a year of nursing school. Years later, circumstances have them sharing a huge secret. When one friend dies, the other shows up at the funeral, much to the surprise of the family who didn't even know they were friends. The one who survives shares the secret. I was hoping for more information about the times in history, but instead the book just reminded me of a Danielle Steel. Enjoyable, for the most part, but other shallow. 3 stars.

15/26 - The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader - 4/5 stars.

A sweet story of 2 ladies who met in college and became lifelong best friends. When one of the friends passes away, lots of secrets come out.

12. The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader a story of three friends that flashes back to the late 60s and early 70s. A great read.

Read the book, what a story, what secrets! 3.5/5

69/75

 

[MGMmjl]

21/30 - The Fall by Louise Jensen

Description:
"She promised she wouldn’t tell. They made sure she couldn’t…

At her surprise 40th birthday party, Kate Granger feels like the luckiest woman in the world but just hours later her fifteen-year-old daughter, Caily, is found unconscious underneath a bridge when she should have been at school.

Now, Caily lies comatose in her hospital bed, and the police don’t believe it was an accident. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear that not everyone in the family was where they claimed to be at the time of her fall.

Caily should be safe in hospital but not everyone wants her to wake up. Someone is desperate to protect the truth and it isn’t just Caily’s life that is in danger.

Because some secrets are worth killing for…"

I was looking for a cheap Kindle book to read between library reads, and thought the description sounded interesting. It was a pretty good thriller. I thought it could have been edited better in places, but it was a good read overall.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I was hoping my fellow readers could help me find a website about cozy mysteries. There used to be a website that listed cozy mysteries related to a specific theme, a specific place, type of animal, etc. Whatever you were interested in. For example, say I wanted to find a cozy mystery set in Maine (and I didn't know Barbara Ross), I could find such books by going to this website. But now I forgot the website! Anyone know?

 

[willowsnn3]

I was hoping my fellow readers could help me find a website about cozy mysteries. There used to be a website that listed cozy mysteries related to a specific theme, a specific place, type of animal, etc. Whatever you were interested in. For example, say I wanted to find a cozy mystery set in Maine (and I didn't know Barbara Ross), I could find such books by going to this website. But now I forgot the website! Anyone know?

Mmm, not sure other than maybe google? I do follow The Goodwill Librarian on facebook & pretty often someone will post about trying to find or remember the name of a book that they had read before & there are always a lot of answers. I know she has a website also. Or search on Goodreads or Bookpage. Good luck!

 

[willowsnn3]

I had knee surgery last week and have been on a standing restriction for the last week (will continue to be for the next two weeks. This has given me lots of time to read - and watch TV

Hope you are doing better now!

 

[willowsnn3]

#40/50 The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend's sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed....
This one was just barely ok....

#41/50 An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris
In the southwestern country now known as Texoma, this is a world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico, gunslinger Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards. She may be young, but Gunnie Rose has acquired a fearsome reputation and the wizards are at a desperate crossroads, even if they won't admit it. They're searching frantically to locate the only man whose blood they believe can save their tsar's life. A powerful enemy sends enemies who want their mission to faillThe trio are set upon by a powerful force does not want them to succeed in their mission. Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie who has never failed a client, but her oath will test all of her skills and resolve to get them all out alive.
And this one was actually pretty good. First in a series, not too sure if I will continue with it tho.

 

[melk]

I was hoping my fellow readers could help me find a website about cozy mysteries. There used to be a website that listed cozy mysteries related to a specific theme, a specific place, type of animal, etc. Whatever you were interested in. For example, say I wanted to find a cozy mystery set in Maine (and I didn't know Barbara Ross), I could find such books by going to this website. But now I forgot the website! Anyone know?

Is it this one? https://cozy-mystery.com/Cozy-Mysteries-by-Themes.html

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I was hoping my fellow readers could help me find a website about cozy mysteries. There used to be a website that listed cozy mysteries related to a specific theme, a specific place, type of animal, etc. Whatever you were interested in. For example, say I wanted to find a cozy mystery set in Maine (and I didn't know Barbara Ross), I could find such books by going to this website. But now I forgot the website! Anyone know?

Maybe a Facebook group could help if you want a specific book but not a list. Cozy Mystery Party or Cozies, Conversations and more, Meg’s Cozy Mystery Party are a few. Good luck!

 

[willowsnn3]

Y'all hold down the fort, I'm leaving for WDW in a bit, will be back next week.

 

[bobbiwoz]

16/26 - The Beach Trap by Ali Brady - This was a VERY predictable chicklit/beach read kind of book, but is was super cute. I read the whole thing in one day.

From the Library Website:
"Two best friends torn apart by a life-altering secret. They have one summer to set the record straight. When twelve-year-olds Kat Steiner and Blake O'Neill meet at Camp Chickawah, they have an instant connection. But everything falls apart when they learn they're not just best friends-they're also half-sisters. Confused and betrayed, their friendship instantly crumbles. Fifteen years later when their father dies suddenly, Kat and Blake discover he's left them a joint inheritance: the family beach house in Destin, Florida. The two sisters are instantly at odds. Blake, who has recently been demoted from regular nanny to dog nanny, wants to sell the house, while social media influencer Kat is desperate to keep the place where she had so many happy childhood memories. Kat and Blake reluctantly join forces to renovate the dilapidated house with the understanding that Kat will try to buy Blake out at the end of the summer. The women clash as Blake's renovation plans conflict with Kat's creative vision, and each sister finds herself drawn into a summer romance. As the weeks pass, the two women realize the most difficult project they face this summer will be coming to grips with their shared past, and learning how to become sisters"-- Provided by publisher.

A perfect quick read. Thank you for the recommendation!

70/75

 

[Simba's Mom]

Is it this one? https://cozy-mystery.com/Cozy-Mysteries-by-Themes.html

That's the one. Thanks!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Y'all hold down the fort, I'm leaving for WDW in a bit, will be back next week.

Have a great trip! We need a report when you get back!