Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Mad Honey Definitely overlooked not overrated!

A mother struggles against her past and the prejudices of her community to save her son who has been accused of murder.

This was an emotional rollercoaster of a book. Like most of Jodi Picoult's writing it dealt with controversial issues. And, as in her other books that I have read, it was handled so well. The authors were able to make all the motivations of all of the characters so real. It was hard not to feel sympathy for all parties. There were also plenty of plot twists to keep the reader guessing. The bee trivia was a delightful addition.

4 sweet as honey stars.

Favorite Quote:

“We are all flawed, complicated, wounded dreamers; we have more in common with one another than we don't. Sometimes making the world a better place just involves creating space for the people who are already in it.”
― Jodi Picoult, Mad Honey

Thanks Desley! Thanks Alondra! New year New books all good.

I love it when a book does this.

Thanks Andrea!I agree Stephanie Plum is the best.

Thanks everyone!Mad Honey is definitely starting the year off right.

Thanks Denise. Thursday Murder Club seems to be a favorite. I'm going to have to bump it to the top of the list I think.

Lillie wrote: "Yikes! Sorry about getting covid. Glad you’re recovering now. It took me a couple of weeks to truly feel better again. And I did almost no reading then.
As for your year, 130 is quite impressive. ..."

Thanks Lillie. I'm finishing my second week and improving, I think. Still tire easily and my brain seems to go on vacation every now and then. When I tested positive, my first thought was that I would get to read a lot but for some reason I haven't really been able to settle down to it. Hopefully that will improve too.

Starting this challenge at the top of the list with Mad Honey. Just started the audiobook yesterday but I'm already hooked. Loving the bee trivia.

First book of the year complete!!!

#1 His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life An excellent biography of Jimmy Carter. It shines a light on his many accomplishments, before, during and after his presidency, but does not ignore his faults or mistakes. This unbiased accounting highlights the true contributions of this good man and a life well lived. Because I had read several of Jimmy Carter's books I thought that there wouldn't be anything new here. Not true. So much I did not know or had forgotten. It really put that era of history in perspective for me. 5 Peace-maker stars. Audiobook. Nonfiction-Biography/President Challenge.

Star Tally 2023
5 stars - 1

Jackie wrote: "Great idea, Michelle.

Jennifer, I know what you mean about being tired of looking at some of the books on your lists. I have way too many of those. Good luck."


Thanks Jackie!

Lea wrote: "I hope you enjoy your challenge this year and get many many 5-star books that we all will have to read also! I've been lucky to get one presidential book read each year, and last year, did I even d..."

Thanks Lea! Hopefully the only thing that will keep me from meeting my 3- and 4-star goals will be the fact that everything I read was 5-star. Then you guys can stuff your TBRs with great books.

Jennifer wrote: "Nice approach, Michelle!

The one thing I decided to change about my reading this year was to try to get all my annual challenges that start this month done before 11/30. Every year December is a ..."

I know right? I always start January with a bang but I end the year with a bunch of leftovers. I haven't figured out how to avoid it.

Bill wrote: "Interesting challenges. I hope you enjoy all of your selections."

Thanks Bill!!

Jackie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "So to wrap up the year. I've enjoyed my no pressure reading flow challenge for 2022 so much I'm going to make a similar individual challenge for 2023. I didn't set a lot of goals h..."

Thanks Jackie!

Thanks Ioana!

Thanks Lea! I think I'm on the mend and I'm soldiering on with A Suitable Boy.

Decade (or longer) American Presidents Challenge

1. George Washington 1. The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon completed 3/16/20 2. Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy completed 3/31/22
2. John AdamsFirst Family: Abigail and John Adams completed 8/6/20
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William H. Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham LincolnTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln completed 9/25/20 And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle completed 4/18/23
17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant: All Volumes Volumes 1 & 2 only completed 10/11/22
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley
26. Theodore RooseveltThe Rise of Theodore Roosevelt completed 11/15/21
27. William H. Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge: Authorized, Expanded, and Annotated Edition completed 12/30/21
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II completed 11/7/23
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon All the President's Men completed 6/9/23
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. Jimmy CarterHis Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life completed 1/5/23
40. Ronald ReaganAn American Life completed 4/28/22
41. George H. W. Bush
42. Bill Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack ObamaA Promised Land completed 2/17/21
45. Donald TrumpThe Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir completed 4/6/21
46. Joe Biden

So, my 2022 individual challenge was about letting go of reading goals and hold lists and just moving from one good book to another. It worked so well that I'm going to take it a step further in 2023. I'm still going to count books and pages just for fun but I'm not going to use those to quantify my goal. Instead, I'm going to see how many good books I can read. My goal in 2023 is to read at least 5 5-star books, 30 4-star books, and 20 3-star books. I'm going to shoot for an average star rating for the year of 3 stars or above. I'm going to post my Decade(or longer) President's Challenge on this thread but I'm not setting a goal for a certain number read. Instead I'm going for quality. However, many presidents I read this year I'm aiming for an average star rating of 4 stars or above. Let the good times roll!

So one of my goals today is to wrap up 2022 on Goodreads. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do that on this thread. I decided to spend the last week of 2022 with a mild case of COVID, so everything is a little behind and moving slowly. As you can see above I started A Suitable Boy some time ago but it was gargantuan. I still had hoped to finish in 2022 but life and everything got in the way. I am about halfway through the 1500+ pages and I will report on it here when I finally finish it up.

Other than that, this has been a great challenge and I have really enjoyed it. I finished 14 of the 16 books on the challenge. All of the ones I read were either 4- or 5-star books. The one exception was The Last Picture Show which I gave 3 stars. Three was generous but I've given my opinions about that one above. I was so pleased by my challenge in 2022 that I came up with two 12 +4 challenges for 2023. I hope that they go as well as this one did.

So to wrap up the year. I've enjoyed my no pressure reading flow challenge for 2022 so much I'm going to make a similar individual challenge for 2023. I didn't set a lot of goals here except to flow naturally from one book to another and not stress about challenges or library hold lists. I think I was successful on the whole and it was relaxing and easy. Even with that I read 130 books total, 5 more than my goal of 125. I had a goal of 20,000 pages and I fell a little short with 14,910 pages. I don't count audio toward the page count if you're wondering how I came up short. According to my Goodreads Challenge year-end report (which does include audio in page count apparently) I read 46,073 pages, so I'm going to call it a win. I didn't set a numeric goal for my President's challenge, but I read 3 books toward the goal. All of which I enjoyed. Since that is a decade (at least) challenge, I'm calling that a win too.

In conclusion, read a lot of good books and didn't stress about it. What could be better?