Ann’s Comments (group member since Dec 20, 2013)

Ann’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

Ann wrote: "So far I've finished:
1) A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (Victorian England- everybody left calling cards).
3) I've been trying to get cake out of the titles I've read. no cake, but I did..."

I got cake! I finished The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig, so I got three.

I have finished The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, and am now reading book #2- The Masque of the Black Tulip. I'm also still reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and The Romanovs by Simon Sebag Montefiore.
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I started this week reading Murder at Fontainebleau by Amanda Carmack (book 5 in her series), I am now reading The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (book 1 in her series). I addition, I am continuing reading The Romanovs, and am half way through Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (myths, Gaiman- what's not to love). Oh, and my birthday present to myself was to buy the paperback copy of Hamilton (the biography). Not sure what's next.

All of the J.D. Robb mysteries are set in a future New York City, and I finished Echoes in Death last week, which means I finished my first road trip challenge. :)

So far I've finished:
1) A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (Victorian England- everybody left calling cards).
3) I've been trying to get cake out of the titles I've read. no cake, but I did get echidna. :)
5) a red book- Murder in Whitehall by Amanda Carmack (awesome series).
7) Commander and Chief- Trump- there was a character with the last name Trump in A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourne (I think, I read three books by two authors that weekend, but I think it was hers).

1) Baby it's cold- Revenge in a Cold River
5) Get on it already- Sworn to the Wolf by Lauren Dane
6) A gift of Reading- A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn- it was a New Year's gift I gave myself. :)
7) Blue Cover- A Study in Scarlet Women- Sherry Thomas (I'm still working on the Romanovs- Peter the Great has just died).
I'm currently reading Murder at Hatfield House- 1st in the Amanda Carmack series- and i'll work my way up to Murder in the Queen's Garden. So 4 out of 7. :)

I've only read two from this list: Brideshead (awesome movie) and Cloud Atlas (which I have not yet watched). Both books deserve to be on the list.
I think I might try Rebecca as well (it is, I believe, shorter that A Tale of Two Cities).

I finished Revenge in a Cold River by Anne Perry, and was all set to work on my other books for the Take it or Leave it challenge when I found two new series and started both of them: the first book in the first series is A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas and features a female Sherlock Holmes, and the first book in the second series is A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn, about a Victorian lepidopterist with a mysterious past and murder to solve. I finished both books and am now about half way through A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn.

Here are my books for the rest of the month (I think- this could change).
1. Baby it's cold outside: Read a book with a word in the title that is a synonym for cold- Revenge in a Cold River by Anne Perry (the most recent in the Monk series)

2. Television Shows: Read a book that is part of a series that has been (or is about to be) adapted into a TV show- Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood- made into a TV series in Australia.

3. How I met your Modder: Read a book with a 5 star rating from
a moderator's read shelf
Joanna- Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Jennifer
Rekesha- Murder in the Queen's Garden by Amanda Carmack

4. Star Wars: Read a book with either "Star" or "Wars" in the title but not both

5. Get on it already: Finish a book you started before January 1, 2017- 1st book finished this year- Sworn to the Wolf by Lauren Dane

6. The gift of reading: Read a book that was given to you as a gift-
The Soul of a Seal by Anne Elizabeth and Dragon Spawn by Eileen Wilks (both are gifts I gave myself) :)

7. The book I'm looking for is blue: Read a book with a blue cover- The Romanovs 1613- 1916 by Simon Montefiore (it's a fascinating book).

My name is Ann, and I work for this library system. According to my mom, I got my first library card when I was 4. What I don't remember are very many trips to the library, so I became a big fan of rereading books (I also learned to read pretty much anything. My personal favorites are anything by Tolkien, Sense & Sensibility, and mysteries set in or around WWI.
And I love talking books. :)

I'm working on
Lush by Lauren Dane
The Romanovs: 1613- 1918 by Simon Montefiore
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Revenge in a Cold River by Anne Perry
Echoes of Sherlock Holmes
(and I put The Alchemist on hold)
Congrats to the 2016 winner!

I love John Irving's Cider House Rules (Maine) and Hotel New Hampshire (NH). I might need to reread one, or both.

Ashley wrote: " I think I read The Catcher in the Rye too late in life. If I'd read it as an angsty 13-year-old, it probably would have resonated with me. As it were, I just wanted to punch Holden in the face for the entirety of the novel. "
That was my problem too. I just found him annoying, and only finished it to see what the fuss was about and to be able to say that I'd read it. :)

Of these I've only read 3: 1984, The Catcher in the Rye, and A Christmas Carol. I think I'll try The Alchemist. At the moment I'm reading a series by Lauren Dane, and a history of the Romanov dynasty (from Michael to Nicholas II). I've also got Ink & Bone on hold for the Take It or Leave It Challenge.

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I'm reading my 150th book as we speak (I should finish it before midnight tonight). I think I'll only try for 100 next year as I have big plans in other areas (exercise and writing goals).
Have a Happy New Year everybody.

I'm in the middle of a J.D. Robb marathon and then I'm going to see how many of the ebooks I bought Thanksgiving weekend that I actually want to read. I'm currently reading Witness in Death.

I am thankful for books that make me think, that make me laugh, that take me away to places I will most likely never see; and the authors that write them. Laurie R. King, Susan Elia MacNeal, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mercedes Lackey, Neil Gaiman... and the many, many authors I am privileged to call friend.

I finished Closer to the Chest by Mercedes Lackey, read Apprentice in Death by J.D. Robb in one day, and then read The Next Always, The Last Boyfriend, and The Perfect Hope all by Nora Roberts, and am now rereading Naked in Death, the first J.D. Robb book. After this, I will probably read the latest Susan Elia MacNeal book, The Queen's Accomplice (a great series- set in WWII).

My favorite books to movies are, of course, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. My favorite books to TV Shows are the Lord Peter Winsey Mysteries (Strong Poison, Have his Carcass, and Gaudy Night) , and the Phryne Fisher Mysteries (which I am slowly working my way through). The books I would love to see are Laurie R. King's Mary Russell mysteries, and perhaps the J.D. Robb mysteries.

Hey, Thanks for the heads up. Let me know if you need any help with this.

Ann