Cyndy’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

Cyndy’s comments from the 2017 Reading Challenge group.

https://www.bookstr.com/article/illin...

If anyone is still looking, here are 8 mostly recent books that have been challenged in Illinois.

Sarika wrote: "I'm going to go with Kite Runner. I have a good feeling about it."
I loved it!

I totally agree with losing Antarctica, there just isn't enough to pick from. I had some difficulty with an author born the same year, for the same reason - possibly the year categories could be expanded to include the year before and after. I am not a fan of non-fiction other than biographies or memoirs, so self-help, how-to, etc. are pretty much non-starters for me. :-)

What would happen if the president went rogue, enacted Marshall Law, and suspended habeas corpus? Would Texas go independent and form a new Republic? What then? Great premise for a book. Highly recommended. - That said - I haven't seen this book mentioned as controversial, but the president in the book is portrayed as having issues that come straight from the issues of the current president.

I love these little mysteries. Flavia has returned to Great Britain after a year at a boarding school in Canada. Her father has pneumonia and is in the hospital. Don't miss this series!

I have several authors that I read all of their books as they are issued, so I don't really have one favorite. I found Ted Bell's review on Goodreads - "Always enjoy these atmospheric mysteries and the way JLB handles light, weather, nature. Dave is a worthy protagonist and Asa a dark force who fouls the pages whenever he appears...I feel this Burke's swan song. I hope I'm wrong." - He was wrong, JLB has written since then. My review - I have read a few Dave Robicheaux and a couple of other books by Mr. Burke, but I haven't ever thought or him as one of my go to authors. I probably need to rethink that and start at the beginning. I had trouble putting this book down. There are times when the story line might be a little much - things happen that go unexplained. Possibly these will be tied up in a future book. One reviewer said that all of the characters are crazy - maybe they are just different because of the atrocities that occurred when they were younger. If you are a fan of mysteries, can handle some crazy / creepy characters, and aren't irritated with things that aren't tied up in a pretty bow (the theory of always leave the audience wanting more) READ THIS NOW!

Highly recommended. If you haven't read this, you are missing out on something that might become a literary classic. The key pieces can't be told as they would spoil the journey that this book takes you on.

I picked this book for this category too. I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story. Lots of books are mentioned or quoted. There are three reference lists in the back of the book, but it didn't help me when I didn't catch a reference. :-) Recommended for any book lovers.

These two books together are The Odyssey for young readers. They are both quick easy reads.

I was ready to read this a while back - about two years ago - but was distracted by a new release, book club, or a challenge! I like Joe DeMarco. Joe finds out who killed his father. Joe wants to bring a reckoning to the murderer. But Joe is presented with obstacles at every turn. A page turner. It's not required that these are read in order, but it helps.

This was a really good book. That said, the ending fell short for me. Although I understand the author's choice for the ending, I wasn't ready for the book to be done. The odd thing was the Kindle version "ends" before the "Historical Notes..." chapter. If anyone doesn't read this chapter, that artificial "end" of the book leaves off a significant part of the book. Possibly Ms. Atwood will consider (or reconsider) writing a sequel. Highly recommended.

I just started this for this category. I like it so far...

"We give all we have, lives, property, safety, skills … we fight, we die, for a simple thing. Only that a man can stand up." ….. "that no frightened lost child ever is sent out a refugee from his own country because of race or religion." I really liked this book when I read it in junior high for school. I'm not one to reread books - except by accident! I thought about Ethan Frome or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, but settled on one further back. Tea Party in the Boston Harbor and the start of the revolutionary war from the eyes of a 14 year old. Published in 1943. Authored by a historian that won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1942 work "Paul Revere and the World He Lived In" --- Highly recommended.

Rudyard Kipling won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. The Jungle Book was published in 1894. This is a quick easy read. Be prepared for several short stories: "The Jungle Book", "Tiger, Tiger", "The White Seal", "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", "Toomai of the Elephants", and "Her Majesty's Servants", along with several songs between the stories. Most of these are not for younger kids - hence the Disney cartoon modifications. Recommended!

This wasn't a quick read for me. The story is good, but it was a little slow. What happens when a rich, beautiful, unmarried female ends up with minimal funds when her mother passes? How does or doesn't she maintain her status given her naiveté?

I read My Antonia last year as part of this challenge and loved it as well.

A cute, fun read. I could and may read more of these, but for now, I need to read one of my mysteries or spy type novels. Recommended.

I'm not sure how to describe this book. I liked it and would recommend it though. There were difficult parts of this book. I liked Meridian. Truman seemed sort of unlikeable, but the way he acted was understandable and at times predictable. Lynne was odd, unpredictable, and, to me, not the least bit believable at times. If you want the whole story laid out in words, this isn't the book for you. There were things that were not fully explained, some were partially explained later in the book, but some things are left totally to your imagination.

This is the first Isabel Allende (born in Peru and raised in Chile) book I have read. It is the story of Alma Mendel from 1939 until her death in 2013. Alma was eight in 1939 and her parents shipped her from Poland to live with her aunt and uncle in the San Francisco Bay area. The story and the writing are beautiful. It is told from a third person perspective at the end of Alma's life looking back. It is not a fast paced novel, but a literary saga about enduring love. Highly recommended.

(#8) 35% conspiracy theory / 45% mystery / 20% thriller all combined in one page-turner of a book. My latest favorite! I can't wait for the next installment.