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

Cyndy’s comments from the 2017 Reading Challenge group.

9. A controversial book
16. A book by a Nobel Prize winner
21. A Western
33. A debut novel
35. A book written by someone born the same year as you
37. Author from your own state (or country, if you are not from US)
45. A Classic
54. A book set in wartime
57. A Mystery book
77. A book about books
80. Book published the year you graduated high school
84. A book having to do with food (recipes, a chef's biography, etc.
92. A book a close friend or family member loves
102. An independent/self-published author
120. A book based in a country/state/place you'd like to visit some day

If need be, another option is to reverse your initials. They are still your initials - just a little outside the box from the way most of us think!

This book won The Newberry Award. I enjoyed the book and may read more by Ms. Vanderpool. Even though the book is about a small town in Kansas, it didn't seem like the small town my cousins and my mom grew up in. I am guessing part of the reason is the time. my cousins grew up in the 60s and the book is partly during the late teens and mid 30s. We moved all over, so I adopted their hometown.

It is extremely rare that I start a book and don't finish it. I know of three options I had before I read The Yearling. I had barely started a hardback version and then went on a trip and just never picked the book up again. The other two books I could have picked are The Bourne Identity, I had barely started it and left the paperback version on a plane. The other book I have partially read is Devil in the Grove. I have read a little over 25% of the book and while parts of it are interesting, I have struggled with it every time I have looked at it. I'm not sure I can ever pick it up again - not even for the bottom of my to read list! Oh, I highly recommend The Yearling, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel.

I'm not a fan of short stories. They don't even make the bottom of my to read list!

DONE! 52/52 +4
A book with more than 500 pages Against All Enemies by John Gilstrap*
A classic romance Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A book that became a movie Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
A book published this year As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley*
A book with a number in the title Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
A book written by someone under 30 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
A book with non-human characters The Year of Necessary Lies by Kris Radish*
A funny book Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
A book by a female author Murder in the South of France by Susan Kiernan-Lewis
A mystery or thriller No Fortunate Son by Brad Taylor*
A book with a one-word title Mayday by Nelson DeMille* & Thomas Block
A book of short stories Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie
A book set in a different country (from which you live) Little Bee by Chris Cleave
A non-fiction book Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel
A popular author’s first book The Shoebox Bible by Alan Bradley*
A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet America by Steven Coonts*
A book a friend recommended The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Color Purple by Alice Walker
A book based on a true story The Patriot Threat by Steve Berry*
A book at the bottom of your to-read list Red Alert
A book your mom loves The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi
A book that scares you Radiant Angel by Nelson DeMille*
A book more than 100 years old Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
A book based entirely on its cover The One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier
A book you were supposed to read in high school, but didn’t My Ántonia by Willa Sibert Cather
A memoir Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda
A book you can finish in a day The Recruit: A Taskforce Story by Brad Taylor*
A book with antonyms in the title Dying to Live in Palm Beach by Jane Grossman
A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit House of Cards by Michael Dobbs
A book that came out the year you were born Dr. No by Ian Fleming
A book with bad reviews The President's Shadow by Brad Meltzer*
*A trilogy (First) The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
*A trilogy (Second) The Glass Magician
*A trilogy (Third) The Master Magician
A book from your childhood Dick Whittington (Illustrated) by Frederick Warne
A book with a love triangle The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriaty
A book set in the future The Giver by Lois Lowry
A book set in high school Paper Towns by John Green
A book with a color in the title White Death by Ted Bell*
A book that made you cry Memory Man by David Baldacci*
A book with magic Magic Mirror by Michaela Thompson
A graphic novel G.I. Joe #0 by Costa, Dixon, Gage, and Hama
A book by an author you’ve never read before The Assassin's List by Scott Matthews
A book you own but have never read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A book that takes place in your hometown Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
A book that was originally written in a different language The Werewolf of Bamberg by Oliver Potzsch
A book set during Christmas Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews
A book written by an author with your same initials True Grit by Charles Portis
A play A Raisin in the Sun by Loraine Hansberry
A banned book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
A book based on or turned into a TV show MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker
A book you started but never finished The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Also read The Insider Threat by Brad Taylor*
Also read Code of Conduct by Brad Thor*
Also read The Redeemers by Ace Atkins*
Also read House Odds by Mike Lawson

Plus 3 more for work, that were constantly putting me to sleep!

I have tried to read my $1.99 Kindle bargains when my favorite authors* books don't fit a category.

Sorry, I just can't put any effort into this category. I loved Archie, Little Lulu, and Richie Rich when I was little, but once I stopped needing pictures and words could express the entire meaning, comics are just not satisfying. So when this appeared as a 99 cent deal on Amazon earlier this year, my decision was made about what graphic novel to read.

This will be on my want to read list now. The best novel I have read about the Viet Nam war is Matterhorn.

This was a cute read. It wasn't easy, because the kindle version had a ton of grammatical and typographical errors. It was very distracting, because there were so many. There were funny spots in the book, and a few that made me laugh out loud. The book is more anecdotal than novel.

Quick easy read - girl runs off to Paris where she is a witness to a murder and the theft of a magic mirror said to have been owned by Nostradamus.

They did when I was in school. I believe in the 70s, each state set their curriculum, and the individual school districts had some leeway within the state guidelines. It seemed like my cousins in Kansas and Missouri had similar books to read.

I have no books of shame from school, I read every assigned book and lots of the optional choice books. Having gone to high school in Nebraska, all of Ms. Cather's books were on the American Lit choices list, so I picked this one. I highly recommend it.

I have loved all of Mr. DeMille's novels. I especially recommend Up Country, The Charm School, The General's Daughter, Plum Island, Spencerville, and The Quest (2013 version). His monthly newsletters are a hoot!

I, like you, was struggling trying to find something for this category - I don't like to read books that I don't think I would like and I am not a fan of romance novels! I haven't seen the movies, but knew my mom liked the books so it was a good choice for me. I have added the rest of the series to my to read list.

This is the first Hemingway book I have read. No plot, and yet I enjoyed the book. There is lots of drinking and discussions of sex among rich (and broke) expatriates - who's Lady Brett with this week, not her betrothed and not the man she loves. Banned because of the drinking, sex, adultery, and anti-Semitism.

The three books are The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician. All three are quick easy reads. The "scary" parts weren't scary to me and I don't read horror stories, because they really scare me. The stories just didn't pull me in. Cute, easy, possible beach reads.

Kindred is a wonderful book. I am not a fan of sci-fi, but I could not put this book down. A friend "forced" me to read it during 2010 and I ended up buying my own copy.

https://www.goodreads.com/places is an alphabetical listing of book settings as far as I can tell. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be searchable.

This novella takes us back to Decoy joining the Task Force and his first mission. I enjoyed this book, Mr. Taylor's books are page turners that consistently keep you on the edge of your seat.

I originally read this outside of the challenge, but decided to add it to this category, because on Amazon it has 25% of 422 reviews as 1 or 2 stars. I just could not see looking for a book that had bad reviews and deciding to read it. I generally don't read based on reviews; I read based on friends recommendations and the synopsis or jacket description. I have read all of Mr. Meltzer's thriller /mysteries and none of his graphic novels.

This is my review from Goodreads. --I liked this book, just not as well as the previous Culper Ring novels. I'm not one that requires a ton of reality (how can all this be going on in one person's life doesn't generally bother me.) That said, when I thought about it with this book (and it did cross my mind), I just remind myself - it's the federal government and politicians, that should suspend any disbelief in anyone. I would recommend any of Mr. Meltzer's novels and will continue to read them.