Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2009!
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L Shep's 2009 Book List
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94. "Serena" by Ron Rash Trying to decide if I give this one a 4+ or a 5
95. "Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist" by M. C. Beaton; my first of this series; I'm not sure I'd try any more except for the raves I gotten so I'll give the old girl another go at some point.
Lisa wrote: "95. "Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist" by M. C. Beaton; my first of this series; I'm not sure I'd try any more except for the raves I gotten so I'll give the old girl another go at some point." I started off the same way, not really liking the character at first, it takes a few, I'd say at least two before one starts appreciating how funny she really is. Actually The Terrible Tourist is Book #6, the first one is AG & The Quiche of Death, and #2 is The Vicious Vet. Those two set up her history, especially the first one. Good reading!
Carol wrote: "Lisa wrote: "95. "Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist" by M. C. Beaton; my first of this series; I'm not sure I'd try any more except for the raves I gotten so I'll give the old girl another go ..."Unfortunately my library doesn't have all of the books on CD but I may have to pick up the first couple of books just to get the background. I do appreciate her feistiness!
I Googled MC Beaton just to refresh my memory about the titles of the first books in the Agatha Raisin series and found out that she apparently has out a couple of new ones that I haven't read yet! Oh joy! I think there must be close to 20 AR's now. Sometimes I wonder if Beaton's character development is rather tongue-in-cheek, the other main characters I mean. They sometimes seem so shallow I have to laugh, but then I guess that's how real life is, too.
Carol wrote: "I Googled MC Beaton just to refresh my memory about the titles of the first books in the Agatha Raisin series and found out that she apparently has out a couple of new ones that I haven't read yet!..."I guess sometimes we whine that characters aren't developed enough in books when, it's true, they're not always developed enough in real life! Good point.
96. "The Evolution of Shadows" by Jason Quinn Malott. Gripping story of love and war.
97. "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert. Meh.
98. The Financial Live of the Poets by Jess Walter. Totally unexpected, wonderful surprise.
99. "Cost" ack--can't remember author just now. Very realistic look at heroin addiction--it's effects on family, on the addict and how it is dealt with.
100. "Family Plots: Love, Death and Tax Evasion" by Mary Patrick Kavanaugh. The subtitle says it all. This is Mary's true story, which is a good thing to know going in, otherwise you might not believe it.
101. "Only Mile" by Barry Smith. Most unique book I have read in ages. Really enjoyed it.
102. "Death of a Gentle Lady: A Hamish MacBeth Mystery" by M.C. Beaton. My crush on Hamish just gets bigger and bigger!
103. "The Last Beach Bungalow" by Jennie Nash104. "The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish" by Elise Blackwell
105. "Intimations of Austen" by Jane Greensmith
106. "The Imposter's Daughter" by Laurie Sandell
My Dewey's read-a-thon completed list. So happy with all of them.
107. "The Bright Side of Disaster" by Katherine Center108. "Raising A Reader" by Jennie Nash
109. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. Beautiful book with a unique perspective on WWII focusing primarily on the lives of women.
110. Somebody Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage. Strange book; had a really hard time pushing through it.
111. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Now I know what all of the fuss was about; although I didn't love it.
112. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
113. Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji. Really liked this look at life in Tehran.
114. Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch. Set in Alaska and I learned so much about the culture of the natives.
115. The House on Tradd Street by Karen White is there a genre for mystery/romance novels? This would fit.
Lisa wrote: "115. The House on Tradd Street by Karen White is there a genre for mystery/romance novels? This would fit."Lisa, a lot of mysteries have a little romance woven in, and sometimes even a lot. I like the mys/rom combination when the mystery overshadows the romance slightly...a strictly 'romance book' (like Harlequin) always follows the formula: 1) boy meets girl (or sometimes boy meets boy); 2) there must be some kind of conflict, a reason why they can't get together immediately...happily ever after doesn't (or should I say, can't) come (too)easy... and 3) final resolve of the conflict, with kissing scenes (not too much sex too soon, just to keep the players, and us too, guessing) interspersed through out the plot points. The mysteries I've read seem to focus more on the characters getting to know one another and learning to like each other over time. I have read some good mysteries that I absolutely loved as love stories, but I seldom even remember much about the strictly 'romance' stories.
116. Night of Flames Douglas Jacobson117. The Girl on Legare Street Karen White
118. The Cost of Dreams by Gary Stelzer Just had to force my way through this one.
118. I know this is the second #118 I've listed but I discovered that I had one book listed twice. So the real #118 was Three Junes by Julia Glass.
93. "Death of a Dreamer: a Hamish MacBeth Mystery" by M.C. Beaton--I'm really enjoying listening to Beaton while I work.