Kayte's 2008 Challenge

[Kayte]

I am challenging myself to read 60 books this year. I am going to try to do 5 books a month. I have already completed 5 books for January and am on my 6th so I'm off to a good start!

[Kayte]

Three Cups of Tea
Size 12 is not Fat
Goodnight Nobody
Autobiography of a Face
Then We Came to the End
Three to get Deadly

[Kayte]

#7 Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

[Kayte]

#8 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Awesome book! I could not put it down. It was riveting and captivating, and i don't usually use words like that :-) The story completely sucked me in. So many twists and turns. Completely unpredictable and fascinating. I can't say enough good things about this book!

[Kayte]

#9 Pigs in Heaven

This book is a sequel to one of my favorite books, The Bean Trees. Not as good as the first book, but still good.

[alisonwonderland (Alison)]

i agree that Pigs in Heaven isn't quite as good as The Bean Trees. have you read Animal Dreams or The Poisonwood Bible? i loved those!

[Molly]

Animal Dreams, Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer -all three must-reads' by BK in my book! :)

[Kayte]

Prodigal Summer is on my TBR shelf! i have Animal Dreams, but haven't read it, and i tried to read Poisonwood Bible but couldn't get into it. maybe i'll give it another shot!

[Kayte]

#10 Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

really liked this one!

[alisonwonderland (Alison)]

The Secret Life of Bees is an all-time favorite of mine. i'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Kayte]

#11 Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

this one was ok. i really liked it in the beginning, but that last half of the book was really slow for me and i struggled to get through it. i did really like the ending though! i'm definitely interested in reading more of Austen's work.

[Teresa]

Is this the first Austen you've read? I'm interested in picking some up after reading the Jane Austen Book Club as part of my book club, but I'm not sure where to start.

[Kayte]

yes, this was my first Austen book. probably not a good one to start with though ;-) i've gotten recommendations to start with either Emma or Sense and Sensibility. unfortunately that was after i read Northanger Abbey :-)

[Kayte]

#12 Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

I totally love these books! They seriously get better with every book. Stephanie PLum is my hero :)

[Kayte]

#13 Something Blue by Emily Giffin

such a cute story! i finished it in record time (i'm usually a pretty slow reader) but i couldn't put it down and finished it in just about 2 days. it was a great sequel to Something Borrowed. i had heard people say that it was not as good as the first one, but i disagree. i loved it just as much! really fun chick lit!

[Kayte]

#14 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

[Kayte]

#15 The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

i feel like my reading has slowed down a lot. it took me forever to finish this book. i ended up confused about who was who by the end. i think i may need to try to read it again sometime. it ws not the book's fault though! i loved Laurie's writing style. it was a really funny book. i think there were just too many time gaps between when i was able to pick it up.

[Kayte]

#16 The Pact by Jodi Picoult

This is my 2nd Picoult book and I loved it. I was hooked almost from the beginning and I finished it in just a few days, which is quick for me. I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Kathy]

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorites! She really knows how to tell a story! Enjoy!

[Kayte]

#17 High Five by Janet Evanvich

my reading has slowed down quite a bit...i've been working a lot more and haven't had as much time. i hope i can still make it to 60!

[Kayte]

#18 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

i LOVED this one! i really love his humor (this is my first Sedaris book.) I wasn't sure if i was gonna like the format but i really really did. i can't wait to read more of his stuff!

[Charity]

Kayte-

I agree. Me Talk Pretty One Day was hilarious. One of my favorite parts was when he was making his students watch soap operas and write essays on what they thought would happen next. :-)

You should read his book Holidays on Ice during the holiday season. It will keep you cracking up. I also recommend Laurie Notaro, if you haven't read anything by her yet. She is almost like a female Sedaris. Her book An Idiot Girl's Christmas had me rolling!

[Kayte]

Thanks Charity! I've seen Holidays on Ice. I'll have to pick it up!
And thanks for the rec for Laurie Notaro. I'll have to go check her out.

[Charity]

I hope you enjoy them. Pretty funny stuff. :-)

[Kayte]

#19 The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

[Kayte]

#20 Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

hilarious!

[Kayte]

#21 To Kill a Mockingbird

this was actually my first time reading this book. i don't know how i got away without reading it because i'm sure all 3 of my siblings had to read it at some point. maybe i just didn't feel like it ;-) anyway, i truly loved this book and i can see why it is a classic. the story is so timeless and rich and the characters were incredible. i fell in love with the entire Finch family.

[Kayte]

#22 Rise and Shine: A Novel by Anna Quindlen
finished 5/31

this book was just ok for me. i liked it a lot more than i thought i would though. the ending was a little too predictable and neat though. i'll probably only give it 3 stars.

[Kayte]

#23 1st to Die by James Patterson (1st in the Women's Murder Club series)

Decent mystery. I think I expected the writing to be a little better since I loved Along Came a Spider by Patterson. I'll probably check out the next one in the series.

[Kayte]

#24 The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

I wasn't sure I would like this book. But I ended up loving it! I love Jennifer Weiner and she did not disappoint me with this one. It was definitely a quick, fun read for me.

[Kayte]

#25 The Other Woman by Jane Green

this was some great chick lit. i love Jane Green and this one did not disappoint. i found myself unable to put it down.

[Kayte]

#26 Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

[Kayte]

#27 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

[Kayte]

#28 Love Walked In my Marisa de los Santos

[Kayte]

#29 Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster

absolutely hilarious. this book had me laughing out loud over and over.

[Kayte]

#30 Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Another great book by Kingsolver. It took me a little while to really get into it, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I'm so glad I decided to read this book.

[Kayte]

#31 Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

[Kayte]

#32 The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

[Kayte]

#33 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini

[Kayte]

#34 Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

[Kayte]

#35 Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

better than i remember. this book is amazing.

[Kayte]

#36 Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer

#37 Hot Stuff by Janet Evanovich and Leanne Banks

[Kayte]

#38 New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

[Kayte]

#39 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

[Kayte]

#40 Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

[Kayte]

#41 Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

i need to do some speed reading if i'm gonna make it to 60 by Dec 31!!

[Kayte]

#42 I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis

This was my first Historical Fiction read and I LOVED it. It took a little getting used to at first because there were so many names to keep straight, and some of them were similar. But after I got through that and into the story, I was hooked!

[Kayte]

#43 The Firm by John Grisham

[Kayte]

#44 Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

[Kayte]

#45 The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve