Read 100+ Books in 2013 discussion
August Challenge
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Here's August's challenge:1. Read a book with H in the title. The Hero and the Crown-Robin McKinley 8/8/13
2. Read a book who's author starts with H.
3. Read a book with a month in the title.
4. Read a book about a farm or ranch. Rebecca's Rose-Jennifer Beckstrand 8/9/13
5. Read a non-fiction book. Your First Step to Celebrate Recovery How God can Heal your Life-John Baker started 8/9, finished 8/17/13
6. Read a book about transportation. Life of Pi- Yann Martel 8/21/13
7. Read a book about a place you want to visit. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict-Laura Viera Rigler 8/22/13
8. Read a mystery. Happy are the Meek-Andrew M. Greeley 8/26/13; Happy are the Clean of Heart- Andrew M. Greeley 8/28/13; Happy are those who thirst for justice-Andrew M. Greeley 8/31/13
9. Your choice. Soul Mountain-Gao Xingjian 8/3/13; The Book Thief-Markus Zusak 8/4/13; The Duke and I-Julia Quinn 8/5/13; Graceling-Kristin Cashore 8/6/13; Iscariot-Tosca Lee 8/12/13; Fire-Kristin Cashore 8/15/13; Bitterblue-Kristin Cashore 8/18/13
So my daughter gave me another book to read. It was "lions at Lunchtime" from the magic treehouse series. It was fun and a quick read. I like that series and so do my kids. They are nice easy reads to encourage beginning readers to just get started on a life long live affair with books. Working on "Snake Oil" which I won in a contest on Goodreads. I can't wait to pick stuff for August challenge.
Mod
7/9, 36 books
1. Read a book with H in the title--Her Teddy Bare by Rita Bay--finished 8/4/13.
2. Read a book who's author starts with H-A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper--finished 8/15/13.
3. Read a book with a month in the title.
4. Read a book about a farm or ranch--Ride a Cock Horse by Gayl Taylor--finished 8/28/13.
5. Read a non-fiction book--Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir--finished 8/24/13.
6. Read a book about transportation--City of Pillars by Dominic Peloso--finished 8/4/13.
7. Read a book about a place you want to visit--My Life in France by Julia Child--finished 8/20/13.
8. Read a mystery.
9. Your choice--Climbing Her Tower by Elizabeth Black--finished 8/1/13.
Bonus:
Ants: Facts and Cool Pictures by James Mayrose--finished 8/2/13
The Billionaire's Milkmaid #3 by Meghan Boehners--finished 8/3/13
The Billionaire's Milkmaid #4 by Meghan Boehners--finished 8/3/13
The Billionaire's Milkmaid #5 by Meghan Boehners--finished 8/3/13
Acid Reflux Diet: A Proven Method to Alleviate The Pain and Discomfort of GERD by Susan Wittaker--finished 8/3/13
White Trash Beautiful by Teresa Mummert--finished 8/5/13
If I Stayed by Becca Fisher--finished 8/6/13
Dead Women Tell No Lies by Nora Leduc--finished 8/8/13
The Last Mask by Ray N. Kuili--finished 8/10/13
Neighbors by Victor J. Banis--finished 8/10/13
The Beast Within by Elysa Hendricks--finished 8/10/13
Virgin in Heat: The Beast's Forced Mating by Bree Bellucci--finished 8/10/13
The Boss' Bad Girl by Seraphina Donovan--finished 8/10/13
Black Heart by Morgan Dreiss--finished 8/10/13
All I Know: A Collection of Quotes on Life, Love, Sadness, and Other Topics by Ashly Lorenzana--finished 8/11/13
Baby Daddy by Emma Clark--finished 8/11/13
Chief by Lyle S. Tanner--finished 8/11/13
Dangerous Secrets by Lisa Marie Rice--finished 8/12/13
A Victory That Counts by Ioana Risan--finished 8/15/13
Attack of the Evil Minions by Kirsten Mayer--finished 8/17/13
Bride for Sale by Elysa Hendricks--finished 8/17/13
Farting Pirate by Samantha Foster--finished 8/17/13
Eat, Sleep, Fuck, Volume 4 by James Cox--finished 8/22/13
Guinea Pig Apocalypse by De Kenyon--finished 8/24/13
Funky Lilac Art: Volume 1 by Deborah Carney--finished 8/24/13
Rough and Beautiful: Twee Romance Stories by Charlie Close--finished 8/24/13
Funny Things I Heard at the Bus Stop: Volume 1 by Angela Giroux--finished 8/25/13
Dracula in Dior by Scarlett Stoker--finished 8/26/13
The Reunion by Adriana Kraft--finished 8/28/13
Ok. I read my author starting with H - Heinz Kohler. I read "Caution: Snake Oil!" which I won on goodreads. It was a book about statistics and how to apply basic statistical principles to weigh health information. It took a lot of effort to read the first couple of chapters but got easier in later chapters which were more of overviews of how to do the research itself.
For my next book, I'm reading a non-fiction book called Canton Elgey which I also won in a contest here on Goodreads. This is about a Chinese-American family and I am excited to read it.
8/3/13This was a somewhat interesting fiction novel based on a period in the author's life where he went on a journey-it is bpth physical and spiritual- following a false diagnosis of lung cancer. There is not ay character development, and the few characters are referred to mainly by pronouns or descriptions of titles. There is no real plot, but there are multiple stories, many of which are unfinished vignettes. There is also no indication of which storylines are real and which of them are his fantasies; he even has a chapter where he talks about this fact and that he feels it doesn't what is real or not because he doesn't really know either. There are, however, quite a lot of folk songs and cultural traditions portrayed in some of his vignettes that are quite interesting. A lot of the novel is philosophical in nature, talking of Buddhist and Daoist ideas. He also plays a lot with the structure and nature of language as well as the typical expectations for fictional narratives.
8/4/13This is such an amazing novel. It is written very well. I love the narrator and the development of the characters, and the story line is good if sad in places. Definitely a new favorite.
8/5/13This was a well-written and entertaining romance. The characters were well developed, and the plot was truly interesting and emotionally charged. I definitely plan on reading the rest of the series.
So I finished my non-fiction book, Canton Elegy. It was a memior of Stephen Lee, a Chinese man who lived in America twice in the 20th century. It was a well-written interesting book. The family contended with overwhelming life circumstances and remained a strong, loving family. I loved this book, which I won in a contest here on Goodreads.
Now I am reading "Wuthering Heights" about England which is somewhere I would like to go.
8/6/13This was a brilliantly written fantasy novel. The characters are well portrayed, and I really enjoyed the plot. It was exciting and emotional. I really loved it, another new favorite.
8/8/13This was a well-written and entertaining YA fantasy novel. It is a prequel to The Blue Sword. Both books have a somewhat slow beginning but have high action crises near the end. I preferred the characters in The Blue Sword, but I preferred the plot and ending of this novel. Overall, a fun read.
8/9/13This was a well-written Amish romance. This second novel in the Forever After in Apple Lake series surpassed the first in my opinion. It was as emotional as the first novel, and the characters were well drawn. In this novel, however, the crisis between the protagonists was a lot more believable. This is definitely a new favorite.
Manda wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Now I am reading "Wuthering Heights" about England which is somewhere I would like to go."And I would strongly recommend when you do come over here that you visit the area of the ..."
Was Jamacia Inn turned into a movie? I feel like I recognize the title from somewhere but I'm not sure where and I know I don't know the book. I'll try to find it. Thanks for the tips.
8/12/13This was a highly intriguing fictional account of Judas Iscariot and what shaped his character and decisions. It was fairly well-written despite a few grammatical issues. According to the author's note, it seems well researched and thought through, but it is definitely fiction, and she left in some of the mysteriousness that Scripture lends to Judas; even though I don't agree with her assessment of Judas' motives in handing Jesus over to the Sanhedrin, it was an interesting idea.
8/15/13This was a brilliantly written fantasy novel. The characters are well portrayed, and I really enjoyed the plot. It was exciting and emotional. I really loved it, another new favorite. It took me longer to be as invested in the characters than it did with the characters of Graceling, and I was expecting an actual sequel, rather than a companion novel; however, I ended up enjoying Fire very much.
8/17/13A basic explanation of the 8 principles and 12 steps of Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered recovery group. It is well-written nonfiction.
Mod
And I would strongly recommend when you do come over here that you visit th..."
Yes, Jamaica Inn was a movie with Maureen O'Hara.
8/18/13This was a brilliantly written fantasy novel. The characters are well portrayed, and I really enjoyed the plot. It was exciting and emotional. I really loved it, another new favorite. Now, this was the sequel to Graceling that I was looking forward to before reading Fire, but now that I've read Bitterblue, I understand her decision to write Fire in between Graceling and Bitterblue--they all connected in the end: characters and plots. I really enjoyed the world and characters she created and how all of the story lines had to do with the effects of one particular character on everyone else he came in contact with.
Well, I finished Wuthering Heights. It was good but not what I expected. I know that Heathcliff and Catherine are a well-known love affair. The book was not conventional in its love. I liked this book. It was darker than I expected, and I loved the descriptions of the the place. Next I'm going to read a business book "It's All about the Guest".
Back from our 6 week camping adventure - Had lots of time to get some reading in. Here's my August challenge:1. Read a book with H in the title.
"The Necessary Hunger" by Nina Revoyr
2. Read a book who's author starts with H.
3. Read a book with a month in the title.
4. Read a book about a farm or ranch.
"Montana 1948" by Larry Watson
5. Read a non-fiction book.
"Just Kids" by Patti Smith
6. Read a book about transportation.
"Islands in the Sky" by Arthur C. Clarke
7. Read a book about a place you want to visit.
"Canada" by Richard Ford
8. Read a mystery.
"Devil's Corner" by Lisa Scottoline
9. Your choice.
"Bossy Pants (audio)" by Tina Fey
Other books I enjoyed were;
"Blaze" by Richard Bachman
"Playing with the Enemy" by Gary W. Moore
"The Warmth of Other Suns (audio)" by Isabel Wilkerson
"Moonmare" by Ray Diazzo
"Impact" by Douglas Preston
"Piercing the Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti
"Coronado" by Dennis Lehane
"Terminal Vibrato" by Stanford Pritchard
"The Tehran Initiative" by Joe C. Rosenberg
"Laura" by Larry Watson
"The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris (audio)" by David McCullough
"Force of Nature" by Suzanne Brockman
It's great to be back home!
Mod
1. Read a book with H in the title.
"The Necessary Hunger" by Nina Revoyr
2. Read a bo..."
Welcome back! Hope you had a great time. You got some good reading done.
8/21/13This was a well-written and interesting novel. I enjoyed it, and I learned some new things about animals, zoos, and circus training.
Rachel wrote: " 8/21/13This was a well-written and interesting novel. I enjoyed it, and I learned some new things about animals, zoos, and circus training."
When get an opportunity, see the film - well done, the cast was perfect. Another wonderful directing accomplishment by Ang Lee.
Chuck wrote: "Rachel wrote: " 8/21/13This was a well-written and interesting novel. I enjoyed it, and I learned some new things about animals, zoos, and circus training."
When ge..."
Good to know. My husband asked me today if I wanted to get the movie from the library. I'll let him know we should track it down. :)
8/22/13I thought that this was a very funny and realistic look at what would happen if a 20th-century woman suddenly found herself in the time of Jane Austen's novels. Courtney is a typical fan of Jane Austen and not a scholar, so her ideas of that world are so romanticized that she isn't prepared for how women are treated or are expected to behave, for how poor hygiene is typical--therefore, the world is full of body odors, germ-laden atmospheres, and people with rotting teeth--or, quite frankly, anything realistic about the 1800's. That being said, I think it could have been written better, more could have been explained about how Courtney is suddenly transferred into Jane's body, more could have been done with the development of Courtney's character both before and after the time-travel experience, and the ending could have been less abrupt.
1. Read a book with H in the title."The Necessary Hunger" by Nina Revoyr
2. Read a book who's author starts with H.
3. Read a book with a month in the title.
4. Read a book about a farm or ranch.
"Montana 1948" by Larry Watson
5. Read a non-fiction book.
"Just Kids" by Patti Smith
6. Read a book about transportation.
"Islands in the Sky" by Arthur C. Clarke
7. Read a book about a place you want to visit.
"Canada" by Richard Ford
8. Read a mystery.
"Devil's Corner" by Lisa Scottoline
9. Your choice.
"Bossy Pants (audio)" by Tina Fey
"The Zero" by Jess Walter
Finished reading "The Necessary Hunger" by Nina Revoyr. Now reading "The Zero" by Jess Walter.
8/26/13Another entertaining mystery series by Andrew Greeley, Catholic priest. In this series,his detective/protagonist is also a priest and, as usual ,is Irish and lives in Chicago. He writes well, his characters are always intriguing ,and his plots are interesting. I like how he often writes from differing points-of-view when telling the story.
This first book of the series has lost one star on the second reading from 4 to 3 because the novel progresses so slowly; however, I still really like Greeley's mysteries because his characters are so interesting even though not all of them are meant to be liked. In this one, he brings about the idea that biblical "meekness" is roughly equal to the concept of riding well on life's waves: "cool" in teenager-speak. Even though I'm not convinced his definition is sound, it's an intriguing idea.
8/28/13Another entertaining mystery series by Andrew Greeley, Catholic priest. In this series, his detective/protagonist is also a priest and, as usual, is Irish and lives in Chicago. He writes well, his characters are always intriguing, and his plots are interesting. I like how he often writes from differing points-of-view when telling the story.
On the second reading, this second mystery of the Father Blackie Ryan series gained a star from 4 to 5 because the pace of the writing is faster and adding the anonymous musings of the would-be-killer adds so much to the novel. I truly enjoyed it. In this one, he talks about the biblical "clean of heart" as being single-minded and dedicated in a good purpose, a definition I rather approve of.
Well, I just finished readling "Little House in the big Woods" with my daughter. I still love the books way more thatn the tv show. Always will. They are true children's lit classics. We start "Little House on the Prairie" tomorrow.
8/31/13Another entertaining mystery series by Andrew Greeley, Catholic priest. In this series, his detective/protagonist is also a priest and, as usual, is Irish and lives in Chicago. He writes well, his characters are always intriguing, and his plots are interesting. I like how he often writes from differing points-of-view when telling the story.
This third book in the Father Blackie Ryan series is the best one I've read of the ones I've been able to find. The plot is so twisted and the characters are so crazy, that it definitely makes for one truly fascinating mystery. I can definitely see where the author's study of sociology shows up in his characterization and plots.
Read 100+ Books in 2013
Books mentioned in this topic
Happy Are Those Who Thirst for Justice (other topics)Happy Are the Clean of Heart (other topics)
Happy Are the Meek (other topics)
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (other topics)
Life of Pi (other topics)
More...
Here's August's challenge:
1. Read a book with H in the title.
2. Read a book who's author starts with H.
3. Read a book with a month in the title.
4. Read a book about a farm or ranch.
5. Read a non-fiction book.
6. Read a book about transportation.
7. Read a book about a place you want to visit.
8. Read a mystery.
9. Your choice.