The 104 Book Challenge - 2014 discussion
Lyssa Reads Some More in 2014
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Lyssa
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Jun 09, 2014 09:35PM
#49 Sacrificed in Shadow
Second book in the set I downloaded - the set is made up of books by different authors in different worlds. Some are established (this is the latest for these characters) and some are the first in a new series. For Sacrificed in Shadow, it's better if you read the other books first to keep the confusion to a minimum. 3.5/5
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#50 The Life List
Sort of in the vein of 'P.S. I Love You'. Brett's mom sets her tasks to do to gain her inheritance. Brett goes from spoiled adult in a "safe" relationship to rediscovering the things that matter most to her. 3.5/ 5#51
A Shiver of Light Been a while since the last one. Hamilton seems to be falling into a similar rut as she did with her Anita Blake series: lots of nothing happens with only a few scenes that really move the plot anywhere. 3/5
#52 Skin Game
Hey! Harry's back! After villain hunting with t-rexes, I was all in on this series. This book is no exception with running gags (Parkour!) and puns galore - the Whatsup Dock? Really? Even I rolled my eyes at that one. Glad to see that as the series' tone has changed, Butcher still cares about plot and characters, unlike offerings from Laurell Hamilton or Charlaine Harris. So I'll sit here for the next year or two til the next one comes out. 4.5/ 5
#53 Influential Magic
Eh. Willow irritates me. Forgotten phones, bad decisions and just following everyone are not adorable traits or even believable if one is writing about an agent for a secret agency. 2.5/ 5
#54 Midnight Crossroad
The start of a new trilogy by Charlaine Harris of Sookie Stackhouse fame (infamy if you go by the pretty unanimous razzing of the last books in that series). A lot of time is spent setting things up and reminding you that residents of Midnight value their privacy. The vampire is pretty openly a vampire and no one seems surprised. A snake woman makes a brief appearance, so the main characters aren't the weirdest things around. Pretty weak mystery as most of the time is spent upping the creep factor. I'll likely read the next one when it comes out, but it better pick up or I won't be finishing the trilogy. 3/5
#55 Maggie for Hire
Ok, this one was really fun. Quick action, fun characters and a mystery that's solved while leaving enough open for follow up books. 4/5
#56 Sterling
Last of the multi book download. Not horrible, but not great either. She's attacked, beaten,murdered, tortured and never taught to fight back by the men who are supposedly "protecting" her. That made it lean into the not-as-good territory. 3/5#57
Evan Burl and the Falling Parts 1-4 Imaginative new idea, horrible execution. Really choppy and too many POV transitions -just having 2 or 3 folk relate the story instead of 5 or so would have been better. And I don' t think this has ever had the good fortune to run into an editor. :/ 2/5
#58 Vessel, Book I: The Advent
This has been sitting on my nook for a while - got it as a free or inexpensive download - and while it interested me enough to download it, I only just now got around to reading it. Not "funny", but not serious. Jordan can't decide if she wants to quit or not and gets pulled into the adventure with less-than-yay results. The guys who make up Vessel aren't very fleshed out, and the story is pretty short at around 200 pages. Not sure if I'm interested enough to look for the second. 3/5
#59 Redial
Hmm. Starts out creepy, then loses something along the way. Pretty short at less than 200 pgs. 3/5
#60 Alone
This was pretty neat. Yeah, probably not realistic about how someone would act after being indoors for 12 years, but isn't suspending reality the reason we read books? I'd rather know what happened to a few other characters that showed up and disappeared, but that's what the other books are for, I suppose. Lots of action, including mayhem and some sexual overtones from the antagonist, which are uncomfortable since Sienna is only 17. 4/5
#61 Untouched
As much as I like to read, reading because of insomnia stinks. :( This one moves a little slower - not so much going on with the search for Sienna's mom, more characters show, and we learn a little more about existing folk. Sienna feels sorry for herself for most of the book which really makes things drag. Then Crane throws in a few "huh??" moments at the end. 3/5
#62
Soulless Back to the action and things moving forward. Just found out there are 10 books in this series. Eep. :/ 4/5
# 63 All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane
Part travelogue, part survey of Jane Austen's influence. Smith takes a year to travel around South America and have book groups about Jane Austen. Some of the groups' takes on the books were interesting, and there's enough information about the various countries to keep it from being too dry. 3.5/5
#64 An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
My computer keeps eating this review! Short version time: Really liked this book. Hadfield's personal philosophies are key to his accomplishments (he says, not just what I'm taking away from it all) and he does a good job of balancing personal mantras with anecdotes from the space program and the space station. 4/5
#66 Damian's Oracle
3.5/5#67
Damian’s Assassin 2/5#68 Damian's Immortal
3.5/5Got these in the omnibus edition. First book starts off quick and kept my attention. Second just didn't do the same - seemed really short and just skimmed over. Third book (mostly) gets back to the action, but also sets up a few things for the 4th book.
#69 The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
I've been eyeing my encyclopedias while reading this... Who am I kidding? I can't even catch up on my TBR pile! 2.5/5
#72
Kingdom Series Collection: Books 1-3 Well.... that was a different take on Wonderland..... Pretty short at 320 pages for all 3 books. 3.5/5
#74 The Book of Life
I would like this book (series) so much more if some editing were applied. This one not so much as the first two, but still..... 3.5/5
#75 That's Not a Feeling
Gonna add this to the "didn't get it" pile. Not bad, but without a point? 2.5ish/5
#77 Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide
Good armchair travel. Not all "everything is great!" like so many these days. Reminded me of the times I had up days and down days while traveling. 3/5
#78 The Demi-Monde: Winter
2.5/5#79
The Monks and Me: How 40 Days in Thich Nhat Hanh's French Monastery Guided Me Home 3/5
#80
Thought it seemed really familiar, then discovered I'd read it about 2 years ago.... :/ 3/5
#81 Expat: Women's True Tales of Life Abroad
Easy to pick up and put down. Like any compilation, some are stronger than others, but overall a good compilation of experiences. 3/5
#82 Doctor Sleep
First Stephen King book in a long while. Different tone from what I remember, but still a good book. 4/5
#84 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
I'd forgotten how the book differs from the movie. Got the whole series of Oz books, so I'll be working my way thru. 3.5/5#85
Radio Shangri-la: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth Kinda skims on the details of Bhutan, but a fairly quick read. 3/5
#88 In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran
Commence fangirling in 3... 2... 1...... A literary classic? Nope. But as a longtime fan of Duran Duran and a John Taylor groupie,I appreciated grtting a little glimpse into his world. 4/5
#89 Festive in Death
Liking the Eve/Roarke interactions better than the murder mysteries lately. 3.5/5
#90
A Sudden Light Well written, but just not my thing. Too much explanation of Ben's story for my taste. 2.5/ 3
#91 Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Fiv[bookcover:Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents
Travel yes, reading about someone trying to justify cheating in almost every relationship, no. 2.5/ 5
#93 Chasing Darkness
Mysteries aren't my thing. Plus, there were issues with plot holes, writing, etc. for me. 2/5
#97 The Art of Forgetting
2.5/ 5 Gets an extra half star for not taking the obvious route with the love triangle.
#99 Joss Whedon: The Biography
The author fangirls thru most of the book, but throws in some of the problem areas as well. 4/5
#100 As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
Woot! Made it to 100 books finally. So much fun reading about one of my favorite movies being made. 4/5
The 104 Book Challenge - 2014
Books mentioned in this topic
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride (other topics)Joss Whedon: The Biography (other topics)
Elizabeth Is Missing (other topics)
The Art of Forgetting (other topics)
The Serpent of Venice (other topics)
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