You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
Challenges: Year Long Main 2021
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Lucy's Better Late Than Never Chunk-A-Thon
Mickey Mouse's Marchers
CONNECTION: All of these are books about Sharks (because sharks are awesome)!
[7A connects to 6B by One Word Title]
7A) Salechii by Carolyn McCray (321 Pages) [Read!]
7B) Mega: A Deep Sea Thriller by Jake Bible (281 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 602
8A) Meg by Steve Alten (349 Pages) [Read!]
8B) The Trench By Steve Alten (497 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 846
9A) Primal Waters by Steve Alten (480 Pages) [Read!]
9B) Meg: Origins by Steve Alten (76 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 556
10) Hell's Aquarium by Steve Alten (513 Pages) [Read!]
11A) The Shark by Craig Ferreira (376 Pages) [Read!]
11B) Red Surf: Leah Ryan Thrillers by Tracy Sharp (171 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 547
12A) Tagged: A White Shark Adventure by Amy Adams (207 Pages) [Read!]
12B) Jaws by Peter Benchley (340 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 547
Milestone #2 Complete!
Roadrunner's Racers
[13 connects to 12B as they are both Books Made into Movies]
13) The Shining by Stephen King (512 Pages) [Read!]
[14 connects to 13 as its Sequel]
14) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (531 Pages) [Read!]
[15 connects to 14 by way of Same Author]
15) Pet Sematary by Stephen King (576 Pages) [Read!]
[16 connects to 15 as Birds are a popular kind of PET]
16) The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (607 Pages) [Read!]
[17 connects to 16 by way of Same Author]
17) 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (946 Pages) [Read!]
[18 connects to 17 as they both use Numbers in the Title]
18) 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (912 Pages) [Read!]
Milestone #3 Complete!
Tasmanian Devil's Trouncers
[19 connects to 18 as they both use Numbers in the Title]
19) NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (692 Pages) [Read!]
[20 connects to 19 as Joe Hill is Stephen King's Son]
20) Four Past Midnight by Stephen King (768 Pages) [Read!]
[21 connects to 20 as both books are of the Horror Genre]
21) The Terror by Dan Simmons (996 Pages) [Read!]
[22 connects to 21 by way of Same Author]
22) Drood by Dan Simmons (784 Pages) [Read!]
[23 connects to 22 as they were both first Published in 2009]
23) The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell (992 Pages) [Read!]
[24 connects to 23 as both authors have Last Names That Start With the Letter L]
24) The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum (608 Pages) [Read]
Milestone #4 Complete!
Wow you had some great books in your first section! Looking forward to seeing what you have planned for your next section!
I ate those Hugh Howey Books up, they are very engaging! Second section is all about sharks. Nom Nom Nom!
Yes I do like Hugh Howey's books. I have Shift in my current chunkster section (I think!) Dust is slightly shorter than 500 pages so I won't be including that one in mine but will read as a "just because" book. I like the shark connections - good to see Jaws in there too. I NEED to read that one.
I like your list.Shark Week starts August 10- always a fun week at my house.
I had a close encounter with a shark in Australia a few years ago. I was snorkeling with my daughter when a shark swam by us. Of course I thought we would turn back to the boat and reached to grab my daughter ( who was about 16 years old). My daughter was swimming after the shark trying to get a picture of it!! I wanted to throttle her.
"Borrowing" some of the books. All I can think of in relation to your shark section is Sharknado 2 :)Marnie - I can picture you wanting to yell at your daughter. I bet now it's a family legend, but at the time I bet you were terrified for her.
Sarah: I came in late to the challenge, and found that I had the first section done already, but when I saw Dust was just under 500, I exclaimed loudly. LOL Luckily I had enough books that could pair up with one word titles. Yeah, I'm not sure why I've put off Jaws for so long, I love the movie!Judy: Yep, I do love sharks. Sharks, Dinosaurs, Rats and Horses. I've just got to figure out how to get a pet shark and dinosaur! ;) To be honest, other than the Steve Alten books and Jaws, I'm probably scratching the bottom of the barrel with Shark books. LOL The genre isn't know for its quality. ;) I guess we'll see.
Almeta: Thanks! You got my brain working, that's for sure!
Janice: I wouldn't mind that at all!
Marine: Yep, Shark Week has always been a favorite of mine. And I totally would have been swimming after that shark too. ;) I've had the awesome opportunity to "feed" captive sharks at a couple aquariums, but in the wild the closest I've gotten is while I was on a boat. And the whole time I was like "So you're saying I CAN'T jump in with them, right?" I've swam with dolphins in Mexico, would love to swim with smaller sharks, or be in a cage with great white on the other side. =D
jaxnsmom - Haha, Sharknado. Believe it or not, I haven't seen either. My friends and I were waiting for the second one to come out on Amazon or Netflix (I think it recently did), and then we are going to find that perfect time to watch them back to back. I'm sure it will involve plenty of alcohol. ;)
Finished with Mickey's Marchers, just have to write a couple reviews. Some of them were really good, others were really bad. Guess that's how it goes sometimes!
Wow, so many shark books! I didn't even know they existed.Marnie, swimming after the shark! *shudder* Can't even imagine.
Lucy, you should befriend Marnie's daughter.
I read Wool and liked it, still to tread through the other books.
What did you think of 2666? I have it on my list but the sheer volume of it is daunting. I am afraid to start!☻
2666 is on the next section I'm about to start, not the one I just finished, so I'm not sure yet. But I feel exactly as you do, I'm a bit afraid of it, myself!
Lucy wrote: "2666 is on the next section I'm about to start, not the one I just finished, so I'm not sure yet. But I feel exactly as you do, I'm a bit afraid of it, myself!"oops, sorry I jumped the gun! Will keep watching.☺
Hey, Lucy. I saw this today. I am so glad I was watching the postings because I couldn't remember who had all of the shark books.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Congratulations on finishing your Mickey section and getting your Mickey badge!
There was a film on TV here in the UK last night called Roboshark - I didn't watch it but also made me think of you. There seems to be loads of these B movie style films surfacing a lot recently, and not just with sharks.
Almeta - I'll let you know when I take the plunge!Cherie - That's a great review. I often feel bad for the sharks as well, they are just doing what they were made to do, ya know? I've got that one on my to read list, wish I had picked it instead of one of the other books that just wasn't very good lol
Janice - But I like it in the water! ;)
Sarah - Ooooh, Roboshark. Gonna have to see that, sounds delightfully cheesy. Worst shark B Movie I ever saw was Sand Sharks. DO NOT EVER WATCH THIS MOVIE. lol
Sarah wrote: "There was a film on TV here in the UK last night called Roboshark - I didn't watch it but also made me think of you. There seems to be loads of these B movie style films surfacing a lot recently, a..."My daughter and grandson HAD to show me clips from the Roboshark movie, Sarah. They thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. Ugh!
Sounds like you will like it, Lucy.
Done with The Shining and Doctor Sleep. I hadn't read The Shining in at least a dozen years, maybe more. I forgot how much I liked it. Ended up watching the Kubrick movie after, man, the book really is so much better. Doctor Sleep was pretty good, better than I feared it would be.
Pet Sematary (gah, I hate that it's misspelled in the book lol) is one of those books I just never got around to until now, even though I am a great fan of SK. I haven't even seen the movie (was waiting 'til I read the book). I finished the other day, I haven't reviewed it yet, but I'm gonna give it four stars. It's pretty good, death (and being able to accept it or not) is a very heavy theme, and I think King handled it well. I've read books with heavy death themes that in the end were just plain depressing, but Pet Sematary comes off more creepy and strange than depressing, which is what one would expect from SK. It's a bit sad too, but not so much that you want to hide in a cave and cry for a week. ;)
haha, I am sorry, Lucy. My eyes read Pet Semantary, my head saw Pet Cemetary, and I really meant The Prague Cemetary. Yeah, no... I do not read SK's creapy books. I would be hiding in the cave crying for a week if I did.
Forget I brought it up. :) If Almeta sees this she will be rolling on the floor laughing.
Janice too. ROFL. Not all King's books are creepy. Pet Cemetery is. But, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: A Story from Different Seasons isn't. Nor is The Body (in spite of its title). 11/22/63 isn't creepy.
Hahaha, well you gave me a good laugh too! ;)All of Janice's suggestions are good ones. My favorite of his non creepy books is The Eyes of the Dragon, it is a wonderful fairytale type story.
Janice wrote: "Janice too. ROFL. Not all King's books are creepy. Pet Cemetery is. But, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: A Story from Different Seasons isn't. Nor is The Body ..."Honestly, I have read some of his books and I have others on my TBR list. Pet Semantary will never be on it, nor The Shining. I did read IT only because I wanted to know what the clown was. I lost my mind and read Misery after I saw the movie. I didn't think the book could have been worse - boy was I wrong! Delores Clairborne was not as bad - I actually thought that was interesting. I read The Colorado Kid and Mile Post 81. I will NEVER approach an abandoned car! I read and loved 11/22/63 twice! I want to read Shawshank, The Green Mile and The Eyes of the Dragon, but haven't managed it yet.
Just don't read Gerald's Game. That one creeped me right out! I still remember it vividly even though I read it years ago.
Haha, yeah Gerald's Game is a real creeper, probably because it is more rooted in reality than most of King's other books. It just feels too real.
Finished with the Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. It was...interesting. I liked it, but I'll be damned if I can put a finger on why. lolAnd now on to 1Q84, then 2666, both books are intimidating the crap out of me right now! I might need to read some shorter fluffy stuff first.
Lucy wrote: "Finished with the Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. It was...interesting. I liked it, but I'll be damned if I can put a finger on why. lolAnd now on to 1Q84, then 2666, both books are intimidating the c..."
Oh good. Not just me. I have 150pp to go and I can't quite work it out, but am enjoying it. That's a new experience for me I must say.
Finally finished 1Q84! I'm glad it was broken into three sections, gave me a chance to break between them and read some other books. I'm enjoying Haruki Murakami's stories, but man are they ever heavy on the brain. May not have been the wisest choice to read two of them back to back. lolAnd now to start 2666!
Lucy wrote: "Finally finished 1Q84! I'm glad it was broken into three sections, gave me a chance to break between them and read some other books. I'm enjoying Haruki Murakami's stories, but ma..."I was just thinking that and going to comment about it. Murakami is a lot to take in. And with two back to back books, you might have hit a record, I reckon. Did you like them both?
I did like them both and gave both 4 stars. I liked 1Q84 better though, probably because it had a more coherent storyline and I felt a deeper connection to the characters. If I could, I'd give 1Q84 4.5 or something like that. I've been listening to 2666 on audiobook, really like the narrators, but the book itself is really only so-so in my mind. Its odd, that's for sure. Making decent time with it, should be able to finish it tonight.
So, I finished 2666. I had a credit available on Audible so I picked up the audio version (oddly enough, Goodreads doesn't have an Audible edition listed, so I've rated it under the Kindle Edition for now). I'm glad I picked up the audio version, I can tell this would have been a book that would have taken me awhile to read otherwise.I found 2666 to be an odd book. Not odd like Murakami or the Bizaro genre, but there was just something about it that was striking me as weird. The connections and twists and turns the book takes where interesting, but overall the book just didn't work for me the way it seems to have worked for others.
I think this is one of those books I may have to revisit in the future, perhaps with the actual written version instead. 2666 wasn't bad (I gave it three stars), but it just didn't resonate with me all that strongly. Maybe it was a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Lucy wrote: "So, I finished 2666. I had a credit available on Audible so I picked up the audio version (oddly enough, Goodreads doesn't have an Audible edition listed, so I've rated it under the Kindle Edition..."As one of the Goodreads librarians, if you give me the details of the audio version, I could add it for you.
Here's the info, Almeta:Media Type - Audible Audiobook
Book Cover - This one: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/266...
Author - Robert Bolano
Narrators - John Lee, Armando Durán, G. Valmont Thomas, Scott Brick, and Grover Gardner
Translator - Natasha Wimmer
Language - English Translation
Published Date - June 6th, 2009
Publisher of this Version - Blackstone Audio, Inc
Run Time - 39 hrs and 19 min
I cannot for the life of me find the ISBN number. Do Audible books have a ISBN number?
Books mentioned in this topic
Drood (other topics)1Q84 (other topics)
2666 (other topics)
1Q84 (other topics)
Four Past Midnight (other topics)
More...



CONNECTION: All of these are One Word Titles (not including subtitles).
1A) Dissension by Cory J Herndon (320 Pages) [Read!]
1B) Maskerade by Terry Pratchett (363 Pages) [Read!]
TOTAL: 683
2) Wool by Hugh Howey (550 Pages) [Read!]
3) Shift by Hugh Howey (608 Pages) [Read!]
4A) Dust by Hugh Howey (471 Pages) [Read!]
4B) Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (433 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 904
5A) Horses by Bob Langrish (160 Pages) [Read!]
5B) Jingo by Terry Pratchett (437 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 597
6A) Sand by Hugh Howey (252 Pages) [Read!]
6B) Thinner by Richard Bachman/AKA Stephen King (340 Pages) [Read!]
Total: 592
Milestone #1 Complete!