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R3: SS Sixy Book Babes (6)
I hear you, Tara. I got onto my Kindle a year ago and was like WHY DID I EVER READ REAL BOOKS!!!!!!!But then I started doing reading challenges and I was buying 5-10 books a week and just burning through them and it was soooooo expensive. So I'm back to using my library almost exclusively unless I absolutely cannot get it there, then I buy it on Kindle. I actually prefer it this way again now lol Who would have thought?
Updated our post to here!
Cait wrote: "I hear you, Tara. I got onto my Kindle a year ago and was like WHY DID I EVER READ REAL BOOKS!!!!!!!But then I started doing reading challenges and I was buying 5-10 books a week and just burning..."
I know exactly what you're talking about! I knew I had a lot of books downloaded, but never put too much thought into it since most of my books I download are either free or typically $2.99 and under. I have a few author's I'll pay "full price" for, and luckily there's not too many new books out from any of them and they are spread out!
But when I finally somewhat organized by bookshelf and categorized books I already had and need to read, I found I had over 300 books downloaded that I've never read! WTH??!!! So with these challenges I started doing, I made a vow I would try my best to not buy any books for any of the challenges and find something that worked. So far I've been pretty fortunate to be able to do so, and it's helping me knock some off my list...however, in reading some of the posts by others I am seeing so many other books I really want to read now! Ugghhhh.....never ending vicious cycle! I'm doing a few re-reads too in order to refresh for new books in series coming out, so that's been helpful too! I just need to get my books better arranged/categorized.
I checked with Jenne and I should be OK to read
by Annie Proulx as a stand alone.
Great! Added it :) I loved Brokeback... Never read the story but the movie, oh man, Heath Ledger. Never be another like him.
Cait wrote: "Great! Added it :) I loved Brokeback... Never read the story but the movie, oh man, Heath Ledger. Never be another like him."
Hear hear...
UPDATE message # 200 - Week 5 book read, rated and reviewed.By the way, NancyHelen - I love Proulx's writing. Close Range was wonderful. Hope you enjoy it.
Scratch the asking where Shelby was, I checked her profile :)
Book Concierge wrote: "UPDATE message # 200 - Week 5 book read, rated and reviewed.By the way, NancyHelen - I love Proulx's writing. Close Range was wonderful. Hope you enjoy it."
I started it last night. It is taking me a little while to get into the language, but she is definitely a superb writer.
Week FiveWhat We Rolled: 10
We Are On Spot: 40
What You Can Read:
- book #4 in a series ✓ Nash
- book #40 in a series
- a stand alone novel
- a book with a title that begins with "O"
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ I read book 4 of the Marked Men Series, focusing on a group of tattoo artists and the trials and tribulations of these "bad boys" growing up and falling in love with their "one". This book told the story of Nash (one of the owners of the tattoo shop) and Saint (a nurse who has had a crush on Nash since high school).
In high school, Saint was a quiet, awkward girl who was a little overweight. She constantly felt as if she was being talked about and made fun of, which led to her very low self esteem. Enter Nash, one of the "cool kids" who had a locker next to Saint...he is always smiling at her, saying hi, and being nice to her, which in turn results in her crush on him. After a few misunderstandings, Saint vows to never talk to Nash again, and over the years caused her self esteem issues and insecurities to fester.
Fast forward 7 years down the road and their paths cross again...Saint's insecurities come back to the forefront, but Nash is going through a difficult time when he learns a loved one is dying of lung cancer. While she doesn't want to like him, Saint finds her feelings coming back for Nash, but is torn if she can forget the pain and heartbreak she experienced as a teen.
The story addresses the various forms of bullying that some young people deal with, but also learning to love yourself, despite differences that others may see. In order for Saint to finally open herself up to a relationship with Nash, she had to accept that she was worthy of his love and that she deserved it. Some of the topics covered in the book really hit home for me as there were some issues I have dealt with as well.
What I love about this series is the way the author introduces us to the next story in the series...she gives us just enough info to tease us with the next couple who will be featured in the series to make you want to come back! Since each book has focused on a different couple, I also enjoy how the other couples as still part of the story and not forgotten about...they all intertwine in the next book. I am looking forward to book 5 Rowdy!
Wait we were asking where I was? Did I miss something?
Just hadnt heard from you since before we rolled and you're usully one of the first ones to choose a book/get a review in so I was wondering if anyone had heard from you. That's all. Nothing exciting :)
Hehehe - book's already read actually. I'm just trying to cram a handful of books in before the end of the month for challenge purposes so I'll probably post pone the review a couple of days. I should probably state what it was though. Week 5 (40-Series #4) High Fidelity
- 529pgs/GR
I feel you. End of the month is always insane. ...I say as I'm trying to talk myself out of signing up for ten new challenges in October......Ill get it added. Thanks! :)
Week 5
by Annie ProulxFinished: 29 Sep 2014
Stand-alone novel
Rating: ★★★★
There is no doubt that Annie Proulx is a brilliant writer, and the 11 short stories in this collection attest to that. But they are all incredibly sad. The sense of hopelessness which pervades them all is not shifted, even by the amazing writing. All of the characters, struggling to exist in Wyoming, seem to face lives with little hope and little future. Death is prevalent. Whether it is Aladdin, dead in his plane, Josanna by a bullet, or Jack Twist, in mysterious circumstances, it seems that either side of the great darkness is struggle, pain and sadness. My favourite story was definitely Brokeback Mountain. The characters were so honest and just so lost. But I also really loved the Bunchgrass Edge of the World with Ottaline and the talking tractor and the fabulous, single paged story, 55 Miles to the Gas Pump which said so much in so few words. This is a collection which can be read and re-read but not if you are looking for an uplifting read.
I do need to touch on all of the stories that I haven't already mentioned, although I hope this doesn't make this review sound false. 'Down Under Wyoming' amused me in the first story, coming from Australia as I do. I struggled with the second story about Diamond Felts, the rodeo rider. The third one, 'Job History' is like a sad, 6 page history of a hopeless man. The Blood Bay was another of Proulx's very short stories - this one only 4 pages, but it was extremely clever. The next story, about the Tinsleys and the Dunmires showed the prejudice rife in the community. Actually, this story in particular is a great example of the amazing names that Proulx comes up with for her characters. I've already talked about the Bunchgrass at the End of the World. The Pair of Spurs is a very long story, which rests on the apparent bad luck which comes with the specific pair of spurs in the title. The final four stories I have already mentioned with the collection ending with Brokeback Mountain itself. They are all very different, but all so similar.
Cait's Week Five Review
by Stephen KingDate Read: 9/30/2014
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Ahhh, I'm so angry at myself for not enjoying this more. Okay, look. I love Stephen King. I would go so far as to say he's probably my favorite author. He's a superb writer, obviously, he's a master of this genre, obviously, and he's written a handful of my favorite books.
Which is why I'm so disappointed that this, THE classic Stephen King book that everyone has heard of, really did nothing for me. Yes, the last twenty pages are probably going to give me nightmares for real. But up to that point... I was bored. It dragged on forever, and maybe it had to in order for those last pages to be so terrifying, but that didn't make it any better at the time.
Two stars looks so bad but I can't think of a better way to describe this than what the tooltip says. "It was ok."
Oh, its such a shame you didn't enjoy it, Cait. To be fair, last time I read it I was 16 years old and it freaked me out then, but perhaps now I'm 40 I might feel the same way.
It was definitely freaky! I mean I had nightmares all last night from the last couple chapters. So in that regard, I can totally see why it's hailed as one of the THE quintessential horror stories. But 350 pages of set up for 20 pages of OH MY GOD!! was just too much for me to say that I enjoyed the whole experience of reading it.I think I need to go on a horror break though after that lol Hopefully next week will give us a number where I can read something light and fluffy.
Bummer! Sorry it didn't work for you and gave you nightmares. I still remember reading something by Hitchcock when I was about 12 or so that I got so scared I couldn't sleep for about 2-3 nights!!! My mother finally figured it out and told me I couldn't read "those kind of books" anymore! About 10 years later I tried Dean Koontz and had the same kind of results! So I just steer clear of horror stories like that!
Yup, I can understand that feeling. I'm that way with horror movies. I absolutely cannot watch them at all ever for any reason. I saw Sweeny Todd? With Johnny Depp. And I was a grown up, like I was an ADULT, and I broke down sobbing and didn't sleep for a week. And that's not even a real horror movie!Which I guess is why it's so weird that horror is one of my absolute favorite book genres lol Definitely ready for maybe a nice trashy romance novel next though.
I have the same issue with horror movies especially if it COULD happen. If it's very cheesy and campy and sci fi kind if stuff I can watch it but not enjoy it. If it could really happen???!! Oh hell no! Will not watch it!!
NancyHelen wrote: "Week 5 by Annie ProulxFinished: 29 Sep 2014
Stand-alone novel
Rating: ★★★★
There is no doubt that Annie Proulx is a brilliant wr..."
SOOOoo glad you liked this collection of short stories. Great review.
Hi, team ... just to let you knowI'm good to go with whatever we roll THIS Friday (Oct 3) ... I'll be able to finish my read and get my review posted by the end of the day on Oct 9.
BUT ....
I will be gone on vacation and without internet From Oct 10 to Oct 17. So I will have to miss that week's roll/game.
I'll be back and ready to play for the Oct 17 roll ...
Shall I let Jenne know we need a substitute player for that week? Or do you want to do that as our team captain, Cait?
No problem, I can let her know. We'll miss you! But thank you for telling us in advance.I'm on track for rolling tonight at midnight as usual as long as we get Shelby's review in sometime today. Otherwise I will post whenever we've got them all tomorrow.
Let's see if we can get THREE back to back double digits. I'm praying for an eleven, I've got the perfect book for it lol
I have updated my review as I realised Jenne asked me to touch on all 11 stories in the collection. I've made mention of each one - I hope it doesn't sound too false! But hopefully it shows I've read the whole thing!
NancyHelen wrote: "I have updated my review as I realised Jenne asked me to touch on all 11 stories in the collection. I've made mention of each one - I hope it doesn't sound too false! But hopefully it shows I've re..."No, I think it's great! Very thorough. Kudos for taking on a short story book when it requires that much extra work, honestly. I'm saving all mine for when this challenge is over lol
I'm looking forward to a good roll! I'm going to try to stay up to see what's called, but I may fall asleep as I'm on Central time this week so midnight is way past my usual bedtime and tomorrow is an early morning for me! Have fun on your vacation BC!
Ok Jennifer will be subbing in for BC next week :)
Awesome!! Thanks so much! Looking forward to having her :)
Oh!! I've just discovered something! The book I read IS actually a part of a series and I didn't even know - it's apparently #1 in the Wyoming Series. ARGH! I was supposed to read a standalone book. Fortunately, I have read another book which is stand-alone. I'll post the review as long as it is OK if I do a last minute switch?
Here it is...sorry team, I should have checked more closely.
by James PattersonRead: 1 Oct 2014
Rating: ★★★
Stand Alone novel
I was back and forth with this book about whether it should be three star or four. I did enjoy it. It was a very quick read, as all James Patterson books are, but much to my surprise, it wasn't exactly crime fiction. It was more like a paranormal thriller. It was fun trying to figure out what was going on, and the ending was a little bit weak I thought, but it kept you turning the pages. My biggest problem with the book though is I just didn't like the narrator, Kristin Burns. She was far too self-centred, although I do think that was the point, but I just couldn't empathise with her. On quite a few occasions I found myself wanting to shake her, especially with the multiple times she said 'I don't want to tell anyone about what is happening because they might think I'm crazy' when in fact they all thought she was crazy anyway, and telling them might have helped.
Hi Sixy Book Babes! I'm glad I can help you out next Friday :D
Got it, NancyHelen! I'll update the list right now.Hi Jennifer! We're excited to have you! Thanks for filling in for us :D
NancyHelen wrote: "Oh!! I've just discovered something! The book I read IS actually a part of a series and I didn't even know - it's apparently #1 in the Wyoming Series. ARGH! I was supposed to read a standalone book..."NancyHellen ... I wonder when that "wyoming stories" designation was put on there ... because when I looked at it I don't think it had it.
Glad you were able to use a substitute.
Jennifer ♔Princess Penguin♔ wrote: "Hi Sixy Book Babes! I'm glad I can help you out next Friday :D"Hi, Jennifer ... thanks for subbing for me for our Oct 10 roll.
Just so you guys know, if we don't hear from Shelby with her review before I go to bed (in 6 hours ish) I'm not going to set my alarm. I'm not going to drag myself out of bed and end up not being able to do anything with it :PSo if that happens, the roll will go up about 7 tomorrow morning (6 central).
Working on the review right now. :) Should be up in an hour or less.
Cool! Take your time, I'm here all night :D
Week 5 - Spot 40High Fidelity by M. Chandler
Read: 9/28
Rating: ★★★★½
Yay!!! That was a mostly satisfying finish to one of my favorite series! My one little niggle is just that my own personal niggle and really doesn’t detract from the story except in my own head. I’ll rate this one 5 stars for GR purposes, but would probably mark it as 4.5 stars overall as I wanted just one more little thing. I just LOVE Simon and Archer together so much! They’re a fantastic complicated couple, natural enemies who just can’t stay away from each other. I loved how everything got pulled together in this one. A lot of loose ends tried up. ☺
Simon and his team have been stuck on a boring desk duty type case for the last couple of months and Simon’s pretty sure someone’s head is going to explode if something doesn’t break soon. Getting called to the mat by OPR though isn’t anything Simon expected in his day. Finding out one of the guys in OPR has a hard on for figuring out just what parts of his report Simon fudged after the shooting. Protecting Archer looks like it might be coming around to bite Simon in the ass, his suspension certainly makes it look that way. Finding out Archer’s on the run as well just adds to the clusterfuck.
Jeremy Archer may be a thief and walked on the edgy side of the law, but he has a strong sense of loyalty. The girl who runs his service is in the hands of the man who wants him dead and Archer’s determined to get her back while not getting himself dead in the process. Simon showing up out of the blue isn’t what Archer expected, but after getting over the mad he knows he needs Simon’s help to pull this all off. Now the two of them are on the run bouncing through Italy.
First of all I loved the fact that this time around we’re playing on Archer’s side of the law. Hehehe, poor Simon having to skirt the edges of his sense of justice. I enjoyed how twisty Simon felt about the circumstances and his need to make things up to Archer, that he felt responsible for the situation Jeremy found himself in. The entire trip and rings Simon got put through my Jeremy’s mentor before he would even tell him where Jeremy was were awesome. I giggled repeatedly as Simon was getting bounced around the world in trippy little planes and boats. Fun times!
Poor Jeremy! So used to working on his own he doesn’t quite know how to handle having Simon want to step in and help. The connection between these two is strong and I loved it. Of course when Simon’s whole team shows up I couldn’t help but be amused and how their energy just tips the scales into the absurdly fun. As a team they’re unstoppable. The rescue of Jeremy’s wheelchair bound service girl was awesome! I adored seeing how much he cared about her.
This book was just the best type of action film adventure that I love. Lots of high stakes high jinx going on all over the place and nasty villain whose been built up over the first couple of books to bring down. I really enjoyed the way everything came together. Things blow up, cars race around, and the good guys conquer all what more can you ask for…well for me on little teensy tiny thing. (view spoiler)
I know there are a couple of other little teasers on the authors website and I’m going to have to check them out soon. I will need my dose of Simon and Jeremy. I know I’ll keep reading these over and over again. Such a good series! One of my absolute favorites! Love the snark and the characters. :D
Got it! Yay!! I'm so glad you got such a good book to end out that series.We're good to go for tonight then, ladies. I will see some of you at midnight ;)
Week SixWhat We Rolled: 8
We Are On Spot: 48
What You Can Read:
- #4 in a series
- #8 in a series
- #48 in a series
- a book with no people on the cover
Shelby- Secrets by Jordan Castillo Price :: #4 :: Review
Book Concierge- Summer Knight by Jim Butcher :: #4 :: review
NancyHelen- The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris :: No People :: Review
Tara- Raid by Kristen Ashley :: No People :: Review
Cait- Between Husbands and Friends: A Novel by Nancy Thayer :: No People :: Review
8 is a pretty good roll! Not quite double digits but we'll take it! I'm going to use the Book With No People On the Cover option this week....going to read
this week...working through this series to get to the new book #4!Have a great week ladies!
Well it's not a double digit but not bad either, hey?I'm going to be going with the "no people" cover option too and reading
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
I'm going to go the no people option and read
by Thomas Harris
Week 6 / rolled 8 / Now on Spot # 48Reading a # 4 in series
✔ - 07Oct14Summer Knight (Dresden Files # 4) by Jim Butcher
3***
Harry is depressed and hurting, suffering from the loss of his girlfriend Susan who has left town to deal with the results of their last adventure together. He has neglected his business and his friends and is about to be evicted from his office and his apartment. Then, to make matters worse, the winter Queen of the Faerie saunters in with an offer Harry can’t refuse.
The formula is wearing thin for me in this fourth book in the series. Harry is taxed to the max, battling ghouls, vampires, wizards, trolls, ogres, faeries and even a plant monster. The White Council is against him and his temper gets the better of him, but he still has a few friends he can count on. I really like Harry as a character, and the action is fast-paced and interesting, but the series is getting repetitive and I think I’ve had enough.
Changing my choice to
by Nancy Thayer instead. Every Other Day is getting shipped from a library in the middle of nowhere so I might not even have it 'til Tuesday. So! Better safe than sorry.Everyone's been added! Hope you all enjoy your books this week :D
Week 6Space 48 - Series #4
Secrets by Jordan Castillo Price
Read: 10/4
Rating: ★★★★★
Oh these two are oh so yummy together! Hottie hot hotness! I just adore the twisty tormented soul that is Victor Baynes. He gives new meaning to the phrase “I see dead people.” They’re just everywhere and there aren’t a lot of ways for him to shut it off without being in a medicated stupor. I love how his relationship with Jacob gives him something else and that their needs balance each other out so well.
Victor and Jacob have both taken a couple of days off from their respective precincts to finally make their move happen. The cannery is all ready for them to move in and they’ve found a place that’s ghost free to give Victor the respite he needs. Of course as soon as they’ve really gotten started Jacob and Carolyn’s phones go off calling them into a particularly twisty sex crimes case in an old folks home. The case is really rough on Jacob and starts to put a kink in Victor and his relationship. All the while Victor is trying to figure out why Camp Hell and himself seem to have no footprint in the digital world.
The more little pieces we get about Victor’s past the more curious I become. Camp Hell seems like such a horrible place, but clearly things happened there that are going to be important to Victor’s figuring out all his talents. There are certainly things that he doesn’t fully have a grasp of in his abilities.
Lisa is back!!! Ok so it was only for a short time, but I love her and her si/no abilities. I love how concerned for abusing her abilities Victor was. He’s really taken her cutting off contact to heart and wants to help her. Lisa and Victor have such a fantastic working relationship. I love how they balance each other out and support each others strange abilities. They’re protective of each other and yet push each other to find the right uses of their abilities.
Oh jealous Victor you are soooooo adorable! I loved seeing his freak out over it all and then the hot surges of pulse pounding chemistry between him and Jacob. Victor is just insecure enough to be interesting. He’s been a loner for so long it’s difficult for him to be comfortable with all the changes and upheaval in his life currently. Not that he doesn’t want all these changes with Jacob, but they make him uneasy. I just love being in Victor’s head, his twisty makes so much sense.
I do enjoy the way each of these stories is building on each other. They’re each relatively short and building one complete overarching story. I am enjoying watching Victor and Jacob figuring out each others quirks…quirks like oh I don’t know one testy ex boyfriend named Crash. Hehehe. Seriously though I enjoy the fact that they aren’t the perfect couple. They have their issues and are still feeling their way through their relationship.
Of course this mystery was just as kooky as one would expect of a Victor Bayne story. I appreciated that it took Victor storming onto the scene in a jealous growly storm to drag him into the investigation. It wasn’t his case even though his special talents were what were needed to solve this one. Carolyn reactions to Victor and Jacob together though were especially fun. Hehehe. I swear she wants to smack the two of them and send them to separate corners so they can all get some real work done without the crime scene bursting into sensual flames.
All in all I am still really enjoying this series. I like the direction it’s going and can’t wait to find out more about what happened in Victor’s past and just how crazy his powers really are. I like the characters in these stories a lot, including the fascinating secondary characters like Crash and Lisa. These are a really intriguing romp in the paranormal world and I’ll definitely be back for the next book. ☺
Edit: Nevermind, I see your edit. Thanks! :)
Hehehe - Yeah the book fit both teams this week. :D Copied and pasted from the other team to here and then forgot to edit it. :-p
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The Challenge Factory
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I was hoping for a different number as I went to the library yesterday (can't remember the last time I did that or why I did) and found a book that I can use for something else...I'd been struggling to find a book to fit a task and found one...now I have to read a book...as in a physical touch book! I've been reading on a kindle for so long so let's see how I can do! Got home and realized it was #6 in a series, though!
Good luck this week ladies!