75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2023 GR Challenge)
>
Carol J's 2023 Reading Challenge
302.
All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy by Jessica Clare - Cassandra works as an assistant to a fashion model in New York. Then she is driving to Wyoming for a little peace and quiet over Christmas. She has a car accident in the middle of a snow storm. Fortunately, a cowboy from a nearby ranch finds her and takes her unconscious self back to the ranch. *** 10/22/23
303.
To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia - Eve's husband disappeared. His car was found abandoned and incinerated. A man claiming to be a psychic detective offered to help her find her husband. This book never grabbed me. ** 10/23/23
304.
Up on the Woof Top by Spencer Quinn - Chet and Bernie are asked to help out a cozy fiction writer who is dealing with writer's block. **** 10/24/23
305.
An Appointment with Death: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie - Mrs. Boynton was dead and it looked like she had been murdered. Hercule Poirot has 24 hours to figure out who killed her. *** 10/25/23
306.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - The story of the Mexican girl, Tita and her lifelong love of Pedro. Being the third daughter in her family, she was fated to spend her life taking care of her mother and not being able to marry her true love. **** 10/25/23
307.
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn - Meg is a professional hand letterer. Then she met Reid, who, a year earlier had sat in on a meeting with his (then) fiance and Meg. Meh. ** 10/27/23
308.
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger - 1958 - At a Veteran's event in a small Minnesota town, a wealthy landowner was found floating in the river with a shotgun blast to the face. A Native American Veteran is imprisoned for the crime. *** 10/29/23
309.
A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey - Inspector Grant is on the case! The body of a young woman washes up on the shore and it turns out to be a movie star of the silver screen. *** 10/30/23
310.
Short Tails: Chet & Bernie Short Stories by Spencer Quinn - A series of short stories from the Chet and Bernie universe. **** 10/30/23
311.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Wow. It has been 15 years since I first read this. Bella moves from Arizona to Forks, Washington. She is one uptight chick but she meets someone super... supernatural. ***** 11/3/2023
312.
Chenneville by Paulette Jiles - John Chenneville was a civil war soldier who suffered a bad head injury near the end of the war. When he returned home, he found that his sister and her family had been murdered. He goes off to find the murderer. *** 11/4/23
313.
It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond by Julia Cameron - When you retire, it can be overwhelming. Julia Cameron gives suggestions how to handle that with creativity. *** 11/4/23
314.
Maureen by Rachel Joyce - Maureen is the wife of Harold Fry. Ten years ago He crossed the country to see his friend Queenie. Now Maureen is making her own and very different journey. *** 11/8/23
315.
Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe - A series of life lessons in the low country of South Carolina as told with the help of swimming lessons. *** 11/8/23
316.
The Keepers of Metsan Valo by Wendy Webb - Anni's grandmother has died. The children and grandchildren are heading home to grandmother's estate of Metsan Valo. A will is to be read and tempers will flair, but that is the normal stuff. It seems to Anni that the estate is haunted or perhaps inhabited by Scandinavian spirits. **** 11/9/23
317.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - 4th time reading this. Harry's name has been illicitly entered into the Goblet of Fire and he must perform in the The Triwizard Tournament. **** 11/11/23
318.
Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews - Meg is very pregnant with twins. Any day pregnant! She has a house full of house guests and the not very nice dean of her husband's college is murdered. Not again! **** 11/11/2023
319.
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - First book in the Wheel of Time series. The first time I read this in 2018, I was barely able to follow the book. I think I was "over" the world building. 2nd time around I was able to follow it a little better, mostly because of the Amazon Prime show. THAT really brought it to life for me. Moiraine, an Aes Sedai, comes to a village to take Rand for him to eventually fight the Dark One. *** 11/12/23
320.
From a Far and Lovely Country by Alexander McCall Smith - Another novel filled with people who need detectives and are handled by Mma Ramotswe in a kind and gentle manner. One story is about a woman who believes most of her family is dead and needs Mma R's help to find them. **** 11/13/23
321.
The Cat Who Went Underground (Cat Who... #9) by Lilian Jackson Braun - Poor Qwilleran is having a hard time getting an addition put on his cabin. Then carpenters start to disappear and die. *** 11/16/23
322.
The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson - In the latest Longmire book, Walt finds evidence of a crime from back in his grandfather's time and it affects the safety of people from current times. ***** 11/21/23
323.
Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson - Rose and Peg are sister in laws that don't particularly like each other. They give it a try by pairing up in a bridge club. Shortly after they join, one of the members is killed and they are persnickety enough to try and solve it themselves. I had a hard time liking these characters with all their bickering. ** 11/21/23
324.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien - Am starting on the journey through Middle Earth, for the 8th time. This series is like a warm blanket Frodo inherits a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo. Looks like he is going to have to dispose of it, too. IMHO, Peter Jackson's movies enhanced the experience. ****** 11/23/2023
325.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros - Violet is a small, frail teen. She was not expected to survive in her first year in war college, but she did. Now in her 2nd year, she is really showing her quality. ***** 11/21/23
326.
A Jensen Family Christmas by William W. Johnstone - My favorite (so far) of the Christmas series by the Johnstones. Things are never simple during the Christmas holidays for the Jensen Clan. They are planning on having a nice quiet holiday with their family, but a visitor and his entourage from Mexico plan on stealing Smoke Jensen's ranch. ***** 11/23/23
327.
White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link - short stories that draw inspiration from fairy tails. *** 11/24/23
328.
Away in a Manger by Rhys Bowen - A Christmas flavored Molly Murphy Mystery. For being "retired" from detecting, Molly is sure doing a lot of detecting... It is almost Christmas and Molly is looking forward to spending Christmas with her husband and their infant son. Molly and her young ward, Bridie are browsing the city when they run into a young girl and her brother that were begging on the street. This started a ball rolling where Molly would get involved with finding their mother. ***** 11/24/23
329.
Homecoming by Kass Morgan - The 100 are starting to get their lives together on earth. Then more drop ships arrive from the colony and things start to spiral out of control. **** 11/26/23
330.
Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt - Andy Carpenter is asked by his Tara Foundation partner, Willie Miller to help out his old cell mate who was accused of murdering someone. **** 11/27/2023
331.
A Little Yuletide Murder by Jessica Fletcher - Tis the season for a little murder... Rory Brent, who plays Santa Clause, is found murdered on his farm. Jessica is trying not to get involved, but she can't help it. *** 11/27/23
332.
The Noel Diary by Richard Paul Evans - Jacob Churcher was a bestselling author who had traumatic memories from his childhood starting with the accidental death of his brother who grabbed an electrical wire and was killed through when his mentally ill mother kicked him out of the house at the age of 16. He goes on to find a better life and eventually love and forgiveness. *** 11/30/23
333.
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns - This novel is full of Magical Realism. Mackensie is a Cree woman who has been having some odd dreams related to her sister Sabrina's early death. **** 11/30/23
334.
Seven Iron Men: The Merritts & the Discovery of the Mesabi Range by Paul de Kruif - It was interesting to learn about the 7 Merritt brothers and their influence on finding and producing iron ore on the Mesabi Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. **** 11/30/23
335.
Cinder's Adventure: Get Me To the Wedding! by Marissa Meyer - A fun novella taking place before Cinder and Kai's wedding and told in a Choose Your Adventure style. *** 12/2/23
336.
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary - I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but eventually I warmed up to it. It looks like a rom com, but it was more like a dram com... Addie and her friend are driving out of town to attend her friend's wedding. They are rear ended by another car that turns out to be her ex Dylan and his friend. She feels like she has to give them a ride. That is when the guts of the story really begins. **** 12/2/23
337.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - I really liked this in a disturbing way. Damon "Demon" (Copperhead) was born. His father died before he was born. He lived in poverty with his mother until she died and his life continued to be a series of bad luck events. ***** 12/3/23
338.
Neom by Lavie Tidhar - A very different flavor of sci fi with a strong Middle East component. Neom is a city full of technology and also poverty. Neom is a port city between earth and outer space. **** 12/3/23
339.
Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood - Phryne, her daughters, and Dot head to Queenscliff for a vacation, but it is never a vacation wherever Phryne goes. Missing caretakers, naughty boys, and the death of an old woman... **** 12/5/23
340.
The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey - From what was known in the olden days through modern times, Susan Casey told stories of the last unexplored deeps of the ocean. **** 12/5/23
341.
Hercule Poirot's Silent Night by Sophie Hannah - I really enjoyed this book. Even though it was about murder at Christmas. Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool are called to a Norfolk (England) hospital where a man was murdered. A friend of Catchpool's family is about to be admitted in the same hospital and the patient's wife is worried for his safety. ***** 12/7/23
342.
Uhtred's Feast: Inside the World of The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell - A nice wrap of of The Last Kingdom Stories or, also known as Saxon Stories. This book is made up of Short stories, articles, and recipes that help flesh out Uhtred of Bebbanburg. ***** 12/7/23
343.
Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers - The story of the inspirations, making of, and playing of 55 rock songs, starting in the 1960s. It also talks about the artists. ***** 12/8/23
344.
Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina - Anna's life is a mess. From the bullies at school to her family's dysfunction to accepting herself and finally to her sister's "dismissing" of her, Anna is having a really rough time. Then one day, her sister disappears. Anna actively tries to find her. **** 12/9/23
345.
Dog Eat Dog by David Rosenfelt - Andy and his wife, Laurie are out walking their dogs when they witness a man kicking his dog. Laurie runs over to stop him, but before she can reach him, another mans runs over and beats the dog abuser up. He is arrested and it is found out that he is wanted for murder. Poor Andy attempts to help him find council, but it looks like Andy will be doing it. **** 12/10/23
346.
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien - This is the 7th time I read this book. A comfort read... The story of a group of travelers, one who has to destroy something terrible. The second book in the trilogy. ***** 12/11/23
347.
Miss del Río: A Novel of Dolores del Rio, the First Major Latina Star in Hollywood by Bárbara Mujica - A historic fiction novel on Delores Del Rio, as told by her fictional lifelong friend and hairdresser. **** 12/13/23
348.
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman - Ivy is a wild teenager who finds herself pregnant and with out the support of the father of her unborn child. She runs away and lives in a cult in Western Massachusetts, marrying the cult leader. Years later, Ivy's daughter, Mia is a wild child also. Ivy is killed in an accident. Mia eventually flees the cult, only to be tracked on and off by the cult leader. **** 12/13/23
349.
The Children of Men by P.D. James - This is a dystopian novel on a world where women stop getting pregnant. Then miraculously a woman becomes pregnant. *** 12/13/23
Mod
75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
Miss Pym Disposes (other topics)Wham! George & Me (other topics)
The Night Agent (other topics)
The Rescue (other topics)
Cold Skin (other topics)
More...
I loved Zero Days! (and thank you!)