On The Same Page discussion
3rd Annual Reading Challenge
>
Lea's Third Annual Reading Challenge - COMPLETED
Mod
Lots of great authors here, though I don't think I've read many of these specific books.
Bill wrote: "The Green Mile was excellent. I hope you enjoy Leviathan as well. I keep meaning to try Dennis Lehane but keep checking out other books instead. I may have to bite the bullet. I've enjoyed every Di..."Gone, Baby, Gone is one of my favorite Lehane's. Also an excellent movie.
Mod
Someday I may try it. I almost tried Shutter Island this year...
Mod
Green Mile is wonderful and tragic.
Leviathan was a lot of fun, as well as the 2nd book. I advise reading them back to back. Just my opinion; don't be like me.
Feed is really good. The whole trilogy is good, but book 3 left me feeling icky. That is all I will say.
Good luck and happy reading
The Green Mile is excellent! The only other one I've read, The Book of Lost Names, was good. Not amazing to me, but lots of others loved it, and I hope you'll be in that category.Small Mercies and Holly are both on my TBR, and Leviathan was on and off that TBR several times. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of them. Happy reading!
I've only read Bleak House, which I loved.Happy reading!
Great list as always! And I'm sure this is will done and dusted by like March =)
Bill wrote: "The Green Mile was excellent. I hope you enjoy Leviathan as well. I keep meaning to try Dennis Lehane but keep checking out other books instead. I may have to bite the bullet. I've enjoyed every Dickens book I've tried. Bleak House is on my list. Enjoy all of your selections."Thanks, Bill. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed some of the books on my list. I have only read Shutter Island by Lehane, but I really enjoyed it, and have been hoping to read more books by him.
I had a bad experience with Dickens in high school - I didn't enjoy Great Expectations, so I stopped reading Dickens. Recently, I've read A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, and David Copperfield and thought they were all great, so I may have been too young to read Dickens or been in a bad mood or something. Anyways, while I'm tempted to re-read Great Expectations, I have decided to first continue reading the other Dickens books I missed out on in the years I was anti-Dickens. LOL. :-)
Bonnie wrote: "Lots of great authors here, though I don't think I've read many of these specific books."Thanks, Bonnie. I tried to have a variety of authors that I've read before and authors that are new to me. Fingers crossed that they are all good.
Bonnie wrote: "Gone, Baby, Gone is one of my favorite Lehane's. Also an excellent movie."I keep wanting to start the Kenzie & Gennaro series. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it and liked the movie too!
Alondra wrote: "Loved, loved, loved Bleak House and always recommend it. It's huge, but doesn't feel that way. There is good pacing and humor throughout. Green Mile is wonderful and tragic.
Leviathan was a lot of fun, as well as the 2nd book. I advise reading them back to back. Just my opinion; don't be like me.
Feed is really good. The whole trilogy is good, but book 3 left me feeling icky. That is all I will say.
Good luck and happy reading"
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed Bleak House so much. I have been nervous to pick it up since I didn't have the best start with Dickens, but I've heard so many good things about it.
I'm excited about Green Mile. I am trying to read more of the old King books that I didn't read earlier, when I thought I didn't like his work.
I'm going to try and read the entire Leviathan series this year as well as all four of the Feed/Newsflesh series, but we will see if I can get it done. I'm not sure how I feel about reading something that you think is icky. I'm pretty sure I'm more squeamish than you are. :-)
Ioana wrote: "The Green Mile is excellent! The only other one I've read, The Book of Lost Names, was good. Not amazing to me, but lots of others loved it, and I hope you'll be in that category.Small Mercies and Holly are both on my TBR, and Leviathan was on and off that TBR several times. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of them. Happy reading!"
Thanks, Ioana. I am glad you liked The Green Mile. We have to get caught up on all the old King books everyone else read while we were thinking they were all horror which we didn't read. How crazy we used to be! :-) I will definitely let you know what I think of Leviathan. I'm hoping to read the entire trilogy. And I hope we both like Small Mercies and Holly! :-)
Anne wrote: "I've only read Bleak House, which I loved.Happy reading!"
Thanks, Anne. I think that is the book I'm the most nervous about, so I feel much more easy about the selection with you chiming in and telling me how much you enjoyed it! Here's hoping we both picked good books for next year.
Alissa wrote: "Great list as always! And I'm sure this is will done and dusted by like March =)"I love your optimism. I'm still on my first 12+4 list for 2023 and haven't finished it, so hopefully this list will read quicker. Suttree is so good, but yet reads so slowly, hopefully I can get a jump on some of the harder ones earlier in the year in 2024.
I loved If I Stay - it's beautiful. And the Osman arrived from the library this week, I'm looking forward to it. I don't know any of the others, so look forward to your thoughts!
Lea wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Gone, Baby, Gone is one of my favorite Lehane's. Also an excellent movie."I keep wanting to start the Kenzie & Gennaro series. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it and liked the mo..."
I SECOND the Kenzie & Gennaro series!
Great mix of books! I've only read Green Mile & Bleak House & yes, enjoyed both. With Dickens, I think you need to get comfortable with his language & enjoy his humor. That snarky, dry English wit.Happy Reading!
Carolien wrote: "I loved If I Stay - it's beautiful. And the Osman arrived from the library this week, I'm looking forward to it. I don't know any of the others, so look forward to your thoughts!"Thanks, Carolien. I'm eager to see what you think of the Osman book, too. I'm glad to hear you thought If I Stay was beautiful. It's been on my TBR a long time, now is the time.
Alissa wrote: "I SECOND the Kenzie & Gennaro series!"Of course! I need to start another 6 book series like I need a hole in my head, but I'm sure I will probably end up reading these books. They look so good.
Patricia wrote: "Great mix of books! I've only read Green Mile & Bleak House & yes, enjoyed both. With Dickens, I think you need to get comfortable with his language & enjoy his humor. That snarky, dry English wit.Happy Reading!"
Yes! I think my Freshman English teacher went overboard on the symbolism in Dickens and I wanted to be entertained, not look for symbolism everywhere at the time. I'm glad I gave him another try. I'm glad you enjoyed Green Mile and Bleak House.
You always have the best lists. I love, love , loved The Book of Lost Names and If I Stay!! I hope you like them too. I'm dying to get my hands on Holly. If you want a buddy read on it, let me know when you plan to read it and I'll try to get it from the library. I loved the Finder's Keepers series. You just can't beat Stephen King. I came really close to adding Warrior Girl Unearthed to my list. I have it on my Book of the Month TBR list. I really loved her first book Firekeeper's Daughter. Your review may push me over the edge to go ahead and get it if you really like it. I've heard alot of good feedback on it. So, it's interesting your thoughts on Charles Dickens. Great Expectations is one of my favorite books (but i read it as an adult.) My 11 yr old son is wanting to go through and read all of my favorite authors. I told him that book was not appropriate for him to read yet. But maybe we could do Oliver Twist or A Christmas Carol.
Good luck with your list!! Excited to see your review! 😊
Mod
Its the end of the 3rd book! So, Icky, but not in a scary or creepy way; more like, I need a shower after reading.... and maybe some therapy. Sorry....LOL
Lindsey wrote: "You always have the best lists. I love, love , loved The Book of Lost Names and If I Stay!! I hope you like them too. I'm dying to get my hands on Holly. If you want a buddy read on it, let me know when you plan to read it and I'll try to get it from the library. I loved the Finder's Keepers series. You just can't beat Stephen King. I came really close to adding Warrior Girl Unearthed to my list. I have it on my Book of the Month TBR list. I really loved her first book Firekeeper's Daughter. Your review may push me over the edge to go ahead and get it if you really like it. I've heard alot of good feedback on it.So, it's interesting your thoughts on Charles Dickens. Great Expectations is one of my favorite books (but i read it as an adult.) My 11 yr old son is wanting to go through and read all of my favorite authors. I told him that book was not appropriate for him to read yet. But maybe we could do Oliver Twist or A Christmas Carol.
Good luck with your list!! Excited to see your review! 😊"
I think you have the best lists, Lindsey! :-) I'd love to buddy read Holly. I was going to wait until March to read it though, because I'm checking it out of the library and there are 9 million people ahead of me in line. :-) Would that work for you?
I loved Firekeeper's Daughter too and Warrior Girl Unearthed has some of the same characters, so I must know what happened.
I had a hard time picking between Bleak House and Oliver Twist, since I haven't read either, so I ended up doing a random number generator to make my decision for me. Maybe I will read Oliver Twist next year. One Dickens per year, like one Morrison per year. :-)
I'm so glad to hear you loved The Book of Lost Names and If I Stay. I'm getting excited about this list!
Alondra wrote: "Its the end of the 3rd book! So, Icky, but not in a scary or creepy way; more like, I need a shower after reading.... and maybe some therapy. Sorry....LOL"Oh, no! Well I will consider myself warned and read with caution. And read some fluffy books alongside. :-)
Lea wrote: "I'd love to buddy read Holly. I was going to wait until March to read it though, because I'm checking it out of the library and there are 9 million people ahead of me in line. :-) Would that work for you?"If you two are reading Holly, I'm in too. I just need to read If It Bleeds first, so can we say April? Pleeeease?
The post above needs to be updated - don't wait for me, I just checked my wait list at the library, number 24 on 2 books...with an average of 3 weeks/loan this means 36 weeks...what 9 months???
Mod
Oh, no! Well I will cons..."
Yeah, okay! ... hehehehe
Ioana wrote: "The post above needs to be updated - don't wait for me, I just checked my wait list at the library, number 24 on 2 books...with an average of 3 weeks/loan this means 36 weeks...what 9 months???"Sounds like you'll get it in August, Ioana. I can wait until then. Put your holds in right now. For both books. :-)
Lindsey? Does that work for you?
I have Holly already, and I've been on the waiting list for If It Bleeds for 2 months already. The #24 on the list is as of today 😱August works for me, and I'll let you know if I get this sooner. You never know, maybe they get more copies, or maybe some people read faster...
But if this does not work for Lindsey, no worries.
If I stay has been on my TBR for a while....good luck!!!!!
Ioana wrote: "I have Holly already, and I've been on the waiting list for If It Bleeds for 2 months already. The #24 on the list is as of today 😱August works for me, and I'll let you know if I get this sooner. You never know, maybe they get more copies, or maybe some people read faster...
But if this does not work for Lindsey, no worries."
I'm glad you already have Holly, because these series books really never come in order!! I always get the later books months before I want them and the earlier books take forever to arrive. Still, I'm sure it will all work out. And if we can't read it all together, never fear, we will definitely compare notes. :-)
Jami wrote: "If I stay has been on my TBR for a while....good luck!!!!!"Thanks, Jami. It's been on my list forever too. The sequel is a GRC Award for 2011 and I have to read my books in order, so I need to read the first book and this is the magic year. :-)
If I Stay and The Book of Lost Names were both 5 star reads for me. Good luck with your challenge.
A very interesting list Lea!Bleak house is one of my favourites, and The green mile made me cry and I loved it! I hope you enjoy them as well.
Many of your selection are already in my TBR so I'll be looking forward to seeing your thoughts about them. :)
Denise wrote: "If I Stay and The Book of Lost Names were both 5 star reads for me. Good luck with your challenge."Thanks, Denise. I'm looking forward to both of those books! I might start with The Book of Lost Names right away, but it is very hard for me to preplan. I change my mind frequently. :-)
Faouzia wrote: "A very interesting list Lea!Bleak house is one of my favourites, and The green mile made me cry and I loved it! I hope you enjoy them as well.
Many of your selection are already in my TBR so I'll be looking forward to seeing your thoughts about them. :)"
Thanks, Faouzia, I'm so glad to hear you liked both of the books you've read. I loved your fantasy list too! Looking forward to 2024.
I have had [book:If I Stay|4374400 on my tbr since 2015. I will be sure that it makes it to one challenge or another. Good luck.
Jackie wrote: "I have had [book:If I Stay|4374400 on my tbr since 2015. I will be sure that it makes it to one challenge or another. Good luck."I'm thinking about reading it in February, if you want to try and knock it out then, we could read it together. Otherwise, I will for sure write a letter to the author here and tell her what I think. I hope we can both get it read at some point. It's been on my TBR for a really long time.
What a great variety of authors and genres! It'll make for a wonderful reading year. I've only read Darkfever and The Last to Die from your list. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them.Enjoy :)
Lea wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I have had [book:If I Stay|4374400 on my tbr since 2015. I will be sure that it makes it to one challenge or another. Good luck."I'm thinking about reading it in February, if you w..."
February sounds good to me. I've made a note in my spreadsheet to check back with you.
Lillie wrote: "What a great variety of authors and genres! It'll make for a wonderful reading year. I've only read Darkfever and The Last to Die from your list. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them.Enjoy :)"
Thanks. I'm hoping I have enough variety on there. I'm a little worried that I'm a bit heavy on the 2008-2012 vampire genre, but I'm trying to read some of the older GRC Award series, so here we are. Hoping I survive and find some books that I missed that become favorites.
Jackie wrote: "February sounds good to me. I've made a note in my spreadsheet to check back with you."And I've made a note in my spreadsheet to check with you too, Jackie! I think we're bonding over spreadsheets! :-)
The Green Mile is literally one of my top 5 all time favorite books. SO GOOD!
Lea wrote: "Jackie wrote: "February sounds good to me. I've made a note in my spreadsheet to check back with you."And I've made a note in my spreadsheet to check with you too, Jackie! I think we're bonding o..."
I agree!
Cecilia wrote: "The Green Mile is literally one of my top 5 all time favorite books. SO GOOD!"Oh, yay! I can't wait to read it. I need to go back and read the good King books, I avoided them for so long because I thought I didn't read horror books. Silly me. :-)
Jackie wrote: "I agree!"I love spreadsheets, but book spreadsheets are my favorite kind!
Mod
Oh, yay! I can't wait to read it. I need to go back and read the good King books, I avoided them for ..."
I bought The Green Mile when it came out in serial installments. It's great.
Lea wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "You always have the best lists. I love, love , loved The Book of Lost Names and If I Stay!! I hope you like them too. I'm dying to get my hands on Hol..."March works for me on Holly!! I am soooo excited to read this with y'all.
Let me know when you get to Warrior Unearthed. I may go ahead and get it from BOTM and buddy read if interested...
On The Same Page
Books mentioned in this topic
The Cricket on the Hearth (other topics)Great Expectations (other topics)
Nicholas Nickleby (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
Great Expectations (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Elizabeth Kostova (other topics)Elizabeth Kostova (other topics)
Jeffrey Archer (other topics)
Kristin Harmel (other topics)
Dennis Lehane (other topics)
More...
1. Paths of Glory by Jeffrey ArcherREAD 5/20/2024; 3 STARS2. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin HarmelREAD 1/25/2024; 3 STARS3. Small Mercies by Dennis LehaneREAD 1/5/2024; 4 STARS4. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline BoulleyREAD 1/11/2024; 4 STARS5. Darkfever by Karen Marie MoningREAD 1/12/2024; 2 STARS6. Bleak House by Charles DickensREAD 8/27/2024; 4 STARS7. Flawless Execution: Use the Techniques and Systems of America's Fighter Pilots to Perform at Your Peak and Win the Battles of the Business World by James D. MurphyREAD 7/4/2024; 3 STARS8. The Green Mile by Stephen KingREAD 2/12/2024; 4 STARS9. If I Stay by Gayle FormanREAD 2/4/2024; 4 STARS10. Fractal Noise by Christopher PaoliniREAD 1/12/2024; 3 STARS11. Feed by Mira GrantREAD 4/24/2024; 4 STARS12. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher MooreREAD 4/17/2024; 3 STARSBonus Books:
1. The Last Devil to Die by Richard OsmanREAD 5/8/2024; 4 STARS2. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick RiordanREAD 5/28/2024; 3 STARS3. Leviathan by Scott WesterfeldREAD 6/22/2024; 3 STARS4. Holly by Stephen KingREAD 4/27/2024; 3 STARS