You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
Challenges: Year Long Main 2024
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Marcus meanders to Mordor
Journey 2, Book 5Book: Collected Stories of Wallace Stegner
Format: hardcover, 544 pages
Connection: collection of short stories
Exp: Both this and Book 4 are short fiction collections
Journey 2, Book 6Book: Crossing to Safety
Format: softcover, 335 pages
Connection: same author
Exp: the collected stories and crossing to safety were both written by the exceptional Wallace Stegner, highly recommended
Stop that! My tbr is swelling, thanks to your recommendations.
Janice wrote: "Stop that! My tbr is swelling, thanks to your recommendations." Well that makes me very happy to hear :)
Journey 2, Book 7Book: Magpie Murders
Format: e-book, 15hr,48min
Checkpoint 2: Munich- read a book with main character Susan or Susannah
Exp: This is a really cool twist on a whodoneit story with two separate but intertwined murders one set in the past and one the present. It is up to Susan Ryeland to connect the two and solve the murder in her own time...really great with the audible narration
Journey 2, Book 8Book: The Fires of Vengeance
Format: Hardcover, 529 pages
Connection: Books published after 2010
Exp: Magpie Murders was published in 2016 and The Fires of Vengeance was 2020
Journey 2, Book 9Book:
Format: softcover, 352 pages
Connection: Dragon on cover
Exp:
and the above both have dragons....The Fires of Vengeance is probably my second favorite current fantasy series with an African cultural background instead of the usual European motif which is a nice change with very well written action and characters if you enjoy a good revenge driven story. It was also really nice to return to the fantasy world of Temeraire which if you are not familiar is set during the Napoleonic wars....if there were dragons that each country used as part of their forces
I've already read Magpie Murders - Phew!
Janice wrote: "I've already read Magpie Murders - Phew!" It was a lot of fun :)
Marcus wrote: "Journey 2, Book 7Book: Magpie Murders
Format: e-book, 15hr,48min
Checkpoint 2: Munich- read a book with main character Susan or Susannah
Exp: This is a really cool twist on a whodo..."
I liked this one!
Journey 2, Book 10Book:
Format: softcover, 328 pages
Checkpoint 3: Budapest- read book with meal on cover
Exp: see above for the delicious Asian meal...fun crime series but I knew who the killer was early on
Journey 2, Book 11Book: Sharpe's Prey
Format: hardcover, 261 pages
Connection: author last name starting with C
Exp: Cornwell (love all his HF) and Chien from last dumpling book
Journey 2, Book 12Book:
Format: hardcover, 354 pages
Connection: ships on cover
Exp: yay naval stories...
Journey 2, Book 13Book:
Format: e-book, 328 pages
Checkpoint 4: Bran Castle- wolf on cover, title, theme
Exp: wolf on cover...stories about a nazi fighting werewolf yay
Journey 2, Book 14Book: Cardinal Black
Format: e-book, 462 pages
Connection: same author as previous book
Exp: both this book and The Hunter from the Woods were written by Robert McCammon whom I love for his classic horror work and this ongoing crime series about crime solver Matthew Corbett
I'm on the fence about reading The King of Shadows. It's been so long since I read Cardinal Black that I don't remember much about it except that it had a bit of a cliffhangar.
That’s exactly how I was going into “Cardinal Black” but I felt like it reoriented me well at the beginning. Next book is heading to Italy to find the Italian dude for professor fell and cardinal black may still be in the mix somewhere 😁
Journey 2, Book 15Book: The Lost Metal
Format: Hardcover, 507 pages
Connection: 7th book in a series
Exp: Cardinal Black is the 7th book in the excellent Matthew Corbett series and the lost metal is the seventh installment of the once great Mistborn series which was really hard for me to get through because it has been wrung out of all its fun it seems sadly
Journey 2, Book 16Endpoint: Bucharest- crime genre novel
Book: The Silence of the Lambs
Format: softcover, 421 pages
Exp: crime is on the main page and I think we all know why. Special agent in training Starling is tasked with picking the disturbed brain of cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecter to help stop the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill who has an unusual fashion sense. This series is so well written.
Journey 2, Book 17The Realm of the Elderlings
Start: Bearns- yellow flower on cover
Book:
Format: softcover, 304 pages
Exp: see flower above, omg this book was also so good :) Not one I would have picked for myself which is a great element of these challenges
Marcus wrote: "Journey 2, Book 16Endpoint: Bucharest- crime genre novel
Book: The Silence of the Lambs
Format: softcover, 421 pages
Exp: crime is on the main page and I think we all know why. Specia..."
Imagine trying to pick that brain.
OMG yeah no....i feel like I'd end up not knowing then which of us was the crazy one. But such a good story and character. Will get around to Hannibal and Hannibal Rising before too long
Journey 2, Book 18Book: Tyrant by Christian Cameron
Format: e-book, 400 pages
Connection: Historical fiction genre
Exp: second listed genre for The Color Purple is historical fiction which I find odd but I won't argue as it lets me connect Tyrant which is definitely HF set in ancient Greece and unfortunately a bit disappointing as I typically like all of the stuff Miles/Christian Cameron puts out but I would definitely steer interested readers toward his Long War or Chivalry HF series instead of this or the excellent "Traitor Son Cycle" fantasy series he writes as Miles Cameron
Journey 2, Book 19Book:
Format: softcover, 356 pages
Connection: smoke on the cover
Exp: both the version of this that I read as pictured above and
have smokey fires on the covers. Love the Joe Pickett series when I'm in the right mood and this one was a nail biter from start to finish
Journey 2, Book 20Checkpoint 1: Buck; Task: read a book from the nautical tales list
Book: The Sea-Hawk
Format: e-book- 386 pages
Exp: on the list, about a dude who is sold to slavery by his brother on a slave ship; then becomes a pirate to win back the love that was stolen from him and get his revenge
Journey 2, Book 21Book: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Connection: genre- classics
Format: softcover- 204 pages
Exp: both books are main page classics
Journey 2, Book 22Book: Blood of the City
Connection: Author's pen name includes a middle initial
Format: softcover- 368 pages
Exp: Both Hunter S Thompson and Robin D Laws include the flashy middle initial in their pen names....i guess someday I'll have to be Marcus S Wheeler :)
And the S could stand for Superman? Stardust?
Janice wrote: "And the S could stand for Superman? Stardust?" Of the two I'd go with Superman. :)
Journey 2, Book 23Book: Alias Grace
Checkpoint 2: Rippon- read a book with main character named Grace
Format: e-book, 468 pages
Exp: As the title implies, this book is about Grace Marks a woman imprisoned for suspected and convicted murder and the story of how she came to be there both through her own retelling of events and the interview of a clinical psychologist interested in her case....really good audiobook
Journey 2, Book 24Book: Brother
Connection: author last name starting with A
Format: softcover, 319 pages
Exp: Both Margaret Atwood, and Ania Ahlborn have last names of the A persuasion
Marcus wrote: "Journey 2, Book 23Book: Alias Grace
Checkpoint 2: Rippon- read a book with main character named Grace
Format: e-book, 468 pages
Exp: As the title implies, this book is about Grace Mar..."
Do you think she was a reliable narrator?
Janice wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Journey 2, Book 23Book: Alias Grace
Checkpoint 2: Rippon- read a book with main character named Grace
Format: e-book, 468 pages
Exp: As the title implies, this book is ..."
It would seem near the end that she likely is not all that reliable in fact but it's fun to look at it from both angles
Journey 2, Book 25Book: The Little Stranger
Connection 2: goodreads rating between 3.5-4.0
Format: softcover, 512 pages
Exp: both this book and Brother sit below the 4.0 mark but both were entertaining and i particularly liked the quiet pacing of "The Little Stranger" although the horror was subtle at best
Journey 2, Book 26Book: The Last Green Valley
Checkpoint 3: Shoaks- read a book with the word "green" in title or author's name
Format: audiobook, 16hr, 8min
Exp: green is in fact in the title
Journey 2, Book 27Book: Between Two Fires
connection 1: genre- historical fiction
Format: softcover, 432 pages
Exp: "The last green valley" is historical fiction inspired by the true events surrounding a family fleeing from stalin and hitler during WWII and "Between Two Fires" is more directly historical fiction depicting hellish events arising admist the black death in 1349
Journey 2, Book 28Book: New Spring
Connection 2: length 400-450 pages
Format: softcover, 423 pages
Exp: both this and the last book wall within ten pages in length of one another :)
Journey 2, Book 29Book:
Checkpoint 4: Tilth- Read a book with wine/grapes on the cover
Format: audiobook, 16hr47min
Exp: see cover, of course wine/grapes on the cover lends itself well to ancient history and thus kicked off a three pack of Roman novels for me
Journey 2, Book 30Book: The Gods of War
Connection 1: Roman history genre
Format: paperback, 496 pages
Exp: This book follows Julius' crossing of the Rubicon and eventual taking of Rome and his eventual betrayal and murder whereas "I, Claudius" deals with the events of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula which came after
Journey 2, Book 31Book: The Blood of Gods
Connection 2: next book in series
Format: paperback, 409 pages
Exp: next in line is the story of what happened to the conspirators who murdered Julius and how Augustus rose to power in seeking vengeance for his adopted father
Journey 2, Book 32Book: Savage Bounty
Endpoint: Farrow- read a book with a farseer name in title
Format: e-book, 400 pages
Exp: "Bounty" was on the list of farseer names and the only book in my 2000ish TBR that qualified :)
Journey 2, Book 33Book: Lost Love's Return
Nala's World: Start- Bosnia, task: read a book with main character who is an orphan
Format: e-book, 294 pages
Exp: main character of the book is an orphan, goes off to war and meets a nurse after an injury and falls in love only to leave her behind, marry an awful woman through trickery and then later his son finds his lost love so they can be together in their golden years...yay
Journey 2, Book 34Book: The Pariah
Connection 1: Author name starts with "A"
Format: softcover, 600 pages
Exp: Anthony Ryan and Alfred Nicols start with A :)
Journey 2, Book 35Book: Honor Among Enemies
Connection 2: theme/plot- involves pirates/outlaws
Format: softcover, 544 pages
Exp: In The Pariah the main character starts out as a member of a notorious band of outlaws taking advantage of the chaos of a war between the king and a "pretender to the throne". In Honor Among Enemies, Honor Harrington is tasked with taking down a group of space pirates that are raiding merchant vessels in the midst of an interstellar war
Journey 2, Book 36Book: Norse Mythology
Checkpoint 1; Budva: Book theme- mythology
Format: hardcover, 301 pages
Exp: this book is a retelling of several well known stories from Norse mythology
Journey 2, Book 37Book: Kafka on the Shore
Connection 1: genre- fantasy
Format: softcover, 467 pages
Exp: both this and Norse Mythology are main page genre fantasy
Journey 2, Book 38Book: In the Miso Soup
Connection 2: author last name- Murakami
Format: softcover, 217 pages
Exp: Haruki and Ryu Murakami are both very fun authors
Journey 2, Book 39Book:
Checkpoint 2; Shkoder- pages (430-438)
Format: softcover, 434 pages
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Thinner (other topics)The Fires of Vengeance (other topics)
Beaches (other topics)
The Spectator Bird (other topics)
Beaches (other topics)
More...
Book: Collected Stories of Wallace Stegner
Format: Hardcover, 525 pages
Connection: short story collection
Exp: This book was a collection of the short fiction of Wallace Stegner all very wonderful which connects it to the Halloween collection This is Halloween