Carol J's 2025 Reading Challenge

[Carol]

46. A Litter of Bones by J.D. Kirk - Ten years ago Logan stopped a child serial killer. Now a child has gone missing and he is looking for it. *** 2/4/25

[Carol]

47. The Diamond Explorer by Kao Kalia Yang - Malcolm is the youngest child of a Hmong family and this is a novel of their life in Minnesota. **** 2/5/25

[Carol]

48. The Sirens of Soleil City by Sarah C. Johns - 3 generations of friends and family rebuild bridges to each other. **** 1/5/25

[Carol]

49. The Second Hostage by Jeffery Deaver - Colter Shaw is asked by the police to use his skills of finding missing people to negotiate with a kidnapper. *** 2/5/25

[Carol]

50. Sticky Notes: Memorable Lessons from Ordinary Moments by Matthew Eicheldinger - MNBA finalist - A MN teacher talks about fulfilling moments in his classroom. **** 2/6/25

[Carol]

51. DIVA 2.0: 12 Life Lessons From Me For You! by Sheryl Lee Ralph - She has such an interesting life. The life and times of Sheryl Lee Ralph. **** 2/6/25

[Carol]

52. Home by Nnedi Okorafor - Binti has been attending Oomza University and it has been a year since she has been home. She must face her family. *** 2/7/25

[Carol]

53. Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle - MNBA finalist - Dahlia received an emergency text from her half sister, Rose. "911"! So she goes to her sister's last known position in the Colorado Rockies. But before she goes "back woods", Dahlia somehow sweet talks a hermit into guiding her. **** 2/7/25

[Carol]

54. Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu - Violet is in Middle School and all of a sudden things are changing. Everything. She and her family (including her new step father) are moving into a new house and Violet is not thrilled with her room. This book is based on the short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. *** 2/8/25

[Carol]

55. The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens - I got a hold of an advanced copy of this book from the Minnesota author, Allen Esken and really enjoyed it. Nura Divjak was a Bosnian teenager in 1995 one day she witnesses atrocities by Serbian soldiers and is on the run, yet dreaming of revenge. **** 2/9/25

[Carol]

56. Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews - Meg and her husband Micheal are hosting in their home, some actors and crew that are working on the production of Macbeth. The training and production are being filmed. Some less than flattering things are videoed and soon the man filming the production is killed. **** 2/9/25

[Carol]

57. Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World by Tim Rayborn - Scary Christmas stories from all over the world. It's all in the title. **** 2/9/25

[Carol]

58. Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis - This was the story of two older Athabascan women who were abandoned by their tribe and forced to fend for themselves. **** 2/10/25

[Carol]

59. Dig If You Will the Picture: Funk, ex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince by Ben Greenman - The story of Prince's career. Some you know and some you don't. *** 2/11/25

[Carol]

60. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold - The Vorkosigan Series - I do not see a direct link, but think that there is a thread of a cautionary tail in the series about genetic engineering. **** 2/12/25

[Carol]

61. Claim The Leopard Princess by Meg Xuemei X - Oh my! The things I do to fulfill my 75 Books ABC Challenge. Bella was a Leopard shape shifter. Antonio was a wolf shape shifter. She crash landed on his planet and then it was lust at first sight. Erotica. *** 2/12/25

[Elyse, Moderator]

OMG Carol 🤣🤣

[Carol]

62. The Terra-Cotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri - Inspector Montalbano gets involved investigating a crime involving the Mafia, some valuables and a death. *** 2/13/25

[Carol]

Elyse wrote: "OMG Carol 🤣🤣"

You need to go for it, Elyse!

[Carol]

63. The Ghost and the Muse by Bobbi Holmes - Danielle's friend, mystery author Hillary Hemingway, has a muse. A male muse who lets her know about ideas for her books. Then there is a death of a man that fell off a pier. *** 2/15/25

[Carol]

64. Selected Shorts: Baseball by Symphony Space - This was for the true baseball fan. Short stories telling about baseball games, in great detail. *** 2/16/25

[Carol]

65. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann - The ship "The Wager" left England in 1740. While off of the region of Patagonia, it lost the rest of the ships it was traveling with and eventually wrecked. Many of the crew were lost, but many survived. This book tells of their long periods marooned and the eventual return to England. **** 2/16/25

[Carol]

66. The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth] - This is a 2 sided story. One is of Martine who is a little Jewish girl during WWII Germany. The other takes place in the 1990 when Charlotte is accident given a very expensive bottle of wine. **** 2/17/24

[Carol]

67. The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline - Several related yarns woven into one tapestry. The story of women convicts who were shipped down to 19th century Australia. How they coped and existed and got on. **** 2/17/25

[Carol]

68. The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich - Gary asks Kismet to marry him again and again until she somehow says yes. Once married, things don't seem right for Kismet. She feels angry and smothered. *** 2/17/25

[Carol]

69. Blackout by David Rosenfelt - Another fun book series from David Rosenfelt. Doug is a New Jersey police officer. He was found in a hotel room, shot and in critical condition. When he awakes, he is in a hospital and missing the last 10 years of his life. **** 2/18/25

[Carol]

70. The Perfect Paragon by M.C. Beaton - Agatha has a new detective agency. She gets tasked to find a missing teen. She also gets tasked to find out who murdered a woman's husband. **** 2/18/25

[Carol]

71. Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Casey Means - Non Fiction book on living life and eating healthily. I feel like she wrote this book just for me. I should be doing so much better. *** 12/19/25

[Andrea, Moderator]

Carol wrote: "71. Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Casey Mean..."

This sounds interesting, Carol!

[Carol]

Andrea wrote: "Carol wrote: "71. Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health..."

It was.

[Carol]

72. Telephone of the Tree by Alison McGhee - Ayla wants her friend Kiri to come home. She has been gone a while, but should be OK. Kiri's birthday is coming up and she should come back by then. *** 2/19/25

[Carol]

73. I Really Needed This Today: Words to Live By by Hoda Kotb - Hoda Kotb shares 365 sayings and quotes and then talks about how they affected her. Oh to be as positive as Hoda Kotb! ***** 2/21/25

[Carol]

74. Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao - The Descendants of the Chinese Zodiac have a curse put on them. They have been placed under a curse until now. This novel is a bit fantasy, YA, mythology, and horror. *** 2/21/25

[Carol]

75. Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - Starting this series over again after 12 years. Cordelia Naismith and her survey crew are attacked by a renegade group from Barrayar. She is taken prisoner by Aral Vorkosigan and through their adventures, fall in love. In further adventures they will become the parents of Miles Vorkosigan and then the series will focus on his adventures. I would love to see this as a TV series. 2/22/25

[Carol]

76. The Kill Order by James Dashner - A prequel to Maze Runner. *** 2/24/25

[Carol]

77. The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene - Nancy befriends a girl who is living with her Grandmother in the country. They are having money troubles and if they cannot pay the mortgage, they will loose the house. *** 2/26/25

[Carol]

78. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - CC de Poitiers is not a very popular person in her town in Quebec. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache tries to figure out who killed her. *** 2/26/25

[Carol]

79. Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon - This was a murder mystery with a grandmother-mother-daughter trio of amateur sleuths. Jack works as a wetland tour guide and on one of her tours, a child finds a dead body in the water. Right away, she is a suspect of the murder of the found body. Her mother and grandmother are there to clear her. *** 2/27/25

[Carol]

80. Selected Shorts. A Celebration of the Short Story: Timeless Classics by Symphony Space - Classic short stories including Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. I read that story in a middle school class assignment. Most of the time, I did not like assigned reading, but I liked The Lottery. **** 2/28/25

[Carol]

81. Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero by Travis Beacham - A prequel to the Pacific Rim franchise. *** 3/1/25

[Carol]

82. The Ghost Who Stayed Home by Bobbi Holmes - Danielle and Lily went on a small vacation from Marlow House with some friends in a small plane. When the girls did not return home, the ghost, Walt Marlow, began to worry. **** 3/1/25

[Carol]

83. Monsters We Have Made by Lindsay Starck - Faye attacked her babysitter in order to impress the Kingman, a monster she and her best friend had encountered on the Internet. Ten years later, she has a young daughter and after prison, goes off to stop the Kingman. **** 3/3/25

[Carol]

84. Big in Sweden by Sally Franson - A low key book about Paulie, an American woman competing on a Swedish reality show in an attempt to discover her roots. **** 3/4/25

[Carol]

85. In Sunshine or in Shadow by Rhys Bowen - New York, 1908 - Typhoid has broken out in the city and Daniel asks a pregnant Molly to take herself the children to his mother's home in the country, where she quickly grows bored. Fortunately her dear lady friends Sid and Gus are staying at an artist community nearby and Molly goes to visit them. Unfortunately, her trip back to her mother-in-law's is delayed when a body is found dead. **** 3/5/25

[Carol]

86. Battle Mountain by C.J. Box - Joe Pickett's friend, Nate Romanowski goes off grid (with his buddy Geronimo Jones) to find the man responsible for killing his wife. At the same time, Governor Rulon asks Joe to find his son-in-law. It just happens to be right where Nate is... **** 3/5/25

[Carol]

87. Blood on the Vine by Jessica Fletcher - Jessica is doing research in Napa Valley. She invites her friend George Sutherland to tour and sight see with her. Bill Ladington, ex Hollywood big wig invites them to stay at his "castle". Then he is found dead in the moat. *** 3/5/25

[Carol]

88. Northwoods by Amy Pease - Northern Wisconsin - Eli North is drinking a lot. His time in Afghanistan brought it on. Then the dead body of a boy was found in a lake. His mother is the town sheriff and his mother, a female FBI agent and him are looking for the killer. ** 3/6/25

[Carol]

89. Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs - In this book we see how the book and the movies start to differ. Tarzan rushes home to find his wife has been killed. He retreats to the jungle, full of rage. *** 3/8/2025

[Carol]

90. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling - 4th time reading HP7. I know the story well, but it was like hearing it for the first time. This is the final conflict between Harry Potter and Voldemort. ***** 3/9/25

[Carol]

91. Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum - Dorothy is reunited with her friends, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion in the land of Ev. *** 3/9/25