Jery's 2010 Books

[Jery]

here are my January (and likely February) reads - away we go! Happy New Year everyone :)

[Jery]

1.Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos - finished 1.1.10, 560 pages. 5 stars
2. I'm So Happy for You by Lucinda Rosenfeld - finished 1.2.10, 268 pages. 3.5 stars
3. Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst. Finished 1.4.10, 437 pages, 4 stars
4. The Black Tower by Louis Bayard - finished 1.10.10 (I'm slacking here!!), 352 pages, 4.5 stars
5. Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz, 384 pages, finished 1.15.09 (still off the pace!) 1.5 stars
6. Angel's Tipby Alafair Burke, 368 pages, finished 1.22.09 (going way too slow here!!). 4.5 stars.
7. A Mercy by Toni Morrison, 244 pages, 4 stars, finished 1.28.09

[Jery]

ticker update! Almost forgot.

[Jery]

What should I read next? I see that a lot of people have read/are reading 3 weeks to Say Goodbye this month. I'm feeling indifferent towards my next pick - anyone have a recommendation out of my January list?

[Donnajo]

I hear great reviews for The Guernsey one I haven't read it yet but I keep thinking I bought it. I just have to locate it so I can read it myself.

[Jery]

February Completed Reads - Monthly Count 3
8.Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner, 320 pages, finished 2.7.09. Reading at a snail's pace these days! :(
9. Blood Red by Heather GrahamBlood Red352 pages, finished 2.17.10. This was my at lunch reading book from work - been working on it forever, in 5 minute increments.
10. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by CJ Box Three Weeks to Say Goodbye- 368 pages, finished 2.17.10. Felt like a quick read but 10 days is not quick!*LOL*

[Jery]

March Completed Reads
11 (Monthly count 1) - The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, finished 3/10/10, 496 pages. Really thought provoking read! This is a YA novel but I highly recommend it to us 'grown ups' too.

[Jery]

12 (Monthly count a big whopping 2!) Romancing the Pirate by Michelle Beattie - 320 pages, finished 3/23/10. Figured something light and fluffy might get me back in the reading groove but so far not so much. Jeez at this rate I won't even get halfway there!! yikes. Ah well :)

[Jery]

13. (Monthly count 3) American on Purposeby Craig Ferguson - 288 pages, finished 3/27.10 - 5 stars. If you like Craig's show the book will flow very easily and you might be surprised about the path his life has taken. I didn't officially participate in the readathon but finished this during the same time so maybe it sort of counts :)

[Jery]

14. (monthly count 4) 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill, 316 pages, 3.5 stars. Great collection of stories and not all in the horror genre, as you might expect.

[Jery]

15. (#1 for April) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, 278 pages, 5 stars. This was a really great read, and the letter/telegram format made it really hard to put down - you keep thinking you'll read just one more. It definitely deserves all the lovely reviews it gets.

[Pat]

So glad you enjoyed this book. It was one of my favorites.

Pat

[Jery]

16. (#2 for April, geez this is pathetic! *LOL*) My Bonny Light Horseman: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, in Love and War by LA Meyer, 5 stars, 448 pages. This is a really fun series and though this particular installment is not the best of it, it was still a really fun read.

[Donnajo]

I think I'll pull out the shaffer book to read next. Right now I have 2 going on 3 books started. I can't get settled on something

[Jery]

i have been the same way. You will love that book, I think! it's easy to get wrapped up in :)

[Donnajo]

I'm going to look for the book today. I know it's someplace close by because I pulled it out last time I saw it but then I put it someplace else. Right now I started On thin ice by cherry adair so will read that one plus the few other's I have started but will make sure that is up for the next time there is a book opening. LOL.

[Jery]

17. (#3 for April) Rapture of the Deep by L. A. Meyer, 5 stars, 464 pages. In this episode, Jacky dives for treasure off the coast of Cuba, endures separation from her beloved fiance Jaimy, and once again outsmarts the British Navy.

[Jery]

18. (#4 for April, definitely not picking up any speed here!) The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston. 3 stars, 352 pages. Sort of a noir pulp fiction type book, not what i was expecting - I was really annoyed by the way the dialog was written, with no attribution - it was just irritating. The characters were not very sympathetic either. The story was well written enough - just not for me.

[Jery]

19. (#1 for May) Night World, No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder by LJ Smith. 3 starts, 727 pages. This is definitely slanted for the teenage or even preteen market and is a good story for that age, but I found the writing a little overt and obvious for me personally. Of the three stories contained in this book, I liked Daughters of Darkness the best - it seemed to have better humor than the others :) probably a great read for a 14 year old.

[Jery]

20 (#2 for May) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, 3 stars, 720 pages. Great premise, somewhat flawed execution. Well written, but too wordy and filled with minutiae.

[Jery]

almost forgot! ticker update. Good thing this isn't really football, because it's almost halftime and I barely have a first down! *LOL*

[Jery]

#21 (#3 for May) - Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford, 320 pages, 3.5 stars. This is a light fluffy novel, starring Jane Austen as a vampire-lite - when she feeds, the gory details are glossed over and she doesn't have any of those silly stereotypical vampire handicaps like not being able to go out in sunlight or anything like that. She's just a 200 year old author who wants to get a new novel published and keeps getting rejected. I think the storyline would have been good enough without the vampire twist - but vampires and Jane Austen are all the rage, so there you have it.

[Jery]

#22 (#4 for May) Worst Nightmares by Shane Briant. Lots of twists and turns and this one, and the ending will make your jaw drop! 4 stars, 352 pages.

[Jery]

#23 (#5 for May) The First Drop of Rain by Leslie Parrott. 192 pages, 5 stars. Not my usual type of read but just what I needed today.

[Jery]

#24 (#6 for May) The Other Queenby Phillippa Gregory. 448 pages, 1 star. I really wanted to like this book but it's frankly horrid. Not recommended at all.

[Jery]

#25 (#1 for June) Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen. I am in the minority of reviewers, but I thought this book was horrible. The plot was good, and characters themselves were good, but the dialogue was heavily cliched and heavy handed, as was the character development. One star.

[Jery]

#26 (#2 for June) Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill, 384 pages, 4 stars. Gritty and fast paced - this is not a traditional horror novel, to me, but more relates to the horror inflicted on people by others who are supposed to love them. Really well written - and I did read it with the lights on!

[Jery]

#27 (#3 for June) Rebel Angels by Libba Bray, 548 pages, 2.5 stars. I somehow remember the first novel in this series being a LOT more interesting than this installment...perhaps memory deceives me? Probably a good read for early teens, but I found it lackluster and repetitive. It almost seems as if the whole storyline would have been good, edited into one book, instead of spread out over three. I do appreciate the characterization and the interaction between the girls, and their families - so it's not a total loss I suppose :)

[Jery]

#28 (#4 for June) I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells, 271 pages, 5 stars- SUPER read! I was so glad to hear this is the first of a planned trilogy. **SPOILER AHEAD** my only quibble is that I wish John Wayne Cleaver had not faced a 'supernatural' enemy - I wish he would have pitted his wits against a human psychopath.
#29 (#5 for June) Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Riegler, 289 pages, 4 stars - I really love her books, and while I didn't feel it had as many laugh out loud moments as Confessions of a J.A.A., it was charming and a really good read. All so much the better if you are a Jane Austen fan too.
#30 (#6 for June) Lost Souls by Lisa Jackson, 480 pages, 2.5 stars. I find this author to be very hit or miss - the stories are either thrilling, or ho hum and predictable. I didn't find this one predictable, but it wasn't a page turner either. This was my at-work book for breaks - I think if I would have had any other reading material, I would have abandoned it.

[Jery]

#31 - (#1 for July) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, 798 pages, 5 stars (re-read). I am so anxious for the new HP movie, November can't come soon enough! Strangely enough, the ending of the book (the afterword/epilogue) didn't annoy me nearly as much this time around. It was nice to visit Harry's world again :) I love these books.

[Jery]

#32 (#2 for July) The Monsters of Templetonby Lauren Groff, 384 pages, 4 stars. Good read, but the main character is a whiny spoiled brat. If she had been more likeable I think this book could have been a 5 star read :)

[Jery]

#33 (#3 for July, holy slow Batman!!!) Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert, 352 pages, 4 stars. This was a quite interesting read - I don't know quite how to recap quickly, but the cover says it's like a mix of Von Lustbader's The Ninja and The Vampire Lestat - THAT it is not, actually! But a great read.

[Jery]

August Update (I just looked and realized I didn't update in August at all!)
#34 - Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent - 260 pages, 4 stars
#35 - Rumors by Anna Godbersen - 448 pages, 3.5 stars
#36 - If I Stay by Gayle Forman - 272 pages, 5 stars.

[Jery]

#37 (#1 for September, but it's a long one!) An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, 814 pages, 5 bazillion stars. I love these books. This one I felt was slow to start, but there is so long to go between each book in the series that it takes a few chapters or ten to get back into the story and remember what the characters are up to. This was great though - check my bookshelf for a review with possible spoilers.

[Jery]

#38 - (a whole entire two books read for September, seriously pathetic!!) Promise Meby Harlan Coben, 512 pages, 4 stars. I have not read earlier books in this series, and while I enjoy this author's novels I just don't really like the character. Still, this is a well written book and worth the read.

[Jery]

# 39 - #1 for October - Heartsick by Chelsea Cain, 326 pages, 4.5 stars. Great read! Gretchen Lowell is one twisted individual.

[Jery]

#40 - #2 for October - Outlanderby Diana Gabaldon, 640 pages, 5 stars. This is a re-read - I absolutely adore these books and since I just read the latest in the series, decided to re-read them - well, I only planned on re-reading Outlander but now I'm 3.4 of the way through Dragonfly in Amber too, might as well just go for it! :)

[Jery]

#41 - #3 for October - Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, 752 pages, 5 stars. It's great to go back to the beginning and fall back in to Claire and Jamie's love story. If only real men existed like that :)

[Jery]

#42 - #4 for October Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain, 320 pages, 3.5 stars. I like this author, and I love the character of Archie Sheridan but this story seemed unnecessarily gory. I really *want* to like Susan Ward, but she's getting a wee bit annoying. **SPOILER ALERT**

I have to say that my favorite part about this book is when Archie finally starts to stand up to Gretchen and show her that he is no longer under her spell. Maybe in the next book he'll be the 'winner' instead of the victim?? I have also heard that Sweetheart is good, I skipped it because it wasn't in at the library but will probably read it even tho it's out of order.

[Jery]

#43 - #5 for October - Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, 880 pages, 5 stars. Re-read - I had almost forgotten this part of the story in the whole scheme of things. I really love these books.

[Jery]

#44 (at least I'm only 100 off the pace!!) Sweetheart- #1 for November. 336 pages, 4 stars.

This was definitely better than Evil at Heart - I am really hoping that the 4th novel in the series will continue to get better.

[Jery]

#45 - #2 for November, Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. 352 pages, 5 stars.
Really great read! Not the tied up in a neat package type of story you see about kidnapping in the movies and some other books. It seems very realistic - I have not been through this myself, so I can't say for absolute sure but it sure rang true to me. I can see why this book is getting so many great reviews! And the suspense is not dampened at all by knowing at the outset that the heroine has survived her kidnapping and abuse.

[Jery]

#46 - #3 for November, The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. 4.5 stars - great read! Very descriptive and easy to picture in your head, which is expected from a director I think. This is definitely not just another vampire book.

[Jery]

#47, #4 for November - Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 896 pages, 5 stars. number 4 in the series as well - I only meant to re-read Outlander, but I haven't been able to leave it at that! That said, I highly recommend reading these books in close sequence if you have never read them or if like me, you read them originally when released (every 2 or 3 years or so). It's amazing the amount of detail you lose in the intervening time - I am really enjoying the books more than ever, reading them this way. Although the massive page counts are not doing anything to get me closer to 50 books for the year! (scaled back my goal a bit :) )

[Jery]

#48, #1 for December The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 992 pages, 5 stars. Another re-read - I can't say enough how much I am loving rereading these books all together. Highly recommended for fans of the series and maybe anyone who has a few weeks to kill :)

[Jery]

#49 and #50, catching up a bit here:
#49 - A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 1157 pages, 5 stars. I will not repeat myself and say how much I love these books, but yeah. I do.

#50 - Ravished 400 pages, 4 stars. This was just what I needed - a mostly lighthearted, snappy romance. I love that Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz) writes these smart, slightly nerdy older heroines. They crack me up.