Challenge: 50 Books discussion
2010
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Rosabelle's 50 Books Challenge in 2010
44. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg LarssonThe conclusion to the millenium trilogy. I still couldn't grasp the names and places in Swedish, so that's taking a bit of my enjoyment of this book and the previous 2.
Unlike the first two books in the series, I only give this one a 3 stars. This book has more political issues discussed and political backgrounds, which I don't like at all, so i think this one sort of dragged on a bit. But this is definitely a good conclusion to the trilogy.
Rosabelle wrote: "9. Lightning - Dean KoontzI really like this book."
Lightning is my FAVORITE Dean Koontz book! Are you a big reader of his books?
Hi Tanya, I like Dean Koontz books, but haven't really read a lot of it, so i can't consider myself a big reader of him :) But I really like Lightning and Odd Thomas.
I have bought more of his books and it's on the shelf waiting to be read :) do you have any recommendations for Koontz' book?
My favorite Koontz books (in addition to Lightning) are Watchers, The Bad Place, Tick Tock (which is hilarious), False Memory (which is just plain creepy), and Intensity. His new Frankenstein series is pretty good too (though I've only read 2 of the 5? so far.
I think I've read False Memory.. it was quite good.. I'll look out for the others that you mentioned. Thanks for the recommendation Tanya :)
I'll weigh-in on this debate, if I can- Dark Rivers of the Heart, Hideaway and Intensity are my favourite Dean Koontz books, but he's always pretty good and a really quick, easy read :)
Hideaway has one of the best villians ever. Excellent creepy book (though a little slow starting if I recall). WAY better than the movie. (Alicia Silverstone... *shakes head*)Sorry to highjack your topic Rosabelle!
@tanya and heather: not a problem at all.. thank you so much for the recommendation. I like Dean Koontz, I actually am a member of the Dean Koontz group on goodreads, but hasn't been very much active on that. I've never seen Hideaway on bookstores here.. I live in Indonesia and the variety of books here are very limited :) I might have to order that one through Amazon...
Rosabelle, you were asking for recommendations: The other Odd Thomas books are great, too...there are 3 more. And I, like Tanya, really like Watchers...in fact it was my first Dean Koontz book, given to me as a paperback by someone I was visiting...he just took it off his bookshelf and told me I didn't need to return it. I'm so glad, because after I read it I didn't want to...return it that is. I think The Bad Place was my next, then Midnight...all old Koontz, I think. The only thing by Koontz that I positively didn't like at all was the very first thing he wrote, which was republished under a different name after he got famous...the name escapes me, but it was a psychological thriller which was not so supernatural as his later stuff and had to do with using children to infiltrate our country by teaching them Western ways, language, customs, etc. in this particular 'safe-house', and what I was led to think was supernatural was really grounded in reality all along, a sinister already-known evil, and easily explainable, which was a disappointment to me.
I'm also in the Dean Koontz: Koontzland discussion. I know there was another group that Koontzland split off from, monitored by someone other than Dustin Burton...is that the one you belong to, or Koontzland?
Carol wrote: "Rosabelle, you were asking for recommendations: The other Odd Thomas books are great, too...there are 3 more. And I, like Tanya, really like Watchers...in fact it was my first Dean Koontz book, gi..."That book was called "The House of Thunder" written under a pseudonym I can't recall. I really liked that book it was about spies and the cold war.
Connie, yes that's the one! Or at least it sounds like it. I'm glad it wasn't the first book I read by him, I likely wouldn't have tried any others...I think it was the second book. I'm glad he got off the 'reality' phase and went into the supernatural. I also like a blend of SN and R, if it's heavier on the SN.
@carol: Thanks for the recommendation... Now I want to order The Watchers from Amazon... it's no longer available here.. I have the other 3 books of the Odd Thomas series, but it's still among my high TBR Pile :)
I belong to the Koontzland group :)
45. 4th of July by James PattersonStarted reading this on the plane back home from HongKong. I'm enjoying it so far..
Rosabelle, my youngest daughter lives in Hong Kong 3/4 of the year. Do you vacation there?
Hi Carol,That's great... i love Hong Kong.. great food, great shopping.. I was there for business trip this year.
Do you visit your daughter there often?
Rosabelle, I have yet to go to Hong Kong, although I would like to very much. I don't have as much of a relationship with my daughter as I would like, but perhaps in some future time. It would be easier to see her here in the US as they also have a home in Wyoming, which is about a two-day drive from California.Hong Kong is rather a city of mystery, at least in my mind. I have a vision of what it might be like. Maybe a little like New York City, which I HAVE seen...very vibrant, busy and colorful, many sights to see, very cosmopolitan what with the British influence, mingled with the Chinese culture.
@Carol: Yes, HongKong is in a way a bit like New York.. I've never been to New York, but have seen it in so many movies and TV shows.. HongKong is very busy, vibrant and have a lot of the night life happenings.. Great food, great shopping, and many places to go for sightseeing.. I hope you do get to HongKong sometime in the near future..
46. Pandora's Daughter by Iris JohansenI'm currently travelling to Melbourne, Australia and have finished reading the James Patterson's women's murder club book, so I have packed this book in my suitcase as a back up. My friend lent me this book. It looks like a light, interesting reading..
Just finished this book today. It was better than I expected.. It was a quick and light read, but also have some actions and romance and some substance to the story.
47. I Am the Messenger by Markus ZusakHeard so many good things about this book, then I stumbled upon it at the office cafetaria.. so I thought I'd give it a try.
I loved this book. Gave it 5 stars. This is one of the best books that I've read this year. Markus Zusak has beautifully wrote this one and it definitely lived up to the good recommendation that I've been reading on goodreads.
Yay.. I'm on book number 47... 3 more books to go.. I think I can definitely exceed my target this year.. Maybe I should increase them for next year.
48. Smoke and Mirrors by Tanya HuffI've read the first in this series and it was just okay for me. But my friend loaned me the whole three books in the series, so I thought I'd give the second one a try. So far so good. I have a feeling that I'll like this one better than the first.
49. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. SalingerDidn't really like this book... didn't get the point of the story at all. The main character is annoying.. And although it's only 214 pages, it took me 4 days to finish this book and I felt tired after I read the last page.. I thought "Phew" it's finally finished..
I actually commented on I Am The Messenger in the comments section of one of the reviews. Thanks for sharing the presence of this book on the planet...Now after a week later, when I read the title (a few messages up) just now, I remembered that I really want to read that book (I didn't just get a spark of interest that died down and then I forgot about it). I'm going to have to print out my list of TBR's and take it with me to the library...lolI just looked at the comments on the IATM page, and I can't find the one that I thought I wrote for that book. It's possible that I really liked the book, and marked it as TBR, intending to comment and really didn't. Well, I do like the book, because as I said above, I've been thinking about it off and on all week. I like the idea of the Pay It Forward angle and need to be pumped up with fresh enthusiasm to keep me on track.
BTW, how did you like The Catcher In The Rye? Is it a very dark book?
you're welcome Carol :) it is indeed one of the best book that I've read ever.. ha ha yess i get that sometimes too.. I put the list of books to get on my cell phone, so I can look at it when I'm at the bookstore. Unfortunately there's no library where I live, so I really have to buy all of my books or borrow from friends.. :( It is an inspirational book as well, the book shows that everybody actually needs help and we should help each other, not just friends and family, but also lend a help to strangers.
I didn't really like Catcher In The Rye. I think it is dark and the main character is annoying and gets even more annoying as I progressed further in the book. Have you read it yet? I feel relieved when I finally finished the book..
50. The Enemy by Lee ChildYay... my 50th book... :) Finally reached my goal this year..
This is my first book by Lee Child. I liked this book and makes me want to read more books by him. This book is filled with mystery, suspense, action and twists from start to finish. I stayed up late at night reading this book and got tired and sleepy at the office the next day :)
Thanks Donna... :) It's quite a jump from only about 30 books last year :)
Hi Roseabelle. I have seen many of your posts as they come up on the newsletter and I was just curious, because you don't have a library available to you and you have to buy many books, how do you decide which books you will buy? I am a frequent shopper of both mass bookstores and used ones, but I find that for those books I am just not sure about, I have to go to the library. I can't imagine having to buy every book I read. Just curious how you manage...:)
Hi Emma,I usually buy books by author that I've read and liked or from good reviews that I've heard and read. My book buying habit has dramatically increased since I joined GR. I found that I buy more books that I found from GR that I would not normally buy or read. Luckily I'm a member of one of the local bookstore here and they give 10 - 15% discount for members and have bargain books which have quite good selections, not bad ones from $1 - $4, so i usually buy from there. The closest thing that I have on reading free books are borrowing from friends or people from the office. These days it's a lot better, the prices for imported books are cheaper and there are more varieties to choose from compared to 6 years ago. Before then, I rarely buy books locally. I usually buy them on a regular trip overseas, to Singapore because it's cheaper there and I still buy from amazon.com sometimes.. It's quite expensive to be a book addict living in Indonesia ;)
Wow, I am curious as to why there aren't any libraries in your area. Maybe I am completely ignorant about the eastern world...
@Emma, the government over here doesn't have any funding to support opening libraries. We're quite a famously corupt government and there are still many illiterate people living in Indonesia. Many children are from poor families, and thus couldn't afford to go to school, and reading is an expensive hobby over here. There are some private organizations that open a "reading place" for poor children in the area, but that's mostly books in the local language. Or the closest thing to that would be renting books, and again, in the local language, not the imported English version. Sooo I have to fund my own reading and book-addict hobby :) I studied English since I was 5 and I went to Australia to university and while I was living there, I joined the local library in Melbourne. It was great being able to borrow books from the library at no cost.. But I still do go to bookstores and buy books. But books in Australia is SUPER expensive :) so I only bought the books that I really like there.
51. Shanghai Baby. by Wei HuiA friend lent me this book. This book was banned in China, so it's interesting to see what made this book banned there.
Rosabelle wrote: "@Emma, the government over here doesn't have any funding to support opening libraries. We're quite a famously corupt government and there are still many illiterate people living in Indonesia. Many ..."I feel so uninformed. That is really such a sad, terrible thing that literature and literacy are not funded in your country. Hearing things like this always make me want to do more to spread knowledge/donate money in order to make the world a more proper and safe place to live. To have so many poor children is the worst thing... Thank you for sharing with me.
I feel so fortunate to have been surrounded by books since I was young, I guess I take it for granted. It was the joy of my childhood to have books as friends :) I am glad you have found a way to enjoy reading!
52. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
This is probably too children-ish (i'm not even sure if it's the right word), but I saw the movie on a plane and I liked it, it's funny.. I laughed a lot watching the movie, so I decided to read the book. It's a bit different from the movie, but quite funny nonetheless
53.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. RowlingThis is the second time I'm reading this book.
Emma wrote: "Rosabelle wrote: "@Emma, the government over here doesn't have any funding to support opening libraries. We're quite a famously corupt government and there are still many illiterate people living i..."Thanks Emma. Yes, that's unfortunate. But I'm one of the lucky ones I guess. I get to grow up with lots of books to read and can fund my reading and book-buying habit. Have fun reading.. i would welcome suggestions on good books to read as well :)
54.
Smoke and Ashes by Tanya HuffThe third book in the Tony Foster series. A nice light read, quite enjoying it so far
55.
The Magician's Apprentice by Trudi CanavanMy first book by Canavan. It's good. I like it. The writing is flowing and it's easy and light to read, despite the 770 pages long..
56.
Serpent's Tooth (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #10) by Faye KellermanMy first book by Faye Kellerman, although I've read a few books written by her husband, Jonathan Kellerman. The story's about the shooting that happened in a restaurant that killed 11 people and left a lot more wounded. This seems to be a more complicated case than a dead mass shooter.. Interesting so far..
Just finished this one and didn't quite like the book. Towards the middle part of the book it gets boring and predictable. I only gave this book a 2 stars. I couldn't relate to the character of Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, maybe because this is the 10th book in the series, but it doesn't make me want to read the previous books either. I don't think I'll read another one of Faye's books. Not my taste at all, although I still have another book by Faye that I got on sale for $2.. maybe I should probably give it away..
57. Edge of Evil by J.A. Jance
Finished this book in less than 24 hours. Just can't put this book down. Enjoyed it from start to finish. The story is about Alison Reynolds, an ex-TV reporter who were just recently fired and is going back to her home town to investigate her best friend's dissapearance.
58. The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
The second book in the Darkest Powers trilogy.
I gave this 4 stars.. Love it. Can't wait till the third book in paperback is available at my local bookstore..
60. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Another re-read. I'm on a Harry Potter roll..
61. Wake by Lisa McMann
Finished this book in just 1 day. The story is about Jannie Hannagan, who gets sucked into other people's dreams. I quite like this book. It's a quick and easy read.
62. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
I'm on a Harry Potter roll. This is a re-read of the 5th book in the Harry Potter series. Love it, love it love it. It gets more darker further along in the series..
63. Fade by Lisa McMann
I think this book is simple, quick and easy to read, but tells an interesting story. This is continuing the tale of dreamcatcher Jannie Hanagan of Fieldridge, Michigan. In the second book, Jannie learns more about her ability and is using it to help the police solve a crime. Can't wait to read the third book.
64. Gone by Lisa McMann
The conclusion in the Wake trilogy. I like the second one the best, but the third one is also okay. This book is about Jannie's past and more about her ability as a dream catcher, not about helping the police solving any crimes. I thought it was a good finish to the story.
66. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The final book in the Harry Potter series. This book is just amazing. A great conclusion to the adventures of Harry Potter. A book to cherish for all ages and to read over and over again.
Challenge: 50 Books
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Picked this book at the airport yesterday on the way back home. Started reading it on the plane. Only about 50 pages in, but I like this one more than Tanya Huff book..
Finished this one recently. And I actually liked it. This is a good, light reading. I got out and bought the second one.. but will save it for a bit, to read maybe on the plane next week.