Random Book List #340 (ends June 18)

[~Megan~]

I'm going to read This Side of the Grave for At Grave's End!

[Fran, Moderator]

Thinking about reading The Virgin Suicides

[KarenF]

I'll read River Marked for Iron Kissed.

[Gen]

I'll read Pale Demon by Kim Harrison.

[Daffodil]

I'm very tired right now, I stayed up way too late to finish Pale Demon last night/this morning. :D

Pale Demon, Kim Harrison, 4-27-11
5 Stars. Rachel has done a lot of growing up and it really shows in this book. She's thinking about how her actions will affect others, taking consequences into consideration before making really tough decisions. Most of all she's finally beginning to see the value of using demon magic instead of letting it use her. Things outside of her control still happen, but instead of complaining or reacting in anger, Rachel handles the situation to the best of her abilities. Once events started happening, the action moved along quickly and kept me up because I had to finish the book and find out how things would be resolved. Rachel's relationships with her friends and enemies went through a lot of changes too. Enough of the threads carried over from previous books are finally dealt with to satisfy me, while leaving others for future possibilities. Overall a fantastic read and I really can't wait to see where things go next.

[Shelley]

I read Q is for Quarry. I'm really enjoying Sue Grafton again.

[~Megan~]

Finished This Side of the Grave on audio....loved it and gave it 4 stars!

[KarenF]

I finished River Marked on Monday (5/2/11). I gave it 4*s. I love Mercy & Adam but missed the pack a little bit in this one.

[Joyce]

I read The Good, the Bad, and the Undead on audiobook.I finished 4/27/11. I give it 5 stars. The audio narrative was great. I couldn't put it down. The story is fleshing out so nicely.

[MsOPP]

I read Iron Kissed on 4/28!

[Joann]

I finished Stray by Rachel Vincent on 05.03.11. I rated it 4 stars and will likely continue with the series at some point, especially if I can fit them into challenges :)

[Fran, Moderator]

I finished The Virgin Suicides 5/5. This was a sad, haunting book that held my interest the entire time. It was more a tale of a group of boys' obsession with the sisters than the actual sisters themselves. Beautifully written.

[KarenF]

Fran wrote: "I finished The Virgin Suicides 5/5. This was a sad, haunting book that held my interest the entire time. It was more a tale of a group of boys' obsession with the sisters than the actual sisters th..."

It's not often that I say this, but have you seen the movie? Sophia Coppola directed it and I think she did an excellent job. She focused a little bit more on the girls and still captured that haunting tone of the book, and maybe made it even more dreamlike. If you enjoyed the book I think you'd find the movie worthwhile.

[Fran, Moderator]

Karen, I haven't seen the movie- thanks for your input- I will definitely rent it now!

[Suzanne]

I might be able to do this one, only 11 days left - Eek!
Random Book List #25
Duration: April 19 - May 17, 2011

1. Stray by Rachel Vincent

If a book is picked that's number 5 or 6 in the series and you haven't read up to there, will a book in the same series count or does it have to be that specific book?

[Daffodil]

It's fine to do that, I have myself in other rounds. It will personally count as a successful challenge met. It won't count as a vote for the book that the next round will be based off of.

[Fran, Moderator]

Hi Suzanne!
You can read any book in the series and you will credit for completing that list, but it will only count towards the tally for that book if it's the exact one.

[Suzanne]

Awesome! Thanks for clearing that up!

[Sheila]

I finished M is for Malice today 5/8. I liked it and will probably read more in this series.

[Shelley]

I finished River Marked. Really liked this book.

[Pam]

I finishedMaybe This Time on April 18th. I enjoyed it enough to read it in one day which doesn't happen often these days. Read Bone Crossed on April 20. I've enjoyed this series more and more with each book.

[Barbara ★]

I already read Iron Kissed so instead I read River Marked which I finished on May 7th. I was ambivalent about this installment. There isn't a lot of romance in this series so to me this seemed to be just filler of the romantic elements that aren't normally present in her books. It just didn't have the same feel as her other books.

[Vi]

I just finished At Grave's End. **** for me. I started the series last week and I'm gobbling them up. I can't borrow from the libraries fast enough!.

[~Sara~]

I don't think I'll have time to read one of these so I'll substitute Devil's Bride (5/12***) for On a Wicked Dawn. My review was rather long winded so for anyone interested, my review, and for those not I'll just tell you the line that dropped the actual rating to 2.5:
"Devil stirred as the last candle guttered. Even before he lifted his head, he'd assimilated the fact that there was a woman, sleeping the sleep of the sated, more or less beneath him. Before he levered his shoulders away from her and looked down, he'd recalled who that woman was."
(No, he wasn't drunk...except on love maybe ;)

Needless to say, I had a few problems with this book, but not enough that I won't try the second (especially since I already own it).

Thankfully ~Megan~ joined me for this and made it far more fun to read!

[Gen]

I finished Pale Demon and I gave it ★★★★★.

I thought it was a great book. Finally we saw some heat between Rachel and Trent. But I'm never sure with who I want her to end up with. Sometimes it is Trent, and then I want her to choose Ivy and then again, I want it to be Agaliarept.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Random Book List #30

Duration: May 23 - June 21, 2011

Based on Kim Harrison'sPale Demon, here is our new list:

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Pam - River Marked 6/12

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Fran - A Touch of Dead 5/31
Karina- Dead Reckoning 6/7

Roomby Emma Donoghue (1)
Joann 6/6****

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Fran - A Touch of Dead 5/31
Karina- Dead Reckoning 6/7

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
Suzanne - Black Magic Sanction
6/2*****
Karen F- For a Few Demons More 6/15 ****
Matched by Ally Condie

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (2)
aleksandra - 6/18 ****
Laurie - 6/20

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

1984 by George Orwell

[[deleted user]]

I'm in and I'll be reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

[Joann]

I'll either read City of Bones or Room. Both are on my tbr mountain, just depends on the mood I'm in that day..... :)

[Vi]

I'll be reading either City of Bones or one of the HP books to prep for the release of the last movie :).

[KarenF]

I'm going to try For a Few Demons More for The Outlaw Demon Wails.

[Suzanne]

I'll be reading Black Magic Sanction for The Outlaw Demon Wails.

[Fran, Moderator]

So for this one I read a few shorties for Dead to the World and Living Dead in Dallas. This was the perfect way for me to fit some Sookie in and read a little bit at the end of the month before the June challenges start. I read Gift Wrap 8.1 and One Word Answer 5.1 from A Touch of Dead. One Word Answer was a good fill in and I wish I had read it in order. Gift Wrap was kind of shocking to me, I had never heard of Preston and couldn't believe his gift to Sookie! These two shorts make me want to read all of the other ones.

*Update* 5/31- Finished A Touch of Dead - I had a little time today so I finished the whole book. The first two I read were the best, but as a whole, nothing substantial.

[Charlotte (Buried in Books)]

I haven't done one of these before, but I've got to read Room for Bookclub next week - so that fits in quite nicely.

[Suzanne]

I finished Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison yesterday! It was awesome, five stars!

[Karina]

I already read Dead to the World so instead I'll read Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris.

[Karina]

I finished Dead Reckoning...loved it, but I wished there was more of Eric and gave it 4 stars!

[Joann]

I finished Room by Emma Donoghue on 06.06.11. It was very disturbing. I rated it 4 stars.

[~Sara~]

I'll probably read Living Dead in Dallas. I didn't really like the first but would like to give the series another chance before giving up on it.

[Pam]

Just finished River Marked--last in the published Mercy Thompson. They just keep getting better.

[KarenF]

I finished For a Few Demons More yesterday (6/15/11) for The Outlaw Demon Wails. Too much relationship angst in the beginning but once the plot really kicks in it turns pretty awesome. ****

[[deleted user]]

Finished City of Bones today (6/18/2011), and i'm giving it ****.

[Laurie]

finished 6/20/11

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Random Book List #35

Duration: June 28 - July 26, 2011

Based on Cassandra Clare's City of Bones, here is our new list:

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman

Night Watch by Tery Pratchett

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
KarenF - Smokin' Seventeen 7/5
Joann - Sizzling Sixteen 7/4 ****
Valorie - Smokin' Seventeen 7/24

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
Barbara - Deep Kiss of Winter 7/25

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1)
Fran - 7/26 *****

Love Bites by Lynsay Sands

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
Yz - Seduce Me at Sunrise 7/17 ****

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (1)
Suzanne - 7/26

[KarenF]

I'm going to read Smokin' Seventeen for Hot Six.

[taita]

I'm going to read .

[Joann]

I'm going to read Sizzling Sixteen for Hot Six.

[Barbara ★]

I'm going to read #8 in the series.

[KarenF]

I finished Smokin' Seventeen for Hot Six earlier today (7/5/11). Another series that seems to have lost something. But I keep reading because I loved the earlier ones so much. I'm think I'm waiting for a comeback.

[Joann]

I finished Sizzling Sixteen for Hot Six on 07.04.11. Reading a book with Stephanie and Lulu in it always makes me smile. It was a happy read - 4 stars.

[~Sara~]

If I have time I'm going to read Tuck Everlasting.