Annual Reading Challenge--2020

[Simba's Mom]

Update time-

#43-Resistance Women-just too long and hard to keep everything straight
#44-"Sunset Beach"-4 stars
#45-The Prisoners Wife-4 stars-based on a true story, otherwise I wouldn't have believed it
#46-"Nantucket Inn"-3 stars-I'm a sucker for anything to do with Cape Cod and especially Nantucket Island so I enjoyed it, but on the other hand I thought this book was very amateurishly written-an Elin Hildebrand wanna-be with no talent
#-"Zoom for Dummies"-I'd hoped to learn how to better keep in touch with my family, friends, and bird watching group during these times, but sadly this was focused for the business user, Zoom meetings. Being retired, it had no purpose for me.

Speaking of Elin Hildebrand, I'm currently on the waiting list for "Trouble in Paradise". Can't wait!

 

[willowsnn3]

Speaking of Elin Hildebrand, I'm currently on the waiting list for "Trouble in Paradise". Can't wait!

Me too!

 

[willowsnn3]

#57/60 Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little
Marissa Dahl, a shy but successful film editor, travels to a small island off the coast of Delaware to work with the legendary--and legendarily demanding--director Tony Rees on a feature film with a familiar logline.
Some girl dies.
It's not much to go on, but the specifics don't concern Marissa. Whatever the script is, her job is the same. She'll spend her days in the editing room, doing what she does best: turning pictures into stories.
But she soon discovers that on this set, nothing is as it's supposed to be--or as it seems. There are rumors of accidents and indiscretions, of burgeoning scandals and perilous schemes. Half the crew has been fired. The other half wants to quit. Even the actors have figured out something is wrong. And no one seems to know what happened to the editor she was hired to replace.
Then she meets the intrepid and incorrigible teenage girls who are determined to solve the real-life murder that is the movie's central subject, and before long, Marissa is drawn into the investigation herself.
The only problem is, the killer may still be on the loose. And he might not be finished.

I didn't care for this one at all & am seriously wondering why I even finished it, lol. Not a likable character in the whole book. Story was very disjointed to me. But it got good reviews on Goodreads.

 

[Tiggerish]

Ever Caring by Carolyne Aarsen. Christian romantic fiction with happy ending.

The Blue Columbine by Jennifer Rodewald. Christian romantic fiction with happy ending.

Chances Are by Kellie Coates Gilbert. Wholesome romantic fiction with happy ending.

The Imposters - How the Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics by Steve Benen. Non-fiction. Since it is very political book I will refrain from a more detailed review.

74-77 of 80

 

[OKW8297]

66. Wisteria Witches by Angela Pepper meh. A quick read.

 

[melk]

36/25 The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Without a doubt the worst book I read this year. It isn’t something I would usually pick up, it’s about a polygamous marriage, but a coworker raved about it. She said the ending was so shocking and such a twist that I stuck with it with the hopes of getting some satisfaction. Ugh, I should have trusted my instincts and put it down.

 

[willowsnn3]

#58/60 The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown
From Goodreads:
On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel - only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her.
Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing...

Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life - and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there.

But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever - no matter what the cost.

The Forgotten Girl is both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery.

Saw this on the new book shelf at my library so picked it up not realizing it was a Juvenile/Fiction.
It was actually really very good/spooky, but not scary.

 

[Allison Joy]

13/15 - Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult. A hard read about a "wrongful birth" lawsuit, but very good over all. Can't say much more than that without giving stuff away.

 

[JayMass]

It's been waaaaaaaaaay too long since I've posted on the Dis Boards. We have sadly canceled April 2021 and it's been better for me to NOT think about Disney. But I think I'm getting over it!!

So, my updates:

24/30--The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Loved, loved, loved this book. Lots of similarities to Middlesex which I loved too. The story of family across generations hits me right in the feels.

25/30--Kindred by Octavia Butler

I started this book a few years ago but never finished. I picked it up this summer and remembered how great it was. I can't believe I ever put this fascinating time travel novel down. A Black woman is pulled back through time to the Antebellum south where she must save a young white boy. She goes and back and forth between modern day and the 1820s. Butler tells such a good story.

26 + 27/30 The Wastelands, Wizard + Glass (Dark Tower 3 + 4) by Stephen King

I'm putting these two books together because I forget what happened in which book. All in all this is a fantastic series. I am so glad I gave it a second go. I did not really like the first book, but the second was great. I can't wait to get to the final books in this series.

28/30 The Stand by Stephen King

I'm a huge King fan and its hard to imagine that I never read this one before. Maybe the length intimidated me. Totally and completely worth it! Epic is an understatement. It's also apropos considering the current pandemic. I don't know which King novel is my favorite but this one is now in the running. (Other contenders: It, The Shining, 11/22/63).

29/30 The Chain by Adrian McKinty

The NYT led me to this book. I really enjoyed it. Fast paced and thought provoking. The idea is that your child is kidnapped and you must pay a ransom to get them back. But here's the catch, you also must kidnap someone else's kid. It's like a chain letter. It was executed very well.

30/30--Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

This is a near future dystopian novel that I have been wanting to read for years. I'm glad I did. It is very rich. At the same time, though, it was a bit depressing but not as much as McCarthy's overly bleak The Road.

So I guess I reached my goal by November! Yay me!

 

[bobbiwoz]

#27 The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

I really liked this one.

I liked it too! 80/80!

 

[willowsnn3]

It's been waaaaaaaaaay too long since I've posted on the Dis Boards. We have sadly canceled April 2021 and it's been better for me to NOT think about Disney. But I think I'm getting over it!!

So, my updates:

24/30--The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Loved, loved, loved this book. Lots of similarities to Middlesex which I loved too. The story of family across generations hits me right in the feels.

25/30--Kindred by Octavia Butler

I started this book a few years ago but never finished. I picked it up this summer and remembered how great it was. I can't believe I ever put this fascinating time travel novel down. A Black woman is pulled back through time to the Antebellum south where she must save a young white boy. She goes and back and forth between modern day and the 1820s. Butler tells such a good story.

26 + 27/30 The Wastelands, Wizard + Glass (Dark Tower 3 + 4) by Stephen King

I'm putting these two books together because I forget what happened in which book. All in all this is a fantastic series. I am so glad I gave it a second go. I did not really like the first book, but the second was great. I can't wait to get to the final books in this series.

28/30 The Stand by Stephen King

I'm a huge King fan and its hard to imagine that I never read this one before. Maybe the length intimidated me. Totally and completely worth it! Epic is an understatement. It's also apropos considering the current pandemic. I don't know which King novel is my favorite but this one is now in the running. (Other contenders: It, The Shining, 11/22/63).

29/30 The Chain by Adrian McKinty

The NYT led me to this book. I really enjoyed it. Fast paced and thought provoking. The idea is that your child is kidnapped and you must pay a ransom to get them back. But here's the catch, you also must kidnap someone else's kid. It's like a chain letter. It was executed very well.

30/30--Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

This is a near future dystopian novel that I have been wanting to read for years. I'm glad I did. It is very rich. At the same time, though, it was a bit depressing but not as much as McCarthy's overly bleak The Road.

So I guess I reached my goal by November! Yay me!

Congrats! I will have to add Parable of the Sower & The Dutch House to my list. I've read the others you listed & enjoyed them all.

 

[willowsnn3]

#59 Followers by Megan Angelo
Orla Cadden is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss―a striving wannabe A-lister―who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss's methods are a little shady and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can't be wrong.

Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity―twelve million loyal followers―Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.

Pretty good. A little drawn out but good.

 

[OKW8297]

67. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Well written account of Germans and French during WWII

 

[melk]

37/25 Coal Miner‘s Daughter by Loretta Lynn and George Vecsey

Life story of Loretta Lynn. I had seen the movie over the summer and thought I would read the book to see if there were any more details about her early life. Really not much more than in the movie but it was a pleasant enough read. The funny thing it’s written just like she speaks. Having visited Nashville it was interesting to read about different spots like the Ryman. It was written so long ago she probably has a sequel, lol.

 

[Tiggerish]

 

[tiggrbaby]

October:

#73/90: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (The Carls #2) by Hank Green (4/5) (science fiction)
The Carls have disappeared and April May is dead. Her friends have gone in different directions, trying to make sense of it all. But they each receive clues that April may still be alive, and a former foe may be up to no good again.

#74/90: Murder at the Breakers (Gilded Newport mystery #1 ) by Alyssa Maxwell (4/5) (romantic historical fiction)
Emma is a second cousin to the millionaire Vanderbilts, so she is included in the magnificent coming out party at the opulent mansion the Breakers. However, a murder occurs and her half-brother is jailed as the prime suspect. Will she be able to clear his name before someone kills her?

#75/90: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (2/5) (fiction)
A family rents a luxurious house on Long Island for a week of relaxation and bonding. When the owners show up unexpectedly one night, saying that the city is experiencing a blackout, they are suspicious. But when communications are cut off, the two couples need to stop being suspicious and work together.
I probably would have abandoned this book, except I have just abandoned two others. I am not sure if it was the writing style or how the issue of the problem was so vague.

#76/90: Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad (4.5/5) (nonfiction)
A history of the first decade of the ground-breaking show.

#77/90: The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins #2) by Robert Dugoni (4/5) (thriller)
Jenkins has gotten his life back on track after his betrayal by the CIA. But when an agent comes and tells him that Paulina is alive and in a Moscow prison, Charles returns to Russia to try and save her.

 

[HiStitch626]

28/30 The Stand by Stephen King

I'm a huge King fan and its hard to imagine that I never read this one before. Maybe the length intimidated me. Totally and completely worth it! Epic is an understatement. It's also apropos considering the current pandemic. I don't know which King novel is my favorite but this one is now in the running. (Other contenders: It, The Shining, 11/22/63).

I am planning to share my reading for 2021. I just wanted to mention that this is my all-time favorite book.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Ugh I have only managed to get through 59 books this year, but at least I FINALLY finished Vol 1 of Bernard Montgomery's biography (there are 3 in the set) which has taken me almost two years!
And now I can focus on getting through the 5 books in my queue

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

11)After She's Gone by Lisa jackson

Read a few of her books - not one of my favorites, maybe because i have a pair of daughters and am now worried about the future.



If anyone is interested in reading any of my works I would gladly send kindle gift versions of any of them: “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”.
You can see them all reviewed on Goodreads (click on link to view books). If you are interested in reading any of them please message me here or at Goodreads. I would greatly appreciate the effort.

 

[willowsnn3]

#77/90: The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins #2) by Robert Dugoni (4/5) (thriller)
Jenkins has gotten his life back on track after his betrayal by the CIA. But when an agent comes and tells him that Paulina is alive and in a Moscow prison, Charles returns to Russia to try and save her.

Love Robert Dugoni! Haven't read this series yet, but I need to check if he has finished anymore in the Tracy Crosswhite series.

I am planning to share my reading for 2021. I just wanted to mention that this is my all-time favorite book.

One of my favorites also.