Reading Challenge/Goals for 2024

[Wood Nymph]

I enjoy reading, but have never participated in the reading challenge. You are all such avid readers, and I have a question for you: Where do you buy your books? They are way too expensive for me to purchase new. I have a Kindle, but those prices have gone up also. Is Kindle Unlimited worth the cost? I did mange to pick up a few books at the thrift stores yesterday that were recommended here.

I get books from the library. They have a regional system which enables me to get just about any book I want.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I enjoy reading, but have never participated in the reading challenge. You are all such avid readers, and I have a question for you: Where do you buy your books? They are way too expensive for me to purchase new. I have a Kindle, but those prices have gone up also. Is Kindle Unlimited worth the cost? I did mange to pick up a few books at the thrift stores yesterday that were recommended here.

I pretty much get all mine from the Library except for the ones I take to the beach in the summer - I get those from thrift stores/yard sales/Half Price books.

 

[melk]

Very rarely do I buy a book. I also use the library as well as the Libby app for kindle books.

 

[willowsnn3]

I enjoy reading, but have never participated in the reading challenge. You are all such avid readers, and I have a question for you: Where do you buy your books? They are way too expensive for me to purchase new. I have a Kindle, but those prices have gone up also. Is Kindle Unlimited worth the cost? I did mange to pick up a few books at the thrift stores yesterday that were recommended here.

I can't remember the last book I bought. I use the library. Our county headquarters library is 3.5 miles from my house & .5 miles from my job so I pass it twice daily, lol, so very convenient for me. They also have a program where I can request a book from another library & pick up at the one close to me.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I enjoy reading, but have never participated in the reading challenge. You are all such avid readers, and I have a question for you: Where do you buy your books? They are way too expensive for me to purchase new. I have a Kindle, but those prices have gone up also. Is Kindle Unlimited worth the cost? I did mange to pick up a few books at the thrift stores yesterday that were recommended here.

I get books mostly from blog contests, facebook contests and author giveaway contests. Most of my kindle books are free ones again by authors or blog giveaways. I did receive 4 books I asked for at Christmas. I usually read faith based books. Occasionally I win Goodreads contests and sometimes have my ds get a kindle book request from the library for me.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Thanks to all of you who responded to my post. I had never heard of Libby but will definitely give it a try, as well as Kindle Unlimited.

 

[amcnj]

I don’t keep track of the number of books I read, but have read two so far this year. The only tally reference I have is the library dollar value of what I saved from using the library. And last year was a record for me, and wish I could get a check for the amount I saved!

Incidentally, the first book of the year for me was The Boys in the Boat. I haven’t seen the movie, but heard about it, so looked into the book.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Very rarely do I buy a book. I also use the library as well as the Libby app for kindle books.

So do I. However, our library doesn't have a very big collection of kindle books. And I'm not sure I want to pay for Kindle Unlimited (I'm kind of ch-...er, I mean "thrifty"). I wish our library was tied into some regional or state system so I had access to more books. Does anyone know of any ways I can access free kindle books beyond our local library?

 

[Needsanap]

1/25
On The Way To The Wedding (Bridgerton Series)

 

[melk]

So do I. However, our library doesn't have a very big collection of kindle books. And I'm not sure I want to pay for Kindle Unlimited (I'm kind of ch-...er, I mean "thrifty"). I wish our library was tied into some regional or state system so I had access to more books. Does anyone know of any ways I can access free kindle books beyond our local library?

You could check with your reference librarian and see if they have any other ways to access digital media. Our library also has hoopla and overdrive, but I find Libby is the easiest for me. Occasionally I go through the free kindle books on Amazon (I do have Amazon prime, but not kindle unlimited). I’ve gotten a few good ones that way.

 

[DisneyHardin]

2/32 - Maybe in Another Life - Taylor Jenkins Reid - 3/5 stars. I just read another of her books earlier in the week that I loved, this one was just okay.

Summary from Amazon:
At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

 

[willowsnn3]

01/50 Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes by Karin Slaughter
A missing girl in the news reminds Julia Carroll of herself: nineteen, beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes.
A short prequel to Slaughter's Pretty Girls which I read some time ago.

02/50 The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick
Kay thought she knew everything there was to know about her family and their marsh life. But that was before the new neighbors arrived and her parents became suspects in a murder and a kidnapping.
One hot, sticky summer in Bledsoe, Georgia, twelve-year-old Kay Whitaker stumbles across a stilt house in a neighboring marsh and upon Andy Webber, a boy about her age. He and his father have recently moved back to Georgia from California, and rumors of the suspicious drowning death of Andy's mother years earlier have chased them there and back.
Kay is fascinated and enamored with Andy, and she doesn't listen when her father tells her to stay away from the Webbers. But when Kay's sister goes missing, the mystery of Mrs. Webber's death―and Kay's parents' potential role in it―comes to light. Kay and her brothers must navigate the layers of secrets that emerge in the course of the investigation as their family, and the world as they knew it, unravels around them.
Pretty good, I enjoyed it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

5/80
4/5
The Talented Mr Varg
Ulf Varg is a detective in Sweden’s Department of Sensitive Crimes, and this is the second novel in the series. I had some quality chuckles, but it’s not as good as the Lady Detective series IMO.

 

[OKW8297]

1.The Ghost of Madison Avenue by Nancy Bikyeau Easy read but ends abruptly.

 

[Beezle2]

3/75 The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie. Book 2 in The Age of Madness series. Unlikely heroes rise, bad guys get what's coming to them, sinister forces lurk. For fans of the Fantasy genre this series is appealing and full of action and interesting characters. I am excited for book 3 because I have heard good things.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

1/40 - The Guilty Husband - Stephanie DeCarolis

2/40 - Dead of Winter - Darcy Coates - kept me guessing but very gory.

 

[Kirby]

Where do you buy your books?

I get a lot of my Kindle books through bookbub.com. You can choose what genres you are interested in and they will email you suggestions. You can choose how often you want to receive an email, I receive them daily right now. You can even stop the emails when you want and then pick back up when you've read the books you've chosen. The books are anywhere from Free up to $2.99 but I did see one the other day for $3.99. You purchase them through Amazon. I also purchase books through Amazon and thrift stores when I get in the mood to hold a physical book.

#2 - The Como Falcon: An Ali Falco Novel by Jeff Carson.
This is my book club's pick for January. A detective has the opportunity to become inspector but bad feelings towards her dad get in the way. He dies and she goes home only to find out that his death is suspicious. Takes place in Italy. My book rating will be a 3 out of 5, I neither like it nor dislike it.

 

[Wood Nymph]

2/30 - The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

This was a book that had plenty of great reviews. The location of a small town along the Maine coast appealed to me. We have traveled to the Maine coast four years in a row and know what the setting is like.

The mystery was interesting. The characters were well-written. The plot has some good twists. It is the first book in a new series by the author. It was a good book and I enjoyed it.

 

[Needsanap]

The Long Call by Anne Cleeves

2/5

 

[RangerPooh]

1/25 Hannah Swenson series; Pink Lemonade Cake Murder by Joann Fluke (most recent in the series)

I'm halfway through another book in a different series, but am undecided if I want to finish. I'm not into it.