Annual Reading Challenge 2019

[OKW8297]

26. “A Year of Biblical Womanhood “ by Rachel Held Evans. The title says what the book is about as Rachel writes about living biblically for one year. Rachel was an amazing woman and I say was because she tragically died this year. I intend to read all of her books. She had a voice that was inspiring.

 

[Disney_Alli]

38/50 - Under Fire: Book IX The Corps Series - W.E.B. Griffin

First book set during Korea after a 5 year jump from the last book, it deals with the start of the conflict through the planning and execution of the Inchon invasion. Many of our old friends from WWII are called back into service from their duties in the reserves and are mobilized to Korea and a main character through much of the series is shot down behind enemy lines. His father, appointed CIA director for the Far East, must deal with the possible loss of his only son while planning for the invasion.

 

[willowsnn3]

#44/50
The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and their teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home--wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks--she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

9 of 20: Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed

On the verge of victory in what seemed an endless war, five former rebel pilots transform from hunted to hunters as they strike out against the vestiges of Empire. Set after Return of the Jedi, Alphabet Squadron follows a unique team, each flying a different class of starfighter as they struggle to end their war once and for all.

Ehhhhh. This book was long, and there was a lot of setup. A look of internal drama within the squadron. Boring until the last quarter. 3 stars.

 

[bobbiwoz]

58/75 The Life She was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Wow, it was a very hard life she was given. Riveting book.

 

[tiggrbaby]

58/75 The Life She was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Wow, it was a very hard life she was given. Riveting book.

Agreed!

I am currently reading another one of her books: What She Left Behind

 

[virge]

49/50 The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman
A collection of his nonfiction essays. I found some topics more interesting than others. I loved the first 2 pieces and I loved his writings about various musicians, such as Lou Reed and Tori Amos. I didn’t really enjoy the ones about various comic book creators and science fiction authors, since the intended audience for those were people familiar with their works.

50/50 Pieces of Her by Karen Slaughter
“What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?
Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?
But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.
The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .”


Wow! I loved this book. I feel like most popular thrillers right now are written with unreliable female narrators. That is not the case here. The characters are strong and believable. I had no idea where the story was going and I loved that!

 

[Tiggerish]

The Book Club by Kate McCabe. Romantic fiction. Set in Dublin, Marion has purchased a condo in a new downtown development but at 29 years old and single and a civil service job, she has a lot of time on her hands. She puts up notices to start up a book club and an interest mix of people sign up. The book then charts how their lives intersect over the next year. It was a pleasant read.

Never Con a Corrgi by Edie Clair. Book Six of the Leigh Koslow Mysteries. I have not read any of the prior books so I was a bit lost on some of the reference but it was a free download. It was humorous and clever but not too believable.

75 and 76 of 104

 

[Tiggerish]

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. Genre - Inspirational
A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.

It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest. The stranger understands more about it than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.

Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry...and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.

Thanks so much for this book suggestion. I picked it up from the library early this morning and started reading. I could not put it down and read straight through the day (skipping lunch). I will read another of his books but not for a while, his stories seem to require a lot of emotional investment on the part of the reader.

77 of 104

 

[bobbiwoz]

Update time!

#34-"Lost Roses, Martha Hall Kelly, historical fiction-2 stars, just not for me
#35-"Summer Tides", Denise Hunter, romance and fiction "beach read"-4 stars
#36-"The Light Over London", historical fiction-4 stars
#37-"Murder on Wheels", Lynn Calhoon, typical cozy mystery-4 stars
#38-"The Lost Girls of Paris", Pam Jenoff, historical fiction-5 stars, one of my favorites ever
#39-The Honey Bus, Meredith May-well researched, but just OK-3 stars

Just read Summer by the Tides, I am glad you mentioned it! It’s my 59/75.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks so much for this book suggestion. I picked it up from the library early this morning and started reading. I could not put it down and read straight through the day (skipping lunch). I will read another of his books but not for a while, his stories seem to require a lot of emotional investment on the part of the reader.

77 of 104

Just put a hold on it...When Crickets Cry.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

49/50 The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

OooOoOo, gotta add that to my list!

 

[Tiggerish]

The Life She Was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman
On a summer evening in 1931, Lilly Blackwood glimpses circus lights from the grimy window of her attic bedroom. Lilly isn't allowed to explore the meadows around Blackwood Manor. She's never even ventured beyond her narrow room. Momma insists it's for Lilly's own protection, that people would be afraid if they saw her. But on this unforgettable night, Lilly is taken outside for the first time--and sold to the circus sideshow.

More than two decades later, nineteen-year-old Julia Blackwood has inherited her parents' estate and horse farm. For Julia, home was an unhappy place full of strict rules and forbidden rooms, and she hopes that returning might erase those painful memories. Instead, she becomes immersed in a mystery involving a hidden attic room and photos of circus scenes featuring a striking young girl.

At first, The Barlow Brothers' Circus is just another prison for Lilly. But in this rag-tag, sometimes brutal world, Lilly discovers strength, friendship, and a rare affinity for animals. Soon, thanks to elephants Pepper and JoJo and their handler, Cole, Lilly is no longer a sideshow spectacle but the circus's biggest attraction. . .until tragedy and cruelty collide. It will fall to Julia to learn the truth about Lilly's fate and her family's shocking betrayal, and find a way to make Blackwood Manor into a place of healing at last.

Really liked this one!

This was the first review of this book I saw and it has been followed by several others - all of which say similar things about how good this book is. And they are not wrong. I alternated between being angry, crying and be uplifted.

78 of 104

 

[bobbiwoz]

Update time!

#34-"Lost Roses, Martha Hall Kelly, historical fiction-2 stars, just not for me
#35-"Summer Tides", Denise Hunter, romance and fiction "beach read"-4 stars
#36-"The Light Over London", historical fiction-4 stars
#37-"Murder on Wheels", Lynn Calhoon, typical cozy mystery-4 stars
#38-"The Lost Girls of Paris", Pam Jenoff, historical fiction-5 stars, one of my favorites ever
#39-The Honey Bus, Meredith May-well researched, but just OK-3 stars

I just read The Light over London and I enjoyed it. It would be 4.5 in my book! Excellent historical fiction. 60/75

 

[Kirby]

Thanks so much for this book suggestion. I picked it up from the library early this morning and started reading. I could not put it down and read straight through the day (skipping lunch). I will read another of his books but not for a while, his stories seem to require a lot of emotional investment on the part of the reader.

77 of 104

Yes, they do. I read Wrapped In Rain by him last year. Very good book but like you said you get emotionally invested in the characters. It's a much harder book to read then When Crickets Cry. I've picked up Chasing Fireflys but it will be awhile before I read it.

35/50 - After The Rain by Karen White. Genre - Romance
When photographer Suzanne Paris lands in Walton, Georgia, she's pretty sure she's never seen a town so small - or quite so disquieting. It's a far cry from the life she left behind - and Joe Warner is nothing like any man she's known in the past. He's the mayor, in the first place, and in the second...he has six children. Hardly a picture-perfect boyfriend for a woman who's on the run and can't stick around. But something about Joe's slow Southern warmth lights up Suzanne in places that have been cold for far too long- and tempts her to look at life through a whole new lens...

I didn't realize when I purchased this book that is was a sequel to Falling Home but went ahead and read it. While it can be a stand alone I wish I read Falling Home first and will read it in the near future.

 

[Kirby]

36/50 - The Last One by Alexandra Oliva. Genre - Science Fiction
She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far.

It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens - but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it man-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them - a young woman the show's producers call Zoo - stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game.

Alone and disoriented, Zoo is heavy with doubt regarding the life - and husband - she left behind, but she refuses to quit. Staggering countless miles across unfamiliar territory, Zoo must summon all her survival skills - and learn new ones as she goes.

But as her emotional and physical reserves dwindle, she grasps that the real world might have been altered in terrifying ways, and her ability to parse the charade will be either her triumph or her undoing.

This book is one I got off of here. It has an interesting twist that I haven't read before. I think it is a good first book effort by the author.

 

[OKW8297]

27. “The Beantown Girls” by Jane Healey. Set in WW II, it is about Red Cross Clubmobile girls who boosted the morale of the troops. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It’s a time period I’m drawn to, and the characters were very likeable.

 

[Disney_Alli]

27. “The Beantown Girls” by Jane Healey. Set in WW II, it is about Red Cross Clubmobile girls who boosted the morale of the troops. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It’s a time period I’m drawn to, and the characters were very likeable.

And this just got added to my list - also a favorite time period of mine.

 

[willowsnn3]

45/50
"O" is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton
The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. Last week he bought a stack. They had stuff in them—Kinsey stuff. For thirty bucks, he'll sell her the lot. Kinsey's never been one for personal possessions, but curiosity wins out and she hands over a twenty (she may be curious but she loves a bargain). What she finds amid childhood memorabilia is an old undelivered letter.

It will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of that first marriage, about the honor of that first husband, about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril.

This is number 15 in the Kinsey Millhone series & one of the better ones. Slowly making my way thru the alphabet.....

 

[Disney_Alli]

39/50 - The Man in the White Suit - Ben Collins

The man who played The Stig for 8 years on the "original" version of Top Gear (from about Series 2 through Series 15ish) and various racing and Hollywood stunt driving stints Ben leads you through the ups and downs of his career. It's a great book and a reasonably easy read, he has a hilarious style and great stories - some swear words here and there but always in good taste. I highly recommend it to driving enthusiasts, fans of Top Gear (UK!), or anyone looking for a bio a bit outside the norm.