Read 100+ Books in 2012 discussion

Wow, I cannot believe how quickly time is flying. Sorry for the delay in posting October's challenge. It's been a busy week and weekend.

1. Read the 10th book in a series or the 10th book of an author.
2. Read a book or author with O-C-T-B-E-R in the title or name.
3. In honor of Halloween, read a horror/scary/Halloween book.
3. Read a book about your favorite hobby.
4. Read a book about history or an historical novel.
5. Read a book about night.
6. Read a book about Canada.
7. Read a book about trains.
8. Read a book with a color in its title.
9. Your choice

You mean it's October already?

1. Read the 10th book in a series or the 10th book of an author.

2. Read a book or author with O-C-T-B-E-R in the title or name.
"Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter.

3. In honor of Halloween, read a horror/scary/Halloween book.
"Faithless" by Karin Slaughter . . . Scary last name, right?

3. Read a book about your favorite hobby.
"When the Killing's Done" by T.C. Boyle - Takes place on the Channel Islands just off Santa Barbara - Terrific hiking location . . . And I do love hiking!

4. Read a book about history or an historical novel.

5. Read a book about night.
"An Object of Beauty" by Steve Martin. Many of the scenes and locales take place in the New York City evenings.

6. Read a book about Canada.

7. Read a book about trains.

8. Read a book with a color in its title.

9. Your choice
"A Firing Offense" by George Pelecanos
"Familiar" by J. Robert Lennon

Finished reading "The Horse Whisperer" yesterday afternoon by Nicholas Evans. If you haven't read it, please do so - An incredible piece of writing.

Now reading "A Firing Offense" by George Pelecanos, one of my favorite crime/mystery writers.

Now reading "Faithless" by Karin Slaughter.

"New York Times bestseller Karin Slaughter brings back her two most fascinating and complex characters–medical examiner Sara Linton and her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver–in a heart-pounding tale of faith, doubt, and murder…

The victim was buried alive in the Georgia woods–then killed in a horrifying fashion. When Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver stumble upon the body, both become consumed with finding out who killed the pretty young woman. For them, a harrowing journey begins, one that will test their own turbulent relationship and draw dozens of life into the case.

For as Jeffrey and Sara move further down a trail of shocking surprises and hidden passions, neither is prepared for the most stunning discovery of all: the identity of a killer who is more evil and dangerous than anyone could have guessed."

Now my list:

8/10, 34 books

1. Read the 10th book in a series or the 10th book of an author.
2. Read a book or author with O-C-T-B-E-R in the title or name--Gabriel's Rapture by Sylvain Reynard--finished 10/5/12.
3. In honor of Halloween, read a horror/scary/Halloween book--Dracula's Harem by Adrianna White--finished 10/30/12.
3. Read a book about your favorite hobby.
4. Read a book about history or an historical novel--Birdsong by Sebastian Faulk--finished 10/28/12.
5. Read a book about night--Under His Skin by Sidney Bristol--finished 10/19/12.
6. Read a book about Canada--Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard--finished 10/3/12
7. Read a book about trains--The Wreck of the Red Arrow: An American Train Tragedy by Dennis P. McIlnay--finished 10/31/12
8. Read a book with a color in its title--Alligator in the Strawberry Patch by B. J. Robinson--finished 10/5/12.
9. Your choice--An Uninvited Ghost by E. J. Copperman--finished 10/18/12

Bonus books:
The Adventures of Marty the Ant & Millie the Ant by Michael Rock--finished 10/5/12
After Hours by Jasmine Belle--finished 10/5/12
And Doctor Makes Three by J. J. Edge--finished 10/5/12
The Anal Club by Debbie Brownstone--finished 10/5/12
The Assassin's Mistress by J. H. Bogran--finished 10/5/12
Bad Teacher: Schooling in Naughty Lessons by Isis O'Shea--finished 10/6/12
Banging Bill's Wife by Stephen Leather--finished 10/6/12
1989 by Sam C. Leonard--finished 10/6/12
Spice It Up by Jennifer LaBelle--finished 10/6/12
First Date by R. Ann Siracusa--finished 10/6/12
Foreshock by Kari Gregg--finished 10/6/12
Fourth and Long by Chris Scully--finished 10/6/12
Hallowed Eve by Alesio Brio--finished 10/6/12
Behind Closed Doors by Damian Santiago--finished 10/7/12
Punishment and Mercy by Cris Anson--finished 10/29/12
Beauty and the Beast with Two Backs by Adrianna White--finished 10/29/12
Cumming with the Devil by Han Drimmer--finished 10/30/12
Cuffed at Midnight by Chris Almeida & Cecelia Aubrey--finished 10/30/12
David (Rachel, My Mother) by Nava Herzog--finished 10/30/12
The Dom's Poker Game by October Dawn--finished 10/30/12
The Dressing Room by Gwendolyn Cummings--finished 10/30/12
The Erotic Exploits of New Lesbian Desire #1 by Zoharah Jay--finished 10/30/12
Savannah's Ghost Tale by Kali Willows--finished 10/30/12
Savor the Hour by Layla Skylar--finished 10/30/12
Sazerac by Howard McEwen--finished 10/30/12

Chuck wrote: "Finished reading "The Horse Whisperer" yesterday afternoon by Nicholas Evans. If you haven't read it, please do so - An incredible piece of writing.

Now reading "A Firing Offense" by George Peleca..."

How was A Firing Offense?

Just finished Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard. I expected something along the lines of 50 Shades of Grey but it is nothing like it. Gabriel's Inferno is good, well written, erotic but very little sex. Lots of references to Dante's works with Shakespeare and the Bible tossed in. I had a very hard time putting it down. Stayed up too late reading.

"A Firing Offense" was OK, one of the earlier books by George Pelecanas. In this book Pelecanos introduces us to Nick Stefanos who is in his early 30's working for a electronics store in upper management, a "suit."

But what I enjoyed was the way he developed Stefanos from a "suit" to a private investigator and the character who appears in other Pelecanos works.

Another thing I really liked were all of the music references he uses from the early 90's in his story - from the Talking Heads to The Cure and many other RB groups and other forms of music. Terrific!

Good beginning for a terrific character

Chuck wrote: ""A Firing Offense" was OK, one of the earlier books by George Pelecanas. In this book Pelecanos introduces us to Nick Stefanos who is in his early 30's working for a electronics store in upper mana..."

That's good to know.

Hey, Manda,
What is Dissolution about?

I just finished a bunch of short free reads I've had on my Kindle. If you are looking for a cute book for young children, Alligator in the Strawberry Patch was a good one. Gatorhide escapes the swamp through an open fence and follows his nose to a strawberry patch. He learns that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

1. Read the 10th book in a series or the 10th book of an author.
2. Read a book or author with O-C-T-B-E-R in the title or name.
3. In honor of Halloween, read a horror/scary/Halloween book.
3. Read a book about your favorite hobby.
4. Read a book about history or an historical novel.
5. Read a book about night.
You Suck by Christopher Moore
6. Read a book about Canada.
7. Read a book about trains.
8. Read a book with a color in its title.
Dead Is the New Black by Christine DeMaio-Rice
9. Your choice
Only the Strongest Survive by Ian Fox
Zen Queen by Kirsty McManus
Cupcake: A Modern Love-Story with a Bigger-Than-Average Waistline by Mariah Jones
Hush by Anne Frasier
Hollywood Secrets by Gemma Halliday

Finished reading "Faithless" by Karin Slaughter - 4/5 stars"

Now reading "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter.

"The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.

And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams."

Finished reading "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter this morning. Heard lots of great reviews about the story. Gave it 3/5 stars, a bit disappointed in the book.

Now reading "When the Killing's Done" by T.C. Boyle, one of my favorite writers - This is a book club selection.

Finished "When the Killings Done" by T.C. Boyle - 4/5 stars!

Now reading "An Object of Beauty" by Steve Martin . . . Yes, THAT Steve Martin!

Sorry I haven't been talking too much about the books I've been reading, I've been on a mission to clear out some of the books on my Kindle. I'm making progress yay!

Finished reading "An Object of Beauty" by Steve Martin.

Kristy wrote: "Sorry I haven't been talking too much about the books I've been reading, I've been on a mission to clear out some of the books on my Kindle. I'm making progress yay!"

I need to do that but tomorrow I'm off to Women Read/Women Write conference. More books!!! And two weekends ago I was at Romanticon and bought a lot of books. Well, if I get snowed in this winter, I'm set.

Now reading "Familiar" by J. Robert Lennon

Familiar is about "a woman who is given a second chance and isn’t sure whether she really wants it. Elisa Brown is driving back from her annual, somber visit to her son Silas’s grave when something changes. Actually, everything changes: her body is more voluptuous; she’s wearing different clothes and driving a new car. When she arrives home, her life is 'familiar,' but different. There is her house, her husband. But in the world she now inhabits, Silas is no longer dead, and his brother is disturbingly changed. Elisa has a new job, and her marriage seems sturdier, and stranger, than she remembers. She finds herself faking her way through a life she is convinced is not her own. Has she had a psychotic break? Or has she entered a parallel universe? Elisa believed that Silas was doomed from the start, but now that he is alive, what can she do to repair her strained relations with her children? She soon discovers that these questions hinge on being able to see herself as she really is' something that might be impossible for Elisa, or for anyone."

I just finished Birdsong by Sebastian Faulk. It was a hard read. When I put it down I was never sure if I'd pick it up again but I was compelled to finish it. It's done in sections with different viewpoints. Most of it occurs during WWI. The battle scenes are graphic but they explain why Stephen and his fellow soldiers felt as they did and why after the war they were like they were. Stephen tries to make sense of it all but eventually it breaks him. Worth reading but graphic battle scenes.

Hope none of you were in the path of Sandy and if you were hopefully you escaped major damage. The rain is finally stopping here. Sandy wasn't as bad in this area as expected. I did a lot of reading the past two days since they gave us off. I read some of the free Kindle e-books I had on my reader. Some good, some bad.

That's good news Sheila - Let's pray and hope for the best for all those affected by Sandy.

Manda wrote: "good sheila glad it wasnt bad your way x birdsong is on my shelves to read - needs concentrating on i guess."

Yes, Birdsong was not the easiest read, mostly because it grips your emotions from the beginning. The battlefield scenes are graphic but it is worth reading as you see Stephen change. I won't ruin the ending for you.

I finished a little book about an unknown to me train wreck that occurred in 1947 about 2 hours east from where I live. It's called The Wreck of the Red Arrow: An American Train Tragedy by Dennis P. McIlnay. He told about the wreck but he personalized it by telling stories of the people who died and those who lived. Also included was the government's report about the accident. I don't know that I agree with the final report. Interesting read though.