Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Ready to go for another year...my third time participating. Very rewarding to look back and see the year in books. Can't wait to see where 2013 takes me!

Book 1: Starting the new year on a mellow note with The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty, finished Jan 3, 2013.
Book 2: Back to the dark side with The Day is Dark by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, finished Jan 14, 2013.

Book 3: brutal, dark, depressing, but still glad I read Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, finished Jan 18, 2013.
Book 4: a twisted, sometimes offensive and disgusting, roller coaster ride of a read, Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, finished Jan 26, 2013.

Book 5, Dawdling and uninspiring, The HobbitJ.R.R. Tolkien, finished Feb 1, 2013.
Book 6, redundant in places but otherwise an ok read, Judgment and Grace in Dixie: Southern Faiths from Faulkner to Elvis by Charles Reagan Wilson, finished Feb 6, 2013.
Book 7, The bat by jo nesbo, book 1 of the Harry Hole series, finished Feb 16, 2013.
Book 8, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, finished Feb 24, 2013. Brought tears to my eyes, but so glad I read it.

Beautiful and memorable, Book 9, The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields, finished Mar 3, 2013.
Not recommended, too complicated (and unnecessarily so) and a rushed coming together of the ending, Book 10, The Golden Calf by Helene Tursten, finished Mar 7, 2013.
Very good, with the minor exception of Emma's wushu-washy character, Book 11, Unseen, by Mari Jungstedt, finished Mar 11, 2013.
Another good Scandinavian crime fiction read, Book 12, Silenced, by
Kristina Ohlsson, finished Mar 13, 2013.

Unsatisfactory ending, but a quick page turning read, Book 13, Defending Jacob by William Landay,finished Mar 23,2013.
Absorbing and beautifully written, book 14, March by Geraldine Brooks, finished Mar 27, 2013.

Satisfying and enriching WWII crime/spy drama set in England, Book 15, Season of Darkness by Maureen Jennings, finished Apr 15, 2013.
Informative, funny, and disturbing all at the same time, Book 16, Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz, finished Apr 18, 2013.
Sad, funny, disturbing, Book 17, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, finished April 20, 2013.
A very long and unsatisfying read, Book 18, The Flatey Enigma, by Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson, finished Apr 24, 2013.

Book 19,Red Wolf, by Liza Marklund, finished May5, 2013. Good story, but far too much focus on the inner feelings of Annika, the main character.
Book 20, a real roller coaster of a quick read, This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz, finished May 6,2013.
Book 21, a riveting and satisfying read, Until Thy Wrath Be Past by Åsa Larsson, finished May 19, 2013.

Book 22, Daybreak by Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson, a surprisingly good read with an unexpected twist, finished May 23, 2013.
Book 23, a heartbreaking and unbearably beautiful story, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, finished May 25, 2013.
Book 24, Burning Bright: Storiesby Ron Rash, a depressing but compelling book of southern mountain tales, finished June 1, 2013.
Book 25, a book of warm And wrenching mill stories intheSouth, The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg, finished June 3, 2013.

A new and rewarding author/series, Book 26, Blind Goddess by Anne Holt, finished June 13, 2013.
Densely written, thoroughly researched, fresh look at the GAPE South, The Problem South: Region, Empire, and the New Liberal State, 1880-1930 by Natalie J. Ring, book 27 finished June 15, 2013.
Wow, what a pageturner! Drama, mystery, romance, history, all rolled into one great book. Book 28, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, finished June 23, 2013.

Pulitzer read, The Bridge of San Luis Reyby Thornton Wilder, book 29 finished July 9, 2013.
Disturbing, difficult, and inspiring, Book 30, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, finished July 20, 2013.

Pulitzer read, The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, book 31, finished July 28, 2013.emotional, disturbing, spellbinding...a truly unique work of fiction.
Dense and chock full of information,Book 32 New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age, 1865-1905 by Rebecca Edwards, finished July 30, 2013.

Book 33, A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler Olson, a nail biter to the end with twists and turns throughout, finished Aug 8, 2013.

Book 34, He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum, finished Aug 14, 2013. Well plotted, interesting characters, nicely done.
Book 35, a cultural history of the GAPE full of fascinating info, Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920 by Jackson Lears, finished Aug 17, 2013.

Book 36, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, finished Aug 25, 2013.
Book 37, When the Devil Holds the Candle by Karin Fossum, finished Aug 29, 2013. Really good read, very dark and unhappy circumstances...perfect Nordic Noir.
Book 38, hooked on Karin Fossum, The Indian Bride, so good. Finished Sept 1, 2013.
Book 39, Strange Bird by Anna Janssen, finished Sept 7, 2013.
Book 40 Blessed Are Those Who Thirst by Anne Holt, finished Sept 14, 2013.
Book 41, a depressing and disturbing read, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, finished Sept 16, 2013.

Absorbing and evocative read about 50s America, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, Book 42, finished Sept. 24, 2013.
Disappointing writing, good plot, The Prone Gunmanby Jean-Patrick Manchette, Book 43 finished Oct 2 2013.
Book 44, Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History, James W. Loewen, finished Oct 2013.
Book 45, After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, finished Oct 2013.
Book 46, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920, finished Nov 2013.

Book 47, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow, finished Dec 1 2013.
Book 48, The Way West, by A.B. Guthrie Jr., finished 12/06/13.
Book 49, a disappointment, Meet Me in Malmo byTorquil MacLeod, finished Dec 13, 2013.
Book 50, Winterlude by Quentin Bates, finished Dec 14, 2013. Very good, but too short!

Book 51, Evas Öga by Karin Fossum, finished Dec 22, 2013. Excellent book, great series!

Book 52, Black Seconds by Karin Fossum, really well crafted book, with deep character development, finished Dec 28, 2013.

Book 53 The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum finished Dec 31, 2013.