The 104 Book Challenge - 2014 discussion

Thanks to Jen for doing this another year! I have been a member for a few years now and I have discovered a lot of great books from seeing what everyone else is reading. I love to hear the opinions and ratings of the books people read.
I work at a library and am sort of over the young adult section of books so I read a lot of YA books. It helps to hear what you all think of the books I can 't get to. I can also find the best adult books to pick up and enjoy. Much of what I "read" I actually listen to because I can be more efficient that way. There 's nothing I like so well as a good project and a good book to help me accomplish it. I love books I can close with a smile of satisfaction.

I made my goal last year, which was to read less and spend more time actually interacting with my family. I have been somewhat of a hermit for a few years I guess. My other goal was 1 non-fiction per quarter and I thought I had for sure made that, but I looked at my list and only had 3 so I guess that goes back on goals for this year. I will also make a goal to read a couple of classics as well. I think 130 is a nice number to shoot for. My to-read shelf is way to large so I hope to knock off 10-15 or so of those.

YAY, Nanci! So glad you're back! Looking forward to watching your list again this year. :)

1. First one of the year! Deception Cove I listened to this on audio. The reader was very good.
These Jayne Castle books are just fun for me. Nothing heavy but a good way to get through getting Christmas cleaned up.

2. Falcon in the Glass As I began this book, I was very interested and the story brought me in. As I continued on, I got a little annoyed with Renzo but because he is a boy, finding his way, I could be patient. Then the author seemed to rush the ending. It just didn't finish out as fully as I wanted it too. For that reason I can only give it 3 stars rather than more. It is worth a read for middle grades interested in a historical novel.

3. Smaragdgrün I am really annoyed that when I put in Emerald Green, this is what comes up. I know it is the original but really, couldn't the English version be available to choose? I listened to the English version, not the German. Anyway, I almost didn't read this. The 2nd one ended on such a note that I just wasn't sure I wanted to wade through the angst. My daughter read it and told me it wasn't so bad, so when I finally got the audio book from the library, I began. I am so glad I listened to her. I had forgotten how much I like the way this author writes. Great end to the trilogy.

4. Zero Hour I have to say that I really like to have fun with a good Clive Cussler. This one is a Kurt Austin adventure. Love Kurt and Joe! You get to see Dirk Pitt and Paul and Gamay and the crew as well as they are up against the clock to save the world again this time from Down Under. I listened to it on audio. The same reader does most of the Cussler books I have listened to. I like the way he reads it.

5. No Shame, No Fear Historical fiction about the Quakers in England and the persecution they had to undergo because their religion didn't conform to the Church of England. I thought it was well written and I liked it.Somewhat earthy.(not too much, it is YA) Cute little romance.

6. The Amulet of Samarkand I listened to this on audio and had a good time with it. The reader is great! I did read some of it, because I actually own the book, but it was so much fun listening to this reader I preferred that.

7. Wow, had a seriously hard time getting through this one. Battle of the Ampere I don't know why. I guess I just was bored with it. I couldn't get into the action and the kids just bugged me.I really had to make myself finish it. I didn't feel that way with the first two but I'm not thinking I will go on when the next one comes out.
8. Promise Me Texas I like the Whispering Mountain series. Some are better than others. I liked this one.

I am on target for January. I am struggling a little with getting to all the books I want to get to lately.

Ok, I sort of went the lazy route yesterday and instead of cleaning house, I finished a couple of books I have been trying to get to for a couple of months. Pros And cons in that situation, you know?
9. Birthmarked I had a hard time getting into this book. I think it might be because I started it on audio and the the reader wasn't really very good. I finally got the book from the library and read the rest so I am not sure if reading it was just better or the story finally caught me half way through. I did end up liking it the book. I am a little tired of the depressing elements of some of the dystopian genre but I liked the main characters so still up in the air about finishing the series.

Those of you who have read it, is it worth it?

10. Curtsies & Conspiracies Carriger is a fun writer. This YA Finishing School series is really pretty entertaining. In this book, Sophronia has to deal with some loneliness when she is ostracized for getting the best marks. She handles it with grace, of course. She is in finishing school after all. She also has to wrestle with the idea that in achieving her "intelligencer" ends, someone is going to be hurt by her lies and her actions. She has to figure out how to deal with the guilt that comes with that part of the job. Does the means justify the end? Can't wait to read the next in the series.

11. The Screaming Staircase I loved listening to/reading this book. I had both the book and the cd and traded off depending on what was more convenient at the time. The reader was great, the story was very interesting. It was a little predictable in that I could predict the final bad guy but the getting there was exciting and scary. I actually had to wait till the light of day to continue reading at one point. Too ghosty for night. I loved the characters and I can't wait to read the next installment.

12. I am actually not sure who the translator is on this version so not sure I have the correct copy on the link but the story is basically the same with all of them right? I liked this book. I had never read it and have always wanted to. There is a lot of technical/ scientific classification to get over and the author writes as other authors of his time period so the language is a little different but a lot of adventure.

13. Snow White A cute little romantic retelling of Snow White adding some supporting characters and a happy ending all around.Complete fluff but fluff a romantic teenage girl would like.

14. The Edge on the Sword This is a YA historical fiction about a queen who lived in the late 800's. So long ago that it almost seems like legend. This was some pretty heavy research but I found the character very interesting and the author kept my interest. I read it in about 3 hours so a pretty quick read.

15. Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book This wasn't quite what I expected it to be and I was pretty disappointed. 2 stars

16. Steelheart On the flip side, I loved this YA series opener from Sanderson. I loved that is a dystopian with a twist. It isn't all sad and there is no love triangle. The climax comes to an end so you get closure but there are hints that make you excited to read the next book in the series. No huge cliffhanger. 5 stars on this one. Sanderson is a great author.

16. Obsidian 3/5 I liked it but I am not sure I am invested enough to go farther with the series.

17. The Burning Sky I really liked this book. The story was inventive and magical. For Harry Potter series lovers, this might be a good choice to turn to when you want something magical to fill the "After Potter" space. It is kind of funny that this author is actually a successful romance author. I haven't read her romances but I love her foray into YA fantasy. I would give this to 13 and up.

17. Mrs. Lincoln's Rival 3/5 I liked this book. I am not a fan of the ending but I enjoyed reading the history from a different point of view than I have read of the Civil War and the people around Lincoln before.

18. Under the Never Sky 4/5 I liked this Dystopian better than others I have read lately. I look forward to reading more.

19. The Case of the Missing Marquess 3/5 This is a cute mystery. I would put it into the middle grades 4-8 rather than older kids.

20. The Selection I hadn't planned to read this but a friend recommended it to me. I liked it. I am not sure I will go one with it right now because I am so not in the mood for a love triangle and the angst that goes with it.3.5/5

21. The Raven Boys

22.The Dream Thieves I really liked The Raven Boys, I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the characters. The dream thieves I didn't like as much. It was too far in the language and vulgarity for me. I have a hard time when I like a character and he/she disappoints. There was a lot of that in this book. Gansey and Blue and the Grey Man are still true to who they are. I liked that.

23. Through the Ever Night I really liked this sequel to Under the Never Sky. The pace was fast. Lots of heartache but it made sense more than in some other books. I am looking forward to the next book.

24. United We Spy The end! I finally reached the end. I love this series really. This end book wasn't my favorite. The characters not as reachable I guess. That isn't to say I didn't like it, it just wasn't as fun of a read as some of the other books.

25. Thornyhold This was OK. I thought I had read it when I was younger but it didn't prick any memories so either it was forgettable or I missed it. It wasn't one of Stewart's best. The ending seemed rushed and a little disjointed. The romance was rushed as well.

26. The Earl's Honorable Intentions I needed something light and fun. This fit the bill.
27. The Shadow Throne I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. Although the 3rd book was not as strong as the first two, I still really liked it and thought it was a great way to end the series. I thought this series has great adventures, twists and turns and surprises. Again, this last one not quite as good but still worth the read.

I know I have read something else but I can't think of it right now. Or possibly I have just started several and not finished them.

28. ahhh...Unspoken I thought this was witty and fun with an interesting murder mystery. I didn't love the way it ended because it makes me feel like the 2nd book can't possibly be near as fun. It seems like it must be much darker. I plan to read the set anyway.

29. A Hat Full of Sky Terry Pratchett is always entertaining.
30. As You Are The cover of the book I read looks different from this. A nice addition to her Jonquil Brothers series.

31. A Match Made in Texas Cute little anthology that takes 4 authors who cover 4 different characters in the same town tying them together with the matchmaking help of Hannah, the 4th character. I liked the 1st and 4th the best which is natural because I like those two authors. The other two were nice, just not favorites.
Dangerous
32 Shannon Hale ventured into the sci-fi action genre with this book. The main character is a very smart home-schooled young lady who is missing half an arm. She is very interested in space and happens to win a spot at an exclusive space camp. The experiences there are like no other camp and as things happen Maisie becomes involved in the Fireteam and as such, has to save the world from Alien invasion. I thought this was a cute read. I liked it. It has a nice romance for her fans of the Bayern books. There was a good bit of action and I liked the main characters, even when the main hottie looked like the bad guy.

33. Freckles I loved A Girl of the Limberlost when I was young but I had never read the 1st book of the Limberlost so I finally did. It was very old-fashioned and sentimental(written in 1904) but I loved it. It highlights people of such good character and integrity. Values in this book are not often seen in our world today but so very needed and wonderful.It highlights enjoying nature and all it can offer. A fun step back in time.

34. Fever Crumb This has been on my "to read" list for a long time. I finally got around to reading it when I saw that our library got it on audio. I really enjoyed this steampunk book. The premise was original and the people interesting. I look forward to reading more.

35. Made to Last I wanted more out of this book than I felt I got I think. I didn't fall in love with the main characters. They just didn't catch me and I had a hard time making myself finish. This is a fairly new author so I hope she continues to grow as she writes. I

36. Life in Outer Space I know what you might be thinking. "Another nerd gets the girl" book. This one had more substance to it for me. This Australian rom/com was a really fun read as well as a thoughtful one. I think I will be putting it on my "favorites of the year" list. I am not sure I can really explain why but it really just hit me. I would call it a more of a "coming alive" book rather than "coming of age" book. The ending slightly cliche' but with a little twist. I think this is a new author and I will look for more from her.The cover of the edition I read is different from the one shown here. I like the one I read better, just as an aside.

37. The Duke's Marriage Mission Another edition to the series. Ok. Not the favorite.

38.Hearth Fires I enjoyed Dorothy Keddington as a teen and liked this sweet romance of hers as an adult. Nice, feel good, light romance.

39. Nation This was a very different Terry Pratchett than I have read before. I enjoyed it just as much though. I have not read many of the discworld books but what I have read I liked. However, this book and Dodger were just something else again. This won't capture everyone, and I might not have appreciated it as much as a young adult as I did now. You never know, teens question, and this book is all about questioning what you believe in and what you can be and do when life takes a dramatic, life-changing turn.

3 pretty different books that I really liked in different ways. One, an ok fluff read.

40. Into the Still Blue This ends Veronica Rossi's series. Loved this series. liked the ending. Love the characters.

41. Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures Cute book for kids.

42. Summers at Castle Auburn I like Shinn's brand of Fantasy. This one a little different but still enjoyable.

43. Untold 2nd book in series. liked it, not as much humor as first book but it is a good story

44. The Splendour Falls

45. Chances Are

46. Fragments Solid middle book to the series. I liked the first one better but still a great continuation of the story.

47. You Came For Me Cute romance. A little annoying in places but they often are.

48. The Testing
Didn't like this series beginner. I listened to it and the reader was not good so that may be part of why I didn't like it. I expected more from it because it was nominated for a book award in my state.

49. Ruins This was a great end to a great series. I felt this series was well written. I loved the characters and cared about them all the way through. I felt even the secondary characters came to life.

50. Death Comes to the Village Cute mystery set in the era after the Napoleonic Wars. This is a series beginner and has a little bit of romance foreshadow. Not as strong as some series but mystery readers will like it I think.

51. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Very fun mystery with lots of title dropping and fun.

52. Undetected liked this offering from Henderson. It was not so much suspense but I liked the way she built her characters.

53. These Broken Stars 4 Stars. Liked the story, liked the writing style.

54. I Am the Messenger Not fully sure how I felt about this book. I liked it. Some thinking about it needs to happen. I listened to it so I might check out the book to re-read a few parts.

55. One Lavender Ribbon Could have been good, wanted it to be, just didn't like it that much. Very annoyed with both main characters. Just wanted to get to the end. 2 stars

56. Deep Blue Liked this take on the Mermaid/man world. Rather than interacting with people, this is all about the mer people, their kingdom, and saving it. 3 stars maybe 3.5

57. Unspoken Liked this, more relationship than suspense, which is what I thought it would be before reading it. 3 stars

58. The Rose-Garden Husband Old fashioned romance from the past. Maybe something my grandparents could have read. 3 stars.

59. George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution 3 stars on this one. I listened to this one and it was read by one of the authors. Could have made it better with a voice-actor. I stuck with it because I was interested in the subject but could have been presented in a more interesting way. I liked learning about spying during the Revolutionary War.

60. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels 3 stars

61. Safe by the Marshal's Side 3 stars

62. Deep Blue 3 stars

63. Hex Hall 3 stars

64. Defy 4 stars

65. The Supernaturalist 3 stars

66. Bright Shadow Cute little Avi fantasty. I like the historical fiction better generally but this was a nice quick read.
67. Lost Lake Another nice women's fiction from Allen. I loke tht she adds just a touch of magical element to her everyday books. Sometimes you have to look at life as a little magical and enjoy it.

68. Full Steam Ahead Another fun romance from Wittemyer.3.5

69. Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, and Other Female Villains Fun YA nonfiction talking about some of the women in history known for their bad deeds. Gives a good laugh.

70. Hide in Plain Sight


71. Of Neptune

72. SYLO

73. The Book of Life I enjoyed this end to the trilogy. It wasn't as strong as the first book but fun to revisit the characters.

74.Becoming Lady Lockwood Enjoyed this nice regency romance. Fun premise. This is a first book, look forward to more.

75. The Paladin Prophecy Nice beginning to a series. I like the characters, enjoyed the fantasy.

76. Cotillion This one is my favorite Heyer book. I just had to re-read it. It has been too long. Just a delightful read. Actually I listened to it and the reader was great!

77. The Avatar Battle This is a fun sequel to The Inventor's Secret. It isn't very often that I really like the 2nd book better than the first but this is one of those instances. This one hit me on an emotional level as well as just enjoying the story. Some learning could happen with kids when they read it. Really liked this one.
Been a great couple of weeks for books for me.

oooo.... new books to add to my list... I liked Frosts' List of 7. Inventor's Secret looks cool, too, but it's not an e-book. Drat!

78. A Creature of Moonlight I really wanted to like this book. I kept waiting to connect with it. Just didn't get there. The best word I can use for it is melancholy.

79. Catch a Falling Star I really liked this book. I thought it would be fluff but there was some substance to it. I reallyliked it. I give it 4 stars.

80. Ghost Ship Another fun Kurt Austin Numa Files book. This one was on Book on CD. These are just pure fun to read and listen to. Love the way Kurt and Joe interact. They just make me smile.

81. Born of Illusion This book takes a look at the spiritualist/medium craze of the late 19th and early 20th century. The idea of the science of psychic power is addresed as well, as it puts forth a nice historical mystery.

82. Protective Instincts Another solid Shirlee McCoy.
83. Stuck Together This one wasn't as good as he first two. Kind of annoyed me. Had a hard time finishing it.
84. A Blind Eye YA Christian mystery. Good story about a girl who is blind and is abducted. Is it because as she dreams at night, she sees crimes before they happen?
85. Millions Cute book about a young boy in England. His family is trying to adjust to death of his mother. Because of that death, he is very interested in the lives of saints. He finds a bag of Pound notes just before they are discontinued and Britain goes to Euros. He and his brother have great adventures trying to spend the money and avoid the robbers who lost the bag.
86. Mitosis Filler book to please fans as they wait for Firefight to come out.
87. The Cat Who Went Bananas Not worth the time on this one! So boring and has no real solution to the mystery.
88. Seagrass Pier Solid addition to the series. Nice Christian romantic suspense.
89. Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon Really liked this NF book about the 1st atomic bomb and all that came about in the building of it. This non-fiction really does read like a good fiction spy story.

That doesn't quite catch me up but I am out of time. I had some good reading fun.

90. Crown Duel
91. Court Duel
I like Sherwood Smith. Fun YA light fantasy romance.
92. The Princess Plot Fun YA adventure with missing royalty and civil war threatening.
93. The Insider Religious thriller. I enjoyed it.

94. The Protector's Promise

95. The Guardian's Mission

96. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore Really enjoyed this one. I listed to the book on cd and the reader was so great!. Made my day of making applesauce a lot better.

97. The Hot Zone Just fun to visit this sci fi world every so often.

98. The Cay Great children's adventure book for those who don't want fantasy.

99. Expecting the Prince's Baby Ok, you can laugh at me. For some reason I like these little Harlequin Romances. Just a little bit of escape for an hour or so.

100. Found This third installment is a pretty good adventure with some moral dilemma thrown in.

101. Trickster's Choice

102. Trickster's Queen
These are a re-read from many years ago. I really enjoyed them then and I really enjoyed them now. If you have read Tamora Pierce's Allana series, these books have her daughter and the heroine.

103. Sleeper This is part of a YA series, I think this the first one. I wasn't really that impressed. It was just ok for me.

104. Unmade The series closer. I liked the series quite a bit. The first book is my favorite for sure. This book got really dark so I didn't love as much as I wanted to. At the same time, there were several lol moments.

105. For Elise Enjoyable light, regency romance. Another good one from Eden.

106. Drop Zone
This ccontinues Abrahmson's Saint Squad series. A good addition.

107.The Husband Campaign The third in a series. I diidn't realize that, but it was fine as a stand alone. Fun little regency. I just need those sometimes.

108. The Perilous Sea I really like this fantasy YA series. Kind of bummed because I have to wait till an undisclosed date for the next book in the series.

109. Blue Lily, Lily Blue For some reason I really have a hard time putting these books down. I don't really understand why because I think they are dark and very strange. I am sure most is going way over my head. I was really hoping this would be the last in the series. Kind of bummed it isn't
110. Warbreaker Had to reread this one. It is a favorite.

111. Lives of the Scientists: Experiments, Explosions Had a good time with this one. Some fun facts you wouldn't normally know.

112. Jackaby This was a cute paranormal mystery with lots of laughs. Jackaby is such a character you can't help loving him even with all his oddness and quirks. This book solves the mystery but leaves it open for a mystery series with these characters. I would look forward to learning more about the characters as the series progresses. At least I hope it progresses. I haven't looked to see.
113. Only Enchanting Had to get my Survivors Club fix. For some reason I really connect with many of the characters Balogh writes.

114. Oh, one more. The Persian Pickle Club This has been on my "to read" list for a long time and I finally got around to reading it. A mystery set in a 1930's dust bowl kansas town. I enjoyed the book. Dallas does a great job of making you feel a part of the historical period she writes about.

115.The Trouble with Kings Another fun fantasy by Sherwood Smith. I like to read her stuff. For some reason I get dragged in to her characters and plots. I can't even say why.