~2014 Reading Challenge~ discussion

This is my first year so I hope I'm not being too ambitious! I plan to read 24 books this year. Thank you for creating this group!

No problem. I started it for my daughter and I. She reads more than I do but she forgets to log her books.

1) Soulless by Gail Carriger
very delightful, light fantasy; part 1 of a series, I definitely intend to read the rest!

2) The Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser
Life got very busy, so this took longer to read than planned. It was a great read though! Very informative about the events surrounding this moment in history.

3) When Strikes the Warlord
Campy but fun scifi.

4) The Three Musketeers
I've always loved the movies of this but had never read it. LOVE the book! Lots of adventure and some unexpected twists!

5) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
I read this on a recommendation from a friend, with no knowledge of the plot at all. I didn't read it in one sitting because it's pretty long but I definitely had trouble putting it down! I highly recommend it to any Austen or Bronte fans.

Just noticed been neglecting to include authors.
3) Van Allen Plexico
4) Alexandre Dumas
5) Anne Bronte

6) Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers
Thoroughly excellent book about assassin nuns.

7) Moby Dick by Herman Melville
I've gotten off schedule with this, but the feeling of satisfaction I got finishing it makes it totally worth it.
This book is a bit of an odd duck; I understand why some people don't like it. I did like it though. Very beautiful language.

8) Shards of Time by Lynn Flewelling
The newest and possibly last installment in one of my favorite fantasy series. EXCELLENT; a lot of fun newish characters and a lot of what I love from the main characters! plus an engaging and different mystery.

9) Going Clear by Lawrence Wright
fascinating look at the development of Scientology

10) House of Hades by Rick Riordan
latest in the Heroes of Olympus series; EXCELLENT, very interesting character development, fantastic plot

11) 1776 by David McCullough

The story of the year America declared independence, it follows both Americans and British soldiers through their travels around New England. Lots of excerpts from letters and journals. Fascinating.

12) Spook by Mary Roach
a skeptic look at the afterlife. I was left wanting a little something more from this, although I'm not sure what. Enjoyable none the less.

13) Dark Triumph by Robin Lafevers
2nd book in the His Fair Assassin series. DELIGHFUL

14) Issac's Storm by Erik Larson
Engaging, well - handled telling of a tragic moment in American history.

15) Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Engaging, disturbing story of Chicago's World Fair & America's first modern serial killer.

16) The Alienist by Caleb Carr

17) Landline by Rainbow Rowell
A fabulous new book by one of my favorite authors.

18) More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman

19) Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Excellent final installment in the equally excellent Heroes of Olympus series.

20) The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

21) Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Mind by

22) How to Live or A Life of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell
fascinating biography of Michel de Montaigne

23) Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

24) The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley

25) The Smart by Sarah Bakewell

26) Decades of Dominance by John Ringer & Van Allen Plexico
I'm admittedly biased but SO GOOD

27) The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick