Mount TBR 2017 discussion
Level 2: Mount Blanc (24 books)
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Jen's Mount Blanc challenge
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3. The Hard Way by Lee Child-I hadn't read any of the Jack Reacher books before, so I wasn't sure if I would need to have some previous knowledge to enjoy this book. I didn't. I really enjoyed the unfolding of this story. I liked some of the plot twists and the character development. There were characters I liked and characters that were really unlikable. I would be interested in reading some of the other Reacher books. For people who have read them before, are they all similar?
Resolved: 10 Ways to Stand Strong and Live What You BelieveI just finished reading Resolved by Lina Abujamra.I received a copy of this book through Goodreads via Baker Publishing Group. This book asks readers to examine their resolve in living out their faith. Abujamra challenges Christians to resolve to 10 things in order to grow closer in their relationship with Jesus. These include: Believe Then It Looks Ridiculous, Love When It's Inconvenient, Obey When It's Not Popular, Yield When It's My Right, Speak Up When It's Easier Not To, Give When I Barely Have Enough, Be in Community When I'd Rather Be Alone, have Joy When Life is Depressing, Hope When it Hurts, and Rest in the Midst of Chaos.
There were some things in this book that I thought were really simply said but there were also some good reminders, thinking points and nice challenges. I thought it might be a great book for new believers, but I wonder if they might feel a little lost with some of the Bible references.
One thing I appreciated about this book was Abujamra's application of living her faith. As an ER doctor, she often relates some of these points to her job. It is nice to see some real world application of her points and examples. There are many times where I have learned about my faith through interactions with people in my profession, so I appreciated hearing her experiences.
Sparks and ShadowsI won this autographed book from Goodreads a while back.(In addition to that, the author was super sweet and included a little note to me in the package.) This beautiful cover has been calling to me from my "to be read" shelf for a while. I wasn't sure what I would think of the book since I don't really read too much fantasy. I really enjoyed it.
Sparks and Shadows is about a girl, Fura Feier, who finds herself homeless after an explosion takes the life of her family. She is taken in by Apallo and a group of people she works with at a local Renaissance festival, she finds herself in a whole new world- literally. She finds herself questioning where she belongs and who she really is as she finds herself on the run with Kiyani, a man who is many ways her opposite, but seemingly her only "friend." She discovers that the tale of the Sect of Seven, telling of 7 lords of elemental magic who rule the world together in harmony, has been thrown out of balance when the Nyte Fyre prophecy, declaring that one will rule over all seems to be beginning.
I liked this book a lot. I really enjoyed the world of Izandüre. As a person who doesn't read a lot of fantasy, I enjoyed the creativity of each realm and letting my imagination picture each place. There were a few interactions between Kiyani and Fura that got a little repetitive, but I think that those recurrences helped develop some character traits of both. There were also a few characters I would've liked to learn more about, like Rhyne, but I'm wondering if I will see more of him in book 2. I would like to read the second book of this series when it comes out.
6. Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff follows the story of the Trenowyth family, through 2 generations. I tend to really enjoy stories that are told from different perspectives and then connect in the middle somewhere. This book was a little different because it simultaneously told the stories of Kitty Trenowyth and her daughter, Anna Trenowyth. The fact that the story shared a setting during 2 different time periods was a little different than some other novels I've read.
Kitty's story is set in pre-WWI England. Lady Katherine Trenoqyth is the daughter of an aristocratic family and, as such, has set expectations for her life. When she meets painter, Simon Halliday, she has decisions to make about what type of life she really wants to have and what consequences those choices might have.
Anna Trenowyth's story occurs during WWII. She serves as a nurse for the Red Cross and is unexpectedly is assigned to service at Nanreath Hall, her dead mother's childhood home. Raised by family friends, Anna's new assignment will give her an opportunity to learn about her mom and the relatives she had never met.
Overall, this book kept me interested in each character and curious to what would happen next. I looked forward to reading it each night and would be interested in reading another book by this author.
7. Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes
For some reason, I just could not get into this book. I finished it but I didn't really care about the story much. I liked the cover art. :/
8. A Field Guide to Awkward Silences-
This book made me laugh often. It was a nice change from some of my normal preferences.
9. Best.State.Ever by Dave Barry
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. (Thank you) Though I do not have much personal experience with the state of Florida- and therefore, do not know it's "weirdness quota," this book made me laugh quite a bit. If you like Dave Barry, you will probably enjoy this book.The chapters were `the introduction, a brief history of Florida, The Skunk Ape, Weeki Wachee and Spongeorama, Cassadaga, The Villages, Gatorland, Lock & Load Miami, LIV and Key West- most of which I had not heard much about before. Fun read. I will be passing this on to a friend of mine.
10. The Letterbox by Layton Green
I received this signed copy in a Goodreads giveaway. The concept of the book seemed really interesting to me. I liked the whole quest to find answers and reading something by an author who is new to me. If you like mysteries, I would recommend it. The historical information about some of the ancient sites was interesting to me too.
11. None Missing, None Wounded, All Dead: The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer
This was a hard book to get through. I can't tell if I just was not interested in the Custers as much as I thought I'd be or if it was the writing style of the authors. It was a quick read, well-researched. Almost to the top of Pike's Peak.
Well, I've made my way up Pike's Peak. Halfway to Mount Blanc! I wish I was connecting with a few more people in my climb, but I'm enjoying the reading.
Like some of the other reviews I've read, I really wanted to like this book a little more than I did. I have heard about Nick Vujicic and was really wanted to learn about his story and life. He is a man who was born without any limbs. He does have a small left foot and a very tiny right foot. The book tells about his life but is more focused on motivating people and explaining the power of God in his life. I am a Christian, so this message is incredibly important to me as well, but I just expecting something different in this book. This book could be a powerful giver of hope to someone going through trials or people who would like to learn more about faith in God.
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13. Wild in the Hollow- This book came highly recommended to me by a friend. I was really excited to read it. Unfortunately, I just didn't connect much. The redemptive theme that God is often found in broken places and the topic of things that are not working right now in American churches were important topics, but I think I was lost in the flowery language and the fact that the author's life is extremely different from my own.
14. I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson To be honest, I have no idea how this book got into my "to read" pile in the first place. I did not finish it. Although there were some witty, amusing parts, the main character was just too snarky for me and complained about everything from her nanny, her husband, her job and her kids. Too much drama for me. I don't spend a lot of time with people like this in real life so I couldn't picture myself making it all the way to the end of this book. Yeah to have moved it from my TBR mountain at least.
15. Inkheart- I loved this book. It has been sitting on my to read shelf forever and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter from other books too.
I apparently forgot to register a book for this challenge:
16. The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver- Part 1 of The Curiosity House series.
Neither my son and I liked this one too much. It wasn't a bad story, but the characters could've been developed more and some of the deaths seemed unnecessary for the story.
17. The Children by David Halberstam- This was heavy reading for the summer, but that's not a huge surprise since it's about civil rights. I had started this book last year and then put it down. It's a long read, but the book was good. I learned a lot more about events that I learned about back in high school history, but never lived through or had a direct connection with. It made me think about civil rights issues in the present day and some similarities/differences from the 1960s to now.
18. My Brilliant Idea (and How It Caused My Downfall) by Stuart David This book was amusingm but just okay. I received it as an ARC last year (Sorry Goodreads! Thank goodness for the Mount TBR challenge!) Full review here: http://366andmore.blogspot.com/2017/0...
19. Getting Life by Michael Morton- This is a book that I began reading in March of last year and apparently put down for some reason. It relays the story of Michael Morton, who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife in 1986. After serving 25 years prison, DNA testing proved his innocence. I appreciated the honesty of the author. Many of his emotions- his feelings when he realized his son didn't really remember the times that he lived at home, how it's easy to become hardened in prison, the struggle to keep hope when everything seems against you, how positive words can breathe life into someone, the curiosity of driving down the highway after not being outside for years, what you appreciate when you really pay attention to your senses when your freedom is not compromised. This is not a topic I regularly read about and it has made me more likely to read more books that are similar.
20. The Key to Rondo
I had high hopes for this book. It is about 2 children who discover that the painting on a music box that they inherited from their aunt is a real world that they can enter. The book itself wasn't bad, but compared to all of the other books I've read lately, it was just okay. It would be good for a younger child who is just starting to read fantasy.
I am almost to the peak of Mt. Blanc!!!
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21. In the Dark of Night by John Saul- This was a quick read for me. I was kind of hoping that there were some loose ends that would be tied up, but the concept of the story was interesting.
22. By Reason of Insanity- Didn't really like the book, a little more violent/vulgar than I would normally read but it was alright. Almost to the peak!
23. Defying The Nazis: The Sharps' War: I was looking forward to reading this book because the actions of the Sharps seemed so important. I know that both Sharps felt that they did what needed to be done, but I felt that the telling of their story was very dry.
24. If She Only Knew by Lisa Jackson- Woohoo I hit the summit! So excited to meet my goal. (Now to finish my last reading challenge before New Years. This one was okay. It was a good read but there were things I would liked to see wrapped up a little more at the end.
Jessika wrote: "Congrats, nice work!" Thanks!
25. Peace Like a River, Leif Enger-
One more to finish off the year. This has been a fun challenge for me, I think I'm going to try to climb to the next level next year.
I hadn't read a lot of books like Peace Like a River before. Usually I dislike books with sections written in verse, but I really enjoyed it in this book. I loved the characters, even those characters who were supposed to be bad. I also enjoyed some of the Scripture references. I might seek out another book from this author.
Mount TBR 2017
Books mentioned in this topic
Peace Like a River (other topics)If She Only Knew (other topics)
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War (other topics)
By Reason of Insanity (other topics)
In the Dark of the Night (other topics)
More...
Read:
1. The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell.
Review: http://366andmore.blogspot.com/2017/0...