Reading (Expanding Horizons) discussion

Sign me up for 25!

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TASKS

9/25

1. A book by a favorite author
✅ 2. The 1st book of a series: After
3. A book that was made into a movie
4. A biography or autobiography
5. A book you can finish in a day
6. A self-improvement book
7. A book based on a fairytale
✅ 8. A book under 150 pages: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
✅ 9. A book you have read before and loved: The Great Gatsby
10. A book written by or about a celebrity
✅ 11. A book with a number in the title: Daisy Jones & The Six
12. A book that takes place in an entirely made up setting
✅ 13. A book that is 100+ years older than you: Jane Eyre
✅ 14. A book recommended by a friend or family member: The Chain
15. A book about a culture or subject you aren't familiar with
16. A book set in a place you want to visit
✅ 17. A book that is over 400 pages: The Bone Collector
18. A book that's been on your TBR list for at least a year
19. A book you previously started but never finished
✅ 20. An award winning book: It Ends with Us
✅ 21. A random book chosen for its cover: Thirteen
22. A crime novel
23. A historical fiction novel
24. A book of short stories
25. A poetry book

Sunshine wrote: "Awesome, Jessica! We're both going for the gold here haha"

Go big or go home, right? :)

I'll sign up.

HI Group!
I will go for the full 25 books. As I read the challenge list I can already list several books that fit the various challenges. #1 - will be a Jan Karon book.
#4 - Will be the biography of Albert Einstein.
#10 - Will be Tony Bennett's own story. I just picked this up at a used bookstore we frequent. (My mom and Dad loved his music.)
#15 - Will be The Steampunk Bible . Never heard of Steampunk until a couple of years ago.
#24 - Will be a book I got free at Barnes and Noble entitled Great American Short Stories .
Looking forward to this challenge, but I want to finish my armchair tourist travel challenge first.
All sound great.

I'm in for 25 too ! 😊

I think it's going to be a very busy January with the Murder Club group starting up, the January book pick, and the new 25 challenges. I will try to keep up.

My Task List

11/25

1. A book by a favorite author: The Angel of Darkness
2. The 1st book of a series: Hummus and Homicide
3. A book that was made into a movie
4. A biography or autobiography
5. A book you can finish in a day: Southern Sass and Killer Cravings
6. A self-improvement book: Living to Be 100: 16 Common Lifestyle Characteristics of the Oldest and Healthiest People in the World
7. A book based on a fairytale: Snow White & the Huntsman
8. A book under 150 pages: Call It Courage
9. A book you have read before and loved
10. A book written by or about a celebrity
11. A book with a number in the title: 1st to Die
12. A book that takes place in an entirely made up setting
13. A book that is 100+ years older than you
14. A book recommended by a friend or family member
15. A book about a culture or subject you aren't familiar with
16. A book set in a place you want to visit
17. A book that is over 400 pages
18. A book that's been on your TBR list for at least a year: The Risk Agent
19. A book you previously started but never finished
20. An award winning book
21. A random book chosen for its cover: Pecked To Death By Ducks
22. A crime novel: The Life We Bury
23. A historical fiction novel: The Tattooist of Auschwitz
24. A book of short stories
25. A poetry book

I have 7/25 done thus far.

I have completed 9 books now.

Pecked To Death By Ducks was a very interesting set of essays regarding spelunking, Lake Titicaca, etc. It was fascinating, The title was just too much lol Looking forward to continuing to read more of the books for this challenge. I have some exciting titles coming up!

I have completed 11 books now. I'll do some mini-reviews later :)

Good Morning!
I have been working on this challenge book by book (LOL!) instead of bit by bit. Well, I guess that fits, too. (double LOL!)
The Angel of Darkness
I loved Caleb Carr's first book entitled The Alienist which is about a turn of the century psychologist, Dr. Laslo Kreisler. At that time psychology was a new field and the people who practiced this were not called psychologists, but rather they had the title of alienists. Also at this time, most people were skeptical of this new field of science/medicine. Dr. Sigmund Freud and Dr. Henry Adler were considered the fathers of this field. The Angel of Darkness is the study of a female mass murderer in a time when it was believed that women would never kill or harm children. Dr. Kreisler and his loyal troop of investigators are on the hunt, and what a hunt it is! Fascinating book, though, I confess, I loved the first novel better. These are both keepers on my shelf.

Hummus and Homicide is a cute first in the series cozy. Big city attorney moves back to her small town for a respite and ends up caught up in a murder of the health inspector in her parent's Mediterranean diner. Finding the killer is the attorney's goal so that her parents' diner won't go down the tubes. So who poisoned the hummus? By the way, I love hummus with pita chips. How about you fellow bibliophiles?

On the list of 25 books to read this year, I have finally chosen the book for task number 3 - a book made into a movie. The Hunt for Red October is the choice. I loved the movie and of course, the star - Sean Connery. (I don't care how old he gets, to me he is still the sexiest man alive!).
Task number 4 - a biography or autobiography - Einstein: His Life and Universe. I love to read about this genius. Plus I book this book an ice age ago (LOL) and I haven't gotten to it. So many books, so little time.
Task # 9 - book I've read before and loved - The Alienist.
Task # 10 - celebrity book - Life Is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett. My mother loved Tony Bennett and when I saw this book in the 2nd hand store, I thought of her, and bought it.
Task # 14 - book recommended by friend or family member - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe recommended by none other than Sunshine. Saw the movie ages ago. Now it is time for the book. Sunshine is a Fannie Flagg enthusiast.
Task # 15 - book about a culture I know little to nothing about - The Steampunk Bible.
Task # 17 - book over 400 pages - The Pillars of the Earth.
Task # 19 - book I started but never finished - The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Victor Hugo has as much diarrhea of the pen as Stephen King. It takes these authors 3 pages to say one sentence. Yowsa!
That's what I have come up with so far. Looks like I have my reading cut out for me.

Southern Sass and Killer Cravings - another first in a series of cozy mysteries. Cute, but not a keeper.
Living to Be 100: 16 Common Lifestyle Characteristics of the Oldest and Healthiest People in the World - fascinating stuff with simple ideas on how to adjust one's lifestyle to live longer and healthier. Well, the ideas are simple, but putting them into action can be a challenge, especially when it involves breaking bad habits. I am working on a few of them now. I chose this book because I attended a seminar presented by the author. He was so intelligent and fascinating. Plus, by reading the book and taking the test, I earned Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for my nursing license. Just an FYI - studies show that if a person makes 5 of the 16 changes listed, the risk of chronic disease goes way down and she/he will live longer. (Sorry, that's the nurse in me preaching.)

Snow White & the Huntsman - retelling of the famous fairy tale involving, yes, Snow White. The dwarves are present in the book, but not in the way you have heard of all your life. This novel is the basis for the moving starring Chris Helmsley and Kristin Stewart. I didn't see the move, but may rent it because in the book the Huntsman takes off his shirt to dress a wound, and Chris has a great body. Sexist, I know.
Call It Courage - was a recommended read a couple of years ago for our church women's book club. I had bought the book, but did not get to the meeting. It's been sitting on my shelf since then. It is the author's retelling of a Polynesian folk tale. It involves the son of the chief who is labeled a coward because he doesn't like the sea. At age 15 he decides he has been teased enough and starts out on a sea voyage to prove himself.
1st to Die - I read this for the Women's Murder Club challenge. Shows the seedy underbelly of life, for sure. Rather gruesome, but engaging. I have to say that I didn't like this one or the 2nd book in the series, 2nd Chance as much as I liked the 3rd book - 3rd Degree.
The Risk Agent - espionage and kidnapping in China. So - so read. Not a keeper.
The Life We Bury - creepy book about murder, sexual assault, and a man going to jail for something he did not do. Lots of twists and turns. I kind of suspected who had really done it about 2/3 of the way through the novel. However, it was fascinating and the ending is a huge surprise.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz - I absolutely loved this book. It is based on true events of a Jewish inmate at the infamous concentration camp who becomes one of the people who tattooed the prisoner's ID number on the left forearm. He tattoos the number on a young woman and falls in love with her. The method of tattooing used by the Germans was painful and cruel. Not at all like voluntarily going to a tattoo parlor today. I would have kept it on my shelf, but I got a 2nd hand copy that was pretty beaten up. Should I find a copy in good condition, I will get it and add it to my shelf of keepers.
Dear Bibliophiles, I think I have written so much that you are all probably tired of my notes. I will close and save your eyes from further strain!

11/25.

I am sorry that we lost a member of the group. Bummer. For those of us still here, let's keep going. 288 days sounds long enough to finish the 25 book read. I'll need that time with all the fun challenges that are going on, I LOVE reading!