Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) discussion

+ KEY WORDS THIS MONTH +

Dragon, Day, Chain, Another, Thousand, Begin, Stolen, And

Comment below with the book you read and whether you liked it or not

Completed!
Word: Day

I read Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by M.C. Beaton. This is the 12th book in the cozy series, although I have not been reading them in order (shame on me). I enjoy this series for a light, humorous read. Agatha is quite the character that just gets herself into trouble by trying to solve murders.

• Dragon Champion - E.E. Knight
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Ok, everyone who follows me probably knows the drill by now. Migraines have been the absolute bane of my existence lately, and I haven’t been able to read nearly as much as I would have liked - either I was in too much pain to absorb what I was reading, or so exhausted from the pain that I kept falling asleep while trying to read. In any event, I’ve finally gotten through this first book of May. So without further ado…
I’ve never experienced such a fabulous depth of world building within so few pages. E.E. Knight somehow manages to craft the amount of world building into 369 pages that I would normally expect to find in books of at least 600 pages or more. Note my use of the word “craft”, NOT cram. Because the storytelling is perfectly paced, without feeling crammed with too much info at once. AuRon is an imminently likeable main character, and his trials/adventures beginning as a fresh hatchling, and through to drakehood are both harrowing & entertaining. I’m glad that I already own the whole series, so I can continue reading without pause.

I just finished reading A Thousand Sleepless Nights by Michael King. A beautifully heartbreaking story of love, family and faith.

Wash Day Diaries, A Thousand Heartbeats, and Diamond and Dusk! Wasn’t in love with any of them, but Thousand Heartbeats was my favorite of the three

All of the books in this series start with the word “dragon”, so…

Dragon Avenger - E.E. Knight

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I’m still quite astounded by how well written this series is, and I don’t understand why it isn’t more popular. The markedly inhuman personalities, and keen intelligence of our main character dragons is nothing short of delightful. And while I did enjoy how the series started with AuRon’s story, Wistala seems like she would be both enchanting acquaintance, and dear, loyal, friend. However, she also she has a calculatingly ruthless sense of vengeance, and implacable patience for the long-game. Definitely a character you would want on your side rather than against.
I didn’t realize that this storyline would be told from multiple viewpoints, but I do admire the method, since it allows for differing storylines happening within the same timeline. I’m a bit sad to leave Wistala behind now to join up with what I’m assuming will be the copper hatchling’s story in the next book. I’m also a bit intrigued to see whether the author will succeed in bringing me around to liking him - since he was the undoing of the family unit in the first book. Yes, I know he was dealt a bit of an unfair hand in the beginning, but I can’t help it that I’ve adopted AuRon & Wistala’s distaste for him, having spent the last two books ainside their heads.

• Dragon Outcast - E.E Knight
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Ok, so I liked RuGaard (the copper) much more than I thought I would. Even after being crippled and banished from the eggshelf, he still did not betray his family easily - he was tortured, and crippled further by hominids before giving away the info. Out of the three surviving hatchlings, he definitely started out the worst off, but still managed to overcome.
I’m definitely looking forwards to continuing the series, but I’m going to take a quick break to read a stand-alone book that fills the “motif/theme” challenge for May.

I read Hadley and Grace by Suzanne Redfearn. It was a fine book but not as good as In An Instant. It was very Thelma and Louise.

For some reason, I was having difficulty finding a book for this month's keyword challenge. One evening wandering the library (waiting for a kiddo to finish an activity) I saw A Good Day to Pie on the new bookshelf. I picked it up thinking "well, at least it's something!" I just finished the audiobook of A Man Called Ove and after the enjoyable notes of that book I was having trouble getting into my next read. This book did the trick! It's a fun romp through a Great Bake-Off-style television show with a little magic and mystery thrown in. Maybe I've watched too many episodes of competition cooking shows, but this was fun and all the cooking competition tropes were included. The main character, Daisy, is fun to follow through the adventures. The other characters were well-developed and good dialogue kept me interested in the story. Is it great literature? No. But it's a fun read and definitely worth it and re-set me in my reading! :)

I read the Irish Chain by Elaine Fowler. It’s definitely a bit of an older book but I liked the mystery aspect to it and didn’t feel like it was a book that saves all of its action for the end. There was good entertainment throughout.

• Dragon Strike - E.E Knight
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Not quite as good as the first 3 books. The storyline got a bit bogged down through the middle, and the scene where the siblings finally come back together was a bit of let down after so much time was devoted to building up anticipation for that crucial moment. But overall, this was still an enjoyable read.

I read Come and Get Us by James Patterson and Shan Serafin. It was one of his BookShots. A very quick and thrilling read. It is about a young family going on a trip to meet with one of the husband's clients. On the way, they are ambushed, and the dad is seriously injured. The young daughter has to stay with her dad while the mom goes in search of help. Along the way, she fights off the "bad guys" and finds out more about her husband's work and what the trip is really about.

Challenge complete!
Word: Dragon
Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Probably the most popular book I’ve read so far, well worth the 590 pages. Looking forward to the sequels. See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dragon Rule - E.E. Knight
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

The storyline in this one was great. I loved following the 3 siblings as they struggled to navigate through politics, and against the fickle nature of their own kind.

I would have given this 5 stars, but it lost a star over the ATROCIOUS editing. Lots of distracting errors throughout, which is strange because none of the other books in the series so far have been like that.

Read Dave Shastri's Last Day and the Hollywood drama in this wasn't for me.I was really bored reading it.

Here are the books read in May with key words Begin, And, Dragon, Day, Thousand, Chain, Stolen, Another: Most books listed were 3 to 4 stars with the exception of the 2 listed below.
-Lost & Found: A Memoir- a memoir
-Family for Beginners
-Love and Other Words
-The Dragon's Promise
-Beautiful Day
-Chains
-One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - 4stars, a classic must read, the life of a gulag prisoner---depressing.
-Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir
-A Thousand Boy Kisses- cried-- 5 stars for love stories
-In Another Time
-Stolen: The Astonishing Odyssey of Five Boys Along the Reverse Underground Railroad
-Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor-do recommend based on a true story of child trafficking 5 stars for important read
-The Last Days of John Lennon
-The Last Days of Night
-Days & Hours
-Sarah, Plain and Tall
-The Sound and the Fury

I read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I thought this was a really interesting book. I hadn't really thought about how much goes into designing a video game and that was really fascinating to me.

just lori wrote: "I read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I thought this was a really interesting book. I hadn't really thought about how much goes into designing a video game and that was real..."
I'm planning to read this book in June for the Tomorrow word challenge.

Challenge complete!

Word: And

Book: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered
by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark 4 stars
(does & count for AND??)

The Once AND Future Witches
by Alix E. Harrow 4 stars

When Women Were DRAGONs
by Kelly Barnhill 4 stars

Book of a THOUSAND DAYs
by Shannon Hale 4 stars

Challenge complete! Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

Good read about a dystopian society where prisoners battle each other to the death in an effort to get one step closer to freedom.

Getting caught up on my posting.
Read 3 books that apply. Keywords: Day, and
Better Grammar in 30 Minutes a Day by Constance Immel and Florence Sacks
Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran
The Shower Habit: 10 Steps to Increase Energy, Boost Confidence, and Achieve Your Goals Without Waking Up Earlier by Stephanie Ewing

The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse