Book lovers discussion

2012 Challenge
NAME CHALLENGE:
S- The Secret History
H- Hallowed
E- Ender's Shadow
L- Legend
L- The Lost Gate
I- Innocent Traitor

B- Bitterblue
E- The Emperor's Edge
N- The Name of the Wind
T- To Say Nothing of the Dog
L- Little Bee
E- Emma
Y- The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories



GENRE CHALLENGE:
Mystery/thriller:Think of a Number and Whiteout

YA: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and Black Swan Green

Fantasy: The Name of the Wind and The Farseer Trilogy: Assassins Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassins Quest

Historical Fiction:A Beautiful Place to Die, The Greatest Knight and The French Lieutenant's Woman

Non-fiction: Decision Points and Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Sci-fi: To Say Nothing of the Dog and The Host

Classic:A Tale of Two Cities and The Sun Also Rises

AGE CHALLENGE BOOK FROM THE 1950's:The Caine Mutiny

AUTHOR CHALLENGE: Jennie Bentley Fatal Fixer-Upper

READ:Stellar Wind: 2012

OFF MY SHELVES:
The Samurai's Garden
Mistress Shakespeare
Little Bee
Five Quarters of the Orange
Gentlemen and Players
The Weight of Silence
Heaven's Net is Wide
The Ghosts of Belfast
The Outlander
When the Elephants Dance
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution
The Night Circus
Beneath a Marble Sky

NEW CATEGORY FOR MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE "CHUNKSTERS":(over 600 pages)
A Suitable Boy(1488)
The Passage(766)
The Owl Killers(576-close enough)
A Feast for Crows(1060)
A Dance With Dragons(1016)
The Name of the Wind(662-2 categories)
The Host(619-2 categories)
An Echo in the Bone(992-2 cats)


NI group reads:
The Night Circus
Rules of Civility
11/22/63
Stellar Wind
Fall of Giants
The Name of the Wind
Between Shades of Gray
The Language of Flowers
Pope Joan

You are very creative Shelli!!

This is the challenge for the group I moderate.....thanks!

#1...The Greatest Knight
What a fantastic way to start out the new year with a 5 star read. This was filled with wonderful historical information mixed in with an exciting and immensely readable story. Part action, part love story there was never a dull moment for me. A fitting title as I fell in love with the main character William Marshal. What surprised me about the book is I also had great admiration for two of the lead female characters, Eleanor of Acquitaine and Isabelle de Clare, this doesn't usually happen for me. The writing was such that I was transported back to this time and became involved in the lives of these characters. Even though this book was over 500 pages, I didn't want it to end. I enjoyed learning about the in-fighting of the sons of King Henry and Eleanor....their own strained relationship and the lives of the court who served them. The parts about the Tourneys were well written and enjoyable. I would have liked to know more about William's young life and what led up to his leaving home at such a young age. I look forward to learning more about William and Isabelle in The Scarlet Lion. I loved reading this book and it will be a favorite!

Some fantastic reads ahead of you, Shelli. I loved the Farseer Trilogy and also The Owl Killers, Five Quarters Of The Orange and Little Bee.

That's good to hear Angela!

#2...Unearthly...4 stars.
I really liked this one. It started out just ok, an enjoyable read, nothing too special, but I was interested. As the story progresses, it becomes much better. We get to know the characters and get wrapped up in their situation. The setting of Jackson Hole High School and the surrounding area is a fantastic. I've always been interested in angels and have read a few different books with them as characters....but I've been disappointed up until now. This was great. I loved the idea of the angels, how they fit into society and their purpose. Clara is a great female character, and the love triangle is surprisingly fresh. I like both Tucker and Christian. The secondary characters are also interesting and well thought out. Lots of modern names and places are thrown in and at first it bothered me, but then I realized it actually worked in this story. I love a young adult story that keeps getting better and stronger as the book goes on. Just when I thought something was going to happen...the point where you say, oh here we go with this....it didn't happen that way! I was pleasantly surprised by this story more than once! The ending left me yearning for more so I'm glad I read this now....the next one is due out in a couple of weeks! I can't wait.

This started a little bit slow, otherwise I might have given it 5 stars on a YA scale. It wasn't super exciting in the very beginning...during the building of the story...but kept getting better and better. There are also a few unanswered questions and some background info we could use...maybe we will get that in the next story...I think it's a trilogy. If you enjoy a good YA with a decent paranormal story and a bit of romance.....don't miss this one!!

Wow Shelli, that's alot of books. I've read a few and enjoyed them. I see a couple of Joanne Harris books amongst them, she is one of my favourite authors. I think you're in for a treat!

Chris wrote: "Wow Shelli, that's alot of books. I've read a few and enjoyed them. I see a couple of Joanne Harris books amongst them, she is one of my favourite authors. I think you're in for a treat!"

Hi Chris....good to know...I'm really looking forward to reading something by her!

#3...Saving CeeCee Honeycutt...4 stars.

#4...The Night Circus....5 stars!
This started out about a subject that I'm not enamored with and characters who I didn't really have feelings for, except negative ones. I did know about the hype surrounding the book and was expecting something a bit more. About halfway through, without meaning to sound cliche, something magical happened. I really started to care about the characters and much to my surprise....the circus itself! For a debut novel this is fantastic writing. For the negative reviewers out there...all I can say, is, I am sad for you. I became a reveur...waiting and then following with anticipation where I would be taken next. What a nice change to have fantasy where some of the brutality that builds the excitement is replaced by beautiful imagery that gives you the same feeling! There is still a battle and there are still casualties...but the underlying feeling is hope...that maybe the inevitable can be changed. After reading this I want to look for the special in the ordinary and try something I'm unsure of....in case it's extraordinary!!!

JANUARY COMPLETED:
#1 The Greatest Knight....5 stars.
#2 Unearthly...4 stars.
#3 Saving CeeCee Honeycutt...4 stars.
#4 The Night Circus...5 stars.
#5 The Secret History...3 stars.
#6 Hallowed...4 stars.
#7 The Scarlet Lion...5 stars.

I brought home from the library the other day. Really lookingforward to reading it!

It started a bit slow for me Angela...but from about halfway to the end...it was fantastic! Hope you enjoy it!

FEBRUARY COMPLETED:
#8 City of Fallen Angels...3.5 stars.
#9 Destined for an Early Grave....4 stars.
#10The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers...4 stars.

FEB. continued...
#11Ender's Shadow....4 stars.
#12Black Swan Green...4 stars.
#13Rules of Civility...4 stars.
#14Clockwork Prince...4 stars.

FEBRUARY COMPLETED:
#8 City of Fallen Angels...3.5 stars.
#9 Destined for an Early Grave....4 stars.
#10The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers...4 stars.
#11Ender's Shadow....4 stars.
#12Black Swan Green...4 stars.
#13Rules of Civility...4 stars.
#14Clockwork Prince...4 stars.
#15On the Island....3 stars.

MARCH COMPLETED:
#16Delirium...4.5 stars.
#17This Side of the Grave...2.5 stars.
#18Legend....4 stars.
#1911/22/63...5 stars.

MARCH COMPLETED:
#16Delirium...4.5 stars.
#17This Side of the Grave...2.5 stars.
#18Legend....4 stars.
#1911/22/63...5 stars.
#20Innocent Traitor...2.5 stars.
#21Paranormalcy...3 stars.
#22Bloodlines....4 stars.

I finished my first name in my name challenge!

Congrats!

Good job Shelli!

You're going really well Shelli:)

APRIL COMPLETED:
#23 The Lost Gate....3 stars.
#24 On the Jellicoe Road...5 stars.
#25 Inside Out...3 stars.
#26 The Samurai's Garden...4 stars.
#27 Succubus Blues...4 stars.
#28 Crocodile on the Sandbank...4 stars.
#29 Succubus on Top...4 stars.
#30 Succubus Heat....4 stars.
#31 Emma....3 stars.
#32 Little Bee.....4 stars.

MAY COMPLETED:
#33 Succubus Shadows...3.5 stars.
#34 Succubus Revealed....3 stars.
#35 The Art of Fielding....5 stars.
#36 To Say Nothing of the Dog...4 stars.
#37 The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York....3 stars.
#38 Stellar Wind...2 stars.
#39 Dead I Well May Be....4 stars.

JUNE COMPLETED:
#40 The Curse of the Pharaohs....2.5 stars.
#41 Bitterblue...3.5 stars.
#42 Angelfire...2.5 stars.
#43 The Scorpio Races....4 stars.
#44 The End of the Affair...5 stars.
#45 The Snow Child....3 stars.
#46 The Golden Lily....2 stars.
#47 Fall of Giants....4 stars.

JULY COMPLETED:
#48 The Host....4 stars.
#49 Little Brother....2 stars.
#50 The Tea Rose....5 stars.
#51 Daughter of Smoke and Bone...4 stars.

AUGUST COMPLETED:
#52 To Be Sung Underwater....4 stars.
#53 The Name of the Wind....2 stars.
#54 Between Shades of Gray....4 stars.
#55 The Mermaids Singing....3.5 stars.
#56 Finnikin of the Rock....5 stars.
#57 Whiteout....2.5 stars.
#58 Cinder....4 stars.
#59 A Modern Witch....3 stars.
#60 Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets....4.5 stars.

SEPTEMBER COMPLETED:
#61 Insurgent.....4 stars.
#62 The Emperor's Edge....5 stars.
#63 Fighting Fair....3 stars.
#64 Across the Universe....4 stars.
#65 The Language of Flowers....3.5 stars.
#66 Persuasion...3.5 stars.
#67 Dark Currents...4 stars.
#68 Deadly Games....4 stars.
#69 'Salem's Lot....4 stars.

OCTOBER COMPLETED:
#70 A Feast for Crows...4 stars.
#71 The Passage....5 stars.
#72 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories....3 stars.
#73 The Surrender....2 stars.
#74 Dark Places....3.5 stars.
#75 Conspiracy....4 stars.

NOVEMBER COMPLETED:
#76 The Twelve....4 stars.
#77 Anna Dressed in Blood....2 stars.
#78 The Prisoner of Heaven....4 stars.
#79 Pope Joan....4 stars.
#80 Theft of Swords....5 stars.
#81 Under the Never Sky....4 stars.

I finished my name and genre challenge although I changed a few books in the genre challenge....I did read Stellar Wind.....I also read several "chunksters." I didn't get to as many "books I own" as I wanted to....but I completed all of my challenges except the total #....I have read 82 of 90 so far.

DECEMBER COMPLETED:
#82 Winter of the World....4 stars.
#83 How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire....3 stars.
#84 The House of Mirth....4 stars.
#85 Gabriel's Inferno....3.5 stars.
#86 Hounded...4 stars.
#87 The Orchardist...4 stars.
#88 The Casual Vacancy....4.5 stars.

So I fell short of my goal by 2 books but still a great reading year. Next year my goal is 78 books. I'm going for quality over quantity!