Reading Challenge/Goals for 2024

[Beezle2]

24/75 Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney. Upsetting but worth reading. In the room where it happened indeed.

 

[Kirby]

#20 - Going Once: Book 1 of the Forces of Nature trilogy by Sharon Sala.
Genre - Romantic Suspense
A town reeling from disaster. A reignited passion. The long shadow of a killer.

As raging floodwaters engulf her Louisiana hometown, Nola Landry is stranded on high ground, the unwitting witness to the brutal murder of three fellow survivors. Once she��s finally rescued in the aftermath of the storm, no one is willing to believe a story as horrific as hers—until three FBI agents arrive on the scene…one of whom Nola knows very well.

Tate Benton has been tracking the so-called Stormchaser serial killer for months, never expecting the trail might lead him home, or to the woman he cannot forget. Home is now a ravaged town full of memories—of love, of disappointment, of past mistakes. The investigation brings Nola back into his life. Long-buried feelings resurface, and the former lovers try to pick up the pieces in the wake of the disaster.

Amid the relief effort the killer lingers, determined to silence Nola forever. In the Stormchaser's twisted mind the pain is far from over…and hers is just beginning.
I enjoyed the book though I'm not sure I will read on through the rest of the trilogy. Is a different twist on a serial killer.

 

[cayennews]

I finally finished my second book. After I read my first book I started 2 others but decided I did not care to keep reading either of them after a couple of chapters.
I read Camino Island by John Grisham. It was about a theft involving the F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts. I could not put it down. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I found the first 3-4 books in the series really tough to get through, then it got easier. It's not even because I became familiar with the arcane nautical terms. I paused the series for 10-12 years and when I came back it was still easier even though I doubt I retained any memory of them. I think his style just becomes a bit less dense.
Anyway, I'm not suggesting you continue to slog through. I just did want to put this out there.

There were sections of this book that were easy to read, so I can see what you are saying. I liked the characters, which is important. But I won't be reading anymore his books.

24/75 Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney. Upsetting but worth reading. In the room where it happened indeed.

I just started reading this book yesterday. I had it on hold at the library for ages and it was finally my turn to get it.)

 

[bobbiwoz]

24/75 Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney. Upsetting but worth reading. In the room where it happened indeed.

There were sections of this book that were easy to read, so I can see what you are saying. I liked the characters, which is important. But I won't be reading anymore his books.

I just started reading this book yesterday. I had it on hold at the library for ages and it was finally my turn to get it.)

I just put this on hold. Three in front of me.

 

[MGMmjl]

I finally finished my second book. After I read my first book I started 2 others but decided I did not care to keep reading either of them after a couple of chapters.
I read Camino Island by John Grisham. It was about a theft involving the F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts. I could not put it down. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Since you enjoyed Camino Island, I would recommend the sequel, Camino Winds. I read that last year and enjoyed it. A third book in the series, Camino Ghosts, is scheduled to be released in May.

 

[cayennews]

Since you enjoyed Camino Island, I would recommend the sequel, Camino Winds. I read that last year and enjoyed it. A third book in the series, Camino Ghosts, is scheduled to be released in May.

I did not know it was a series! That makes me happy . I will pick Camino Winds up this week. Thanks for letting me know!

 

[RangerPooh]

10/25 The Cascade Killer (Luke McCain Mysteries Book 1) Rob Phillips

• Well written mystery with a game warden as the main character, who is accompanied by his dog. Set in eastern WA state. Book 1 of a series.

11/25 Trapped in Yosemite Dana Mentink

• An ok read, but not amazing. The characters are fine. The setting is supposed to be Yosemite, but it isn't other than a few brief mentions. I suppose that the fictional town that is mentioned would be located near Fish Camp along the HWY 41 corridor outside the park. What makes this book worse is the ending. Details were introduced and then dropped. The main character learns who her real dad is, the guy in the coma. No further mention of him waking up, learning that she is his daughter, of his thought to be son going to jail for attempting to kill her, etc. It's like the rest of the details that the author had been building never happened. I read the last two chapters twice looking to see if I missed something. Nope.

 

[OKW8297]

9. The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand. Quick easy vacation read

 

[disneychrista]

#10 - Beyond Reach - Karin Slaughter

#11 - The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland by Seth Kubersky, Bob Sehlinger, Len Testa, Guy Selga Jr.
This is kind of a cheat because I didn't read it cover to cover. I skipped over the entire sections that were no relevant to me & my upcoming trip.

#12 - Random in Death - JD Robb

 

[Beezle2]

25/75 Neuromancer by William Gibson
Written in 1984 a wild look at a techno future and sentient AI. Crazy cool imagery and characters. Can't believe I never heard of it before now.

26/75 Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein I love the film and thought I should read the book. I did like the book but I think I reserve my love for the movie

 

[mgarbowski]

Book 6 of 24 - He Leadeth Me: An Extraordinary Testament of Faith - Walter J. Ciszek
Book 7 of 24 - The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch #3) - Michael Connelly

American Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek wanted to do missionary work in Communist Russia between WW1 and WW2, but could not enter the country. So he went as close as he could, which was Poland. WW2 begins, Russia invades Poland, and suddenly the border is not an issue. So he travels east, is almost immediately arrested, and he spends nearly 25 years imprisoned, first in Lubyanka, then a Siberian prison work camp. All it does is deepen his faith and desire to serve God. The book is part autobiography and park spiritual exercises. It worked very well as a Lent read for me.

Meanwhile, Bosch is Bosch. You pretty much know what you're going to get in a Harry Bosch mystery and this serves it up just fine.

 

[MGMmjl]

9/32 - Breaking Point by C. J. Box

Description:
"It was always good to see Butch Roberson, Joe thought—a hard-working, upright local business owner whose daughter was friends with his own. Little did he know that when he talked to Butch that day, the man was about to disappear. He was heading into the mountains to hunt, he said, but instead he was running. Two EPA employees had just been murdered, and all signs pointed to him as the killer.

As the manhunt organized itself, Joe heard more of the story—about the tract of land Butch and his wife had bought to build their retirement home on, until the EPA declared it a wetland. About the penalties they charged him when he balked, new ones piling up every day, until the family was torn apart by debt . . . and finally, it seems, the man just cracked.

It was an awful story. But was it the whole story? The more Joe looks into it, the more he begins to wonder—and the more he finds himself in the middle of a war he never expected and never wanted. Powerful forces want Butch not just caught, but dead . . . and the same goes for anyone who stands in their way."

This is book #13 in the Joe Pickett series. I continue to really enjoy the series, and look forward to reading more!

 

[willowsnn3]

#13/50 The Golem of Hollywood by Jonathan & Jesse Kellerman
Detective Jacob Lev wakes one morning, dazed and confused: He seems to have picked up a beautiful woman in a bar the night before, but he can’t remember anything about the encounter, and before he knows it, she has gone. But this mystery pales in comparison to the one he’s about to be called on to solve. Newly reassigned to a Special Projects squad he didn’t even know existed, he’s sent to a murder scene far up in the hills of Hollywood Division. There is no body, only an unidentified head lying on the floor of a house. Seared into a kitchen counter nearby is a single word: the Hebrew for justice.
Took me forever to finish this one. Felt like I was reading 2 different books at the same time. Switched from one modern day story to an ancient story every few chapters. Finally tied together at the end but still was a poor ending. It is the first of a series but I will not be reading any more of them.
So, I would not recommend.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Took me forever to finish this one. Felt like I was reading 2 different books at the same time. Switched from one modern day story to an ancient story every few chapters. Finally tied together at the end but still was a poor ending. It is the first of a series but I will not be reading any more of them.
So, I would not recommend.

It looks like the book had two authors. I read a book that had two authors and it had two different writing styles.

 

[bobbiwoz]

16/80
“The Lord God Made Them All” by James Herriot.

All things Bright and Beautiful,
All Creatures great and small,
All things Wise and Wonderful,
The Lord God Made them All!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these books again. I think the current PBS series is a good one.

 

[cayennews]

3rd book...Outfox by Sandra Brown. It was very good. I enjoyed the suspenseful parts and twists.

 

[Wood Nymph]

8/30- Oath and Honor - A Memoir and a Warning - by Liz Cheney

This was an upsetting book to read, as Beezle2 said. Liz Cheney was very courageous to stand up for what was right rather than what was easy.

"A gripping first-hand account from inside the halls of Congress as Donald Trump and his enablers betrayed the American people and the Constitution--leading to the violent attack on our Capitol on January 6th, 2021--by the House Republican leader who dared to stand up to it. In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump and many around him, including certain other elected Republican officials, intentionally breached their oath to the they ignored the rulings of dozens of courts, plotted to overturn a lawful election, and provoked a violent attack on our Capitol. Liz Cheney, one of the few Republican officials to take a stand against these efforts, witnessed the attack first-hand, and then helped lead the Congressional Select Committee investigation into how it happened. In Oath and Honor , she tells the story of this perilous moment in our history, those who helped Trump spread the stolen election lie, those whose actions preserved our constitutional framework, and the risks we still face." --Goodreads.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

14/40

Hey Hun by Emily Paulson

This is a book by a lady that was in a MLM for years. She uses a fictitious company in the book, but in real life it is Rodan and Fields. She was one of the first to “get in” in the Seattle area and had a ton of people under her.

I enjoyed reading it. She did A LOT of citing of sources throughout which I kinda skimmed over because it got monotonous, and she irritated me at the end, but I don’t want to give the reason why in case anyone else wants to read it.

I would recommend if you are curious about how MLM’s work.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Has anyone read anything by Lisa Jewell that they'd recommend? I recently read "None of this is True", and was totally blown away. I loved it! I'd like to read another of Lisa Jewell's books or if you know of another book that's similar.