If you'd like to pledge a number of books to read, feel free - its not required. This is all for fun. I'll update the list each Monday and, if you all want, can keep a running list of what we're all reading so we can share book recommendations or ask for reviews.
(Current reads are in parenthesis)
AmberLoryn - 2 out of 5 (The God of War by Marisa Silver)
canthardlywait - 2 out of 5 (Baby Proof by Emily Giffin)
cc605 - 0 out of 10 (An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon)
chick7806 - 0 out of 10 (The Road by Cormac McCarthy & Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
chornback - 0 out of 7
cupcakes710
- 0 out of 5 (Enchantment by Orsen Scott Card)
EarstoYou - 3 out of 10 (The Starter Wife by Gig Levangie Grazer)
EMO-mamma - 0 out of 15 (The Help by Kathryn Stockett)
enjoylife - 1
out of 10 (Cry Sanctuary by Moira Rogers)
EVM1216 - 0 out of 5 (Burr by Gore Vidal)
Five Months to Plan - 0 out of 10 (Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts)
flgirl79 - 4 out of 10 (Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens)
FromBtoZ - 7
out of 25 (Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah)
GavsMomAlready
- 2 out of 20 (Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner)
heyitsme - 1 out of 10
Iderea - 4
out of 10
janneanne1127 - 4 books (The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer)
jessrenee11 - 0 out of 15
jillybean800 - 2 out of 10 (Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese)
jkjacq71 - 4 out of 5 (The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells)
jpf29 - 2 out of 10 (Pretty Little Things by Jillian Hoffman)
JSG1211 - 0 out of 4
KatieGator
Kellog+1 - 3 out of 10 (Extras by Scott Westerfield)
kj07 - 0 out
of 3 (Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver)
LaLaaaa - 1 book (Crave by J.R. Ward)
lillerj
lulu3061 - 2 out of 15 (Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese)
lvmcc - 2 out of 5 (The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger)
Madison830 - 0 out of 8 (Night Road by Kristin Hannah)
mamaholmes2010 - 0 out of 5 (When Food is Love by Geneen Roth)
manda2814 - 0 out of 5
mands629 - 2
out of 3 (Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue)
melissa4252008
- 2 out of 5 (Every Last One by Anna Quindlen)
missliz01 - 1 out of 10 (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
mlbnyy2 - 0 out of 5 (Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch)
MrsTechie - 2 out of 15 (Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh)
Nicole0012 (Freedom by Jonathan Franzen)
OhSewCrafty - 0 out of 10 (Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
pitterpatter129 - 0 out of 2 (32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done)
plumerialost - 5 out of 15 (Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich)
RyeCatcher - 1 out of 5 (The Host by Stephanie Meyers)
scrh2010 - 0
out of 10 (Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol & Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoyevsky)
Serendipity117 - 0 out of 10 (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon)
SmilingMrsF - 0 out of 4
smithpaint (Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
sroszc - 0
out of 5 (A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin)
stephy1221 - 3 out of 5
TBLilyRose - 2 out of 6 (Chronicles of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery)
thatgirl85 - 0 out of 10 (Sense and Sensibility)
welshgirl (Tuppence to Spend by Lilian Harry)
yaeger16 - 0 out of 5 (Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult)
Here are the links from week 1, week 2, and week 3 if you're wondering what everyone has read in the past.
Re: **Summer Reading Challenge Check In** (Finally)
stephy1221 - 1 out of 5 (Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok)
I am now 3 out of 5
I am not currently reading one so I will do my book report on Girl in translation.
Girl in Translation was seriously one of the best books I've read in a long time. I didn't know how I would like it because it is way outside the norm of what I typically read. I got so lost in the world this author created. Wonderful read.
It is the story of a girl who at age 11 comes to America with her mother from Hong Kong thinking they are going to live with the girl's aunt and the mother is to be the nanny to her niece and nephews. Upon arriving the Aunt puts the mother to work in a sweat shop and the are living in squalor.
They touch upon the sadness of the Mother that she left behind so much for the promise of a better life only to be duped but only briefly. I would love to read it from the Mother's POV.
I also read "heart of the matter" by Emily Giffin. It would make a good beach read. I was in to it enough to finish it in a weekend but wasn't blown away by it.
Now I have to find another bood to read. A friend just recommended "her last letter" by Nancy Johnson as a good mystery so I might go for that one.
Thanks OSC! Hope you had a good weekend. Also, if your DH has any suggestions of young adult books, I would love to have them!
I finished 1 book last week, "Matched" by Ally Condie. So, I'm at 3/10.
I'm now reading "Extras" by Scott Westerfield. It is a follow up to the Uglies, Pretties, Specials trilogy which I really enjoyed. The trilogy was an exploration of the over-emphasis on beauty which makes it seem really dry but its not at all. "Extras" is all about the media and humans obsession with being famous. These are young adult books again and set in the future, but really engaging and really good.
I asked him after the last check in and you had already read all of his initial suggestions! He's at work tonight - I told him to keep an eye out for new stuff.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
I think I am going to quit this book. This is the third time I've tried to read it and I seriously cannot get into it. I think I'm on page 30 or something pathetic like that, and it is a 200+ page book at least. I really can't even tell you what it is about, because it is not a good read at all.
So, back to the shelf it goes, and instead I will be reading Every Last One by Anna Quindlen. It sounds excellent.
How was it? It looks interesting.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
I am on page 83! and very proud of that. I'm having a little trouble getting into my book, but part of it is that I normally read before bed and these days I keep debating read or sleep, read or sleep.
The Lacuna is about the life of a man (seems to be a writer) who is born in the US but grows up in Mexico. The story is told through a series of journals that he kept throughout his life. We would all judge his mother if she posted here, she's not the most involved parent and as such he lives a pretty free life so far in Mexico - at one point he was skipping school to earn money as a plaster mixing boy for Diego Rivera.
BFP #2 5/27/12. EDD 2/1/13. m/c and D&C 6/21/12.
Gah, I read a lot this week! Helps when you're unemployed .
Anyway, I finished Chasing Fire, went to read and finish Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton, and am going to finish Fantasy in Death by JD Robb tonight. So I guess that makes me 7 of 25! I will be reading Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah next.
Since I haven't finished Fantasy in Death quite yet I will use that for the question of the week. It's about the head of a gaming company who gets killed while playing a holo game that's still in development. It's really good, but then I love anything Nora Roberts (aka JD Robb) writes.
This one in particular has been a quick read for me. There's a lot less character development of the main core characters than there has been in past books in the series, but there's a lot of background on the technology of this world in 2060. It's pretty fascinating, and I wonder what the world will actually be like in 2060.
Oh, nice! Thank him for me.
Woo hoo! Great!
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
SO GOOD. I could not put it down until I was done!
Good to know!
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
So, I finished Rich, Thin, Pretty by Beth Harbison and it was ehhh. I usually enjoy her books as light reading, but really wasn't impressed by this one at all.
I'm going to start Pretty Little Things by Jillian Hoffman tonight. From the reviews I've read, it's fairly disturbing. We'll see...I'm stealing the summary from the website because i'm just that lazy...
Thirteen-year-old Lainey Emerson is the middle child in a home police are already familiar with: her mom works too much and her stepfather favors his own blood over another man's problems?namely Lainey and her wild older sister. When Lainey fails to come home from a night out with friends, her disappearance is dismissed by the Coral Springs PD as just another disillusioned South Florida teen running away from suburban drama and an unhappy home life.
But FDLE Special Agent Bobby Dees, who heads up the department's difficult Crimes Against Children Squad (CAC), is not quite so sure. Nicknamed "The Shepherd" by colleagues, he has an uncanny ability to find the missing and bring them back home?dead or alive. After a search of Lainey's computer and a frank talk with her best friend reveal the teen was involved in a secret internet relationship, Bobby suspects she may be the victim of an online predator. And when chilling evidence of other possible victims is sent to a local Miami television station, he fears she may not be the only one.
The faceless monster from cyberspace, who has gone to remarkable lengths to stay invisible, now seeks a captive audience. And it's Bobby Dees he wants watching. Haunted by the still-unsolved disappearance of his own teenage daughter, Bobby will find himself pulled into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the most prolific killer he's ever encountered. But will he be able to save Lainey and the others before it's too late?
Wow. Her books are always so heavy, yet super interesting. You'll have to let me know how you like it!
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
Whoa!! 115th? I hope that goes by quickly!
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
I'm getting ready to go to bed so I'll post my update and then come back and read about everyone's books tomorrow.
I'm currently 1/10.
I finished The Shepherd by Ethan Cross and really enjoyed it. It was definitely a page turner. I would say it's a solid murder mystery/thriller. Without giving too much away, it's about a serial killer named Francis Ackerman Jr. and an ex-cop named Marcus who sets out to catch him. There are many twists and turns along the way which kept me on the edge of my seat.
I'm now reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm about 40% of the way through.
Have you ever read anything by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child? Based on your summary and the fact that you're reading Holmes, I think you'd really like their books! Cabinet of Curiosities is my absolute favorite, but they are all fabulous.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
Big Thanks for doing this OSC!
I finished two this weekend. Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. Very good, continued from the second one pretty seamlessly. I wont review that one since it gives away the plot from Played with Fire.
I also read True Colors by Kristin Hannah. I had never read her before and its my bff's book (we trade books all the time) and I see a couple others reading some of her stuff. I am not sure how I feel about her writing so if there are "fans" out there let me know if she has something that might be better.
The story follows the 3 Grey sisters from their mothers death until around their mid life. There is sibling rivalry between the oldest and youngest and a murder that splits the family. I didnt feel she really developed the middle sister as well as some of the other characters. She teased about her but kinda left you hanging.
It was a fairly quick read for me (how I spent most of my Sunday).
I am now reading The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells.
Can I join?? Now that school is almost out, I might have time to read something other than papers written by 4th graders!
I pledge to read 2 books (let's shoot low...)
Right now I'm reading 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. It's a re-read, but is hilarious. It's just stories from a third grade teacher. He gets his tie stuck in the laminator, puts maxi pads on a bulletin board as "clouds", finds out he has to cut the class bunny's teeth and ends up paying the vet to do it each month...
As a bonus, while looking through the book just now I found ultrasound pictures of LO! Ha! Now I remember the first time I read the book in a doctor's waiting room. They are cute pics of his tiny feet too. I can't believe I left them in there!
Hahaha! That sounds amazing!
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
hi everyone! sorry i'm a little late on the check-in.
i finished "on mystic lake" by kristin hannah, and i enjoyed it for the most part. i am now starting "the invisible bridge" by julie orringer, a book that was recommended to me by a friend. i honestly have no idea what it is about - i just started it about 10 pages ago. :-) but here is the synopsis: (yikes, sounds depressing!)
A young Hungarian Jew, Andras L?vi, departs for the ?cole Sp?ciale d'Architecture in Paris. He hones his talent for design, works backstage in a theater, and allies with other Jewish students in defiance of rising Nazi influence. And then he meets Klara, a captivating Hungarian ballet instructor nine years his senior with a painful past and a willful teenage daughter. Against Klara's better judgment, love engulfs them, drowning out the rumblings of war for a time. But inevitably, Nazi aggression drives them back to Hungary, where life for the Jews goes from hardship to horror. As in Dr. Zhivago, these lovers can't escape history's merciless machinery, but love gives them the courage to endure.
I'm glad this was still on page one because I didn't get a chance to post on it yesterday.
I'm on book 2 now. I finished Dead Reckoning and it was a typical Charlane Harris book. I read the Stackhouse series because once I start something I have to finish it, but it's horrible writing IMO.
Now I'm reading Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner. This book is about a family going through a huge trial in life. The grandmother is an overachieving Judge with high expectations. The mother is a senator's wife who has just been informed (along with the rest of the country, by CNN) that her husband has had an affair. She now questions the decision she made not to pursue her career but instead to devote her life to her husbands needs and campaigns. The two daughters are vastly different (as in most of her books) one is a doctor who is having an affair and seems to never have really loved her husband in the first place. She is angry and resentful, but "perfect". The younger sister recently came out of drug rehab and the family fears her relapsing since all this came out about her father.
So far it's a good read.
I finished Love Walked In, and am currently reading Cutting for Stone (so I'm now 2/10)
Love Walked In follows two characters: a savvy 12 year old girl and a 30 year old grad school dropout. Their lives begin to intersect after the 12 year old girl's mother suffers from a manic episode. Love, loss, etc., haha
I like the second book that comes after this, "Belong to Me" better. You don't have to read them in order, but now I'm wishing I had!
Try "Firefly Lane", it's my favorite of hers so far! I've read 5 of hers including "True Colors" and I'm currently working on another one, "Magic Hour".
I'm jealous! I haven't picked up her new one yet. I have every book she's written (including anthologies). She's one of my fave authors, and is definitley a guilty pleasure!
OSC, I'm not sure if you'll even see this (since it took me so long to reply!) but thanks for the suggestion! I will definitely check those authors out.