Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2008

33. The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1) by Gena Showalter
34. After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros
35. The Vampire Who Loved Me by Teresa Medeiros
36. Faefever (Fever, Book 3) by Karen Marie Moning
37. The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Book 2) by Gena Showalter


None of the above books were really noteworthy except for Faefever which I could rant about all day long. It was just wonderful (although what do you expect from such an awesome series??).

The Darkest Kiss was actually really really horrible. I mean... REALLY bad. The plot line was good the romance story was just weird. It's why I kept going after book 1. I've read lemons from 13 year olds on fanfiction.net that had better love scenes. That's really my whole qualm with the books.

The other two were period pieces and your every day normal fluffy romance. I've begun to realize why I get so annoyed with many romance novels halfway through them. It's because the authors can't keep their characters in character. You start off with two people falling in love and by the time you get to the end you have two stupid saps who were nothing like the people you grew to love in the first half.

Bah! *shakes her cane*

An update, 3/4 of the way through the year:

62. Carolina Isle - Jude Deveraux
-- I swear, even though the numbers match up, I think someone dropped a few chapters on the way to the printers. If anyone finds the missing chapters, please let me know.

The next set is a series sent to me from my aunt:
63. Devil's Bride - Stephanie Laurens
64. A Rake's Vow - Stephanie Laurens
65. Scandal's Bride - Stephanie Laurens
66. A Rogue's Proposal - Stephanie Laurens
67. A Secret Love - Stephanie Laurens
68. All About Love - Stephanie Laurens
69. All About Passion - Stephanie Laurens
70. On A Wild Night - Stephanie Laurens
71. On A Wicked Dawn - Stephanie Laurens
72. The Perfect Lover - Stephanie Laurens
73. The Ideal Bride - Stephanie Laurens
74. The Truth About Love - Stephanie Laurens

75. American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Wow , well I joined a book club. So far I am in it only 3 months but I love it. Of course if children's books count, does reading The Cat The hat Comes Back 50 times count?


Some of the books I've read this year have more to do with health.

1 YOU on a Diet by Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen

2 YOU Staying Young by Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen. Very informative.

3 The Life of Pi Yann Martel. (Very strange, intense and full of double meaning.)

3 Loving Frank by Nancy Horan(about Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress, fiction based on fact. Interesting, well done and sad.)

4 A New Earth by Ekard Tolle (spiritual)

5 I am currently reading The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (Excellent and scary so far! All about terrorism in Great Brittan,Israel, Egypt and the world.)

I'm up to 38 but in my foggy I-need-to-go-to-bed state, I can't figure out how to get a nice neat list off of Goodreads. So, I'm cheating and just putting a link to my 2008 Goodreads list:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/765067?shelf=read-2008

If any of you use Goodreads, feel free to friend me!

I'm ridiculously far behind, but in my defense, I did get married this summer, lol.

12-15: The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
12. Twilight
13. New Moon
14. Eclipse
15. Breaking Dawn

I was really in love with this series. To the point where I got obsessed (and still am, for the most part). But I hated the last book. There's been a lot of controversy surrounding it, and I'm one of the ones that thought it almost ruined the whole series for me. Now I just pretend it doesn't exist. As much as I dislike the last book though, I'll always be grateful to this series for renewing my love of vampire novels.

16. Vulnerable by Amy Lane

I picked this up because someone told me it was a more graphic version of Twilight. The book was extremely hard to find, and I ended up having to buy it online. There were a lot of errors, which at first made me think it was self-published. That doesn't seem to be the case, but I get the feeling it would definitely be a lot cleaner if it was published through a bigger company. It's sort of like a mix between Twilight and the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton, but in the end I wasn't interested enough to read the rest of the books in this series (called the Little Goddess series, I believe).

17-24: The Sookie Stackhouse novels or the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

17. Dead Until Dark
18. Living Dead in Dallas
19. Club Dead
20. Dead to the World
21. Dead as a Doornail
22. Definitely Dead
23. All Together Dead
24. From Dead to Worse

I lovelovelovelove this series. After I finished the Twilight saga I saw commercials for a show on HBO called True Blood, premiering this fall that caught my attention. When I realized this show was based on this series of books, I picked up the first two to read on the plane ride to Hawaii on my honeymoon. I was instantly hooked. For people who want a bit of a lighter version of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton, check out Sookie Stackhouse. I'd also highly recommend the HBO show, True Blood. It's only aired 3 episodes so far, but it seems to be following the first book pretty closely, while adding a few things here and there to make things a bit more interesting for television. It's a lot of fun.

38. A Kiss to Remember by Teresa Medeiros

39. Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros

40. Thief of Hearts by Teresa Medeiros

41. The Rogue Hunter (Argeneau Vampires, Book 10) by Lynsay Sands

42. Lady Pirate by Lynsay Sands


This was a really enjoyable batch of books. Nothing to thought provoking though. I think next year for my challenge I am going to require a certain amount of non-romance novels. XD

The Rogue Hunter was a little disappointing. I think that was mostly because I enjoyed book 9 so much. This one had a few to many silly moments and I think that may have been why I had problems with it. That and Sands decided to try to describe her male lead by comparing him to David Beckham. While he is a very nice looking man... the way she did it was just weird. Anyway still a great series.

Lady Pirate was probably my favorite of all of them. Corny name but I loved that the author kept the characterizations the whole time. The person you started with didn't change in personality. Well she did... but it was more of a growth in personality than a complete change. I really enjoyed that you started off with a strong woman and ended with one who was stronger and still kept her spunk after she married a man. Props to Mrs. Sands!

Trinity: I would try the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and the Argeneau series. They are both excellent vampire series. Much more adult and graphic though.

If you liked the YA adult feel of Twilight I also suggest Holly Black's Tithe books. Hmmm trying to think if there were any others that stood out. If you want more recommendations let me know.

~Jojo, who has felt like she has read every vampire novel known to man in the last year.

Oooooh, updates! Keep them coming - I love reading about what everyone else is reading!

I've more or less given up on updating because I'm aware that my main choice of genre isn't one that many people here are interested in. But I have come across two new favourite authors recently:

First is Mark Billingham. Thrillers set in the UK are generally of less interest to me than those set in the US, but his Tom Thorne series is clearly in the exception group if the rest of them are as enjoyable as the one I picked up recently.

"Lazybones" is the third in the series and I've put the rest on my wish list at Amazon.

And it's been waaaaaaaaay, way too long, but I've finally found a new SFantasy series that I just absolutely adore.

I picked up George R. R. Martin's A Feast For Crows at my charity shop recently and didn't realise until I got it home that it was book 5 in his A Song Of Ice and Fire series. A quick skim through the first couple of pages convinced me that this was something special that I wouldn't want to spoil. So I put it back down and bought book 1.

And I am well and truly hooked. Enchanted. Enthralled. Can't get enough. I bought book 3 two weeks ago, but have refused to read it because I don't want to get through this too quickly Especially with the next book not out till April '09.

But I am going to cave soon, I think. So far, I've just loved every single minute of these, I adore all the characters and it's had me on the edge of my seat, with my heart in my mouth, more times than I can count.

Plus - dragons. That was all he needed to hook me right there, really.

LabRat

Hah - once again you and John have very similar tastes in authors, Rat. He devours every Mark Billingham he can get his hands on. His other favourite author right now is Jeffrey Deaver - read any of his? And he also likes JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts) for a quick, lightweight read.


Wendy

I just read straight through Philippa Gregory's new novel about Mary Queen of Scots, "The Other Queen." I haven't liked any of her books as much as "The Other Boleyn Girl', but this one was fairly entertaining.

Well, I always said John was a man of taste.

I read a number of JD's books some years back, but the bulk of them are focused on his Lincoln Rhyme character, who, for some reason, I could just never get interested in.

I have enjoyed several of his non-LR books though and a small collection of those does grace my bookshelves. I think my favourite is A Maiden's Grave.

And I was given Cold Moon a while back which was a LR novel, but also featured a new character called Kathryn Dance, who did intrigue me. I was interested to note later that JD's next book focused on her, so it's on my wish list and I'll look forward to reading it.

Has John read anything by Michael Marshall? He's pretty graphic - somewhat in the style of John Connolly - but writes dang good thrillers. And I'd also recommend Tana French's In The Woods - a bit offbeat, part thriller, part lots of other things , but terrific characters and dialogue and a really intriguing mystery at the heart of it.

LabRat

Thanks for the rec, Jojo. I like YA just fine but I always prefer more adult and graphic.

Right now I'm re-reading the Merry Gentry Series by Laurell K. Hamilton because the new book is due out soon and I haven't read the last few because I didn't remember the series much. Not as good as Anita Blake, IMO but still fun.

After that though I plan on heading toward The Vampire Diaries books by L.J. Smith, one another friend's rec. Have you read those, Jojo?

I read them a long time ago. I was in highschool. I actually have the book sitting in my bedroom on the nightstand. It is another YA novel and if I recall they were great when I was a kid. (I never finished the series)

I'm probably going to tackle them soon. I read the first chapter but don't recall any of it. To be fair it has been *counts* 15 years since I read them.

43. The Pretender (Liars Club, Book 1) by Celeste Bradley

44. The Impostor (The Liars Club, Book 2) by Celeste Bradley

45. The Spy (Liars Club, Book 3) by Celeste Bradley

I have been reading this series of books by Celest Bradley for the past few days and I have to say that I am utterly enchanted by them. I love her characters and I love the stories. There are a bunch more in this series and in another series that is connected to Liars Club (The Royal 4) so I imagine I'll be happy for sometime on books.

Ooh, I've just bought all three Celeste Bradley series - taking a chance, because the first few pages of one of them looked well-written. Glad to know you recommend them!


Wendy

46. The Charmer (Liars Club, Book 4) by Celeste Bradley

47. To Wed a Scandalous Spy (Royal Four, Book 1) by Celeste Bradley

48. The Rogue (Liar's Club, Book 5) by Celeste Bradley

I've continued on with the Spy books and I'm still enjoying them a lot. I have to say I wasn't very impressed by "To Wed a Scandalous Spy" but sadly to understand the books after that you have to read it.

It wasn't that the book was totally bad... I just felt like that one was an after thought. Maybe because it is focusing on the Royal Four (the men who give the Liar's Club their targets and missions) and there wasn't as much action. Which was sad because I was looking forward to the main male character's story. All I know is that I didn't really care if the main characters got together.

I suppose that is my main complaint about the last two books on the list. I didn't really feel like the two of them cared much for each other. "The Rogue" did a nice job of showing you that they were attracted to each other but the love confessions that rang out later seemed contrived. How can one really know they are in love with someone with in a week of knowing them. Pffft! The story was exciting in that one though and I like that she ended that one by furthering the plot and not with mushy love stuff.

Anyway... two more books to go! Going to probably finish off the spy series and then take a break from books until December. I think next year I'm going to try to do a real review for every book. Not sure if you guys would be interested in it but I'll be posting those on my livejournal.

I'm also going to make myself read a certain amount of novels outside of just the romance genre.

EDIT: I also have to point out that I have now read 6 of these books and all of them are set in 1813. Come on lady!!! Span out the time frame a little. This is driving me nuts!

76. The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
77. Almost Heaven - Judith McNaught
78. Double Standards - Judith McNaught
79. Rogue's Reform - Stephanie Laurens
80. Sweet Liar - Jude Deveraux
81. Remembrance - Jude Deveraux
82. Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
83. Anne of Avonlea - L.M. Montgomery
84. Anne of the Island - L.M. Montgomery
85. Anne of Windy Poplars - L.M. Montgomery
85. Anne's House of Dreams - L.M. Montgomery
85. Anne of Ingleside - L.M. Montgomery

Reading Rainbow Valley right now, but I think I'm going to skip Rilla of Ingleside. I'm waiting two more days before I can pick up the Southern Vampire Chronicles (Sookie Stackhouse). I swore not until the season was over, and it ends Sunday.

I still have yet to hit the 50-book mark in a single year of this challenge, but I did get closer this time. Since I'm probably not going to finish another book by midnight tonight, I figured I'd post my list now. I'm just copy/pasting from my LibraryThing account--not bothering with previous posts in this thread.

In the order that they're listed at LibraryThing when I pull up my "read in 2008" tag:

1. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) - Philip Pullman
2. Classic Detective Stories from a Suitcase of Suspense - Reader's Digest
3. Classic Espionage Stories from a Suitcase of Suspense - Reader's Digest
4. Classic Murder Stories from a Suitcase of Suspense - Reader's Digest
5. Classic Mystery Stories from a Suitcase of Suspense - Reader's Digest
6. The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3) - Philip Pullman
7. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) - Philip Pullman
8. Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance: Dragonlance Chronicles) - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
9. Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance: Dragonlance Chronicles) - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) - J. K. Rowling
11. Plot (Elements of Fiction Writing) - Ansen Dibell
12. The Chimes of Resdorn - DonnaLee Wheeler (My maternal grandmother)
13. The Briar King (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 1) - Greg Keyes
14. The Charnel Prince (The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 2) - Greg Keyes
15. Temeraire Trilogy - Naomi Novik
16. Wild Seed - Octavia E. Butler
17. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1) - Alexander McCall Smith
18. Tek War - William Shatner
19. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game: Revised Core Rulebook - C.J. Carella
20. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
21. Persuasion - Jane Austen
22. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
23. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
24. Emma - Jane Austen
25. Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
26. The Jane Austen Book Club: A Novel - Karen Joy Fowler
27. Almost a Goddess - Judi McCoy
28. Serenity Role Playing Game - Jamie Chambers
29. Sister Light, Sister Dark: Book One of the Great Alta Saga - Jane Yolen
30. White Jenna: Book Two of the Great Alta Saga - Jane Yolen
31. The One-Armed Queen (Great Alta Saga) - Jane Yolen
32. What Would MacGyver Do?: True Stories of Improvised Genius in Everyday Life - Brendan Vaughan
33. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible - A. J. Jacobs

Things that don't count, because they're more magazines or brochures, but that LibraryThing still allows as books, since they have ISBNs:

1. Buffy Directors Screen - Paul Chapman (There's a booklet that comes with the screen to help Buffy RPG directors with creating adventures, and there's also a pre-written adventure in it, about the size of a magazine, so it doesn't count.)
2. Those Left Behind (Serenity) - Joss Whedon (This is a comic book.)
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 0: The Origin - Christopher Golden (This is also a comic book.)
4. What's Your IQ Activity Kit (Book and Card Deck) (Petites Plus) - Janet Terban Morris (This is one of those card and hand-sized book sets from Barnes & Noble.)
5. The Story of My Life - Jantina Smittenaar (My paternal grandmother--this book doesn't have an ISBN, so I don't consider it a real book. In fact, half of it is genealogical information, so it's only about 50 pages worth of actual writing.)
6. The Essential Tarot: Book and Card Set (Gift Boxes) - Rosalind Simmons (This is one of those card and hand-sized book sets from Barnes & Noble.)

So, that's 33 books that actually count, and 6 that don't. If only I hadn't been stuck in the middle of Dragons of Winter Night for months on end, then I might've been able to get those last 17 books in before the end of the year. *sigh*

Oh well, there's always next year.

By the way, Labby:

I LOVE that series! It was actually recommended to me a couple of years ago, and I've got all of the books through A Feast for Crows so far. Though I loaned A Game of Thrones to another friend and he left it in his sister's room when he moved to Canada, so I haven't seen it in a while. Maybe I'll just buy a new copy.

I am just in love with Martin's books. A real rare and lucky find. I devoured them all up to FoC in a matter of weeks and cannot wait until DoD next year. I've pre-ordered it from Amazon. It's been a while since I've been so taken with a fantasy series.

Isn't it awful when you loan out a book and it's not returned? I've been caught more than once with that over the years. I ended up having to replace the entire 5-book series of David Edding's Belgariad after I leant it en masse to a neighbour who then moved with them!

I'll be starting a new thread for books tomorrow - I've really enjoyed reading about what everyone else has been reading throughout 2008 and it's even netted me a good book now and then.

Anyone out there a fan of Cornelia Funke or who is reading Inkheart? It was one of the gifts Stuart bought me for Christmas. He said it was a last minute impulse buy and he wasn't entirely sure I'd like it, but I'm loving every minute of it so far. And he's bought me Inkspell and Dragon Rider for my upcoming birthday (with a nudge or two ). I have InkDeath pre-ordered on Amazon.

She looks like a real find and I can't wait to read more. No spoilers, please, if you're a fellow fan!

Happy reading for 2009!

LabRat

ETA: BTW, I posted earlier that Jeffrey Deaver's The Sleeping Doll was on my wish list and I was looking forward to reading more about Kathryn Dance. Well, shortly after that I found a brand new copy in my charity shop. I love when that happens. Really enjoyed it, just as I suspected I would. I hope he writes more using this new character in the future.

Well, sadly I haven't reached my goal of 100 books this year. Only 1 away, and only 2 hours left in the year! AUGH! (I thought it was more, but I apparently had several 85's on the list. Whoops!

So my ending list is:

88. Rainbow Valley - L.M. Montgomery
89. Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind (had to reread this while watching the tv show and after the hubby had read it, so I could remember bits)
90. The Blessing - Jude Deveraux
91. Christmas Getaway - Anne Stuart, Tina Leonard, & Marion Lennox
92. The Duke & I - Julia Quinn
93. The Viscount Who Loved Me - Julia Quinn
94. An Offer From A Gentleman - Julia Quinn
95. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton - Julia Quinn
96. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
97. Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris
98. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris
99. Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris

I finally got to the Southern Vampire series! I had to wait until Christmas, since the roommate (a bookstore employee with a discount) decided it would be a better christmas gift than me paying him back.