Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2014/What I've Read In 2014

12. Hard Eight, by Janet Evanovich

This Stephanie Plum novel was pretty intense -- and yet still managed to be funny.

13. Explosive Eighteen, by Janet Evanovich

This Stephanie Plum was kind of meh, and I had trouble telling it apart from Hard Eight, which I was reading at the same time (one at home, and one at work -- memo to self: if you're going to read two books at once, make sure they have different characters). I kept getting the plotlines mixed up. Also, the interesting stuff (Stephanie's Hawaiian vacation) was glossed over and only talked about in retrospect.

14. Notorious Nineteen, by Janet Evanovich

This one had an interesting plot (actually, several interesting plots). There was no personal growth for Stephanie or any other character, but the book was still entertaining.

Think that might have been me. Glad you enjoyed it! I got book 2 - Shift - for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to reading that shortly.

LabRat

I'm looking for that one too. It gets a little confusing. There's a Wool Omnibus edition that seems to have more parts to it. It's an intriguing peek into a different world.

Joan

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde.

Henrietta "Goldilocks" Hatchett, star reporter, is missing after going into the woods and meeting some anthropomorphized talking bears. Also, notorious serial killer the Gingerbreadman (who regularly taunted the police in his letters: "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbreadman!") has escaped from St. Cerebellum's Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Inspector Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division is looking into these cases. As he tells a colleague, "I would look into where he was baked. There can't be many ovens that would hold a seven-foot tall Gingerbreadman."

He also must deal with anthropomorphized talking bears, illegal porridge dealers and honey pushers, the Member of Parliament (currently being blackmailed) who sponsored the Act to allow anthropomorphized bears to carry weapons for self-defense (yes, the right to arm bears), and answer the following question: Why were the bowls of porridge at different temperatures when they were all poured at the same time?

15. The Bear, by Claire Cameron

This is a good book, but the subject material ...

The story is narrated almost entirely by a five-year-old girl, who survives an attack by a rogue black bear after her father stuffs her and her two-year-old brother into an ice chest to keep them safe (the parents are not so lucky). The bear attack is based upon an actual incident that took place in Canada in 1991 (but in real life, no children were involved). Not for the faint of heart.

16. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

Wow. This book was excellent. It's about teens with cancer, something that has been written about many times, but this book is very philosophical, and at times goes between hilarious and tear-jerking. Highly recommended.

#10 Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson

This book told the story of a relationship between a man and a woman, alternating between their POVs. With the title, I was expecting more drastic from the 'lies'.

Joan

12) Hearing With My Heart by Justin Osmond. Dealing With a 90% hearing loss.

#11 Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand Fluff about a family recovering from the death of one of its members. This writer always does a good beach story.

Joan

Mistress of the Empire by Janny Wurts
Mara of the Acoma survives an assasination attempt but loses one of her sons. Opposed by Jiro of the Asanti and the Hamoi Tong even with her considerable talents and resources she is in a very dangerous position.

When the Assembly of Magicians prevents her from defending herself from the Traditionalists all appears to be lost. Her allies are sidelined, knowing that to defy the Assembly is the quickest way to obliteration. In the end, even the Emperor is unable to help her.
______________________________________________

I had forgotten how involved this story was. Very enjoyable read. (Seriously, I've upgraded the set to hardcover so I can keep them around longer.)

The Wrath Of Angels - John Connolly

Another cracking outing for my favourite ever detective - Charlie Parker (Well, joint first with Reacher. ) Seriously haunting, creepy, LOL witty and thrilling. Add in truly beautiful, lyrical writing and appearances from a slew of old faces and you can't ask for more.

LabRat

6. The Salamander Spell - by E.D. Baker - The daughters of the Good Green Witch, the Queen of Greensward country, have a problem. Their mother has been cursed to change from being "good" into being a Hag. Now, there isn't anyone to protect Greensward from the Dragons and Werewolves, because neither of her daughters have come into their magic yet.

This was by the same author of Wide-Awake Princess, which we liked better. This story seemed to transition badly between chapters as if parts of the story had been dropped on the editing room floor and with no explanation the characters had jumped to another time and place. Also, the curse which infected Queen Oliviene was badly described and, although, it was implied that it might be a hereditary curse which her daughters might get someday, this was never fully explained. The Salamander Spell which the book is named after is such a small and unimportant part of the book, I have a strange feeling that it was published before proper editing and re-writes were completed. It felt more like a first draft. We liked Wide Awake Princess well enough, we're willing to try the sequel to that thought, next. Let's hope the author doesn't give us another fail.

Also, this author implies that marriage of young princesses seems to be the norm. The main character princess in this book, Grassina, wasn't more than 15. Actually, I think she's 13 and her older sister is 15 and yet both girls were already being woo'd for marriage by princes. This sends the wrong message for the Young Reader crowd the books are aimed at, in my honest opinion.

Never Go Back by Lee Child.
"Since talking to Maj. Susan Turner on the telephone from South Dakota in 2010's 61 Hours (bestseller Childs's 14th Jack Reacher novel), the former military cop has been heading to the Virginia headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP, in hopes of meeting her. In this 18th outing, Reacher finally arrives in Virginia, where his plan to meet Turner is initially thwarted by thugs who want to keep them apart. An arrest for a crime Reacher doesn't remember committing 16 years earlier provokes him to run, kicking off a cross-country odyssey. As usual, head-busting physicality and analytical problem solving play key roles in Reacher's fight to prove his innocence and expose his enemies. Manhunts on both coasts, a link to corruption in Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. military drawdown, and the possibility for romance between Reacher and Turner make this entry one of the best in the series."

Thankless in Death by J.D Robb (Nora Roberts)
"Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for, especially Roarke’s big Irish family, which is a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren’t as lucky. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son.

Turns out that twenty-six-year-old Jerry is not only capable of brutality but has taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next."

Concealed In Death by J.D. Robb
"In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.

The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.

Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary—and the evil concealed in one human heart."

Like A Mighty Army by David Weber
"For centuries, the world of Safehold, last redoubt of the human race, lay under the unchallenged rule of the Church of God Awaiting. The Church permitted nothing new—no new inventions, no new understandings of the world.

What no one knew was that the Church was an elaborate fraud—a high-tech system established by a rebel faction of Safehold’s founders, meant to keep humanity hidden from the powerful alien race that had destroyed old Earth.

Then awoke Merlyn Athrawes, cybernetic avatar of a warrior a thousand years dead, felled in the war in which Earth was lost. Monk, warrior, counselor to princes and kings, Merlyn has one purpose: to restart the history of the too-long-hidden human race.

And now the fight is thoroughly underway. The island empire of Charis has declared its independence from the Church, and with Merlyn’s help has vaulted forward into a new age of steam-powered efficiency. Fending off the wounded Church, Charis has drawn more and more of the countries of Safehold to the cause of independence and self-determination. But at a heavy cost in bloodshed and loss—a cost felt by nobody more keenly that Merlyn Athrawes.

The wounded Church is regrouping. Its armies and resources are vast. The fight for humanity’s future isn’t over, and won’t be over soon."

17. Pet Sematary, by Stephen King

This is one of my all-time favorite books, but I must say that reading it right before bedtime is not conducive to a good night's sleep. It's arguably King's scariest book, and that's saying something.

LOL, Annie. For me, it's Salem's Lot. Possibly because I first read it as teen with a very active imagination...whose route to work at the time included cutting through a graveyard at 6 am. You don't shake off first impressions like that easily.

LabRat

#12 Practice to Deceive by Ann Rule

Ann Rule does a good job with true crime. This book was more on the average side, but the details of the crime may have been part of that.


#13 Digital Vertigo by Andrew Keen

Interesting commentary on the potential effects of the social Web 3.0. He does a nice job using lots of historical examples to back his points.

Joan

18. To the Nines, by Janet Evanovich

Entertaining, though I think this is the book where it became less about Stephanie's growth as a character and more about the weird cases she solves (in comic book time, because no one ever seems to age and the hamster has lived way beyond his natural lifespan).

Good-Bye, Boise...Hello, Alaska by Cora Holmes
The true story of a family's move to a remote island ranch.

This biography starts two years after the move. What was the transition like? How did their new lifestyle change from Boise to Alaska? How did her job in Alaska progress to her romance and marriage to the ranch owner?

These questions aren't answered. There is a very short flashback that gives her reason for the move but that is all. This is her story and she told it her way but I was left with more questions than answers.

The Black Prism - Brent Weeks

I bought this on the strength of having enjoyed the author's first trilogy but somehow I couldn't connect with this one in the same way. Not sure why. It was certainly well written enough. The world was intriguing. The characters interesting and well-drawn. The plot full of twists and turns. Perhaps a second reading at some point might prove better. But, certainly, currently, I've no great desire to find out what happens next.

LabRat

#14 The Final Descent by Rick Yancey

Fourth and final book in the Monstrumologist series. It was both riveting and disturbing to learn about how the young assistant Will Henry turned out upon growing up.

Joan

13) A Rising Thunder by David Weber. . The latest Honor Harrington novel. Great as usual.