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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#58 Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig Donal Cameron is being raised by his grandmother, the cook at the legendary Double W ranch in the Montana Rockies. When Gram has to have surgery for “female trouble” in the summer of 1951, all she can think to do is to ship Donal off to her sister in faraway Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There Donal is in for a rude surprise: Aunt Kate is nothing like her sister. She henpecks her good-natured husband, Herman the German, and Donal can’t seem to get on her good side either. After one contretemps too many, Kate packs him back to the authorities in Montana on the next Greyhound. But as it turns out, Donal isn’t traveling solo: Herman the German has decided to fly the coop with him. In the immortal American tradition, the pair light out for the territory together, meeting a classic Doigian ensemble of characters and having rollicking misadventures along the way. This was a great coming-of-age/character read.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#59 Code Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinOct. 11th, 1943 - A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.
When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.
As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? This is one of my daughter's favorite books. I haven't yet told her that the 'twist' wasn't really a surprise for me, though that didn't take away from the story.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#60 The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton Juliette loves Nate.
She will follow him anywhere. She’s even become a flight attendant for his airline so she can keep a closer eye on him.
They are meant to be.
The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to win him back.
She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants. The premise was pretty cheesy but it seemed to have potential to build into something else. It didn't.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#61 Red Bird by Stephanie Grace WhitsonAll her life Carrie has dreamed of Soaring Eagle. Now all grown up, can Carrie's love survive his new way of life? I only read this book so I could discuss it at book club. I am not a fan of just romance. I'm not excited about the 1880s frontier life. And while I enjoy some Christian literature, this book was, for lack of a better word, stiff.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#62 A Lite Too Bright by Samuel MillerArthur Louis Pullman the Third is on the verge of a breakdown. He’s been stripped of his college scholarship, is losing his grip on reality, and has been sent away to live with his aunt and uncle.
It’s there that Arthur discovers a journal written by his grandfather, the first Arthur Louis Pullman, an iconic Salinger-esque author who went missing the last week of his life and died hundreds of miles away from their family home. What happened in that week—and how much his actions were influenced by his Alzheimer’s—remains a mystery.
But now Arthur has his grandfather’s journal—and a final sentence containing a train route and a destination.
So Arthur embarks on a cross-country train ride to relive his grandfather’s last week, guided only by the clues left behind in the dementia-fueled journal. As Arthur gets closer to uncovering a sad and terrible truth, his journey is complicated by a shaky alliance with a girl who has secrets of her own and by escalating run-ins with a dangerous Pullman fan base. This was an interesting premise. I didn't find the journal readings to be very profound but the story kept me reading. #63 The Cast by Amy BlumenfeldTwenty-five years ago, a group of ninth graders produced a Saturday Night Live-style videotape to cheer up their ailing friend. The show’s running time was only ninety minutes, but it had a lasting impact: Becca laughed her way through recovery, and the group—Jordana, Seth, Holly, and Lex—became her supporting cast for life.
On the silver anniversary of Becca Night Live, the friends reunite over the Fourth of July to celebrate Becca’s good health—but nothing goes as planned. It was as fluffy as it sounds but a good airplane read.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#64 Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.
In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders.
Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share. My book club loved this one. I didn't find it compelling to read. Although it claims to be based on a true story, there were just two many coincidences. It was pushing credibility to believe one man did all that was covered in the book.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
Thanks! I'll check that out.
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 7
Blogger
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Blogger
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 7 |
Now that I can post again, I'm back in for next year. I am on book 79 for this year.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#65 Too Close by Natalie DanielsConnie has woken up in a psychiatric hospital. They say she committed a terrible crime but she says she can’t remember a thing. From the blurbs on the cover, I thought this was going to be a 'single white female' situation. While it was refreshing that it was more than that, many of the emotions and actions of the characters didn't ring true to me.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#66 Women Rowing North by Mary PipherIn Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. Nothing earth shattering here, though it was still an interesting book due to the use of personal examples.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#67 The Faraway Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the making of an American Life by Lauren Markham The deeply reported story of identical twin brothers who escape El Salvador's violence to build new lives in California--fighting to survive, to stay, and to belong. A disturbing but interesting story of the perils a set of young brothers dealt with in their home country and their experiences in America.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#68 Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski n this dazzling memoir, the acclaimed writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor reveals how the power of creativity and imagination enabled him to overcome the horrors of his youth and a dysfunctional family haunted by madness, murder and a terrible secret. I'm a big fan of Babylon 5 so I was excited to read this book. And after reading this book, JM Straczynski continues to amaze and impress me. I can't imagine living through all he did and surviving, nonetheless succeeding as he did. What a story!
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,686 Likes: 1 |
#69 Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict In the industrial 1860s at the dawn of the Carnegie empire, Irish immigrant Clara Kelly finds herself in desperate circumstances. Looking for a way out, she seeks employment as a lady's maid in the home of the prominent businessman Andrew Carnegie. Soon, the bond between Clara and her employer deepens into love. But when Clara goes missing, Carnegie's search for her unearths secrets and revelations that lay the foundation for his lasting legacy. I was a little confused as to what was real in this story. However, the author's note at the end clearly states Clara was a fictional character designed to possibly explain Carnegie's change of focus.
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Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 296
Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 296 |
I've been out a bunch, but I did read some more since last I posted on this thread. Rounded my 2019 count out to a nice even 40.
24: For Elise by Sarah M Eden (surprise surprise) - This one was not at all related to either of the other series I've read. But it was heartbreakingly awesome. Guy finds long lost girl and tries to figure out what happened in the first place.
25: Romancing Daphne by SME - Another good one in the series. Often forgotten Middle Sister is finally noticed by someone.
26: Loving Lieutenant Lancaster by SME - The first book to really connect the two series (and inspired in me an idea for what I hope will happen in the final book of both serieses (how do you make that word plural??))
27: The Heart of a Vicar by SME - The one where the almost youngest brother realizes he can behave how he wants not how he is expected to. Also the one I read when I realized they haven't all be written yet and there aren't any more for me to read but still two siblings (one from each family) that don't have stories yet... Oy I hate waiting.
28: The Fall of Lord Drayson by Rachael Anderson - I feel like this would make an interesting plot for a LnC fic... A great episode spin-off. [muse runs off to write it down...]
29: Upon My Heart Forever by Amber Lynn Perry - I want to like her books, I really do, but they are so incredibly cheesy...
30: Gentleman of Her Dreams by Jen Turano - Ms Turano does a great job of making me laugh in her writing. Like out loud, put the book down and wipe my eyes laughing.
31: Costochondritis - A Forgotten Condition... by Peter Askes - After being diagnosed with the condition in June, I did lots of research. This book was not written for patients but it was very informative. since this summer, I've had two more instances (which many refer to as "flare ups"). Not fun... but at least I'm one of the lucky ones who knows why I have it (or at least what is causing it right now..)
32: A Timeless Romance Anthology Book : Blind Date Collection - Annette Lyon (and others): Several cheesy and relatively predictable stories, some better than others.
33: Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard - Someone told me (or I read) that this book started the genre of Christian Historical Fiction, but I'm pretty sure that's impossible given that it was first published in 2005... Either way. I can't remember anything about it. (Edit. its the first in REGENCY Christian historical fiction, thought I'm not sure why the specification is necessary.)
34: Longing for Home by SME: The first book by her I really didn't care for. Too many characters, I didn't like the way it ended, and I read the summary for the next book in the series only to find out the way the book ended wasn't really the end (happy about it, but I don't really want to read the next one...)
35: The Governess of Penwythe Hall by Sarah E Ladd - Another favorite author of mine. Filled with intrigue and mystery, the governess has secrets...
36: The Lady and the Highwayman by SME - I picked this one up and put it down several times before finally finishing it. I have mixed feelings. Two authors meet and try to solve two mysteries (each author knows the answer to one mystery...) it was weird, but I liked it? (question mark intentional, I just can't decide...)
37: The Lady and the Gent by Rebecca Connolly - I enjoyed this one, another girl trapped in her place in the world, escapes and ends up in unusual situations.
38: Rescuing Lord Inglewood by Sally Britton - An arranged marriage sort of story. I cried a lot with this one (probably because I was going through some similar things at the time I read it...not an arranged marriage, ha!)
39: Discovery Grace and 40: Saving Miss Every also by Sally Britton (same series as the one before that follows a group of childhood friends). I list these together because they are related Grace and Hope Everly are twins. Hope gets to go on a trip and Grace wants to stay home, but after some mischief, their dad punishes them by making them do the opposite. Both are completely miserable at the prospect and trade identities to be able to avoid it. Each story is what happens to each twin. I loved them both. But I also learned with this one that the last book in the series doesn't come out until May... Oy, more waiting...
Much fewer books than the previous year, but hey, I wrote a book myself and that takes a significant amount of time (among other life events that have taken much time...). I look forward to more reading in 2020.
"Oh my gosh! Authors really do use particular words on purpose!" ~Me, when I started writing a book. 
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