Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2011

3. A Matter of Honor - Sally Malcolm

I really like Sally Malcolm as an author. I was reading her fic online before she started being published by Fandemonium. This book was no exception. My only complaint was that it's part 1 of 2, and it took awhile to get part 2!

So while I was waiting, I started doing some re-reads. Now I have to finish this series before I go back...

4. The Duke and I - Julia Quinn
5. The Viscount Who Loved Me - Julia Quinn

I got my Nook Color for Christmas and I love it.

I just finished Jim Butcher's "Side Jobs". It's a collection of Dresden shorts. It was fun.

I've got five books downloaded onto my nook as of now, so I'm set for a while.

I'm finding that the hardest part of the e-reader experience is narrowing down the search for titles that I might want.

Going to have to browse those 99 cent titles soon.

Tank (who finds that e-readers were designed for those of us who like to read in bed)

Just one question: does it shut itself off when I fall asleep while reading?

4. "Blood Dreams" by Kay Hooper

Yes, the nook will revert to a sleep mode if there is no activity after a set time.

Tank (who has also already lost a game of chess to the darn machine)

Tank
Do these take place in Dresden, Germany? I haven't read any fiction that takes place here, so just curious (I'm an American ex-pat). What time period are they set in?

No, Dresden is the name of the character in Jim Butcher's series of novels:

LabRat

Yeah, what she said.

Tank (who met Jim Butcher a few years ago at the New York Comicon where he was helping push a comic book version of his Dresden books... a nice guy)

1. The Tipping Point
2. Outliers
3. What The Dog Saw all by Malcolm Gladwell.
Essays about various topics, ranging from how the dogs view the "Dog Whisperer", an interview with Veg-O-Matic creator Ron Popeil, an investigation into the history of hair dye in America, and why the rate of syphilis in Baltimore leapt up (due to concatenation of tiny changes in unrelated factors.) All interesting, all well-written.

4. Tasting Fear
5. Hot Night both by Shannon McKenna. Hot smutty romance. Recommended if you're in the mood for smut, otherwise don't bother.

6. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George - YA novel, re-telling of a classic fairy tale. Recommended.

7. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson.
From the blurb on Amazon.com: "In her witty and wise debut novel, newcomer Helen Simonson introduces the unforgettable character of the widower Major Ernest Pettigrew. The Major epitomizes the Englishman with the "stiff upper lip," who clings to traditional values and has tried (in vain) to pass these along to his yuppie son, Roger. The story centers around Pettigrew's fight to keep his greedy relatives (including his son) from selling a valuable family heirloom--a pair of hunting rifles that symbolizes much of what he stands for, or at least what he thinks he does. The embattled hero discovers an unexpected ally and source of consolation in his neighbor, the Pakistani shopkeeper Jasmina Ali. On the surface, Pettigrew and Ali's backgrounds and life experiences couldn't be more different, but they discover that they have the most important things in common. This wry, yet optimistic comedy of manners with a romantic twist will appeal to grown-up readers of both sexes. Kudos to Helen Simonson, who distinguishes herself with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand as a writer with the narrative range, stylistic chops, and poise of a veteran." Recommended.

8. Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry - don't laugh, I had to read this for my book club! And it was surprisingly good. Brighty, a wild and free burro, saves more than one life.

9. Little Grrl Lost by Charles deLint. More of deLint's urban fantasy. Elizabeth Tetty is a Little (think "the Borrowers" - that kind of Little) who wants to make her own way in the world. But it's a Big world out there... Recommended.

10. The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen. Not enough apothecary stuff and not enough romance for my taste. The novel left me wanting more of both. OK and good enough to read till the end, but not a book that I'll re-read.

11. Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn. Zoe Ardelay's father has just died, and on the same day, an important messenger from the capital comes to take her away to be the king's fifth wife. More stuff happens. Recommended - I've pretty much liked everything I've read by Sharon Shinn. (BTW, Zoe doesn't end up marrying the king. Not too much of a spoiler since you find that out in the first three chapters.)

12. Was Superman A Spy? by Brian Cronin. Fascinating collection of comic book myths, legends, and stories. The title comes from 1945, where a Superman comic book story included a cyclotron (an "atom smasher"). Since nuclear power details were being closely held at the time, the FBI came and investigated. It turns out the writer of the comic had gotten the info about the cyclotron from an article in "Popular Mechanics" ten years earlier!

5. "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare

6. "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare

:rolleyes:

7. "The Comedy of Errors" by William Shakespeare

Okay...I'm off the Shakespeare kick now... :rolleyes:

#8 The Third Secret - Steve Berry
#9 The Devil's Labyrinth - John Saul
#10 Fear - Jeff Abbott
#11 Orchard Beach - Stuart Woods

LabRat

OK - I am definitely not a reader - not in the way some of you devour books. FIFTY in a year - that's about one a week.

But for the first time in couple of years, I read an entire book, so I thought I would join in this thread.

1. A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church by Franz Dunzl.

He does a pretty good job of setting out some complex ideas in a way that a lay person can understand.

Corrina.

#8 Blood Sins by Kay Hooper
#9 Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
#10 Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper
#11 39 Clues 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis

I am pathetically behind with reading.

I'm almost embarassed to add:

#4 The Way I see it by Melissa Sue Anderson. I was a Little House fan and it was fun to revisit episodes, though Melissa doesn't go into much other than the show.

I started reading "Anthropology of an American Girl". Then I got busy. Now I've just decided it's a lousy book.

6. An Offer from a Gentleman - Julia Quinn
7. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton - Julia Quinn
8. To Sir Philip, With Love - Julia Quinn
9. When He Was Wicked - Julia Quinn

Gave up on my rereading and finally went with new books.

10. The Cost of Honor - Sally Malcolm

Fairly fast-paced and bounced around various locations, but still a good read.

#12 Roman Blood (Roma Sub Rosa #1) - Steven Saylor

One of the genre of murder mysteries with a 'detective', set in a historical time period. Rome, of course, if you couldn't guess already. I really enjoyed it. Interesting, sympathetic characters and a real sense of being in a roman city. Fascinating detail, yet it wasn't allowed to read like a school history lesson or overwhelm the entertainment of the story.

#13 The Silent and the Dead - can't remember who the author of this one was and can't find any trace of it on the web. Which seems quite strange as it was from a series of crime novels with the same Inspector character. Knowing me, I've probably got the title completely wrong.

#14 When The Devil Holds the Candle - Karin Fossum

I must admit my heart sank when I realised that some of the books I'd picked up in my recent charity bookshop hunt were set in Europe. I've not had the best of luck with European thrillers in the past. But these two were very enjoyable. The first set in Italy, the second in Norway.

#15 Play Dead - Harlan Coben

One of my favourite 'light reading' authors, but I haven't read anything from him in a long time. Not sure how I'd missed this one, but I got it for Xmas. Unusually, it comes with a disclaimer from the author, who pretty much disses it. It was an early work, now republished many years later on the back of his other successes and he considers it flawed as a result.

I thought he was too hard on it. The plot was wildly improbable in places - but that's nothing new for Coben or, indeed, many thriller authors. It's often an accepted flaw of the genre. Coincidence rules and a murderer's plot relies heavily on certain people and events slotting into place perfectly at just the right time. So that didn't bother me at all.

But I thought it was one of his most enjoyable. So much so, in fact, that it's spurred me to go back to re-read his other books, most of which I haven't read in years.

LabRat

#12 Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper

Just one more in this trilogy - got it from the library yesterday!

#5 "Heart of the Matter" by Emily Giffin. Interesting insights into the wife and the woman her husband is tempted to cheat with.