Thursday, January 22, 2015

2015 Reading Challenge

self healing and self care books
I have been in a funk since the move (tip: don't ever move with teenagers-wherever you live when your kids are older than 12, just plan on staying there until they all graduate). Since I am happier when I am working on a goal, my good friend Suzanne forwarded me a reading challenge she was working on in 2015. I finished my first book yesterday (in red) and now I am ready to move on to the next.  I was hoping some of you might help me round out my list. So check out my categories and give me some suggestions-pretty please.

If it is written in red, I read it and the * are out of 5*.



UPDATE:  I finished the last book sometime early morning January 4th on my way back from dropping my oldest off to college.  Now I need to think of a fun challenge for 2016. (sorry for all of you you with OCD,  I don't know what is up with the margins, but I am too lazy to fix them)

2015 Reading Challenge

1.      A book with more than 500 pages
         City of Heavenly Fire-Cassandra Clare***
                 (don't judge)
I personally think she should have stopped after book 4, but she's a great author if you are looking mindless demon and vampire romance.
 2.      A book of short stories
                 The Illustrated Man- Ray Bradburry*****
Bradburry is the man.
 3.      A classic romance
          Me Before You-Jo Jo Moyes****1/2
A quirky outcast gets a new job helping a rich quadriplegic and it is great, but will make you cry. 
4.      A book that became a movie
                  If I stay -Jan21 ***
Great teenage romance to escape reality.
5.      A book published this year ***        
            The Heir-Keira Cass****
If the Bachelorette was set in a futuristic diastopian society, it would be this.  This is the 4th in the series and each one isn't a good as the previous one. 
 6.      A book with a number in the title
                 #16 Things I thought Were True-Janet Gurtler  ***   
                  Meh
7.      A book written by someone under 30
                 The Darkest Mind-Alexandra Bracken****
                Kids start developing supernatural abilities and out of fear are rounded up by the government. A perfect book for hanging out a basketball practice.
8.      A book with non-human characters
                 Dragon Song- Anne McCaffrey**
                 I started to read this for my series, but I didn't enjoy it              enough to read anymore.                              
9.      A funny book
                 Bridget Jones Diary-Helen Fielding **   
                 I may be the only one that didn't love this.  I found her              constant string of bad decisions annoying and                            frustrating. 
10.    A book by a female author
                  Feeling Sorry for Celia-Jacyln Moriarty****
The book takes place in a series of notes from mother and daughter and I kind of loved it.
11.    A mystery or thriller
                 Looking For Me-Beth Hoffman****
A young antique dealer tries to cope with the disappearance of her brother.  The mystery is a bit of a stretch, but it is full of southern charm.
12.   A book with a one word title
         Backwater-Joan Bauer ***
         A girl from a family of lawyers, heads up into the              mountains to meet her reclusive aunt. Quick, easy read.
13.   A book set in a different country
                Inside the Kingdom-Carmen Bin Ladin   **** 
                Fascinating non-fiction into the lives of Saudi Women  
14.   A non-fiction book
                The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau  **                 
     Loved the idea of this book, but didn't really like how it was written.  I would have loved reading more about people's pursuits.    
15.   A popular authors first book      
       That Summer-Sarah Dessen ***
Full of teenage angst and summer love. Great reading to forget you're really 43.
16.   A book from an author that you love but you haven’t read yet
          Saving Lucas Biggs-Marissa de los Santos ***
         Love, love, love her adult books.  This time-traveling        tale written for kids is a wonderful book about  friendship and forgiveness.
17 A book a friend recommended       
            The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani ****
Epic tale of a girl from a small village in the Italian Alps that makes her life in America. I really didn't think her love interest was good enough for her and it bugged me.
18.  A Pulitzer Prize winning book
            Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 
It is a long letter of an elderly father to his son. I tried to love this, but there wasn't much of a plot, and I had to force myself through it.               
19.  A book based on a true story
             Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini **
Interesting story told in super boring way.  
20.  A book at the bottom of your to read list                                                               
            Grave Mercy-Robin Lefevers ***     
Female medieval assassins-what's not to like.  
21.  A book your mom loves
The Rent Collector-Camron Wright****
Story of Cambodian garbage pickers.  I was worried it would be depressing, but it was uplifting.
22.  A book that scares you
      The Ghosts of Ashbury High-Jacyln Moriarty***
   A mysterious couples are the new kids at a rich boarding school in Australia.
23.  A book more than 100 years old
       A Room with a View- E.M Forster***
There are lots of great themes in this book, but I just had a hard time caring about any of the characters. 
24.  A book based entirely on its cover      
       The Fourteenth Goldfish***
A girl's grandfather discovers the secret to youth, and becomes her age.
25.  A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
           The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath ***     
 A young women's decent into madness.             
26.  A memoir
       Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince ****    
Memoir of a orphan girl's journey to become a professional ballerina.             
27.  A book you can finish in a day
            Hope Was Here-Joan Bauer   ****
          I like this author, if you are looking for clean stuff for your teens to read.     This one's about a girl that moves around a lot, and finally settles in a small town. She develops waitressing to an art.              
28.  A book with antonyms in the title
           The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet-Jamie Ford****
Forbidden love of a Chinese boy and a Japanese girl during WWII.

29.  A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
            What Alice Forgot-Liane Moriarty****1/2  (Australia)            A 40 year old woman wakes up from a concussion with no memory of the last 10 years.  I loved it.
30.  A book with bad reviews
       Into the Ever Blue-Veronica Rossi.***  
Average teenage diastopian romance
31.  A book from the year were born (1972)               An Unsuitable Job for a Woman-PD James ***
Young brittish femal PI investigates the suicide of a wealthy misfit.          
32.  A trilogy
        Across the Universe-Beth Revis****
The story of a family that is frozen for centuries as they travel to another planet, but the teenage daughter awakes early.
33.  A book from your childhood
       Dandelion Wine-Ray Bradburry****
34. A book with a love triangle
       In Their Footsteps-Terri Gerritson ****
A women investigates the death of parents who had been secret agents. 
35.  A book set in the future
        Under the Never Sky-Veronica Rossi***
Average teenage diastopian romance
36.  A book set in high school
          Buzzkill-Beth Fanatskey ****
        Teenage reporter investigates a murder in her high school
37.  A book with a colour in the title
       The Girl in Hyacinth Blue-Suasan Vreeland **
An epic novel about the different owners of a painting. I have loved some of her other books, but this didn't hold my interest.
38.  A book that made you cry
       We are Called to Rise-Laura McBride ***
It tells the stories of an8 year old Albanian boy, a middle age woman, and social worker, and an injured vet.  There stories collide in a not-so happy string of coincidences.
39.  A book with magic
       Princess of Thorns-Stacey Jay***
A retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
           
40.  A graphic novel
       Rapunzel's Revenge-Shannon Hale *
Not my favorite genre
41.  A book by an author you’ve never read before
      Everybody's Got Something-Robyn Roberts***1/2
Super uplifting, quick, fun read.
                                     
42.  A book you own but have never read                                                                              All You Could Ask For-Mike Greenberg    
Women connect through a breast cancer forum-it made me cry and schedule my mammogram.                                
43.  A book that takes place in your hometown 
The Man That Owned Vermont-May 1, 2015 *
The guy in this story has some issues.
44.  A book that was originally written in a different language  
        Reckless-Cornelia Funke **   
A take on the Grimm Fairy Tales, but it just wasn't a page turner for me.                 
45.  A book set during Christmas
       Redbird Christmas-Fannie Flagg ***
       Maybe not my favorite of her books, but enjoyable.
46.  A book written by an author with your same initials        
        Girl Missing- Terri Gerritson ****     
Crime drama                                                
47.  A play
       A Raisin in the Son by Lorraine Hansberry***
I didn't enjoy it, because I was waiting the entire book for something bad to happen.

48.  A banned book (or previously banned)             
        Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury  Jan 28 *****
My daughter’s favorite book   
49.  A book based on or turned into a TV Show
           Astronaut's Wives Club-Lily Koppel ****
(Don't read this if astronauts are your heroes)
50.  A book you started but never finished
             Big Little Lies-Liane Moriarty****
Tells the story of a murder that took place at a PTO function at a small school in Australia.