Challenge: 50 Books discussion

29. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

I liked this book and definitely recommend it.

29 1/2. Mercury Begins by Robert Kroese

I've had Mercury Falls on my Kindle for a while now, and I did start it, but it didn't quite hold my attention. I picked up this short story one day for 99 cents and thought maybe it would help to read the origin story before the novel. I'm only giving the short story 1 star, and I may never finish the first novel in this trilogy. I'd love to know if anyone out there has read this short story or the first book in the trilogy and if you liked it or not.

30. Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes

I'll write a full review of this soon, but my initial impression is that I raced through The Sense of an Ending but plodded through Flaubert's Parrot. I know this book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1984, and though I can see why, this just wasn't a great read for me.

31. The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler

This one didn't "feel" like all of the previous Marlowe novels. I wonder if it's because Chandler was trying to show kind of evolution in Marlowe's character? I'm still deciding how I feel about this one. A book review should be coming soon.

32. Archie Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough

Okay, so...I liked The Missing Chapter, but I wasn't so crazy about this prequel that imagines the story of how Archie and Nero meet, and how Archie comes to work for Nero Wolfe. Maybe it's because I'm more of a fan of Archie after years of working with Wolfe and not at the beginning. One interesting thing--the author imagines that the two met during Prohibition and the Depression. Based upon events that were dropped in the story the time period is likely somewhere between 1929 and 1931 (the Empire State Building is being built but isn't complete, the Stock Market crash has already occurred).

I gave this two stars. If you've never read one of the Nero Wolfe stories but you like detective fiction, you might like this one. If you have read the Wolfe stories but not this prequel, I'd be interested to see how you feel about it.

33. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

33 1/2. Mercury Swings by Robert Kroese

34. The Bloodied Ivy by Robert Goldsborough

Wow. I can't believe it's been 25 days since I last finished a book! I've been in a little bit of a reading slump this summer.

Anyway, this book was better than #32 on this year's list. It's the last one on my kindle from the book-buying binge I went on on Cyber Monday last year.

35. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

I really liked this book. It reminds me of a Harry Dresden novel except with kids. If you like the Dresden files and YA, give this one a try (but do read The Lightning Thief first).

Sidenote: I just learned that Nathan Fillion is playing Hermes in the film version of this book that's about to come out. That's a piece of outstanding casting there.

36. Flawless by Sara Shepard

I gave this book three stars, but that's mostly because I put it down with about 100 pages to go and it stayed on my nightstand for a few weeks before getting finished. Probably if I had read it straight through, I would have given it four stars. It finishes strongly, and because I have seen the show, I was surprised by the way that it ends. A character dies that is still alive on the show, and so I totally didn't see it coming. Which made it fun. I had been hoping that the books wouldn't be 100% like the show and so far they're not.

37. Fallen by Lauren Kate

38. Perfect by Sara Shepard

I wrote this in my review but I'll say it again. I love how this novel plays with Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Brilliant. Give this series a read.

39. The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

For anyone who has read all or most of the Discworld books, is this truly the last time we see Rincewind as the main character?

40. Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

good read.

40 1/4. "The Tomb," "Dagon," "Memory," "The Transition of Juan Romero," and "The White Ship" by H.P. Lovecraft

41. Wicked by Sara Shepard

42. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

loved this book. love this series. honestly, if you like urban fantasy and haven't given this series a try, find storm front and begin the adventure. the series really gets going in summer knight so stick with it. i really can't wait to read the next book in this series!

43. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
44. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
45. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
46. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
47. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
48. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
49. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
50. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

Yes, it's true. I've gone a little bit of a binge with these books.

Woohoo fifty. Congrats!

don't worry! I'm gonna binge on sookie this year! good job in 2013!