2025 Reading Challenge discussion

My goal is to read 70 books this year- increasing last years challenge by 10 books. Can't wait to get started!!!

1. Home Front by,Kristin Hannah


Jolene is a wife and Mother to 2 girls, She is also a soldier on reserve- serving in the Army as a helicopter pilot. Just as Jolene's marriage starts to fall apart, She gets called into war. Incredible journey to hell and back- I really was suprised at how much I loved this book. I adore Kristin Hannah, I should've known I would love every bit of this book

2.Mr. Penumbra's 24Hour Bookstore Mr. Penumbra's 24Hour Bookstore

I read this book as a group read challenge, and I loved it! Clay Jannon is young,living in New York and recently out of work. He sees a Help Wanted sign in an older Bookstore window- when he walks in the Magic begins! This book is a wild, topsy-turvy ride of eccentric characters,codes begging to be broken,and extremely likeable characters. I totally loved the ride this story took me on, I loved being brought into Google headquarters, the author,Robin Sloan made me feel as if I was a part of the book. Not my usual genre- which was the cool thing about this adventure

3. The Lovely Bones AMAZING BOOK! This little gem has been sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting for me, Actually I found this one at Goodwill- Susie Salmon is a girl that is murdered on her way home from school one day, She sits up in Heaven and watches down on her heartbroken family-It is a curious thing to wonder how your family would go on without you after such a tragic end to your life,The characters in this book were very real and even though this book could get quite dark at times,It was a terrific read LOVED this story!

4. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman Nora, Nora..Your witty words will be with me for a long time..Who doesn't like "When Harry Met Sally?" "I feel Bad about My Neck" is a witty,fun book of thoughts and insights on being a woman. Nora takes basic issues we all do or will deal with at some point in our lives. I couldn't help thinking about the fact that she had no idea while writing this book that she would die soon. There are very few women who are known for writing so many relatable and funny movies, I still miss Nora and I really enjoyed this book- It is pretty short- like 137 pages but it is packed with witty wisdom on being a woman and getting older. 4 stars.

Maria wrote: "I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman Nora, Nora..Your witty words will be with me for a long t..."

I'm surprised you liked Lovely Bones. I did enjoy it but most people I've met who read it really didn't like it especially that it talked about a girl in heaven or something like that...

Adriana wrote: "I'm surprised you liked Lovely Bones. I did enjoy it but most people I've met who read it really didn't like it especially that it talked about a girl in heaven or something like that..."

I have never read anything like it, maybe that is why I liked it so much, It was a hard subject-I'll admit, No parent wants to think about having one of their kids brutally killed, It was interesting to see how the family handled it, and most of all I guess, was what "heaven" was like for her and how it was described

5. Fifty Shades Freed *SPOILERS*_ okay, finishing up this triliogy. I really am not liking this series as much as my friends told me I would! lol- I find it really annoying, and repetitive, There are only so many sex scenes you can read without getting bored of them, Im currently on page 20 and EVERYTIME Christian says "laters Baby" I hear the voice of Austin Powers!


*UPDATE*holy kinky fuckery! actually, quite the opposite! I LOVED this last book of the Shades of Grey trilogy! I barely made it thru the first 2. Honestly. the only reason why I did hang in there was because of the cliff hanger thrown at me in the last book.- Confession-----I skipped MANY of the sex scenes. which entailed Pages of graphic BDSM scenes. and I do not regret it for a second


Loved this book- loved the storyline and how we, as readers finally learned why Christian is so fucked up. Loved living vicariously thru Ana, hey who wouldn't want to have a doting Gorgeous Millionaire for a husband??? I'll admit, he pissed me off during Ana's revelation of the pregnancy, he was an asshole. But he made it up to her.


Really loved this one.I am actally shocked. I expected to hate it. And when I first started reading this one, I pictured the dude from the movie the spy who shagged me...michael myers played him-- everytime Christian would say "laters baby" I heard Austin Powers voice! Not anymore!!

Now I picture the hot,bad brother from the vampire diaries. :) Damian- Rumor has it, that guy will play Christian in the movie. One question, why did they name the baby Ted? confused about that one.

6. The Age of Miracles AMAZING -AMAZING- AMAZING- More than half way thru this golden find, Cannot put it down.FIVE PLUS STARS*****+

Julia, a young teen wakes one morning to realize the earth is starting to Slow.The rotation of the Earth begins to slow down, and that of course effects every living thing on it. Wow. Dude. Birds die. Whales beach themselves. Days Darken, Nights are bright, Holy Shit. if you are into the whole global warming/climate change thing- this book is AMAZING!!!!!!! Seriously made me think. There are ways to prepare. I do not think for ONE minute that we can stop this crap, especially by taxing the crap out of Americans to line other people's pockets. BUT, I see how you can PREPARE for this crap. Get Ready people. It is coming!



I am certain that this book will go down as a 2013 best read. READ IT. It is written in an amazingly easy style, that captured me and kept me glued to every word on every page.


Awesome. Read.

7. Matched Oh, World of Dystopian Societies where have you been all my life? Seriously. Since The handmaids tale (which was so amazing) I have been stumbling across these gems of Dystopia that I get pulled into. I have begun a trilogy with this book here- I am 43 and checking books out from the YA section and holding my freak flag high! lol - These books are written with 14 year old girls in Mind, Im told. But I don't care. I was 14 once! :) Half way thru this one, and already reserving the next book in this trilogy at my library-(the library is my best friend)

adding matched to my tbr list, your description made me laugh : )

Maria wrote: "7.Matched Oh, World of Dystopian Societies where have you been all my life? Seriously. Since The handmaids tale (which was so amazing) I have been stumbling across these..."

Maria - I am so there with you, most of my favorite books these days are books I will talk to my friends teenage daughters about. Although I have met quite a few moms who are as drawn into YA fiction as I am. Just know Maria you have many "sisters" who support you in your enthusiasm for YA fiction.

The hand maids tale And matched are on my to be read soon list.

Nice job workin through your list- you're off to a great start!

Awesome, I am not alone! Everyone laughs at me and my stack of YA books- eh, what do they know?! I am pro-Library- so, my "orders" are in for the next 2 books in this trilogy- can't wait til they get them in. (my library is so small, it never has anything-so I have to get them sent from other libraries)

Jessica wrote: "Maria wrote: "7.Matched Oh, World of Dystopian Societies where have you been all my life? Seriously. Since The handmaids tale (which was so amazing) I have been stumblin..."

My 19 yr old son and I have stuff to talk about now too! love it! He would rather watch the movies made from these books tho- I did see that Disney is going to be making the movie Matched. So this will be something I will be waiting for, for sure!

MOVIE from Book alert- I am going to be watching later and cannot wait, Was told it was amazing. I loved the book, so I am excited about this one*

Maria wrote: "MOVIE from Book alert- I am going to be watching later and cannot wait, Was told it was amazing. I loved the book, so I am excited about this one*"

I'm glad you like Lovely Bones. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for years, and I just haven't gotten the moxie to read it yet. The concept is so gut wrenching, but after reading your review, I'm going to read in this spring (once I get through a few more books on my TBR list). Let us know how the movie is.

Jessica wrote: "Maria wrote: "MOVIE from Book alert- I am going to be watching later and cannot wait, Was told it was amazing. I loved the book, so I am excited about this on..."

Jessica,
after JUST finishing the movie version, wow. What a difference watching a story makes. It is pretty gut wrenching, and the absolute worst nightmare for any parent ( I have 2 sons) I might change my review now!lol- hmmm. The book is exciting in a weird way, It was a topic I had never read about before, and I saw things differently than you might, I prefer the book to the movie, Even tho I Love Mark Wahlberg and the girl that played Suzie was wonderful. Just too creeped out by the whole thing right now. I still would tell friends to read the book for the experience- Just expect some serious feelings to come to the top- the book was calmer and gentler and easier for me to comprehend, I liked the "heaven" better in the book too.

Maria, I enjoyed both the book and the movie. Stanley Tucci definitely deserved his award-nods for his portrayal.

Maria wrote: "6.The Age of Miracles AMAZING -AMAZING- AMAZING- More than half way thru this golden find, Cannot put it down.FIVE PLUS STARS*****+

Julia, a young teen wa..."

Just put this on my TBR list, thanks to you!

The Lovely Bones movie was really great. The evil guy *shudders* the actor was amazing.

Adriana wrote: "The Lovely Bones movie was really great. The evil guy *shudders* the actor was amazing."

I agree! He gave me the creeps big time

Megan wrote: "Maria, I enjoyed both the book and the movie. Stanley Tucci definitely deserved his award-nods for his portrayal."

I enjoy how movies can take me back in time, I remember the 70's and being carefree- walking alone thru woods, trusting everyone, being polite to people in the neighborhood. The hairstyles, clothes,houses etc. Susan Sarandon smoking all over Lyndsay while she was putting eggs in her hair! LOL

#8! Crossed Well, Hell must have frozen over. I am reading a book on an e reader thing. Was so completely against it- until I watched as 12 books were instantly added to it for FREE! I'm on page 54 of Crossed by Ally Condie. Would have had to wait for a week or so, for it to come into my library- It is weird having a light where my book page should be, I wonder if I will get used to this or not. Either way Onto Book #8Crossed Oh and it is called an Illiterati. Not a kindle. I had got it over a year ago with a coupon for uder $20.


Update* Finshed the book. 3 Stars.
Eh. just -eh. Going to go ahead and start Reached the final book in this trilogy and hoping it gets better. What a let down, going from such an awesome first book to a crappy second one.


Oh, and regarding the e-reader- I seem to read faster on it for some reason. My eyes are tired, I'm not sure if it is from the light on the thing, or because I stayed up all night pretty much with this book.
I have Multiple Sclerosis, and my eyes can be pretty funky at times. So I don't know...I will read the next book on the e-reader and see how it is - and If I want to continue to read this way- I do LOVE the instant! gratification reading this way. I fought this "new" way of reading (I hate change) But, I am kinda digging it now :)

#9. - and here I go again....keeping my fingers crossed that this is better than the last book in this trilogy!
On Page #135 AWESOME so far. yay! Okay, so The 1rst and 3rd book of this trilogy are great. 2 out of 3 is not that awful, right?

Okay, busy weekend for me,finally finished Reached and the entire Matched trilogy. Keeping the 2nd book in my rating, I have to give this a 4 star rating. I really enjoyed this Dystopian adventure and I can't wait til Disney gets the movie out! All in all, very enjoyable and Im still into Dystopian stuff

#10. Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me- Okay... feeling a need to lighten up the mood a bit and laugh thru a book for a while- Going in not sure if Chelsea wrote this, or her friends did,, I LOVED all the other books she wrote and laughed through the whole books- SO either way, Looking forward to some Chelsea time-
Okay, Didn't take me long to need something more serious after Chelsea- This book was so-so. Her friends wrote their own parts in this book, funny at times, just no where near as good as just Chelsea time. 3 stars

#11. Love Anthony Can I tell you how much I LOVE Lisa Genova? I hang on her.every.word. She always writes about illnesses (wait for it) in such an interesting and informative way. One of my favorite books by her was about Altzheimers(sp?) My Grandmother had that, and It was so interesting to read about it from a patients view.It was called Still Alice- here--> 5 stars to that one. Well, so far, love Anthony is about Autism. Lisa Genova fits these tough topics into amazing stories, I absolutely love her writing style. The books are not doom and gloom at all, I find them to be uplifting actually. Positive ways at looking at a negative situation, I guess. So far loving this book

Also.............I am still reading on my illuminati- my e reader thing. Im hooked on this little dandy! I have a techie savvy guy who loads 70 books on it in like 2 minutes- and Im good to go! Never thought I would cheat on my books...........But, wow. I am starting to see alot less books all over my house in my future. I am not sure how I feel about that. I was reading something about a library in Florida somewhere that has NO books in it at all!!! the HORROR!!!!! anyway, it freaked me out. What happens to the books that are not "e reader worthy"?? I like weird books that no one else seems to know about, and I doubt would ever get onto kindle lists. We will always need libraries With books. I miss my CD collection. (random, I know) But, I do. everything is on a freaking digital file somewhere and, honestly, takes me longer to figure out, than it used to take me to find my CD and pop it into my little white CD boombox thing. I don't own an Ipod, Never had one. I've bought my sons many in many different colors thru out their lives, I just never bought one for me. Maybe it's time? I fight technology tooth and nail until I finally give in, complaining all the way. Until I start to secretly love it Kinda like my illuminati reader. (it is called an iliterati, But I named it illuminati in spirit of conspiracy theories for kicks



Finished Love Anthony. And I really did Love Anthony :) Lisa Genova never lets me down. thrilled to see she is writing another book- on yet another illness. I am intrigued by different ailments, can't explain it. This story had so many things that I love in it- Set on Nantucket..One of the main characters is a Photographer. The other a writer. There is a book club as well.Lessons about life.loss.relationships.friends. beaches. sunsets. Perfect combo for me! 5 stars!

#12. Looking for Alaska- I am a John Green Junkie. I'll admit it. This book has been on my list for a year- Already diving into the juicy beginning and am sure I will enjoy this shiny gem :)- Update* Wow, that took a long time for me to finish, Major snow hit Connecticut and things have been busy with work and stuff-

I wish this book was better than it was, Oh well, The beginning was awesome, and everything I wanted it to be, then it kinda fizzled for me. Maybe it was too predictable for me or something? I still enjoy John Green and his writing, I can see most of his characters repeat in each of his books in some ways-all in all I am going to give this one a 4 star rating.

#13. Everybody Sees the Ants- okay This one is WAITING for me at my library waiting for me to go get it!!! Yay! will this be book # 13?- or will I give in to one I have waiting for me on my "illuminati" (iliterati ereader thing i have)

OUTSTANDING book about 2 very gut wrenching and real topics.

This amazing book was about a 15 yr old boy Named Lucky, He is a victim of a die hard bully during the day and at night while he sleeps,
his dreams take him to Vietnam, to visit his Grandfather who is in a POW camp.At times this story was hard to handle, but then it would flow right into everyday kind of stuff. A.S King is an AMAZING author. And I seriously NEED to find More of her stuff, I am blown away by how wonderful she tells a story.

This Book will make many lists I am sure of it. READ IT. It was incredible 5 STARS *****!

(***Oh, and after having read so many books on my ereader thing, it was such a PLEASURE to hold a real book and turn real pages again. Hmm, I really do love actual books.)

#14. Room


AMAZING story. Incredible tale narrated by a 5 year old named Jack who spent his entire life in a Room that was his whole world. He only knows his Ma, the things he sees on his TV.Old Nick, who he never really sees while he hides in his wardrobe, and his very few possessions that he holds dear.


After learning the story of Jaycee Dugard, It was all I thought about while reading this book. I could not put this book down, and I was sad when it was over. I still want to read more about Jack and his life and his Ma's life- Excellent book, This one will stay with me for a very long time- 5+ stars
(ereader)

It's weird. Whenever I finish a book that really pulled me in, It is so hard for me to find another story that I can dive into and feel confident that I will enjoy. It's kinda like when I was younger and still dating, whenever there was a breakup- I always figured, eh, Ill never find another one..LOL

#15. The Good House Got pulled right into this one. I love when a book grabs me- on page 102 (Oh, and it's a real book, not my ereader)

Interesting book. Very light- hearted and funny at times- An interesting look at a sometimes functional alcoholic,real estate lady living in her house on the beach near Boston. The ending was intense at times, I did enjoy this book
thinking about this one more, It is very terrifying to even consider drinking to the point of blacking out over and over. And this book had many cases of that happening, the author weaved it into the story really seductively almost. This book will stay with me a while.

#16. Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives I'm going to give this one a shot- ran into the library to drop off the good house and saw this on the shelf of new releases- Read the first line of the preface and was drawn in instantly. can't wait!



Sad update... My 37 yr old
cousin, Matthew died on Thursday- this book is about death and moving on from it...I was having issues dealing with this book before Matthew died. I was not sure that I could handle this depressing genre. I cant. Im human. the writing is good, almost too good, brings alot of feelings to the surface. Who wants to think about being a widow tho? unless you already are one and looking to cope or inspiration. had . to. stop.

#16. An Abundance of Katherines
So-so. I expect more from John Green. Oh well, he has written so many fabulous books, I can let one slide.
Basically it's about a prodigy named Colin who continually dates girls named Katherine.

#17. American Gods Wow, this is a long one. On my ereader it says 499 pages. So far tho- I cannot put it down! So interesting,intoxicating,exciting- Very cool so far- I am on Pg.98

holy crap- Im like 300 pages in and Im still confused by this book- It is SO good at times and so confusing at others. I have never been this confused while reading a book before-
I had to stop and take a breather- this book confuses the hell out of me! I am almost done with it- its a long book especially when it is so confusing to me- Ill come back to it eventually

#18. The Round House This book started off with a bang- Joe, an indian teenager, living on a reservation-finds out his mother has been attacked and raped brutally. He and his father try to find the man responsible- there is alot of indian folklore and info put in here and there thru out the book which was very interesting- I give this book 4 stars.

#19. Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

I found this little story so lovely and happy :)
I am a Christian, so I believe in Heaven, and in this story, a little boy named Colton "dies" while having emergency surgery and visits heaven- His account of Jesus and God and the angels is so inspiring- Loved this book- At the end of the book there is a reference to a little girl, from Poland I think, that was raised by an athiest mom, and she was drawing all these amazing masterpieces- One of her pictures is of Jesus. What a neat, inspiring read- It is comforting to have my beliefs validated from time to time- 4 1/2 stars

#20. Wonder

Amazing Read! I absolutely LOVED this book, It is seriously right up there with my favorite reads.

August is a 15 year old boy with major birth defects that affect how his face looks drastically,. He has dealt with the stares and gasps from strangers thru out his life, and mostly him Mother has kept his "safe" at home while she homeschooled him. It isnt until August agrees to try out 5th grade in a real school that things get rocking.

I fell in love with August,His parents, his sister, his Dog,almost every character

This was one of those books, I did not want to end, I'll admit, as the pages dwindled down I got a little anxious knowing the story would end soon- LOVE books like these 5 STARS and, I will be on the look out for more books by this author

#21. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

Loving this book! and I am on page 178 and my stupid ereader thing freezes!!!!! This sucks. It is a crappy,cheap one- called a Literati. Ugh. Time for a Kindle

Okay got the ereader working again,

to finish the book.
What a let down. The ending sucked. Blah-hate that.

there were excellent parts of this book, and parts I wanted to just skim thru- the ending fell like a :thud:

#22. A Lotus Grows in the Mud

I could literally hear Goldie's high pitched laugh and voice all thru this book- I loved reading about her world- What an honest and loving soul she is. 5 stars easily :)
I laughed and I cried and I learned some cool stuff, I'll be thinking about this one for a long time

Loving all your reviews, Maria! They're a lot of fun to read.

Kara wrote: "Loving all your reviews, Maria! They're a lot of fun to read."

Thank you Kara!

#23. Warm Bodies A light-hearted Zombie love story~ My 19 yr old turned me onto this book, I was intrigued to say the least- My very first Zombie book! It was cute, and at times it made attempts to get deep,but failed :( All in all, it was worth the read and I am looking forward to when the movie comes out on DVD.

R is a Zombie living in an old 747 airplane stranded at the airport with many other Zombies. He goes on a "feed" with a group- He rescues a Human and brings her back to his airplane. Together R and Julie start an adventure. Don't expect too much from this one. It is really short, and an easy read. It is cute, and enjoyable enough. I am not sold on the zombie genre- But I am willing to read almost anything these days- LOL

#24 This is How You Lose Her
Yunior is a Dominican that comes to America with his family- This book is like a bunch of short stories that at first seem to jump all out of order- But come together in the end.
basically, Yunior is just like his Dad his brother and his friend- a manwhore- He chocks it up to being Dominican, and that is the way Dominicans are..yadda yadda yadda..... He ends up cheating on his one true love with over 50 women- things go downhill from there- Karma is a bitch,Yunior! lol
This book intrigued me, I had NO idea what it was about when I started it and that is the way I like my books- So I found myself wondering what the hell I was reading often thru the Spanish thrown in here and there. I used to live in a condo complex FILLED with Dominicans so I picked up alot of the words from memory- as well as saw alot of the men I knew from living there too. Honestly, the women too. There was alot of the plight of the immigrant thrown in here too- even tho that is not what this story was about, atleast I dont think it was.

I liked this book- it was so different and edgy and poetic at times to me. Gotta give it 4 stars.

#25. The MiddlesteinsA story of a Jewish family that revolves around the actions the Mother,Edie who is an obese compulsive over eater- who basically eats herself to death. It is an interesting account of the family around her and how they handle life in general. There was so much in this book that is very easy to relate to, Each family member,dealing with their own crap and handling it in their own way. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much

#26. Divergent Okay so I fell head over heels into this dystopian tale- It was very good at parts and others for me, dragged. There are parts that had me on the edge of my seat and other parts where i pushed myself to get thru. I give this one 3 stars and I will start the 2nd book soon-------------Still haven't started Insurgent. There was a lot of detailed fighting in the first book, and I get bored from that- I will start the next one soon

#27 The End of Your Life Book Club Found this one on my ereader and the title grabbed me- So far I'm hooked- It is not like me to hop around while reading a series (divergent) -oh well, life is short, mix things up a little, right?
***** Finished this tonight, I didn't cry. I was shocked that I actually was too busy looking for positive things about how everything ended instead. I made many mental notes on how I would love to parlay Mary Anne's choices into my own life. Something about death, last wishes, last instructions left for the living-mainly her adult children=really hit home. I really enjoyed this book, even tho it led to death

****There are ALOT of great books mentioned in the book club in this story- I need to write them all down and read them someday too

Woo hoo! I have the movie-Warm Bodies
Cannot wait to watch it- I also began reading - I have a bad habit of having too many books going at once- It is hard for me to wait to dive into each one
*** I watched Warm Bodies, it was better than I thought it would be I guess. No awards headed to those actors anytime real soon, But I did enjoy the way the whole Romeo and Juliet theme was going on in the movie.

#28. Fly Away- Yes, I have a couple of books going at once- Finally Finished it!!
Oh how I've missed Tully and Kate. The girls from Firefly lane have returned!
I have been anxiously awaiting a return of Kristin Hannah! I loved Firefly Lane so much- Fly Away is the sequel to that awesome story- Oh how I love Kristin Hannah's emotional rides she takes me on- So many twists, turns,tears,smiles. Wonderful Story! 4 stars

I want to add that this book was about second chances- and It leaves me with a happy and hopeful outlook on the future- Kristin Hannah never disapoints

#29. Not Taco Bell Material Dude. This is HYSTERICAL so far- glad I started reading it, Laughing is so much fun!