Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

This is my first time doing this challenge, and I'm incorporating some other challenge's (especially the GCAC) books into this too.

I reserve the right to change a book during the year if I want to :-) and I'll read in any order.

Start Date: 1 Dec 2013
End Date: 30 Nov 2014

Books Read: 21/26

LOL - I probably could've gone and found books with the letters in the title, but I'm happy with my 21/26

✔ A - Allegiant Read 18/12/13, 4 Stars


✔ B - Beautiful Nightmares Read 21/12/13, 4 Stars


✔ C - Cloudstreet Read 30/4/14, 3 Stars

✔ D - Doctor Sleep Read 26/3/14, 4 Stars

✔ E - Ender's Game Read 20/1/14, 4 Stars


✔ F - Five Days in May Read 18/11/14, 5 Stars


✔ G - The Giver ] Read 9/1/14, 5 Stars

✔ H - The Handmaid's Tale Read 6/2/14, 5 Stars


✔ I - In the Woods Read 7/1/14, 4 Stars


J - Just Remember to Breathe

K - The Kite Runner

✔ L - Lexicon Read 31/1/14, 4 1/2 Stars


✔ M - And the Mountains Echoed Read 20/12/14, 4 Stars

✔ N - 1984 Read 24/5/14, 4 Stars


✔ O - Oryx and Crake Read 17/4/14, 4.5 Stars

✔ P - Pivot Point Read 14/3/14, 4 Stars


Q - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

✔ R - The Runner Read 18/12/13, 5 Stars

✔ S - The Shining Read 25/2/14, 4 Stars

✔ T - Tell No One Read 13/3/14, 4.5 Stars

✔ U - UnSouled Read 10/12/13, 5 Stars

V - Vader's Little Princess

✔ W - Wings of Glass Read 9/8/14, 5 Stars

X - X-It

✔ Y - The Year of the Flood Read 15/5/14, 3.5 Stars

✔ Z - The Zodiac Paradox Read 19/6/14, 4.5 Stars

Welcome to the challenge, Heather :) I want to read some of the books from your list next year as well. Burial Rites and The Goldfinch are the two must-reads for me :). I loved Unsouled, The 5th Wave and Ender's Game!

Have fun reading!

Thanks Anima :-)

Welcome to the challenge! I love your list so far. I am hoping to read several of those books next year too. I am reading Doctor Sleep right now and it is excellent. Hope you have fun with the challenge!

(Love your profile pic with your new baby!)

Kristie wrote: "Welcome to the challenge! I love your list so far. I am hoping to read several of those books next year too. I am reading Doctor Sleep right now and it is excellent. Hope you have fun with the chal..."

Thanks Kristie

I've just finished Unsouled by Neal Shusterman

Excellent book - gave it 5 stars. I'm loving this series and can't wait until the 4th and final book is out.

Likewise :)

Me too!

Just finished Allegiant by Veronica Roth, I gave it 4 stars.

I was so looking forward to this book after reading Divergent and Insurgent one after the other last year. I did find it took a little while to get into it, trying to remember the previous books, who was who etc.

Once I let go and just read, I really enjoyed it. Its a bit of a shame that the reviews weren't too good, but I still enjoyed the book, how things were explained and the ending, (view spoiler)[ - that a main character can die is ok with me, makes it more real and less "happily ever after" which just doesn't happen in real life (hide spoiler)]

Wow Wow Wow - just finished The Runner by W.J. Davies, I gave it 5 stars

This fanfic novella, is set in the Wool/Silo universe... and was even recommended by Hugh Howey, (author of Wool Omnibus etc)

I was captivated from the beginning, loved reading about another story of the silo... (view spoiler)[ and given that there are 40 silos (hide spoiler)], there really could be many, many more stories from different resident's point of view.

This book probably should be read after Wool, so as not to spoil what you find out in the later books of the Omnibus.

I am definitely keen to read more of W.J. Davies's books

Heather, thanks for the recommend, I will look into it some time next year :), sounds really interesting!

I still need to read Wool / Silo .... so many books and not enough time!

Lynn, they were so good I read them all one after the other, except Dust, which I pre-ordered and started reading as soon as it arrived on my kindle. Never ever had I done that before!! AMAZING !!!

I just finished Beautiful Nightmares by Lauren Hammond. This was the final book in the Asylum Trilogy.

All 3 books were total mind f^&%s. If you want to experience mysteriousness, confusion, tragedy, romance and to definitely not be able to see how this plays out, then this is the trilogy for you!

I am STILL thinking about this and feeling a bit confused! Still !

Note: I did have down as my "B", but I will get this read through my Goodreads Choice Awards challenge instead. I really wanted to finish off this Asylum trilogy first.

A few days ago I finished In the Woods - a murder mystery set in Dublin. Started slow and overly detailed for my liking, but I kept going and it got better.

Today I finished The Giver. This wasn't my original book for the letter 'G', but it was on my list for another challenge, and I'm so glad I read it ! I highly highly recommend this book for anyone who hasn't read it yet. "Utopian" - set in the future that is supposedly better than our future. Very clever.

Recently finished and both amazing books - loved them both.

You seem to be doing very well with your picks :)

Thanks Lynn, although some of them eg Handmaids Tale, were not originally what I'd put for H.

Just finished , all ready to read in March. Gave it 4 stars. Suspenseful, gruesome in parts but so well written.

Heather--I am going to start these as well after I finish The Goldfinch..Even though I have seen the movie of The Shining, I have never read it so I thought I would read it before reading Doctor Sleep for our group read:)

How is Goldfinch Kristie? I was thinking of reading that one soon.

I am enjoying it and would recommend it. It is sort of depressing and sad, but good at the same time if that makes sense. The story takes places during present day and so much happens to the main character that my emotions have been all over the place with this book. I am ready for something scary and not emotional after this one...lol

Lol, totally understand ! Have you read any Dystopian novels? They are currently my fave genre for escaping.

I am going to read Divergent before the movie comes out and my son told me I would like Ender's Game. Which ones do you suggest? I love that type of book!

So many so many - here's some I rated 5 stars.

Unwind (and the rest of the series)
Wool Omnibus (and the rest of the series)
The Handmaids Tale

Hunger Games started it all for me :-) Divergent was excellent.

Hunger Games started those types of books for me as well. Don't forget the classic, 1984..always great!! I am going to write down your suggestions--thanks!

Just finished and I really really enjoyed it. Being YA, it was easy to read, I could relate to the flirting (or should I say felt nostalgic about the flirting), I giggled quite a few times out loud actually. And bonus, it also contributes to the Goodreads Awards 2013 challenge !

What was this one about? I finally started and am loving it!

Kristi wrote: "What was this one about? I finally started and am loving it!"

Hi Kristi... it was about a select group of people who have special abilities and the main character has the ability to experience the future for a period of time, so as to see which decision to make about something.
She needs to decide whether to go with her Dad, who's moving outside of the "compound" or to stay with her Mum inside the "compound". She experiences 6 weeks in both, and the chapters alternate between each "timeline".

Kristi wrote: "What was this one about? I finally started and am loving it!"

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Divergent!

finished the audio of the other day, it was so good...

So I'm half way through my A-Z ! I can't believe it! I think it will be easy enough to get to 20, and I'll struggle with the last.

I tend to get lots of recurring letters, especially S it seems.

Congrats , Heather.

Thanks Angela :-)

✿ ♥ Heather ♥ ✿ wrote: "Kristi wrote: "What was this one about? I finally started and am loving it!"

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Divergent!"

LOVED IT!!!!!! I have 4 books that just came in from holds on the library that I have to read before I can get to the next one in the series, but I want to get to the next one--I am hooked!!

Finished a couple of days ago, great book (4 stars)! I'm so glad I read The Shining first... although I'm sure you can follow it ok without needing to.

I am getting ready to read that one now, but I am reading 4 Loooooong books so it will take a while!!

Four at once ! Wow ! I can only do 2. One reading book, one audiobook.

I drive myself crazy too..lol. 2 are on my Kindle and 2 are actual books..with paper even..lol

I haven't updated this in a while !

I read during April and gave it 4 stars... wow what a story

I read at the end of April and gave it 3 stars.

Just finished The Year of the Flood today.. gave it 3.5 stars.

Just finished 1984 today.. gave it 4 stars. It was a freaky, dystopian horror..even though I'd read it in high school, I couldn't remember any of it, which shocks me because there was quite a bit of horror !

✿ ♥ Heather ♥ ✿ wrote: "Just finished 1984 today.. gave it 4 stars. It was a freaky, dystopian horror..even though I'd read it in high school, I couldn't remember any of it, which shocks ..."

I have quite a few books that I know I've read when I was younger but can't for the life of me remember them.

...and others that terrified me then and now I wonder why.

I just finished The Zodiac Paradox which I gave 4.5 stars. This is Book 1 of a Trilogy, from BEFORE the time of the TV series.

I loved immersing myself in the world of Fringe again. I wanted to shout out to everyone that Fringe was back, Fringe was back! I could imagine the characters so easily, Walter Bishop, William Bell, Nina Sharp. Even though they're in their 20's, their personalities are so... them....

Oooohhhh I loved Fringe!

Lynn wrote: "Oooohhhh I loved Fringe!"

:-) do you think you'd read the books Lynn ?

Might do, it's gone on my tbr list but that list is pretty long! lol

Not many to go now ! Up to 20/26. Just finished Wings of Glass - great book and it was a freebie too.