You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Have a look in the word search below. I want you to note the first THREE (3) words you can find. These are your challenge words. This month you are going to read a book that has one of these three words in the title or in the author's name.


If the image is too small for you, click on it and it will take you to photobucket where you can see it bigger. Or zooming on your browser window should work too.

In your post below, SPOILER your three words eg (view spoiler)[ like this so we can't see them (hide spoiler)] so you are going into the word search with a blank slate. To spoiler like above, type < spoiler>like this so we can't see them< /spoiler> (without the spaces). Then tell us the book you decide to read. There are 60 words in there (that I've put in, I posted this and found 2 more randomly generated that I didn't add), so we should all be able to find 3.

In the reporting thread, I want you to tell us when you're done, and what you think of it.

Clarifications:
Not the subtitle or series title, the main title.
No compound words eg if the word is BLUE, you can't have bluebottle.
Plurals will count. So if the word is BEE and you can read The Bees. If it's BUTTERFLY and you can read In the Time of the Butterflies.

General Rules:
1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book may be in any genre.
3. The book may NOT be combined with the Year Long Geocaching Challenge.
4. The book must be read between January 1 to January 31 (based on your own time zone).
5. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose, but only the highest scoring book will apply.
6. The book must be 175 pages or more determined by the issue you read. If reading eBook or audiobook page numbers will be determined by the issue that comes up on a Goodreads search.

I love the reporting thread titles you guys always come up with :D

Indeed!

I finished my book. The first word I saw was "monster." I read Monster Hunter International with the buddy read thread. The book is a wild ride. (I think the fact that I read a 457 page book in three days says something about the book, even if it was a weekend.) It's not the sort of book I normally read. Some aspects of it kind of got on my nerves, like the long, loving descriptions of guns and other military hardware, and the constant reminders of how wonderful the hero was supposed to be (300 pounds of pure muscle, stellar marksman, holder of multiple black-belts, genius, etc). This is a very "Gary Sue" main character. I don't think it is a coincidence that the character resembles the author in being an accountant, a firearms expert who has won shooting competitions, and rather right-wing. But if you can get past all of that, the book is exciting. I gave it four stars.

The words I found were kill, may and monster. I decided to read which had been on my to-be-read list forever. I actually didn't read it, I listened to it on my way to and from work.

I watched the movie a long time ago but never got around to actually reading the book . The beginning was really hard to listen too!!!!! The whole book is racially charged using words I don't really care to hear, but it's a very good book with a great ending. If there can really be a great ending with this subject matter.

The words I found were Kill, Green and Sea. I went with GREEN and chose to read Half Bad by Sally Green.

It was the author's debut book and I wasn't really sure what to expect, except it to be about witchcraft. It was nothing like I was expecting, it was so much more than what I had bargained for. I really enjoyed it, it reminded me of Noughts & Crosses, how people are persecuted for being different, of growing up and coming of age and trying to find one's identity. It was a quick and interesting read and I shall definitely be continuing with the series.

I found Lion, Feast, and Green. I totally rebooted my David Mitchell addiction and reread Black Swan Green. I love this book so much. Such great coming of age story.

Nice work everyone! Glad you've all enjoyed your picks so far!

The first three words I saw were monster, green and feast. I chose to read The Feast by Margaret Kennedy because I had read The Constant Nymph previously and enjoyed it.

The Feast is written like a morality fable with the virtues and vices represented by the proprietors, guests and employees of a small Cornish hotel. The book was written during the late 1940s in a time when there was still rationing in England. Despite the underlying religious themes (the feast of the title being a last supper of sorts), the tone is not at all preachy. The characters are brought to life by descriptions of their back stories as well as their current situations.

As you would expect from a morality tale, the good are rewarded and 7 bad guys get their just desserts. I really liked this book.

Beth wrote: "I found Lion, Feast, and Green. I totally rebooted my David Mitchell addiction and reread Black Swan Green. I love this book so much. Such great coming of age story."

I'm reading (well, I'm listening on audio) to this also. It really is good. I haven't read David Mitchell, before. I think I'll need to change that.

The three words that I found were feast, right and city.
I decided to read The Magic City by E. Nesbit.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. A 10-year-old boy has a surprise thrown at him that shakes up his entire world. The story is how he deals with it, and the marvelous fantasy that helps him.

There were a few points that didn't make sense, or it seemed like the author got stuck and just moved on instead of rewriting the plot. But overall, I can see why E. Nesbit is such a well-known author.

My favorite quote from the book is - "It is impossible to believe that anything dreadful was going to happen when you were making that soft, sweet, ordinary drink." The drink is hot cocoa, of course.

My words were Monster, Easy, and Kill.

I chose The Nature of Monsters because it was available through my library's kindle collection and it had previously caught my attention in the bookstore.

It...wasn't what I expected. The book blurb is a poor explanation of the story and I'm not sure I would have chosen to read it if the back matter gave a better idea of what the story was actually about.

That said, the book really picked up in the second half, and was an emotional roller coaster from that point on. I felt frustration, sympathy, sadness, and fear for the main character all over the course of the last 150 pages, and the ending was relatively satisfying. I gave the book 3 stars.

My words were: kill, green, take. I chose A Sister's Gift by Giselle Green.

About halfway through this book, I almost quit reading it and chose something else for this challenge. The two main characters were very...frustrating at times. One more so than the other, but I suspect that is down to the fact that I related to one of them a lot and the other one not at all.

I'm glad I kept going, though, because in the end I was glad I read it. It had some genuinely moving moments, and a few surprises for a book that is otherwise fairly predictable (if ridiculous) plot-wise. It also had a wicked fight between the two sisters, which called to mind some fights I had with my own sister. Of course, we weren't adults when we fought like that - unlike these women - but I suppose if we lived closer to each other now and carried as much baggage as these two, it could happen.

Ultimately, it was a book about how a person's desire for one thing can overwhelm and consume them to the point that they are willing to risk everything to get it. I found that to be a theme worth exploring, so overall I am glad I read this book.

Glad you guys who struggled through got a decent reward for your efforts!

One of my word was eat so I decided to listen to Eat, Pray, Love, a book I kept putting off. These tyopes of books are not my cup of tea so i did not love it but I enjoyed it way more than expected.
I was a nice listen and I am glad I finally did choose it.

When I looked at the word search the first words I saw were raw, bit, by, which made it difficult to find books on my tbr pile. The only ones I could find were for the word by. So I decided to read By Hook or by Crook which is from one of my ongoing series.

It was a light, fun read. I haven't read this series for awhile so I was glad the author reintroduced me to the main characters. My memory is not what it used to be. While I do find a couple of the characters annoying overall I enjoyed the story and if I can't guess the killer (which I didn't) I consider it a good mystery.

Thanks for another fun challenge!

My three words were kill, lion, and monster. From the books I already owned with those words in the title, I chose A Girl and Her Monster which was an enjoyable fantasy. It's the first in a series, but doesn't leave on a big cliffhanger. The book could use better world building, but is pretty light given the amount of violence and the dark past the two main characters have.

My three words were monster, need, and city. I read Monster Hunter International. At first, I thought it was full of testosterone - guns, blood, guts, and gore. There were some funny bits, and then there were more guns, blood, guts, and gore. In spite of all that, I started to enjoy the book, but then there was more guns, blood, guts, and gore. Owen and the other monster hunters really put the Timex watch to shame. They took a beating -(view spoiler)[ and were killed (hide spoiler)] - and they kept on ticking. I started to get annoyed.

Three stars - It was just a bit of overkill for me.

My three words were trail, bad and bird. I read The Good Lord Bird. It's been on my radar for a bit so I was glad for the chance to get to it.

I gave it 4 stars> It was a good read with great language and dialogue. It's a hist fic story based on a real event that I sort of heard of but never really knew what it was about. I learned more about it with this story which I always appreciate. The characters were fleshed out well and the writing was very good.

I found red, kill, pill

Chose to read Red Dragon of the series Hannibal Lecter.

Wow. 5 stars. Thriller, crime drama, suspense. It had it all. Thomas Harris may get just a little but too much understanding with these serial killers to be healthy.

Travis of NNY wrote: "I found red, kill, pill

Chose to read Red Dragon of the series Hannibal Lecter.

Wow. 5 stars. Thriller, crime drama, suspense. It had it all. Thomas Harris may get just a little but ..."

I ended up downloading it afterall and it will be the next one I read since it's a library book which will go "poof" and disappear from my iPad in a couple of weeks.

My 3 words were take, need and green and I read Paper Towns by John Green. I was disappointed with it and found parts of it boring and repetitive. Fortunately it was an audio so was very quick to get through.
On the plus side, I learned about paper towns, which I'd never heard over before, but might go some way towards explaining some of the blink and you miss it towns I've been through in my travels.

My 3 words were team, lion, and kill. I read . I really am liking Mitch Rapp. This story was pretty good. There was some twists that I never saw coming. I loved that a special person got what they deserved. I am going to continue with the series.

My three words were Kill, Take, Odd. I went with the word Odd and read Odd Thomas

I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre but this series is part of another group's challenge and the blurb appealed, so thought I'd give it a go.
I actually really enjoyed it, probably because I wouldn't necessarily class it has horror. Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Fantasy ..... yes but not so much horror. It was creepy in some part but nothing I would class as scary.

I struggled at first with the narrator, who's mind took us all over the place and felt a bit disjointed and rambly. However once I got used to it the page turning got faster and faster. I thought the main character was lovely, who made me smile and laugh a lot throughout the book despite the rather grim subject matter.

4 stars

My words for the challenge were (view spoiler)[Kill, Set, Lion (hide spoiler)]. The first book that immediately came to mind was Go Set a Watchman.

I listened to it on Audio and really enjoyed it. It was narrated by Reese Witherspoon but for some reason I kept picturing Emma Stone as the character of Scout. Witherspoons narration was excellent; it was really as if she was telling the story and not reading it.

Comments on the book: (view spoiler)[I didn't understand Scout's disillusionment with Atticus' actions. It was different circumstances which required different decisions. Atticus Finch was the same man he had always been. He was doing what he felt was right and in the best interest of all who were involved. Scout was the same character as well. The unaltered attributes that were humorous in her youth transformed her into impetuous child-like brat as an adult.

It would have been very intriguing to have a series of books that followed the wonderful cast of characters from To Kill a Mockingbird through the gap between these two stories. The first book was definitely the best of the two books. "Go Set a Watchman" lacked character development and the story line was shallow. The contents of this book would have served much better as an Epilogue in "To Kill a Mockingbird" rather than being a stand alone book. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for another fun challenge!!

My words were Lion, river, and city. I finished Peace Like a River.
I just loved the characters in this novel. The narrator is Ruben, an 11 year old boy with severe asthma. His voice was so real, I felt like he was a family member. His younger sister, Swede, writes epic cowboy stories and has a vocabulary that far excedes her 8 years. The story was well-written, with the prose being lyrical at times. I found myself very connected to this family on their quest to find their brother. The plot was a little bit of a slog at times, but the characters were so well fleshed out that it didnt really matter much. This novel has a profound message about love, perserverance, strength, and family that I found heart-warming.

My three words were green, pie and may. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's set just after WWII and describes the experiences of the people of Guernsey during the German occupation. I was only vaguely aware of the Channel Islands and had never thought about them much, nor was I aware the Germans had occupied these islands. Guernsey has gone to the top of my "must visit someday" list. The novel is written as a series of letters from the various characters to each other. The authors do a very nice job of giving each character a unique voice. I can't praise this book highly enough and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

5 stars.

One of my words was EASY i read The Big Over Easy

Fforde is an author with a warped but wonderful mind. I have enjoyed all the Thirsday Next novels and this is certainly no disappointment. Clever wordsmithing, context and character If you haven't tried Fforde be brave and give him a go - This nursery crime is an easier starting place than the Thursday next series

My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My words were city feast and take. I read Motor City Fae It had all the things I like humor action interesting characters. I enjoyed Meagan's love of painting and Ric's love of music. Rated it 4 stars. I have the next book in the series that I will be getting to sooner rather than later.

Marie wrote: "One of my words was EASY i read The Big Over Easy

Fforde is an author with a warped but wonderful mind. I have enjoyed all the Thirsday Next novels and this is certainly no disappointm..."

Marie,
this sounds like a really fun series thanks for the recommendation. I had never heard of Fforde.

Sharon wrote: "My three words were green, pie and may. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's set just after WWII and describes the experi..."

Sharon, the islands are beautiful especially the gardens. But the driving is terrifying - narrow roads with high hedgerows on each side and the residents fly around at top speed!

Lori wrote: "My words for the challenge were [spoilers removed]. The first book that immediately came to mind was Go Set a Watchman.

I listened to it on Audio and really enjoyed it. It was nar..."

Lori, it is interesting to see how Harper Lee developed as a writer between the less mature Go Set A Watchman and the later To Kill a Mockingbird.
I read To Kill a Mockingbird for the challenge and the development of Harper Lee's craft is obvious. No wonder she fought against publication of Go Set A Watchman for so long.

The words I found were (view spoiler)[ kill, easy, green (hide spoiler)]
I read To Kill a Mockingbird it is wonderful. I probably read it in high school but if so I forgot everything but the rabid dog. This story has beautiful language, well developed characters, excellent description of the setting, time and atmosphere and multiple plot lines. I certainly wish I had the spunk of Scout and the kindness and discipline of Jem. And all you parents out there I hope you revel in the differences among your children as Atticus did. I have only just recognized the horror of lynching, so the issue of rural justice in the 1930's was terrifying. It certainly is a classic; I gave it five stars.

I also read Death Over Easy. Interesting if you consider it to be the work of a novice author, more than a little rough in the plot and dialog. Speed has a clever idea for a spunky female detective, a knock off of V.I. Warshawski by Paretsky Sara. I gave it one star. My review is here..

My 3 words were lion, green, leg.

I read The Green Man by Kingsley Amiswhich I would have enjoyed more if the mc would have been a bit more likeable nevertheless good book and definetly will read more of this author's work.

My words were: Monster, Lion and Take. I read Lives of the Monster Dogs. I rated it 2 stars. This was the strangest book I have read. I mostly read it because hey, dogs ;-) yeah, this book is weird and I will probably say to myself a lot, "what did I just read?"

My words were : daughter, angel and wave. So I picked up No Angel at the library for a quick read. It was a YA book about the single guy in an all girls school. He has been "summoned" there by a girl trying to find a guardian angel. Cute story. Typical YA love triangle of sorts, teen hormones, the need to fit in, plot twists here and there. It was mildly entertaining.

One of the first words I found was 'mountain', so I chose to read And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. I loved his previous 2 books and thought this would be a good choice. While it was a nice story, it wasn't as gripping a read as his other two novels. I found the story at times difficult to follow as the narrative moves between different characters' voices and then may switch time periods within the same chapter.

I finished A Girl and Her Monster Sunday. Unfortunately I did not overly enjoy the book. Even looking past the multitudes of typos, and misplaced words in the text, it still wasn't that great for me. There were too many details that weren't fleshed out or explained. I understand it is part of a series, but there was just too much lacking to make me want to continue on with it.

Despite my poor choice in book, this was a really great challenge. Thanks for putting it on for us, Rusalka!

My words were trail, green and bird. I decided to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou since I had never read it. It was a good book. I liked the 1st person voice used to tell her story. I liked reading about the South from her point of view and reading the historical details of her upbringing. I read a review written by someone who was angry that her son's school was reading this book. She did not want him exposed to the rape scene. She states she read the book and the scene was too graphic for a teenager. Frankly, the scene written was not graphic in a physical description of the act. Maybe the description of her psychological pain was too much for that mother? I just think some of the banned book censorship nonsense is a way to cop out on discussing important issues- think To Kill a Mockingbird- or denying themes that give people an imaginative break from the daily grind like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

My words were: hoe, green, and pier. I chose to read Black Swan Green on audio. It was the coming of age tale of a 13 year old British boy in the early 80's told in vignettes over the course of a year. It was warm, and poignant, funny, and frustrating. Everything that being 13 years old in a small town is. I gave it 4 stars, and plan on reading more David Mitchell in the future, as it was beautifully written. I especially loved the name-dropped Brit Pop from the 80's - it was epic.

I liked the narrator, but found him to be a touch slow, so I ended up speeding up the file. If the descriptive or inner dialog sounded a touch fast, the dialog still sounded perfectly normal even at 1.4.

Naomi wrote: "My words were trail, green and bird. I decided to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou since I had never read it. I..."

I agree with you about censorship. I haven't read this book yet, but perhaps I should.

Oh, you should read it, Janice. I have several of her books, and I re-read them periodically. I really need to buy her latest one. She is such a wonderful writer and person!

KimeyDiann wrote: "I finished A Girl and Her Monster Sunday. Unfortunately I did not overly enjoy the book. Even looking past the multitudes of typos, and misplaced words in the text, it still wasn't ..."

No worries. Sorry the book wasn't better. But another one off the list!

My words were kill, lion, and green. I decided to read Nelson DeMille's The Lion's Game. The book was a little underwhelming. Luckily the plot moved at a decent pace despite the length of the book. I was curious enough about the resolution to stick it out through the end. I am glad that I read something so different and loved this challenge. Looking forward to the next read!

My words were kill, pill, and feast. I read Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, as I happened to own it. It is a memoir of the author, she's severely allergic to a number of foods. Many of her tales about how to avoid - or occasionally how unintentionally not to avoid - allergic reaction -inducing foodstuff were often hilarious, although the theme itself - life-threatening allergies - is of course a serious theme. I quite liked the book, ended up giving it four stars.

As a curiosity: I have bought the book used from Amazon, can't remember the seller and too lazy to look it up from my Amazon page. Anyway, as the book was used, it happens to have a dedication (is that the correct word?) written on the first page; somebody had apparently given it as a gift. The handwritten text said: "To Joan. Make all your friends read this! Keep it away from foes! Love Cindy" So now Cindy's book has found its way onto my bookshelf. Wonder where it's been.

The three words that I found first were: need, right, and easy. I didn't have any books on my bookshelf or TBR list that were a fit so I did some searching for new titles. I was hoping to read Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons] as I am intrigued by the North Carolina setting and the element of magic but I was unable to get my hands on it yet.

I ended up reading We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo and am very glad that I did. I really enjoyed the writing style of this author - there was a rhythm and beat to many of her sentences throughout the book. It was also interesting to learn something about a recent history in a part of the World that I am not familiar with: Zimbabwe. I ended up rating it four stars and will recommend it to my reading friends.

I don't remember what my other words were (and I'm too lazy to check) but the one I used was 'city'. I read City of Whispers. I realised halfway through that I have actually read it before. It was ok, but not great. Really good concept, but some of the descriptions seemed awkward and clunky. I did also read the second one, and have downloaded the third, because I want to know what happens next.

My three words were stone, green, wood. I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and absolutely loved it. The characters were so rich and colorful, thoroughly delightful. I liked the way the author told her story going back and forth between the past and the present describing the same events from the point of view of different characters. It reminded me of sitting around the table with my husband's family listening to the stories everyone told about growing up in a small town on Long Island. Especially my father-in-laws stories about from the 1920s and 30s. Bootleggers, town characters, local businesses long gone. I'm becoming a fan of southern literature.

My first three words were trail, city, stoned. I read Zoo City. This book is listed as Urban Fantasy. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. The main character in the story is woman named Zinzi December, who has been partnered with a Sloth as a form of punishment after being found guilty of killing her brother, and doing drugs, and conning people for money, or all of the above - I never really figured it out. The setting is in Johannesburg, South Africa. The people who have been "animalled" are social outcasts and live in slum, slum, slum conditions in an area called Zoo City. People who have been partnered with animals also seem to acquire a form of magic, I think acquired through their bond with the animal, each having a unique talent. Zinzi is able sense things that people have lost, and makes a living finding lost keys, keepsakes, etc. for people, which is a minor part of the story. There is a lot of African slang words and lots of action - some gruesome! I did not like it at first, but the story picked up finally and carried me along to the ending. I did write a review and you can find it by following the link to the book title. If you are interested in the book - look for Rusalka's review, which is why I had this book on my TBR list.

My words were green, easy, and kill. At first I considered passing on this one, but did end up choosing Green Darkness by Anya Seton.

I found this 591 page chunkster interesting and gave it 4 stars. Set in 1968 and in the reigns of King Edward, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, it was a mix of some of my favorite genres - historical fiction, time travel, Tudor literature, and Gothic. I'll be reading some of the author's other books in the future.