75 Books...More or Less! discussion
2024 Goodreads Challenge
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Karina's Book Challenge
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Karina
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Dec 28, 2023 09:59AM
I honestly have no idea what my goals for 2024. I have failed two years in a row to complete 75 books. The past two years I have worked a lot more and I don't know if my hours will lessen for 2024 so I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. However, I do know that I need and want to read my owned books. I bought and read a lot of new books in 2023 and didn't read too many of my owned books. I think that will be my concentration for this year and if I hit 75 or 50, then I will be very happy.
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1. The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand Starting my year by reading both a sappy beach read and a book that's been on my shelf for YEARS!
This one is typical Elin fare, however, I love when her characters are bad. Adulterous bad.
Three stars
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Juli wrote: "It's just a number anyway! Enjoy your reading year!"I am so far enjoying it! I am picking books that I want to read and I vow this year to stop reading books and not feel bad for not finishing if I am not enjoying it. Life is too short!
2. The Best Strangers in the World by Ari ShapiroI have always love Ari on NPR's All Things Considered so I knew I was going to enjoy this memoir and I really did. It was so interesting and there are so many facets to the voice you here on the radio. I only sad I didn't listen to this on audio because I bet I would have enjoyed listening him read (I probably will listen to it on audio anyway)
Five stars
3. Cannery Row by John SteinbeckThis is the first Steinbeck I've read since Of Mice and Men and East of Eden, both extremely depressing. I really enjoyed this book and it was definitely more light hearted and was interesting and funny.
Four stars
4. Just As I Am by Cicely TysonI am so glad I listened to this on audio, it was really good. I wish I had known more her when she was alive. I love listening to stories about her time in her prolific television career and her movie career and hearing stories about Old Hollywood.
Four stars
5. The Silent Girls by Eric RickstadThis was a book that was gifted to me years ago and I never read it. I picked it up because it is part of a stack of books that lost it's bookshelf home so I need to read through that stack. This book was not very good. The female characters were definitely written by a man and so many things get thrown in at the end.
2.5 stars
6. Interesting Facts About Space by Emily AustinThis was a fun, quick book to read but honestly not one that I will be remembering or gushing about in the future.
Book 1/3 from my January 2024 BOTM box (I stopped myself from getting five so I consider that a win)
7. By Night in Chile by Roberto BolanoThis was a quick read and very interesting. It was one of those stream of consciousness stories that I either enjoy or hate but this one I enjoyed.
3.5 stars
8. The Green Hat by Michael ArlenI finished this book on the 31st and it was interesting and weird read.
Three stars
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Andrea wrote: "Karina, you are off to a good start! I know it's so hard to pick your goal for the year. I struggled picking mine too. Finally, I picked something I thought might be right and will revisit in June."That is exactly what I am going to do!
9. Absolution by Alice McDermottI finished this book last week and I enjoyed it more than I thought it was. I definitely have a blind spot when it comes to the Vietnam War. The writing and prose were beautiful but I had a hard time with the characters.
Three stars
10. Thick: and Other Essays by Tressie McMillan CottomThis was such an eye opening and interesting and at times heartbreaking collection of essays.
Four stars
11. Dust by Martha GrimesThis is the 21st book in the Richard Jury series and the quality has been... bleh. I enjoy the parts with Melrose and his interactions with children in this book and learning about Henry James but the Jury scenes have been hard to get through. The mystery themselves are good but the main guy is just... does she hate him now?
Three stars
12. No One Can Know by Kate Alice MarshallI really enjoyed this one and finished it in one day (yes I was on a plane but still). I don't always love the unreliable narrator trope because not everyone can pull it off and I feel like so many are doing it now but this was a great thriller with lots of twists.
Four stars
Book 1/5 from December 2023 BOTM box
13. First Lie Wins by Ashley ElstonThis has been one of my favorite thriller/mystery books in a very long time. A fresh story (or at least a concept I haven't ran into yet)
It was fantastic.
4 stars
Book 2/3 of January 2024 BOTM box
14. The Forbidden Kingdom by Jan Jacob SlauerhoffThis book was interesting. The Dutch write some interesting stories and this one was no different.
Three stars
15. Northwoods by Amy PeaseAnother suspense/thriller that I chose from Book of the Month. A very quick read, I wouldn't say this is groundbreaking but TW: drug use and addiction
Three stars
Book 3/3 from my January BOTM 2024 box... can't believe I finished a whole box!
16. On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo CalvinoMaybe I don't like postmodernist novels because I did not enjoy this.
Two stars
17. Winter Street by Elin HilderbrandI had the second book in this series and was going to start reading it but when I realized it was book 2, I ordered the first one. It's fine. A very quick read.
Three stars
18. Will by Will SmithI enjoyed this on Audible very much. It was so interesting to learn about Will.
3.5 stars
19. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa GyasiThis was an interesting story about addiction, mental illness and growing up with immigrant parents and racist surroundings.
Three stars
Book 2/3 from my September 2020 BOTM box (no need to discuss how many books I have from 2019-2023 unread...)
20. The Widow by Fiona BartonI read The Child first (I did not know this was a series) and I enjoyed The Child better but The Widow was interesting and a quick read. I have done horrible this month with reading books.
Three stars
21. Only If You're Lucky by Stacy WillinghamI actually finished this book before The Widow and forgot to add it. I wasn't a huge fan of this one. Nothing happens and then everything happens and it was just too far fetched of an ending for me. And none of these characters were worth rooting for.
2.5 stars
Book 1/3 from my February 2024 BOTM box
22. Cat's Cradle by Kurt VonnegutApropos that I read this book after watching the entire Fallout first season
Four stars
23. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle ZevinFinally picked up this book that I have had for over a year and a half now. Glad I chose it for our book club, I really did enjoy it, besides the pretentiousness of the author (seriously, I rocked my verbal SATs back in the day and I love learning new words but I should not have to have a thesaurus handy for every other word so I said FORGET IT and used context clues, oh well). The story moved quickly and even though the characters were not likeable, the story was good even though there is one plot point here that I will not spoil that knocked this book down a whole star for me.
Book 2/3 from my October 2022 BOTM box (I know, I know)
24. Here After by Amy LinReading this memoir about a woman who loses her husband when he is 32 and they are newlyweds not advisable when you yourself are sick (fine now!) but geez this memoir was a gut punch and so beautifully written.
Book 1/6 from my March 2024 BOTM box (I KNOW I KNOW)
25. Roses in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra RehmanThis book took me much longer to read than it should have mostly because I got distracted many times and this is not the book's fault. I am happy to have read a book by an author from a Muslim background and especially Pakistani because I do not ever find myself reading books from these authors and I love learning about the religious and cultural backgrounds and any mention of food. This book is really good and I am sorry it took me so long to read!
Four stars
26. The Familiar by Leigh BardugoAs someone who enjoyed her other books (Ninth House and Hell Bent) I was excited for a new book and it was good. Learned a bit about the Spanish Inquisition on top of it!
4 stars
27. What Lies in the Woods by Katie Alice MarshallI enjoyed this book so much more than the one I read earlier this year, No One Can Know which was so much more far fetched to the point of the twists were dumb. This book was much better and I enjoyed it so much more. The last 100 pages were fast.
Three stars
Book 2/3 from my January 2023 BOTM box
28. Darling Girls by Sally HepworthThis was a good one. Fast read, great mystery and a twist at the end that I kind of guessed but was still surprised at the end.
Four stars
Book 1/3 from my April 2024 BOTM box
29. The Scent Keeper by Erica BauermeisterA book I've had for a while since I usually pick up a Reese book club pick. It was a fast read and very interesting.
Three stars
30. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard OsmanThis book started off quick then slogged then sped up again. I also have not dedicated a whole lot of time to reading the past few weeks (looking at the last time I finished a book!) but I am making time for it again. This book had great reviews and it was just OK . Not sure that I will continue reading the series.
Three stars (rounded up from 2.5)
I cannot believe I have not updated since July! But here we go:31. Murder Road by Simone St. James
This was not my favorite by St. James, but I read the book relatively quickly which is what I like in my murder/ghost stories.
Book 2/5 from my March 2024 BOTM box
Three stars
32. The Favorite Sister by Jessica KnollThis book was such a slog to get through. It took me two months to read it, made me not enjoy reading this summer. It was so bad. It definitely had elements that could have been a good book but god it was so boring.
1 1/2 star and only because I like reality tv
33. Middle of the Night by Riley SagerThank god for Riley Sager and this book because it put me back on the path of reading again. I love Sager's books, this one was no exception and it was such an interesting and quick read. THANK YOU MR. SAGER!
Book 1/5 from my July 2024 BOTM box (yes I have a problem)
Four stars
34. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi DareThe writing in this book is exceptional however at what point does the trauma happening to our protagonist verge on trauma porn? I don't really know the answer to that but this book isn't nearly as bad as A Little Life but so much bad happens to Adunni and I know in Nigeria there are cultural differences and human trafficking but I feel as if I lost some of the story with the constant bad luck/trauma/abuse on every page.
Book 1/3 from my February 2020 BOTM box (omg this is BAD)
Three stars
35. Scam Goddess by Laci MosleyI love scams and I love memoirs and I follow Laci on Twitter and I absolutely loved this memoir. It was so funny and heartfelt and educational on scams! Run, don't walk to read this book!
Four stars
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