75 Books...More or Less! discussion

Andrea - I've read The Stand a couple of times and it is a great read! I am a big King fan.

66. The Velvet Glove by Harry Harrison. Finished 10/25. 2 stars.

Quick read that (I believe) qualifies as dystopian. This was just ok, but did draw some parallels with societal issues, even with the main character being a robot.

67. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho. Finished 10/27. 3 stars.

Interesting book that had a "fable" feel to the writing style. It was clear that the author intended to comment on life and how people choose to live theirs. It made me think, although I can't say that I enjoyed the writing style that much, although I also didn't dislike it.

68. Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden. Finished 10/29. 2 stars.

Ehh. I had high hopes for this book based on reviews I read, but this just didn't speak to me. The writing style was ineffective, and any response I had to things that happened to the main character was not due to the writing; in fact, most of the story felt like it was being told from a news reader. "Bermuda was hit with a hurricane. California experienced an earthquake." While this style conveys the news, it does nothing to capture the impact or feelings behind the news that would make a story interesting.

69. Darkness Under the Sun by Dean Koontz. Finished 10/31. 3 stars.

Short story that relates to one of Dean Koontz' series. It did a nice job in such a limited space in telling a story, in a way that sparked interest in hearing more. This wasn't the scariest story but was suspenseful and showed with one of the characters how there is horror in people we don't normally expect. Reading the story between the father and son was jarring and while it didn't involve both main characters it was chilling.

70. The Passage by Justin Cronin. Finished 11/14. 3 stars.

This was a post-apocalyptic vampire thriller with a story that was gripping for the first third, dragged in the second third, and recovered somewhat in the last third. I understand this is the first book in a series so not all of the stories were wrapped up but I expect to read the next one. The idea of vampires after the "end of the world" and what that means for day-to-day life was interesting. Some of the story reminded me of Stephen King's The Stand.

Pauline wrote: "63. Dracula by Bram Stoker. Finished 10/15. 2 stars.

This was on okay read. There were parts that were very engaging, but I think the biggest f..."

This was my very first read for the year!!!

71. Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn. Finished 11/17. 4 stars.

I decided to read this book after watching the movie recently. I have seen the movie several times in the past but this was the first time in quite a while. The book went into many more details while keeping the same feel as the movie - you are getting Loretta Lynn as she views herself. It was interesting learning more details about her life experience, including the sacrifices she made. You also get a better sense of where she has consciously (or subconsciously) decided to ignore facts or reality; this is most notably in the case of how much her husband cheated on her. Only he knows how much, but Loretta decides that there is a certain amount that she is okay with in a husband and holds her belief that her husband is cheating at that level so that they could remain married. She also has done a similar exercise regarding physical altercations that she and her husband got into. All in all an interesting opportunity to understand a public persona better, even if not all of it is positive.

72. Seduction in Death by J.D. Robb. Finished 11/21. 5 stars.

One of my favorites in this series. Have not seen the author hit a bad step yet; looking forward to reading the next one!

73. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris. Finished 11/25. 2 stars.

Unfortunately,this series seems to be going downhill with each installment that I read as far as quality is concerned. Thankfully, the next one in the series is available from the library; any further reading that I do will need to be free. The writing style feels very basic (and not in a good way) and while the storyline moves along somewhat, there are way too many unnecessary details included. Just not a very satisfying read.

2 more to go!!!! Yay! Soooo close!

74. Blindness by José Saramago. Finished 11/28. 1 star.

Well that's four reading days I'll never get back. This book had some interesting ideas on what could happen should blindness strike, but ultimately it just didn't seem to convey the points that could apply to the situation. The ending made no sense which made the whole experience even worse.

Only one more to go! Good luck, Pauline.

75. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. Finished 12/2. 5 stars.

What a fantastic book! Reminded me why Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. Four short stories that were not always pleasant based on the topic but were well communicated by a talented author. Nice to have my first book of 2010 (Under the Dome) as a Stephen King novel and this one rounds out my goal of 75 books read for the year. Start and end my reading challenge on a high note -- and of course I will continue reading more books for the year!

I'm behind in updating this thread - I finished my 75th book on 12/2 and as of 12/31 finished 79 total for the year. Probably would have read a short story if I had thought about it so I could have ended with a nice round number! It was a great reading year and I plan to have the same goal in 2011 - at least 75 books, although my stretch goal of 100 is modified to 90. Cheers!

Congrats on finishing Pauline!!! I've moved your thread over to the completed section.