Cover to Cover Challenge discussion

I am setting my goal for 200 books again this year. I have made over that some other years, but didn't make it in 2010. New year = New incentive.

Finished my first book for the year:

1. Blue Plate Special by Michelle Kwasney - 1/4/11

2. The Solemn Lantern Maker - Merlinda Bobis

Wow! What a book. My mind is still reeling from this story. It really packs a wallop. It is interesting to see how Americans are viewed, even fictionally, in the Philippines.

I just finished several more books:
3. Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog by Lisa Scottoline -- loved, loved, loved it!! (and its sequel, which I read earlier)

4.The Jackal's Head by Elizabeth Peters

5.Bone Appetit by Carolyn Haines (can't wait for the next one in this series!)

I just finished two more:
6. Curly Smoke by Susan Holtzer--- very good mystery!

7. Rosie and Skate - by Beth Ann Bauman - really good story about two girls whose father is an alcoholic and who deal with it in different ways. Very good story.

8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Great book! I really liked it and can't wait to read the next two.

9. Just Ignore Vera Dietz - This is an excellent book. It is a Printz Honor Book and it is set in my home state of Pennsylvania, in the town of Reading. It is a great story, and even features the famous Pagoda in its storyline. I am recommeding it to all of my high school students, but it is a good story for anyone.

10. The Julius House by Charlaine Harris. I love this series, especially the character of Aurora Teagarden. I am also a librarian who sometimes wears red glasses, so I related to her right away! No one left me a fortune though, and I don't have a rich husband, but I still enjoy reading about her adventures!

I just finished two more Charlaine Harris books:
11. Dead Over Heels
12. A Fool and His Honey

I loved both of these books and don't want to get to the end of this series because I am enjoying it so much!

Just finished The Cardturner by Louis Sachar. This is a very interesting and unique book by the author of Holes. I think that he will accomplish the feat of getting more young people interested in the game of bridge when they read this book. It was quite good.

13. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

14. Everything You Want by Barbara Shoup
This is a good book about how a typical family changes after they win the lottery. A lot of good insights about how money changes people.

15. The Feng Shui Detective by Nury Vittachi
This is a very good mystery set in Singapore. I enjoyed it very much and will look for more books in this series featuring Mr. Wong and his assistant, Joyce.

I just finished a series of Nonfiction books that I had to read in order to review:
16. Drug Facts: Inhalants by Francha Menhard
17. Drug Facts: Steroids by Suzanne LeVert
18. Drug Facts: Marijuana by Ted Gottfried
19. Drug Facts: Ecstasy by Suzanne LeVert
This is a good series for young adults. The books explain the facts about all of these drugs and warn young people about them.

I also finished another book today (for myself - not to review):

20.Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
This is the second in the Maisie Dobbs series, and I can't wait to read the rest. I just love how these books are written. I like historical fiction and mystery, and these mysteries set in England right after World War I are very well done.

I forgot to list a book I finished on 1/29/11:
21. Free Fall in Denver by Sarah Andrews
This is a good mystery and I will be reading more by this author.

Today I finished another one:
22. Home Is Beyond the Mountains by Celia Barker Lottridge
It is based on a true story and tells the story of about 3oo orphans who were displaced at the end of World War I when Turkish armies invaded Persia. These children had to walk hundreds of miles to safety, and then back again to their villages once they were allowed to return home. Their courage, and that of the orphanage directors, is amazing. A great historical novel that everyone should read!

23. Hip-deep in Alligators by Robert Campbell
I enjoyed this mystery written in the style of the classic hard-boiled detectives. It takes place in Chicago and features crocodiles (not alligators, actually) in the sewers of the city. It was an interesting plot, and I will probably read more in this series.

24. Madame Mirabou's School of Love by Barbara Samuel
(2/6/11) I just loved, loved, loved this book! It starts with the main character blowing up her house around herself - actually, the furnace blew up all by itself. She is a woman who has been dumped by her husband and is trying to find out who she is and what her life should be like now that she is on her own. This is a wonderful book about taking risks and reaching out for your dreams when you least expect to be able to do so.

25. Shine by Lauren Myracle (2/7/11) This is a great young adult book and is going to be a hit with teenagers as well as adults. It is about a girl whose friend (a guy) is the victim of hate crime, while she herself was a victim of a different sort of crime. She at first feels powerless, but finds her courage and commitment to investigate what has happened out of loyalty and love for her friend. A great read!

26. Beatle Meets Destiny (2/9/11)
This is a good story about an 18-year-old boy in Australia who is attracted to a girl he meets at a bus stop. He already has a girlfriend, who is his twin sister's best friend, so complications start to mount up immediately. A good young adult romance!
27. A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux (2/10/11)
This is a wonderful story of hope in the midst of horrible conditions as Blaise Fortune tries to find his birth mother in Georgia and other places in the Caucausus. He eventually travels to France to find her, and is surprised by what he finds out about his mother at the end of the story.

28.Uh Huh! The Story of Ray Charles by John Duggleby (2/10/11)
This is a biography of Ray Charles and is interesting to those who like his music and would like to learn more about his roots and his career.

29. Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay (2/13/11)
I just finished this one this morning. It is an excellent and quick mystery read that makes me want to eat cupcakes, since a large part of the action occurs in a cupcake bakery. It is a really good one and I have already ordered the sequel.

30. Suspect by Kristen Wolden Nitz (2/14/11)
This is a great mystery with a teen main charater whose mother has been missing for over 14 years. She investigates and is shocked by what really happened to her mom.
31. Foolish Undertaking by Mark de Castrique (2/15/11) This is another good book in this series with an undertaker who solves mysteries in a North Carolina setting. This one involves characters who were in the Vietnam War together, with a long-ago scandal and cover-up which affects the present via two murders. Good mystery reading!
32. Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian (2/15/11)
This is an excellent story about a girl who tries to do something about the double standards in her high school. Throughout the story, she grows into the knowledge that most situations and feelings are not always black and white, as she loses friends, gets involved in tricky situations, and finally realizes what life is all about.

33. The Healer's Apprentice - Melanie Dickerson (2/18/11)
This was a really good historical romance set in Germany in the medieval period.
34. Cold hands, Warm Hearts - Jenny Jacobs (2/19/11)
A nice and quick romance without a lot of complications - a book for when you just need a warm fuzzy plot!

35. Your Mind At Its Best - by Biebel, Dill, and Dill
(2/21/11) Good nonfiction about keeping your mind sharp.
36. We Could Be Brothers - by Derrick Barnes 2/21/11)
A YA book that would be most interesting to middle-school student, I think. It has a good message about pre-judging others and standing up for what is right in the face of bullying.
37. Oh.My.Gods. - by Tera Lynn Childs 2/22/11)
A good story about current teens being descendants of the Greek gods. Interesting plot. Good messages for young adults about being true to themselves.

38. My Candlelight Novel by Joanne Horniman (2/23/11)
This is an intriguing story set in Australia about a young girl who is a single mother and who is trying to find herself.

39. Hothouse by Chris Lynch (2/24/11)
Excellent story about two teen boys whose firefighter fathers were both killed in the same fire.

40. The Elegance of the Hedgehog- by Muriel Barbery (2/24/11) The book was so intriguing that I just had to stay up very late to finish it!!

41. Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood. This is a quick and fun mystery set in Maine during a blueberry festival. Makes you want to eat blueberries while you are reading it!

42. The Danger Box by Blue Balliet (3/1/11)
This is a great YA mystery told in the voice of a 12-year-old boy who happens to come into possession of a missing journal that once belonged to Charles Darwin.

43. Fish by Gregory Mone (3/5/11)
This is the story of a young Irish boy who suddenly finds himself on a pirate ship. Because he can swim, he saves one of the pirates, but then finds himself in even worse shape. He stays on the ship, though, and eventually saves the day and finds his place in the world.

44. The Princess Trap by Kirsten Boie (3/5/11)
An excellent story about a modern-day princess who inadvertently gets caught up in a plot to overthrow the king, her uncle. Her cell phone saves the day for the whole country!

45. Come High Water by Carolyn Brown (3/6/11)
A quick romance that is a feel-good read.

46. Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel (3/8/11)
This is a really good book - a chick-lit type, but very interesting and absorbing. It is about a woman, her twin who is schizophrenic, and their mother, and about coming to grips with the past and dealing with the present and future. A very good read.

47. The Hearse You Came In On -by Tim Cockey (3/12/11)
48. Funny Business - ed. Jon Scieszka (3/7/11) - I forgot to list this one the other day.

The "Hearse" one is great - a mystery that is funny and very good. I am doing to read this author's other books asap because I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

49. The Year of the Golden Dragon - B.L. Sauder (3/14/11)
50.Online Social Networking - Peggy Parks (3/15/11)

51. Everlasting by Angie Frazier (3/15/11)
Excellent romance and mystery with some magic thrown in.

52. Arundel by Kenneth Roberts (3/17/11)
I really liked this classic and I am surprised that it took me until now to read it, especially since I really like historical fiction. I'm sure I will eventually read the others in this series by Roberts.

Because I've been under a reviewing deadline, I've gotten a bit behind in listing my books, but here are a few more that I have finished:

53. Goodbye to All That - Margo Candela (3/19/11)
54. The Suitor List - Shirley Mark (3/21/11)
55. Wish - Sandra Bullen (3/22/11)
56. The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin - Josh Berk
(3/23/11)
57. Three Rivers Rising- Jame Richards (3/24/11)
58. Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner (3/28/11)
59. Carbon Diaries 2015 - Saci Lloyd (3/29/11)
60. Carbon Diaries 2017 - Saci Lloyd (3/31/11)
61. Jumpstart the World - Catherine Ryan Hyde (4/1/11)
62. Somebody Everybody Listens To - Suzanne Supplee
(4/2/11)
63. The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart- Matthias
Malzieu (4/3/11)
64. Addicted to Her - Janet Nichols Lynch (4/4/11)
65. Sphinx's Queen - Esther Friesner (4/6/11)

66. The Ark - Boyd Morrison (4/8/11) - This was a great thriller. I could not put it down.

67. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley (4/11/11) - Excellent series. This is the second one featuring Flavia de Luce, and I can't wait to read the third one.

68. Laughed 'Til He Died - Carolyn Hart (4/12/11)
This is a good entry in the Death on Demand series. The only disappointing thing is that the Death on Demand bookstore doesn't exist in real life!! I would love to visit and be one of its customers.

69. Agent Q or The Smell of Danger by M.T. Anderson (4/13/11)
This is a YA book for younger readers set in the state of Delaware, where the governor has been 'de-throned' by an evil Autarch. The plot had four kids and several monks trying to escape Delaware to take the kids back to their homes. It was clever, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the earlier ones in the series.

70. Drawing a Blank by Daniel Ehrenhaft. (4/18/11)
I really enjoyed this book. The main character is terrific - a lonely teen graphic artist in boarding school who finds out that his father was really telling the truth about a centuries-old family secret. He has to try to rescue his kidnapped father, deal with a girl he meets on the way, and confront betrayal and more as he comes of age in this novel.

71. Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman. (4/19/11) This is an excellent look at Lafayette's life and his contribution to both the American Revolution and the French Revolution. It is extremely well-written and I will be recommending it to my students.

72. The Boy in the Dress by David Williams (4/20/11)
I liked this book for its intriguing concept: a 12-year-old boy interested in fashion who wears a dress and makeup to school pretending to be a female French exchange student, at the urging of a friend. He is also the school's star soccer player. It is quite an interesting book.

73. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (4/21/11)
This is a really great book about two teens in New York City during the holidays. Both sets of parents are away and the teens are on their own when they start communicating by writing each other messages and clues in a red moleskin notebook. It is cute and funny and a feel-good read.

74. The Turtle Mound Murder by Mary Clay (4/25/2011)
This is a good mystery set in Florida at New Smyrna Beach. It involves a group of former sorority friends who decide to go to the beach to relax after one of them goes through a bitter divorce. Instead, they get involved with a murder. It was good, and I am planning to get the next ones in the series.

75. Panama by Shelby Hiatt (4/27/2011)
This excellent story is about a girl whose family goes to live in the Zone while the Panama Canal is being built. She falls in love with one of the workers, who is not at all what he seems. Good historical fiction and a good romance.

76. Saks and Violins by Mary Daheim (5/2/2011)
I really like this series, although I didn't think this book was quite up to her usual excellent standard. I will read the next ones, though. I am also waiting for the next book in her Alpine series, a mystery set in a small logging town. I enjoy the Alpine series as much if not more than the Bed-and-Breakfast series, but I read the books in both series as soon as I can after they are published (although I was a bit behind with this one).

77. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (5/10/11) I finished this book on the plane while flying to my sister's, and I was sorry that it was over. I just love this series and can't wait for #4. This is one of the best mystery series, in my opinion. I love the main character and can't get enough of her.

78. The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz (5/13/11)- I really enjoy this series, and even though some readers don't like the footnotes, I do.

79. The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus - Sonya Sones (5/13/11) This is a great novel in verse about a mother whose daughter is leaving for college and who is not sure if her husband is having an affair or not. It reads very quickly and makes the reader laugh and cry at the same time.

80.The Merry Wives of Maggody - Joan Hess (5/15/11) This is the next edition in the Maggody mystery series starring Arly Hanks as the small-town sheriff who has to deal with a whole cast of zany and truly insane people ---sort of what happens to most of us in real life, except without the cow pastures and Marjorie, the member-of-the-family pig! This is a very funny mystery series.

81. Conspiracy 365: November - Gabrielle Lord (5/17/11)
This is a very exciting series and even though I have read the first 11 now, I am still looking forward to number 12!

I realized I hadn't posted my latest reads on here, so here they are:

82.Buttercream Bump-off by Jenn McKinlay (5/19/11)
- great 'foodie' mystery
83.Town in a Lobster Stew by B.B. Haywood (5/21/11)
- very good mystery set in Maine
84.Pawley's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank (5/22/11)
- excellent 'chick-lit' with a message

85. Kira-kira by Cynthia Kadohata (5/24/2011)
This is an excellent story about Katie, whose sister is dying, and who must cope with all of the challenges that presents.

86. Once by Morris Gleitzman (5/26/11)
This is a poignant and touching Holocaust story about a little Jewish boy in Poland whose parents try to save his life by putting him in a Catholic orphanage. He escapes and goes out to hunt for his parents, whom he believes are still living. What a sad story, but one that everyone should read.

87. Conspiracy 365:December by Gabrielle Lord (5/29/2011)
The final installment to this series. I must say that I was gratified to see that I was right about one of the characters, but also surprised to find out about another one who turned out to be a bad guy. All in all, it was a good 12-book series.

88. Cuba Libre - by Elmore Leonard (5/30/2011)
This was an excellent novel about the Spanish American war from the point of view of an American cowboy who happened to be in Cuba at the wrong time. Exciting fare.