Challenge: 50 Books discussion

This year I am going to update on a monthly basis. Most of the books I read are to fulfill the Seasonal Challenge tasks. My New Year's resolution is to only read or buy books that are discounted or already owned.

Star ratings:
★★★★★ Unbelievable, great story, couldn't put it down, would recommend to others.
★★★★ Pretty good, mostly want to keep reading, but if other things are more important, will put it down, great story, great characters, fills me with some sort of emotion, would recommend to others.
★★★ Story is OK. Interested in reading, but won't kill myself to read non-stop. Might recommend to the right person.
★★ Some of these books have a decent story-line, but I couldn't finish. Really leaves me with nothing in the end.
★ Couldn't finish and would not recommend this book.

JANUARY:

★★★★
The Secret Garden
Around the Next Corner
The Thirteenth Tale

★★★
Alice in Wonderland
Unbelievable
Life As We Knew It
13 Little Blue Envelopes
Rogue

★★
Promises to Keep
She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman's Soul
The Princess and the Hound

Books read = 11
Pages read = 3644

FEBRUARY:

★★★★
Unbroken: A World War II Story Of Survival, Resilience, And Redemption
The Map of True Places
Half Broke Horses

★★★
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari

No stars: I tried to read The Color Purple and had trouble with it, so at page 64 I stopped reading it. I will pick it up again some other day.

I'm currently halfway through The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates and will post it for March.

Books read: 4
Pages read: 1376

MARCH:

★★★★★
War Dances by Sherman Alexie

★★★★
The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

★★★
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

★★
Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll

★
Peony In Love by Lisa See

Books read: 7
Total books read this year: 22
Pages read: 1907
Total pages read: 6927

APRIL:
Such a slow month. I've been working and going to basketball games on the weekends. With a lot on my mind too, which slows down how much I read.

★★★
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

★★
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
Shooting Stars: The Women of Pro Basketball by Bill Gutman


Books read: 3
Total books read this year: 25
Pages read: 878
Total pages read: 7805

MAY:
Very slow month. Too much on my mind and too busy to read.

★★★
The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb

Books read: 1
Total books read for this year: 26
Pages read: 416
Total pages read: 8221

JUNE:
Book choices were much better and I was able to concentrate more, but still need to pick it up and find a book that I can devour. I have 3 books going right now, none of which is a 5 star.

★★★★
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl
★★★
West From Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Books read: 4
Total books read for this year: 30
Pages read: 1152
Total pages read: 9373

JULY:
★★★
Danny: The Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
★★
Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

AUGUST:
★★★★
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
★★★
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Lost Laysen: The Newly Discovered Story by Margaret Mitchell

SEPTEMBER:
★★★★★
11/22/63 by Stephen King.
The was the first King novel I have read since my teens. I might have become a fan again. Will read more King novels in the future. I stopped reading his stuff in the late 80s because it became too commercial, or cookie cutter for me. 11/22/63 book was great and may be the most memorable read in 2012.

★★★★
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

★
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Books read: 9
Total boosk read for this year: 39
Pages read: 2630
Total pages read: 12003

OCTOBER
★★★★
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
★★★
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist
You Go Girl!: Winning the Woman's Way by Kim Doren
★★
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Note: I read almost as much this month as I did from July-Sept. You would think summer would be good reading months for me.

I started reading J.K. Rowlings new book, the Casual Vacancy, and really enjoyed some of the characters, but others I couldn't stand, so I didn't get much past page 100. I will probably try again some other time.

I wasn't highly impressed with Mockingjay. I usually don't read series books because they get boring to me, but The Hunger Games was a book I had read a year ago and couldn't put it down. I thought I owed myself to read it, but I felt like the series books just didn't hold up to the first one.


Books read: 8
Total books read for this year: 47
Pages read: 2756
Total pages read: 14759