The Next Best Book Club discussion
Personal Reading Goals
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Tani's Goals for 2009
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29) The Best American Short Stories 2008 - Three stories that I really liked, 1 that I really disliked, and a bunch that fell somewhere in the middle.
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30) Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich - Fun continuation to the Stephanie Plum series. I'm really looking forward to reading the next one.
31) Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch - Really enjoyable sequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora, although not quite as good. Still, an above average read and another series that I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the continuation of.
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![Susanna (jb_slasher)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1245257512p1/2135995.jpg)
Yay for Essrog! :)
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33) A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon - Liked it but didn't love it. A solid three stars.
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36) Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson - I loved Speak so much that I couldn't resist picking up another book by Laurie Halse Anderson. I didn't like Catalyst as much as Speak, but it still broke my heart a little, and I don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon. 4 stars.
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39) The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - I started out disliking this book, but once it got past the life story part, I really did enjoy it. A nice quick four star read.
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41) The Beauty Myth How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf - I've been working on this forever, so I'm really glad it's done. It was an interesting look at something I haven't really thought about, and though I'm not sure how accurate the figures presented in the book are for the present day, they were frightening. Either way, an issue that deserves awareness, and a book I'm glad I read. 4 stars.
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44) Bear Daughter by Judith Berman - Surprisingly awesome for a book and author I had never heard of before. Loved the characters and the interweaving of an unfamiliar mythology. 5 stars.
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46) The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende - Sweeping and full of interesting characters (esp. interesting female characters!) but somehow lost me a little at the end. 3 stars.
47) Unwind by Neal Shusterman - Totally awesome concept with great execution. Horrified me and inspired me by turns, not to mention made me cry. Will definitely be looking into more books by Neal Shusterman. 5 stars.
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49) Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson - Slightly slow start, but an enlightening and horrifying look at slavery during the American Revolution. It seems I won't be giving up on my Laurie Halse Anderson reading anytime soon. 4 stars.
50) Fatherland by Robert Harris - Alternate history where Germany won World War 2. Loved the atmosphere and the way things developed. Even though the mystery ended up being not so mysterious, I liked the way that it was presented and the main character's reaction to it. 4 stars.
51) Desecration by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - I started reading this series in high school, so it's been a while since I read one of them. Not as good as I remembered, but I can't tell if it's a change in reading tastes in me, or a change in quality from the authors. Still, fast-paced and action-oriented enough that I'd like to eventually finish the series. 3 stars.
Yay, I've surpassed my 50 book goal! :D
![Marie-vicky (grimace) | 49 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1419969373p1/1961725.jpg)
\reply from marie-vicky what a great achievement in a short period of time.zInteresting listing I will grab for sure some ideas.
![Tani | 137 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1445304196p1/51941.jpg)
I hope you enjoy any ideas you get from me! :)
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53) Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs - Finally found this one after a few weeks of stalking Borders, and was just as happy as expected. Somehow, these books just occupy my entire mind until I finish them. 5 stars.
54) The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan - I was shocked to find this at the library; I could have swore that it was scheduled to be out for the next year. So of course I had to snap it up. It wasn't as good as I expected, but I still enjoyed it. I was also greatly heartened by the note at the end that named this series as the first Camp Halfblood series. :D 3.5 stars.
55) The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan - Slow starter, but the ending more than made up for it. I loved the fascinating relationship between Alan and Nick and the ending really made me eager to read more in this series. 4.5 stars.
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57) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I kept hearing people say how much they enjoyed this one, so I decided to take out my copy and finally read it myself. Definitely didn't regret it. It was a lot different than I was expecting, and I enjoyed it a lot. 4 stars.
58) Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop - I wasn't initially thrilled by the idea of this one. Surreal wasn't one of the characters who particularly interested me in the Black Jewels Trilogy. However, this turned out to be a fun visit with a lot of characters that I'd come to care about, and I ended up enjoying it greatly. 4 stars.
59) Painfully Shy How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Reclaim Your Life by Barbara Markway - My self-help book for the Fall Challenge. 'Nuff said. 4 stars.
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61) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - I didn't find this as funny as I expected to, but I did find it intriguing, and when I was into it, I didn't want to stop. I'm looking forward to the next book, although I'm wondering if I should figure out which books feature in it and read them first, as I know I wouldn't have appreciated this one as much if I had never read Jane Eyre earlier this year. 4 stars.
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63) A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin - I've been meaning to read this book for a long time, but the library didn't have it and I didn't quite want to read it enough to spend the money to get it. Finally, the library came through for me, and boy, am I glad it did. Really, classic fantasy with a lyrical writing style and the feeling of mythology about it. 4 stars.
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64) East by Edith Pattou
65) The Game by Ken Dryden
66) You've Got Murder by Donna Andrews
67) Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
68) The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman
Here's to more great reading in the New Year!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Game (other topics)You’ve Got Murder (other topics)
The Queen's Man (other topics)
Ink Exchange (other topics)
East (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Sharon Kay Penman (other topics)Edith Pattou (other topics)
Donna Andrews (other topics)
Melissa Marr (other topics)
Ken Dryden (other topics)
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My other goals aren't as concrete, but I would like to read more books by authors of color (again, this doesn't include manga). I'd like to read a little bit of nonfiction every once in a while. And I'm working on the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list whenever I'm feeling motivated.
Oh, and right now I'm obsessing over the Summer Reading Challenge. *dies*
My list for the year so far:
1) Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
2) Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
3) The Canon A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier
4) Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
5) First Test by Tamora Pierce
6) City of Darkness, City of Light by Marge Piercy
7) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
8) Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
9) We Need to Talk About Kevin A Novel by Lionel Shriver
10) Merlin's Booke by Jane Yolen
11) The Color Purple by Alice Walker
12) The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs
13) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
14) Lies My Teacher Told Me Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
15) The Sea by John Banville
16) Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs
17) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
18) Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand Curious Adventures of a CSI by Dana Kollmann
19) Death in Venice and Seven Other Stories by Thomas Mann
20) Howards End by E.M. Forster
21) The Inheritance of Loss A Novel by Kiran Desai
22) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
23) City of God by E.L. Doctorow
24) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
25) If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
26) Graceling by Kristin Cashore
27) Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison