efoltz's 2008 challenge

I have finished reading 25 books this year. I hope to finish 75 to 100 books by the end of the year. I have slowed down some so hopefully this will keep me motivated.

Here is what I have read this year:

April 2008
The Country Girls Trilogy and Epilogue

March 2008 = 3 books
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels
America's Report Card: A Novel

February 2008 = 10 books
DIRTY MARTINI (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Mysteries)
Masquerade
Blue Bloods
Lost & Found
Crawfish Mountain
Charity Girl
Junior's Leg
Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish
Rusty Nail (a jacqueline "jack" daniels mystery)
BLOODY MARY (Jack Daniels Mysteries)

Jan. 2008= 11 books
Last Night at the Lobster
The Sweet Far Thing
Looking For Alaska (Printz Award Winner)
The Reading Group: A Novel (P.S.)
Slam
Peony in Love: A Novel
WHISKEY SOUR (A Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Mystery)
Charmed Thirds
Big Boned (Heather Wells Mysteries)
Alphabet Weekends: Love on the Road from A to Z
The Faraday Girls: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Keep up the good work!!!!!

26. Enlightenment for Idiots by Anne Cushman- March 2008 Early Reviewer Book

27. Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout

efoltz - i am new to this group so commenting on one of last month's books you read. Your thoughts on Eat,Pray, Love?? My book club read it - I could barely get through it. With respect and understanding for her suffering and need for self discovery and recovery - gag! Too much me, me, me, whine, whine, whine. I had an overwhelming desire to send her an email -"Please take a service vacation with the Sierra Club, volunteer in a Literacy Program, go to Africa with Doctors Without Borders -focus on someone else's needs!!!!" This was a major best seller so I guess I am in the great minority.

I read Eat, Pray, Love because of all the good reviews. I also was disappointed. The other section was slightly decent was the Italy section. I agree there was frequent whining. I felt like her self-discovery goal in India was accomplished very little. The book would have been more interesting if she had focused more on others.

I don't recommend Enlightenment for Idiots then. It is probably too similar and only slightly better. One of the characters was funny and attempting to the the main character to focus more globely.

28. The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

29. Memoirs of a teenage amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

30. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

31. Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan

32. The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

33. Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

Summer reading, here I come. : ) my reading should increase greatly.

34. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson

35. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

36. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Wow really? I could not even finish 20 books in a year. That's great!

37. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

38. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

39. Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen

40. Dervishes by Beth Helms

41. Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer by Jen Lancaster

42. Dirty Girls on Top by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (ARC)

43. Posh by Lucy Jackson

44. White Mary by Kira Salak

45. The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham

46. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger

47. The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

48. Love the One you're with by Emily Giffin

49. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

50. Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

51. Devilish by Maureen Johnson

#28: Did you enjoy The Wednesday Sisters? I just checked it out of the library.

I enjoyed it thoroughly. I enjoy reading about people who love books. : )

52. Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier

53. Rococo by Adriana Trigiani

Hi.
Please tell me if you liked Adriana Trigiani's book Rococo I really enjoyed Queen of the Big Time. The setting of this book is right out of my childhood (literally) because I lived near Roseto, PA for the first ten years of my life. Trigiani really captured the heart of the Italian culture.

It does still have the Italian culture or family dynamic. I thought the book was only mediocre. There was too many descriptions of fabrics and paint colors for my taste. The main character is an interior decorator.

54. The Good Nanny by Benjamin Cheever- read in July but forgot to add to list.

55. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

56. Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

57. Glamour by Louise Bagshawe

Hi
I thought Plum Lovin was a humorous. What did you think?

58. One More Year: Stories by Sana Krasikov

59. Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel

60. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella

#41: I get a kick out of the Shopaholic books - they are very fun! Hope you are enjoying the series.

61. The WWW Club by Anita Notaro

62. When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale

63. Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

64. Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg

Hurry Down Sunshine looks very good. On to Mt. TBR it goes!

65. Straight Talking by Jane Green

66. The Golden Tulip by Rosalind Laker

The Golden Tulip looks very good - did you like it?

I liked it. It was similiar to A Girl with a Pearl Earring.

I like historical fiction and will be adding The Golden Tulip to the ever-growing TBR list.
Thanks.
Linda

#51: I have not yet read A Girl with a Pearl Earring, but I put The Golden Tulip on hold at my local library.

alcottacre
A Girl with a Pearl Earring is a good book. I read it a long time ago. I found it of particular interest because when I visit the Metropolitan Art Museum in NY city, I find myself drawn to the particular area where Vermeer's paintings are located. He has a wonderful way of painting with such clarity that you feel as though you are in the room watching the painting unfold.

#54: Wow! What a great recommendation for Vermeer's work. Makes me want to visit NYC, a place I have always said I would never go. I will put A Girl with a Pearl Earring on Continent TBR.

ok, I'm curious about your statement "I have always said I would never go." Why not?

#56 Whisper: Three simple words - Too Many People

67. Blue Genes: A memoir of loss and survival by Christopher Lukas

Hi Alcottacre..
Your statement is very true; The Met has many, many people milling about throughout the galleries. However, there are hidden nooks and cranies that I find each time I go there.

There are quiet rooms to explore. For example, in the American Wing there is a large area away from the main exhibits. It contains hundreds and hundreds of artifacts and pictures behind glass cabinets.

In addition, there are tours each day led by volunteers who show the museum through their eyes and they meander through the areas and the paintings away from the main galleries.

You can tell I love the met eh?

#59: Nope, I couldn't tell a bit, lol.

68. Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun

69. Schooled by Anisha Lakhani

70. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

What were your thoughts on Schooled? I was reading some of the reviews on Amazon and while many liked it, some were offended by it. There was a review on there by a former parent and one by a former student and both felt somewhat betrayed by her book. I think the most surprising thing to me was seeing the author get into fights with people who voiced any criticism of her book. Many of her comments have now been deleted but it was kinda surprising to see her reaction.

By the way your almost at 75. Just 5 more to go!

Wow - that's kind of surprising. What is she, 10? I've got Schooled on my wishlist. I'll have to keep that behavior in mind when reading it.

Hi efoltz...
Hang in there, you are close to obtaining the 75 book challenge goal!

Hey, look how close and lots of time before the end of the year--go for it!

71. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

72. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

73. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

74. One Fifth Avenue by Candance Bushnell

75. Where Am I Wearing? by Kelsey Timmerman

congratulations efoltz on reaching 75 !!

Yay!!!! You did it. Congrats!

Woo Hoo! Another one joins the club!!

Excellent! You made it!

congratulations!

congrats!!!

Congrats from me, too.

And me too! Congrats!

76. Broad Street by Christine Weiser

77. The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson

78. So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwarz

79. Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham

80. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

efoltz
Can you please take a minute and tell me a bit about So Long at the Fair? I read Drowning Ruth and thought it was well written...gloomy, but well written.

Can you recommend this book?

81. Magic Lessons by Justine Larbalestier

82. Magic's Child by Justine Larbalestier

83. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

84. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

85. The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

86. Keeping the moon by Sarah Dessen