New Member :)

Hi All

I just discovered this amazing website and all these fun groups!

I'd like to contribute my attempt at 75 in 2011, please let me know if I've done this wrong or if you have any wonderful book suggestions.

I'm a bit wonky when it comes to reading and I'll pretty much read anything, but I really love anything suspensful or supernatural. Not really into the romantic stuff ...

I've read 46 so far, but since some have been rather thin and easy I am going to try for 80 books.

Have a great weekend!
Chelle

Read from January to July :
Kelley Armstrong: The Awakening, The Summoning , The Reckoning, The Gathering
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake, The year of the flood
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, The Mockingjay
Justin Cronin: The Passage
Christopher Farnsworth: The Blood Oath, The President's Vampire
Matt Haig: The Radley's
Deborah E Harkness: A Discovery of Witches
Iris Johansen: Blood Game
Dean Koontz: Dead Town, Lost Souls
James Patterson: 10th Anniversary, Tick Tock
Jodi Piccoult: Sing you Home, Nineteen Minutes
Rick Riordan: The Lightning thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labrynth,
The Last Olympian
J.K. Rowling: All 7 again because I love them!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Quidditch through the ages Fantastic Beasts and where to find them Tales of Beedle the Bard
Diane Setterfield: The Thirteenth Tale
J.R. Ward: Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Lover Enshrined, Lover Avenged, Lover Mine
Michelle Zink: Prophecy of the Sister

Finished in August:
47) The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
48) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
49) Tattoo Chronicles by Kat Von D
50) Spell bound by Kelley Armstrong
51) Dracula by Bram Stoker
52) Fall of the Giants By Ken Follett
53) Divergent by Veronica Roth
54) Now you see her by James Patterson
55) Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gibaldon
56) Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
57) Virals by Kathy Reichs
bust: The Dark End of the Street short stories
58) Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
59) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
60) Mister B Gone by Clive Barker

Well, Chelle, you look like an old pro to me. Welcome to the group!!!
Browse the threads. You'll find more good stuff than you ever imagined.
Peggy

Looks like you got this thread thing figured out. :)

That's a nice set of books you've read. We've got a bit of overlap in our reading. @blackdogbooks, one of our fellow challengers, ha put together a Halloween reading list you might like. I think he's got it on his profile page, but we'll also have a thread starting in September as people start gathering books.

Welcome to the group, Chelle!

Thanks everyone!
#3 thanks for the suggestion, I check out blackdog's lists!

Welcome, Chelle!

I love the Outlander series, and I've read the Clan of the Cave Bear books this year too and really enjoyed them, and A Discovery of Witches.

I hope you enjoy the thread. You will end up with a list of books to read that is longer than you would believe. It's fun, though!

Thanks Susan! I got about 50 pages into Outlander and realized I couldn't put it down! I think I will continue with this series before I start with the Clan of the Cave Bear series, don't want to get all confused flipping back and forth with series books.

The Outlander books are lengthy, but I love them anyway! Glad to see you enjoyed your first foray into the series, Chelle.

Thanks Alcottacre, I can't wait for Chapters to deliver the rest!

48) Review for Outlander
I normally do not chose to read romance novels, but luckily enough I didn't realize it was considered romance until I was already hooked! A work of historical fiction that actually blew me away, I read it in three days and didn't want to put it down! I have already ordered the rest of the novels in this series.
I admit it was a tad slow to begin with but after the first 50 pages or so it really draws in the reader. With a feisty female lead and a strong, male second this book has made it to my top ten! (4.5*)

49) Review for The Tattoo Chronicles by Kat Von D
This book was picked up on a whim when I walked by it at Chapters and the cover caught my eye. I love to admire artwork tattoos and she is a fabulous artist but I this book was more a journal about her love life than her art. The artistic tattoos shown and the background story on each piece was wonderful, but there was too much drama about her love life in the book. (3*)

50) Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
Armstrong is one of my guilty pleasure authors. Books are interesting, action filled and full of vampires, werewolves and witches (oh my!) Always entertaining and good for a few hours of relaxing reading.

51) Dracula by Bram Stoker
Although I am a big horror fiction reader and devour everything I can find about Vampires and Werewolves, I had never actually gotten around to reading Dracula. I am happy that I can now say I have read it, although I don't think I would read it again. I did enjoy the story and how it was written as a collection of journals and news entries.
"If ever a face meant death - if looks could kill - we saw it at that moment."

Hi there, Chelle! Nice to meet you! I noticed you on Mark's thread - so I thought I'd pop by and say hi! I'm also here in 75 for 2011, and my thread is called - so imaginative - vancouverdeb reads 75 in 2011 or something exciting like that.

Dracula eh? Looks interesting. I must confess I'm not much of a horror or vampire or werewolf reader, but I do love my mysteries and thrillers!

Welcome!

Congratulations on passing 50 books for the year, Chelle!

#15 Thanks for the welcome Deb! I'll be sure to check out your challenge thread.

#16 Thanks Alcottacre! There are so many great suggestions in the challenge threads that I'm sure I'll be able to find 25 more interesting reads this year!

#17: Oh yeah, we never lack for book suggestions in this group!

52) Just finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
What a wonderful way to spend part of a lazy afternoon! Such a teeny tiny little story filled with so many amusing characters. The story makes no sense at the best of times, but dreams aren't supposed to make sense usually anyway.

I'll save the second book in the set Through the Looking Glass for another lazy afternoon

Hi, Chelle, welcome to the group!

#20 Thanks ronincats! :)

Chelle- Welcome to the Best Group Ever! Funny, I was going to suggest you start a thread over here and you beat me to it. It shows great taste.
I need to get to Outlander one of these days. Red Dragon is an incredible read. I hope you enjoy it and then the follow-up Silence of the Lambs is even better.

Hi Mark
I've actually read them out of order. I've read, and enjoyed, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. For some reason I missed Red Dragon but I loved the movie.

I'm currently working my way though Fall of the Giants and although it is a good story I am 600 pages in and wishing the war would end! Only 400 more pages to go! I am having a horrible case of deja vu with this book, I feel like I have read it but it only came out last October and I just bought it ... really odd actually

52) Fall of the Giants
I finally finished Fall of the Giants tonight and was surprised that I ended up enjoying it very much. I usually don't enjoy politics at all but I enjoyed the mix of politics with the stories of the families and friends involved. It follows five families as they enter the period of the First World War through to the aftermath of war. Each family is from a different country or class of living. I loved how Follett told the story, mixing in his fiction with actual world events and real people. It got a little long in the middle but without giving out any spoilers I'll just say I was delighted with how he ended the story.
Looking forward to the next book in the trilogy (4*)

I am not sad to put this book down though only because it's 985 pages long and weighs three pounds! :)

Hi Chelle and welcome to the group. I just want to chime in with Mark about Red Dragon, it is very, very good. In fact, it is the one book that haunts me even 15 years after I read it!

I can certainly see why you were glad to be finished with Fall of the Giants, that's one hefty book!

#25 Thanks DeltaQueen50 for the welcome! I'm looking forward to Red Dragon, I'm saving it for a nightshift this week!

Just starting Divergent tonight, 15 pages in and it looks quite interesting already!

#26: I have heard very good things about Divergent. I will be interested in seeing what you think of it, Chelle.

Chelle- I was a big fan of Follett's Pillars of the Earth and World Without End (Did you read these?) and I loved his earlier thrillers, but I had heard some mixed things about Fall of the Giants, so I wasn't sure. You've sparked my interest again. But does it have to be a 1000 pages? Groan.
Enjoy Divergent. There are a couple of cool Chicago moments too!

#27 & 28 - Divergent was excellent! Stayed up late (too late) last night reading it! It's too bad I started it now though because now I have to wait another year until book #2 is released!

Mark, I have read both of those by Follett and really loved them. I heard there is a tv show about one of them now, I seem to think it was Pillars of the Earth. I haven't watched it but I've heard it is decent.

53) Divergent by Veronica Roth
This book was wonderful. Reminded me quite a bit of the Hunger Games Trilogy. Super easy to get absorbed into this book. A dystopian novel about Tris, a 16 year old who has come to the point in life where she must chose which faction she will be apart of for the rest of her life. Does she chose the faction where she grew up or one of the other 4 and leave her family behind. A story about love and betrayal, good vs evil and a nice little plot twist. All the fun stuff that makes (in my opinion) a story great. (4*)

"Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it."

54) Now You See Her by James Patterson
I used to love James Patterson books but ever since he started writing with other authors I have been disappointed. This book was cheesy and predictable. (2*)

#30: I really hope my local library gets a copy of that one soon! I am glad to see you enjoyed it so much.

Hi Chelle - great list of books. I look forward to seeing what else you read this year.

Chelle- I liked your review of Divergent. I'm also looking forward to Book 2. I sent my daughter a copy of the book, she lives in Portland and she is already enjoying it.

Heard nothing but good things about Divergent I am defiitely planning on reading it as soon as I can.

#32 Alcottacre I hope your library gets it too, hopefully it doesn't take too long!

#33 Hi Calm! I'm getting so many good suggestions for new books off the posts that I have no idea what to read next! So hard to choose

#34 That's great that your daughter is enjoying it as well. I hope the second is as good as the first!

I've started the second book in the Outlander series and I'm about 100 pages in and enjoying it but I cut my left thumb on the lawn mower yesterday and I hold my books in my left hand so now I feel all awkward!
I really need to find some smaller, lighter books! ;)

#35 DeltaQueen it really is worth all the hype. I just hope she can keep it up in the next two books

I hope the thumb heals quickly, Chelle!

Thanks, It's healing slowly and feeling awkward. I'll live though:)

I am glad to hear that the thumb is healing!

55) Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
I love when I read a book and get all the way through it without guessing the ending! The main characters in this series are so easy to love. Clair and Jamie make me laugh with their directness and strong wit. Can't wait to get into the next book

"And what's wrong wi' the way ye smell?" he said heatedly. "At least ye smell like a woman, not a damn flower garden. What d'ye think I am, a man or a bumblebee?"?

56) Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Another great read in the Outlander series! The more I read, the more I get attached to Jamie and Claire. It's so hard to not start the next book right away!
Their love is so strong it lasts after 20 years of seperation and they fall back into being together. It's not easy but you can tell it's right. I enjoy the way Gabaldon writes in the scottish gaelic dialect. Whether that is actually how the scottish speak I wouldn't know, but I find it very entertaining. Especially when mixed with their smart whit and sarcastic natures.
Looking forward to the next book.

"There are things ye maybe canna tell me, he had said. I willna ask ye, or force ye. But when ye do tell me something, let it be the truth. There is nothing between us now but respect, and respect has room for secrets, I think - but not for lies."
--
But that doesn't mean I'll have ye spit on me whenever the fancy takes ye, ye wee poutworm"
--
""Faith is as powerful a force as science," he concluded, voice soft in darkness, "-but far more dangerous."

57) Virals by Kathy Reichs
An interesting little read meant for teens about some very very smart little teens. Tory, neice of famous Dr. Brennan, is a smarty living on a small island near 3 other very smart teens. Too curious for their own good they manage to get into a wack-load of trouble. Written with the same scientific knowledge of her other novels, Kathy Reichs stays true to her previous writing style but adds in some teenage flare.
An entertaining read. (3.5*)

#42: The more I read, the more I get attached to Jamie and Claire

I can relate! I love the series.

#44 I'm actually regretting not starting the next book right away. I started The Dark End of the Street which is short stories and I'm not enjoying it at all. I'm determined to finish them though because I'm halfway through.
Hoping the last half is better!

I hope so for your sake too!

Well I have officially given up. I got through 12 of 19 stories and only mildly enjoyed 3. I can't justify finishing it when I have too many on the pile crying for my attention

I won't even bother counting this one.
The Dark End of the Street
Sadly disappointing. I picked this up at the library when I saw it had stories by Lee Child and Michael Connelly. Sadly those two authors were not even the stories that I mildly enjoyed.
(1* = Bust)

#47: I will definitely be giving The Dark End of the Street a miss!

I hope your next read is a much better one for you, Chelle!

It is going much better, thanks! I've started Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. 100 pages in a loving it!

Ohh, I've been waiting to see how you like Red Dragon. Can't wait to read your comments.

Hi- I started reading my niece Alice's Adventures in Wonderland the other day when she was visiting for the day (she's 4) and she was really into it. I ended up putting it beside my bed and intend to finish it off without her! Its a cute story.
Hi and welcome btw!

Welcome to 75ers, Chelle! You look like a vet already with this great thread! Your choices are so varied and interesting : ). Thanks for comments/reviews.

#50 DeltaQueen I am enjoying it very much. It's much different than I remember the movie being, but I guess that's always the way. I should be done tonight or tomorrow and I'll throw up my review.

#51 Thanks for the welcome! I think Alice is a story for any age, but it's always nice when you have a little one that you can read it to. I'm a few years off from having little ones around still.

#52 Thanks lit_chick! My choices are rather varied eh ... or random :)

I had a groupon for a local bookstore downtown so I ended up hitting the 3 stores that were in the area. I managed to get the rest of the Anne Rice books that I needed so I can add the Vampire Chronicles to my September Series thread. For $40 I got:

Anne Rice: The Vampire Armand, The Queen of the Damned, Blackwood Farm, Lasher & Taltos
And I picked up one that I read about on someone's 75 thread (can't remember who though) Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson and a Clive Barker Mister B Gone
Good haul I think!

58) Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Wow. I had watched the movie before but reading this book was a whole different monster. What a very disturbing read, but entirely enjoyable. What a good book to end August on!
Will Graham is a semi-retired agent who gets guilted back to work to help catch the a monster who is killing entire families. Graham draws the reader into his mind and shows that he can actually think like the killer. "The Dragon" is a disturbed man who grew up surrounded by pain and cruelty and it's no surprise he turned out rotten. And Dr Lector is entirely different creature that is terrifying and facinating at the same time. (4.5*)

Chilton. You must have seen him when you came in. Gruesome, isn't it? Tell me the truth, he fumbles at your head like a freshman pulling at a panty girdle, doesn't he?"
***
"No. I know I'm not smarter than you are."
"Then how did you catch me, Will?"
"You had disadvantages."
"What disadvantages?"
"Passion. And you're insane."
***
How well would she get around with her fingers bitten off? Dolarhyde mused. Even in street teeth he could do it as easily as biting off breadsticks. If he braced his heels on the floor, his weight back on the couch, and locked both hands on her wrist, she could never pull away from him in time. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, maybe leave the thumb. For measuring pies.
***

EEK, I dont do scary. It's too scary :)