I'm late to this party . . . LoisB

#1 Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love Sebastian Cole
#2 Light Between Oceans: A Novel M.L. Stedman
#3 My Own Country: A Doctor's Story Abraham Verghese
#4 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs
#5 Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China Paul French
#6 Cut, Crop & Die (A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery) Joanna Campbell Slan
#7 The Christmas Letters Lee Smith
#8 The Eskimo Hunts in New York Stefan Kanfer
#9 At Home on Ladybug Farm Donna Ball
#10 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1) Alexander McCall Smith
#11 Come Home Lisa Scottoline
#12 Assassins of the Turquoise Palace Roya Hakakian
#13 Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) Dorothy L. Sayers
#14 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
#15 The Transplant Alexandra Ulysses
#16 Apology: A Novel (Milkweed National Fiction Prize) Jon Pineda
#17 A Secret in the Heartland Michael J Henning
#18 Always Watching Chevy Stevens
#19 Cactus Island (Stan Turner Mystery) (Volume 7) William Manchee
#20 The Tennis Partner Abraham Verghese
#21 Norumbega Park: A Novel Anthony Giardina
#22 *****Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend: A Novel Matthew Dicks
#23 Love Letters from Ladybug Farm Donna Ball
#24 Monday Mornings: A Novel Sanjay Gupta
#25 An Available Man: A Novel Hilma Wolitzer
#26 Loyalty Ingrid Thoft
#27 The Bishop Meets Butch Cassidy: Recollections of Scottie Abner Ralph Reynolds
#28 *****The Almond Tree Michelle Cohen Corasanti
#29 All Our Pretty Songs Sarah McCarryMcCarry, Sarah 2013
#30 The Ritual Bath: The First Decker/Lazarus Novel (Decker/Lazarus Novels) Faye Kellerman
#31 The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine Benjamin Wallace
#32 Original Skin (Detective Sergeant McAvoy) David Mark
#33 Oath to Defend (Adam Drake series) (Volume 2) Scott Matthews
#34 Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another Ellen Stimson
#35 Dog River Blues Mike Jastrzebski
#36 Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever Bill O'Reilly
#37 Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Cheryl Strayed
#38 The Art of Fielding: A Novel Chad Harbach
#39 Bone River Megan Chance
#40 Flesh and Bone: A Body Farm Novel (Body Farm Novels) Jefferson Bass
#41 Righteous Kim Lehman
#42 The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel Katja Millay Millay,
#43 Children of the Jacaranda Tree: A Novel Sahar Delijani
#44 Bitter River (Bell Elkins Novels) Julia Keller
#45 The War of the Roses - The Children Warren Adler
#46 *****Chocolates for Breakfast: A Novel Pamela Moore
#47 The Boleyn King: A Novel (Anne Boleyn Trilogy) Laura Andersen
#48 While I Was Gone (Oprah's Book Club) Sue Miller
#49 And the Mountains Echoed Khaled Hosseini
#50 Win, Place, or Die: A Milan Jacovich / K.O. O'Bannion Mystery (Milan Jacovich Mysteries) Les Roberts
#51 The Magician's Assistant Ann Patchett
#52 A Charmed Place Antoinette Stockenberg
#53 Ready to Die (Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli) Lisa Jackson
#54 *****Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison Piper Kerman
#55 Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel Lee Child
#56 The Great Bridge Scandal: The Most Famous Cheating Case in the History of the Game Alan Truscott
#57 Still Missing Chevy Stevens
#58 Andrew's Brain: A Novel E.L. Doctorow
#59 The Wishing Hill: A Novel Holly Robinson
#60 Kiki Lowenstein and the Purple Passion Joanna Campbell Slan
#61 For Nothing (An Upstate New York Mafia Tale #1) Jesse Horst
#62 Bridge To Happiness Jill Barnett
#63 *****Nameless Joe Conlan

SEPTEMBER Update:
#64 Havana Queen James Bruno
#65 Consequence Eli Yance
#66 Giving up the Ghost Eric Nuzum
#67 Q is for Quarry Sue Grafton
#68 Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake Anna Quindlen

OCTOBER Update:
#69 JAILING: The Prison Memoirs of 00040: AKA Author Clifford Irving Clifford Irving *
#70 A Year on Ladybug Farm Donna Ball ***
#71 The Paris Wife Paula McLain ***
#72 Undetectable M. C. Soutter ***
#73 Clean Slate Holley Trent **
#74 The Listless Steven Mohr **
#75 Mermother: An Account of What Happened in the Sea Elizabeth Jane Wolfe ***
#76 Lovers in the Age of Indifference Xiaolu Guo **
#77 A Visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan **
#78 Teller of Tales Ray Dacolias **+
#79 Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald Therese Anne Fowler ****
#80 I am the Messenger Marcus Zusak **
#81 Her Lovely Colors Mark Butler ***+
#82 Deadly Commitment Robert Burton Robinson **
#83 X Marks the Scot Victoria Roberts ***
#84 The Atlas Murders John Molloy ***
#85 Vincent Brothers Mass Murder Trial George Thomas Clark ***
#86 With No One As Witness Elizabeth George **
#87 "S" is for Silence Sue Grafton ***
#88 A Passage Toward Home Daniel Kelley ***
#89 Into The Wild Jon Krakauer ***+
#90 The House at Sea's End Elly Griffiths **

NOVEMBER Update:
#91 Under the Wide and Starry Skies ****
#92 From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava Jay Kopelman, Melinda Roth ****
#93 Killing Kennedy Bill O'Reilly ***.5
#94 She Belongs To Me Carmen DeSousa ***
#95 The Circle Dave Eggers ****
#96 Clover Dori Sanders ***.5
#97 BY THE SEA, Book One: TESS Antoinette Stockenberg ***
#98 The Boleyn Deceit ***.5
#99 Black Diamond Death ***
#100 The Memory Thief ***
#101 Thunder Snow ***
#102 Nailed Joseph Flynn ***.5
#103 The Kitchen House ****
#104 Ladies Night ***.5
#105 The Secret History of Las Vegas ***
#106 Porch Lights ***.5
#107 Minding Frankie***

December Update:

#108 The Stingy Minion: Hacked ****
#109 The Goldfinch **
#110 A Christmas Carol **.5
#111 Tinkers **
#112 The Last Call (The Bill Travis Mysteries) ***
#113 Fire and Ice (Liam Campbell #1)***
#114 The Cleft **.5
#115 Even More Ketchup than Salsa **
#116 The Destiny Secret: A Plot to Change the World (Second Edition) ***
#117 Infidel ****
#118 Deep Blue Alibi ***
#119 Winter Wishes **
#120 Angel America **
#121 Tinsel ***
#122 Guns at Last Light**

Welcome! Go, go, go!

Welcome! Never too late to start.

SEPTEMBER Update:
#64 Havana Queen James Bruno
#65 Consequence Eli Yance
#66 Giving up the Ghost Eric Nuzum
#67 Q is for Quarry Sue Grafton
#68 Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake Anna Quindlen

I have now located your thread over here. Looking good!

I did it!
#69 JAILING: The Prison Memoirs of 00040: AKA Author Clifford Irving Clifford Irving
#70 A Year on Ladybug Farm Donna Ball
#71 The Paris Wife Paula McLain
#72 Undetectable M. C. Soutter
#73 Clean Slate Holley Trent
#74 The Listless Steven Mohr
#75 Mermother: An Account of What Happened in the Sea Elizabeth Jane Wolfe

Congrats!

Amazing! You arrive in the 75 Challenge with all 75 read! Congratulations!!! Keep going and let us know what you think about some of them. I have to say that I'm mostly ignorant of the books you've listed.

Here are brief reviews of my favorites:
Chocolates for Breakfast: A Novel Pamela Moore https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/648896120
The Almond Tree Michelle Cohen Corasanti https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/620134926
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend: A Novel Matthew Dicks . . . fantastic!
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison Piper Kerman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/718138574
Nameless Joe Conlan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/626597301

These are debut novels that I really enjoyed:

#1 Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love Sebastian Cole ****
#17 A Secret in the Heartland Michael J Henning https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/624474768
#26 Loyalty Ingrid Thoft https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/640402287
#28 The Almond Tree Michelle Cohen Corasanti https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/620134926
#41 Righteous Kim Lehman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/672449005
#42 The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel Katja Millay https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/621038345
#63 Nameless Joe Conlan https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7037238.Joe_Conlan

>8 LizzieD: Lizzie

Actually I discovered LT on Sep 20 and arrived with 63 read, and have read the rest since then. Can you tell that I am goal-oriented? :) I also am doing the Alphabet Challenge, so many of this month's selections were driven by the author's name or the title.

great Job Lois. Congrats!

I just finished The Atlas Murders. Here's my review:

Interesting story - but awfully long! Henry a British detective embarks on a long journey to find the killer of his niece. His travels involve a long stint as a steward on a commercial ship and eventually a journey through the Caribbean. He has numerous one-night stands and love interests along the way. While I agree that the sexual encounters are a likely part of the story, I did not need to read the excruciating details. When I'm reading a mystery, I want mystery; if I wanted explicit sexual details, I would read something from the erotica genre. I also think that the book should have been about 100 pages shorter -or- split into two books. ( *** )

Has anyone else noticed the tendency to include explicit sexual detail when it's not integral to the story?

OCTOBER Update:

Well, this was an interesting month! I read 22 books, but only found one to be worth a 4 star rating ( Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald), and I actually rated one book with only one star!

This was definitely a quantity over quality month.

#69 JAILING: The Prison Memoirs of 00040: AKA Author Clifford Irving Clifford Irving *
#70 A Year on Ladybug Farm Donna Ball ***
#71 The Paris Wife Paula McLain ***
#72 Undetectable M. C. Soutter ***
#73 Clean Slate Holley Trent **
#74 The Listless Steven Mohr **
#75 Mermother: An Account of What Happened in the Sea Elizabeth Jane Wolfe ***
#76 Lovers in the Age of Indifference Xiaolu Guo **
#77 A Visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan **
#78 Teller of Tales Ray Dacolias **+
#79 Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald Therese Anne Fowler ****
#80 I am the Messenger Marcus Zusak **
#81 Her Lovely Colors Mark Butler ***+
#82 Deadly Commitment Robert Burton Robinson **
#83 X Marks the Scot Victoria Roberts ***
#84 The Atlas Murders John Molloy ***
#85 Vincent Brothers Mass Murder Trial George Thomas Clark ***
#86 With No One As Witness Elizabeth George **
#87 "S" is for Silence Sue Grafton ***
#88 A Passage Toward Home Daniel Kelley ***
#89 Into The Wild Jon Krakauer ***+
#90 The House at Sea's End Elly Griffiths **

wow. 22 books in one month....

Excellent reading month, Lois!

I'm interested that you didn't care for With No One as Witness. I'll admit that I hardly remember it; except for What Came Before He Shot Her all the later ones have run together in my mind. I used to live for the next George though.

>17 LizzieD: I know what you mean. The series came highly recommended by a good friend. but I really had a problem with the "arc" of the story. The beginning was fine, then ending was fine, but the 300 pages in the middle were a tedious read for me. I also didn't find the characters particularly likeable.

Different strikes for different folks, I guess.

I just finished Under The Wide And Starry Skies, a historical novel about the life and love story of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. It was intriguing and informative, as I was unfamiliar with Stevenson's life. Nancy Horan does a wonderful job bringing humanity to this famous author as we learn about his health issues, his wife and their travels around the world in search of a life-saving climate. Watch for this book when it is published in January 2014!

In October, I read 22 books and only one achieved a 4 star rating. I'm happy to say that the 2 books I've read in November were both 4 stars!

#91 Under the Wide and Starry Skies ****
#92 From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava Jay Kopelman, Melinda Roth ****

I just finished The Circle for the One Library Thing - One Book discussion, so no spoilers here. I'm very surprised that I enjoyed it so much. It's not my usual genre. The book has it's flaws: an admitted lack of research by the author, weak characters and weak character development, and no chapters - just 3 parts to the whole book! But the story was intriguing and thought-provoking as it describes a dystopian world with no data privacy. 4 stars!!!!

I hit 100!!!!

#100 The Memory Thief ***

Congrats!

The Secret History of Las Vegas

Strange is the word I would use to describe this book. It was compelling and suspenseful, but I felt somewhat disjointed while reading it, possibly due to the author's aversion to quotation marks! The book touches on a lot of difficult subjects - physical deformity, apartheid, prostitution, nuclear testing, and medical ethics. I can't say that I would recommend it to everyone, but if you are looking for something a little offbeat and can handle the sensitive subject matter, you will enjoy this book.

I received this book as a giveaway from the publisher. ( *** )

congrats!!

How on earth did I manage to miss you hitting 100?! Congratulations!

>25 majkia: Thanks!

>26 lkernagh: Gee, you must have been busy reading! :)

NOVEMBER Update:
#91 Under the Wide and Starry Skies ****
#92 From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava Jay Kopelman, Melinda Roth ****
#93 Killing Kennedy Bill O'Reilly ***.5
#94 She Belongs To Me Carmen DeSousa ***
#95 The Circle Dave Eggers ****
#96 Clover Dori Sanders ***.5
#97 BY THE SEA, Book One: TESS Antoinette Stockenberg ***
#98 The Boleyn Deceit ***.5
#99 Black Diamond Death ***
#100 The Memory Thief ***
#101 Thunder Snow ***
#102 Nailed Joseph Flynn ***.5
#103 The Kitchen House ****
#104 Ladies Night ***.5
#105 The Secret History of Las Vegas ***
#106 Porch Lights ***.5
#107 Minding Frankie***

I definitely recommend Under the Wide and Starry Skies by Nancy Horan. It is due to be published in January. I really enjoyed The Circle and The Kitchen House as well. Actually, it was a good month - nothing less than 3 stars.

Each of the 17 books that I read qualified for a TIOLI challenge:
(2, 4x3, 5, 6x4, 7, 16, 17, 20, 20x3, 21)

#108 The Stingy Minion: Hacked is a nice young adult novel about two high school neighbors, Elizabeth and Jereme, in small-town in Missouri. Elizabeth, the daughter of an imprisoned hacker, and Jereme, a budding musician, manage to hack a very secure website and trouble ensues.

This is a great novel for the young teenage group of readers, and my rating is for that audience. It is exciting and pleasant, with no sex and no foul language. I could easily discuss this book with my teenage grandchildren.

I received this e-book from the LibraryThing Members Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I just finished Tinkers by Paul Harding. I has started it last year and stopped after reading 38%. I had heard many good things about the book, so I gave it a second chance, starting over at the very beginning.

I fail to see anything appealing in this book! I know I'm in a very critical mood these days, so I gave it 2 stars instead of the one that I was pondering.

Just finished The Cleft by Doris Lessing. I had never read Lessing before, and I was somewhat disappointed. The Cleft is basically a fairy tale about the origins of the human race where women were the first humans who then gave birth to the males. The writing was fine and the story was OK, too, but it lacked a compelling story line. I also failed to see the value of the Roman narrator. I thought the story could have been easily told without his voice. Overall, I rated it 2.5 stars.

Just finished reading Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This was a very interesting memoir of a Somalian-born woman who rebels against her family's fundamentalist Islamic beliefs. The first half of the book is tough reading due to the subject matter, but definitely worth it. The story is well-written, well-paced and compelling. The author has caused me to rethink my understanding of Islam. ****

Just finished The Guns at Last Light and feel that I need to explain my ** rating.

This was the first audiobook that I have listened to. I found that my listening comprehension is much lower than my reading comprehension.

World War II is not a favorite topic for me, but I wanted to learn more about it before my trip to Normandy in March.

We listened to this during our road trip between Florida and Massachusetts.

So, don't let the fact that I didn't enjoy it, stop you. It was vey well-written and researched. I'm sure any history buff would enjoy it.

December Update:

#108 The Stingy Minion: Hacked ****
#109 The Goldfinch **
#110 A Christmas Carol **.5
#111 Tinkers **
#112 The Last Call (The Bill Travis Mysteries) ***
#113 Fire and Ice (Liam Campbell #1)***
#114 The Cleft **.5
#115 Even More Ketchup than Salsa **
#116 The Destiny Secret: A Plot to Change the World (Second Edition) ***
#117 Infidel ****
#118 Deep Blue Alibi ***
#119 Winter Wishes **
#120 Angel America **
#121 Tinsel ***
#122 Guns at Last Light**