Never Without A Book's Reading for 2016

Just a post to start the thread. I'll do a catch up post tomorrow when I can look at what I've already read this year and then go from there. I haven't done any kind of challenge for a few years so this should be interesting but even so...the reading always continues!

>1 Neverwithoutabook: Read on, my friend, read on. I'm not one for challenges myself. Just turning one page after another makes me happy.

Hi BeckyJG and thanks! I'm not up to a challenge at this time myself and so was happy to find a thread where it's not a challenge...just a way to track my books. I read every day unless my eyes say they're too tired.

January Reading

The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer
The Aleppo Code by Terry Brennan
The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels
Cat in an Alien X-Ray by Carole Nelson Douglas
The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

So it appears I haven't read as many books as I had thought so far this year. I've only finished The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer, one of my Santa Thing gifts. I have two still on the go from last year...The Aleppo Code and The Adventures of Miss Petitfour which are both review books so are taking priority.

I've finally finished The Aleppo Code and am positive I would have liked it more had I read the first two in the trilogy. Don't you just get all frustrated when you find you're starting with a book that's not the first in a series? I'm now looking for the first two although I did enjoy the second half of the book once I got past the middle.

I've also finished The Advenutres of Miss Petitfour which was (at just over 100 pages) a very quick read. It consisted of 5 adventures of Miss Petitfour and her 16 cats! It is a charming and delightful book for adults to read to the younger set and for children who read for themselves to enjoy.

And now I return to enjoying my Santa Thing gifts!

In case you guys aren't aware, Club Read isn't a challenge, it's just people talking about their reading. :)

>4 Neverwithoutabook: I don't mind so much starting in the midst of an ongoing series--particularly in the mystery genre. But the last in a trilogy, in which one book follows, usually, so closely upon the previous--that's a little harder.

I agree BeckyJG. I felt lost a lot of the time with the beginning of The Aleppo Code. Once the action moved ahead, it was a lot easier. I'm just hoping I'll find the previous two books through my local used bookstore.

Regarding the mystery genre, I recently finished a book quite far into the series called Cat in an Alien X-Ray. I generally love the cozy mystery series when they involve cats especially but I won't be looking for any more in this series. Not only did it refer to previous events in the series, but there wasn't a lot of interaction between the Midnight Louie (cat character) and his person. I found the story more of an ongoing mystery being solved by humans with some cat activity and interference involved.

My most recent read was The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani. I found I really enjoyed this one. I didn't think I would when I started it as it appeared to be rather slow moving but once I became absorbed in the story and started to care about the characters, I found myself reading for longer and longer periods of time. In the end my heart was breaking for all that Ciro and Enza endured. I consider this one well worth the time!

>7 Neverwithoutabook: I've never read any of Trigiani's books, although I've certainly sold a lot of them as a bookseller. Good to have a thumbs up from a fellow reader!

(Never really got into cat mysteries. Not on purpose, just never picked any up. I've read and enjoyed lots of cozies, though. I find them warm and comforting, like macaroni and cheese.)

@8 > Hi BeckyJG: I do love the cozies but love cats a lot so if I can combine the two, I do. There are lots of good ones out there. I agree with your mac & cheese comparison! LOL This was the first Trigiani I've read and I enjoyed it much more than I expected too. It was a recommendation from a friend. I just picked up Suspect by Robert Crais so I can participate...a little belatedly...in John Sandford's Facebook Book Club. This was January's book and I've only just got my copy. He's already picked one for February! Gak!! I'm so far behind!

>9 Neverwithoutabook: I'm a few releases behind on Robert Crais, but I do love his books. Both of his main characters, Elvis Cole and Pike, are so well-drawn. And I dig the way they each have their own series, even though they're partners and characters in each other's books.

I didn't know about the John Sandford book club. Yeah, I probably won't be able to take that on. I seem to do very poorly with group reading...it's all I can do to keep up with my own book club, and these guys are my actual in-person friends. (That's why I do this group here on LT--I can sort of feel like I'm reading as part of a larger thing, and not just in my own little bookish cocoon.)

FEBRUARY READING

The first week was:
Second Chance by Jane Green which I enjoyed and will look for others of hers, and
Shirley, Goodness and Mercy by Debbie Macomber which was a recommendation but although I was told it was good and cute, it was only meh for me.

Lots of reading last week. Four books in one week and then another two started over the weekend plus one ongoing.

The Matchmakers by Janet Daily
Hazing Meri Sugarman by M. Apostolina
Down to the Bone by Karen Harper
Down River by Karen Harper
The Want-Ad Killer by Ann Rule
My Perfectly Imperfect Life by Jennifer Archer
Mansion for My Love by Robyn Donald

I enjoyed Down to the Bone by Karen Harper so much that it lead to looking for more by her. Down River also didn't disappoint. I've started a third of hers called Deep Down. Her writing is excellent with plenty of "red herrings" and keeps you guessing until the end. I've also started The Want-Ad Killer by Ann Rule on a recommendation from a friend and I'm continuing with Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain.

The Matchmakers was a light and fun read.
Hazing Meri Sugarman is a YA novel and should stay in that category. Not bad, but although I understand there's a couple more in the series, I won't be reading them. Enough is enough.

I finished The Want-Ad Killer) yesterday. Felt the need to check up on this criminal and he is still in prison at the age of 88. He didn't get parole. Good.

In an effort to downsize my TBR pile quickly, I've decided to race through a bunch of mindless romance. I've finished My Perfectly Imperfect Life by Jennifer Archer, one of Harlequin's NEXT series. Books in this series take a more mature approach to the romantic themes, often throwing in an upset of some sort. In this case an extremely dysfunctional family brought back into each others paths after years of not seeing each other. The main characters a married couple dealing with internal stresses of an inability to conceive and the husband's secrets while the other members of their respective families surface with their own troubles to add to the mix. Realistic in terms of all does not always end the way one thinks it should.

I also read Mansion for My Love by Robyn Donald, one of the Harlequin Presents series. Your average love story but a quick read. Mostly I can get through these types of books in a day. They're modestly entertaining and not all that deep.

On March 12th, I had the opportunity to attend a launch party for a new publishing company, StoneHouse Publishing. Five books were released that evening and all five authors were in attendance. They read excerpts from their books and we were able to chat and have our copies signed while also enjoying some delicious appetizers and wine as well as tea and biscuits with clotted cream and jam! ( I must say I'm now hooked on biscuits with clotted cream and jam!) I've finished the first book and enjoyed it although I did notice a couple of technical errors in the story itself.

Edge of Wild by D. K. Stone

This story is set in Waterton, Alberta, and quite a good thriller.

>14 Neverwithoutabook: That's really cool! I love book biz events, especially to be in at the start of something new.