sjmccreary hopes 3rd time is a charm

I've already started this challenge twice before - once for authors, and once for titles. But for one reason and another, they've both stalled out. Shortly after the beginning of the year, I began again - informally, just "on my own". And it's working out pretty well, so I decided to make it "official". I hope that won't be the kiss of death.

Taking a cue from several of the others in the group, I've been working through my wishlist letter by letter. I'm not trying to read every single title, just a representative sample of fiction, nonfiction and authors for each letter. The more books and authors on my list, the more I'll read for that letter. Once I get through the entire alphabet, I'll start over again with A. By then, there will probably be a bunch of new books to choose from!

Currently, I'm finishing up with C and getting ready to move on to D. So, to start, I'll summarize what I've done so far and then begin listing books as they are completed.

A is for...

The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams - thriller featuring an Egyptologist on the trail of Alexander the Great - not bad.

The Outlander by Gil Adamson - 19-year old widow flees from her brothers-in-law after killing her husband in 19th century Alberta. Very good.

The Accident Man by Tom Cain - another thriller about a man who makes accidents happen - this time the job he thought was an international terrorist ended up being a popular member of the British royal family in a tunnel in Paris. Interesting premise and totally believable (if you're into conspiracy theories), promting the author to make a couple of "it's only fiction" type disclaimers.

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende - wonderful story of a young Chilean girl who follows her clandestine lover to the California goldfield in 1849.

Adventures in Unhistory by Avram Davidson - the token nonfiction book in this group. Attempts to find the kernel of truth in each of several persistent myths and legends. Better for looking up a specific topic of interest than for reading cover-to-cover.

B is for...

Sixteen in Nome by Max Brand - traditional western tale about a man, a woman, and a boy travelling by dogsled from Nome to the Yukon during the goldrush.

Pocket Guide to the Afterlife by Jason Boyett - a survey of different traditions of heaven and hell from around the world and different religions. Actually pretty good.

Bangkok 8 by John Burdett - a Thai policeman is teamed up with a pretty FBI agent to investigate the death of an American marine in Bangkok. The first of a series. Good.

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - the story of an 11-year old girl who solves the mystery of who the dead man in the garden was and how he came to be there. Set in England in the 1950's on an old family estate - I loved it, but not everyone else has.

Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh - predictable historical romance about a woman who dreams of being seduced and the man who is willing to do just that.

First Family by David Baldacci - former secret service agents, now working as private investigators, are called to discover what happened to the first lady's family, when her brother's home was broken into, his wife killed and his daughter kidnapped. Part of a series, a bit of guilty pleasure for me since a lot of what happens is pretty unrealistic.

Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - one of my favorite contemporary romance writers - a self-help guru retreats to Tuscany when her life falls apart and falls in love with her landlord - a Hollywood "bad boy". Pure brain candy.

Bound by Sally Gunning - a wonder historical novel set in revolutionary Boston about a girl who was placed into an indentured servitude by her father to pay for her passage from England.

Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor - set in 1930's London, a woman from an old titled family leaves her husband and gets involved in the investigation of a missing woman that no on seems to want found. Good.

Bad Land: An American Romance by Jonathan Raban - nonfiction about the development of the bad lands of eastern Montana beginning with the promotions made by the railroad running through that area and the homestead act passed by the government offering settlers free land for farming the barren land and through to the 1990's. Very good.

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin - reminescent of The No. 1 ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - the story of a woman who bakes fancy cakes for special occasions in her home to help support her family in modern Rwanda. Touching and uplifitng. Very good.

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond Recommended by my 19-year old daughter, a totally silly, but very fun, romantic comedy about a young woman who gets mixed up in the investigation of a series of deaths in an exclusive neighborhood.

Dead Connection by Alafair Burke - a pretty young NYPD detective is given a temporary assignment to homcide to help solve the case of several dead women, all of whom were involved with the same online dating service. Pretty good.

Ack! I tried to post my C books to date, but it got lost somewhere. Maybe my message was just too long? I'll try breaking it up.

So far, C is for...

Call of the Wild by Jack London - the classic children's story about a dog stolen from his home and taken to Alaska during the gold rush.

Weather's Greatest Mysteries Solved by Randy Cerveny - presents examples of how research into climate and weather can help explain a variety of events - the content was fascinating, but I didn't like the format of the presentation.

Caught by Harlan Coben - his latest stand-alone novel, a man is "caught" by a reality TV show looking like a pedophile when he shows up for a meeting arranged with a teenage girl online. He claims he is innocent, and this time the reporter actually believes him. She is convinced after she sees him being killed and his body later disappears. Very good - especially if you are a fan of Coben.

Christmas is Murder by CS Challinor - a "locked room" mystery set in an English country inn during a heavy snowstorm. Good.

The Poet by Michael Connelly - a reporter is included in an FBI investigation of a serial killer when he is the one to discover the link between several cases of what had been assumed were police sucicide. Very good.

C is also for...

The Cave Painters by Gregory Curtis - examines the prehistoric cave paintings in France and the people who have studied them for the last 100 years. Very good - not too technical.

The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War by Leonard L Richards - beginning with the discovery of gold in California in the late 1840's up to the presidential election of 1860, it looks at the series of events, and the major players, which were caused or influenced by California gold leading up to the Civil War. Very good.

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie - Total brain candy - a buttoned-down history professor asks the kooky lady artist who lives in his building to act as his fiance to help him win a position at a conservative college in Ohio. Predictable but fun.

Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous - interesting book featuring a diverse group of Italians and immigrants from all over the world who all live in the same apartment building in Rome.

Cutting Edge by Allison Brennan - an FBI agent calls on her childhood with an anti-establishment mother and her psycho boyfriend to solve the latest case of domestic terrorism when a bio-tech company is set afire, all the lab animals are taken, and the CEO is found dead in his office. Not bad.

I've still got 4 more C's to finish - a novel, a nonfiction, and 2 authors. I've already ordered my first batch of D books from the library so I will be starting those soon, as well. Maybe with some overlap.

and, finally, C is for...

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain - a very intense serial killer thriller, but good if you like that sort of thing (I do).

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben - Surburban parents install spy software on their son's computer and then must deal with the secrets they learn. Very good

Cripple Creek Days by Mabel Barbee Lee - 1959 memoir of a girl who grew up in Cripple Creek, Colorado during the gold boom of the 1890's and early 1900's. Pretty interesting. I just don't like memoirs very much. Lots of photos.

My last C book - the novel - had to go back to the library before I could read it. So I'm moving on to the D's.

edit to specify the time period covered by the Lee book

D is getting off to a slow start because I've got a group read book and an ILL book that need to be finished up quickly, plus a couple of ER books that I need to get to very soon. But, I have finished one so far:

D is for...

Day After Night by Anita Diamant. A novel about European Jewish refugees after WWII being held in a detention camp before being allowed into Palestine in 1945. Very good.

D is still going slowly, but I finished that group read, got the ILL book done and returned on time and one of the ER books finished and reviewed. Right now, I've got a nonfiction title and 3 "D" authors in progress, and a dozen more lined up and waiting patiently. July ought to be better, but for late June, D is only for...

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow - a very interesting look at what randomness really is, and how many of our life events are influenced by it. Recommended.

Finally making some progress:

D is for...

Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson - NYC woman inherits family home in Ohio that was station on underground railroad. Meh.

Death of a Witch by MC Beaton - Same old Hamish Macbeth.

Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas - Young wife left behind on mother-in-law's farm in Iowa when her husband enlists in the union army. Just OK.

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille - wonderful cold war spy thriller - American servicemen missing from the Vietnam war are being held captive in the Soviet Union and used to train KGB spies to pass as American.

Safer by Sean Doolittle - Boston English professor recently relocated to western Iowa has trouble with over-enthusiastic neighborhood watch captain. Very good.

Finished the next batch:

D is for...

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede - one of the few nonfictions I'm planning for "D" - this tells about the small city of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada on 9/11. The 10,000 local residents played host to over 6,000 strangers when 3 dozen planes were denied entrance into US airspace and forced to land. Very uplifting - highly recommended.

Doors Open by Ian Rankin - a group of art lovers plan a heist on Edinburgh's "doors open" day - when the Royal Gallery's warehouse of undisplayed art will be opened to the public. Good, but not great.

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan - And they do.... From page one all the way to the end. Unrelentingly. But it's an interesting who-dunnit, as well as "what did they do?"

Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm - A legal thriller about a defender and her client - a woman charged with killing her estranged husband. Another story, like the last, with plenty of twists and turns, and questions about what really happened and why. First of a series featuring the lawyer.

A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb and Jack McEvoy, all in the same book. But are they all on the same side? Hard to tell. Slow start - strong finish.

I've got 5 or 6 more "D" books planned - another nonfiction, a novel, and the rest authors. Hope to be finished around Labor Day.

Only a month late.

Finally, D is for..

The Dragon Man by Garry Disher - set in SE Australia, the first in the series about Inspector Challis. A series of murders of young women, arsons, and robberies over the hot Christmas holiday have police scrambling to figure things out. Good.

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks - very fun book about a career burglar who only takes what his "clients" won't miss, such as a cup of laundry detergent or a half dozen aspirins.

Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironside - In 1925, a woman was acquited of her husband's murder and the case remained unsolved. Sixty years later, her great-niece decides to investigate and try to learn the truth. Pretty good.

I had 3 other "D" books planned, but one is a new release and I couldn't get it from the library in time. The others are non-fictions that didn't hold my interest past chapter 1, so they were abandoned.

"E" will be a shorter list, and I've already gotten started.

About half finished with my planned "E" readings:

The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots by Carolly Erickson - biographical novel, but it clearly contains fabricated events. This may not be a problem for some, but since I knew little about Mary's life, I was hoping for something that attempted to stay close to the known truth.

The Exodus Quest by Will Adams - the sequel to The Alexander Cipher listed back in msg #2, this is a very fast-paced thriller with cardboard characters who are trying to uncover the truth about the Biblical exodus story. Entertaining but shallow.

Executive Privilege by Philip Margolin - A better thriller than Exodus Quest, based on the premise that there may be a serial killer on the loose with close ties to the president. Maybe even the man himself. I liked it.

The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan - I liked the main character Gwenni and the setting in 1950's Wales better than the book as a whole. Still, not bad.

I'm currently in the middle of the lone non-fiction that I have planned, and then have 2 other scheduled books and a couple extras I may try to squeeze in before wrapping up E and moving on to F.

Well, for one reason and another, I only managed one more E book before deciding to move on to F:

Jim the Boy by Tony Earley - a wonderful story about a 10-year old boy growing up in a small North Carolina town in 1934.

It's been a rough winter for our family - 2 deaths of very close relatives, one was not unexpected, but the other was a terrible shock. It slowed my reading down to nearly nothing for weeks, but I'm finally finishing up with the F books.

Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson - Swedish children's book, part of a series. Absolutely delightful.

Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea by Mike Tougias - Tells the experiences of several fishing crews who got caught in an unusually severe late season storm when the weather forecast was grossly misstated. Pretty good.

The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser - The series beginner about a small community someplace in the Pacific northwest. Very nice.

Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood - Second in the series about a 1920's aviatrix and amatuer detective in Sydney, Australia. I wanted to like it, but just can't.

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin - sequel to Mistress of the Art of Death, it picks up where that book left off. Very good, but read them in order.

More F books:

The Face of Death by Cody McFadyen - an excellent psychological thriller about the hunt for a killer who is tryng to shape a young girl's life by killing everyone she loves over a period of years. Very creepy. Very good.

Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt - Another creepy serial killer, this one in northern Ontario in winter. The lead detective also has something to hide and is worried that his new partner is a plant to investigate him. Good.

The Fugitive Wife by Peter Brown - A Minnesota farm wife leaves her husband in 1900 and travels to Nome, Alaska during the gold rush. Very good - highly recommended.

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris - Very unusual - a mystery set in Saudi Arabia about a wealthy young woman who is discovered dead in the desert after being missing from home for days. Fascinating look at Saudi life and customs by an author who lived there while she was married to a Saudi man. Recommended.

Playing God by Kate Flora - A prominent but universally disliked oncologist is found murdered in his car. Pretty good.

The rest of the F books:

Time Detectives: How Archaeologists Use Technology to Recapture the Past by Brian Fagan - Looks at the methods used at a dozen or so different sites around the world that scientists are using to understand the way people lived in the past. Very readable - recommended.

In the Woods by Tana French - A Dublin detective must solve the murder of a young girl found in the woods near her home, all the while keeping his secret that he survived an eerily similar crime when his two friends disappeared from the very same location and were never found. Very good.

Paranoia by Joseph Finder - All too believable case of corporate espionage, with a nice unexpected twist. Pretty good.

1632 by Eric Flint - Pure fantasy about a West Virginia coal mining town in 2000 that gets displaced to 17th century Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War. Kind of fun.

Running From the Devil by Jamie Freveletti - a chemist survives the crash of a hijacked jet in the jungle in Columbia. She avoids being taken hostage with the other surviving passengers and must try to save herself and get help for the others.

I am almost tempted to start another alphabet challenge, you have provided some great books lists here! .... but I really, REALLY need to get my act together and finish the first one I started *gulps* almost two years ago.......

Lori, my first 2 attempts weren't working so I felt no compelling reason to continue. This version is going slower than I expected, but it's still going so I'm happy. You should do what works best for you, but there's no rule that you can't have a do-over. :-)

Well, F took forever, but G seems to be going well. Here is the first batch:

The Third Man by Graham Greene - originally written as a screen play, this very short book tells the story of a man who comes to post-war Vienna to stay with a friend, only to discover that the friend had been killed the day before. I'm reserving judgement until I watch the movie.

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum - published as a children's book in the 1920's, this tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts and their various exploits. Very good - and not at all childish.

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by hemenwaytoby::Toby Hemenway - I love gardening books and this one was wonderful - instructions for constructing a "permaculture" - an ecological, self-sustaining garden. Includes bibliography. Excellent.

3167566::The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson - the third book of the popular Millenium series about Lisbeth Salander. I loved the first two and I loved this one.

Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm - contains about 45 of the classic fairy tales, including many of my childhood favorites. Surprising slow-going, however.

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George - first in the series about Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sgt Barbara Havers. The crime here is the decapitation of a man which seems to have been committed by his unlikely daughter. Very good.

edit - not sure what the problem with touchstones is tonight.

I am in awe! I keep reading books that have the same letter as ones I already have, both author and title.

And I'm trying to do the dewey challenge at the same time.

You have some interesting books on your list; I am adding some to my wishlist or borrow from library list.

#20 Fianna, the most awe-inspiring thing I've done here is actually stick to a plan for more than a month! My Dewey Decimal challenge, though, is purely random - and not going nearly as well. But, between the two, I've been reading books I would have overlooked otherwise.

More G books finished:

Gallows View by Peter Robinson - the first in a series about inspector Alan Banks in a small English town. Nothing special, but the consensus is that the series gets much better, so I'll keep going.

The Good Son by Michael Gruber - intricate story about a Pakistani-American special forces soldier who tries to influence the decision-makers into sending his unit to Pakistan after his mother was kidnapped by terrorists. Great insights into life in central Asia. Very good.

Blood of the Wicked by Leighton Gage - another series beginner, this one set in a remote Brazilian city when a Catholic Bishop was assassinated when he arrived to bless a new church. Another book with insights into life in another place - this author is married to a Brazilian woman and spends much time there. A violent story, but Federal Police Inspector Mario Silva is a promissing hero.

The Hostage by W E B Griffin - doesn't even pretend to be realistic, unlike the previous two - this is the 2nd in a series about a young Army major/secret service agent/executive assistant to the Secretary of Homeland Security/special agent to the President. He is handsome, wealthy and - after being a ladies' man in the first book - has fallen in love for real. The kidnapping of the wife of an American diplomat in Buenos Aires is all the excuse that is needed for Major CJ Castillo to strut his stuff again. Pure escapism - but good if you like that sort of thing.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - a wonderful novel about a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease - told from the patient's point of view. Written by a nueroscientist. Excellent - highly recommended.

Shake Down by Joel Goldman - still another series beginner, this one about an FBI agent in Kansas City who is putting a case together about a local drug dealer when the man and everyone in his house is murdered. Much speculation about whether there is a leak on his team, since the killer seemed to know the house was under surveillence. Not bad...

You have a really wonderful list going here! I love the idea that you are going to start over when you finish, too! I enjoyed reading over it all so much.

More G books:

Buried Strangers by Leighton Gage - sequel to Blood of the Wicked in msg #22. The book opens with the discovery of a strange unmarked cemetery - all the graves are the same age and contain people of all ages, and even whole families. Inspector Mario Silva continues to be a great character - I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips - the Olympian Gods are alive and well - sort of - and living in a London townhouse. "Behaving Badly" is right - this book was just a little too bawdy for my taste, but it is humorous and clever. Someone with a familiarity with the tales of Greek mythology would probably enjoy it quite a lot more than I did.

Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King - A fascinating book about the plight of a group of elderly Indians missing from a mental facility. These Indians were present at creation and take turns trying to tell the story so that it can be understood by "Christians". They only go out into the world when they have to - but things are broken and need to be fixed so they really have no choice. Told in a disjointed fashion, constantly changing perspective and narration - it was confusing only for a few pages and then strangely makes sense. Comic relief provided by Coyote. Very good - recommended.

Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon - first in a series set during the Crusades about a guild of fools who seem to exist to be a thorn in the side of the Roman church. One of the members, Feste, is called when an old friend is suddenly killed and he suspects and equally old enemy of the crime. A nifty little mystery set in an unusual time. Good.

Black Ships by Jo Graham - set in the generation following the fall of Troy, this is a re-telling of the Aeneid, a story I am unfamiliar with, but will make a point of seeking out now. This was a wonderful adventure of a group of refugees seeking a new homeland where they can live safely and raise their families. Very good.

I'm in the process of wrapping up just a couple more G books and preparing to move on to H.

The rest of the G books:

The Lost City of Z by David Grann - a wonderful nonfiction account of the explorer Percy Fawcett who spent a lifetime seeking the lost civlization he called "Z" in the Amazonian rainforest. Recommended.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S C Gwynne - another excellent nonfiction - this one about the famed Comanche Indians and their ultimate downfall at the end of the 19th century. Highly recommended - especially for anyone interested in American history or the American West.

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett - The first one of the enormously popular Discworld series that I have actually been able to finish. I always WANTED to like them, but fantasy is not my favored genre and I just never "got" it before. This isn't the first book in the series, but is the first book in a popular sub-set known as "The Watch" and proved to be a good place to start. Fans of Pratchett need no encouragement, but other interested persons should consider starting with this one.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin - still another nonfiction, this one about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln. It is very long, and I am still only 2/3 finished, but so far it is excellent. Even if it fall flat right now, I would still recommend it on the basis of what I've read so far. Essential for fans of Lincoln and for Civil War buffs.

"G" has been a very good letter - even though I'm not quite finished, as my last post reveals. (I had picked out 16 "G" books to read for the challenge, but ended up with 21!) "H" is starting off to be just as enjoyable:

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart - a good mystery about a Dublin archaeologist teamed up with an American pathologist and called to the site of a woman's decapitated head discovered in a peat bog in western Ireland. The first in a series - these two work well together.

Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer - Georgette Heyer is the queen of historical romance, and this one (first published in 1959, I think) is an excellent example. Unlike most in the genre, it has aged very well. Recommended.

Hippolyte's Island by Barbara Hodgson - A very good book about a Canadian "explorer" who travels to the South Atlantic islands called the Aurora's. The unusual thing about these islands is that they don't exist - at least according to all modern accounts of efforts to locate and explore them. Recommended.

Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag - a nice little thriller about a bicycle messenger who narrowly escapes with his life after being sent to deliver a package to a vacant lot in a seedy part of town with only a large black car sitting there, engine running.

Hush by Kate White - another mystery/thriller about a woman in the middle of a divorce and custody battle who woke up the morning after a one-night stand to discover that her lover had been killed in bed during the night. I was cool on it, but most other reviewers liked it.

Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard - predictable, but good enough, romantic suspense about an old Alabama family who is the victim of a series of unexplained attacks.

More "H" books:

High Crimes by Joseph Finder - a legal thriller, a prominent Harvard law professor/celebrity defense attorney decides to defend her own husband when he is taken into custody and charged with desertion and murder by the army - an entire secret past that he never shared with her. Very good.

The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys - series of 40 short vignettes that tell the story of each of the 40 times that the Thames River has frozen from the 12th century until the present (well, the late 19th century - the last time the river froze). Sort of interesting in theory, but I didn't care for it in reality.

The Hunted by Brian Haig - a "new" Russian capitalist, who began making his fortune even before the fall of communism, is set up to be robbed of his wealth and then framed for the crime. Based on a true story. Loved it.

Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls - story of Lily Casey Smith, the author's grandmother, who was born in 1901 and spent her life in the desert southwest. An amazing woman - I loved this book.

The Wrong Kind of Blood by Declan Hughes - An LA PI returns to his native Ireland for his mother's funeral and gets wrapped up in the local shady business. Meh. (Although it improved enough at the end to entice me to go ahead with the sequel.)

BTW - I did finish Team of Rivals and it continued to be excellent right up to the end. 5 stars.

Nearly finished with "H":

Just in Case by Kathy Harrison - informative book about the hows and whys of being prepared for an emergency or crisis. You don't have to be a paranoid survivalist in order to do this. If you buy insurance you are already preparing for something you hope will never happen. This is more of the same.

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton - an 8-year old boy is rendered mute after a tragedy which also left him orphaned. Raised by his bachelor uncle, he accidentally discovers the wonder of the mechanics of a lock, which leads him to learn to open locks, which leads him to opening locks illegally. Told in flashback, this tells the boy's story from the time he discovered his unique aptitude to the present, in prison. Loved it.

King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard - the classic tale of 3 English gentlemen venturing into the African wilderness in pursuit of the lost brother of one of the men and the fabled diamond mine that he had been in search of. Action and adventure galore. Excellent.

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman - tells the story of a place - a small mountain town in western Massachusetts from the time of its founding in the 18th century up to the present. Places, landmarks, family names, and local legends show up over and over during the passage of time. I think most readers liked it better than I did.

Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz - excellent examination of the attitudes of modern southerners regarding the civil war, racial relations, the confederacy, and the phenomenon of civil war battle re-enactment. Very good.

Wrapping up the "H" books:

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith - very suspenseful story about 2 men who met on a train and talked about the hated father of one and wife of the other, and the idea that they could do each other a favor by killing those 2 unwanted people. The husband didn't take it seriously, but when his wife is murdered soon after, he begins to hear from the other man wanting to know how and when he would hold up his end of the bargain. Very good - recommended.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - classic story of the ineptitude of bureaucracy - funny, biting, touching - loved it. Very highly recommended.

Beginning the "I" books:

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells - very creepy book told from the POV of a teenage sociopath living in a community with a serial killer on the loose. It's not him, but he is excited and anxious to learn just who it is.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali - Very touching book about a young girl who was forced to marry a man 3 times her age and then to endure sexual abuse from her husband and physical and emotional abuse from his family until she was finally able to escape and find the people who were able to help her escape her situation. Excellent.

A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson - nice historical romance set just after WWI about a young Russian countess whose family has lost everything when they fled the revolution who joins the staff of an impoverished English earl as a maid. He is about to marry a wealthy woman who is interested in the "science" of eugenics which causes all kinds of problems in the household and in the whole neighborhood.

More "I" books:

Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles - A doctor in a small English village kills his wife and then deals with the consequences. Recommended.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan - Makes a case for eating whole natural foods grown in or raised on organically enriched soil - rather than highly processed "food products" manufactured by scientists. Recommended.

Involuntary Witness by Gianrico Carofiglio - Very good courtroom drama written by Italian attorney - an educated African immigrant is accused of kidnapping and murdering a local boy.

An Iron Rose by Peter Temple - Australian novel featuring a retired detective turned blacksmith who is investigating the apparent suicide of his friend and neighbor. Good.

The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris - interesting pop psychology about how our minds trick us into believing things that are not true.

In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz - an Arcane Society book - paranormal investigators hunting down paranormal villains. Meh.

Infamous by Suzanne Brockmann - a stand-alone novel about the ghost of a wild west villian who haunts the set of a movie being filmed about the "hero" who vanquished him. Ugh.

Three "I" books that were too much to finish:

Independent People by Halldor Laxness - set in Iceland after WWI, tells the story of a crofter who wants to be independent of other people - finish this one later

India by John Keay - nonfiction history of India from beginning of civilization to the end of the 20th century. Very good. Finish this one later, too.

Spandau Phoenix by Greg Iles - my second attempt at this. I don't know what the problem is - the story is interesting, but the book is not. At 750 pages, it is a long book - but it is only 750 pages and should not take forever to finish. After 4 months, I was still only 3/4 finished. So I guess I am finished.

"J" books:

Devious by Lisa Jackson - just another in the Bentz-Montoya series set in creepy places in New Orleans. Not so good.

January 1905 by Katharine Boling - beginning chapter book about twin sisters living in a mill town. One has to work in the mill with the rest of the family, the other has to stay home and do chores alone. Both think the other has a better life until they are forced to step into each other's shoes. Pretty good for 4th or 5th graders.

Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI - excellent biography of Jesus told in a scholarly, thoroughly explained manner. Audio is the wrong format - I want to do this one again soon, but in print.

Jaws by Peter Benchley - I've never seen the movie and had never read the book. What a great surprise this turned out to be. A wonderful thriller.

Jericho's Fall by Stephen L Carter - it sounded good, but turned out to be not so much. A thriller about a retired CIA Director who has threatened to reveal his secrets.

Jesus: a 21st Century Biography by Paul Johnson - pales in comparison to the Pope's book - I didn't even make it to the middle.

More "J" books:

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson - a battered wife finally gets the nerve to leave her husband after hearing her fortune told by a gypsy in an airport - not bad.

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J Sandel - nonfiction discussion about fairness, justice, and morality. Another "not bad" book.

Running Scared by Lisa Jackson - pretty good romantic suspense about a young widow, still grieving her husband and baby, is enticed to "adopt" a newborn belonging to the unwed daughter of a prominent Boston family. Fifteen years later, the baby's grandfather changes his mind about the baby and wants him back. Somewhat predictable, but still quite good.

World and Town by Gish Jen - An elderly Chinese-American woman living in a small New England town is still dealing with the recent loss of both her husband and best friend when a family of Cambodian immigrants moves in next door. I'm still on the fence about this one. I didn't hate it, but I didn't get the deeper meaning - if there was one.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - a creepy and suspenseful story about two sisters and their uncle living secluded lives in the family home years after the rest of the family was poisoned to death. The older sister was acquitted of murder, and the uncle is disabled from the effects of the poison. Very highly rated, but I saw through it from the very beginning.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle sounds interesting. Going to put it in my wishlist. Besides, I need a J author.

Wow, this challenge is going slow! I thought it would take 2 years, but it's going on 3 and I'm still not half finished. I finally finished the "J" books - except for one that that is STILL on hold at the library (another 6 weeks at least, I think). I'll come back to it later, but going ahead to "K" in the meantime.

"J" Books:

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome - Three young Englishmen take a trip up the Thames as a way of escaping everyday life. Very funny.

On Secret Service by John Jakes - a fictional account of the Pinkerton Agency during the Civil War and the different ways intelligence was gathered and used. Not bad.

Juliet by Anne Fortier - An American woman returns to her birthplace in Italy to investigate the lives of her parents and discovers a connection between herself and Shakespeare's Juliet. Just OK.

Ulysses by James Joyce - I didn't finish this one, but made it more than half way. Perhaps audio wasn't the best format - might be better in print with a tutor explaining all the vague references. However, the reader of the audio I had has a wonderful Irish accent which was absolutely delightful.

Cover Her Face by P D James - the first of the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries - looking forward to the rest of the series

Talking About Detective Fiction by P D James - a nonfiction account of the different elements in classic detective novels and the importance of each. Informative, but not as enjoyable as her novel.

"K" Books:

The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine - the Secret Service agents who protected President Kennedy and his family break their 50-year silence about the assassination. Very good.

The Golden Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz - Romantic suspense about a bleeding heart liberal who becomes involved with a big-business family. Not bad.

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger - Thriller about a former small-town sheriff in northern Minnesota who keeps coming across dead bodies. The new sheriff isn't doing much, so he conducts his own investigation. Pretty good - the first of a series.

You are doing so well. Some great books on your lists. I have also been working on my challenge for what feels like forever, but the reason I started it was to force myself to read books off my shelf, so that is all I am adding to my lists. And having only read 12 of my own books this year, this challenge might last for another three years!!!!

#36 It's a good thing there aren't any deadlines to this challenge, isn't it?!

More K Books

Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz - a pretty good story about a working dog on an upstate NY farm and the events that happen when a massive blizzard hits, but it was nearly ruined by the mysticism of having the dog "remember" not only its only history but that of its ancestors, and even the other animals on the farm.

Kill for Me by Karen Rose - Third in a romantic suspense trilogy about Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Danial Vartangian. A pretty good thriller, although with a high body count. However, it tried to do too much by having a complex mystery to solve, a romance to kindle, and the series to wrap up.

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen - A very good thriller set in Denmark about an aging detective who is shoved off into a new agency being set up to investigate cold cases. He is happy just to be marking time until he discovers a case that he can't ignore.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King - the 2nd in the series about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, and much better than the first.

The American Civil War by John Keegan - a military history of the war written by a Brit. Interesting veiwpoint, and informative book.

Blindspot by Jane Kamensky - a Scottish painter on the run from creditors ends up in pre-Revolutionary Boston where he takes on a 14-year old orphan boy as apprentice, but who is really the "ruined" daughter of a prominent local family. Very good, but too long

The Water Clock by Jim Kelly - a small town reporter investigates a series of killings with ties to the past in exchange for a sealed file about the accident that left his wife in a coma. Good.

Kind of Blue by Miles Corwin - an LAPD detective comes back to the force after resigning in anger at being suspended a year earlier in hopes that he will be able to solve the case that caused his suspension.

The Dawdling J Book

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson - series beginner about a sheriff in a small Wyoming town. I guess there is a new TV series made from these books which is the reason it took so long to get it from the library. Very good.

The last batch of K books:

Kanthapura by Raja Rao - Small Indian village gets swept up in Ghandi's non-violent fight for independence - good, especially if you already have some knowledge of Indian history and customs, or if you get the annotated edition.

Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King - nonfiction story about the role played by Thurgood Marshall in changing America during the civil rights era. This book focuses on a case in Groveland, Fla where 4 black men were falsely accused of raping a white woman in the 1940's where Marshall was the attorney sent by the NAACP to represent the defendants. Very good - very highly recommended.

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling - very exciting tale of a rich American boy who fall overboard while on a trans-Atlantic voyage with his mother. He is picked up by a fishing boat on the Grand Banks and the captain - not listening to the boy's claims of a wealthy father or his demands to be returned to land - puts him to work and pays him a fair wage. Innocently racists and sexist, according to its time, and rather moralistic, as befitting its intended audience, but very good.

The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva - first in the popular Gabriel Allon series about a former Israeli intelligence agent who has retired and taken up art restoration, and who is then called back to the service to capture an old nemesis. Very good.

The Perfect Murder by H R F Keating - another series beginner, about Inspector Ghote in a large Indian city. The title refers to the newspaper headlines of the case Ghote is working on - the personal secretary to a wealthy businessman, a Mr Perfect, was attacked in his employer's home. But he was only knocked unconscious. Pretty fair - good enough to continue the series.

The first batch of L books:

Law of Attraction by Allison Leotta - a young prosecuting attorney is assigned to the domestic violence unit in Washington DC, after suffering a childhood spent experiencing abuse from her own alcoholic father. Sounds noble, but she mostly continues to make lousy choices, especially about men. I didn't like it.

The Last Dance: the skywalk disaster and a city changed by Kevin Murphy - an investigative story about the 1981 Hyatt skywalk disaster in Kansas City that killed more than 100 people. It was published as a fundraiser for a memorial on the 30th anniversary, and wasn't particularly well written. The story is an interesting one, but look it up on wikipedia instead.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis - my first time with this children's classic. It was ruined for me by a very dull episode of Dr Who that was based on the story. I don't feel like I was missing anything all those years.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - finally, a good "L" book. A fantasy novel about a young orphaned boy sold into a kind of indentured servitude as a child and taught the art of thieving by his new master. He grows up to become the leader of a gang of small-time sneak-thieves called the Gentlemen Bastards. At least that's what everyone believes. Very good - highly recommended.

The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes - originally published in 1912 or 1913, it is the story of a respectable couple, retired from domestic service, who take in a lodger. His rent saves them from starvation, but they begin to suspect that he is the infamous "Avenger" killer (similar to real life Jack the Ripper) and life in fear that the police inspector who is courting their daughter will also notice. Pretty good.

More L Books:

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - a nonfiction that examines the planning and construction of the Chicago world's fair and the serial killer who took advantage of it to satisfy his desires - very good

The Long Ships by Frans G Bengtsson - I loved this book set in 10th century Denmark and focusing on Red Orm as he goes a-viking through-out Europe in search of treasure before returning home to marry and raise a family. A rousing adventure story. Highly recommended.

Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain - historical fiction based on the life of real-life of Eleanor Granville - a puritian woman in 17th century England who defied convention to become an etymologist and study butterflies. Pretty good.

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane - another historical fiction based on a real event - the Boston police strike in 1919. Provides a look at some of the issues and events of the period - including Babe Ruth's baseball career and relations between whites and blacks - besides the history of the labor dispute in Boston. Very good - recommended.

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville - and yet another historical fiction based on a real person - a young English lieutenant is part of the first colonizing group transporting convicts to Australia. Once there he removes himself from the main colony and establishes an observatory where he does astronomical research, and becomes acquainted with a group of natives and learns to communicate with them. Good, but heart-breaking. Part of a trilogy about the Australian colonial period.

More L Books (the L's are a long list - it might take a while to get them all finished)

Mission Flats by William Landay - very nice thriller with lots of twists about a small town police chief from Maine who travels to Boston to investigate the life of the DA who was found dead in his town

The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer - an ex-Army surgeon suffering from PTSD operates a mobile medical clinic out of an RV in Washington DC and searches for a missing Army buddy who saved his life back in Iraq (except that there's more to it than that, and it is so much better than I just made it sound)

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - A Nigerian girl escapes a refugee detention facility near London and seeks out the English couple who met her on the beach in Nigeria shortly before she fled for England - excellent

The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn - a nonfiction look at Wyatt Earp and the iconic gunfight at the OK corral - very good

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I ought to have read this book 30 years ago, and you should too

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosely - A 91-year old African-American man living in a dumpy apartment in LA finds a way to break through his dementia to accomplish one last great task before he dies. Excellent - this book stayed with me for a week or more after I finished it.

The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox - written in the mid-18th century, it is a funny look at the life of a young woman who was raised in seclusion by her widower-father and believes that real life is the same as what is described in the romantic French novels that belonged to her mother.

The Last Child by John Hart - another excellent thriller by JH - a 13-year old boy searches for his twin sister who was kidnapped a year earlier

Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart - second in a series about an American forensic pathologist who works with bog bodies in Ireland - this one was long on atmosphere but too short on action

Prince Caspian by C S Lewis - second in the Chronicles of Narnia series which I am finally reading for the first time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle - another children's classic that I missed as a child

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper - and still another classic I'm just now catching up on, but this one was no loss

Spy in the House by Y S Lee - a newer YA series about a girl's school in Victorian London that educates disadvantaged girls and serves as a recruiting vehicle for an under cover investigative agency - very good