Cataluna's 100 in 2011

I think I'm still in denial that it's actually 2011. But that hasn't stopped me from starting to chip away at Mt. TBR. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading - I just have to find you all and star you now :)

Welcome back to the group! Looking forward to your reading selections this year, I'd better give this thread a star so I don't lose it...

January

1. Best Laid Plans by Nora Roberts

2. 100 Girls by Adam Gallardo & Todd Demong

3. Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

4. Mad, Bad and Blonde by Cathie Linz

5. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

6. Summer Desserts by Nora Roberts

7. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

8. Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen

9. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

10. Charade by Sandra Brown

11. Coyote Run by Rhian Cahill - Touchstone not working

12. Coyote Home by Rhian Cahill

13. Coyote Wild by Rhian Cahill

14. Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

15. Doing Logan by Rhian Cahill - Touchstone not working

16. Starting Over by Annmarie McKenna

17. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

18. Ellora's Cave Short Stories, Vol. 1 - Touchstone not working

19. Ellora's Cave Short Stories, Vol. 2 - Touchstone not working

20. Hot Stuff by Janet Evanovich

February

21. Scandalous by Karen Robards

22. Large Print: An Unshelved Collection by Gene Ambaum & Bill Barnes

23. His Christmas Angel by Michelle Douglas

24. Play Dead by Harlan Coben

25. Manhunt by Janet Evanovich

26. Innocent Wife, Baby of Shame by Melanie Milburne

27. Secrets in the Marriage Bed by Nalini Singh

28. Dark Peril by Christine Feehan

29. Falling Awake by Vivian French

30. Virals by Kathy Reichs

31. Shiver by Maggie Siefvater

32. The D.U.F.F by Kody Keplinger

33. Matched by Ally Condie

34. Remember Me by Laura Moore

35. Shadow Game by Christine Feehan

36. Carnal Connections by Berengaria Brown - Touchstone not working

37. Loving Lydia by Berengaria Brown - Touchstone not working

38. My One by January Rowe

39. Tempt Me by Shiloh Walker

40. Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan – Book Club - February

March

41. Shooting Stars by Bella Andre

42. Love Me, Still by Maya Banks

43. Privilege by Kate Brian

44. Ooh La La, Connie Pickles by Sabine Durrant

45. Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell

46. Graceling by Kristen Cashore

47. Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril by John Lechner

48. Victoria and the Rogue by Meg Cabot

49. Come Monday by Mari Carr

50. Reckless by Cornelia Funke

51. Old Bag by Melvin Burgess

52. Skellig by David Almond

53. Wild Desire by Lori Brighton

54. Rough Cut by Mari Carr

55. Dirty Girl by Tina Hess - Touchstone not working

56. A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl

Again, I wasn't able to get all the Touchstones working.

April

57. Triple Dare by Lexxie Couper

58. Hidden Away by Maya Banks

59. A Forever Kind of Love by Shiloh Walker

60. Sweet Possession by Maya Banks

61. Believe in Me by Laura Moore - Touchstone not working

62. Cooee by Vivienne Kelly – Book Club - April

63. Luck Be A Lady by Cathie Linz

Hardly any reading done this month :( Way too busy. Better luck for May.

May

64. The Hollow by Jessica Verday

65. Mackenzie’s Mission by Linda Howard

66. Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

67. Search for Love by Nora Roberts

68. The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis

69. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

70. Love’s Encore by Sandra Brown

71. Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

72. The Man Within by Lora Leigh

73. Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel

74. Her Sexiest Mistake by Jill Shalvis

75. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

76. Elizabeth’s Wolf by Lora Leigh

77. Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

June

78. Bondi Beach Boys by Rhian Cahill - Touchstone not working

79. Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

80. The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones

81. Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh

82. Skin Deep by Nora Roberts

83. Texas! Chase by Sandra Brown

84. Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh

85. Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

86. Unshelved By Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

87. The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking Book One by Patrick Ness

88. Apartment Therapy's Big book of small, cool, spaces by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

July

89. The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

90. Winter Rose by Nora Roberts

91. Texas! Lucky by Sandra Brown

92. Buzz Off! by Hannah Reed

93. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

94. Vision in White by Nora Roberts

95. What I did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

96. Dewey by Vicki Maron

97. Take the Cake by Susan Wright

98. Tequila Truth by Mari Carr

August

99. Red Heat by Nina Bruhns

100. Her Mother’s Keeper by Nora Roberts

101. Visions by Anna James - No Touchstone available.

102. Captivated by Nora Roberts

103. Entranced by Nora Roberts

104. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – Book Club

105. Loving Jack by Nora Roberts

106. Fairy Tales for Angry Little Girls by Lela Lee

107. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

September

108. Dragon’s Oath by P.C. & Kristen Cast

109. Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry – Book Club

110. Coyote Whispers by Rhian Cahill

111. The Walking Dead, Vol 1

112. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

October

113. Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown

114. Dark Hunger by Christine Feehan – Graphic Novel

115. Thrifty Chic by Liz Bauwens & Alexandra Campbell

116. Ghost of a Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz

117. Real Men Last All Night by Lora Leigh, Lori Foster etc.

118. Endless Lust by Lexxie Couper

119. A Present for Christmas by Shiloh Walker

November

121. Eternal Hunter by Cynthia Eden

122. The Sweetness at the bottom of the Pie by Alan C. Bradley

123. Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

124. Riveren: My Home, Our Country by Terry Underwood

125. The Wrangler by Pamela Britton

126. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, Read by Samuel L. Jackson

December

127. Under Her Skin by Susan Mallery

128. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

129. The White Mercedes by Philip Pullman

130. The Passionate Orphan by Major D. Lawn

131. The Captive Newlyweds by F. T. Hemingway

132. Inked by Everly Drummond

133. Ruby Tuesday by Mari Carr

134. The Chieftain’s Daughter by Becca Sinh - No Touchstone available.

135. Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson

136. Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

137. Seduce Me by Cheryl Holt

138. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

5. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

This is the first in the Cousin's War trilogy.

A tale inspired by the War of the Roses follows the conflict from the perspective of Elizabeth Woodville, who ascends to royalty and fights for the well-being of her family, including two sons whose imprisonment in the Tower of London precedes a devastating unsolved mystery.

I enjoyed this a lot, I know this is a combination of historical accuracy and fictional liberties, but I don't think that detracts from the story, (but really it could be all made up, I'm not familiar with this part of history). I loved the richness of the storytelling, Gregory paints a sumptous picture of court and I couldn't help but cringe, as I knew the fate of the characters. There's no happy ending for most of them.

I'll read the rest of the trilogy, but I might do some non fiction reading to give me some more background. I kept on getting the characters mixed up - seriously what's with all the George's, Henry's, Richard's and Edward's? A bit of individuality never hurt anyone people!

I read this last year, and had pretty much the same opinion of it. I need to get around to reading one of the books about the War of the Roses that actually has Richard III as a sympathetic character, though.

@16 I always have the very best of intentions when it comes to non fiction - but inevitably I get sidetracked by other things. I think that's why I like to read fictionalised versions of history, makes it a bit more exciting.

8. Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen

This was a fast paced read, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed the focus on facial reconstruction, I find it fascinating that with just a skull, someone can give it a face, a name. In this series, the main character, Eve Duncan, has been doing just this ever since her daughter Bonnie was abducted and murdered 10 years before. In this book (the eighth in the series), Eve is persuaded to help Catherine Ling, a CIA agent whose son was kidnapped by a Russian criminal eight years ago and he’s been taunting her ever since. With the help of her boyfriend, Joe, who’s also a cop, she sets out to locate Catherine’s son.

I’m looking forward to reading the trilogy, which explores the story of how Bonnie disappeared and how Eve and Joe’s relationship developed.

1. Best Laid Plans by Nora Roberts

Abra is a structural engineer, Cody is an architect. From the beginning of their relationship there are fireworks. Both hate the others profession, but despite this they’re attracted to each other. This has some witty dialog and very funny scenes. This is one of her earlier books (1989), so Cody’s attitude to wooing and general maleness is quite old fashioned. (He goes caveman more then once – throwing her over his shoulder – ‘so they can talk’), but I think that’s why I liked the character so much, I had the giggles a few time while reading this. Perfect fluff to start off my new year!

2. 100 Girls by Adam Gallardo & Todd Demong

I'm in two minds about this, I did enjoy it, but I didn't love it. It also made me want to bust out the Buffy - it's kinda like a Slayer redux :)

I enjoyed the general storyline - Sylvia is 13, adopted, very intelligent (she gets bumped up to a higher grade), all of a sudden she's super strong and a gymnastics pro. Then she discovers there are copies of her, she doesn't know why or how, just that she needs to get to the girls before the bad guys do. Also - special powers - le awesome!

One thing I didn't like so much was the inconsistency in the art work. Sometimes the Sylvia's looked much older than what they were supposed to be which was annoying. But that's just my little niggle. As for the art work in general it was good.

I didn't realise when I started reading this that it was a series of comics, I'll be tracking them down as I do want to find out what happens to Sylvia.

The only other thing I could possible say is that this would be recommended for older teens, there is quite a bit of violence depicted, mostly in self defence, but bloody and graphic none the less. There's also some adult 'special time' which might freak the kidlings out O.o

3. Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

This is the second book in her Tumble Creek series. Once again I had a lot of fun with it. Laugh out loud fun. Lori Love is Molly Jennings’ best friend (her story was covered in Talk Me Down), Lori had dreams and aspirations, which were all taken away from her when her father was injured. She had to give up Uni in Boston and come back to Tumble Creek to run her dad’s garage. FF 10 years, Lori’s dad has passed away, but she’s still in TC, stuck in a rut. Enter Quinn Jennings’, Molly’s brother. He offers to be her ‘special friend’, which is all good until Quinn decides he wants to be more than that.

Once again I enjoyed Dahl’s writing, she’s is very funny, her heroine’s are feisty and it’s a given you’re going to get some great banter and imaginative smexy times. I love the relationship between Molly and Lori, who’ve been best friends since high school. I think they remind me of a relationship with one of my friends, with their in jokes. I’m about halfway through the third book at the moment, so a review for that will be along shortly.

4. Mad, Bad and Blonde by Cathie Linz

This is book 1 in the West Investigations series.

Faith West is a Children's Librarian and on her wedding day, her fiance sends her a text message to say he can't go through with the wedding, she's too boring - he's going to Bali instead. Cue the alcmahol and a solo honeymoon to Italy. There she meets the perfect rebound guy. But things aren't always what they seem.

I did enjoy this, although I was often thinking to myself Caine (Mr. Rebound) is kinda a jerk, which did detract from the story sometimes. In the same instance, I did like their rapport with each other. The side characters are fun, with Faith's Grandma getting friendly with another P.I and their story is explored more in Luck Be A Lady the second in the series. I would file this under contempory romance, rather than romantic suspense as the suspense part of the story isn't huge, it's more about Faith and Caine. While I did enjoy this, it's not my favourite of hers and I don't love it enough to buy my own copy.

6. Summer Desserts by Nora Roberts

When love resistant dessert chef Summer Lyndon develops a taste for her delectable boss, Blake Cocharan, her legendary willpower is put to the ultimate test.

I’ve been reading a lot of old school Nora Roberts lately, they’re quick, easy and yes you know they’re going to end up together, but I still like them, even if they are predictable, I quite like Roberts’ style. I read Lessons Learned last year, which is the follow up to this one

7. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

While I did enjoy reading the book, I had the movie in the back of my mind the whole time. The characters in the book seem to be a little older, which I didn’t like as much, but I liked that the book had room to expand on particular storylines. I found the information at the end - about each of the books and what other people (members of Jane’s family and other authors), thought of her writing. This was good and I enjoyed it a lot, call me shallow, but I still liked the movie more, but that could have a lot to do with Hugh Dancy

9. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small American town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. She’s secretive, on edge. Over time she forms a relationship with the general store owner and his two kids.

I haven’t read one of Sparks’ books for ages, but I really enjoyed this. While it was still romance, it seemed like a bit of departure from his usual. I liked the alternating chapters between Katie and Kevin, giving perspectives from both characters, even if Kevin is a six pack short of a slab. I can’t imagine going through/surviving spousal abuse, but I think Sparks’ writing treated the subject well, it didn’t seem contrived and I thought the relationship between Katie and Alex was sweet. It may be that I haven’t read one of his for a while, but it doesn’t seem as formulaic as some of his work. As any author on a best selling list, he seems to churn them out and I know I stopped reading him because I didn’t think some of the stories were as strong as his earlier novels.

All my vows of reviewing every book as soon as it's done and posting dilegently has already fallen by the wayside. So I'm skipping a few reviews, but this one was done, so I'm posting it rather than waiting to do the others first.

25. Manhunt by Janet Evanovich

Manhunt is the story of Alex, a high-powered exec from Pittsburgh, who decides to give it all up, dog in tow, for a tiny cabin and a hardware store in the wilds of Alaska. She's looking for a husband - but not just any husband. He has to be average, stable, brown haired, cute butted and wants to have kids. Instead she meets Casey, of all these things he possesses a cute butt. As for the rest of it, he's far too exciting, plus he's rich, very hot and bound to get her into trouble.

I began reading this, putting aside other books I'd already started, I knew what I was going to get - a fun read, guaranteed to make me laugh. This is one of the twelve novels she wrote before she started the Stephanie Plum series, she seems to follow a formula with them - and I by no means am dissing her for this, it works for the books, and that's one of the reasons I love them, but there's usually a giant dog, a hot man and the feisty lady that wrangles them both - It may not work for some books/authors, but I've always enjoyed reading them, and each books still seems fresh. Evanovich has a knack for writing hilarious dialog/scenes. And there are some great moments when Alex is pottering around her new cabin.

I enjoyed the teasing between Alex and Casey and even though they've only known each other a short time, their relationship doesn't seem forced. I was laughing out loud when Alex was out with her sled buddy, knowing full well it would make Casey jealous. Evanovich had me hankering for a tiny cabin of my own in Alaska...fully equipped with a Casey all of my own. How does one arrange a holiday like that I wonder? In fact I'd be happy to move to Alaska if this muggy heat keeps up.

Definitely recommended for a light, quick, fun read, perfect for snuggling up in front of the fire (or in my case trying to cool down under the air conditioner in 35° heat).

I'm so behind on posting my reviews! So I thought I'd do some quick and dirty reviews to try and knock some out.

31. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I really enjoyed this YA (first in a trilogy), about a human girl and shifter boy (he turns into a wolf in the colder months). This genre has been done to death since Twilight, although there aren't any vampires. That being said, I felt this was written much better that the Twilight books. Plus there's not so much of the creepy stalkering that the other series had. I enjoyed this enough to keep reading until I'd finished it and I'm really looking forward to reading the other two books in the series.

32. The D.U.F.F by Kodi Keplinger

This was a lot of fun to read, mainly because I love the main character, Bianca - she's quite prickly, cynical, she's a snappy talker and has a mouth on her. I know Keplinger has caught some flak for having the main character be such a potty mouth, with a lot of readers not thinking teenagers talk like that, alas, it might not be ladylike, but they do. Also, for the amount of sex there is between Bianca and her boy-luster, Wesley. This is the authors first book, so I think it can only get better from here, I thought the book was well written, although I felt the ending was a bit of a cop out, with Bianca having her morality 'moment', instead of accepting what she'd been doing, (I'm trying to make this spoiler free, hence I don't think I'm explaining it very well).

17. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I enjoyed this - as much as one can enjoy a scary post apocalyptic journey cross country. McCormac is aloms lyrical in his writing, it reminds me of the ballads of Homer. The way this is written helps with that general feeling also - lack of punctuation and no chapters. It's like a story told in one giant, crazy almost suffocation breath. I think that McCarthy's desicion to not discuss the apocalyptic event that sent the father and son on their journey was the right choice. In this story it's not about what has happened, but what's before the two characters. I read this almost in one sitting, despite the subject matter it is an easy read, I didn't actually want to put it down, I wanted to know what happened to the them.

Be prepared to be horrified Of course, one can guess at what type bad things father and son will run into, but it's not until you actually see the words on the page that it really sinks in, yes 'XXXX' is going to happen, (I'm attempting no spoilers, hence the XX bizzo). But for all the horror and despair there is hope, love and joy, the smallest thing is a miracle - finding a can of coke, or food, just when they thought they wouldn't find anything.

The relationship between father and son is beautiful and I like that they don't have names, it adds to the story, brings it a strength and a belief, that this could truely be anyone. And McCormac did what I didn't think he was going to be able to do - I finished the story feeling hopeful. All through the book I had in the back of my mind, this won't end well for anyone, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I found The Road a very powerful novel. We mostly agree, but I'll beg to disagree with you about the ending. :)

ha yes I was never sure what I felt about the ending or what the ending was.. too distrustful. Nice review of The Road btw.

>26 wookiebender:&27 I think after all the darkness, I wanted the ending to be happier than the rest of the novel, so I took elements of what I'd read (e.g: the mushrooms they find - proof of new life), and ran with it. We had a fantastic discussion about this for book group - but it seems the unhappier the book, the better our discussions are!

42. Love Me, Still by Maya Banks

Beloved mate to two wolves, Heather lived an idyllic life until hunters destroyed the pack's peaceful existence. Believing their mate betrayed them and was responsible for their father's death, Cael and Riyu cut Heather from their lives. But when they realize their terrible mistake, can they ever gain her forgiveness and win back her love?

This was a short novella, so it took no time at all to read. It features two shapeshifting wolves and their human mate. I'm torn about this, perhaps if it had been longer, the characters could've taken more time to decide that they still wanted to be together. But I struggled a bit with the believability (I know - because shapeshifters are like 'so real' y'all). But that's not what I had issues with, it was the "you betrayed my family", you're no longer welcome in the pack - to OMG! we were wrong, you have to come back so I can make it up to you. And Heather says yes! I felt a little more self respect was needed, even if she was madly in love. But heh, I'm slightly cynical when it comes to matters of the heart.

I also think I was expecting the writing I've come to know and love from Maya, which in this instance, I felt was missing.

I've really dropped the ball on my reviews this year. I've done quite well on the reading, although that has slowed down as the year's gone past. If only there was no work or uni! Alas, it's damn the man! and keep on keeping on, so here's a few quick & dirty reviews.

85. Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

I had mixed feelings about this book, I enjoyed it enough, but it annoyed me as well. Don’t get me started on the ending, it was rather disjointed, like everything happened for nothing and while the cover says a ‘vampire queen novel’ I’m not too sure where the next book will be and how it’ll be believable given the ending. Lenah isn’t horribly likeable as a character, a given considering how nasty she was as a vampire, I didn’t mind the world building in regards to vampires – every author changes things a little and Maizels are convincing – garlic, crosses and holy water don’t work and some stronger vampires can come out in the sun – and no, they don’t sparkle.

Overall, I enjoyed it enough to keep reading and I would also read others in the series, but my measure of a good books is two things – would I buy a copy of my own and would I re-read and the answer to both is no.

89. The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

While I enjoyed this, cause it was told from Mum’s POV, I couldn’t really relate to her pain as a mother of her child leaving. It was strange because normally it wouldn’t bother me if it’s not something I’ve experienced – I can usually still relate to the story. I’ve never had to pull of a daring night raid with nothing but an AK-47, boot knife, awesome ninja skills and my trusty Baby G, but I still love reading Nick Stone thrillers. This was just meh for me – it was short so I kept reading, but not a reread, it doesn’t even make me want to chase down her other stuff.

111. The Walking Dead, Vol 1 by Robert Kirkman

This was a great start to the series, there are at least 6 other books in this series and a TV series that I’m part way through. Lovely illustration, which really captures the bleakness of a zombie apocalypse (because of course we all know what that would be like!). I like that the focus isn't so much on the zombies, but on what it is to survive when everything is gone.

113. Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown

I love Sandra Brown and I love cheesy ‘classic romances’ that she often pens. But this almost had me pulling out my hair. I understand why the characters were written the way they were, but it didn’t make me want to punch them any less. I was often frustrated at both lead characters, for their stubbornness, they both act like spoilt children (and when I say that it must be bad, cause I’m the least likely to act like an adult). I almost didn’t make it to the HEA as I was a bee’s dick away from throwing in the towel and saying FU dudes, FU.

The Walking Dead series is really very good and just keeps getting better!

Sorry for taking so long to reply - but I agree completely, I'm really enjoying it. I still have a few volumes to finish off.

126. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, Read by Samuel L. Jackson

This was seriously the funniest thing to listen to. Samuel L doing his action man voice, while telling kids to go the f**k to sleep - brang back happy memories of Snakes on a Plane.

122. The Sweetness at the bottom of the Pie by Alan C. Bradley

I didn't know what to expect with this, I remember chatting about this on LT (with who escapes me), but it was an interesting read. I didn't realise it was part of a series.

Flavia is a very amusing, precocious, if somewhat scary girl who solves murders, (while I can't imagine doing that at her age - it wasn't completely unbelievable, given her upbringing).
I enjoyed this enough that I'll be tracking down others in the series in the new year.

I like Go the F**k to Sleep, it was so spot-on, cracked me up. I'd love to hear Samuel L. Jackson read it. :)

I've been hearing some good chatter about the Flavia series over on the 75 book group. I'm looking forward to dusting off my copy...

I think you can download a copy of Go the F**k to Sleep through audible. But Samuel L. Jackson nailed it, I think he'd make a fantastic narrator for full length novels.

135. Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson

I find it very amusing that I've finally read this, I was going through it in the last days leading up to Christmas and then used none of the recipes for my own Christmas feast!

I'm a big fan of Nigella, I love her recipes, I find them easy to follow and I love her relaxed way of cooking. I have decided that I'm going to make the Girdlebuster Pie in celebration of my moving in January, (Friday the 13th of all days). The perfect kind of pie for a hot summer day, as it's made from icecream.

Well I just posted my last month for this years thread. I really don't think I'll be finihsing any more titles this year. I managed to read 138 books this year, which makes me think if I stretch myself I'll be able to finish the 12/12 challenge. I was good to read a variet of things this year, we had some great books for Book Club this year. For some reason we keep picking books that are fairly depressing. Mainly because they make for such good conversation!

Hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have an equally brilliant New Year. Here's to reading in 2012, National Year of reading :)