deep220 attempts 13

Looking forward to another year of reading with all the wonderful people here!!!







The Categories:

1. The Story of their lives- Biography
2. Soul Support- Self Help
3. Elementary, my dear Watson- Mystery
4. Bite Me- Vampire
5. Moon Called- Werewolves
6. Things That go bump in the Night- Horror
7. Purple Mountains Majesty- American History
8. Take Two- Rereads
9. X Marks the Spot- Adventure
10. Once Upon A Time- Fiction
11. Times of Yore- Historical
12. TBR- The Awesome Mount TBR
13. Shiny Baubles- My lack of Self Control

1. The Story of Their Lives - Biography

1. Faith and Betrayal by Sally Denton
2. The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer Jan 13
3. Tis by Frank McCourt March 8
4. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
5. Dracula, Prince of many faces by Radu R. Florescu

2. Soul Support - Inspirational or Spiritual

1. Left Behind by Tim Lehaye
2. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
3. New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
4. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
5. The Shack by William P. Young

3. Elementary, My Dear Watson - Mystery

1. Body Double by Tess Gerritsen 4/16
2. Sinner by Tess Gerritsen March
3. The Mephisto club by Tess Gerritsen Jan 21
4. The Apprentice by Tess Gerristen Feb 27
5. The Weed that strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley 3/21

4. Bite Me - Vampire

1. Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
2. Blood is the New Black by Valerie Stivers
3. Under the Blood Red Moon by Mina Hepsen 4/11/2013
4. Dark Possession byChristine Feehan 5/11
5.

5. Moon Called - Werewolve

1. River Marked by Patricia Briggs 3/24
2. Touch of Wolf by Susan Krinard
3. Jason and Cadence by R.E Bulter
4.
5.

6. Things That Go Bump In The Night - Horror

1. THe Turn of the screw by Henry James
2. The Taking by Dean Koontz
3. Everything's Eventual by Stephen King Feb 7
4. Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon April 29
5. World War Z by Max Brooks 5/2

7. Purple Mountain Majesty - American History

1. Trail of Tears by Gloria Jahoda
2. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
3. America's Prophet by Bruce Feiler
4. A ball, a dog and a monkey by Michael D/Antonio
5.The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

8. Take Two - Rereads

1. The Secret by Julie Garwood Jan 16
2. Isle of Lies by Donna Fletcher Jan 20
3. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen Jan 29
4. Love Me Forever by Donna Fletcher 3/24
5. On the Prowl by Christine Warren 4/8

9. X Marks the Spot - Adventure

1. Black Wind by Clive Cussler Jan 14
2. Serpent by Clive Cussler
3. Blue Gold by Clive Cussler
4. City of Screams by James Rollins
5. Lost Empire by Clive Cussler

10. Once Upon A Time - Fiction

1. The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
2. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
3. The Chronicles of Narina by C.S. Lewis 2/14
4. Mercy by Jodi Picoult
5. Strong, hot winds by Iris Johansen

11. Times of Yore- Historical Fiction

1. The Rose without a thorn by Jean Plaidy
2. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
3. Caden's Vow by Sarah McCarthy
4. What Alice Knew: A Most Curious Tale of Henry James and Jack the Ripper by Paula Marantz Cohen
5. Blue Horizon by Wilbur Smith

12. TBR - Anything on the shelves previous to 2013

1. Deeper than Dead by Tami Hoag
2. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
3. Planets by Dava Sobel Jan 28
4. Garden Spells by Sarag Addison Allen Jan 28
5.

13. Shiny Baubles - Because I have no will power :)- anything that catches my eye

1. Hard Truth by Nevada Barr
2. Vanish by Tess Gerritsen
3. Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs
4. Secrets to the grave by Tami Hoag
5.

A good looking bunch of categories that will be interesting to watch being filled up. Good luck with your challenge.

Have a great reading year! I'll watch with interest the books that fill your categories.

Love the shiny baubles category. I'm going to enjoy seeing how we all get sidetracked over the year.

Welcome! Looks like a great reading-year for you - looking forward to seeing what you read.

fun looking categories, i'll be here!

Welcome back!

WOW thanks everyone!!! What a wonderful welcome to the new reading year! Great to see you all again. Looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading.

Great to see you back. You have lots of great categories and I can see I may have to wear a bullet-proof vest when I come visiting!

DeltaQueen50 don't you mean a book- proof vest!!

Yes, that's exactly what I should have said! :)

I love your categories and future reads! :) I've gotta ask, though--is your "Things That go dump in the Night" a deliberate typo? Either way, I got a laught out of it. :) Best of luck with the challenge!

HAHA- nope completely unitentional. But I was consistant- having the typo in both the beginning list in the thread and the individual post for that category. I am so glad you got a laugh out of it... it's pretty typical for me... I'm dyslexic, which has lead to some very comical typos... It always keeps my world intereting. :)

I hope you didn't think I was nit-picking. I thought it was kind of cute. :) Glad you have a great sense of humor about it!

Book 1

The Nazi Officers Wife by Edith Hahn Beer
5 of 5 stars

Amazing story... not only about survival but how much compassion those that are being persecuted have for one another. Although they have nothing everything was shared and the risk that some where willing to undergo for another. Great book.

Book 2

Black Wind by Clive Cussler
5 of 5 stars

A typical Dirk Pitt novel. Lots of action, adventure, and global traveling.

Book 3

The Secret by Julie Garwood
5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite historical romance- You can't but love and relate to the characters. A frequent reread.

Book 4

Isle of Lies by Donna Fletcher
5 of 5 stars

Yep I love this book. Pretty much any romance story where the main character is an extremely intelligent and stubborn woman. Moira is just so sassy.

Book 5

The Mephisto Club by Tess Geritsen
4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this series... I am going to have to head to the library and see what else they have.

I have a few historical romances on my schedule this year too. Standing up to the men in their lives and then grabbing them for those love moments, yep, gotta have em!

Book 6

The Planets by Dava Sobel
3 of 5 stars

Overall a good book but not one I will be holding on to. A very lyrical writing on the solar system including not only the science but also the mythology and just a lot of plain enthusiasm. It was good but had to keep pushing myself to maintain interest.

Book 7

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
4 of 5 stars

Not a bad book. Loved the magic.

From Amazon:
In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it.…

The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.

A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants—from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys—except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.

When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down—along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy—if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom—or with each other.

Very happy to see your positive review for Garden Spells... one of my favorites by the author!

Book 8

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
4 of 5 stars

Great mystery... Looking forward to reading more from this series- Luckily for me the library has quite a few for me to borrow.

I had received Garden Spells in a SantaThing or I probably never would have read it. I liked the light touch with the fantasy which was much kinder and gentler than the YA magic I usually end up reading!

>38 mamzel:- I loved the Apple Tree!! It was by far my favorite "character" in the book!

Are you going to read any other Sarah Addison Allen books? So far Garden Spells was my favourite, but wonderful inanimate objects that are also great characters show up in her other novels. Books in one, wallpaper in another.

I like Mamzel's description of these: fantasy with a light touch, magic that is kind and gentle. These definitely appeal more to me than the harsher overt magic in YA fantasy

Right now I am trying to be very strict in my reading- because some how- completely not my fault I am sure.... I ended up with 600 TBR books!!! Gulp- So there are a couple series I am reading that I knowI will have buy the book for or borrow from the library- but I am trying to limit that to one or two series. Ideally I want 90% of my reading this year to be from my own collection... before it buries me!!

I had Garden Spells on my shelf since 2010... my poor neglected books.

But I will put her on a future reading wish list!

41. Is that TBR piles at home or TBR list?
If it's just a list of books then 600 is nothing!

42. that is 600 books at home on the shelve waiting to be read *blushing*

43. Well, that IS bad. Blush away.

44. Well you see at one time I worked in a book store.. a horrible idea for a book addict. To think it was suppost to be a part time job to put away some extra money- but really it was more a struggle to break even... purchases vs paycheck. Apparently I have no self control.

And everyone knows books breed like bunnies- you turn your back on them for just a momment and SURPRISE! they multiplied.

Book 9

Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
2 of 5

Wasn't impressed... I only made it a little over a 100 pages in. More room on my shelves!! And off to the library donations.

Don't feel bad about the 600 TBR pile. Mine is much bigger (I've given up counting). I blame my TBR pile on book fairies; they keep leaving them at my place during the night. But it could just be they're breeding like bunnies, as you said. I've never actually sat and watched my books for hours, so I could never be sure. ;)

Book 10

The Chronicles of Narina by C.S. Lewis
5 of 5 stars

Great Book! I read a couple of the stories as a child but never read all the book in the series. Really enjoyed rereading them as an adult.

Book 11

The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
4 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the series- can't wait to run off and get the third!!! Right up there with Linda Fairstein and Kathy Reiches series- and thank goodness because I have read all of their books and needed a new crime series.

Book 12

'Tis by Frank McCourt
5 of 5 stars

Great read. I love Frank's writing style.

Book 13

The Weed that strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
4 of 5 stars

Flavia is such a fun character to read about... she has so much charm and wit. I can't wait to see what she is going to get up to next.

Book 14

River Marked by Patricia Briggs
5 of 5 stars

I really love this series...

Book 15

Under the Blood Red Moon by Mina Hepsen
3.5 of 5 stars

Not horrible- The premise of the book seem to be heavily borrowed from Christine Feehan's Carpithain series. Not something I will be holding onto- I will most likely donate it on my next trip.

Book 16

The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen
4 of 5 stars

As always love this series... on to the next!

Book 17

Body Double by Tess Gerritsen
4 of 5 stars

Okay addicted!!!

I love the Rizzoli & Isles books. I finally caught up and they are so much fun!

Book 18

Hard Truth byNevada Barr
5 of 5 stars

Oh Anna! the situations you get yourself into?!?!? Looking forward to the next.

Book 18

Hard Truth by Nevada Barr
5 of 5 stars

Oh Anna! The situations that you get yourself into?!?!? I can't wait for the next one.

Book 19

Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon
5 of 5 stars

Anna is a great character!

Book 20

World War Z by Max Brooks
4 of 5 stars

Okay... I wasn't really sure about a Zombie novel. Zombies really are not my thing. But I needed something different so I picked it up at the local library. Figured if I didn't like it no problem you just return it. I was very pleasantly surprised. I loved that the book was written as a first hand account- documentary style. I would probably reread this.

Zombies really aren't my thing either, but I've heard a lot of good reviews about World War Z. Glad you liked it! :)

Zombies are my thing, and World War Z is one of the best!

#63- any other zombie books you would recommend?

World War Z is in a class by it's own, but I have enjoyed a couple of series, one by Jonathan Maberry about a boy and his older brother surviving in the aftermath of a world wide zombie apocalypse, the first book is called Rot And Ruin, then Dust And Decay, Flesh And Bone, and so on. The second series is by Charlie Higson and the first one is The Enemy, then The Fear and on it goes. Both these series are considered YA books, but they deliver great stories with characters that you grow to care about.

Book 21

Dark Possession by Christine Feehan
4 of 5 stars

It's one of my favorite quick read series. I have never been disappointment with any of Christine Feehans books.

Book 22

America's Prophet by Bruce Feiler
4 of 5 stars

I too have heard so many good words about World War Z that I'll have to read it soon!

Book 23

Vanish by Tess Gerritsen
4 of 5 stars

Great read! Love the series... can't wait for the next!

book 24

The Taking by Dean Koontz
4 of 5 stars

Spooky!!!

Book 25

Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs
5 of 5 stars

Oh I love this series!!!

Book 26

Lost Empire by Clive Cussler
5 of 5 stars

Okay another series by Cussler I am going to have to get! Will be heading to the library soon for this one.

Book 27

Faith and Betrayal by Sally Denton
3 of 5

Good read. Amazing to think of a high society english woman travelling by wagon across the prairie and mountains. Amazing details of a woman's life. Not one I will hold on to - will donate it to the library. Good but not a reread.

Book 28

The shack by William P. Young
5 of 5 stars

Wow- what else is out there like this. LOVED THIS BOOK. Sadly it has been wasting away on my shelves for years. Really hope they make it into a movie.

Book 29

A ball, a dog and a monkey by Michael D'Antonio
4 of 5 stars

Book 30

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

I dont' really want to rate this one. Maybe I didn't get into because I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway? I don't know but couldn't finish it... off to the donation shelve at the library.

Book 31

Caden's Vow by Sarah McCarthy
4 of 5 stars

I don't know why but I love this series about these broken guys. :)

Book 32

Deeper than Dead by Tami Hoag
4 of 5 stars

My first book by Tami Hoag and I can't wait to see what else she has. Linda Fairstein and Kathy Reichs are two of my favorite mystery/crime writers but ofcourse I have to wait for the next books to be released. Always looking for another good arthur to join the ranks.

I haven't Tami Hoag in a few years, but she's one of my favorite mystery writers. :) Her older stuff is more on the romance side; just an fyi.

Thanks for the heads up- I like both genres but nothing worse than when you in the mood for a good mystery/thriller and you get a romance.

I am in love with the characters from Deeper than Dead... so I already have the next one on hold from the library. CANT WAIT!

That's true, but she does a good job of mixing romance and suspense. That's one reason I like her stuff.

The Oak Knoll series? I haven't read any of those yet, but I'll get to them eventually. I hope your holds come soon! :)

Book 33

3 of 5 stars

Fair Read... not a couldn't put down but interesting... it was free download or a .99 on the kindle- I think I have to entire series. Will keep reading but glad I didn't actually purchase the book.

Book 34

Left Behind by Tim LaHaye
3.5 of 5

well it wasn't a bad read... but I think coming off of The Shack it was just underwhelming. Not sure that I would continue any further in the series.

Book 35

The Serpent by Clive Cussler
4 of 5 stars-

I had read this book a couple of years ago but for the life of me I couldn't remember the plot. I did remember it was good and I was right :)

Book 36

Blue Gold by Clive Cussler
4 of 5 stars

Another re-read. After re-reading the serpent I thought I would try to finish the NUMA files series in order :)

Book 37

Secrets to the grave by Tami Hoag
4 of 5 stars

book 38

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
4 of 5 stars

book 39

What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen
2 of 5 stars

Ughhhh no good i gave it my best shot... at least it was a free ebook download. Nothing to pull you into the plot, dry characters, too bad the idea of story had potental

Book 40

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
5 of 5 stars

This is a re-read for me... just as good the second time around.

Book 41

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
5 of 5 stars

Another re-read- and just as amazing the second time.

Book 42

Mercy by Jodi Picoult
4 of 5 stars

Not too bad... not as good as other Picoult books I have read. Cameron wasn't my favorite character.

Book 43

Blue Horizon by Wilbur Smith
5 of 5 stars

LOVED the characters... I am going to have to read the books in the series that came before this one. Yes I am incapable of reading series books in order. But the history was only briefly touched on and was so intriguing I can't wait read the entire story.

Book 44

Strong Hot Winds by Iris Johnansen
4 of 5 stars

Cute... better then good but not fantastic.

Book 45

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
5 of 5 stars

I loved it... Definitely a book I will keep to reread each year.

Book 46

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
4 of 5 stars

Great historical fiction! I will be reading world without end next year for sure.