My Reading Challenge!

Ok So I have never participated in a reading challenge ever, so I'm not quite sure what to expect. My goal this year is to read more, however ,more precisely, be more diverse with my readings.

Just last year, I started to record the books that I have read in a nice paper journal.
My format for that is that I record the date read, title and author, genre and rating at the top.
Then I write a brief synopsis, do a mini analysis such as themes,or character studies/comparison.
Last but not least, I write down a few quotes that seem to grab my attention and at the bottom, I write down further reading ( things I may have learned from the book or never heard of before).
Also, since the student in me never dies, I write down a topic that could be made into a thesis for an essay.

On this site, I will just record the books that I have completed and sometimes give a brief synopsis of the book and at the very least, a rating. FYI: I am a little harder than most in rating what I have read. By my standards, a three would be a book that I would even enjoy re-reading.

My rating system is as follows:

1 = Very Very bad. Either I could not finish the novel, or the plot was ill- conceived

2= Still bad. I managed to finish the book. It probably was boring, unoriginal or poorly written

3= Solid. There was character development, and the pace was probably slow or parts of the book were well thought out. Still had the ability to make me think or at the very least want to continue reading, however, something was missing or could have been further developed.

4= Excellent read. I probably couldn't put the book down till it was finished. Pace was spot on, complex characters,made me think in a different way and so on

5= Does this ever happen? When it does, I will revise this section




So Far This month I have read:

1. Joy Kogawa: Obasan
2.Greg Iles: Black Cross
3. Philip Kerr: A German Requiem
4. Martha Ostenso: Wild Geese
5. Bernard Malamud: A New life
6. Lloyd Jones: Mr Pip
7. Joseph Bentz: Song of Fire Dreams of Caladria
8. Kim Edwards: The Memory Keepers Daughter
9.Alan Bradley: The sweetness at the bottom of the pie
10.Alan Furst: Red Gold

February

11. Paul Kalanithi: When Breath Becomes air
12. Michael Connelly: The Burning Room
13. Wayson Choy: All that matters
14. Noah Charney : The Art Thief
15. Andrew Gross: Reckless
16. Robin Sloan: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour bookstore
17. Paolo Giordano: The solitude of prime numbers
18. Paulo Coelho: The devil and Miss Pryn

March

19. Michael Connelly: 9 Dragons
20.Yann Martel: Self
21. Sherri Wood Emmons: The Weight Of small things

April to September

22. Andre Alexis: Fifteen Dogs
23. Lissa Evans: Crooked Heart
24. Amy Chua: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
25. Paula Hawkins: The Girl On The Train
26. Neil Griffiths: Saving Caravaggio
27. Christina Baker Kline: Orphan Train
28. Rachel Joyce: The Love Song of Queenie Hennessy
29. Graeme Simsion: The Rosie Effect
30. Henning Mankel: Erinnerung and einen schmutzigen Engel
31. Muriel Barbery: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
32. Dawn French: Oh Dear Silvia
33. Jeffrey Archer: Be Careful What You Wish For
34. Nancy Huston: Goldberg Variations
35. Ian Caldwell: The fifth Gospel
36. Betty Smith: A tree Grows In Brooklyn
37. David Nicholls: Us
38. David Adams Richards: The Lost Highway
39. Danny Tobey:The Faculty Club
40. Robert Whitlow: The Choice
41. Alan Bradley: The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag
42. Thomas Dumm: Loneliness As A Way Of life
43. Marina Keegan: The opposite of loneliness
44. Alison Singh Gee: Where the peacocks sing
45. Alexander Maksik: You deserve Nothing
46. Magnus Flyte: City Of Dark Magic
47. Yann Martel: The High Mountains Of Portugal
48. Linda Castillo: The Dead Will Tell

October

49. Alissa York: The Naturalist
50. Louise Penny: The Nature Of The Beast
51. Oliver Harris: The Hollow Man
52. Muriel Barbery: The Life Of Elves
53. Lawrence Hill: The Illegal

November

54. Lisa Scottoline: Every Fifteen Minutes
55. Sally Hepworth: The Things We Keep
56. Joan Clark: The Birthday Lunch
56. Joan Clark: The Birthday Lunch
57. Michael Crummey: Sweetland
58. Dan Barber: The Third Plate
59. David Bezmozgis: The Betrayers
60. Tim LaHaye: Left Behind A novel of the earths last days

December

61. Johanna Skibsrud: Sentimentalists
62. Arturo Perez-Reverte: Purity of blood
63. Jeffrey Archer: The sins of the father
64. Jeffrey Archer: Best kept secret
65. Tim LaHaye: Tribulation Force
66. Franz Kafka: The Penal Colony
67. Angela Hunt: The Canopy
68. Brian Moore: The Statement
69. Guy Gavriel Kay: Ysabel
70. John Irving: The Fourth Hand
71. David Bezmozgis: Natasha
72. Matthew Pearl: the Dante Club
73. Janice Deaner: Fünf Tage, fünf Nächte
74. Minette Walters: Die Bildhauerin
75. Llyod douglas: The Robe

Challenge Categories List

1. A novel in its original language (original language cannot be English)-3
2. A novel that’s over 500 pages (1)
3. Novel by an African writer(1)
4. A book that was published in 2016(2)
5. A book about music(1)
6. A fantasy book(1)
7. A banned book(2)
8. A man booker prize winner(2)
9. A book you read in High school(1)
10. A Canadian Prairie Book(1)
11. Book on TBR pile (5)
12. Book recommended by a friend (1)
13. A book you saw someone else read (1)
14. A Classic book that you should have read but never did (3)
15. Book with an uncomfortable/taboo subject matter (1)
16. Pulitzer Prize winner (1)
17. A Vampire book (1)
18. Book by a Russian author (2)
19. A collection of poetry
20. An autobiography or biography (1)
21. A self-improvement book (1)
22. Book with a strong female protagonist (2)
23. A book you picked out solely based on the title or cover (2)

Just finished another novel

Philip Kerr: A German Requiem

Set in 1947, the novel depicts the suffering after WW2 and shows the everyday life under the National Socialist regime. The protagonist ( a private investigator) is left to prove the innocence of a former officer, who is accused of killing an American officer. What he finds out, leaves him to grapple with his own moral conscience of wether or not he should prove his clients innocence.

2.5/5

I have a specific list of types of books that I want to read this year. On it, is to read a Canadian prairie novel. So last night I picked out Martha Ostenso's novel wild geese from my bookshelves. I was not quite sure what to expect especially since the novel was made into a movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

A farming family boards a young teacher and through her eyes the story unfolds. The reader is brought into the lives of the Gare family where the head of the household ( Caleb) rules his children and his wife by keeping them psychologically and physically imprisoned. Under his rule, his children are worked to the bone and little time is left for education, excitement, love or imagination. They are all tied to the land and the bond that exists within families does not transpire within their own. The siblings are isolated from eachother and from any contact to the world outside the farm. However, for Judith, her happiness comes from the thought of escape and rejection of her fathers sense of duty and belonging to the land.

This novel made me think quite a while after reading it. As to the relationship of father/daughter, the brutality made me think of the movie-Mommy dearest where the psychological brutality between mother and daughter was equally disturbing. There are many aspects in this novel that could be explored i.e.: the sexual connection to the land( how it differs for Judith and her father Caleb), or racial segregation and class systems. Overall this was a well thought out novel and definitely worth to read.

3.5/5

Welcome to the group!

Thank you!

Bernard Malamud: A New Life

I was 1/3 of the way into this book and was fighting the urge to stop reading. Since everyone that I have spoken to had nothing but great enthusiasm for this novel, I decided to keep on reading. I am glad that I did.

After being rejected by many colleges, Sy Levin is appointed a tentative position as an english professor at Cascadia College. Being in a new location and having a new job, he hopes to be able to start a new life, forge a new identity and leave the past behind him. However, he soon finds himself thrust into the politics of academia and suffocates among corrupt, narrow-minded, agenda driven professors and unenthusiastic students.

For the first half of the novel, Mr Levin remains a voyeur " After three months he still felt lonely. Was the past taking over in a new land? Had the new self failed?" He ends up in a sexual relationship with one of his colleagues wife ( Pauline). He develops a longing for her and ends up watching her from a distance through half closed curtains and foggy windows. He reacts to female attention much like an adolescent would; shy, nervous and insecure. In the second part of the novel, the protagonist moves away from the role of the voyeur. He in effect is now being watched by others. He allows himself to fall in love with Pauline, decides to run for the position of chair at the college, proposes his own academic ideas and speaks out against certain practices at the college. Although he is released from his job, he is able to move towards a new self. He has taken control over his life and has escaped the imprisonment of his surroundings and inadequacies of his former self.

3/5

Lloyd Jones, Mr Pip
Summary

The story takes place on the island of Bougainville during the blockade by Papua New Guineas defence force. Matilda, a pre-teen is the narrator of this particular story. Due to the war, all the caucasian men who worked in the copper mines leave the island. All except Mr Watts. Sort of an outcast, no one really knows him or how he came to marry an island girl. One day, Mr Pip decides to come out of his isolation to re open the school and teach the children. He ends up reading a Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations to the class. Matilda becomes entranced with the story and ends up spelling out the name PIP with seashells on the beach. When the Redskin soldiers arrive on the island they see her creation and immediately believe that the villagers are hiding a real person. Since they are unable to produce him, the village is burned along with all their possessions and Mr. Watts and Matilda's mother are killed. Matilda leaves the island and reunites with her father in Australia, goes on to academia and devotes her Thesis on Mr Dickens work.

3/5

Joseph Bentz: Song of Fire
I had this novel on my shelf for a while and read it when I was in High school but could not remember what happened in the book so I decided to read it again. The novel was re published in 2015 under the name Dreams of Caladria and apparently has a different ending to the one that I have read.

Jeremy falls through the ice and enters another world. His fall is filled with music and light. Unfortunately for him, music is forbidden in Persus Am. Because he was singing an Emajian song, he is believed to be the prophet that the heaven sent to guide the believers to the city of Caladria. Fearing this to be true, he is thrown in jail and sentenced to death. He is able to escape the death penalty by translating the Holy Bible into the local language. He is appointed as Prince of Persus Am and finds himself in the middle of a war/political fight. He soon finds out that he is being used as a pawn and escapes to the rock of Calad where he meets up with the Emajians. There they decide to seek out the city of Caladria and wait for instructions on how to proceed. Eventually they return to Persus Am with musical bombs that render their enemies helpless. The music is so strong, so full of God's voice that only those who seek to believe and repent are able to survive the Music. The Emajians take down the old reigning power and start to restore Pan Am to what it used to be.

Although the novel was quite long ( at least 150 pages could have been omitted), I enjoyed reading it. I especially liked how Jeremy's character evolved, from denying that he is the prophet and wanting nothing to do with helping the Emajians to being the one to lead them to their new destiny.

3.2/5

The Memory Keeper's Daughter: Kim Edwards

In the middle of a snowstorm, Dr David Henry delivers his own twins. However, he recognizes that one twin has down syndrome. He asks the nurse to bring this child to an institution. He tells his wife that she had fraternal twins however, their daughter did not survive. Instead of dropping off the child at the institution, the nurse decides to raise the child on her own. She stays in touch with the father occasionally sending letters with details of how Phoebe is doing. The loss of their daughter is too much for Mr Henry's wife to handle and the guilt ends up eating away at Mr Henry causing him to be distant from his current life. It is not until Mr Henry dies that the family finds out the truth.

2.8/5

Alan Bradley: The Sweetness at the bottom of the pie

An 11 year old aspiring chemist with an affinity for poison discovers a dying man in the garden of her family's home. Before this man dies, he breathes out the word Vale. Her father is soon arrested and Flavia ends up trying to solve the case on her own. She finds out that the dead bird that was found on their doorstep with a one penny postage stamp attached to it is connected to her fathers past and to another murder. With the aid of her knowledge in chemistry and her keen detective skills, she is able to find out the truth about the man who died in her backyard and the person who put him there.

This novel is the first one in a series of 6. Although the story line was good, there were so many unnecessary turns and details that did not add to the story and just was there for filler purposes. Things seemed to fall too easily in place and became quite predictable. I do however, like the fact that the main protagonist was a headstrong, intelligent female. I will probably not read the next book in the series but you never know.... Not a bad murder/mystery but not a great one either.

3/5

Alan Furst: Red Gold

Set in 1941 in occupied France, Jean Casson pursued by the Gestapo, changes his name and joins the resistance. Because of his political neutrality ( a film director) he's is chosen as a liaison between the Resistance and the French Communists. This results in him smuggling 600 firearms to the communists. He ends up falling in love with a Jewish woman who (surprise surprise )needs his help.

I was looking forward to reading this novel as I've enjoyed his other novels and the reviews were all above three stars. However, I felt that I did not really enjoy this book. Perhaps because I was battling a cold at the time that I was reading or perhaps because there is not much of a plot. It's predictable every way, repetitive and there is very little action. For example, it takes 100 pages of description and story telling to lead up a meeting with a communist liaison to tell him that they need him to procure firearms for them. If you want to read something by Alan Furst, skip this novel as it is not his best work and you will surely be disappointed.

2/5

Paul Kalanithi: When Breath Becomes Air

What happens when your sense of self is taken away from you? How do you rebuild? How do you move on?

Neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi is diagnosed in his final year of training with stage IV lung cancer. As he faces death, he begins to find his inner illumination. He informs us of his childhood, how he became a neurosurgeon, of his wife and his life post diagnosis.

Paul wrote this novel in the last 22 months he had to live. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could finish it and the epilogue was written by his wife. This novel is cleverly written and provides many lessons on the way. A definite must-read!

4/5

I've read excerpts and they were wonderful. I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing but I imagine it is a tough read.

Hi!

Its not really a tough read at all ( I thought it would be). Instead of sad and depressing it's actually uplifting and positive. Hope you enjoy it :)

So it's already February 9th and I've only read two books this month. Somehow working overtime hours and still feeling the effects of my cold I've slowed down. Hopefully, I am able to catch up with my monthly goal!

Michael Connelly: The Burning Room

Harry Bosch has a new young latino partner named Lucia Soto. A man who had a bullet lodged in his spine from a shooting ten years earlier dies. The bullet is removed and from that piece of evidence they are left to find out who the shooter was from all those years ago. The case ends up connecting to two other older unsolved cases; a bank robbery and an orphanage fire.

The story for me was sub par to his normal writing. 400 pages of monotonous detail and narrative. The pace was extremely slow, the characters were quite one dimensional. I felt like the characters were like Clara in Hoffman's The Sandman, a lifeless automaton going through the motions... enough said!

2.8/5 - I'm being generous just incase my lack of sleep has made me crankier than usual.

Noah Charney: The Art thief

Three separate artworks are stolen from three separate cities all thefts that seem to be unrelated to each other. However, the reader soon finds out that the thefts are indeed related. A ransom demand for one of the paintings, another painting stolen from it's new owner after acquiring it from an auction and another painting stolen directly from atop of an alter at a church. As the items are found or returned, there begins an investigation on the authenticity of the paintings. Forgeries are painted over the original only to be stripped of it's paint to completely reveal another painting underneath.

It was a good read particularly because it had great details about art work in general. The information about the other works of art mentioned in the book were accurate so I appreciate that the author took time to research before she wrote the novel. However, it was not the most exiting mystery novel and the characters were not that complex of developed.

3/5

Andrew Gross: reckless

An entire family ( except for a son who hid in a closet) is murdered. When another banker dies (supposedly committing suicide) the stock market goes into turmoil. Billions of dollars lost and cover ups are revealed. However, there is more to the crash in the markets than meets the eye. Meanwhile a former detective named Ty, decides to investigate the murder of the family since the wife was a friend of his. He also starts to investigate another man who is dating another friend of his and finds out that he has a dark past with jihad connections. Red flags arise and Naomi who is the head of the national treasury department steps in and with the help of Ty, begin to unravel connections, conspiracy and corruption.

The novel was well paced however, was poorly edited. A quick read.

3/5

The narrator of the story, a three-year-old boy named Kim Kim arrives on the West coast with his father and his grandmother ( Poh Poh) with the aid of falsified documents from his Canadian sponsor ( third uncle).The father becomes contracted to work in third uncle's factory to repay the debt of his sponsorship fees and upgraded living conditions. Soon the family secures papers for a live in nanny who becomes Kim Kim's stepmother. Her responsibility is to produce male heirs. The novel shows how the family adapts to Canadian ways while holding on to their traditions. It also shows the struggles that the Chinese faced while living in Canada and the spatial,gender and social boundaries that were imposed on them from the government and from within their own community.

Very well written and edited.

4/5

What did you think of Obasan? I've had that one sitting on my bookshelf for over a year now.

>19 KLmesoftly:: Obasan was a great read that truly shows the struggle between Canadian and Japanese identity in the midst of WW2 of their evacuation, relocation and dispersal. It was the first book that I read that touched upon how the Japanese Canadian citizens were treated by the Canadian government ( issues that we never learned in our history classes). Later, the prime minister read excerpts from the novel in parliament when he officially apologized and acknowledged what had happened. Her best novel by far!

Thanks for the review! I'll have to read it soon, it sounds excellent and is one of the longest sitting books on my to-read shelf at this point.

Paolo Giordano: the solitude of prime numbers

The story follows two children, Mattia and Alice through their elementary school years until adulthood. They are outsiders, who are teased by their peers and have emotional problems that lead Alice to an eating disorder and Mattia to cope with his problems by cutting himself. This is quite a depressing novel. There is no solution for the characters, no movement towards the future or personal development. They remain emotionally stagnant in their adult lives as they were when they were children. What bothered me about this story is that no one that cared about them tried to offer them help. When they did and the offer was refused, they gave up, became upset and impatient and eventually abandoned their friend. For Alice, her husband simply walked out on her. A sad story of the loneliness that we impose on ourselves, the consequences and the superficial caring of others.

2.8/5

Robin sloan: Mr Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore

A young web designer ( Clay) finds himself jobless and happens upon a help wanted sign in a 24 hour bookstore. He is hired for the night shift and is given three rules that he must follow. customers enter the bookstore, present a card and exchange old antique looking books. Clay then has the task to write in the ledger how the person looks like, what his state of mind is and the time that he came in the store to retrieve the book. He soon becomes curious and looks at one of the books. With his knowledge of computer programming he finds the answer to a riddle, along with it a secret book club with a secret message.

The novel was fast paced, easy to read. The message is simple but good.

3/5

What makes someone good or evil? Are humans inherently good or is the good just a mask humans wear to hide the evil inside themselves? Paulo Coelho's novel starts with a stranger that arrives to a small old-fashioned town. The first person to see him is an old lady who's job it is to watch over the town for evil. She immediately sees that he is accompanied by the devil. This stranger sees a young lady in the forest, shows her gold bars and tells her that she is to deliver the news to the villagers in the town that they will receive all the gold if they commit a sin- to kill one of their townspeople. The stranger wants to prove to that when confronted with temptation, humans will always fail and commit evil. In the end, "good and evil have the same face, it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual human being" ( pg 39).

3/5

Michael Connelly: Nine Dragons
Harry Bosch's daughter who lives in China, is kidnapped. Harry thinks the kidnappers are tied with the case that he is trying to solve and that it is tied to the triad organization. He flies to China to find his daughter and stumbles upon more than he bargained for.

3/5

I was not satisfied with the ending of the novel or the reason that his daughter was kidnapped.

Amy Chua: Battle Hymn of the tiger mother

A mother recounts her Chinese methods of raising her two daughters to excel in academics and arts and proposes a hypothesis that the Chinese way produces better results than the Western way ever could.

3.5

Paula Hawkins: The Girl On The Train

3.5/5

Yann Martel: Self

The story follows the protagonist from early childhood into adult years. A novel of identity and forging friendships. One day the protagonist wakes up as a woman. Themes: Sexual/linguistic identity, violence, love.

2/5

Sherri Wood Emmons: The weight of small things

The main protagonist ( a woman) goes through a mid life crisis. She desires to have a baby however, she is unable to conceive. This revelation leads her to depression and as a result, makes bad choices ( Ie: having an affair). I did not enjoy this novel. The protagonist was annoying and there really was no solution or emotional development.

2/5

Andre Alexis: Fifteen Dogs

Two Gods, Hermes and Apollo wager that any animal would be more unhappy than humans if they were given human intelligence. They decide to grant a group of twelve dogs in a kennel human consciousness and language to see if they would be happier upon death or more miserable. We see the canines resistance to change, develop a hierarchy, carry out brutality towards other canines and show their capacity for love.

The novel incorporates some philosophy ( St Anslem's ontological proof of God's existence, Hegel's theorem of master and servant and Wittgenstein's ideas about language).

Overall a great read!

4/5

Lissa Evans: Crooked Heart

A young child must evacuate his city to avoid the dangers of a pending occupation by the Nazis. He is paired with Vera, a widow. The two conceive a plan to pose as volunteers asking for money to support the troops. It is only so long until someone finds out that the charitable donations are being kept by the two which brings them danger.

2.5/5

Niel Griffiths: Saving Caravaggio

A cop is sent to Italy to retrieve a stolen painting. However, his quest for another masterpiece ( the Caravaggio) leads him to the mafia and entangles him in murder and romance.

2.5/5

Christina Baker: Orphan Train

A young girl who was adopted by a family, finds herself completing community service for stealing a book from the local library. She is sent to an elderly lady's house to clean out her attic. She soon discovers that they have many things in common and form an unbreakable bond.

3/5

Rachel Joyce: The Lovesong of Queenie Hennessy

Queenie writes her confession of her unrequited love of a married man named Harold. It is the sequel of the novel The voyage of Harold Fry.

3/5

Henning Mangel: Erinnerung an einen schmutzigen Engel

A young girl is sent away from home in hopes of finding a better life and future. She becomes a cook on a ship heading to Australia. She ends up marrying a man on the ship and after his untimely death she leaves the ship as they dock in Africa. She marries a man, who dies weeks after the wedding. As a result, she is left with a brothel business. In oder to survive, Hanna must tread carefully between politics, religion and superstition.

2.5/5

David Nicholls: Us

A middle aged man is forced to deal with his wife's sudden revelation that their marriage has run it's course and that she is considering to leave him. Before the separation, they end up travelling together with their college bound son around the world. Everyone has different expectations for the trip including Douglas who sees it as an opportunity to win his wife back and get closer to his son.

3/5

Robert Whitlow: The choice

It's 1974 and Sandy Lincoln is just a teenager when she finds out that she is pregnant. Faced with different opinions from those that surround her, she decides to give up her twins for adoption. Thirty years later, Sandy, now a High school teacher, is approached by a pregnant teen for advice. Sandy tries to counsel her and translates for her as well, however, she soon finds herself in trouble with the school counsellor for meddling and is accused of forcing her own beliefs onto Maria. She ends up being subpoenaed and hires a lawyer to represent her. She soon finds out that this lawyer is her son.

One thing that I did not like about the story is that the reactions of the characters ( her two sons) did not seem believable. Upon learning that Sandy is their birth mother, there was virtually no scepticism or questions. Both sons instantly incorporate her into their lives with no awkwardness or feeling of anger- just acceptance and gratitude. It was too utopic.

3/5

Danny Tobey: The Faculty club

Jeremy Davis is accepted into the best law school in the world. Surrounded by the brightest, Jeremy receives an invitation to an elite club that is run by professors. Unfortunately, he does not make the final cut, however, his curiosity for what goes on in the secret club remains. In trying to find out details, he ends up witnessing a murder and puts his life and those that surround him in danger.

The novel was well written, the pace was enjoyable. Some good moral questions arise as well.

3/5

Alan Bradley: The Weed that Strings The Hangman's Bag

A puppet show is in town and Flavia de Luce decides to help out. In the evening show , a murder occurs. With the help of Flavia's detective skills and knowledge of chemistry, she is able to piece together clues to who the murderer is and save a life as well.

This is the second novel that I have read from Alan Bradleys series. Although I feel that this series is better suited for young adults, I can't seem to help but continue reading. Mostly because of the main protagonist, Flavia. She is smart, entertaining and quick-tongued. I enjoy Alan's crime novels however, I do find them slightly repetitive and easy to figure out.

3/5

Magnus Flyte: City Of dark Magic

Sarah Weston is a Beethoven expert who is studying under the renowned scholar Sherbatsky. After her thesis supervisors suicide, she receives an invitation from Miles Wolfman, the head of the Lobkowitz museum in Prague to catalogue and authenticate Beethoven manuscripts and letters. Strange things happen and she ends up taking a drug that allows her to see the past- Beethoven composing, eating and talking. However, she soon finds out that prince Lobkowicz has a greater reason for wanting to see the past and uses her to come closer to what he is looking for. Sarah soon finds herself entangled in murder, romance and conspiracy and is left to figure out whom she can trust.

This was a great fantasy novel. 3.5/5

Imagine you had everything you needed in life. A great career, a stable wealthy boyfriend and a high-end lifestyle. Then suddenly, you have an instant connection with another man who is a poor prince and comes from a completely different culture. Would you sacrifice your comfort and social status for true love?

Alison ends up risking it all. She moves into a tiny flat with her Indian boyfriend Ajay and ends up having to deal with realities of life such as saving, buying wisely and cooking her meals at home. She travels to India to meet Ajay's family and struggles to gain her future mother in law's approval. She learns a great deal about herself and seems to mature emotionally as well. No longer as spoiled and entitled, Alison learns the true meaning of family, love and what it means to live life to the fullest.

3.5/5

Linda Castillo: The Dead Will Tell

I picked up this novel at a used bookstore with no cover or synopsis so when I uploaded it to my library, library thing predicted with very high confidence, that I wouldn't enjoy this novel. Well, I quite enjoyed this crime/murder novel by Castillo. Although I must admit I was able to guess 1/3 of the way as to who the murderer could be, it was still quite entertaining.

An old man thought to have committed suicide is found hanging from the rafters of a barn. It soon becomes apparent that he was murdered. Soon after, others are brutally murdered one by one. Their connection happens to be that they all were friends in high school some 35 years ago and share a dark secret/crime with one another. It doesn't take long for Chief of police Kate Burkholder to put together the pieces and connect the current murders with a cold case of an Amish girl that went missing so many years ago.

3.5/5

Yann Martel: The High Mountains Of Portugal

3.5/5

( I will add synopsis later)

Louise Penny: The Nature Of The Beast

A nine-year-old boy who is known for telling tall tales is found in the woods murdered. Soon after, retired Chief inspector Gamache finds a giant gun ( baby Babylon) covered up in the woods. What they find in the woods is not unlike what the boy was ranting about a few days before he was killed. In order to find out who the murderer is, Gamache must solve the mystery of the big gun. Who brought it there? Who commissioned it, and who is looking for the plans to build their own big gun?

This is the first novel that I've read by Louise Penny. I enjoyed the fact that the historical parts are based on real events - a history of Gerald Bull the scientist who allegedly built two giant missile launchers. One was pointed towards the US and another that was intended to be used by Saddam Hussein. This murder mystery is one of the better ones that I have read this year. Recommended.

3.5/5

Ok So it's the end of the year....I am sad to say that I only achieved my reading goal in the 75 ers group. I guess it's not bad for my first year of participating. I hope that I will be able to achieve both goals in 2017!! Have a wonderful New Year!!!!