JulieLill's 2024 Reading Challenge

Another year of good reading!

2024 Reading Challenge

1 1980- Whispers by Dean Koontz 4/5 stars 1/25/2024
2. 1981- Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez 4/5 stars 3/2/2024
3. 1982- Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski 4/5 stars 4/13/2024
4. 1983- The Summer of Katya by Trevanian 4/5 stars 5/1/2024
5. 1984-
6. 1985-
7. 1986-
8. 1987-
9. 1988-
10. 1989-

Whidbey Island Saga Series by
11. The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George 4/5 stars 2/6/2024
12. The Edge of the Water by Elizabeth George 4/5 stars 2/28/2024
13 The Edge of the Shadows by Elizabeth George 4/5 stars 3/19/2024
14. The Edge of The Light by Elizabeth George 4/5 stars 3/31/2024

Favorite Mystery Authors
15. Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich 3.5/5 stars 1/30/2024
16. The Burnt House by Faye Kellerman 4/5 stars 4/6/2024
17. Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman 4/5 stars 4/28/2024

A Dozen Film and TV Books
18. Learning to Live Out Loud by Piper Laurie 4/5 stars 1/9/2024
19. Gracie - A Love Story by George Burns 4/5 stars 2/12/2024
20. Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film
by Don Graham 4/5 stars 2/17/2024
21. Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens by Eddie Izzard 4/5 stars 4/3/2024
22. Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury 4/5 stars 4/15/2024
23. What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life by Billy Dee Williams 4/5 stars 4/22/2024
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

One Last Ruth Reichl Book and 8 Other Biographies
30. Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boylan 4/5 stars 2/21/2024
31. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 4/5 stars 2/28/2024
32. Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper 4/5 stars 4/25/2024
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.

Horror Novels
39. The Elementals by Michael McDowell 4/5 stars 3/13/2024
40.
41.

Beverly Cleary Books
42. My Own Two Feet: A Memoir by Beverly Cleary 4/5 stars 1/24/2024
43. A Girl From Yamhill by Beverly Cleary 4/5 stars 1/16/2024

44. A Banned Book

Sports
45.
46.

10 Non-Fiction Titles
47. Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health by Anupam B. Jena
4/5 stars 3/8/2024
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.

The Country Girls Trilogy and Epilogue by Edna O'Brien
57.
58.
59.

Science Fiction
60.
61.
62.

Books Off My Never Ending Reading List
63. Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally 4/5 stars 3/25/2024
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.

25/70

>2 JulieLill: Good Luck with your goals, and Happy Reading! ☺️

Learning to Live Out Loud
Piper Laurie
4/5 stars
I knew about Piper Laurie, the actress but I don't think I ever saw her in many films but I going to check out some of her older films. She was the mother in the horror film Carrie (which I did see). She also lived quite an interesting life. I really enjoyed her autobiography. She just recently died in 2023 at the age of 91. A Dozen Film and TV Books

A Girl from Yamhill
Beverly Cleary
4/5 stars
This is one of two biographies written by Beverly Cleary. This is the first one and it details her life growing up in Yamhill, Oregon. This is a juvenile biography but I really enjoyed it and I think adults will really enjoy this book too. I am going to read her second book My Own Two Feet and am looking forward to that one also! Beverly Cleary books.

My Own Two Feet: A Memoir
Beverly Cleary
4/5 stars
This is the second memoir from Beverly Cleary, writer. The book starts with her college years during the depression including WWII, working at a library and ends with the publication of her first book. I really enjoyed this book too! I am surprised this is a Juvenile book but it is definitely a book adults will enjoy! Beverly Cleary Book.

Whispers
Dean Koontz
4/5 stars
This is a very suspenseful novel about a woman and filmmaker, Hilary Thomas who is being stalked by a mad man named Bruno Fyre. When he has been found dead, she is relieved, but he is still haunting her from the grave or is someone else terrorizing her. I enjoyed this book. 1980

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight
Janet Evanovich
3.5/5 stars
Stephanie Plum is back in her 28th book and she is with Diesel, who also apprehends criminals too! This time they are going after Oswald Wednesday. He is known for hacking computers and he is killing off other hackers who hacked into his network! I like her stories which are fun and not too involved! Favorite Mystery Authors

The Edge of Nowhere
Elizabeth George
4/5 stars
This is the story of Becca, who's on the run from her stepfather and ends up with a family friend who knows what is going on. In the meantime, she meets a nice, young man, Derric from Uganda. Unfortunately, he is found at the bottom of a hill and is in a coma. There is a suspect, but Becca is not sure that he was the culprit. Whidbey Island Saga

Gracie: A Love Story
George Burns
4/5 stars
Written by the actor George Burns, he talks about his life and his love for his wife and partner Gracie Burns. He talks about his adopted children since Gracie couldn't have children and he also goes over their roles in entertainment including films, radio and television. Very entertaining! A Dozen Film and TV Books

Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film
Don Graham
4/5 stars
I have seen this film years ago and highly enjoyed it. The author did a nice job of relating the history of the making of this film and the events around the actors lives in that time period. I am definitely going to re-watch it. A Dozen Film and TV Books

Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs
Jennifer Finney Boylan
4/5 stars
This is the autobiography of Jennifer Finney Boylan who talks about her life when she becomes a transgender. She also writes about her love of her dogs and what she learned from each of them. Nicely written. One Last Ruth Reichl Book and 8 Other Biographies

The Edge of the Water
Elizabeth George
4/5 stars
This is the second book of the Whidbey Island Saga series. Becca returns in this novel, but there is also a story of a girl who won't speak and an island mystery about a seal who returns yearly to the Island. Whidbey Island Saga

Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner
4/5 stars
This was a wonderfully written autobiography about the rock musician, Michelle Zauner. She writes about her life as a musician, and her Korean family but she also talks about her mother's cancer diagnosis and the effect it had on her family. Highly recommended! Biography

Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Gabriel García Márquez
4/5 stars
This is the story of a young woman, Angela Vicario who married but than was returned to her family because her new husband thought that she slept with another man. Her brothers want to kill the new husband for her dishonor. 27 years later, a man returns to look into the incident. Who is to blame? 1981

Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health
Anupam B. Jena
4/5 stars
The title pretty much explains it all. It was a fascinating look at healthcare and poses questions that the researchers worked on. One chapter focused on who is a better doctor, a seasoned veteran doctor or someone who just graduated. Is it ever a good time to have a heart attack? Another chapter was why kids with summer birthdays are more likely to get the flu. Non-Fiction Books

The Elementals
Michael McDowell
4/5 stars
This is a haunted house story revolving around the McCray and Savage families. Matriarch Marian Savage has died and the family has escaped to their summer homes for respite. There are three homes but only two are livable. The third home is sinking and is uninhabitable. The family members are scared of the third home and rarely enter it until this summer when unexplained things are happening to the home and the family members. Horror Novels

The Edge of the Shadows
Elizabeth George
This is the third book in the Whidbey Island Saga. Becca is still hiding out from her stepfather on the island. However, now someone is setting fires! Who is it? There are couple of suspects. There is one more book left in the series! Whidbey Island Saga

Schindler's List
by Thomas Keneally
4/5 stars
This is the fictionalized version based on the real-true life story of Oskar Schindler which was later made into a film. Schindler during WWII helped a number of the Jewish population escape from the death camps in Czechoslovakia. Lengthy but interesting! Books Off My Never Ending Reading List

>17 JulieLill: I found this quote "As for wrapping up the series, Elizabeth George has not yet concluded it. While she plans to eventually finish the Lynley/Havers saga, the exact timing remains uncertain. Perhaps the enigmatic allure of Whidbey Island will continue to inspire her storytelling, leaving readers eagerly awaiting the next installment." Not sure when this was written but I would read another Whidbey Island Saga book!

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens
Eddie Izzard
4/5 stars
This is the autobiography of Eddie Izzard, comedian and entertainer who was born in Yemen but also lived in Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Raised by his dad after his mother died which greatly affected him. He has come out as genderfluid. He is also involved in politics. Very interesting! A Dozen Film and TV Books

The Burnt House
Faye Kellerman
4/5 stars
Decker and his wife Rina get involved in a mystery of a woman airplane employee who was supposed to be on a flight that crashes. Her body is not identified and Peter Decker gets the assignment to track down Roseanne when her stepfather insists that she was killed by her abusive husband. Great read! Favorite Mystery Authors

Ham on Rye
Charles Bukowski
4/5 stars
"In what is widely hailed as the best of his many novels, Charles Bukowski details the long, lonely years of his own hardscrabble youth in the raw voice of alter ego Henry Chinaski. From a harrowingly cheerless childhood in Germany through acne-riddled high school years and his adolescent discoveries of alcohol, women, and the Los Angeles Public Library's collection of D. H. Lawrence, "Ham on Rye" offers a crude, brutal, and savagely funny portrait of an outcast's coming-of-age during the desperate days of the Great Depression." From the Good Reads Book Synopsis 1982

Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong
Katie Gee Salisbury
4/5 stars
This was a wonderfully interesting story about the American Asian actress Anna May Wong. She grew up in America, lived in Los Angeles and worked in her family's laundry business where she was discovered. She starred in the Douglas Fairbanks' film Thief of Bagdad and that started her career. Well written! A Dozen Film and TV Books

What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life
Billy Dee Williams
4/5 stars
This is the autobiography of Billy Dee Williams. He has led a pretty interesting life as an actor. He talks about his family and his movie roles. I enjoyed reading it. A Dozen Film and TV Books

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
Anderson Cooper
4/5 stars
This is the wonderfully written book on the Astor Family including John Jacob Astor, the founder of the family who settled in New York in 1783, then came the story of John Jacob Aster IV, who perished on the Titanic and their reign finally ended in 2009. A great read!
One Last Ruth Reichl Book and Eight Other Biographies

Evidence
Jonathan Kellerman
4/5 stars
Alex Delaware is back and his friend Milo Sturgis are on a case where a couple was found dead in a home under construction. The young woman could not be identified but the man who was found Desmond Backer who was an architect. Also in this story is another woman, Helga Gemein who was his for former boss. Who killed the two victims? Favorite Mystery Authors

The Summer of Katya
Trevanian
4/5 stars
"In the quiet Basque countryside in 1914, Jean-Marc Montjean, a handsome young doctor, moves to the small French village of Salies to assist the village physician. It's there that he meets the seductive, beautiful Katya Treville. Jean-Marc is bewitched, driven to know everything about her. But as he and her family become friendly, he realizes they are haunted by an old, dark secret.
When Jean-Marc learns that the Trevilles are planning to leave the village forever, he insists on a final meeting with Katya. That meeting and the events that follow turn what was an idyllic romance into an unending nightmare. And when Katya’s secret is revealed, the chilling climax will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned." 1983

Synopsis from Good Reads
I enjoyed this book - Very interesting!