SugarCreekRanch in 2012

I'm SugarCreekRanch. Welcome to my journal!

I'd love to connect with other LT'ers that enjoy the same kinds of books I do. I like contemporary fiction, especially literary suspense. Or outdoor adventure. Or animals. Or set in the Pacific Nothwest.

I'm going to try a few TIOLI challenges. That's what really brought me to this group. It sounds like a low key way to encourage people to read some of the same books, which gets conversation going. But I won't feel pressured to read a book that doesn't appeal. Yay!

January:
1. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (audio)
2. The Bay at Midnight by Diane Chamberlain
3. Fragile Beasts by Tawni O'Dell
4. Iron House by John Hart (audio)
5. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (audio)
6. The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
7. The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain
8. Neighborhood Watch by Cammie McGovern
9. Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn (audio)
10. A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve
11. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

February:
12. The Cypress House by Michael Koryta (audio)
13. Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain
14. Killer Weekend by Ridley Pearson (audio)
15. Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt
16. To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn (audio)
17. Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
18. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (audio)
19. The Dog Who Danced by Susan Wilson
20. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
21. Watchers by Dean Koontz (audio)

March:
22. Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante (audio)
23. Close Range by Annie Proulx (audio)
24. Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman (audio)
25. Still Life by Louise Penny
26. Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller (audio)

April:
27. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
28. The Ridge by Michael Koryta (audio)
29. The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
30. The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane
31. The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson
32. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (audio)
33. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
34. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (audio)
35. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
36. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn (audio)

May:
37. The Lilac House by Anita Nair
38. Two of the Deadliest by Elizabeth George (audio)
39. Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt (audio)
40. Nocturne: And Other Unabridged Twisted Stories by Jeffery Deaver (audio)
41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
42. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (audio)
43. In a Dog's Heart by Jennifer Arnold (audio)
44. Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo (audio)
45. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (audio)
46. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
47. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (audio)
48. One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf
49. Chomp by Carl Hiassen

June:
50. The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman (audio)
51. Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger (audio)
52. The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn-Scotch
53. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton
54. Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson (audio)

July:
55. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
56. What Happened to My Sister by Elizabeth Flock
57. Under the Dome by Stephen King (audio)
58. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (audio)
59. Boleto by Alyson Hagy
60. Come Home by Lisa Scottoline
61. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (audio)
62. Bent Road by Lori Roy (audio)
63. Defending Jacob by William Landay (audio)

August:
64. Dancing Dogs by Jon Katz
65. Gone Missing by Linda Castillo (audio)
66. Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer
67. Mice by Gordon Reece (audio)
68. Gold by Chris Cleeve
69. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
70. Broken Harbor by Tana French (audio)

September:
71. Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay
72. Love, Anthony by Lisa Genova
73. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
74. The Prophet by Michael Koryta (audio)
75. The Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton
76. Stay Close by Harlan Coben (audio)
77. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
78. The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli

October:
79. A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn (audio)
80. One Good Dog by Susan Wilson (audio)
81. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
82. Land of a Hundred Wonders by Lesley Kagen
83. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
84. The Haunting of Cambria by Richard Taylor
85. The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon
86. Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger (audio)
87. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (audio)
88. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
89. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
89.5 Click-Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman (audio)

November:
90. Cell by Stephen King (audio)
91. The Stranger in the Room by Amanda Kyle Williams
92. The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater (audio)
93. Night Kill by Ann Littlewood
94. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (audio)
95. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoners' Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
96. Did Not Survive by Ann Littlewood
97. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman
98. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (audio)

December:
98. Lost and Found by Jacquline Sheehan
100. Endangered by Ann Littlewood (audio)
101. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (audio)
102. Ring of Truth by Nancy Pickard
103. Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (audio)
104. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
105. Christmas with Tucker by Greg Kincaid (audio)
106. Mare's Nest by Lesley Kagen

Welcome back! How did you like The Invisible Ones? I thought it was pretty good - didn't know much about Gypsy culture before I read it.

2> I really liked The Invisible Ones and gave it 4.5 stars. I knew nothing about contemporary Gypsy life before reading this and found that pretty interesting. Loved the nephew, JJ. I think one of clues to the big 'twist' was a bit obvious, and so the ending wasn't as surprising as I think was intended. But that didn't hamper my enjoyment in any way. I LOVED her first book, The Tenderness of Wolves and would definately recommend it.

Yeah, that matches my opinion pretty well. I think I rated it a bit lower, but not by much. Didn't think it was much of a mystery, but also didn't think it was *meant* to be a puzzler. It was more about the characters, and worked pretty well.

Hi and welcome!

We share a lot of books and so I'm used to seeing your LT name in my connection news. I have The Invisible Ones ready to read, probably next, so am happy to see another good report. I also loved The Tenderness of Wolves.

5> Thanks for the welcome, Coppers! Your LT name comes up in my connection news, too. I went to your thread and admired your pictures. Copper is a beautiful girl! I may have to post some critter pictures, too. It seems to be a popular thing in this group, and I wouldn't want everyone to miss out on my beasties. :-)

12. The Cypress House by Micheal Koryta



This novel grabbed me at the beginning. In 1935 a WWII vet is on a train bound for work in the Florida keys, when he "sees death" in all of the men around him. He and a younger man get off the train (luckily, as it turns out), and travel around Florida looking for work. They end up at The Cypress House in Corridor County, where they run into a network of crime and corruption.

I loved the sense of place and time, the foreboding atmosphere and especially the touch of supernatural as Arlen wrestles with his "gift" of death premonition. The writing is superb. I enjoyed the ending less than the rest of the book; it had the feel of a war story, which doesn't appeal to me personally.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook
TIOLI: Blurber

I like the sound of The Cypress List so onto the wishlist it goes.

On my wishlist too!

Because I see many dog people here, I thought I'd introduce my girl.



This is my sweet Lexie dog. She is very gentle and so affectionate. She LOVES her people, and we love her right back.

Lexie has Progressive Retinal Atrophy and has been blind for about 3 years. It's slowed her down a lot. She has to explore carefully instead of being her normal bouncy, playful self. But she does get around. She knows her house and her property, so she's allowed to go all over "the ranch" unsupervised. She can easily go for walks on leash. She can't go on trail rides with me anymore, but I try to include her in as many other activities as possible. She doesn't want to be left home without her family!

Thanks for visiting my thread! That's an adorable dog. It's nice that she's still able to move around unsupervised. She can get exercise and feel independent that way. That's probably really good for her quality of life!

Hello SugarCreekRanch! I know that it's alread some books ago ... but I'm wondering what you think/thought of State of Wonder?

11 The_Hibernator > Thanks for stopping by and admiring my baby!

12 PersephonesLibrary > Hello! Overall, I enjoyed State of Wonder. There were definately some slower parts, and I liked some of the supporting characters better than the main character, and the main premise was unbelievable. But for all that, it was absorbing! Strong writing, great sense of place, and some unexpected "reveals" that pulled things together. I listened to it on audio, and I found myself making any excuse to reach for my mp3 player and listen a bit more. I gave it 4 stars.

#13: SugarCreekRanch, thank you very much! I'm afraid that I just expected too much of it... or maybe I have to read the English original and it's again a translation problem. But I'm glad that you enjoyed it!

13. Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain



An entertaining, multi-layered story. Five year old Emma has gone mute after witnessing her adoptive father's suicide. Her mother, Laura, enlists the help of Emma's biological father to help Emma through the trauma. Laura is also looking into a mystery: why did her own father make a deathbed request that Laura help an unknown elderly woman in an Alzheimer's care facililty? There are lots of flashbacks as the older woman tells of her past, and it is slowly revealed how she knew Laura's father. This novel includes a fairly predictable romance, but it's a sweet story. Plenty of twists and nicely paced.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Author's surname has scrabble value >= 12

What a great picture and a very beautiful dog!

Is she a Samoyed?

Isn't it amazing how animals are able to adapt, seemingly, to most any handicap? It's great that she is confident enough to go out by herself and roam around her known area.

16 > Thanks, copper! Lexie is an American Eskimo. She's just an armful of a dog, around 18 pounds. She loves roaming around outside. Nothing wrong with her nose, after all!

14. Killer Weekend by Ridley Pearson



Killer Weekend is a crime thriller about an assassination attempt on a presidential hopeful. The reader knows the identity of the assasin, but the details of the assasin's intricate and unusual plan unfold gradually. It's a good example of its genre, with a great storyline and fast pace. Some elements of the story were particulary appealing to me: two working dogs, a cougar, and the Sun Valley setting.

This is the first book in the Walt Fleming series. I'd already read a later one in this series, and I think it would've been better to have read them in order, but it wasn't a big problem. I do want to finish the series, and will go in order from here.

I listened to this one in audio, and I think I would've preferred it in print. The narration was fine, but I find that my mind tends to wander when listening to genre fiction. And once you lose the thread, it's hard to catch back on. (Plenty of other people prefer this kind of action-packed book for listening.)

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook
TIOLI: Title or author's name contains a double T, I, O, or L

Lexie looks so beautiful, thanks for posting her pic!

Adding my praise for Lexie - what a beauty!

Thanks, sibyx and gennyt!

I am currently reading Daughters of the Witching Hill. It has good reviews, and a 4.19 star rating. Many of the reviews say that it is about the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612. I'm at 73% done, and no trials yet. What I've read so far is reasonably interesting, but not engrossing. Bring on the trials and let's get something going!!!

15. Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt



Daughters of the Witching Hill is a novelization of the events leading up to Pendle Witch Trials in 1612 England, one of the few trials of that time that had substantial written documentation. The novel follows one family as the grandmother learns the "healing arts" and encourages her daughter and granddaughter to follow in her footsteps. The author did a great job of depicting the lives of poor people in this time and place, and made it easy to see how a person could convince themselves that they or another had special powers.

The first 3/4 of this book is a very slow building of the popular opinion against Demdike (Bess Southerns) and her family. It's too slow, really. I was getting bored by this point. The last 1/4 book of the book is when the family and others are jailed and stand trial. This part rushes by too fast. I would expect this to be a dramatic, emotional, suspenseful part of the book, but it feels like we just skimmed over the trial.

I'm glad I read it. It made impressions of the time and place that will stick with me. But it's not necessarily one I'd recommend as a good story.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Somebody of Somewhere

Nice cover art, though. I'm a sucker for cover art sometimes.

Thanks for stopping by my thread. Your dog Lexie is adorable. I may have to try The invisible ones, or re-try The tenderness of wolves as I didn't get through it a couple of years ago.

23> I can be a sucker for cover art, too. But I read that one on Kindle, so I didn't even get the pleasure of admiring the cover every time I picked it up and put it down.

24> Hi! *waves*

16. To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn



This series is so much fun! To Fetch A Thief is #3. I'll definitely be picking up #4 soon. Good boy, Chet!

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audibook
TIOLI: Ungulate on cover

I had never heard of this series. I just looked it up - how funny!! Looks entertaining!

Ditto, Crazymamie. It does look like a fun series. Oh no, not another series!!!

17. Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin



The subtitle "Creating the Best Life for Animals" describes this book much better than the primary title "Animals Make Us Human".

This book is divided into chapters focusing on dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, chickens and other poultry, zoos, and wildlife. In each chapter, the author describes some primary basic emotional states for the animal, and how we can help the animal experience positive emotions (such as SEEKING, or curiousity) more and negative emotions (such as FEAR) less.

I found a lot of interesting information in this book. Sometimes the content seemed a bit disorganized and the ideas weren't always communicated clearly. I very much respect the author's position on animal welfare; she is an advocate for animal welfare within the realistic bounds of an omnivorous population. She works with the food industry to improve the physical and emotional living conditions of food-source animals. Very commendable.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Book
TIOLI: First-person title

I had a great time reading the first two Chet and Bernie books. I have a little catching up to do! Glad you like them, too.

I enjoyed reading Animals Make Us Human, but I think I liked Animals in Translation better. Have you seen the HBO movie, Temple Grandin? It's available on DVD now, and was very good. She's a very interesting woman.

30> I haven't read Animals in Translation yet, but I should. And a movie? I didn't know! Amazon has it on instant streaming, so I might watch it soon.

Temple Grandin is one of my heroines.

18. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay



4-star creepy.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook
TIOLI: Title has anagram-able word (dreaming/midrange)

19. The Dog Who Danced by Susan Wilson



I loved this book.

This is the story of Justine, a fortyish woman with a lot of mistakes behind her, whose closest family is her Sheltie dog Mack. Justine and Mack are true partners, even competing in dog freestyle dance competitions. Justine and Mack are separated during a cross-country trip to Justine's father's deathbed. Justine is frantic to find Mack, but must also fulfill family obligations.

And it's the story of Alice and Ed, an older couple in the wake of a tragedy. They haven't really been living, just existing. Then they find a stray Sheltie sheepdog, and gradually find a renewed interest in life.

This is a very emotional story. I felt Justine's panic and devastation at the loss of her dog. And I felt Ed and Alice's growing love for their new dog. And their "backstories" were heart-wrenching, too, and helped illustrated why this dog was so important to them at this point in their lives. This book is also a page-turner as we follow Justine's frantic cross-country search for her beloved dog.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Book
TIOLI: Animal on left page, beverage on right page

One of my favorite books last year was Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation. I'm definitely going to have look for some of her other books!

The Dog Who Danced reminds me of a movie I saw recently called "Mine" about the pets that had to be left behind during Katrina. Lots of official and unofficial rescue groups went in and saved animals--but the animals often went several states away and were given to new owners. In some cases it took several years for the original owners to trace where their pet had gone......by which time the new owners loved the pet and often refused to surrender them.

35 > Thanks for stopping by, streamsong! I will keep an eye out for the movie "Mine". It sounds very interesting, but I suspect it's heart-wrenching at times.

20. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed



I've spent a lot of daylight hours (no overnights) on the Pacific Crest Trail, and I'm always fascinated when I cross paths with a "through hiker". These amazing folks trek for months, some of them from Mexico to Canada, never straying far from the trail. So I was immediately attracted to this book, wanting to know more about this experience. Truthfully, I was a little disappointed once I saw that it was just as much about a personal, internal journey as it was about the literal journey. But I wasn't disappointed for long.

Cheryl Strayed is a gifted writer, and I was involved in her story immediately. She decided to solo-hike a large portion of the PCT almost on a whim, and is miserably unprepared for the reality of the undertaking. The book intersperses physical trail challenges (injuries, wild animals, scary terrain crossings, etc) with self-reflection on her messed-up life to that point. When she describes her experiences on the PCT, she doesn't spend a lot of time describing the beauty all around her. Instead, it is about the emotions she experienced on the trail, how the trail affected her, and how the distance from her "real life" gave her the courage to grow up. And it's very powerful stuff.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book
TIOLI:Title contains anagram word

21. Watchers by Dean Koontz



A pretty good horror/thriller about genetic engineering. I loved the dog, Einstein. I thought the book was overlong for its genre (17 hours audio), had a very slow middle and spent too much time on the romance. But I appreciated that the characters, even secondary characters, were much richer than normal for this genre. This book is also more thought-provoking than others in this genre.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: Title or author's name contains double T, I, O, or L

Just a general comment on your reviews: I like to read them because they're brief, pointed and give a good impression of the book.

I liked Watchers too...though I think Koontz has a bad habit of making his heroines a little too helpless! Perhaps I haven't read enough of his books, though.

40> I agree. Nora was really getting on my nerves with her "innocent ingenue" thing going on. It reminded of a Disney princess being raised in isolation, and then she joins society and is admired for her beauty and kindness. And of course has a screaming hot body. But Nora had redeemed herself by the end.

Thanks for stopping by my thread today. Your dog Lexie is beautiful! My, you've done some great reading this year! I like your reviews, too. I pretty much agree with on the end of Cypress House -- you put into words what I was feeling about it and couldn't figure out how to express.

Hi Carol! I just wanted to thank you for coming by my thread and to drop a star at yours. I kinda had an "awwwww" moment looking at Lexie - she's such a beautiful dog! I'm glad she's able to get around all right, despite her blindness. And congratulations on your 21 books read - that is really good.

Yay, visitors! Welcome Terri and Eris! Thanks for the kind words about my favorite fluffmeister, the incomparable Lexie Lou.

March is going to be a slow month for me, reading-wise, because it is a hectic month in other ways. I'm kind of frazzled right now. But it will get back to normal by mid-month, I hope.

22. Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante



Turn of Mind is the story of an orthopedic surgeon, diminished from Alzheimer's, and accused in the death of her frenemy.

It took me a while to get into this book. But by the halfway mark, I was absorbed. Told from the perspective of the woman with Alzheimer's, it is a very sad look at how it might feel.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: Title contains a heterograph/homonym

Hello.

I'm sorry I missed your thread before now. I've stared you and will be sure to visit often.

Yes, in addition to loving books, you will indeed find that many of us in this group love animals as well.

Thanks for posting both your reads and a photo of your lovely, lovely dog.

Hi Linda, thanks for visiting!

It's been a month, so it's time to share another critter picture! This is Abbey (CJ Abenita). She is an unstoppable force of nature. Abbey turns 32 this month. Hint: that's very, very old. Abbey has never known the meaning of "whoa", she's all "go". She had a stroke last year, figured out to get some control over her now-wonky legs, and was back to running across the pasture within a few days. It warms my heart to watch her race around, head and tail held high, feeling like a young filly. May we all age this gracefully!

32? *eyebrows pop up* I don't know a lot about horses (unfortunately), but I know that's old. Wow. She's gorgeous, too!

Abbey is beautiful! Is she an Arabian? Do you still ride her? My sister's Thoroughbred is in his 20s and is recovering from a tendon injury. She can't show him anymore because he lost some teeth and now he lets his tongue stick out all the time. That apparently doesn't go over big in the dressage ring but he's a doll and I'm his godmother. :)

I just love critter pics - can't you tell?

Thanks, Eris and Joanne!

Joanne, you have a good eye. Abbey is indeed an Arabian. I don't ride her anymore. She has the energy and strength, but after her stroke she is wobbly. It is too hard for her to balance a rider. I may "pony" her on a few rides this spring and summer, so she can still get out somewhere interesting. But it may be difficult to pony her - she won't want to be the follower! Would love to see pics of your godson. :-)

>49 Copperskye: That apparently doesn't go over big in the dressage ring but he's a doll and I'm his godmother. :)
*snort*

That's a beautiful picture. I've never been around horses but they are so pretty to look at!.

Thanks, Carrie!

23. Close Range by Annie Proulx



Close Range is a collection of short stories set in Wyoming. These stories feature very powerful prose, but there is so much bleakness, meanness, and violence that I really didn't enjoy it. These are not the soft-spoken, chivalrous cowboys that I know and admire.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: From JanetInLondon's library

I've been listening to Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman. It was seeming kind of familiar. Today about a quarter of the way in, I hit one little detail that made me 100% sure I've read this before. Arrrgh! Obviously, I don't remember it well, or I would've clued in a lot earlier. I hate it when that happens... it's just weird when I remember random details but not the overall story or how it ends.

So I am not the only one who forgets! I think it's because they change the dang covers on me. That and I didn't have LT way back when so I know there are tons of books I don't have cataloged as read.

Lovely pictures of your animals :-)

24. Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman



Turtle Moon refers to the month of May in a small Florida town, where full-moon type behavior happens all month long. This May, there's a murder, a missing toddler, a runaway teenager, a recent divorcee, a troubled K9 officer, and a ghost. It's an interesting story, told well.

I realized partway through this book that I'd read it before. I remembered certain small details, but not the overall plot. So apparently even though it's a very enjoyable read, it's not a particularly memorable one.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: Author's birthplace

25. Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller



Meh.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: Author's last name divisible by 3

26. Still Life by Louise Penny



This is the first in a "cozy mystery" series, set in a small town in Quebec.

A few years ago, I read the 5th book in this series and really enjoyed it. This one, not so much. Still Life is just too slow and ponderous for me, and the leaps from clues to deductions are just too great. I would not have read more in this series if I had started here.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Book
TIOLI: Mystery 300+ pages

**delurking**

I didn't care for Still Life myself. Always glad to hear I'm not alone. Some have told me to stick with the series, but I have to admit I'm just not interested. Still Life was quite dull, IMO

I'm currently reading Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers and that's one that will stick with you. Different from her other books...well, the ones I have read anyway.

I have a feeling I may have read Turtle Moon before as well...although I can't remember any details

60> Thanks for stopping by, Ellen!

I am off now to Akumal, Mexico, "The Place of the Turtles"! I plan to spend a lot of time underwater, but there will be some reading with my toes in the sand, too. :-)

Wow! I am soooooooooo jealous! Have fun!

Hope you have a relaxing and fun time!

Oh, have fun in Mexico!! I love reading on the beach and swimming with turtles.

The only way I got through Still Life was through the audio version. I love the series now, though!

Turtle Moon is my favorite Alice Hoffman but it's been years since I read it.

I'm back and had a wonderful time! Now it's back to real life, and torrential rain. Bother.

27. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult



Lone Wolf is about a family dispute regarding the continuation of life support for an irreversibly damaged accident victim. The patient is a wolf researcher, modeled on Shaun Ellis (author of The Man Who Lives With Wolves). I'm a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, and was really intrigued by The Man Who Lives With Wolves when I read it a few years ago, so this book was aimed right at me. I loved it!

Rating: 5 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Wild mammal on cover

Glad you had a good time! Yours is the second review for that book that really loved it. I have not read anything by Jodi Picoult- I might have to check her out.

I'm glad you enjoyed Lone Wolf I've only read My Sister's Keeper and Sing You Home and I liked them both.

I was intrigued by Picoult's latest, but my topics have just taken a drastic turn and I think I'll stay far away from that one.

28. The Ridge by Michael Koryta



Stephen King fans would love this. The Ridge is a tale of supernatural evil, made believable. It takes place in the woods of Kentucky, populated by a lighthouse and a sanctuary for big cats. The Ridge has the very real characters I've come to expect from Koryta, has a larger supernatural element than some of this other works, and takes the suspense up a notch.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: Spring cleaning

29. The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain



The Good Father is about a young single father who is desperate to provide for his small daughter. He takes on a questionable job, and finds himself mixed up in situations he would never have knowingly entered. He unwittingly endangers his child's life and his own. The story is told from his perspective, but also from a woman he befriends and from the child's mother.

I've learned to expect a really interesting plot from Diane Chamberlain, and The Good Father exceeded that expectation. This is a suspenseful page turner! It's well grounded with very relatable characters, so it appeals both as a "women's fiction" novel and as a suspense/thriller.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Finish for deadline

30. The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane



The Girl Who Disappeared Twice is a fairly standard private investigator suspense novel, but with an entire team of investigators ("Forensic Instincts"). These investigators are talented beyond belief, and are blessed with only strengths and no weaknesses. Even the search dog is infallible, despite not training with any of his new handlers.

The crime is the kidnapping of a young girl. The mother's twin was kidnapped in a similar crime years ago. I suspected "who dun it" well before the end, but it's a unique twist and was an interesting story line.

Rating: 2.5 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Spring cleaning

Yay! You liked Lone Wolf! I am jealous you got to go swim with the turtles. How fun! The rain is relentless isn't it?

#70: I hadn't heard of The Good Father, but I've read a few books by Diane Chamberlain in the last couple of years, and loved them all. She doesn't seem (or didn't seem) to be so well known here in the UK. Jodi Picoult is much more popular, but I think Diane Chamberlain's books are excellent. Now I have another one to look out for!

I had much the same reaction to Still Life as you did.

Nice reviews. The Ridge land The Good Father both look interesting.

Thanks for stopping by, Kim, Susan, and Mamie!

31. The Elephant Keeper by Christoper Nicholson



The Elephant Keeper is a fictional story of a young horse groom, Tom Page, who takes on the care of two elephants in 1700's England. The book is formatted as if Tom is writing it, as a record of the elephants' lives. It follows Tom and the elephants for several decades.

This book was just a so-so read for me. It was a little too slow and thoughtful to keep me fully engaged. I enjoyed Hannah's Dream (which has a similar theme) much more.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Wild mammal on cover

I'm so intrigued by elephants. I've had my eye on Hannah's Dream for awhile.

77 - Ellen: If you like elephants, you should definitely pick up Hannah's Dream! I loved it.

32. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins



I promised my daughter I'd finish it by this weekend, so we can go see the movie together. Looking forward to it!

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Audiobook
TIOLI: YA 2007+

We are really wanting to see that movie, too!

33. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn



Gone Girl is about the disappearance of Amy Dunne. She was apparently abducted on the morning of her fifth anniversary. Her husband, Nick, is of course a prime suspect (isn't it always the husband?). But even though half of the chapters are told from Nick's perspective, you just can't make up your mind if he's guilty or not. There's definitely something "off" about him. And he does say that he is good at half-truths. And the marriage was on the rocks. So.... guilty or not?

I can't say more without giving too much away. But I will say that this is one of the best dark psychological thrillers I've ever read. And easily the best "unreliable narrator". Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Book
TIOLI: First-person narrator of author's opposite gender

34. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater



The Scorpio Races are a November tradition on the island of Thisby. This is no ordinary horse race. The horses are barely-controlled "capaill uisce" (water horses), and not everyone who races will survive.

This is the story of Sean Kendrick, a favorite to win the race on the stallion Corr. And its the story of Puck Connolly, who dares to race her land horse against these fantastic beasts.

The imagery, sense of place, and mythological atmosphere is incredible in this book. I could so easily imagine those capaill uisce tearing up the beach, sand and water flying. I was just drawn into the island of Thisby, and understood Puck's and Sean's devotion to this place.

I listened to this on audio. The production was perfect for this book.

Rating: 5+ stars
Format: Audio
TIOLI: YA 2007+

Very nice reviews! I already have Scorpio Races in my TBR, but you got me with Gone Girl.

35. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan



The 1914 sinking of the Empress Alexandria leaves 39 people in a lifeboat designed for fewer. The survivors face moral dilemmas as they struggle to survive; not all do. The story is told through the diary of Grace Winter, who is on trial for events that happened in the lifeboat.

I was disappointed in the lack of character development in this book. We only hear from Grace's point of view, and she is pretty dispassionate when relating her story. I was also disappointed that certain mysteries are left unresolved.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Kindle
TIOLI: Titanic

36. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn



Chet gets the perp by the pants leg again. Good boy, Chet!

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audio

I really have to check out those books with Chet. They sound so fun! Bummer about Lifeboat as I have it in my TBR. It was such a great premise.

I love Chet! I just finished the Dog who knew too much and I loved it. I've never listened to any of the books on audio. I bet that adds a lot of personality, too. How is the narrator?

Too bad about The Lifeboat not working for you, but a new Chet and Bernie book helps to make up for it. I've only read the first two - I need to get back to them.

Chet alert! A Fistful of Collars is due out in September. It's available on netgalley now. I'm going to wait until September, so I can listen to the audio.

37. The Lilac House by Anita Nair



This book required too much effort to be enjoyable. The timeline jumps around a lot without consistent clues, and it switches back and forth from first-person to third-person perspective (using the same primary character). Characters are introduced using pronouns, and a few pages later you find out their names. Or a name is mentioned that you think is a cultural reference, and pages later you find out it is a pretty important secondary character. Lots of flipping back and forth to clarify what I had read.

I did like the storyline by the end of the book. There is a mystery about how Jak's daughter was horribly damaged, and the truth turned out to be more thought-provoking than I had expected.

Rating: 2 stars
Format: Book
TIOLI: Gardening word

38. Two of the Deadliest by Elizabeth George



A collection of short stories, all featuring either Greed or Lust. The editor opines that these are "two of the deadliest" of the seven sins. I liked many of the stories, but I didn't have any "OMG YOU HAVE TO READ THIS" experiences. Sherlock Holmes fans would probably enjoy "Catch Your Death" by Linda Barnes for its many Sherlock references.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: audiobook
TIOLI: 75'ers username

39. Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt



A decent legal thriller. Entertaining enough for my long commute.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: audiobook
TIOLI: 75'ers username

Time for another critter picture!



This is my daughter, Corinne, and her pony, Nacho, in an alpine meadow last summer.

That is a great picture! I love their hair blowing in the breeze.

40. Nocturne: And Other Unabridged Twisted Stories by Jeffery Deaver



Nocturne is a small collection of tales by Jeffery Deaver, a true master of suspense. I enjoyed every story.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: audiobook

41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling



It took months to read this aloud. But I suppose it takes Jim Dale 19 hours to do it, and that's without a squirmy boy cartwheeling around the room during storytime and continually interrupting with his own brand of foreshadowing since he already read it, you know. Tomorrow night we start on the Deathly Hallows. Good times!

Rating: 5 stars
Format: book, read-aloud

Hi Carrie! Thanks for stopping by!

I want a pony!!!

Love that photo! We loved the Harry Potter books, too.

>93 SugarCreekRanch: What a charming picture!

Hello to Ellen, Mamie, and Joanne! Thanks for visiting!

42. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard



Difficult subject. But very well done, especially considering it was written by someone with a fifth grade education, who was then absent from the world for 18 years. I listened to the audio, which is also narrated by the author. Very impactful.

I just don't think I could read that - heartbreaking.

I started reading the book and couldn't finish it. Just twists something very deep inside of me and it hurts. I'm glad that Jaycee is all right now, and I hope she's able to move on from that torture.

It's a survivor's story...so, I found it to be inspiring.

I hope Jaycee and her children are doing well

43. In a Dog's Heart: What Our Dogs Need, Want, and Deserve--and the Gifts We Can Expect in Return by Jennifer Arnold



This book was more focused on practical dog training than I expected. I guess I was expecting it to be more about "dog psychology", ala Temple Grandin. Since my dog is older and already very well behaved, I wasn't as engaged as I might be in a different stage. But I agree with many of her approaches, and I enjoyed the many anecdotes and sweet stories.

((((sweet dog stories)))))

44. Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo



The third in the excellent Kate Burkholder series. Kate Burkholder grew up Amish but left the faith, and is now the chief of police in a small town with a sizable Amish population. In this book, she investigates the death of three Amish adults who have fallen into a manure pit. It, of course, turns out not be accidental.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: audiobook

Hi Carol, just dropping by to add a star. Some great reading going on here. I love the picture above of your daughter and her horse, it's absolutely stunning!

Hi Judy! Thanks for dropping by!

45. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins



The second book in the Hunger Games. I liked it, but not as much as the first book.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: audiobook

46. 11/22/63 by Stephen King



11/22/63 is about time travel and the chance to foil the Kennedy assassination. It's also a very sweet love story. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't as absorbed as I usually am by Stephen King's books. I think it didn't work as well for me because the main character wasn't all that interesting. His circumstances were interesting, sure, but not his personality. There was also a lot less of the inner dialogue that is normally so present in King's books, so I didn't feel like I knew this character as well. Still, it's a very interesting storyline and I think it's worth a read.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Kindle

47. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins



Third in the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm glad that there was a clear resolution to the major issues, making a satisfying ending.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: audiobook

That last book in the trilogy was my least favorite.

Same here, Crazymamie. Suzanne Collins has "the curse of the third book" in which she always starts killing off a bunch of characters! It happened in Curse of the Warmbloods, and that stopped me from continuing a series I was very fond of.

11/22/63 is getting good reviews everywhere on LT. I guess I shouldn't let the sheer size of this book intimidate me!

114/115: I think the second book was my least favorite.

116: It took me a while to read 11/22/63, but it never felt like it was dragging. I did read it on Kindle, so I didn't have to hold a big old tome!

48. One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf



One Breath Away is a suspenseful story about a gunman holding hostages in a rural K-12 school.

This story is not focused on the perpetrator. It is much more about the effect of the incident on the victims and bystanders. It's told from several characters' points of view: a teacher, a student, a grandparent, and a police officer. The gunman's identity is a mystery to be revealed, and a few of the characters fear that it could be someone close to them.

This is one of those books that you can't put down until you know how it ends.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Kindle

49. Chomp by Carl Hiassen



A barely-making-it backyard zoo in Florida. A phony tv "survivalist", ala Bear Grylls. And a young girl on the run from an abusive father. Fun but satisfying. Intended for young adults, but plenty of appeal for not-young adults.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: audiobook

50. The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman



In the 1970's, 5 kids played around in the neighborhood woods and someone died. Years later, brought together by the death of one of the 5, they start to uncover the truth about what really happened in the woods.

I usually really like Lippman's books, but this was one wasn't one of my favorites. There is too much peripheral musing about how their lives turned out, and feels like it takes forever to get to the unveiling of the secret.

Rating: 2.5 stars
Format: audiobook

Hi Carol, I've not yet taken up Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games, but it's on the infamous list. I see you enjoyed the second and third on audio. Good idea; I listen to a lot of audiobooks, too, but mostly I'm plugged into a classic for my long walks.

Love the pic of your daughter with her pony : ).

I like the sound of One Breath Away - I must remember it when it's published here in the UK. I really liked the author's other two books. Chomp also sounds like fun!

51. Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger



Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: audiobook

52. The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch



Nell Slattery suffers from amnesia after surviving a horrible plane crash. As her family and friends gather around her in the hospital and later at home, she struggles to remember bits and pieces of her prior life. Taking clues from her family and friends' stories, pictures, and an iPod playlist of her favorite songs, she starts to build what she imagines will be an improved version of herself. Eventually it comes out that not everyone has been honest with Nell; some are using her amnesia as an opportunity to pretend certain things never happened.

This book has a great plot, combining Nell's search for herself and a search for a father who left years ago. The characters' reactions to the situation seem plausible, with people not resisting the opportunity to "start over". But I didn't really feel like I got to know the characters.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: book

Wow! Lots of reading going on here. I love Hiassen, but haven't read Chomp yet so onto the list it goes. And so does Gone Girl. I think i might like the Castillo series about the Amish, too. Thank goodness I have already read the Hunger Games series. Your thread is dangerous! : )

53. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton



Afterwards is a mystery about arson at a private school. It is narrated by Grace, a mother who was caught up in the fire while trying to rescue her teenager, Jenny. Grace and Jenny both remain unconscious in the hospital throughout the novel, but their “spirits” are able to observe what is going on around them in out-of-body experiences. Through their observations, conversations with each other, and their memories, the mystery is gradually unraveled.

This was a page-turner for me. I was caught up in the story and needed to see how it ended. I also grew to care for many of the characters. I think that having Grace’s “spirit” tell the story worked quite well. But the narration is a second-person narration, as Grace is meant to be telling the story to her husband. This tripped me up quite frequently. When Grace was talking to/about people other than her husband, the words flowed well. But then I’d hit a sentence like “You came into the room…”, and wham! I’d have to stop and re-remember that “you” is her husband. It would throw me out of the story for a bit.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Kindle

54. Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson



Another fast-paced, multi-threaded mystery by Ridley Pearson. This is the third in the Walt Fleming series, set near Sun Valley, Idaho. This one features a wine auction fraud, a private jet hijacking, the kidnapping of two teens, and a chase through the wildnerness with horses, rafts, and zip lines. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

Time for another critter picture! This is me and Piper. Piper is my friend and trail partner. We cover many miles together every summer! She is a 16 year old Arabian mare, and is a very sweet girl.

Great picture. Piper has a very nice face, she looks gentle, and she must be reliable since you spend so much time on the trails with her.

Piper is SO beautiful! Thanks for posting. Glad you're enjoying some summer mystery reads : ).

Great picture of you and Piper. Thanks for posting it. And I liked your reviews too. Get ready for some sunshine here! Finally!

I second DeltaQueen50; she has such a nice face and soft eyes.

Piper is a beauty. Nothing beats a reliable trail horse. I'm afraid I'm terribly jealous... :)

Enjoy!!

Piper is beautiful. :)

What a nice picture of the two of you!

Thanks, everyone, for your nice words about Piper. She is indeed a gentle soul.

55. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley



Rating: 4 stars
Format: Kindle

56. What Happened to My Sister by Elizabeth Flock



What Happened to My Sister is a sequel to Me and Emma. Do read Me and Emma first. The first book is one of my all-time favorites. It ends with a shocking twist that I didn't see coming, and it has stuck with me for years. If you read the second book first, it will be a "spoiler" for the first book and you'll miss the impact of that twist.

What Happened to My Sister picks up where Me and Emma left off. Young Carrie living a transient with her mother, and is sadly neglected. The child does not even have food, scrounges where she can, and resorts to eating paper when she can't find anything else. It's horrible. Then she meets and befriends a girl from a normal family, but the "normal" family has its own sad history. Carrie and the Chaplin family are good for each other.

I loved this book, and hard a time putting it down. I'm not sure how much of that was because of this book itself, or because I was already so invested in Carrie from reading Me and Emma a few years ago. Either way, I highly recommend both books.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Book

57. Under the Dome by Stephen King



Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

58. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling



Two stars is a low rating, but it's not the book's fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have picked this one. I hadn't really heard of Mindy Kaling. (Apparently I live under a rock. Or have my nose buried in a book, instead of watching TV. Whatever.) I guess I saw that it was essays from a humorist, and ignored that it was a memoir. So I was expecting funny commentary or observations about life in general. Turns out it was mostly about Kaling's experiences getting started in show business, and a bit of dishing on her The Office co-stars. This is probably a must-read for Kaling fans, but not so much for us rock-dwellers.

Rating: 2 stars
Format: Audiobook

Oh well? Good review and thanks for saving me the time.

From, Your fellow rock dweller.

Goodness, that must be rather a large rock, because I'm under it, too! Never heard of Mindy Kaling, nor have I watched that show. Anything beyond British television bemuses me.

I love what you have done with this rock!!! Never heard of her or watched the show. Thanks for the review.

Kim, Eris, and Carrie -- you are all welcome at my rock any time! :-)

59. Boleto by Alyson Hagy



Boleto is the story of a young Wyoming cowboy's journey to work on a Texas dude ranch and then on to California, where he hopes to learn about training polo horses. Will brings his horses with him -- steady ranch horse "Hawk", and beautiful filly "Ticket" (or "Boleto"). Will is training Ticket slowly and steadily; he hopes to sell her for a lot of money someday, but the philosophy of her training is as important to him as the potential financial gain.

This book is much more about the man than the horse. His experiences at the dude ranch and the polo estancia help him decide what kind of a man he wants to be.

I loved Alyson Hagy's style. She painted very vivid pictures of the people and places in very spare, straightforward prose. Her hero, Will, is authentic and multi-dimensional.

But I didn't love the storyline as much as I'd hoped. The section at the dude ranch didn't seem to contribute much to the overall story. And the ending didn't sit well with me. I confess to flipping back through the book to see if I had missed something.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Book

60. Come Home by Lisa Scottoline



This was an entertaining read, spanning both the chick lit and mystery-thriller genres. Jill, a pediatrician, is surprised when her ex-step-daughter arrives with the news that Jill's ex-husband has died. The step-daughter suspects that the man was murdered, though the police say there is no evidence. Jill starts doing a little investigating of her own.

Come Home is equally about Jill's struggles to balance her priorities, and about the investigation itself. Jill has a demanding job, a young teenager, two young adult ex-stepdaughters who have just stepped back into the picture, and a fiance who isn't happy about the stepdaughters. I liked that her investigation stayed on a reasonable, believable level; she did not suddenly turn into a super-cop. The mystery elements are well done. While I guessed some of the conclusions, there were enough surprises to keep it interesting.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Book

Haha... I enjoyed Kaling's book, but I'm a big fan of the show "The Office" and her writing... and I can definitely see how it wouldn't be quite the thing for a "rock dweller"... :)

Nice reviews! I have to say that the mystery sounds more interesting for me.

61. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt



Expected to loved it, but only liked it. Not sure why... maybe my expectations were too high going in.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

62. Bent Road by Lori Roy



Set in the 1960's, Arthur Scott brings his wife and children to his hometown in Kansas. An older sister, Eve, had disappeared from this town 25 years ago, and Arthur's youngest child, Evie, is now fascinated with the idea of Aunt Eve. Arthur's other sister struggles to leave an abusive marriage. And another child disappears from the town, in a scenario somewhat similar to Eve's.

Bent Road is more about the Scott's family internal issues than it is about the disappearances of the two girls. The disappearances do factor into everyone's emotional state, but the bulk of the book is about the abusive marriage, the family's efforts to help her, and a teenage son's efforts to become a man. At the end of the book, the disappearances become more important to the story line and family secrets are revealed.

The characters are very well done. But I found the abusive marriage theme depressing, and there were a number of scenes with animals that I found very disturbing. So I can't really say I enjoyed my time with this book.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook

Wow, Carol, you are really on a roll lately!! I have The Sisters Brothers in my TBR, but haven't gotten to it yet. I'm thinking that Bent Road is not for me - thanks for the head's up. Hope you're having a great weekend!

63. Defending Jacob by William Landay



I listened to this on audio, and I'm glad I did. The narrator's voice sounded lawyer-ly, which added to the experience.

Rating:4.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

I just finished Gone Girl which got on my TBR list from reading your review.

Thank you!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of my favorite reads so far this year.

Hi carol-- nice reading going on here. I am off my pace a little. In MN with my niece why had open heart surgery on Tues. doing well today. I should come home on Sunday. : )

Hugs and prayers for your family.

Thanks. Back Home. All is well. Except that I am exhausted! How do patients sleep with all those beeping things in the hospital?

Kim - I've been away from LibraryThing and missed all your drama! I'm so glad to hear that things are settled down and that both your niece and son are doing well.

64. Dancing Dogs by Jon Katz



Dancing Dogs is a collection of 16 short stories, mostly about dogs (although there is one about a barn cat). It's a nicely varied collection. Some of the stories are touching, some humorous, some insightful, and yes, there are some tear-jerkers. My favorite story was "Away To Me", which is about "Zip" gamely trying to carry on the herding duties after the loss of his Border Collie partner, "Fly".

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Book

65. Gone Missing by Linda Castillo



The fourth book in the excellent Kate Burkholder series. Amish teenagers are disappearing... Kate's niece is one of them.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

66. Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer



Shine Shine Shine is so different from anything else I've read. It's a novel about a suburban housewife with very relatable issues: a dying mother, a struggling young son, and a husband who spends a lot of time travelling for work. But there are quirks: Sunny is completely bald, her husband is in space deploying robots to the moon, and her son's problems are the same issues that make her genius husband who he is. This is very atypical love story, with two very atypical characters.

The author's voice is smart and fresh. I loved how she had Maxon (the husband) occasionally express his thoughts in formulas and pseudocode. And I loved how raw and honest Sunny's feelings were.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

67. Mice by Gordon Reece



Teenage Shelley and mother have "victim" personalities, and move to a small cottage in the countryside to hide from the big, bad world like a couple of scared mice. When a man breaks into their sanctuary, they discover they are capable of defending themselves... and more. Creepy.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

68. Gold by Chris Cleave



Gold is the story of longtime rivals/friends Kate and Zoe striving toward cycling Gold at the London Olympics. Kate and Zoe are both 32; this will be the final Olympics for each of them, and they each have their own dreams or demons driving them forward. Kate missed out on the Olympics 8 years ago due to the birth of her daughter, Sophie, and then missed the following Olympics due to Sophie's battle with leukemia. This is Kate's last chance. Zoe is defined by her racing, has a single-minded intensity to win with roots in a childhood trauma, and may self-destruct if she fails to win.

Sophie's story is heart-wrenching. The eight year old is very sick from her chemo, but does everything she can to appear healthy to her parents to lessen their worry. Kate and her husband, fellow racer Jack, have an Olympian task to care for Sophie while not completely abandoning their own dreams.

The story gets intense at the end, as the racing comes to a head just as Sophie has a crisis. By this time, I cared so much about all of the characters, I could not put it down.

Rating: 5 stars
Format: Book

Dang. You got me with Shine, Shine, Shine AND Gold. (I loved Little Bee!)

Kim - You got me back with Little Bee!

That seems very fair! : )

69. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling



FINALLY finished the series. It takes forever as a read-aloud, especially when you can only take the time to read together a few times a week.

Now, of course, the boy is clamoring for another book to read together. Suggestions? He is 10, going into fifth grade, and reads quite well on his own (recently finished The Hunger Games trilogy and is now working on Uglies/Pretties/etc), but enjoys reading together. He likes humor, action/adventure, and some historical fiction. We are thinking of maybe starting the Kane Chronicles series, but I'm not sure I want to jump into another series just yet.

70. Broken Harbor by Tana French



Tana French has written another absorbing mystery, where the investigator's personal history and psychology play a key role in the story. This one is a familicide, so it feels even darker than her other books.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

How about the Artemis Fowl Series or the Bartimaeus Trilogy? Broken Harbor looks good! Course I like her stuff already. Enjoy the long weekend and sunny weather! I am SOOO not ready for school and rain.

I was going to suggest Bartimaeus, but it's a series. :)

Oh, my, I'm seeing a lot of books here that look good! Broken Harbor, Gold, Mice, Gone Missing, One Breath Away, Gone Girl . . . and more. Some of them were already on my radar, some weren't.

Oh, and I enjoyed The Ridge, too. Michael Koryta is one of my favorite authors!

I love your "critter pictures!"

Kim and Rachel, thanks for the suggestions! He's already read the Artemis Fowl series, but we hadn't heard of the Bartimaeus books. I think we'll try it! But first we are doing The Mysterious Benedict Society. We're about halfway through, and he loves it. The older kid is usually listening in, too. :-)

Hi Terri! Glad you found some tempting books here!

71. Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay



Trust Your Eyes is a great thriller novel. It centers around Thomas Kilbride, a schizophrenic who is hyper-focused on maps and spends all of his time on a Google Earth-like web site, memorizing the layout and sights of cities. He happens upon a suspicious scene, and enlists his brother's reluctant help to determine what had happened.

The story is mostly from the perspective of the older brother, but also has many chapters from the perspectives of the perpetrators. It works well; the reader knows more about the situation than the brothers do, but there are plenty of mysteries to be revealed as the story progresses. The brothers are interesting, unique characters -- something you don't always find in a fast-paced thriller novel.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

72. Love, Anthony by Lisa Genova



I was reallly looking forward to this, having loved Lisa Genova's previous novels, Still Alice and Left Neglected. In those books, she weaves an interesting story around neuro disorders (Alzheimer's, "Left Neglect"). Here, she weaves a story around autism. But it didn't affect me the same way.

In Love, Anthony, two women living on Nantucket Island are facing different crisises. Beth's husband has been cheating, and she is unsure what course to pursue. Olivia is grieving the death of her young autistic son. Their stories are very believable, and I cared about both women. I loved the first 2/3 of this book. But when the stories come together, it is with a huge spiritual coincidence. It's not believable, and that ruined the story for me.

Rating: 2.5 stars
Format: Book

73. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan



Powerful book about race relations in the Mississippi Delta in the 1940's. It starts off pretty tame, about a city-raised woman who is surprised to learn that her husband has bought a farm, and she will be a farmwife. It gets violent and is very uncomfortable to read. But it's well worth reading.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

Mudbound was one of the first books I discovered thanks to LT. I agree it is a powerful book and very engaging. Glad you liked it!

74. The Prophet by Michael Koryta



Not my favorite Koryta. This one had too much football, and I missed his touch of the supernaturnal. But Koryta is very talented, and even "not my favorite" is still pretty darn good!

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

Great reviews! I am bummed the Genova did not live up to the calibre of her other two hits, both of which I have read and loved. : ( Thanks for the warning.

75. The Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton



This had been on my wishlist for a while, and I nearly spent an Audible credit for the audiobook version. I am so glad that a friend lent me the hardback edition instead. The pictures are gorgeous and are easily half of the enjoyment. I loved reading about Charlie growing up, but the photos... wow!

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

76. Stay Close by Harlan Coben



Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

Okay, that has to be the shortest review I have seen! LOL. Are you going to leave me hanging or add a sentence or two? ; P

Ha ha, Kim! Okay, how about this:

Fast-paced thriller in the usual Harlan Coben style. At the center of the story is a suburban mom with an "exotic dancer" past. If you like Harlan Coben, you'll like this one, too. If you don't like crime thrillers, there's nothing special about this one to recommend it.

Better? ;P

Much better!! ; ) I like Harlan when I am in the mood and this sounds like his usual fare. Perfect! Hope you have a great weekend. Is back to school going well? So far, so good on my end.

Kim - Back-to-school is going well, if a bit hectic.

I did something really dumb. I've been listening to the latest Chet and Bernie book (A Fistful Of Collars). I got to end, and felt like it just didn't hang together as well as usual. I thought my attention had drifted away and I missed stuff, but I figured out that I somehow skipped about 2 hours right out of the middle! I'm starting it over, from the beginning.

LOL, A few years ago I listened to MOST of Steve Martin's Born Standing Up with the car's cd player set to track shuffle....I started it again from the start and it made a lot more sense.

Yay! I didn't know there was a new Chet and Bernie book! I just went and put myself on the wait list at the library. Thanks for the heads up.

That's hysterical about listening to the book on shuffle!!

I've been trying to get through Keith Richards Life and I'm pretty sure I've slept through a bit, but I don't think I've missed much. LOL!

Okay, I am laughing about the audiobook on shuffle, too - so funny!!

I am also cracking up about the audiobook on shuffle!

77. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart



Read this out loud with my son (fifth grader). He loved it! It's a funny adventure story with a group of variously-gifted kids, with lots of opportunities to puzzle things out along with them. Best part: My daughter happened to discover the word "sesquipedalian" the same week we were reading this book, and one of the characters is named "S. Q. Pedalian". Oh, did we feel smart when we got the reference!

78. The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli



The Rand family is a bunch of thieves and con men, but they are not known for violence. Until Collie Rand goes on a rampage and murders several people one night. Five years later, Collie's brother Terry returns to visit Collie on death row, and Collie claims that one of the murders was not his work.

I found this book a bit slow in the first half, but it does pick up nicely. I didn't really like the way the mystery was resolved; it seemed to rely more on intuition and barely-founded suspicion than on clues or reasoning. But I loved the writing style, and the very interesting family of characters.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Book

79. A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn



I love this series, but this was my least favorite in the series. Chet's role seemed more like sidekick than partner in this one; he didn't get enough chances to uncover many clues on his own.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

So I am not the only one to miss a CD of an audio book!! I feel so much better. LOL.

Did Chet have any health problems?

I love the series, but I am so scared of something happening to Chet :(

192: It's safe to read! Chet is going strong. :-)

80. One Good Dog by Susan Wilson



Adam March is an up-and-coming CEO who loses everything in a moment of weakness. Chance is a pit bull on the run from his dog-fighting owners. Neither thinks they need the other... but of course they do. It's predictable that man and dog will become a team, but the details aren't predictable.

Warning: contains animal violence. While it's not described graphically, the dog-fighting aspects are very difficult to take.

I liked this book a lot, but I'd recommend Susan Wilson's The Dog Who Danced even more.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

81. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian



The Sandcastle Girls is a novel set during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The author calls this event 'The Slaughter You Never Heard Of'... and I hadn't.

Chris Bohjalian brings this historical time to life through the eyes of a young American woman working as a missionary, and a young Armenian man trying to survive, and a present-day descendant of those two. The perspectives of the 1915 characters were very touching and powerful, though the present-day character didn't affect me much.

For a similar (and in my opinion, even better) novel set in WWII, also try Bohjalian's Skeletons at the Feast. It is very moving.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

82. Land of a Hundred Wonders by Lesley Kagen



Story about a brain-damaged (Not Quite Right) young woman valiantly trying to prove that she's recovering and becoming Quite Right. Gibby stumbles upon a dead body, and decides that she will solve the murder and announce it in her newspaper. This gets the bad guys after Gibby and her friends.

I really didn't care for Gibby and her friends. Gibby has an excuse for her naivety, but her friends are no bright bulbs either. It was like Dumb and Dumber in 1970's Kentucky.

Rating: 2 stars
Format: Book

LOL Nice review! It was better reading than the book was, I guess.

83. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman



I had read a chapter of this book as a short story, "The Witch's Headstone", in the collection M is for Magic. That story is about an orphan boy, living in a graveyard, who befriends the ghost of a young witch... someone even the other ghosts shun. I loved the contrast of sweetness and dark, creepy setting, and put The Graveyard Book on my wishlist and then on my kindle. Where it sat for some time.

Earlier this summer, my 10 year old son had run out things to read while on vacation. I remembered that I had The Graveyard Book on my kindle, and that many reviews classified as a "children's story". And from my knowledge of the "The Witch's Headstone", it seemed appropriate. So I offered it to him. He read it for a bit, and then put it down saying it was really creepy and he didn't want to read it. I didn't think much about it at the time; different books appeal to different people.

Now that I've read it, I feel really bad for handing this to my kid! The first chapter is indeed creepy... and not in a supernatural, fantastical way. There is a killer going through a family's home, killing each person with a knife. But he especially wants to kill the toddler. The toddler happens to escape, but it being stalked by a psycho with a knife. It does NOT feel like a children's story, especially for a sensitive sort of kid.

After that first chapter, the tone is more similar to what I remember from "The Witch's Headstone". This is a coming of age story, where a living boy is part of the battle between good and evil. There are scary scenes, some very scary, but they are clearly fantasy with demons and ghouls. In the end, I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad I read it. But I still bad for handing it to my kid.

That's interesting that your 10 year old felt The Graveyard Book was too creepy. I read some pretty creepy stuff when I was a kid, so I'm always surprised when other kids get creeped out.

199 - Scary is in the eye of the beholder, I guess! He's done fine with other scary/spooky/creepy books. Voldemort doesn't phase him; he loved The Hunger Games. This one was just too real, I think. It's not that far-fetched that a bad guy with a knife breaks into your house and kills the whole family.

84. The Haunting of Cambria by Richard Taylor



From the cover design, I expected a brooding, atmospheric ghost story. It's not.. it's way more fun than that!

The Haunting of Cambria mixes a haunted house story with humor and romance. It moves along quickly, has a varied cast of characters, and a pretty original source of the haunting. This isn't great literature, but it sure kept me up late finishing "one more chapter" after another.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

Hi Carol, you were right. I did like Land of A Hundred Wonders more than you! This wasn't my first book by Lesley Kagen and since I loved the first one I read, I was perhaps a little more forgiving towards the author.

I loved The Graveyard Book when I read it but do remember being surprised that it was classified as a YA read.

85. The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon



The One I Left Behind alternates between 1985 and 2010. In 1985, Regina (Reggie) was 13 years old and her mother was the final victim of serial killer Neptune, who was never caught. In 2010, Reggie's mother is located, Neptune kidnaps another victim, and Reggie begins to unravel clues to Neptune's identity.

The book is tightly constructed, with chapters from 1985 very closely paralleling chapters from 2010, sometimes with the same characters visiting the same locations but 25 years separated. It was kind of a cool effect. There are several smaller mysteries (or family secrets) revealed as the kidnap/murder investigation progresses. The tension and pace increase toward the end of the book, until the ultimate reveal.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Book

86. Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger



Another entertaining thriller in the Cork O'Connor series. I like the rural Minnesota setting and the Native American themes in this series. This book's central issues are the eco-terrorism bombing of a local lumbermill, and a man's obsession with a Lake Superior shipwreck that he barely survived a decade ago. It turns into a fast-paced kidnap/murder story by the end.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

I have The Graveyard Book on audio, and I am wanting to get to it soon, so thanks for the review which is urging me on! Some good reading here - always enjoy reading your thoughts on the books you have read. Hope you had a lovely weekend, Carol!

Hi, Carol!

Just checking in wondering what Koontz book you are reading.

And of course adding some of your books to my TBR list! LOL!! I always enjoy your reviews.

Hi Carol, As much as I loved The Graveyard Book, I couldn't agree more that the first chapter was just a bit too disturbing for the younger set.

I listened to the audio, read by Gaiman - it was excellent.

Hi Mamie, Ellen, and Joanne! Thanks for stopping by. :-)

87. Little Bee by Chris Cleave



After being confined for two years in a British immigration detention center, Nigerian refugee "Little Bee" seeks out the British couple she'd encountered during a horrific experience on a beach in Nigeria.

This book was really good in many ways. It has some incredibly dramatic scenes... the kind where you can not put the book down until the end of the section. It's told in two perspectives (that of Little Bee and the suburban British woman), giving multiple views of the same events. Little Bee has some very wise insights into human nature. And there is a even little humor, in the form a small boy with a Batman alter-ego.

But I was distracted by some credibility issues. The Batman boy is said to be four years old, but he acts and speaks younger. Little Bee seems far more knowledgable about British culture, idioms, and customs that you would expect from only two years of residency.. especially two years of confined residency. A male character seems way too available for overnight activities, considering he has a wife and 3 children (1 an infant) at home. And the ending was only possible by a parent taking a huge risk with their child's safety.

I listened to this on audio, and the narration was excellent.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

88. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz



Mediocre suspense/thriller with really far-fetched crime scenarios plus a supernatural element. Minimal character development, with characters being very good or very evil. On the positive side, it has dogs.

Rating: 2 stars
Format: Kindle

89. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart



More read-aloud fun with the boy kid. :-)

89.5 Click-Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman



Neil Gaiman gives us a trick and a treat with this "fun size" creepy Halloween story. About 15 minutes long, free on Audible and every download raises money for charity.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

I always get good suggestions from your thread! I like the sound of The Haunting of Cambria and The One I left Behind.

Hi Susan! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Hi there! Trying to catch up again. You've done some good reading and done justice to the whole spooky October theme. I snagged a couple of titles myself! : )

90. Cell by Stephen King



A post-apocalyptic novel where the apocalypse is delivered via cell phone. Those who answer the call have their minds altered, and become zombie-like. A few of the cell-phone-less bind together to fight the zombies.

This was a pretty good horror novel, though not one of my favorite Stephen Kings. I didn't feel quite as "in the mind" of the main character as I usually feel with his books.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

91. Stranger in the Room by Amanda Kyle Williams



Stranger in the Room is the second novel in the Keye Street series. It's a good read, although I think I liked the first one better.

Keye Street is a private investigator, former FBI criminalist, and sometimes-consultant to the local Atlanta police. In this novel, her PI work involves finding out why a crematorium gave someone an urn filled with fake ashes. This part of the story line has a lot of humor in it, but gets pretty creepy, too. Her police consultancy work involves helping to solve some possibly-related murders. And she is also helping her cousin Miki, who is being stalked by an unknown man.

I really liked a lot of things about this book. Keye is sarcastic and funny, but vulnerable, too. I like the juxtaposition of mundane or offbeat PI work with the more serious police investigations. But in this book, Keye's "criminal profiling" of the murder suspect seemed way too detailed, with nothing to back it up. And the criminal's background, and how it relates to his "signatures" left at the scene, was too much. I don't expect a suspense thriller to really be believable, but this was too far.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Book

92. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater



The Raven Boys is about a group of teens -- boys from the private Aglionby Academy, and local daughter-of-a-psychic Blue -- who are on a kind of quest to find the "ley line" and the burial place of an ancient king. It has a rich a varied cast of characters. It starts out kind of slow, but really picks up at the end. It is not tied up nicely at the end; it is book one of a planned series.

I picked up this audiobook from the library because I absolutely love The Scorpio Races by the same author. This one didn't have the same appeal for me personally because it is more typical young adult fantasy, without the personal appeal of the horse theme. It is really well done, though. I will be recommending it to my teen daughter.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook

93. Night Kill by Ann Littlewood



Night Kill isn't great literature. But, oh the fun of reading a mystery set in a Pacific Northwest zoo! The author has worked as a zookeeper in our local zoo for years, and her knowledge is apparent. The setting, animals, zoo crew drama, and daily zoo activities were very real. The mystery plot and characterizations were just okay. But the setting more than makes up for it.

This is the first in a series of three.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Kindle

Hello there! Well you have been busy reading I see. And kudos for actually posting and reviewing them. ; ) I am a wee bit behind on that front. Okay, all fronts! But still, life is good. Happy Sunday!

94. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey



A "retold fairy tale" of a middle-aged childless couple in an isolated Alaskan winter. One night they build a snow girl; the next morning, the snow girl is gone but they occasionally catch glimpse of a girl in the woods around the cabin. Is she real? Or a snow sprite?

The Snow Child is an atmospheric read, with the beautiful but harsh Alaskan wilderness playing a huge role. It's also quite emotional, as we feel Mabel's despair at having lost one child and her hope and joy at the possibility of mothering the snow child. The story is a nice blend of realism and fantasy, and tends to waver back and forth between them. Weaving the traditional "The Snow Maiden" book into the novel is a nice touch, too.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

I bought a copy of The Snow Child almost a year ago. I think I should get to it soon!

Oh, The Snow Child sounds good.

I actually came by to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your holiday.

I also enjoyed The Snow Child - nice review! Hope you and your family have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!! And please no more rain...I almost couldn't see on the highway the other day, it was coming down so hard. Whew!

I loved the tale of The Snow Maiden when I was a kid, and when I read The Snow Child I was absolutely delighted at how the fairy tale was intwined with the story. I'm happy you liked the book.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Joanne, Judy, Mamie, Kim and Eris! Thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes, and I hope you all had lovely holidays.

Kim - Yes, we are thankful for the respite from the rain! It was crazy earlier this week.

95. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart



Third in the series. A read-aloud-together with my ten year old boy. He wants to start the fourth (a prequel) immediately.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Kindle

96. Did Not Survive by Anne Littlewood



I started on this book immediately after finishing Night Kill, the first in the series. I liked Did Not Survive even more than the Night Kill. It has the same great setting of being 'backstage' at a small Northwest zoo, but the mystery storyline is stronger.

As in the first book, the mystery is the death of a zookeeper. An elephant is the initial primary suspect this time, but it is fairly quickly determined to be a human murderer. There are a number of situations swirling around that may or may not be related to the murder: conflict between crew members (past and present), new crew members with past secrets, things disappearing from around the zoo, and anti-zoo activists picketing the zoo. I did not pick out the culprit on my own, but when the who-dun-it was revealed, I realized I hadn't paid attention to clues that were there all along.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Kindle

Oh, I love when I am actually wrong about the murderer! Glad you enjoyed it. : )

Alright, Ann Littlewood's mysteries are added to the list of books to track down. Thanks!

I am sorely tempted tonight.

My daughter dearly wants a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas. Me, too! I ended up ordering one for her a couple of weeks ago, and they were saying then to expect around December 21. I went ahead and ordered mine, as a gift from hubby, since I know he shops very late and I suspected he might not be able to get one close to Xmas.

They arrived today, far earlier than promised. I sooo want to take a peek. I opened the cardboard shipping box, and saw that the Kindles are in tamper-evident packaging. No way for me to check it out and discreetly seal it back up. But I want to, so badly!

#221: I think that I saw a movie adaption of the original story some time ago. It sounds like a great winter book and maybe I can squeeze it in between my other reads.
#232: I know that feeling... Do you hear the Kindle whisper: "Surrender... just a quick look... nobody will know... ". ;)

Perhaps you should open up the one that you are giving to your daughter - you know, just to check it out and make sure that it works okay. Nothing more disappointing than receiving a gift that doesn't work right. So really, you are practically obligated to spare her that pain.

Oh good thinking Crazy!! Definitely. Course it might look suspicious if her Kindle has your kind of books loaded on it...LOL.

I think you're right, Mamie -- I am practically obligated to take a peek! Excellent reasoning. :)

97. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman



A woman wakes up to discover that her husband has committed suicide. Having no clue that he had been unhappy, she starts investigating what might have been troubling him, and uncovers secrets in the small Adirondack town.

It was tough to get past the first few chapters. As Nora wakes up, she is immediately afraid that something is very wrong because her husband is not in bed beside her. But surely that happens fairly often in normal life... especially if hubby is a police officer who may be awoken in the middle of the night to attend to emergencies. So why the immediate dread? Then after discovery of the body, a clue (age of rope) is discovered in a way that is just "forced". It was hard to keep reading at this point.

It does get better. As the pace picks up, its easier to forgive the ham-handed clues and irrational character actions. There are multiple secrets to be uncovered, and I didn't see all of them coming.

This was an Early Reviewers win.

Rating: 1.5 stars
Format: Book

98. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller



Nine years after a flu epidemic has swept the world, only a few people remain. One of them is Hig, a pilot with a small plane. Hig has had to adopt some of the violent kill-or-be-killed manners of his neighbor Bangley, but a humane core remains.

This book is getting rave reviews from others, so I expected to love it. I liked it, but fell short of loving it. I do think it is one that will stick with me, though.

I listened to an audiobook version, and thought the writing style really lent itself well to audio. Some readers have not liked the staccato style in print, but it makes for a very believable audio narration.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

99. Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan



Rocky is a psychologist who is having difficulty dealing with the sudden death of her veterinarian husband. She runs away to a little Maine island town, where nobody knows her, to get an extended break from "real life". Filling the Animal Control officer role, she forges relationships with her island neighbors and cares for a dog horribly injured by an arrow.

Lost and Found is a great story that crosses into multiple genres. It's "women's fiction", packing an emotional punch with the grief over the loss of a husband. It's a mystery. It's a romance. And there is a wonderful dog.

The writing style isn't as good as the plot, characters, and setting. But it's a good read, particularly for dog lovers.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Book

100. Endangered by Ann Littlewood



This is the third book in the really entertaining "Zoo Mysteries" series by Ann Littlewood. Ms Littlewood has years of experience working in a zoo in Portland, OR and her experience shows in her books set in a fictional zoo in nearby Vancouver, WA.

In this book, bird keeper Iris Oakley helps the zoo to take in some exotic birds and reptiles discovered at a drug raid. As the officials seem dis-interested in persuing the animal-related charges, Iris starts looking into things. And gets into danger, of course.

Endangered has a lot more character development than in the prior two books. The mystery is well done. There is plenty of animal-related appeal, but there is somewhat less zoo backdrop than in prior books.

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

One hundred! Woo-hoo! Yay, me!

Fantastic! I'm envious of your books.

Book 100 looks good. I have that series on the neverending must read list.

One Hundred!! Way to go! Very impressive. : )

Congrats on reaching 100 books, Carol. I have a Dystopian Category in my 2013 Category Challenge next year and The Dog Stars looks like a good match.

100 BOOKS!! Congratulations!

Sorry The Dog Stars wasn't a complete success for you. It'll be one of my favorites for the year.

I read Lost and Found a few years ago, and even though I didn't think it was really very good, there was something about it that just kept me reading.

Like everyone else, I am heartbroken due to last week's events at Clackamas Town Center and Sandy Hook Elementary. Between the "close to home" connection (we shop at Clackamas Town Center) and the "close to heart" connection (still have one kid at elementary school), it's been overwhelming. I don't have anything fresh or insightful to say on the subject, but it doesn't seem right to go on chatting about "normal" things without at least recognizing these events.

So here is a moment of silence in honor and remembrance.

Normal book-chat to resume soon.

Thanks and well said.

I've felt the same way this week. We attended an event at my third grader's elementary school last Friday right after we heard the news from CT. It was hard not to just grab and hug him and all of his friends.

101. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver



Dellarobia is a young parent disenchanted with her marriage. She is the first to encounter a large population of Monarch butterflies have found their way to her Appalachian mountain area. The townspeople take this beautiful sight for a religious blessing, but the scientists who arrive bring dire news of climate change.

The writing is beautiful, the characters are believable, and it is an absorbing multi-layered story.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: Audiobook

102. Ring of Truth by Nancy Pickard



Ring of Truth is a crime/thriller whose "amateur detective" is a true crime writer. While putting the finishing touches on her latest book, Marie Lightfoot uncovers additional information that may mean that justice has not been served.

This book was a good entertaining read, about what you would expect from a supermarket crime/thriller novel. I was expecting more, having loved Nancy Pickard's The Scent of Rain and Lightning and The Virgin of Small Plains, which both seemed more "literary" than Ring of Truth.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Book

103. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan



Old books, secret codes, Google computing power, a secret society, a quest for immortality. Fun!

Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook

104. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman



This novel is about a group of women who gather once a year for an annual cookie exchange. Each of the 12 chapters focuses on one of the attendees, telling of past or recent events that made her the person she is now. Each chapter also has a cookie recipe, and between the chapters are interesting bits of the history or chemistry of various baking ingredients.

I admit to being a bit bored by this book. While there are some interesting characters with interesting pasts, nothing much "happens" in the course of the book. The big conflict or mystery is that the party hostess is anxiously awaiting medical news from a family member. I could have set this book at any point and been completely free of the "what will happen next?" feeling.

Rating: 2 stars
Format: Book

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a nice day with just the immediate family and my parents. Now that the house is quieter, I am finding time to enjoy my Kindle Paperwhite. I love my new Paperwhite!

105. Christmas with Tucker by Greg Kincaid



Coming of age story with a 13-year-old boy on a 1960's Kansas farm. After the recent loss of his father, George must take on a adult-sized responsibilities on his grandfather's farm. He is also taking care of a neighbor's dog, Tucker.

Sweet, slow-paced story with an old-fashioned feel.

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook

106. Mare's Nest by Lesley Kagen



An interesting novel about being a "Horse Show Mom", rife with unethical trainers and horse-traders, competitive moms and kids, and "barn drama".

I enjoyed this novel because of the subject matter. The author gets the horsey details right, and the trainers/owners/riders are interesting caricatures of what I hear the show world is like.

I was annoyed with the main character often, because she supposedly grew up as a top saddleseat rider, yet is horribly naive about the show world (she doesn't know what "eventing" and "dressage" are, doesn't demand vet checks when purchasing horses, is unfamiliar with common horse medications, spends a huge sum on an unproven horse after one test ride, etc). I was also very annoyed with her parenting -- so much effort and money spent on making the girl's dreams come true, regardless of effect on the rest of the family. But I guess that was the point of the novel!

Rating: 3.5 stars
Format: Kindle

Lots of good reading lately! Flight Behavior and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore were both on my Best of 2012 list!. And congrats on the new Kindle Paperwhite. Enjoy!

I got Flight Behavior as a present for Christmas, but now I have to wait to read it because my book club is doing it later in the year.; glad you like it though! Merry belated Christmas and a Happy New Year wish just in case I don't get back here again tomorrow. : )

Congrats on the new Paperwhite!

I really want to get to the Robin Sloan book...

Happy holidays to you and best wishes for the New Year!!

Thanks for the recent comments, Amy, Kim and Joanne!

And thanks the whole "75 Books Challenge for 2012" for a great year.

My 2013 thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147037