2017 Reading Challenges

2017 Reading Challenges

17 Challenges for 2017

1.  Read at least ONE from each of the following categories:

A Classic 
     Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
     Any title by Willa Cather
     Any title by Edith Wharton
     The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
A Recent Classic
     One Hundred Years of Solitude - Marquez
A Memoir
     Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness - Sasha Martin
     The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland - Saira Shah
An Unread Newbery Award Winner
     .
A New-to-me Much-Talked-About Author
     Louise Erdrich
     Joe Hill
A Short Story Collection
     Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Thing Around Your Neck
     Lorrie Moore
     Alice Munro
     Jumpa Lahiri
     Mary Gaitskill (Bad Behavior)
     Neil Gaiman
     Alexie Sherman
     Manuel Gonzales (The Miniature Wife and Other Stories)
A New Mystery Series
     Em Hansen, Wyoming Geologist by Sarah Andrews
     Lacy Flint, London Detective Constable by S. J. Bolton
     Father John O'Malley & Vicky Holden, Priest & Arapahoe Lawyer by Margaret Coel
     Dianne Fallon, Georgia Museum Director by Beverly Connor
     Dr. Samantha Owens, Tennessee Medical Examiner by J. T. Ellison
     Erlendur, Iceland Inspector by Arnaldur Indridason
     Jonathan Payne & David Jones, ex-Special Forces by Chris Kuzneski
     Henry Hole, Oslo cop by Jo Nesbo
     Garrison Gage, ex-NYC cop now living in Oregon by Scott William Carter
     Leah Hudson, Agent of some sort by Andrew Downs
     Tracy Crosswhite, Seattle homicide detective by Robert Dugoni
     Elise Sanburg, Savannah homicide detective by Anne Frasier
     Jonathan Stride, Duluth Police Lieutenant by Brian Freeman
     Van Shaw, Army Ranger by Glen Erik Hamilton
     Jessica Blackwood, FBI Agent by Andrew Mayne
     Sydney Rose Parnell, Denver Railroad Police Special Agent by Barbara Nickless
     Genevieve Lenard, Insurance Investigator by Estelle Ryan
     Archie Lean, 1892 Portland, Maine Deputy Marshall by Kieran Shields
     Claire Codella - NYPD Detective by Carrie Smith
     Thomas Andreasson & Nora Linde, Swedish Police Detective & Lawyer by Viveca Sten
     Jessica Daniel, Manchester, England Detective Sergeant by Kerry Wilkinson
     Tony Wagner, Seminary student-cum-detective by Paula F. Winskye
     Chief Inspector Armand Gamache - Quebec by Louise Penny
A Middle Grade Novel
     The Secrets of Blueberries, Brothers, Moose & Me - Sara Nickerson
     Colin Fischer - Ashley Edward Miller
     Stella by Starlight - Sharon Draper
     The War that Saved My Life - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
     Absolutely Truly - Heather Vogel Frederick
     All the Answers - Kate Messner
     Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
     Ms. Bixby's Last Day - John David Anderson
     Gertie's Leap to Greatness - Kate Beasley
     Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles - Shari Green
     Paper Wishes - Lois Sepahban
     Hour of the Bees - Lindsay Eager
     Blue Birds - Caroline Starr Rose
     A Tangle of Knots - Lisa Graff
     Paper Boy - Vince Vawter
     The Hidden Summer - Gin Phillips
     The Boy on the Porch - Sharon Creech
     Hokey Pokey - Jerry Spinelli
     Sure Signs of Crazy - Karen Harrington
     Navigating Early - Clare Vanderpool
     The Secret Tree - Natalie Standiford
     The Boy on the Wooden Box - Leon Leyson
     The Paper Cowboy - Kristin Levine
     Echo - Pam Munoz Ryan
     March: Book 1 - John Lewis
     House Arrest AND Rhyme Schemer by K. A. Holt
A Picture Book Biography:
     Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: a Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix - Gary Golio
     Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library - Barb Rosenstock
     Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women - Kathleen Krull
     Just Behave, Pablo Picasso - Jonah Winter
     The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Woman Changed a City Forever - Joseph H. Hopkins
     The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse - Patricia MacLachlan
     Papa is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost - Natalie S. Bober
     For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson - Peggy Thomas

2.  Published in the Current Year - 2017
1.  The Warden's Daughter - Spinelli
2.  American Street - Zoboi
3.  The Dark Room - Moore
4.  In the Shadow of Lakecrest  - Blackwell
5.  Bellamy and the Brute - Michaels
6.  The Forgetting - Cameron
7.  A Merciful Death - Elliot
8.  Posted - Anderson
9.  Zenn Diagram  - Brant
10.  The Matchstick Castle - Graff
11.  Age of Order - North
12.  The Lost Causes - Etting & Schwartz
13.  The Hundredth Queen - King
14.  Down a Dark Road - Castillo
15.  The Girl in Green, The - Miller
16.  Colorless - Stradling
17.  Paintbrush - Bucchin
18.  The Girl on the Bridge - Hayman
19.  The Late Show - Connelly
20.  The Fourth Monkey - Barker
21.  The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr - Maynard
22.  Untamed -Dyer
23.  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Sullivan
24.  A Hard Man to Forget: The Jack Reacher Files - Ames
25.  The Hate U Give - Thomas


3.  Written before 2007 (over 10 years old)
1.  Echo Park - Harry Bosch #12 (Connelly) 2006
2.  Still Life  - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1 (Penny) 2005
3.  Immoral - Jonathan Stride #1 (Freeman) 2005
4.  The Plantation - Payne & Jones #1 (Chris Kuzneski) 2002
5.  Meet Josefina - Tripp (American Girls Josefina #1) 1997

4.  One-Word Titles
1.  Sixkill
2.  Moo
3.  Rewinder
4.  Immoral
5.  Passenger
6.  Posted 
7.  Colorless
8.  Outage
9.  Paintbrush
10.  Legend
11.  Untame Consider d
12.  Consider

5.  Arizona, Maine, or Pennsylvania?
1.  Moo (Maine)
2.  Piper Green and the Fairy Tree (Maine)
3.  Wolf Hollow (Pennsylvania)
4.  The Girl on the Bridge (Maine)

6.  YA
1.  The Leaving of Things (Antari) possibly considered adult, I disagree
2.  American Street (Zoboi)
3.  Rewinder (Battles)
4.  Bellamy and the Brute (Michaels)
5.  The Forgetting (Cameron)
6.  Tell Me Three Things (Buxbaum)
7.  Passenger (Bracken)
8.  This Savage Song (Schwab)
9.  Zenn Diagram  (Brant)
10.  Age of Order (North)
11.  The Lost Causes (Etting & Schwartz)
12.  The Hundredth Queen (King)
13.  The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland (Crane)
14.  The Serpent King (Zentner)
15.  Throne of Glass (Maas)
16.  Colorless (Stradling)
17.  Outage (Barr)
18.  Paintbrush (Bucchin)
19.  Legend (Lu)
20.  Untamed (Dyer)
21.  Consider (Acevedo)
22.  The Lying Planet (Riggs)
23.  The Hate U Give (Thomas)

7.  Middle Grades
1.  Moo (Creech)
2.  House Arrest (Holt)
3.  The Magician's Elephant (DiCamillo) DNF
4   Wolf Hollow  (Wolk)
5.  The Warden's Daughter (Spinelli)
6.  Posted  (Anderson)
7.  The Matchstick Castle (Graff)
8.  Meet Josefina (Tripp)
9.  Dear America: With the Might of Angels, The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley Virginia, 1954 (Pinkney)

7A. Early Chapter Books/Beginning Readers
1.  Piper Green and the Fairy Tree
2.  Mouse Scouts
3.  The Painting That Wasn't There
4.  Abuela's Birthday

8.  Historical Fiction
1.  Crow Hollow (Wallace) 1600s Massachusetts Bay Colony
2.  The Buried Book (Pulley) 1952 Michigan
3.  Wolf Hollow  (Wolk) 1940s rural PA
4.  The Warden's Daughter, The (Spinelli) 1959 Pennsylvania?
5.  Lyrebird Hill (Romer) alternating with present, 1898 Australia
6.  In the Shadow of Lakecrest  (Blackwell) 1928 Lake Michigan
7.  Meet Josefina (Tripp) 1820 Santa Fe NM
8.  Dear America: With the Might of Angels, The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley Virginia, 1954 (Pinkney) 1954 Virginia

9.  CRF
1.  Moo (Creech)
2.  Piper Green and the Fairy Tree
3.  House Arrest (Holt)
4.  The Leaving of Things (Antari)
5.  Lyrebird Hill (Romer) alternating with 1898
6.  American Street (Zoboi)
7.  Tell Me Three Things  (Buxbaum)
8.  Posted  (Anderson)
9.  (sorta) The Matchstick Castle - Graff
10.  The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland (Crane)
11.  The Serpent King (Zentner)
12.  The Girl in Green (Miller) though in began in 1991
13.  Trail of Broken Wings (Badani)
14.  The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr (Maynard)
15.  The Hate U Give (Thomas)

10.  Non Fiction (try at least one MEMOIR!)
1.

11.  Verse
1.  House Arrest

12.  Poetry  
1.  I've Lost My Hippopotamus (Prelutsky)

13.  Mystery
1.  Sixkill (#39 Spenser)
2.  Dead Connection (#1 Ellie Hatcher)
3.  The Gray and Guilty Sea (#1 Garrison Gage)
4.  Still Waters (#1 Sandhamm)
5.  The Buried Book (not a murder mystery)
6.  Echo Park (Harry Bosch #12)
7.  Kingdom Come (#1 Elizabeth Harris)
8.  Lyrebird Hill (not a murder mystery, or a series)
9.  Mourning Gloria  (#1 Leah Hudson)
10.  Still Life  (#1 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache)
11,  The Dark Room (#1 Gavin Cain, SF)
12.  Blood on the Tracks (#1 Sydney Rose Parnell)
13.  Seeds of Deception (#7.5 Kate Burkholder)
14.  Immoral (#1 Jonathan Stride)
15.  A Merciful Death (#1 Mercy Kilpatrick)
16.  My Sister's Grave (#1 Tracy Crosswhite, FBI)
15.  The Plantation (#1 Payne & Jones)
16.  Down a Dark Road  (#9 Kate Burkholder)
17.  Lost Girls (#3 Kim Stone)
18.  Escape Clause (#9 Virgil Flowers)
19.  A Desperate Place for Dying (#2 Garrison Gage)
20.  The Girl on the Bridge (McCabe & Savage #5)
21.  The Late Show (Renee Ballard #1)
22.  The Fourth Monkey (4MK #1)
23.  The Painting That Wasn't There (Field Trip Mysteries) First Chapter Book
24.  Angel's Tip (Ellie Hatcher #2) Alafair Burke
25.  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
26.  A Hard Man to Forget: The Jack Reacher Files

14.  Paranormal/Dystopia/Fantasy/SciFi
1.  Rewinder
2.  Bellamy and the Brute
3.  The Forgetting
4.  Passenger (time travel)
5.  This Savage Song
6.  Venn Diagram  (just a touch of fantasy - getting feelings from touch)
7.  Age of Order
8.  The Lost Causes (again, just a touch of fanstasy- getting extrasensory from a drug)
9.  The Hundredth Queen
10.  Throne of Glass
11.  Colorless
12.  Outage
13.  Legend
14.  Untamed
15.  Consider
16.  The Lying Planet

15.  Audio Books
1.  Sixkill - Parker
2.  The Gray and Guilty Sea - Nolte (pseud.) now using Carter
3.  The Magician's Elephant DNF
4.  Still Waters - Sten
5.  The Buried Book - Pulley
6.  Wolf Hollow  - Wolk
7.  The Warden's Daughter - Spinelli
8.  Echo Park Harry Bosch #12 - Connelly
9.  Kingdom Come - Jensen
10.   Lyrebird Hill - Romer (Read by Eloise Oxer)
11.  Still Life  - Penny
12,  The Dark Room - Moore
13.  Blood on the Tracks - Nickless
14.  Seeds of Deception - Castillo
15.  Rewinder - Battles
16.  Immoral - Freeman
17.  The Plantation - Kuzneski
18.  Down a Dark Road - Castillo
19.  Throne of Glass - Maas
20.  The Girl in Green - Miller
21.  Escape Clause - Sandford
22.  A Desperate Place for Dying - Nolte/Carter
22.  Dear America: With the Might of Angels, The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley Virginia, 1954 - Pinkney
23.  The Girl on the Bridge- Hayman
24.  The Late Show - Connelly
25.  Legend - Lu
26.  Trail of Broken Wings - Badani
27.  Angel's Tip (Ellie Hatcher #2) Burke
28.  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Sullivan

16.  Books in a Series
1.   Sixkill (#39 Spenser) Robert B. Parker
2.  Piper Green and the Fairy Tree (Fairy Tree #1) - Potter
3.  Dead Connection (#1 Ellie Hatcher)
4.  The Gray and Guilty Sea (#1 Garrison Gage)
5.  Still Waters (#1 Sandhamm)
6.  Echo Park (#12 Harry Bosch)
7.  Kingdom Come (#1 Elizabeth Harris)
8.  Mouse Scouts (#1 Mouse Scouts)
9.  Mourning Gloria  (#1 Leah Hudson)
10.  Still Life  (#1 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache)
11.  The Dark Room (#1 Gavin Cain, SF Detective)
12.  Blood on the Tracks (#1 Sydney Rose Parnell)
13.  Seeds of Deception (#7.5 Kate Burkholder)
14.  Rewinder (Rewinder #1)
15.  The Forgetting (The Forgetting #1)
16.  Immoral (Jonathan Stride #1)
17.  A Merciful Death (#1 Mercy Kilpatrick)
18.  My Sister's Grave  (#1 Tracy Crosswhite, FBI)
19.  Passenger (#1 Passenger)
20  The Plantation (Payne & Jones #1)
21.  This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)
22. Age of Order (Age of Order #1)
23.  The Hundredth Queen (The Hundredth Queen #1)
24.  Down a Dark Road (Kate Burkholder #9)
25.  Throne of Glass (Throne Of Glass #1)
26.  Meet Josefina (American Girls Josefina #1)
27.  Lost Girls (D.I. Kim Stone #3)
28.  Colorless (Colorless #1)
29.  Escape Clause (Virgil Flowers #9)
30.  Outage (Powerless Nation #1)
31.  A Desperate Place for Dying (Garrison Gage #2)
32.  The Girl on the Bridge (McCabe & Savage #5)
33.  The Late Show (Renee Ballard #1)
34.  The Fourth Monkey (4MK #1)
35.  The Painting That Wasn't There (#1)
36.  Legend (Legend #1)
37.  Angel's Tip (Ellie Hatcher #2) Alafair Burke
38.  Untamed (Untamed #1)
39.  Consider (Holo#1)
40.  A Hard Man to Forget: The Jack Reacher Files (Jack Reacher Files #1)

17.  Short Stories
1. "The Cell" from The Thing Around Your Neck

18.  Where in the World?
1.  The Leaving of Things, The (India) Antali
2.  Still Waters (Sweden)
3.  Lyrebird Hill  (Australia) Romer
4.  Still Life (Quebec, Canada)
5.  The Girl in Green (probably Iraq)
6.  Lost Girls (England)
7.  Seven Rules of Elvira Carr (England)

19.  4.5 or 5 Stars
1.  Moo (4.5)
2.  Piper Green and the Fairy Tree (Fairy Tree #1) (5)
3.  House Arrest (5)
4.  The Buried Book (4.5)
5.  Wolf Hollow  (5)
6.  Kingdom Come (4.5)
7.  Lyrebird Hill (4.5)
8.  Mouse Scouts (5)
9.  The Dark Room (5)
10.  Rewinder (5)
11.  The Forgetting (4.5)
12.  Tell Me Three Things  (4.5)
13.  The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland (4.5)
14.  The Serpent King (5)
15.  The Girl in Green (5)
16.  Escape Clause (4.5)
17.  Dear America: With the Might of Angels, The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley Virginia, 1954 (5)
18.  A Desperate Place for Dying (4.5)
19.  The Fourth Monkey (4.5)
20.  Legend (5)
21. The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr (5)
22.  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore (4.5)
23.  The Lying Planet (4.5)
24.  The Hate U Give (5)

I Love Picture Books

1.  The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles (Cuevas/Stead) 2016
2.  In Andal's House (Whelan/Hall) 2013
3.  Sonya's Chickens (Wahl) 2015
4.  Tucky Jo and Little Heart (Polacco) 2015
5.  School's First Day of School (Rex/Robinson) 2016
6.  The Great Spruce (Duvall/Gibbon) 2016
7.  The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy (Alemagna) 2014
8.  All Aboard! National Parks (Meyers) 2016 Board Book
9.  Mommies Say Shhh! (Polacco) 2005 Board Book
10.  Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop (Dewdney) 2012 Board Book
11.  Egg (Henkes) 2017
12.  A Hat for Mrs. Goldman (Edwards/Karas) 2016
13.  My Name is James Madison Hemings (Winter/Widener) 2016
14.  Maya's Blanket / La Manta de Maya (Brown/Diaz) 2015
15.  Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure (Kirk) 2012
16.  The Longest Night: A Passover Story (Snyder/Chien) 2013
17.  Billy's Booger (Joyce) 2015
19.  Why Is Art Full of Naked People and Other Vital Question about Art (Hodge/Goble) 2016
20.  20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street (Lee/Cyrus) 2013
21  Thunder Cake (Polacco) 1990
22.  Hello World: A Celebration of Languages & Curiosities (Litton) 2016
23.  What Degas Saw (Friedman/Pieropan) 2016
24.  Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt (Messner/Neal) 2015
25.  Pop's Bridge (Bunting/Payne) 2006
26.  Apples and Robins (Felix) 2013France/2016US
27.  Lilla's Sunflowers (Kosinski) 2016
28.  We're All Wonders (Palacio) 2017
29.  Hattie & Hudson (Van Dusen) 2017
30.  Shanghai Sukkah (Hyde/Tsong) 2015
31.  The Quest for Z: The True Story of Explorer Percy Fawcett and a Lost City in the Amazon (Pizzoli) 2017
32.  Stand Up and Sing: Pete Seeger, Folk Music, and the Path to Justice (Reich/Gustavson) 2017
34.  Lines, Bars and Circles: How William Playfair Invented Graphs  (Becker/Tremblay) 2017
35.  Karl, Get Out of the Garden: Carol Linnaeus and the Naming of Everything (Sanchez/Stock), 2017
36.  Snail Mail: With Pull-Out Postcards (King-Chai) 2016
37.  A Very Improbable Story (Einhorn/Gustavson) 2008
38.  Sona and the Wedding Game (Sheth/Jaeggi) 2015
39.  Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money (Jenkins/Karas) 2012
40.  One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia (Paul/Zunon) 2015
41.  Robert's Snow (Lin) 2004
42.  Me and You and the Red Canoe (Pendziwol/Phil) 2017
43.  Pick a Pine Tree (Toht/Jarvis) 2017
44.  Finding Christmas (Evans/Chan) 2017
45.  The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle, The (Inches) 2009
46.  The Rabbit Problem, The (Gravett) 2009
47.  Aunt Olga's Christmas Postcards (Major/Roberts) 2005
48.  Math at the Art Museum (Group Majoongmul/Yun-ju Kim) 2015
49.  Snow in Jerusalem (daCosta/VanWright & Hu) 2001
50.  Dia de Los Muertos (Thong/Ballesteros) 2015
51.  Luka's Quilt (Guback) 1994
52.  Madeline Finn and the Library Dog (Papp) 2016
53.  The House of Wisdom (Heide & Gillaland/Grandpre) 1999
54.  Anna & Solomon (Snyder/Bloss) 2014
55.  I Pledge Allegiance (Mora & Martinez/Barton) 2014
56.  Malala's Magic Pencil (Yousafzai) 2017
57. She Persisted (Clinton/Bolger) 2017
58..  Merry Christmas, Merry Crow (Appelt) 2005
59.  Stowaway in a Sleigh (Mader) 2016
60.  Bear Stays Up for Christmas (Wilson) 2004
61.  Her Right Foot (Eggers/Harris) 2017
62.  Grandfather's Christmas Tree (Strand/Locker) 1999

Books Read in 2017

1.  Sixkill - Robert B. Parker  (2.5) 293 pgs.
2.  Moo - Sharon Creech (4.5) 288 pgs. (581 pgs. total)
3.  Piper Green and the Fairy Tree - Ellen Potter (5) 95 pgs. (676 pgs.)
4.  Dead Connection - Alafair Burke (4) 336 pgs. (1012 pgs.)
5.  Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo (DNF/1) 151 of 465 pgs. (1163 pgs.)
6.  House Arrest - K. A. Holt (5) 304 pgs. (1467 pgs.)
7.  The Gray and Guilty Sea - Jack Nolte (pseud) now using Wm Scott Carter (4) 268 pgs. (1735 pgs)
8.  Crow Hollow - Michael Wallace (4) 335 pgs. (2070 pgs.)
9.  The Magician's Elephant - Kate DiCamillo (1/DNF) 80/201 pgs. (2150 pgs.)
10.  Still Waters - Viveca Sten (3) 287 pgs. (2437 pgs.)
11.  The Leaving of Things - Jay Antali (4) 368 pgs. (2805 pgs.)
12.  The Buried Book - D. M. Pulley (4.5) 412 pgs. (3217 pgs.)
13.  Wolf Hollow - Lauren Wolk (5) 304 pgs. (3621 pgs.)
14.  The Warden's Daughter - Jerry Spinelli (4) 352 pgs. (3973 pgs.)
15.  Echo Park (Harry Bosch #12) - Michael Connelly (4) 405 pgs. (4378 pgs.)
16.  Kingdom Come (Elizabeth Harris #1) - Jane Jensen (4.5) 304 pgs. (4682 pgs.)
17.  Lyrebird Hill  - Anna Romer (4.5) 416 pgs. (5098 pgs.)
18.  American Street - Ibi Zoboi (2 and 4)  336 pgs. (5434 pgs.)
19.  Mouse Scouts - Sarah Dillard (5) 118 pgs. (5552 pgs.)
20.  Mourning Gloria - Andrew Downs (3) 308 pgs. (5860 pgs.)
21.  Still Life (#1 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache) - Louise Penny (3) 312 pgs. (6172 pgs.)
22.  The Dark Room - Jonathan Moore (5) 294 pgs. (6466 pgs.)
23.  Blood on the Tracks (#1 Sydney Rose Parnell) - Barbara Nickless (4) 386 pgs. (6852 pgs.)
24.  Seeds of Deception - Linda Castillo (2) 74 pgs. (6926 pgs.)
25.  Rewinder (Rewinder #1) - Brent Battles (5) 272 pgs. (7198 pgs.)
26.  In the Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell (1) 282 pgs. (7480 pgs.)
27.  Bellamy and the Brute - Alicia Michaels (2.5) 300 pgs. (7780 pgs.)
28.  Immoral - Brian Freeman (3.9) 471 pgs. (8,251 pgs.)
29.  The Forgetting - Sharon Cameron (4.5) 416 pgs. (8667 pgs.)
30.  A Merciful Death - Kendra Elliott (4) 342 pgs. (9009 pgs.)
31.  Tell Me Three Things - Julie Buxbaum (4.5) 328 pgs. (9337 pgs.)
32.  My Sister's Grave - Robert Dugoni, (3) 416 pgs. (9753 pgs.)
33.  The Plantation - Chris Kuzneski (2) 432 pgs. (10,185 pgs.)
34.  Passenger - Alexandra Bracken (2.5) 498 pgs. (10,683 pgs.)
35.  Posted  - John David Anderson (4) 384 pgs. (11,067 pgs.)
36.  This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab (3) 427 pgs. (11,494 pgs.)
37.  Zenn Diagram  - Wendy Brant (3.5) 328 pgs. (11,822 pgs.)
38.  The Matchstick Castle - Keir Graff (2) 277 pgs. (12,099 pgs.)
39.  Age of Order - Julian North (3.5) (339 pgs.) 12,438 pgs.
40.  The Lost Causes (1) 344 pgs. (12,782 pgs.)
41.  The Hundredth Queen - King (4) 300 pgs. (13,082 pgs.)
42.  Down a Dark Road  - Linda Castillo (2.5) 320 pgs. (13,402 pgs.)
43.  The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland - Rebekah Crane (4.5) 260 pgs. (13,662 pgs.)
44.  The Serpent King, The- Jeff Zentner (5) 384 pgs. (14,046 pgs.)
45.  Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas (3.5)  audio 404 pgs. (14,450 pgs.)
46.  Meet Josefina - Valerie Tripp (4) book - 85 pgs.(14,535 pgs.)
47.  The Girl in Green - Derek B. Miller (5) audio - 336 pgs. (14,871 pgs.)
48.  Lost Girls (#3 Kim Stone) - Angela Marsons (4) ebk - 442 pgs. (15,313 pgs.)
49.  Colorless - Rita Stradling (3.5) ebk - 400 pgs. (15,713 pgs.)
50.  Escape Clause (#9 Virgil Flowers) - John Sandford (4.5) audio 400 pgs. (16,113 pgs.)
51.  Outage (Powerless Nation #1)  - Ellisa Barr (3.5) ebk - 218 pgs. (16,331 pgs.)
52.  Paintbrush - Hannah Bucchin (3) ebk - 306 pgs. (16,637 pgs.)
53.  A Desperate Place for Dying (Garrison Gage #2) - Scott William Carter (pseud: Jack Nolte) (audio) 262 pgs. (16,899 pgs.)
54.  Dear America: With the Might of Angels, The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley Virginia, 1954 - Andrea Davis Pinkney (audio) 336 pgs. (17,235 pgs.)
55.  The Girl on the Bridge (McCabe & Savage #5) James Hayman (3)  (audio)  368 pgs. (17,603 pgs.)
56.  The Late Show (Renee Ballard #1) Michael Connelly (4) (audio) 405 pgs. (18,008 pgs.)
57.  The Fourth Monkey (4MK #1) - J D. Barker (4.5 - ebk) 404 pgs. (18,412 pgs.)
58.  Legend (#1 Legend) Lu (5 - audio) 305 pgs. (18,717 pgs.)
59.  Trail of Broken Wings - Sejal Bedani (4 - audio) 378 pgs. (19,095 pgs.)
60.  The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr- Frances Maynard (5 - ebk) 393 pgs. (19,488 pgs.)
61.   I've Lost My Hippopotamus- Jack Prelutsky (4) 144 pgs. (19.632 pgs.)
62.  The Painting That Wasn't There - Steve Brezenoff (3) 85 pgs. (19,717 pgs.)
63.  Angel's Tip (Ellie Hatcher #2) Alafair Burke (audio) 352 pgs. (20,069 pgs.)
64.  Untamed (Untamed #1) Madeline Dyer (1) ebk? 358 pgs. (20,427 pgs.)
65.  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Matthew J. Sullivan (4.5 - audio) 336 pgs. (20,763 pgs.)
66.  A Hard Man to Forget: The Jack Reacher Files (Jack Reacher Cases #1)  (3 - ebk) 200 pgs. (20,963 pgs).
67.  Consider (Holo #1) - Kristy Acevedo (4) 2016 ebk, 288 pgs. (21,251 pgs.)
68.  Abuela's Birthday (Sofia Martinez) (4) 32 pgs. (21,283 ps.)
69.  The Lying Planet - Carol Riggs  (4.5) ebk, 285 pgs. (21,568 pgs.)
70.  The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas (5) ebk, 444 pgs. (22,012 pgs.)

73. Die Trying by Lee Child

#2 Jack Reacher
listened to in the car - end of trip to PA and up to Maine, all in December, 2016
originally published in 1998
552 pgs. in Mass Market paperback
12 unabridged cds
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 12/26/16
Goodreads rating: - 4.0 - 67,368
My rating: 3
Setting: Chicago, then the wilds of northwestern Montana

First line/s: "Nathan Rubin died because he got brave."

My comments: I'm reading this series out of order, which works fine for me.  This is the second book in the series, and what I'm finding is that I like the more recent books better than the beginning titles.  This one was TOO detailed, too much information and explanation about guns, bullets, velocity, too much of the nitty gritty.  (If it were about cutting fabric for a quilt I'd probably feel differently).  It also seemed to go on forever and ever and ever...but no matter how impatient I get, these are great for listening to on a 8 hour plus drive!

Goodreads synopsis:  In a Chicago suburb, a dentist is met in his office parking lot by three men and ordered into the trunk of his Lexus. On a downtown sidewalk, Jack Reacher and an unknown woman are abducted in broad daylight by two men - practiced and confident - who stop them at gunpoint and hustle them into the same sedan. Then Reacher and the woman are switched into a second vehicle and hauled away, leaving the dentist bound and gagged inside his car with the woman's abandoned possessions, two gallons of gasoline. . . and a burning match. The FBI is desperate to rescue the woman, a Special Agent from the Chicago office, because the FBI always - always - takes care of its own, and because this woman is not just another agent. Reacher and the woman join forces, against seemingly hopeless odds, to outwit their captors and escape. But the FBI thinks Jack is one of the kidnappers - and when they close in, the Bureau snipers will be shooting to kill.

MOVIE - Why Him?

R (1:51)

Wide release 12/23/16

Viewed in Carlisle, in the cushy recliners at RC Carlisle 8

RT Critic:  40  Audience:  61
Critic's Consensus: Solidly cast but overall misconceived, Why Him? offers the odd chuckle, but ultimately adds disappointingly little to its tired father-vs.-fiancé formula.

Cag:  4.5

Directed by John Hamburg

20th Century Fox

James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mellally, Zoey Deutch

My comments:  Okay, I loved this movie.  It was really crass and really funny.  All the actors were wonderful, though I wished it had shown a little more about the relationship between Laird and Steph.  But the scenes between Bryan Cranston and James Franco were a RIOT!!!!!  James Franco can do anything...and all the wild & crazy paintings throughout the movie were done by him.  Love it, love it.  Today is Chrismas, I saw it last night and I can't get it out of my head.  What a hoot!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly inappropriate match for his daughter. The one-sided rivalry-and Ned's panic level-escalate when he finds himself increasingly out of step in the glamorous high-tech hub, and learns that Laird is about to pop the question.

72. The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

Library Book
2016, Katherine Tegen Books
96 pgs.
Middle Grades CRF w/a touch of magical fantasy
Finished 12/22/16
Goodreads rating: 4/03 - 740 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:   Contemporary winter, somewhere in the USA where it snows

First line/s:  "I found the boy at dusk.  The blizzard was fierce, and it would soon be dark."

My comments:  A very sweet, gentle story, told as though a dog could really and truly converse with humans; humans who love poetry and dogs.

Goodreads synopsis:  From Newbery Medal winner Patricia MacLachlan comes a poignant story about two children, a poet, and a dog and how they help one another survive loss and recapture love. "Just what I needed," raves Brightly.com. "It's a heart-warming story of loss and love that filled me with hope for a better future and renewed my belief in good."
          Teddy is a gifted dog. Raised in a cabin by a poet named Sylvan, he grew up listening to sonnets read aloud and the comforting clicking of a keyboard. Although Teddy understands words, Sylvan always told him there are only two kinds of people in the world who can hear Teddy speak: poets and children.
          Then one day Teddy learns that Sylvan was right. When Teddy finds Nickel and Flora trapped in a snowstorm, he tells them that he will bring them home—and they understand him. The children are afraid of the howling wind, but not of Teddy’s words. They follow him to a cabin in the woods, where the dog used to live with Sylvan . . . only now his owner is gone.
          As they hole up in the cabin for shelter, Teddy is flooded with memories of Sylvan. What will Teddy do when his new friends go home? Can they help one another find what they have lost?

2016 Golden Globes

Best Motion Picture: Drama
     Hacksaw Ridge
     Hell or High Water
     Lion
     Manchester by the Sea
     Moonlight

Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy
     20th Century Women
     Deadpool
     Florence Foster Jenkins
     La La Land
     Sing Street

Best Actor: Motion Picture Drama
     Casey Affleck; Manchester by the Sea
     Joel Edgerton; Loving
     Andrew Garfield: Hacksaw Ridge
     Viggo Mortensen: Captain Fantastic
     Denzel Washington; Fences
Best Actor: Musical/Comedy
     Collin Farrell; The Lobster
     Ryan Gosling; La La Land
     Hugh Grant; Florence Foster Jenkins
     Jonah Hill; War Dogs
     Ryan Reynolds; Dead Pool
 
Best Actress: Motion Picture Drama
     Amy Adams; Arrival
     Jessica Chastain: Miss Sloane
     Isabelle Huppert; Elle
     Ruth Negga; Loving
     Natalie Portman: Jackie
Best Actress: Musical/Comedy
     Annette Bening; 20th Century Women
     Lily Collins; Rules Don't Apply
     Hailee Steinfeld; The Edge of Seventeen
     Emma Stone; La La Land
     Meryl Streep; Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor
     Mahershala Ali; Moonlightt
     Jeff Bridges; Hell or High Water
     Simon Helberg; Florence Foster Jenkins
     Dev Patel; Lion
     Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress
     Viola Davis; Fences
     Naomie Harris; Moonlight
     Nicole Kidman;  Lion
     Octavia Spencer; Hidden Figures
     Michelle Williams; Manchester by the Sea

Best Director
     Davien Chazelle, La La Land
     Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
     Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
     Barry Jenkins; Moonlight
     Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

Best Screenplay
     Damien Chazelle, La La Land
     TomFord, Nocturnal Animals
     Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
     Keneth Londergan, Manchester by the Sea
     Taylor Sheridan; Hell or High Water
 

71. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments #3
listened to Audible
2009, Margaret McElderry
541 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12-13-16
Goodreads rating: 4.34 - 579,031 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting:  Alicante, the Shadowhunter home "world"

First line/s:  "The cold snap of the previous week was over; the sun was shining brightly as Clary hurried across Luke's dusty front yard, the hood of her jacket up to keep her hair from blowing across her face."

My comments:  I listened to this book - mostly on the road traversing Texas.  It was highly predictable, a little repetitive and wordy in places, but pure entertainment during a long, long road trip.  I've recently watched the Shadowhunter TV series and totally dislike the actor portraying Jace.  It took me about half the book to get back the original picture of Jace that I had in my head. The setting moved from NYC to Alicante, of which I wasn't the greatest fan.  I think, perhaps, that this would be an excellent place to end this series.

Goodreads synopsis:  To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
     As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

MOVIE - Rules Don't Apply

PG-13

Wide release 11/23/16 - went to cheap theaters almost immediately

Viewed date at Century Gateway Friday, 12/9/16 MY LAST MOVIE IN TUCSON!!!

RT Critic: 56   Audience:  44
Critic's Consensus: With Rules Don't Apply, Warren Beatty takes an overall affable -- but undeniably slight -- look at a corner of old Hollywood under Howard Hughes' distinctive shadow.
IMbD Rating:  6.3/10 

Cag:  4

Directed by Warren Beatty

Twentieth Century Fox

Warren Beatty, Lily Collins

My comments: I came out of the theater feeling a little unsettled.  that's what the movie did for me, it was unsettling.  Some of it was much too long and drawn out, some of it was just delightful.  A lot of big names appeared here and there, and that was fun.  The two young leads had great rapport and I enjoyed the scenes with the two of them together most.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  An aspiring young actress (Lily Collins) and her ambitious young driver (Alden Ehrenreich) struggle hopefully with the absurd eccentricities of the wildly unpredictable billionaire, Howard Hughes, (Warren Beatty) for whom they work. It's Hollywood, 1958. Small town beauty queen, songwriter, and devout Baptist virgin Marla Mabrey (Collins), under contract to the infamous Howard Hughes (Beatty), arrives in Los Angeles. At the airport, she meets her driver Frank Forbes (Ehrenreich), who is engaged to be married to his 7th grade sweetheart and is a deeply religious Methodist. Their instant attraction not only puts their religious convictions to the test, but also defies Hughes' #1 rule: no employee is allowed to have any relationship whatsoever with a contract actress. Hughes' behavior intersects with Marla and Frank in very separate and unexpected ways, and as they are drawn deeper into his bizarre world, their values are challenged and their lives are changed.

70. The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

listened to on Audible
2013 Tyndale House
400 pgs. - read 125 pgs.
Adult CRF
Started and gave up on the same day, Sat. 11/26/16
Goodreads rating: 4.1 - 6069 ratings
My rating: 1.5
Setting: Contemporary Cape Hatteras

First line/s:  "When trouble blows in, my mind always reaches for a single, perfect day in Rodanthe."

My comments:  I've listened to over 30% of this book and I can't get into it...perhaps because I can't stomach the protagonist or her choices?  Or perhaps it goes waaaay too slowly.  Not going to waste my time going any further...too many others waiting for me out there.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house.Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

69. Against the Odds by Mara Jacobs

Anna Dawson, Las Vegas Gambler #1
read on my Kindle
2012
228 pgs.Adult Mystery
Finished 12-5-16
Goodreads rating:  4.09 - 570 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:  Contemporary Las Vegas, NV

First line/s:  "Get it together, I told myself.  This isn't life or death.  It's just college basketball.  Nobody's going to die from what I'm about to do."

My comments:  I purchased this book despite the cover (not one I'd usually choose) and I made the correct choice.  The book is nothing like the cover, or even the blurb on Goodreads, which make it sound like it's a "romance."  This is a good whodunnit through and through, in a setting I love (Las Vegas) with a bunch of really interesting characters.  And Anna, the protagonist, is a really great person with a big flaw or two.  In other words, REAL.  I liked the plot, setting, and characters, and will read more in the series since this looks like the first one.

Goodreads synopsis:  My name is Anna Dawson, and I'm a professional poker player. And I'm good. Very good.  But, I also have a little bit of a problem with placing bets on a sporting events. Not so good.
          Sometimes my little problem becomes a whole lot of trouble and I need to resort to some, shall we say, less than stellar actions to get out of debt. So, I become my alter ego, JoJo, and fix college basketball games. Hey, a victimless crime, no one's the wiser, and it's better than the alternative, which is a drive into the desert with my loan shark and a shovel in the trunk. Although, it has to be said, my loan shark is pretty good looking.
          I love Vegas, and I love the life I've built, but when one of my friends is murdered, and another one shot at, I know I need to take a serious look at myself. And I need to call in the big guns. Even if that means teaming up with detective Jack Schiller, a man who's dealing with his own problems. But dang, he sure is sexy.
          I'm just trying to juggle protecting my friends, helping sexy detective Jack while not letting him get to close, and finding a murderer. And, oh yeah, no one can learn about JoJo.
          Because if they do, there's no way I'll be able to bluff my way out.

MOVIE - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

PG-13 (2:12)

Wide release November 18, 2016

Viewed Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016 at Century Park Place....for the last time?

RT Critic:  78  Audience: 83
Critic's Consensus: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them draws on Harry Potter's rich mythology to deliver a spinoff that dazzles with franchise-building magic all its own.

Cag:  4/Enjoyed it very much, but it was a bit long

Directed by David Yates

Warner Brothers Picture

Written by J. K. Rowling

Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler (I really liked him!)

My comments:  The first few bars of music at the very, very beginning of the movie are notes from the Harry Potter theme.  After those first few notes, the music hanges.  Yes, this movie is by J. K. Rowling and yes, it is set in the world of wizards and awizardry, but other than that there's not much comparison to Harry Potter.  It's a standalone.  The setting, for one thing, is completely different - 1920s in New York City.  And for the most part, the story is about adults, not kids or even young adults.
     It's hard to compare the two movies, they are pretty much incomparable.  It was okay, entertaining, and had interesting actors.  I loved Jacob Goldstein, he was actually my favorite character in the move.  The Actor, Dan Fogler, was wonderful.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

One Postcard Received Friday, Dec. 2, 2016

702.  Greetings from Czech Republic

Because I have only painting "reading cards" and you are man (!!) with a sense of humor, I send you raven card.  Raven is poem from Edgar Allan Poe, and you know it.  Enjoy your raven card and have a funny day, Jana.  

PS:  Raven in Czech:  KRKAVEC

MOVIE - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

PG-13 (2:07) (might be scary for younger or nervous kids)

Wide release 9/20/16

Viewed 12/2/16 at Century Gateway

RT Critic: 63   Audience:  64
Critic's Consensus:  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children proves a suitable match for Tim Burton's distinctive style, even if it's on stronger footing as a visual experience than a narrative one.

Cag:  4.5 Liked it so much more than planned...

Directed by Tim Burton

20th Century Fox

Based on the book by Ransom Riggs

Eva Green, Chris O'Dowd, Judi Dench (small part)

My comments:  I couldn't get into the book, only got as far as Jake finding the bombed-out mansion.  However, the movie was fascinating, the storyline incredibly clever.  Maybe I didn't go far enough?  Apparently for me it translated better on film than in print.  I wonder what the difference are between them?  All the effects were pretty darn cool and I love the kind o mind that can come up with a story like this.  Fantastic time travel/fantasy.  Chris O'Down, as the dad, was marvelous.  And I wish there had been more of Juki Dench - love her!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers...and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special "peculiarity" can save his new friends.

68. The Body Reader by Anne Frasier

read on my iPhone/Book/listened to audio CD/Audible...
2016, Thomas & Mercer
289 pgs.
adult murder mystery
Finished 12-1-16
Goodreads rating:  4.18
My rating: 4.5

First line/s:  "One day she stopped screaming."

My comments:  First of all, I can't (and don't want to) imagine what it would be like to be held captive in a basement "cell" for three years.  In the best of circumstances this would be horrendous, but Jude Fontaine was held under horrid circumstances.  So when she is able to escape and re-enter the real world, it is hard to comprehend how she would or could survive.  The foremost feeling I have after reading this book is that Anne Frasier is a wonderful, creative writer.  It's a really believable story that could so easily be the opposite.  Impressed.

Goodreads synopsis:  For three years, Detective Jude Fontaine was kept from the outside world. Held in an underground cell, her only contact was with her sadistic captor, and reading his face was her entire existence. Learning his every line, every movement, and every flicker of thought is what kept her alive.
     After her experience with isolation and torture, she is left with a fierce desire for justice—and a heightened ability to interpret the body language of both the living and the dead. Despite colleagues’ doubts about her mental state, she resumes her role at Homicide. Her new partner, Detective Uriah Ashby, doesn’t trust her sanity, and he has a story of his own he’d rather keep hidden. But a killer is on the loose, murdering young women, so the detectives have no choice: they must work together to catch the madman before he strikes again. And no one knows madmen like Jude Fontaine.

Postcards Received Thursday, 12-1-2016

698.  Postcrossing Indonesia - Batam

Hello.  I am Ucy.  I live in Batam City, but my hometown is Bukithngsi city, west of Sumatra province.  I like to collect stamps, coins, banknotes, and I like to crochet.  I hope you like this card.  Happy Postcarduniting!

699.  Tura Beach, NSW, Australia

Did You Know? Humpback Whale

The humpback whale is not the largest of the whale family, but it can still grow to 16 metres in length, weigh up to 40 tonnes and can live to be 48 years old.  These great mammals can throw their great mass up out of the water in a fantastic display.  They are a living wonder and have been an endangered species since 1963.  The breeding ground of the Humpback Whale remains a mystery.  Pods of humpback whales are observed every year on the coast of Australia during their 5000 km migration, returning to Antarctica.

700.  Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Hello Chris, Greetings from Penang Island - the second smallest state in Malaysia.  Georgetown is Penang state capital and UNESCO world cultural heritage site.  This historic city was founded in 1786 by Captain Francis Light as a British trading port.  Penang Road (Jalan Penang) is a famous street in Georgetown with many classic shops such as this shop which trades caneware.  It is a vanishing trade as there are just few shops of its kind left in the city.  Rattan is the raw material for making caneware and is harvested from rain forests.

701.  Greetings from Malaysia!

Malaysia features some of the world's most stunning tropical beaches.  The diversity of this nation comes from the intermingling of Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian cultures, and has generated a dynamic environment with a unique cuisine.  There are many rainforests, natural scenery.  If you love travelling, maybe ccan think of travel here one day?  I choose this Classic Poem of Chinese for you.  Hope you will like it.  Happy Postcrossing and have a nice day! Janet