St. Charles City - County Library District is ready to Conquer the MO Book Challenge!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Y: The Last Man - Cycles / Brian K. Vaughan / 118 pgs.
Born In Ice/Nora Roberts/371 pgs
This is the second title in the Concannon Sisters trilogy and is Brianna Concannon's story. She has made the family home into a bed and breakfast and is quite happy with her life now that her mother has a place of her own. Most winters she is alone but enjoys it. But this winter is different she has a guest, mystery writer Grayson Thane from America, who is working on a new book and Brianna is becoming his inspiration.
The Puppy Diaries/Jill Abramson/242 pgs
"The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout" is a very enjoyable book. Jill Abramson is an editor at the New York Times. She had lost a very much loved dog 2 years earlier but her husband thinks it is time for a new dog. They decide on an English Golden Retriever, who they name Scout. The book is about their life with Scout until she turns 1. It will appeal to anyone who has ever had a puppy and knows the trials you must go thru.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Girl Who Disappeared Twice/Andrea Kane/289 pages
This is the first book I've read by this author, but I'll read her previous ones (when I can work them in) and be on the lookout for any new ones.
Unearthly Asylum / P.J. Bracegirdle / 298 pages / Horror
"Endurance of risk and the delight of rewards was what life was all about."
Horror
Blue Noon / Scott Westerfeld / 378 pages / Horror
Horror YA
Beyond the Grave / Jude Watson / 190 pages
Darke / Angie Sage / 641 pages
Only His/Susan Mallery/344 pgs.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Interesting Factoid
Y: The Last Man - Unmanned / Brian K. Vaughan / 127 pgs.
Intelligent, gritty, and who knew women could get so crazy?!
Walking with the Dead / L. M. Falcone / 196 pages / Horror
Horror
Chasing Brooklyn / Lisa Schroeder / 412 pages / Horror
"Love is the answer. Not fear."
"Music can be like a time machine. One song - the lyrics, the melody, the mood - can take you back to a moment in time like nothing else can."
Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Horror
Word for Word / Andy A. Rooney 287 p.
Computers: “Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done.”
Dress Shoes: “I know that the farther a shoe gets from the actual shape of the foot it was designed to cover, the more fashionable it’s considered to be, but does this make any sense?”
He makes you laugh, think, and cry and sometimes all in the same vignette.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
It Had To Be You / Susan Elizabeth Phillips 376 p.
Check the library catalog.
Lola and the Boy Next Door / Stephanie Perkins / 338 p.
The Most Dangerous Thing / Laura Lippman / 344 p.
City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) / Cassandra Clare / 485 p.
- Main Character, Clary, has very powerful magic powers that she did not know about until now - Check!
- Main Character falls in love with the Stand-offish, but strong and gorgeous secondary character - Check!
- The Main Character has a nerdy sidekick buddy to help her muddle through her adventures - Check!
- The human world is in peril, but is unaware and only the main character and her band of magical friends can save it - Check!
- and so on...
The Christmas Wedding/James Patterson/266 pgs
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Claire de Lune / Christine Johnson / 336 pages / Horror
Horror
Truman Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Candles Burning / Tabitha King and Micheal McDowell / 423 pages / Horror
Horror
Scary Mary / S. A. Hunter / 257 pages / Horror
Horror
Darkness Under the Sun / Dean Koontz / 61 pages / Horror
Horror
The Mark / Jen Nadol / 228 pages / Horror
"Fear isn't always rational."
"If you don't like the view, change the scenery."
"Everything we do has an end goal of happiness." Aristotle
"We are what we repeatedly do."
"We are, each of us, responsible for our own happiness." Socrates
Gateway Award Preliminary Award 2012-13
House / Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker / 376 pages / Horror
Horror
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Pack: A Novel/Jason Starr/341 pgs
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter/Tom Franklin/272 pages
Monday, October 24, 2011
Rules to Rock By / Josh Farrar / 244 pages
"Writing is a simple but elusive art. To write is to describe. Describe accurately and respectfully. And perhaps passionately." Mr. V
"Craziness is defined as doing the same thing or seeing the same thing again and again and expecting something different to happen."
Truman Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Blood Ties / Lori G. Armstrong / 253 pages / Horror
had been during her missing weeks. Their investigations unearth secrets and violence, a budding romance, cancer, and commitment. "...a fascinating tale of intrigue that will sweep you into a world of horror and suspense." Clive Cussler
Horror
Tanglewood Terror / Kurtis Scaletta / 264 pages / Horror
Horror
Canyons of Night/Jayne Castle/325 pgs.
After Glow/Jayne Castle/343 pgs
This is the fourth title in the Planet Harmony series and is the continuation of "After Dark". Lydia Smith is still with Emmett London. Emmett is now temporary Guild Boss after Wyatt is shot. Lydia is still working at Shrimpton's and starting her consulting business. They have decided to marry - a marriage of convenience - good for 1 year. Lydia is still trying to find out what happened during her missing time in the catacombs. Another good story
Sex, Mom, & God / Frank Schaeffer / 281
Crossed / Ally Condie / 367p
Hold Still / Nina LaCour / 229p
Both sad and uplifting, this story gives a personal and realistic view of the struggles of both mental illness and the loss of a friend to suicide. A Gateway Award nominee this book is more for older teens - grade 8 and up. Heavy, but will definitely keep their interest. Give to fans of 13 Reasons Why, Hate List, and/or If I Stay.
Kill Me if You Can/James Patterson/361 pgs
This is one of the better collaborations that James Patterson has written in a while. This is a very good story. Matthew Bannon is a art student in New York who happens upon a murder and finds about $13 million in diamonds. He takes the diamonds and then finds himself the target of 2 assassins. He runs to Paris with his teacher/girlfriend and that is when it really gets good. There is a twist you really don't see coming about halfway through the story.
Undead and Unemployed/MaryJanice Davidson/294 pgs
The second book in the Undead series is very good and a quick read. Betsy is still trying to come to terms with 1 - being dead and a vampire, 2 - being Queen of the Vampires and 3 - being unemployed. She really can't do too much about the first 2 but she does find a job - her dream job - Macy's in the shoe department. Unfortunately, someone is killing vampires and as she is Queen of the Vampires, Betsy is informed that it is her responsibility to find out who and to stop it. Also her house has termites so they need to move. They do find a new home complete with a ghost, but meanwhile Betsy is dealing with Sinclair and other vampires, both good and bad.
The Face of Deception/Iris Johanson/354 pgs
This is the first title in the Eve Duncan series and is a very good book. Eve is a forensic sculptor and has been asked to help a wealthy businessman, John Logan with a job. He has a skull that he has been told about and he wants her to identify who the skull belongs to. There are of course people who are trying to stop them from finding the skull and identifying who it really is. Also Eve is trying to come to terms with the death of her daughter, Bonnie and the fact that the body has never been found. A very good read - I am looking forward to the next in the series.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Ninth Ward / Jewell Parker Rhodes / 217 pages
No More Dead Dogs / Gordon Korman / 180 pages
Friday, October 21, 2011
Three Quarters Dead / Richard Peck / 193 pages / Horror
"If there weren't any followers, where would the leaders be?"
"People would rather be ruled than by alone."
"People will their souls if you do their thinking for them."
Horror
Blood Noir / Laura K. Hamilton / 323 pages / Horror
Jason's father is dying. Jason is a werewolf and has been estranged from his father his entire life. His father believes him to by gay and, because of his resemblance to the Sommerland family, to be someone else's son. Jason dreads going home to face his father alone, so Anita Blake - necromancer, vampire slayer, and shapeshifter, agrees to go with him. Jason is immediately mistaken for Keith Sommerland, soon-to-be-married, philandering son of a man desiring to be governor. While being protected from perceived threats against Sommerland, Anita is attacked by Marmee Noir, the oldest vampire and Mother of Darkness.
"Silence can be a greater asset than a question."
Horror
A Discovery of Witches/ Deborah Harkness/ 579 pages
The Midnight Curse / L. M. Falcone / 208 pages / Horror
Horror
Key of Light/Nora Roberts/342 pgs
This is the first title of the Key trilogy. Three women - all strangers - are invited to a party being held by a mysterious man & woman at a spooky old mansion and once there they are given a task - to locate 3 keys. The keys are for the locks on a glass box which are said to hold the souls of 3 demigoddesses. The keys must be found one at a time and within 28 days and they will each get 1 million dollars if each key is found. The first key is to be found by Mallory, a art gallery manager, who has recently lost her job. The story is very good, deals with Celtic mythology. Of course there is romance - Mallory falls in love with Flynn, the brother of one of the other girls, Dana.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Son of Stone/Stuart Woods/303 pages
First, Woods obviously has never been a hands-on parent or he wouldn't be able to write Peter the way he does with a straight face. Second, he hasn't listened to the way teenagers talk or he just can't write it. Third, after every Stone novel I ask myself why I keep reading this series. The answer is because they are FREE! I wouldn't spend a dime on them!
This series is strictly over the top. Campy.
Aliens on vacation/ Clete Barrett Smith/ 272 pages
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Following Atticus : forty-eight high peaks, one little dog, and an extraordinary friendship/Tom Ryan/276 pgs
Dance Upon the Air/Nora Roberts/386 pgs
This is the first title in the "Three Sisters Island" trilogy and is Nell Channing's story. Three Sisters Island according to legend was formed by three witches during the time of the Salem Witch trials and according to the legend three descendants of the original three witches will come together on the island. The trilogy is about those three women - Mia, Ripley & Nell. Nell has come to the island to escape an abusive husband - she faked her own death and goes to work for Mia in the bookstore/cafe. She doesn't know that she is a witch but has always been drawn to the island. Was a good story and hopefully is considered a horror story because of the witch aspect of it.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Sword Thief / Peter Lerangis / 156 pages
Caleb's Crossing / Geraldine Brooks / 306 pages
The Most Dangerous Thing/Laura Lippman/342 pages
Definitely a page turner. I read this in less than two days. Of course, being on vacation helped!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Mister B. Gone / Clive Barker / 248 pages / Horror
Ratfink / Marcia Thornton Jones / 216 pages
"There are worse things than being laughed at."
"Chocolate can cure a lot of things."
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Guilty Pleasures / Laura K. Hamilton / 285 pages / Horror
Horror
Undead and Unwed/MaryJanice Davidson/277 pgs
This is the first title in the "Undead" series. Betsy Taylor has been laid off and run over by a car. She finds herself in a coffin in cheap knockoff shoes - her stepmother has stolen all her designer shoes. She soon realizes that she is one of the undead - a vampire. She then finds herself kidnapped by Nostro, a 500 year old very bad vampire and finds out that she is not your everyday vampire. Sunlight doesn't burn her and she can wear crosses. She joins forces with Eric Sinclair, another vampire who she is not too crazy about, to defeat Nostro and to reach her true job as "Queen of the Vampires". Very funny book for a horror story.
Driftwood Cottage/Sherryl Woods/376 pgs
This is Connor O'Brien's story. He is a divorce lawyer who due to his parent's divorce and his job does not believe in marriage. Heather Donovan is his former girlfriend and mother of his little boy, Mick. She wants to marry Connor but knowing that he will never do so, she has left him and moved to Chesapeake Shores and is opening up a quilt shop. Connor is now spending more time in town with his family and his son. Will Heather and Connor's family be able to change his mind about love and marriage?
Can't Hurry Love/Christie Ridgway/294 pgs.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The End of Everything/Megan Abbott/246 pages
Saturday, October 15, 2011
How to Bake a Perfect Life/Barbara O'Neal/390 pages
This is a story of the relationships between many generations of women in the Gallagher family starting with Adelaide (Ramona's deceased grandmother) and going down to Katie. There are men in the story but for the most part they play a secondary role. O'Neal includes many bread recipes, so if you a baker, you get a bonus.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Neverwhere / Neil Gaiman / 337 pages / Horror
Horror
Leaving Gee's Bend / Irene Latham / 230 pages
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
The Familiars / Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobsen / 360 pages
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
After Ever After / Jordan Sonnenblick / 263 pages
"It's amazing what a little fame and a fatal disease will do for a guy's popularity rating."
"A big part of why we're here is support the people around us."
Truman Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Dream of Night / Heather Henson / 218 pages
Jessalyn DiLima is a life-saver. She rescues horses and children. She has lost her only daughter, Maddie, years ago and has never recovered from the loss. Shiloh comes to her on the day she rescues Dream of Night, an abused renegade thoroughbred. Shiloh has been abandoned by her mother and her mother's abusive boyfriend, Slade. She receives one silent phone call each year on her birthday. Shiloh is destined for a juvenile residential facility and has shut herself off to avoid more hurt from the foster care system. Jess is feeling her age, and although she feels compelled to help Shiloh, Shiloh rejects her advances. Dream of Night, however, responds to Shiloh and she to him. Both hearts are softened and the seemingly impossible occurs with a deservedly happily ever after ending.
Truman Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
The Hope of Refuge / Cindy Woodsmall / 341 pages / Christy Award
Christy Award Nominee 2011
The City and The City / China Mieville / 320 pages / Hugo Award 2011
Hugo Award Nominee 2011
Bamboo People / Mitali Perkins / 272 pages
"Read widely...Great doctors must understand human nature in order to heal."
Chiko's mantra "One day at a time. Mind your own business. Stay out of trouble."
"Revenge makes you a prisoner."
"No hero comes back unscarred."
Truman Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
After Dark/Jayne Castle/332 pgs
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Book Thief/Markus Zusak/552 pgs.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
1105 Yakima Street/Debbie Macomber/366 pages
Mudbound/Hilary Jordan/328p
This book was recommended to me by a member of my book club.
After being cheated out of farm that they put money down on Jim and Laura McAllan find themselves living with no electricity, no running water and very little privacy. Along with Jim's cantankerous father and two young girls, they start out farming life on shakey ground. The neighbors and sharecroppers, the Jacksons help them as best they can but the eldest McAllan man is not too friendly and treats them more like slaves. Taking place during the late 1940's both families have men returning from military duty after World War II. The tension between Ronsel Jackson and the towns folk brings the two families against each other. Although Laura's younger and very hospitable brother in law, Jamie seems to share a bond with Ronsel the pair of them find themselves a target of the local Klan. This was very hard to put down and I enjoyed how the chapters rotated between the characters. Hilary Jordan has a new book coming out called "When she woke" which I am looking forward to as well.
Tombstone Courage/J.A. Jance/300 pgs
This is the second title in the Joanna Brady series. Joanna has run for sheriff of Cochise County - the office her husband was running for when he was murdered and she won. On her first day, she is faced with trying to find out what happened when 2 bodies are found - one new and one very old. She is having to deal with the "good old boys" in the sheriff's office and the receptionist who has an attitude. Plus her daughter is afraid she will lose another parent. It was a good story and didn't really see who did it until the end.
Gordon Korman / Framed / 234 pages
Match Me If You Can / Susan Elizabeth Phillips 386
Check the library catalog.
Forever / Maggie Stiefvater 390 p.
Check the library catalog.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The Borrower of the Night / Elizabeth Peters / p244
The Heart and the Fist / Eric Greitens / p309
Neon Rain / James Lee Burke / p248
Night Road / Kristin Hannah / p385
Serendipity/Carly Phillips/300 pgs.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Kyle's Island / Sally Derby / 191 pages
"You can control your temper or let it control you."
"Lots of people have been talked into things they regret by someone who said 'Just this once' to them."
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Autumn Street / Lois Lowry / 188 pages
Born In Fire/Nora Roberts/405 pgs
October Challenge
Poop Happened / Sarah Albee / 164 pages
1105 Yakima Street/Debbie Macomber/366 pgs
This is the next to last title in the "Cedar Cove" series and this is Bruce & Rachel Peyton's story. Rachel is pregnant but has left Bruce because of conflicts with her stepdaughter Jolene. The stress of living with a girl who is jealous of the attention her father is giving to his new wife and the baby on the way is endangering the pregnancy. She has moved and found a new job and is trying to get on with her life but Bruce wants her back. There is also updates on other residents of Cedar Cove in preparation for the last title "1225 Christmas Tree Lane".
Heat Rises/Richard Castle/305 pgs
This is the third Nikki Heat title written by Richard Castle - based on the ABC series "Castle". This one is the best one yet I think. Nikki is suspended from the force in the middle of the investigation into a murder of a priest at a New York bondage club. She knows that there is a cover up and knows she can only trust one person - Jameson Rook - the investigative reporter that she is in love with but who has been gone for a month. If you enjoy the TV show like I do, you will enjoy the books.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Split / Swati Avasthi / 282 pages
"I am defined by what I've done, not by what's been done to me."
"We all screw up. We all wish we were stronger than we are, and not one of us get through this life without regret."
"Sometimes I wonder why words can't actually make us bleed."
Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Heaven is for Real/ Todd Burpo/ 163 pages
Against All Enemies / Tom Clancy / 756 pages
State of Wonder / Ann Patchett / 353 pages
Last Letter from your Lover/Jojo Moyes/390 pages
Friday, October 7, 2011
Rot and Ruin / Jonathan Maberry / 458 pages / Horror
This is a pleasantly predictable post-apocalyptic novel. Something has caused the dead to reanimate as zombies - zombies who feed on humans, turning them, in turn, into zombies. Humans have barricaded themselves into a safe town without electricity and its comforts. Guards are stationed to turn back occasional zombie attacks. Bounty hunters frequently make excursions into the Rot & Ruin to capture and kill zombies. Benny Imura's brother, Tom, is a bounty hunter, but a different breed. He provides closure to zombie families by ending the life of zombie with respect and compassion. Tom & Benny chase bounty hunters into the wild who have killed humans in the town. They find the Lost Girl, foil a plot to staff Gameland, see a jet (!?)....
Great adventure story, even with the zombies...Great themes...Some questionable language.
Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Bubba and the Dead Woman / C. L. Bevill / 528 pages
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The Deadly Sister / Eliot Schrefer / 310 pages
Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
Vanish/Tess Gerritsen/336 pgs
This is the fifth title in the "Rizzoli & Isles" series and this one focuses on Jane Rizzoli. She has gone to the hospital for a routine exam - she is 9 months pregnant and the baby is now late - when a woman takes hostages and Rizzoli is one of them. But before they can find out why, the feds have taken over the crime scene and the woman and her partner are killed. But before she dies, she gives Jane a message. Now Jane, who has delivered a baby girl, and her husband Gabriel are trying to find out what happened and why. Great story - deals with the trade in women for forced prostitution.
Quicksilver/Amanda Quick/342 pgs
This is the second title in the "Looking Glass" trilogy and book 11 in the Arcane Society series. Once again, it is the Victorian period and glass readers are being murdered. Owen Sweetwater has been hired by Caleb Jones to find out who is the murderer. Virginia Dean wakes up next to a dead body with the knife by her and doesn't know what happened. Owen has been watching her because she is a glass reader of considerable power and he is afraid she is in danger. He saves her life and her his. Another good story and only one more left - the latest in the series "Canyons of Night".