Robin M Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) I saw that Kay didn't post the weekly update, so here it is. Congratulations - we finished week 2 and ready to go for book 3. How is everyone doing? Today it's time to start book #3. You can post here, and post a review if you want at the 52 books blog. Check and make sure your name is on the list there as well, whether you are a contributor or a participant. If you want to be a contributor, email me and I will send you an invite. http://read52booksin52weeks.blogspot.com/ ___________________ Feel free to join in at any time--Recapping the rules: Read an average of a book a week - 52 books in 52 weeks Re-reading a book counts--as long as you first read it before 2009 School related books don't count (unless you want them to) I finished If There Be Dragons and two or three other books. Book # 3 for the challenge will be Sandra Brown's Unspeakable. Weigh in on 6packofun's idea about having a rating system on this thread Happy Reading Edited January 14, 2009 by Mytwoblessings fixed link for rating system thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I read The Color Purple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I am not participating in the book-a-week group but I am currently reading a book that is soooo good. It is called Sarah's Key. It is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Just thought someone might be looking for a good read! Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Finished two books. A Man Called Thursday and If I Perish. This week my book is going to be Plato's Republic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Central TX Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I finished Know What You Believe, and I've started The Deadliest Monster by Jeff Baldwin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Week #1 - The Alienist by Caleb Carr - An old style serial murder mystery. Okay enough to read it in two days, not great enough to really and truly recommend it. Week #2 - Total Recall (and NO, not the movie one) by Sara Paretsky - Female private eye. Not fun and funny like the Evanovich novels, and not as plucky and entertaining as Grafton's lead character, but I may try another one or two to see if they grow on me. (Easy to read in a couple of days.) Anyone else struggling with the ease of reading junk in order to get a book a week done? I need to be reading Dante and Canterbury Tales, but they require a lot more time and energy. Kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Is anyone else working on more than one book at once and overlapping weeks? I completed my first book a few days in (but I had started it before Jan 1) and I'm a few pages away from completing my second book. But, I have a couple of other books on the go as well - there's a devotional that I started a few days ago and an audio book (Yes - I'm counting Audiobooks!) that I'm about 1/3 of the way through. My weeks won't be neat and tidy with one book completed in each, but my overall goal is to read 52 books this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 This past week I finished both Kluge and the Templars. Kluge was fasinating and I reconmmend it to anyone interested in how the brain functions. The Templar while a fasinating story told in an accurate historical way had kind of banal ending, which is unfortunately the case with history sometimes. Good for getting the final answer if you are interested in the Templars. I am currently readin Panic in Level 4. Also quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritAnnia Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Whoa, a week is passing by very quickly! This past week I finished reading A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. Loved it. Now I'm reading Careless in Red (Inspector Lynley) by Elizabeth George. Not enjoing it nearly as much as my previous two books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMayI Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I finished Holding Up the Earth, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and I am reading You're Wearing That?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I read Nickel and Dimed this week. Well, I listened to it instead. It was interesting and I am glad I took the time to finish it. Okay, I also read Skinny B**ch. I've been avoiding it but a friend handed it to me and I just could not help myself. It was offensive and funny and I had a lot of fun reading it. There, I feel better now that I got that off my chest. :D This week my PLAN is to read Stumbling into Happiness. However, you never know what my neighbors are going to suggest and derail all my plans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Is anyone else working on more than one book at once and overlapping weeks? I completed my first book a few days in (but I had started it before Jan 1) and I'm a few pages away from completing my second book. But, I have a couple of other books on the go as well - there's a devotional that I started a few days ago and an audio book (Yes - I'm counting Audiobooks!) that I'm about 1/3 of the way through. My weeks won't be neat and tidy with one book completed in each, but my overall goal is to read 52 books this year. I'm like you Sarah. I am reading Ruth Beecheck's The 3 R's (never read it) and a romance novel at the same time. No matter what I'm reading, I'm also reading a romance novel. I also have a Stephanie Plum waiting in the wings. My daughter, however, is done with 3 books and is in the middle of "Strawberry Girl," and "A Little Princess." Ah to be a child again and have all of that free time.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristiana Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Is anyone else working on more than one book at once and overlapping weeks? I completed my first book a few days in (but I had started it before Jan 1) and I'm a few pages away from completing my second book. But, I have a couple of other books on the go as well - there's a devotional that I started a few days ago and an audio book (Yes - I'm counting Audiobooks!) that I'm about 1/3 of the way through. My weeks won't be neat and tidy with one book completed in each, but my overall goal is to read 52 books this year. Yes! I can never seem to read just one book at a time, I have a devotional book, plus scripture, and an audiobook in the car going at the moment. Hopefully it will all add up to 52 by New Year's. But I did finish Princess Academy by Shannon Hale for this week. It was a wonderful little story, quick read. I really liked it. Now I'm into Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire for a bookclub at church. I don't think I would have picked it myself, but I'm only on page 13 so far and can't tell if I'll like it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm like you Sarah. I am reading Ruth Beecheck's The 3 R's (never read it) and a romance novel at the same time. No matter what I'm reading, I'm also reading a romance novel. I also have a Stephanie Plum waiting in the wings. My daughter, however, is done with 3 books and is in the middle of "Strawberry Girl," and "A Little Princess." Ah to be a child again and have all of that free time.:glare: Aw...Strawberry Girl and A Little Princess - sounds lovely. I don't know how you keep a romance on the go continually. I really enjoy a good Dean Koontz novel as my light reading, but as soon as I start one I have trouble putting it down so my other books collect dust until I've finished it. I imagine I'd be the same way with a romance novel as I'd just want to get to the end of it and find out what happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraida Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Week 1: The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch Week 2: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Blessings Zoraida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in AR Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Read the Old Testament book of Joshua for this week. Next up: rereading Climbing Parnassus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) Week 2 was The Princess and the Goblin (loved it) Week 3 is The Princess and Curdie. I'm also re-reading Wuthering Heights to prepare for Masterpiece Classic this Sunday. George MacDonald is a brilliant story teller. I plan on reading Phantastes and giving Lilith another go in a few months. Edited January 14, 2009 by Karenciavo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in AR Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Week 2 was The Princess and the Goblin (loved it)Week 3 is The Princess and Curdie George MacDonald is a brilliant story teller. I plan on reading Phantastes and giving Lilith another go in a few months. I read The Princess and the Goblin for week 1. I really enjoyed that book. The Princess and Curdie will be a selection for me in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Readsalot Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Wow Outlander was fantastic. I am counting it as two books since it is over 800 pages. If book of the month club can count selections as 2 books so can I:lol: I started Dragonfly in Amber last night. I am also reading In Search of Honor (about the French Revolution) and should finish it this week. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Finished "Wuthering Heights" and started "The Secret Life of Bees." Review at blog in my siggy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm reading a series by Vince Flynn. So far I've done the first one which is on the blog, Transfer of Power, The Third Option and started on Separation of Power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Aw...Strawberry Girl and A Little Princess - sounds lovely. I don't know how you keep a romance on the go continually. I really enjoy a good Dean Koontz novel as my light reading, but as soon as I start one I have trouble putting it down so my other books collect dust until I've finished it. I imagine I'd be the same way with a romance novel as I'd just want to get to the end of it and find out what happens! Sometimes I can't put it down and I fall asleep reading:blush: tee hee. But, normally, I pace myself because there is SO MUCH to do - sigh. I think that's why we're going the Sonlight route. All my kids and I want to do is read:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Well, I fell a little behind this week. I was on the road driving my daughter back to school and stopping for a museum field trip, which ate four days of my week. So, I'm not quite done with my week 2 book, In Cold Blood. I have less that 100 pages to go, though, and may finish it today. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's what I suppose could be called "compellingly written," in the sense that once I start reading I do feel pulled along to find out what happened. But I'm also finding it a bit depressing to spend so much time with such unhappy, damaged people. I definitely need something more cheerful for next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's what I suppose could be called "compellingly written," in the sense that once I start reading I do feel pulled along to find out what happened. But I'm also finding it a bit depressing to spend so much time with such unhappy, damaged people. That's how I feel about Wuthering Heights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 That's how I feel about Wuthering Heights. Actually, I agree completely. I finally got around to Wuthering Heights in December, after picking it up and putting it down many times over the years. I downloaded the audiobook version and listened to it on one of my drvies up to Virginia. I'm glad I finally got through it, and I did find myself holding my breath to find out what happened in each chapter. But, when it was all over, I just felt emotionally drained. Unlike a lot of tragic novels, this one didn't feel cathartic to me. Instead of allowing me a path to release my own sadness, it seemed to add to it. I'm still chewing on it, though, waiting for understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in Toronto Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Finished "The Girl Who Stopped Swimming" by Joshilyn Jackson. Starting "The Genius" by Jesse Kellerman, son of the crime-writing duo Faye Kellerman and Jonathon Kellerman. I've read one other book by him (Sunstroke) and he's certainly got the writing genes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I finished Blindness last week. I am now working on His Favorite Wife. Facsinating read. It is a life of which I am totally unfamiliar. Thanks for posting the update thread. It is good for me to set a goal and stay accountable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I finished The Church Ladies by Lisa Samson. I didn't really like it, but I finished it anyway. The characters just got on my nerves. Now I am reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I am loving it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotteb Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Last week I finished "Raising Naia", a book about a family who finds out the baby the wife is carrying will have Down Syndrome. It goes thru their decision about keeping the pregnancy and the first few years of their life with their daughter. A very touching book! I am starting "The End of the Spear". I've heard so many good things about this book and can't wait to read the whole story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celly B Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I finished The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory this week. It was not my favorite.:glare: Continuing in the vein of religious allegory from Week 1 (Pilgrim's Progress), I'll be reading Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard for Week 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I am reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and *really* enjoying it! Brooks won the Pulitzer for March and I plan to read that next. People of the Book was "Best of the Month" in January of last year and here is the synopsis: One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure. A complex love story, thrilling mystery, vivid history lesson, and celebration of the enduring power of ideas, People of the Book will surely be hailed as one of the best of 2008. I'll grade it after I finish, but so far I'm giving it a B+ ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMere Academy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Still working on Memoirs of a Geisha, but I started my 2nd book also, New Moon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMere Academy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Is anyone else working on more than one book at once and overlapping weeks? I completed my first book a few days in (but I had started it before Jan 1) and I'm a few pages away from completing my second book. But, I have a couple of other books on the go as well - there's a devotional that I started a few days ago and an audio book (Yes - I'm counting Audiobooks!) that I'm about 1/3 of the way through. My weeks won't be neat and tidy with one book completed in each, but my overall goal is to read 52 books this year. Same here, that's how I am every year. I've been making 52 books in 52 weeks my goal the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSAcademy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Finished: Jane Eyre and The Writing of Fiction by Edith Wharton. Started: Pride and Prejudice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Q Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I finished Queste and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. As expected, both were fast, amusing reads. I'm not sure about my next book (I'm going to do some writing for the next few evenings), but I think I'll get a start on Your Child's Growing Mind by Jane Healy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkett Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I really enjoyed this book. It's DaVinci Code with a Shakespeare twist. I enjoyed it much more than DaVinci. Looks like there will be a sequel coming out this year - can't wait. Valk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 My book for this past week was The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It was a very dark and depressing book (it was about WWII so what did I expect?) but the writing was wonderful and quirky. Now I am starting on Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I've just finished reading "Is there a nutmeg in the house?" by Elizabeth David. This is a fun read for those foodies among us! It's a collection of short articles by the author on all sorts of different food and food history topics. I can't agree with everything she says though, I like my garlic press! I've also read through my MOTL package, having received that earlier in the week, and am nearly finished "Your Child's Growing Mind" by Jane M. Healy. I must have read too much of this sort of stuff because I'm not finding much I haven't read before. She keeps going on about deaf children or deaf parents and their hampered language ability. That really annoys me. If she means hampered English ability, she should say that. Ok, pet rant there. This week, I think I'll go for something outrageously academic like a novelisation of "Zorro." :) Hubby is on the couch finishing an Adrian Plass book. A "blast from his past" discovered in a box in the shed while on a mission to find something else entirely, earlier this week. He also read another chapter of "The China Study." I wish he'd just finish it so we can give it back to the owner! :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 by Leif Enger tomorrow. I have seen this book recommended in many circles so I'm eager to read and see what it's all about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Last week I read O'Nan's Songs for the Missing and Chesterton's The Man Who was Thursday. This week I am reading Anne Tyler's Ladder of Years. I'll post to the blog when I return home this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I read two books this week: Living Faith while Holding Doubts by Martin B. Copenhaver and The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I just started Dreams from My Father. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Okay, I finished In Cold Blood this afternoon. I then went to the bookstore and treated myself to a copy of Joy in the Morning. I haven't read it since I was a teenager. I'm already four chapters in and very much enjoying visiting with an old friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Finished third book late last night - My Antonia by Willa Cather. As another poster said (Sarah), I usually have more than one book going at a time, but as I read My Antonia, I just didn't even think about those other books! Started fourth book earlier today - O Pioneers! by Willa Cather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jenny Flint Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Rifles for Watie Walden Pinnochio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamJH Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Just finished a book by Christopher Hitchens. Now I'm heading into "The Ode Less Travelled" by Stephen Fry. Everyone sounds like they're doing well. Let's keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay in Cal Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I finished my third in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, The Indigo King. I really enjoyed it--makes me want to brush up on my Arthurian mythology, as well as ancient Greek. This is the last published in this series, so I'll have to take a break for a while. Next week my sister in law is visiting, so I"m looking for some brain candy that I can read in an evening. Therefore, back to an old favorite author, but a new book to me: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Wise Bauer Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Finished The Man in the High Castle, review at http://www.susanwisebauer.com/blog and http://www.read52booksin52weeks.blogspot.com. Haven't decided on this week's book yet... SWB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFP Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Third book of the year: Richard Fortey's Dry Storeroom No. 1 Recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Finished my week 2 book Testimony by Anita Shreeve. Starting Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (UK Booker Prize nominee) for week 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Ugh! I'm a little behind. Dd picked up some books from the Libs and I started to read them instead. I began and finished 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones & Theater Shoes. I know they are children's books but goodness I just enjoy anything by Noel Streatfield(sp?) Fond memories from childhood. I am also halfway through another Gail Levine fairytale. Her takes on well known stories are fabulous. I didn't like her modern stuff as much. Too mature for the intended audience imo. Thus, I am only 2/3 way through the Randy Pausch book, which is wonderful. Will endeavor to finish tonight. Don't know what to start for this week. Hmmm . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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