Cheli's 2nd Qtr 1212 20-12 Challenge

I'm moving on from my 1st quarter thread here

It's time for the second thread for the 1212 challenge and status on my categories. In 2012 (since I know that 144 is probably not attainable for me) I am going with a 1212-20-12=112 books. This is doable but still a challenge. The -20-12 is 32 overlaps allowed. If I read more than 112, that's okay, I am not required to use all my overlaps. I am again going to try to clear 60 books from my shelves. (this is really necessary because, no matter how much I try, I still buy/acquire more books then I read from my shelves, so books are just sitting waiting to be read.




But for 2012 I'm hoping to read mostly HISTORIES AND MYSTERIES I have started over 150 series and am woefully behind on some while there are others that I would really like to try.

My theme for the year is HIGH SCHOOL.
2012 will be the 40th anniversary of my graduation and so I will honor the great education that I received (thanks to my parents).

Class schedule - Nook Books/NetGalley
These can be any books that I read on my Nook. I'm also adding NetGalley Books. Great for my overlaps.

Study Hall - Mysteries
Mysteries? I always wondered why they called it study hall because nobody ever studied.

Home Economics - crafts and home themed books
This will probably include mostly cozy mysteries.

History - USPC and background reconstruction thru 1900
I need to keep moving on the President's Challenge, so here I will be reading about the latter part of the 19th century to get me up to 1900 (cross your fingers that I don't get side tracked with another major historical topic like the Civil War which took me 2 years!)

English Lit - books set in Great Britian
I've noticed that a great number of books that I read are set in Great Britian/England/Ireland/Scotland, so they will get their own category.

Lunchtime/Leftovers - culinary or fun and game themed books or those left over from previous years' lists.
During High School, lunchtime was for food and fun - games and talking! So books in this category need to have a food or fun aspect or be leftover! Maybe some Young Adult books in here.

Foreign languages - foreign settings
Any books set outside of the USA

Speech Class - Audiobooks
I listen to books on audio so these can be just about anything (great for my overlaps!)

Homework - TBRs
Here is where I will work on those books that are sitting on my own shelves as of 12/31/11

Math - 1st, 2nd, 3rd….. Series books
These books will have to meet the criteria of the next number. I will start a new series for one, read the second in a series for 2, etc. I am definitely not doing geometry, trigonometry, or calculus for this category!

Geography - Euro and 50 State challenges
I have not been making much progress on either the 50 State Challenge or European Challenge so I am setting a goal to get at least some done for each in 2012.

Extra curricular activites -LibraryThing Club
These books will be any type of book that I read with a group, was recommended by someone at LibraryThing, part of the TIOLI Challenge, or acquired as an ER book. Basically, this is my LT category -- kind of like a club in High School. This category is COMPLETE



here are all the books that are candidates for 2012. I have struck through if I read them.

"A" is for alibi
13th tale
1898 : the birth of the American century
1936 - On the Continent - Nook %
19th Wife: A Novel
206 Bones (Unabridged 12-CD Set) (Temperance Brennan Series, #12)
22 Britannia Road: A Novel
44 Charles Street %
A Beautiful Blue Death
A Bride in the Bargain
A Common Life: The Wedding Story (2001)
A Deadly Dealer
A Death in Vienna
A Distant Magic (Guardians (Del Rey))
A Duke's Temptation: The Bridal Pleasures Series
A Fatal Appraisal
A Fool Again
A Fountain Filled with Blood
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne (1864)
A Killer Collection
A Killer Stitch @
A Lesson in Secrets (2011)
A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1905)
A Murderous Glaze
A New Song (1999)
A Precious Jewel
A Sea of troubles
A Secret Affair
A Summer Affair @
A Taste for Death
A Trick of the Light
A Wicked Lord at the Wedding
About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (1884)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (1876)
Affairs of Steak
Air We Breathe
Alexander Cipher
Alexander Graham Bell : inventor and visionary
All Mortal Flesh
All Over Creation
Aloha Quilt
Amersham Rubies - Nook %
An Autumn Wedding
An Honest President
An Incomplete Revenge - A Maisie Dobbs Novel (Unabridged)
An Unlikely Countess
Andrew Johnson : a biography
Anne of Avonlea, by Lucy Maude Montgomery (1909)
Anne of Green Gables
Another Thing to Fall
Ape Who Guards The Balance (1998)
Around the World in 80 Days
Arsenic and Old Lace
Atlantis Code
Back Spin (Myron Bolitar)
Backseat Saints
Bare Bones
Battered Body
Benjamin Harrison : America's 23rd president
Best Defense (1994)
Big Boned
Birds of a Feather
Bishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germain
Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong
Blood from a Stone (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries)
Blood Ties
Blue -
Body at the Tower
Bones to Ashes
Bonesetter's Daughter
Book of Lost Fragrances
Books Can be Deceiving
Border Lord and the lady
Break No Bones
Bridesmaids Revisited
Buckingham Palace Gardens
Burn
Buttercream Bump Off
By a Spider's Thread
Calamity Jayne
Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel ♫
Canterbury Tales
Carved in Bone
Chester A Arthur Conspiracy
Chili Con Corpses
Clear and Convincing Proof (2003)
Cleopatra:A Life
Cocaine Blues
Colfax massacre and the death of Reconstruction
Contrary blues
Count of Monte Cristo
Crewel Yule
crooked letter, crooked letter
Cross Bones
The Crossing Places
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
Crunch Time
Curse of the Pharaohs
cutting for stone
Cutwork
Dangerous Alterations
Darcy's Temptation
Dark Assassin
Dark Legacy
Darkest Fear: Myron Bolitar #7
DAYS OF GOLD
Dead Cat Bounce @
Dead ringer
Deadly Decisions
Deadly Notions
Deadly Sanctuary -
Deadly Yarn
Death at Bishop's Keep
Death at Wentwater Court
Death Of Riley
Death Threads
Deeds of the Disturber
Defense for the Devil
Design for murder
Desperate Measures
Devil Bones
Devil's Corner
Devil's Food Cake Murder
Diva Runs out of Thyme
Divine
Doctored Evidence
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander)
Eat, Pray Love
Elegance of the Hedgehog
Embroidered Truths
Emperor's Tomb
Everlasting
Evil in Carnations (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 8)
Exodus Quest
Expresso Shot
Fade away
Faithful Place
Falcon at the Portal
Fatal Judgment -
Fatal Voyage
Final detail
Fireworks Over Toccoa
First Lady
First Rule of Ten
First Test
First, There is a River
Footsteps in the Dark
For the Defense: or, Malice Prepense
For the Love of Mike
Forgotten Garden
French Pressed @
From the Towpath to the White House James Brisbin
Front Porch Prophet
Frozen Thames
Garden Intrigue
Gates of Trevalyan @
Getting Away is Deadly
Ghost at Work
Gilt by Association
Girl of His Dreams
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Glossed and Found
Gods of Newport
Grace
Grand Finale,
Grave Secrets
Great Expectations
Gulliver’s Travels,
Hallowed Bones
Hanging by a Thread
Happy are the Meek
Hard Row
Hardly Knew Her
Harry, A History
Heartstopper
Heavenly Pleasures
Heidi,
Heir Condition
Help
Heretic's Daughter
Heroes of Olympus
High Country Fall
Hippotamus Pool
Home to Holly Springs
Honor thyself
Hunger Games
I SHALL not Want
Impeached : the trial of President Andrew Johnson and the fight for Lincoln's legacy
In A Strange City
In Big Trouble
In Dublin's Fair City
In Like Flynn
In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel
In This Mountain
The invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures
Invisible -
Invisible bridge
Irish Country Doctor
Irish Country Village
Iron Lake
Irresistible
Irresistible Forces
It Happened One Season
Ivy and Intrigue
Jane & the Unpleasantness at Seagrove Manor
Jar City
Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling
Just Desserts #1
Killer Plot
Killer Stitch
Killer Weekend
Kiss of Fate
Knight of Pleasure %
knit Fast, Die Young#2
knit the season
Knit Two#2
Lace Reader
Lady Killer
Lady most Likely
Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch
Last Camel Died at Noon
Last Lessons of Summer
Last Place
Lavender Morning
Legend of Sleepy Hollow,
Lies that Bind
Life Sentences
Lion in the Valley
Little Dorrit -
Little Men,
Little Women,
Lord Carew's Bride
Lord Sunday
Lorna Doone, by R. D. Blackmore
Lost Quilter
Lucifer Code
Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia %
Magicians: A Novel
Magnificent 12: The Call
Maine Event
Maisie Dobbs (2003)
Master quilter : an Elm Creek quilts novel
Messenger of Truth
Middlemarch
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods
Monday Mourning
Motor Mouth
Mummy Case
Murder at the Mimosa Inn
Murder at the Vicarage
Murder by Mocha
Murder By the Glass
Murder in Montparnasse
Murder in the Dark: A Phryne Fisher Mystery
Murder Most Frothy
Murder on the Rocks
Murder on Washington Square
Murder with Puffins
Murphy's Law
My Reading List
Napoleon's Pyramids
Necromancer
Never Less than a Lady
Never Seduce a Scoundrel
Ninth Daughter
No Choice But Seduction (Malory Family)
No Defense
No Good Deeds
No Nest for the Wicket
Oh Danny Boy
On the Run
One False Move
One Man's Paradise
One Was a Soldier (2009)
Orchid Affair
Other Boleyn Girl
Out of the Deep I Cry
Out to Canaan
Over Sea, Under Stone
Owls Well That Ends Well
Pardonable Lies
Perfect Mistress
Perfect Poison (Arcane Society)
Phantom Tollbooth
Pillars of the Earth
Pinned for Murder
Pirate King
Plateful of Murder %
PLAYING THE GAME
Pollyanna,
Postmistress
President is a sick man
Priceless
The Princess and the Bear
Queen's Bastard
Quick and the Thread
Quicksand: An Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller
Quilter's Legacy
Ravenscar Dynasty
Reckless Bride
RECONSTRUCTION PRESIDENTS
Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos
Rip Van Winkle,
Ritual Bath
Rituals of the Season
Robinson Crusoe,
Romanov Prophecy
room
Rope
Royal Flush
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President
Safe Haven
Sarah's Diary
Sarah's Key
School for Brides
Second Mrs. Darcy
Secret Garden,
Seeing a Large Cat
Set Sail for Murder
Sex and Salmonella
The Shadow of the Torturer
Shape of Water
Shark River
Shifting Tide (William Monk)
Sign of the Cross
Silent Mercy
Silks
Sins & Needles
Size 12 is not Fat
Size 14 Is Not Fat Either (Heather Wells Mysteries)
Slow Dollar
Snake, The Crocodile and the Dog
Snowman
Something's Cookin'
South of Broad
Spider Bones
Sprinkle with Murder
Stalemate (Eve Duncan Forensics Thrillers)
Started Early
Stiffs and Swine
Suffer the Little Children
Sugar Camp Quilt
Sugar House
Summer of Fire -
Superior Saturday
Swan Thieves
The sweetness at the bottom of the pie
Sweetwater Creek
Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss (1813)
Sword of God
Talk of the Ton
Temple Mount Code
Ten Things I Love about You %
Tenderness of Wolves ♫
Tensleep
Them Bones
These High, Green Hills
They Thought for Themselves: Ten Amazing Jews %
Third Coincidence
Third Secret
This Body of Death CD: An Inspector Lynley Novel (The Lynley Books)
Through a Glass, Darkly: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
Thunder in the Sky
Tigers Wife ♫
Time Machine
To Darkness and to Death
To the Power of Three
Too Close to Home
Too Many Murders
Touchstone
Traveling the freedom road : from slavery and the Civil War through Reconstruction
Treasure Island,
True Darcy Spirit @
Tuesdays with Morrie
Tunnel Vison
Tutu Deadly
U.S. Grant : American hero, American myth
Unbroken
Uncommon Clay
Uncommon grounds
Uniform Justice
Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Presents: A Magical Christmas Menu
Until Again
Until Proven Guilty
Untouchable
Vendetta Defense
Viognier Vendetta
Voyager
Warden
Warlock
Water for Elephants
Wedding of the Season
Wedding Trap
We'll Always Have Parrots
West from Appomattox : the reconstruction of America after the Civil War
What came before He Shot her
What the Dead Know
White Fang, by Jack London
Whitechapel Conspiracy
Wife Trap
Wilful Behaviour
Wind in the Willows,
Winding Ways Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #12)
Winter Palace
Winters Child
With No One as Witness (Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers Novels)
Wolf Hall
Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum (1900)

And the following series may be started in 2012:

Cork O'Connor series
Commissario Alec Blume series
Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries
Roger Mifflin series
Millennium Trilogy
Glassblowing Mysteries
An Elizabeth Chase Mystery
An Embroidery Mystery
Candlemaking Mysteries
Lighthouse Inn Mysteries
Southern Fried Mystery

I. Class schedule - Nook Books and Net Galley
1. A Crafty Killing 2/12/12............................................. GRADE C+
2. Book of Lost Fragrances 2/23/12............................. GRADE C- NetGalley
3. A Killer Collection 2/28/12......................................... GRADE C+ Nook
4. Dire Threads 3/10/12 ................................................GRADE C+ Nook
5. Affairs of Steak 3/23/12 ............................................GRADE B Nook overlap
6. Tempest in the Tea Leaves 3/23/12......................... GRADE C+ Nook overlap
7. Chili Con Corpses 3/26/12 .......................................GRADE C+ Nook overlap
8. Body at the Tower 4/7/12 .........................................GRADE C+ Nook overlap
9. Collateral Damage 5/12/12 ..................................... GRADE B NetGalley for review
10.The Third Coincidence 5/29/12 .................................GRADE B NetGalley for review
11.
12.

candidates

Body at the Tower
The Maine Event
Anne of Green Gables
Around the World in 80 Days
Just Desserts
First, There is a River
Murder on the Rocks
Getting Away is Deadly
Until Proven Guilty
The Time Machine
The Alexander Cipher
Carved in Bone
Irresistible Forces
An Autumn Wedding
Divine
The Amersham Rubies
A Fool Again
Front Porch Prophet
Dark Legacy
Grace
Footsteps in the Dark
The Magnificent 12: The Call
Untouchable
Napoleon's Pyramids

The Dressmaker
Pirate King
Traitor and the Tunnel

II. Study Hall - Mysteries
1. Crunch Time 1/25/12 ..................................GRADE C+ OVERLAP
2. A Fountain Filled with Blood 2/15/12..........GRADE B OVERLAP
3. Books Can Be Deceiving 2/18/12 ..............GRADE B OVERLAP
4. Silent Mercy 2/18/12 ..................................GRADE C+ OVERLAP
5. Killer Weekend 3/15/12 ...........................GRADE B OVERLAP
6. Remains to be Scene 3/31/12 ....................GRADE C-
7.
8.
9.
10
11.
12.

candidates

A Deadly Dealer
A Fatal Appraisal
A Killer Collection
Arsenic and Old Lace
Body at the Tower
Books Can be Deceiving %
Carved in Bone
Death at Bishop's Keep @
Design for murder @
Gilt by Association
Iron Lake
Jane & the Unpleasantness at Seagrove Manor @
Killer Plot
Lucifer Code
Murder on the Rocks
Murder with Puffins %
Murphy's Law %
Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos %
Set Sail for Murder
Silent Mercy
The Lies that Bind %
The Maine Event
Blood TIES
Deadly Yarn
Killer Stitch
Murder By the Glass
Royal Flush
The Shape of Water
Evil in Carnations (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 8)
A Murderous Glaze
Glossed and Found
The First Rule of Ten
The Rope

Series to start
Flavia deLuce Mysteries
Abigail Adams series
Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries
Last Apprentice Series
Ruth Galloway series
The Book of the New Sun series
Cork O'Connor series
Commissario Alec Blume series
Montalbano series
Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries
Roger Mifflin series
Millennium Trilogy
Glassblowing Mysteries
An Elizabeth Chase Mystery
An Embroidery Mystery
Candlemaking Mysteries
Lighthouse Inn Mysteries
Southern Fried Mystery

III. Home Economics - crafts and home themed books
1. Dead Cat Bounce 1/4/12................................... GRADE C+ OVERLAP
2. Crunch Time 1/25/12.......................................... GRADE C+
3. A Crafty Killing 2/12/12....................................... GRADE C+
4. Books Can Be Deceiving 2/18/12....................... GRADE B OVERLAP
5. A Killer Collection 2/28/12................................. GRADE C+
6. Dire Threads 3/10/12......................................... GRADE C+ OVERLAP
7. Agony of the Leaves 3/21/12............................ GRADE C
8. Affairs of Steak 3/23/12.................................... GRADE B
9. Tempest in the Tea Leaves 3/24/12.................. GRADE C+
10 Chili Con Corpses 3/27/12................................. GRADE C
11.Diva runs out of Thyme 3/29/12........................ GRADE B
12.

candidates

Just Desserts #1
French Pressed @
Knit Two#2
Chili Con Corpses
Crunch Time
Buttercream Bump Off
Murder Most Frothy
Plateful of Murder %
Dead Cat Bounce @
Devil's Food Cake Murder
Death Threads
knit Fast, Die Young#2
The Diva Runs out of Thyme @
Something's Cookin'
The Quick and the Thread
Hanging by a Thread @
Sprinkle with Murder

IV. History - USPC and background reconstruction thru 1900
1. Andrew Johnson : a biography - 1/31/12.................................. GRADE B
2.Impeached : the trial of President Andrew Johnson and the fight for Lincoln's legacy 3/18/12.... GRADE C+
3. U.S. Grant : American hero, American myth 4/20/12................. GRADE C
4. Grant 5/23/12............................................................................ GRADE A+
5. Rutherford B. Hayes 6/12/12 .......................................................GRADE D
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11.
12.

candidates
Andrew Johnson : a biography
Impeached : the trial of President Andrew Johnson and the fight for Lincoln's legacy
U.S. Grant : American hero, American myth
Personal Memoirs of US Grant
THE RECONSTRUCTION PRESIDENTS
The Colfax massacre and the death of Reconstruction
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President
From the Towpath to the White House (James Garfield)
The Chester A Arthur Conspiracy
The president is a sick man (Grover Cleveland)
An Honest President (Grover Cleveland)
Benjamin Harrison : America's 23rd president
1898 : the birth of the American century
Traveling the freedom road : from slavery and the Civil War through Reconstruction
West from Appomattox : the reconstruction of America after the Civil War
Alexander Graham Bell : inventor and visionary

V. English Lit - books set in Great Britian
1. Forgotten Garden 2/9/12.................. GRADE B+ Overlap
2. Great Expectations 2/13/12.............. GRADE C Overlap
3. Maisie Dobbs ♫ 2/24/12.................. GRADE C+ Overlap
4. Mr. Churchill's Secretary 2/25/12...... GRADE C+ Overlap
5. Body at the Tower 4/7/12................. GRADE B- overlap
6. Traitor and the Tunnel 4/11/12......... GRADE B
7.
8.
9.
10
11.
12.

candidates

The Garden Intrigue
Ivy and Intrigue
Priceless
Never Seduce a Scoundrel
The Forgotten Garden
The Reckless Bride
A Wicked Lord at the Wedding
A Secret Affair
The Perfect Mistress
A Precious Jewel
Wedding of the Season
An Unlikely Countess
The Lady most Likely
A Bride in the Bargain
Never Less than a Lady
The School for Brides
It Happened One Season
The Second Mrs. Darcy @
The True Darcy Spirit @
Darcy's Temptation @
Lord Carew's Bride @
Divine %
Everlasting @
Irresistible @
Knight of Pleasure @
The Border Lord and the lady @
Queen's Bastard @

VI. Lunchtime - leftovers from previous years or challenges
1. A Death in Vienna 1/1/12......................... GRADE C
2. Phantom Tollbooth 2/16/12.................... GRADE C+
3. Lord Sunday 4/4/12................................. GRADE C+
4. Tuesdays with Morrie 4/14/12................ GRADE B
5.The First Rule of Ten 4/19/12................... GRADE B-
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11.
12.

candidates

A Death in Vienna
Lavender Morning
My Reading List %
They Thought for Themselves: Ten Amazing Jews %
22 Britannia Road: A Novel
Design for murder @
A Summer Affair @
A Killer Stitch @
Gates of Trevalyan @
The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia %
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Presents: A Magical Christmas Menu
Divine
Murphy's Law
Happy are the Meek
Murder on the Rocks
44 Charles Street

VII. Foreign languages - foreign settings
1. A Death in Vienna 1/1/12.......................... GRADE C OVERLAP
2. The Orchid Affair 1/7/12.............................GRADE C+ ♫ OVERLAP
3. Trick of the Light 2/2/12........................... GRADE A- OVERLAP
4. Count of Monte Cristo 2/4/12....................GRADE B OVERLAP
5. Book of Lost Fragrances 2/23/12.............. GRADE C- NetGalley
6. The Princess and the Bear 3/4/12............. GRADE B
7. The Sheen on the Silk 3/28/12.................. GRADE C- ♫ OVERLAP
8. The Elegance of the Hedgehog 4/12/12....GRADE D+ ♫
9. The Atlantis Code 4/24/12..........................GRADE C
10
11.
12.

candidates

#6 The Emperor's Tomb
The Third Secret
The Girl of His Dreams
Suffer the Little Children
Through a Glass, Darkly: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
The Alexander Cipher
Cocaine Blues
Trick of the Light
Curse of the Pharaohs
The Mummy Case
Lion in the Valley
The Deeds of the Disturber
The Last Camel Died at Noon
The Snake, The Crocodile and the Dog
The Hippopotamus Pool
Seeing a Large Cat
The Ape Who Guards The Balance
The Falcon at the Portal
Thunder in the Sky
The Romanov Prophecy

VIII. Speech Class - Audiobooks
1. Hunger Games 4/7/12 ....................GRADE A-
2. The Necromancer 4/30/12.............. GRADE C+
3. To Darkness to Death ♫ 5/10/12... GRADE B
4. Burn ♫ 5/28/12 ............................. GRADE C
5. All Mortal Flesh ♫ 5/31/12.............. GRADE C+
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11.
12.

candidates

Life Sentences
The Help
Crunch Time
Burn (Anna Pigeon Series)
Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom)
Lord Sunday, The Keys to the Kingdom
#1 Maisie Dobbs
#2 A Fountain Filled with Blood
#3 Out Of The Deep I Cry
#4 To Darkness to Death
#5 All Mortal Flesh
#6 Tongues of Serpents
Pillars of the Earth
Curse of the Pharaohs
Elegance of the Hedgehog
Wolf Hall
Phantom Tollbooth
Hunger Games
The Necromancer
The Warlock
#4 In Big Trouble
About Face (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries)
Blood from a Stone (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries)
Cleopatra:A Life
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander)
Eat, Pray Love
The Warden
The 19th Wife: A Novel
The Air We Breathe
#1 Audition for Murder
#2 Staying Home Is a Killer
#5 The Sugar House
#6 I Shall Not Want
The Thirteenth Tale
Sabriel
Safe Haven
Another Thing to Fall (Tess Monaghan Mysteries)

IX. Homework - TBRs/BOMBS
1. The Orchid Affair 1/7/12 ...........................GRADE C+ ♫
2. Silent Mercy 2/18/12 ................................GRADE C+ ♫
3. Maisie Dobbs ♫ 2/24/12...........................GRADE C+ Overlap
4. A Killer Plot 3/3/12 ....................................GRADE B OVERLAP
5. Out Of The Deep I Cry ♫ 3/14/12...............GRADE C+
6. Diva runs out of Thyme................................GRADE D+ Overlap.
7. Remains to Be Scene 3/31/12................... GRADE D+ overlap
8. Beekeeping for Beginners 4/28/12............GRADE C
9. Murder with Puffins 4/30/12..................... GRADE C+
10
11.
12.

candidates
Lace Reader
Swan Thieves
Size 12 is not Fat
In Big Trouble
The Sugar House
In A Strange City
Knit the season
The Bonesetter's Daughter
Dark Angel/Lord Carew's Bride
French Pressed
Everlasting
Irresistible @
Talk of the Ton
A Summer Affair
The True Darcy Spirit
The Second Mrs. Darcy**
Darcy's Temptation
My Reading List
Queen's Bastard
Darcy's Temptation
A Killer Stitch @
Death at Bishop's Keep @
Harry, A History
The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia
Gates of Trevalyan
The Shape of Water
Emperor's Tomb
Touchstone
Deadly Decisions
Fatal Voyage
Grave Secrets
Bare Bones
Canterbury Tales
The Alexander Cipher
The Exodus Quest
Hannah Swensen 2
Stiffs and Swine
The Battered Body
Sign of the Cross
Sword of God
The Viognier Vendetta
Fireworks Over Toccoa
South of Broad
The Necromancer
The Warlock
The Map of true Places
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

X. Math - 1st,2nd, 3rd….. Series books or titles with numbers
1. Dead Cat Bounce 1/4/12.....................................GRADE C+
2. A Fountain Filled with Blood 2/15/12...................GRADE B
3. Out Of The Deep I Cry ♫ 3/14/12 .......................GRADE C+
4. Murder Most Frothy 4/23/12 ................................GRADE C+
5. The Warlock 4/30/12.............................................GRADE C
6. Superior Saturday 7/2/12 ....................................GRADE C
7. Trick of the Light 2/2/12 .....................................GRADE A- OVERLAP
8.
9.
10
11. Pirate King 5/5/12 ..............................................GRADE C+
12.

candidates

#1 Them Bones
#1 A Beautiful Blue Death
#1 Dead Cat Bounce
#2 A Fountain Filled with Blood
#3 Out Of The Deep I Cry
#4 Murder on Washington Square
#4 The Border Lord and the Lady
#4 Necromancer
#4 Murder Most Frothy
#5 Affairs of Steak
#5 The Warlock
#6 Hanging by a Thread
#6 French Pressed
#7 A Trick of the Light
#8 Crewel Yule
#8 Evil in Carnations
#8 Tunnel Vison
#9 Embroidered Truths
#9 Expresso Shot
#10 A Sea of troubles
#10 Sins & Needles
#10 Murder by Mocha
#11 Pirate King
#12 Uniform Justice

XI. Geography - euro and 50 state challenges
1. The Help - 1/18/12 Mississippi..........................GRADE C
2. Killer Weekend 3/14/12 IDAHO..........................GRADE B
3. Sprinkle with Murder 6/2/12 ARIZONA.................GRADE B
4. Summer of Fire 6/10/12 WYOMING ................... GRADE B-
5. The Balkan Escape 6/12/12 BULGARIA ............. GRADE C
6. Contrary Blues 6/17/12 WEST VIRGINIA.............GRADE B-
7. Calamity Jayne 6/20/12 IOWA ...........................GRADE B-
8.
9.
10
11.
12.

candidates

Sprinkle with Murder (AZ)
One Man's Paradise (HI)
Killer Weekend (ID)
Calamity Jayne (IA)
Heir Condition (KY)
A Murderous Glaze (VT)
Jar City (Iceland)
The Snowman (Norway)
Uncommon grounds (Wi)
Ghost at Work (OK)
Sex and Salmonella (SD)
The contrary blues (WV)
Tensleep (WY)
Irish Country Doctor Northern Ireland
Emperor's Tomb Denmark

XII. Extra curricular activites -LibraryThing - ERs, member recommendations / Group Reads
CATEGRY COMPLETED
1. The Help - 1/18/12 ..............................GRADE C overlap MCC LILIES Book Group
2. The Count of Monte Cristo.................. GRADE B OVERLAP Highly Rated Book Group - LT - 1st Quarter
3. Forgotten Garden.................................GRADE B+ OVERLAP MCC Lilies Book Group
4. Great Expectations 2/13/12.................GRADE C Overlap 12 in 12 group read
5. Phantom Tollbooth 2/16/12.................GRADE C+ Overlap recommended by tututhefirst shared read TIOLI
6. Mr. Churchill's Secretary 2/25/12.........GRADE C+ Overlap LT ER book shared read TIOLI
7. Killer Plot 3/3/12..................................GRADE B OVERLAP LT Rec by Tututhefirst
8. Agony of the Leaves 3/21/12..............GRADE C TIOLI GROUP
9.The Sheen on the Silk 3/28/12 ............GRADE C- ♫ MCC Lilies Book Group
10. The Postmistress 5/6/12...................GRADE C+ MCC Lilies Book Group
11. Wolf Hall 6/23/12..............................GRADE C- 12 in 12 group read
12. The Enchanted April............................Grade B- ♫ MCC Lilies Book Group

7 Overlaps - Final Grade C+ Change may be effected if overlaps are replaced at the end of the year.

candidates

The Help ♫ - Local Reading Group - January
Winter Palace - January
Great Expectations ♫ - LT 12 in 12 February
Count of Monte Cristo ♫ - Highly Rated Book Group - LT - 1st Quarter
Elegance of the Hedgehog ♫ - LT 12 in 12 April
Wolf Hall ♫ - LT 12 in 12 June
Middlemarch - LT 12 in 12 August
Postmistress - Local Reading Group April
Frozen Thames
Cleopatra: A Life
Eat, Pray, Love
The Pillars of the Earth
The Heretic's Daughter
Too Many Murders
Tenderness of Wolves

Hi Cheli, stopping by the new thread. Nice to see Home Economics has been a very popular category with you so far this challenge! Looking forward to following your further reading!

Good luck, once again, during the second quarter. Happy reading!!

I see you still have some great titles to go this year. Have fun!

Looks like you're doing great so far.

Challenge Book #62

Title: Superior Saturday ★★★
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy
Subject:
Setting: the House
Main Characters: Arthur Penhaligan, Suzie Turquoise Blue, Lady Saturday
Series: yes, #6 Keys to the Kingdom
Dates Read: April 2
Number of pages: 278
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Math class

Arthur Penhaligan , Rightful Heir of the Architect, has successfully defeated 5 of the immortal Trustees (Monday through Friday). But now he must tackle the two strongest of the Trustees and starting with Superior Saturday, the most powerful Sorceress in the House. Saturday is attempting to destroy the Lower House while reaching for the Incomparable Gardens above the Upper House occupied by Lord Sunday.

As Arthur prepares for his next adventure, he realizes that Superior Saturday's actions are threatening his home on Earth and he has to stop time there to prevent a nuclear attack. Every time Arthur uses his magical powers from the Keys he has in his possession, he gets closer and closer to losing his humanity and turning into a Denizen. He struggles with this loss of identity, trying to do what is needed but trying to maintain his personality and humanity as well.

While searching for the 6th part of the Will, Arthur makes use of the special talents of the rats who can travel between realms easily, after determining where the Will is, he proceeds on his quest. Arthur must succeed before Saturday destroys the House and therefore the secondary Realms which include Earth.

This book was my least favorite of the series in that there was little originality to the story. Garth Nix seems to be patterning the books on the Seven Deadly sins and this book would have Saturday being the sin of Lust. A bit of a stretch with his "yearning" to reach the Incomparable Gardens and Sunday's position of power. It seems that if Saturday was the most powerful Sorceress, we would have had a great deal more action and struggles than what appeared here.

Still a fun read and a decent prelude to the finish.

Found you!

Why do some books have musical notes?

Some members use the note to indicate they listened to the audio version of the book.

yes, the musical notes mean an audio book.

Challenge Book #63

Title: Lord Sunday ★★★½
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy

Sertting: the House, Imcomparable Gardens
Main Characters: Arthur Penhaligan, Suzie Turquoise Blue, Lord Sunday
Series: yes, #7 Keys to the Kingdom
Dates Read: April 3 - April 4
Number of pages: 320
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Audio Stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Leftover

Arthur Penhaligan is nearing the end of his quest. He has conquered all the immortal trustees except for Lord Sunday and has in his possession the first six keys to the kingdom. Arthur is still struggling with his transformation from human to denizen.

The story which completes the adventures of Lord Arthur, the rightful heir of the Architect, has numerous twists and turns not just for Arthur but his friends as well.

The interesting conclusion definitely brings the finale of the series to an unexpected but satisfactory end. Loved the series.

Love the new thread! You really are organized, Cheli.

Last night I went to my first Seder dinner for Passover. My Jewish friend and I are very accepting of each others religions and I had called her on Wednesday just to remind her that the Christians would be celebrating Good Friday and normally would not eat meat. As She said "Oy!" and scrambled to adjust the menu for the Christians. When I arrived, I told her that I appreciated sharing her religious traditions, and so I wanted to share one of our common Easter traditions of the current day...I handed her a Chocolate Bunny and told her that she had to eat the ears first! We both laughed until the tears flowed!

Happy Passover and Happy Easter!

Challenge Book #64

Title: Hunger Games ★★★★½
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Fantasy
Subject: government control, manipulation
Setting: Panem
Main Characters: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Cinna, Haymitch Abernathy
Series: yes, #1 Hunger Games
Dates Read: April 5 - April 6
Number of pages: 485
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Speech class

There have been so many reviews telling the plot/story of the Hunger Games, I'll forego that and just give my impressions.

I was reluctant to read this book because there seem to be so much hype that I couldn't believe that it could live up to it. So when I "read" this book I was extremely surprised. The story is told in the first person character of Katniss Everdeen. I listened to an audio version narrated by Carolyn McCormick and felt that I was really experiencing the events through her eyes. I felt the horror of hearing her little sister's name called, the disgust at the behavior of Haymitch Abernathy, but most of all I really felt her aloneness when she was fighting for her life.

The writing was superb, the characters well-defined, story engaging - all in all, a truly excellent book, IMO. Glad I've got the next one already in my hot little hands because I loved this one!

Challenge Book #65/66

Title: Body at the Tower ★★★½
Author: Y.S. Lee
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction

Setting: London, England
Main Characters: Mary Quinn, James Easton, Mr. Harkness
Series: yes, #2 The Agency series
Dates Read: April 1 - April 7
Number of pages: 337
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, NOOK Stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Class schedule, English Lit

In the second installment of the Agency Mary Quinn is disguised as a young boy and working at the construction site of Big Ben. Bricklayer Wick has been found at the base of the clock tower and investigation by the police has not turned up any indication of what happened, so the Agency has been hired to find out.

A special safety inspector has been hired to determine what needs to be done to get the site back on track, and Mary may be compromised because the inspector is none other than an old acquaintance James Easton. Will he see through her disguise? If so, will he give her away?

The action in the book is pleasantly spread along with the personal dilemma for Mary. This series seems to be perfectly designed for young adults with hidden agendas of moral quandaries.

26 - Don't you love it when the hype is justified? We read The Hunger Games for book club 2 years ago, I think, and it was one of the few books that everyone loved.

Challenge Book #67

Title: Traitor in the Tunnel ★★★★
Author: Y.S. Lee
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction

Setting: London, England Buckingham Palace
Main Characters: Mary Quinn, James Easton, Queen Victoria, Prince Edward,Lady Dalrymple, Amy Tramer, Octavius Jones
Series: yes, #3 The Agency series
Dates Read: April 7 - April 11
Number of pages: 380
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Netgalley Stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: English Lit

Mary Quinn, in the third Agency mystery by Y.S.Lee, has grown and matured to the point where she is set in as a domestic at Buckingham Palace to find a petty thief. What she finds because of her position, is romance and friendship from an unexpected source. Her abilities to uncover items that others wouldn't have found, give her an advantage which definitely is essential for the climax in the book.

The series is fun and engaging. The characters, especially in this book, are extremely entertaining and heartrending all at the same time. What will happen in the future, we will have to wait to see but at least we know that the Agency will be there to back Mary if that's what she wants.

Love the series, want more!

Challenge Book #68

Title: Elegance of the Hedgehog ★★½
Author: Muriel Barbery
Genre: Fiction
Subject: philosophy
Setting: Paris France
Main Characters: Renée Michel, Paloma Josse, Kakuro Ozu
Series: no
Dates Read: April 8 - April 12
Number of pages: 325
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: Audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Foreign Languages

7 Rue Grenelle, an exclusive address in 'bourgeois' Paris is the home to two totally different yet similar characters. Renée Michel is the concierge who has lived at the address where she works for much of her life and Paloma Josse, a highly intelligent 12 year-old, who has decided to commit suicide when she turns 13 because she sees only that adults are forced to compromises, renouncing their ideals, and betraying the principles of their youth.

Renée lives a life of fear - the typical French Concierge is expected to be uninteresting and spend their time watching television - Renée is the opposite, a highly intelligent, well-read bibliophile who is interested in philosophy.

When another tenant dies and Kakuro Ozu moves in. Both Renée and Paloma befriend the newcomer and here is where the intergenerational communications on philosophy expand. Without words they both appear to realize that each is hiding in their own way - Renée is hiding her true intellect pretending to be what is expected of a concierge and Paloma is hiding her intelliectual abilities at school so that she can fit in.
***SPOILER***
Renée eventually shows Paloma that life is worth living because of the beauty that can be found in numerous different areas. Her tragic death at this point does prevent Paloma from going along with her suicide plans.

Normally I don't like the change of viewpoint so frequently, but in this book it did work. The characters seemed to be stereotypes rather than well-rounded personalities all in all. That said, I really didn't like this book. Maybe it was the setting, maybe it was the characters, maybe the philosophies, maybe it was translation. I really don't know.

Cheli, I bought a copy of the first The Agency book. Glad to hear the series is good!

Challenge Book #69

Title: Tuesdays with Morrie ★★★★
Author: Mitch Albon
Genre: Memoir
Subject: Death, illness, acceptance
Setting: West Newton, MA
Main Characters: Mitch Albon, Morrie Schwartz
Series: no
Dates Read: April 13 - April 14
Number of pages: 127
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Lunch

Haven't had a book move me to tears in a long time, this one did.

This small little book is a marvelous testament to the human spirit. Here was a man, a philosophy professor, who was literally dying inch by inch in his body and yet his spirit was indomitable. As his life was shrinking away from ALS, Morrie spent his time explaining to his former student what was important in life and what wasn't. His teaching was spiritual yet realistic. Love, according to Morrie, was the most significant act and forgiveness of self - well, according to him " for all the mistakes you've made, for all the things you did you shouldn't have, for all the things you should have done, don't get stuck on your regrets."

The lesson he was teaching is one that is hard to learn, but definitely worthwhile to hear.

"The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his home by a window in his study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink flowers. The class met on Tuesdays, no books were required. The subject was the meaning of life. It was taught from experience. The teaching goes on."

I don't usually read books like this but I'm definitely glad I read this one. I learned a few important items.

Tuesdays with Morrie is one that I've been thinking about reading for a while. You may have just persuaded me, Cheli!

Challenge Book #70

Title: The First Rule of Ten ★★★½
Author: Gay Hendricks, Tinker Lindsay
Genre: Mystery
Subject: con artists, buddhist monk, ex-cop
Setting: Los Angeles, CA and surrounding area
Main Characters: Tenzing Norbu,
Series: #1 A Tenzing Norbu Mystery (Dharma Detective)
Dates Read: April 13 - April 19
Number of pages: 312
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Net Galley stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge:

The first Rule of Ten is "If you're open to learning, you get your life lessons delivered as gently as the tickle of a feather." Sounds very philosophical, right? Something from the Dalai Lama? This is how we begin the story of Tenzing (Ten) Norbu, a former Tibetan monk turned LA Cop, now private investigator. He didn't accept the tickle, instead he got hit like a sledgehammer with a bullet grazing his head. Deciding that his life as a Police Homicide cop is over, he begins to put together his plans to be a PI.

The very first day, however, he's presented with a mystery that seems to be "tickling" him. Barbara Mazey, a total stranger comes to his door searching for his landlord. Unsure about giving the information out, she leaves but comes back to haunt him when he is contacted by his old police partner to identify her body.

The mystery continues to evolve, placing Ten in danger as well as some of the people that he meets during his investigation. Trying to decide how to proceed Ten meditates frequently remembering that "life demands that we face the consequences of our actions, and sometimes it boils down to a series of sweaty 10 minute conversations that you're willing to have or not."

I loved this mystery. The writing was clean, the characters were well-developed yet left room for growth. The details/aspects of his life as a monk were so well incorporated that I wanted to say More! More! quite frequently. Looking forward to the next installment.

Challenge Book #71

Title: U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth ★★★
Author: Joan Waugh
Genre: History

Setting: USA
Main Characters: Ulysses Simpson Grant
Series: no
Dates Read: April 8 - April 20
Number of pages: 373
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no,. Public library
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: History Class

I'm not going into a full review of this book basically because the three parts - his life, his reputation, and his effect on history was IMO, though well-written, lacking in enough details to make a full review worthwhile.

What this book did document was the successful way that Grant directed the entire Union forces after taking charge in 1864. It seems that so many believe that Grant was an unfeeling man because of the vast numbers of soldiers that were killed in the battles nearing the end of the war, but his own words show how he felt the necessity of being victorious. "we all felt, even those who did not object to slavery, that it was a stain on the Union that men should be bought and sold like cattle...We were fighting an enemy with whom we could not make peace. We had to destroy him. No convention, no treaty was possible--- only destruction."

This book did show the difficulties that Grant went through to complete his memoirs. He had been diagnosed with threat cancer and his last years were filled with tremendous pain and discomfort. Completing the books which told his viewpoint of the war became, after his death, a massive bestseller which provided financially for his wife, Julia, and his family.

This book did not give sufficient details of the presidency of Ulysses Grant, however, it did justify the stature in which he was held in the hearts of his countrymen.

Challenge Book #72

Title: Murder Most Frothy ★★★½
Author: Cleo Coyle
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Subject: mistaken identity, greed, embezzlement
Setting: The Hamptons, NY
Main Characters: Clare Cosi
Series: yes, #4 Coffeehouse mysteries
Dates Read: April 20 - April 23
Number of pages: 257
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Math class

Clare Cosi is the manager of the Village Blend Coffeehouse in Greenwich Village and because of the success she has, a friend, David Mintzer, an entrepreneur, wants her assistance in his new restaurant in the Hamptons. So Clare takes on the position of Coffee steward at David's new restaurant. While "catering" his 4th of July party, one of the staff members appears to be accidently murdered because of his resemblance to David.

Trying to convince David and the local police that the entrepreneur is the actual _target and being unsuccessful, Clare sets out to find the killer herself. Along the way, Clare finds herself in several uncomfortable situations.

This fourth installment of the Coffeehouse series is a bit light on plot but with the familiar supporting characters ( Madame Dubois, Joy, and Matt) following Clare's adventures is still fun.

I'll begin the Cleo Coyle in a bit. I'm finishing up the Muriel Barbery book first.

Very intrigued by The First Rule of Ten - sounds like I'm adding another book to my TBR pile!

Challenge Book #73

Title: The Atlantis Code ★★★
Author: Charles Brokaw
Genre: Mystery
Subject: lost civilizations, Roman Catholic church control
Setting: Russia, Africa, Spain
Main Characters: Thomas Lourdes, Leslie, Natashya, Cardinal Murani
Series: #1 Thomas Lourdes
Dates Read: April 14 - April 24
Number of pages: 312
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Net Galley stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Foreign Languages

Indiana Jones meet Da Vinci Code - well, not quite.

This is a intriguing story about the possible finding of the lost city of Atlantis and those that are fighting each other to get there first.

The clues to the actual location are apparently distributed through out the world with symbols that are from a forgotten language - enter Thomas Lourdes, a Harvard linguist professor who gets caught in the middle to decipher the code.

However, the characters are a bit stereotypical - Lourdes is brilliant and supposedly the only person who can solve the riddle, Leslie is the overly ambitious TV reporter, and Natashya is a female Rambo. The bad guys are so plain and ordinary you know from the start exactly how they will end.

However, even though the characters left room for improvement, the action of the book was extremely entertaining and has the reader rooting for Lourdes and his band of misfits. It was fun.

A number of years ago we visited the cottage at Mount MacGregor where Grant spent his final days, finishing his memoir.

http://grantcottage.org/

It must have taken tremendous drive and tenacity for him to complete the writing despite his illness. He died such a short time after the work was done.

Challenge Book #74

Title: Beekeeping for Beginners ★★★
Author: Laurie R. King
Genre: Short Story

Setting: England
Main Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Mary Russell
Series: yes, 1b
Dates Read: April 25
Number of pages: 73
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Nook stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Homework

So many times when we read a book we are given the story from one viewpoint and often wonder what the other characters are thinking. Laurie R. King's first book in the Mary Russell series and all subsequent books are from Mary Russell's point of view but here in this book, we see and feel Sherlock Holmes perspective. Having read the Beekeeper's Apprentice - the meeting and developing relationship between Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes - told by Mary, this added little account of the events by Sherlock Holmes just makes their blossoming relationship that much more fun. Highly recommended to the followers of Mary Russell.

Challenge Book #75

Title: The Necromancer ★★★½
Author: Michael Scott
Genre: Fantasy
Subject: monsters, evil, magic
Setting: San Francisco, Shadow Realms
Main Characters: Josh and Sophie Newman, Nicholas and Perenel Flamel, Dr. Dee
Series: yes, #4 immortal Nicholas Flamel
Dates Read: April 19 - April 28
Number of pages: 403
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Speech class

This 4th book of the Flamel series picks up immediately after book 3 with the twins arrival in San Francisco and the official introduction of Aunt Agnes.

Sophie and Josh are at odds as to who they should support Dr. Dee or the Flamels. We are also introduced to a few new immortals - Aoife (Scathatch's twin sister), Billy the Kid, Prometheus, Virginia Dare, and Niten.

The immortals are having their own problems - Scatty and Joan are trapped in a pre-historic shadow Realm, Saint Germaine, Palamades, and Shakespeare are running from the Dark Elders while trying to free Joan and Scatty, and Dee and Machiavelli are in deep trouble with the bosses because they haven't gotten the twins. So since all immortals are looking after themselves, who is there to keep Josh and Sophie safe?

This book supplies a great deal of background for the mythological creatures/immortals and their masters, the Elders. The tension builds as the life in the Flamels begins to drain to desperate levels and the twins are put at odds.

Challenge Book #76

Title: The Warlock ★★★★
Author: Michael Scott
Genre: Fantasy
Subject: monsters, evil, magic
Setting: San Francisco, Shadow Realms
Main Characters: Josh and Sophie Newman, Nicholas and Perenel Flamel, Dr. Dee
Series: yes, #5 immortal Nicholas Flamel
Dates Read: April 28 - April 29
Number of pages: 385
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Math class

The 5th book of the Flamel series shows the true danger that threatens Josh and Sophie as well as the humani world. All the mythological creatures of yesteryear have been imprisoned on the Island of Alcatraz and Dr Dee with Virginia Dare are gaining help from Josh to loose them on the city. When it is revealed the reason why Josh is acting the way he is, the immortals are drawn to trying to warn him but are unsuccessful, they must defend the city and the humani instead.

As Nicholas and Perenel's auras start to die as they age, the reader wonders if they will survive long enough to complete their destinies and help the twins to save the world?

Many twists and turns await the reader as the characters themselves change and evolve.

I was so caught up in the story that I had to start the next one immediately after finishing the 4th installment. A tremendously fun series!

You've reminded me that it is time I visited the Flamels and Josh and Sadie again! I've requested The Warlock from my library.

Challenge Book #77

Title: Murder with Puffins ★★★
Author: Donna Andrews
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Subject: Art, conservation, hurricane preparedness
Setting: Monhegan Island, Maine
Main Characters: Meg Langslow, her parents, Michael, Victor Resnick
Series: yes, Meg Langslow #2
Dates Read: April 28 - April 30
Number of pages: 292
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes,
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: homework

This is the kind of homework I wish I'd had when I was in school. Staying up late at night trying to finish a well-written cozy mystery is far more fun than writing a paper.

Meg and Michael have been overwhelmed with family interruptions and decide to escape to her Aunt Phoebe's cottage only to find on their arrival that her parents, brother, and Aunt are already in residence and that their romantic weekend will be with Hurricane Gladys and her relatives instead. That can't be the only thing that goes wrong, of course, so after Meg's father has a conflict with Victor Resnick, an artist and old beau of his wife's, suspicion seems only natural when Dad disappears at the same time as Gladys comes ashore and Victor is killed.

The interjection of the birdwatchers throughout the story adds humor and whimsy while Meg and Michael wander the island trying to solve the murder and clear her family from suspicion.

My only problem with the story was the constant repetition of the "trudging through mud and fall leaves". Yes, if you are outdoors in the rain before a hurricane and after, it is going to be muddy and trees will have lost leaves. Once or twice was enough, it wasn't necessary throughout the book.

Hopefully, good weather in the next installment!

APRIL RECAP
I'm still on the roll that started in February and hopefully, I will just keep going. April I actually did better than February and March with 15 books - best since Winter of 2009! I'm finally settling back into my retirement with books and needlework, but I am fitting in other activities as well. Here's my report on April:

April: 4 pre-owned: 9 borrowed: 0 new: 2 ARC - 15 books.
Best of the Month: Hunger Games
Least Favorite of the Month: Elegance of the Hedgehog

Here's what I read this month:

I. 1. Class schedule - Nook Books/Net galley 8/12
Body at the Tower : overlap

II. Study Hall - Mysteries 6/12

III. Home Economics - crafts and home themed books 11/12

IV. History - USPC and background reconstruction thru 1900 3/12
U.S. Grant : American hero, American myth ★★★

V. English Lit - mysteries set in Great Britian 6/12
Body at the Tower ★★★½
The Traitor and the Tunnel ★★★★

VI. Lunch - leftovers, culinary and game themed books 5/12
Lord Sunday ♫ ★★★½
Tuesdays with Morrie ★★★★
First Rule of Ten ★★★½

VII. Foreign languages - foreign settings 9/12
Elegance of the Hedgehog ★★½
The Atlantis Code ★★★

VIII. Speech Class - Audiobooks 2/12
Hunger Games ♫ ★★★★½
The Necromancer ♫★★★½

IX. Homework - TBRs 9/12
Beekeeping for Beginners ★★★
Murder with Puffins ★★★

X. Math - 1st,2nd, 3rd….. Series books 7/12
Superior Saturday♫ ★★★
Murder Most Frothy ★★★½
The Warlock ♫ ★★★★
XI. Geography - euro and 50 state challenges 2/12


XII. Extra curricular activites - group reads or recommended by LTers 9/12


Genre Summary

Nonfiction:
1 books History
0 book Health
1 book memoirs

Fiction:
Novels: 1
Youth/Children: 7
Mystery: 5
Historical Fiction: 0
Classic: 0

Books for next month:

The Postmistress &
Pirate King ♫
The Winter Palace &
To Darkness to Death ♫
The Lola Quartet :
The Third Coincidence :
Collateral Damage :
Burn ♫
Lucifer Code &
All Mortal Flesh ♫
Temple Mount Code &
The Solitary House :
Gone to Ground &
Tongues of Serpents ♫


On to May!

The Flamel series is on my radar screen so happy to see you continue to enjoy it!

Challenge Book #78

Title: The Pirate King ★★★½
Author: Laurie R. King
Genre: MYSTERY
Subject: captivity, pirates, early film making
Setting: Portugal, Morocco
Main Characters: Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes,Randolph Fflytte, Geoffrey Hale, Captain La Roche
Series: yes, #11 Mary Russell series
Dates Read: May 1 - May 6
Number of pages: 120
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Math

"Honestly, Holmes? Pirates?"

The opening words of the latest installment of the Mary Russell series, show the reader that we are in for some fun rather than the heavy dramatic volumes of the last few books. We see again the frivolity of the earlier adventures even though Holmes doesn't really surface until mid story.

How many of us have accepted just about any dutiful activity to avoid time with the in-laws? Mary Russell heads off to perform a favor for Inspector LeStrad to escape two weeks with Mycroft Holmes when he comes for a visit. She heads out to be the assistant to a filmmaker who is taking the story of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" and putting it on film. Rather than trying to film in London, the production is headed to Portugal to hire actors to be the pirates.

Russell is overwhelmed with Stage mothers for the many little blonde actresses and the pirates that are hired to play actors who are playing pirates. When they arrive in Morocco however, they women are imprisoned separately from the men and here is where the fun begins.

When I started this book I had great expectations but was disappointed as it progressed at the beginning however, once Mary Russell is joined by the magnificent Sherlock Holmes the book takes off. The dialogue was entertaining throughout and the situations were recollections of the old Russell and Holmes of the early adventures.

The light hearted antics were a pleasant change from the previous books but I hope that Ms. King will return to the deeper mysteries showcasing Holmes and Russell's talents in the future.

Challenge Book #79

Title: The Uncommon Reader ★★★½
Author: Alan Bennett
Genre: FICTION
Subject: reading
Setting: London, England, UK
Main Characters: Queen Elizabeth, Norman
Series: no
Dates Read: May 1 - May 6
Number of pages: 120
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: English Lit

What a delightful book - the Queen of England accidentally visits the traveling Bookmobile, takes out a book (feeling obligated) and discovers that she really enjoys the activity of reading. Forgetting her responsibilities on several occasions, she frequently is brought to task for canceling engagements and even reading along the motorcade route instead of waving to the crowds.

Light-hearted and fun!

>49 cyderry: I can't remember if I have it already on the shelf or if it's still in my wishlist, but I've been wanting to read this book. Good to know it's good.

>49 cyderry: I really enjoyed The Uncommon Reader, too.

Challenge Book #80

Title: The Postmistress ★★★½
Author: Sarah Blake
Genre: Historical Fiction
Subject: WWII beginning, Jewish refugees, US preparedness, London Blitz
Setting: Europe pre-WWII, Franklin Massachusetts
Main Characters: Frankie Bard, Will Fitch, Emma Fitch, Harry Vale, Iris James
Series: no
Dates Read: April 24 - May 8
Number of pages: 322
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, loaned from Tina
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Extra curricular activites

This story had three central figures - all female - Frankie Bard, a news reporter, Emma Fitch, wife of the town doctor, and Iris James, the postmistress of Franklin, Massachusetts. Even though the title of the book points to Iris as the lead, IMHO, the book is more about Frankie and her reports of the coming of World War II and how events can effect people differently.

Emma is a new bride brought by Will Fitch to his hometown of Franklin MA where he is going to setup his practice. Emma is a very insecure young woman who is fearful of being alone. When Will loses a patient he decides that he needs to do something more worthwhile and heads to London in 1940 to offer his services to the English. Every day he sends a letter back to Emma who grows more frightened as the time grows longer that Will is away.

Frankie Bard works with Edward R Murrow at the BBC broadcasting the news back to the States. She tells human interest stories such as a small boy that she encountered during one night of the Blitz and wen she walked him home, they found the house had been hit by a bomb. Her account was heard by Emma and Iris in Franklin and they were touched by her story.

Their lives come together when Frankie is caught in the underground during a nightly attack and is seated next to Will Fitch. They talk and when they leave in the morning, Frankie watches as Will is hit by a car and he dies in her arms. She picks up the letter that he was going to mail home and she carries it with her the next few months, never sure whether she should mail it or not.

Immediately after Will's death, Frankie is told that she can go on assignment to Germany, France, Belgium to see what is happening with the exodus of the European Jews and to interview them. The ensuing accounts are riveting.

Returning Frankie appears to have shellshock from the experiences and since she still holds the letter she goes to Franklin for R&R where she meets Emma and Iris and the other residents of the town who are unsure of whether there is anything that they need to be concerned about. Frankie seem very true to life - wondering what happened to the people that she had met along the way however, no effort was made to try to resolve that lack of information.

Not having lived at the time that this story is set, I was moved by Frankie's accounts but also found it hard to believe that in actuality, the Americans did not seem to really care what was happened in Europe since we were not involved in the war at this time. Even today we seem to have that same blind eye that is turned to horrors in other nations until we can't not see it.

I thought we were supposed to learn from history.

Thanks to Tina for the loan of the book and Stasia for the recommendation.

Challenge Book #81

Title: To Darkness and to Death ★★★★
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Genre: MYSTERY
Subject: family estates, conservation
Setting: Millers Kill, NY
Main Characters: Clare Ferguson, Russ Van Alstyne, Sean Reed
Series: yes, #4
Dates Read: May 8 - May 10
Number of pages: 311
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Speech Class

Clare Ferguson, Episcopal priest, ex-army copter pilot, is called in to help with a search and rescue when Millie van der Hoeven is reported missing by her brother, a recluse at Haudenosaunee, the van der Hoeven estate. Millie is expected at the big event that evening to sign over the van der Hoeven estate for preservation. The impact to the environment is highly beneficial but the effect on local logging will effect the employment of many in Millers Kill.

The reader is supplied with all the information - what happened and where is Millie, the specifics of an assault and exactly who's to blame. But certain details are left for Clare and Russ to unravel along with the frustration related to their relationship.

Definitely a good addition to the series.

So glad you are enjoying the Spencer-Fleming books!

Challenge Book #82

Title: Collateral Damage ★★★★
Author: H. Terrell Griffin
Genre: Mystery
Subject: reprisals for old actions, camaraderie
Setting: Florida
Main Characters: Matt Royal, Logan Hamilton, Jock Algren, J.D. Dawson
Series: yes, #6 Matt Royal
Dates Read: May 9 - May 12
Number of pages: 352
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, NetGalley for review
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Class Schedule

Matt Royal is a retired lawyer who lives at the beach on a Florida Key. One morning there is a knock at his door and his visitor is an old army buddy, Charles Desmond (Doc) who saved his life in Vietnam. Doc is here to ask Matt to help him find the person who murdered his son on the beach.

Enlisting the help of another friend, Jock, who is very high in a Federal Agency who can delve into areas that Matt has no access, and working with the local authorities, Matt uncovers connections of Desmond's son's murder with 2 other murders that occurred on the same day. Fighting off 2 separate attempts on his own life, concerns deepen when the local detective that he was working with disappears at the same time as his client.

The action is fast paced, the writing makes the reader feel the hot breezes of the keys as well as the sweltering humidity. Kept on the edge of your seat until the very end, the reader is given a great ride even though the clues are openly presented and the solution easily devised. It's still a great read.

Initially, I was a bit concerned because this is the 6th book in the Matt Royal series and I have not read any of the previous adventures but that will be remedied, most definitely. However, it does well as a stand alone mystery with just a few references to previous adventures that don't seem to effect the story other than character definition.

My library only has the 3rd in the series. I'll have to see if I can read it next month before I take a day trip to Key West after a conference in the lower part of the peninsula. Maybe I'll be as lucky as you are with it working as a stand alone.

Collateral Damage sounds good. Did you get a sense that anything in it would be a "spoiler" for the earlier books in the series? I have so many series going, I hate to start another one to try to get to a recommended 6th book or so, but that sounds like one I'd like.

Cheli, I wish our library had that series. A few libraries in the ILL system have Collateral Damage, and it sounds good. Did you get the sense that anything in it was a spoiler for earlier ones? I doubt I'll start that series from the beginning (only 1 library in the state has the first book, and) but that book looks good.

I got Collateral Damage from NetGalley - you could too.
Sign up, request and download when approved.

But watch out it's dangerous - free books.

Challenge Book #83

Title: Grant ★★★★★
Author: Jean Edward Smith
Genre: Biography
Subject: Ulysses S. Grant
Setting: USA
Main Characters: U.S. Grant, William Sherman, Robert E. Lee
Series: no
Dates Read: May 1 - May 23
Number of pages: 628 + 72 of footnotes
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no, Public Library
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: History Class

Ulysses Grant is more frequently remembered as the Union General who defeated Robert E. Lee in the American Civil War than as a two term President after that war. But the two are so inter-related - Grant's popularity because of his military success lead to his election and his position as the Commander-in-Chief in later years protected the legacy of the Union victory.

Ulysses Simpson Grant neé Hiram Ulysses Grant was the son of a tanner. He attended West Point at the same time as William Tecumseh Sherman, George Thomas, Rosencrans, and Ewell who all served under him in later years as well as James Longstreet who he would fight against. In his early Army career during the Mexican-American War, Grant learned his style of command - sensible discipline, calmness in the face of adversity, and orders in the fewest well-chosen words. Grant also saw the value of a well-planned attack including preparations related to management of supplies as well as manpower. They were lessons he repeated call upon in future years.

When the Civil War broke out, Grant was no longer in the military but volunteer to prepare a regiment using his quartermaster skills of the Mexican War. He was eventually given command of the Illinois volunteers. His command style and training showed his understanding of the difference between regular soldiers and volunteers and achieved the best results.

His first successes were on the Western Front, capturing Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Nashville, then becoming Commander of the Army of The Tennessee went on to the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg. "Vicksburg was Grant's great victory in the West and the turning point of the war, but as one historian noted, the triumph at Chattanooga proclaimed his military genius."

Recognizing his abilities as a leader, Lincoln brought him east to assume command of the Army of the Potomac and take the battle to defeat Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Been named General in Chief, Grant had no "army" that he specifically commanded. His was to issue commands to the other Generals. This caused issues at several battles. While fighting to gain Petersburg, "the fault was not in Grant's plan, but in faulty execution. Corps Commanders were sluggish, orders executed late, halfheartedly, reinterpreted, or not done at all."

The battles that followed were bloody and costly. The toll in dead and wounded at the battles of Cold Harbor and the Wilderness had Northerners wondering of Grant should be replaced, but Lincoln wouldn't budge and on April 9, 1865 the war ended for all intents and purposes with Lee's surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Grant went to Washington where after Lincoln's assassination, he worked with President Johnson on Reconstruction. Johnson wanted to try Lee for treason, Grant balked stating "I will never consent to his arrest. I will resign the command of the army rather than execute any order to arrest Lee or any of his commanders so long as they obey the law." He felt that the terms of the surrender needed to be honored and would not be a party to prosecuting any of the officers in the Confederate Army as long as they follow the terms their parole. Johnson realizing Grant's popularity with the people, backed down.

The surrender terms at Appomattox were thought by many to be too lenient. However, Grant was following Lincoln's directions "with malice toward none, with charity for all" so his generosity to the Confederates started the healing process - "Appomattox was Grant's finest hour, his determination to protect those who surrendered there, ranks a close second."

Grant was a brilliant commander but had his flaws as well. Since feelings were that he would be the next President, many tried to ingratiate themselves with him. After the war, he accepted houses in Galena, Ohio and Philadelphia as gifts from a grateful nation as well as a testimonial check for $105,000.

Because President Johnson was not happy about the expectations of Grant's future, Grant lost the support of the Commander-in-chief and frequently had to travel a fine line between the President's favor and that of Congress to get Reconstruction progressing.

Grant's diplomacy was demonstrated in the areas of management of the Southern states, British relations due to the suit for damages caused by the Confederate's Alabama damages, and French occupation in Mexico. He also showed the same ability to choose capable "lieutenants" when creating his cabinet.

As a President, not only did he have to continue with the Reconstructive process, deal with the rising of the Ku Klux Klan, protect the rights of the freed slaves, and prevent an economic collapse on the Gold Market but he did it all honorably.

Perhaps not being a politician was beneficial because when he vetoed the Inflation Bill, his party believed that he had killed their chances in the next election. What his veto showed was that he was opposed to unredeemable paper currency. He took the necessary steps to stabilize the currency and save the nation's credit.

Grant's last crisis came with the election of his successor. Because of the Reconstructive process still ongoing, three states election results were in contention. It was necessary to pass legislation to create a committee of fifteen to determine which elector votes would be counted. The committee consisted (at Grant's suggestion) of 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 5 Justices from the Supreme Court (they did make a decision on a presidential election prior to 2000). With the committee's decisions, Rutherford Hayes was elected by 1 vote over Governor Tilden. Thus, Grant was instrumental in calming another Constitutional crisis.

The last years of his life were not easy. He was involved in a Wall Street debacle which wiped out his entire fortune, and was only saved by the offer of Mark Twain to publish his memoirs. Fighting throat cancer, he completed the task only a few days before his death. His funeral was a major event attended by not only those he had commanded but also those he had fought against. The nation grieved for the man who had led the Union to victory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I read Adams by David McCullough and this book ranks right up there with it.
I rarely give a book a ★★★★★ rating but this book was so well-written and so informative, you could see that it was thoroughly researched. Granted, the content is very heavy, but the manner that the information is dispersed, makes it a very easy read that holds your interest even if you know the outcome.

This is definitely the Grant book for you to read. What a fascinating man - so humble and yet calm and responsible.

Cheli, good to know (about that Grant bio). I've sort of fallen off the wagon on reading presidential bios but do hope to get back into it with an Andrew Johnson bio. I'll keep this one in mind for Grant.

My husband is a big CIvil War buff, so I might see about getting him this for Father's Day or his birthday.

Great review - I'll have to read this one when I finally get to Grant while reading the presidential bios.

Challenge Book #84

Title: Burn ★★★
Author: Nevada Barr
Genre: Mystery
Subject: Child prostituton, psycologial recovery
Setting: New Orleans
Main Characters: Anna Pigeon
Series: yes, #16
Dates Read: May 14 - May 28
Number of pages: 579
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Speech Class

I just logged my 1100th book as read in LibraryThing, I wish it had been better. I am a big fan of Anna Pigeon, Nevada Barr's Heroine who works for the National Park service and moves from park to park in each of her adventures. However, it's hard to identify the City of New Orleans in my mind as a National Park - it's really just Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve - more an historic landmark/area than National Park, IMO and Anna isn't even working there, she's on vacation.

The story centers around a woman who is hiding from the law because they suspect her of murdering her husband and children. Anna somehow becomes involved with the woman -posing as a man - who is searching for her children because she believes that they are still alive. They get immersed with child pornography rings and so it goes.

Not one of Anna's best.

I hate the Nevada Barr book wasn't better. I sometimes wonder if she chooses the smaller parks that we don't think of as national parks although they are under the National Park Service just to make her readers realize that the big parks are not the only ones in it. I'm reading the one set at the Cumberland Island National Seashore at the moment. Although the book is not about a hurricane or tropical storm, it's a timely setting since Beryl is bearing down on Cumberland Island.

That's a hecka lotta books!

Challenge Book #85

Title: The Third Coincidence ★★★★
Author: David Bishop
Genre: Thriller
Subject: political assassinations
Setting: Washington,D.C.
Main Characters: Jack McCall, Commander LW, President Schroeder
Series: no
Dates Read: May 25 - May 29
Number of pages: 288
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, NetGalley Download
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Class Schedule

A Supreme Court Justice is found dead in his chambers. Because of his age, a heart attack is suspected but when a second Justice is found with his throat cut and a Federal Reserve Governor meets an untimely death in a c ar crash, the President wants an investigation and calls on his friend, Jack McCall who is a special Director awt the CIA. McCall creates a special taskforce with members from the CIA, FBI, and MPD and together they work to find who is threatening the elite members of the Supreme Court and Federal Reserve. Commander LW of the American Militia to Restore Representative Government sends his threats and demands for the non-elected elite to stand down or he will kill them all.

The nation is frightened, no one wants to be a nominee for the vacant position, putting their names on the hit list. With the assassination spree continuing, resignations occurring and no replacements, the Supreme Court cannot sustain a quorum. Will the nation fall into anarchy before the killer is found and stopped?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, wondering if this ever happened in the real world, how we as a nation would react - would we demand immediate results or realize that someone that managed to accomplish something this devious would be difficult to track down and capture? It was well-written and seemed well-researched and the characters were well-developed. My only nit to pick was the change in viewpoint was sometimes too jumpy, but once I realized it had changed, there was no problem. This could have been related to the download format from Net Galley. But all in all, a great read.

Thanks to Net Galley and Oceanview Publishing for giving me the chance to read a great book.

Challenge Book #86

Title: All Mortal Flesh ★★★½
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Genre: Mystery
Subject: marriage separation, personal communications
Setting: MillersKill, NY
Main Characters: Russ VanAlstyne, Clare Ferguson
Series: yes, #5
Dates Read: May 30 - May 31
Number of pages: 322
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Speech Class

Linda van Alstyne is dead. She is founded dead in her kitchen, stabbed and mutilated. Who is the prime suspect - none other than Chief of Police Russ van Alstyne and so the state police are "called in" to head the investigation. Russ continues to try to find the murderer and runs into trouble.

Throughout this book I was torn as to who I really wanted to be the murderer. We know in our hearts that it can't be Clare or Russ, but then who? Russ seemed so terribly broken-hearted even though he professes that he loves Clare. So where is it going, how can there be a satisfactory solution?
As the story begins to head to resolution - the clues start mounting up and it is easy to foresee the outcome. But the ending - oh, no I didn't see that one coming!

May RECAP
Well, May saw a major funk after three months of major reading. I had 10 days when I only read at bedtime so the number of books were reduced from the last few months. But here's the wrapup:

May: 0 pre-owned:8 borrowed: 0 new: 1 ARC - 9 books.
Best of the Month: Grant
The worst of the month - Burn

Here's what I read this month:

Pirate King ♫ ★★★½
The Uncommon Reader ★★★½
The Postmistress & ★★★½
Collateral Damage : ★★★★
To Darkness to Death ♫ ★★★★
Grant & ★★★★★
Burn♫ ★★★
The Third Coincidence : ★★★★
All Mortal Flesh ♫ ★★★½


I. 1. Class schedule - Nook Books/Net galley 10/12
Collateral Damage
The Third Coincidence

II. Study Hall - Mysteries 6/12

III. Home Economics - crafts and home themed books 11/12

IV. History - USPC and background reconstruction thru 1900 4/12
Grant

V. English Lit - mysteries set in Great Britian 7/12
The Uncommon Reader

VI. Lunch - leftovers, culinary and game themed books 5/12

VII. Foreign languages - foreign settings 9/12

VIII. Speech Class - Audiobooks 5/12
To Darkness to Death ♫
Burn ♫
All Mortal Flesh ♫

IX. Homework - TBRs 9/12

X. Math - 1st,2nd, 3rd….. Series books 8/12
Pirate King ♫

XI. Geography - euro and 50 state challenges 2/12

XII. Extra curricular activites - group reads or recommended by LTers 10/12
The Postmistress

Genre Summary

Nonfiction:
1 books History
0 book Health
0 book memoirs
Fiction:
Novels: 1
Youth/Children: 0
Mystery: 7
Historical Fiction: 1
Classic: 0

Books for next month:
Sprinkle with Murder
Shakespeare's Landlord ♫
Balkan Escape
Wolf Hall Group Read
Summer of Fire
Irish Country Doctor ♫
True Justice
Enchanted April HRBG and Lilies Book Group - group read
Calamity Jayne
Contrary Blues
Rutherford B. Hayes
The 19th Wife: A Novel ♫
Jar City
Emperor's Tomb ♫

Sorry to read about the reading funk.....hope it ends soon!

70>>It lasted about 10 days, but it's over now. Thanks.

I've decided that since my theme this year is High School, instead of giving a star rating I'm going to give a grade.

★★★★★ = A to A+
★★★★ - ★★★★½ = B to B+
★★½ - ★★★½ = C- to C+
★ - ★★ = D to D+
½ = F

Then at the end of the category, I'll give a final grade.

>68 cyderry: - ooooh! I really wish you had put a spoiler alert before that first sentence. I've only read two so far, and really didn't want that info.

It's not a spoiler.. trust me. I never put spoilers in my reviews. That sentence will just set you up for the entire mystery!

It sounds like an interesting scenario. I've got to read starting with #2 in the series though to get to that one!

OK - well that's #5 anyway so I've still got a couple to go before I get there.

Challenge Book #87

Title: Sprinkle with Murder ★★★★
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Subject: friendships, competitive businesses
Setting: Scottsdale, ARIZONA
Main Characters: Melanie Cooper, Angie DeLaura, Tate Harper, Christie Stevens
Series: yes, #1
Dates Read: May 31 - June 2
Number of pages: 240
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Nook stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Geography Class

Fairy Tale Cupcakes - just the name of the business for the main characters of this new cozy series makes my mouth water and long to taste the scrumptious-sounding confections this minute. But that's not the best part. The best part of this book is that the mystery is well-written, the central characters are believable and the secondary characters are humorous and entertaining.

Melanie and Angie have been friends since grade school and with the help of their friend Tate, they open their dream - the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Tate is engaged to Christie Stevens and he has persuaded her to have the girls make cupcakes rather than a regular wedding cake. Neither Mel or Angie are "fond" of Christie but because of their friendship/partnership, they make all efforts to appease this bridezilla. But 'tragedy' occurs and Melanie is the one to find Christie dead with a sample cupcake in her hand.

To prevent the repercussions on their business, Melanie and Angie have to find out who really did kill Christie before their customers are all scared away.

I loved it. I have Buttercream Bump off, the next in the series sitting on the shelf so I'm set to continue this funny and yummy series. Thanks to Linda P for the recommendation.

Oh, my - just what I need - another cozy series about food!

ETA: Oops, I've already read that installment! I guess I need to move on to #2.

Cheli: I'm glad you enjoyed the first of the Cupcake series. I read #1 and #2 back to back, I'm looking forward to reading Red Velvet Revenge very soon.

Challenge Book #88

Title: Shakespeare's Landlord ★★★
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Subject: impulses, self-defense
Setting: Shakespeare, Arkansas
Main Characters: Lily Bard, Claude Friedrich, Marshall Sedaka
Series: yes, Lily Bard #1
Dates Read: June 2 - June 7
Number of pages: 224
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Geography Class

Lily Bard has a past. She's been living in Shakespeare, ARK for 3 years, working to clean the homes of many of the residents of this little town. Trouble threatens to expose what she's hiding when she witnesses a hooded figure wheeling a mysterious bundle into the nearby park. When she goes to investigate, she finds the area landlord dead.

This was a simple little cozy. More time was spent on Lily and her relationships with the town residents than maybe was necessary. The main characters and secondary characters do need a bit more development but since this is the first in the series, there's time. The mystery was light but entertaining. Hope for improvement in future installments.

It's been a while since I read the Shakespeare series, but from what I remember they do continually get better. I was sad that there were only five books in the series.

Challenge Book #89

Title: Summer of Fire ★★★½
Author: Linda Jacobs
Genre: Fiction
Subject: marriage separation, personal communications
Setting: Yellowstone National Park
Main Characters: Clare Chance, Steve Heywood, John Deering, Devon Chance
Series: yes, #1
Dates Read: June 3 - June 10
Number of pages: 483
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, Nook stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Geography Class

Actual events are frequently used as the backdrop of fiction. In this novel the wildfires in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 are the driving force for the adventures told.

Clare Chance is a firefighter from Houston who volunteers to help fight the inferno that Yellowstone has become. Because of her background she is set the task of training the soldiers that are sent by the Army to assist.

The battles of the characters against the fires and their inner demons makes for good reading.

This was the first book that I read that was a Freebie from Barnes & Noble's Free book Friday. I have to admit that I was pleasantLY surprised at the quality of the writing and story. It was the first in a series set in Yellowstone. I hope to see these characters again though from reviews of the other books In the series, they don't appear prominent.

Challenge Book #90

Title: Balkan Escape ★★★
Author: Steve Berry
Genre: Mystery
Subject: danger
Setting: Bulgaria
Main Characters: Cassiopeia Vitt
Series: yes, #5.5 Cotton Malone
Dates Read: June 12
Number of pages: 20
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no, Overdrive
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Lunch

This was just a short story where Cassiopeia Vitt is caught in an unfortunate circumstance that could turn very deadly. It is a prelude to the Cotton Malone Emperor's Tomb which hopefully I will get to this month.

Challenge Book #91

Title: Rutherford B. Hayes ★½
Author: Dale Whitaker
Genre: History
Subject: Biography of President Hayes
Setting: Ohio
Main Characters: Rutherford B Hayes
Series: no
Dates Read: June 1 - June 12
Number of pages: 558
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no, public library
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: History Class

Trying to find biographical information on the 19th POTUS isn't easy so when I found this book available and with more than 120 pages, I thought I had finally found what I was looking for. Unfortunately, not so. This book was primarily a collection of the correspondence and early political speeches of RB Hayes. The early part of his life is adequately covered - his military service during the Civil War, and his start in political life. He served three non-consecutive terms as the governor of state of Ohio after being elected to Congress directly after the Civil War. But the book stops just before he takes office as the President and mentions his death in 1893.

Unless you enjoy the long winded speeches of the political arena, this is not a book that I would recommend.

Challenge Book #92

Title: Contrary Blues ★★★½
Author: John Billheimer
Genre: mystery
Subject: Federal subsidies, fraud, extortion
Setting: Contrary , West Virginia
Main Characters: Owen Allison, Mary Beth Hobbs, Stony Hobbs, Stuart Hobbs, Purvis Jenkins, Dwight Armitage
Series: yes, #1
Dates Read: June 4 - June 17
Number of pages: 278
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no , Public Library
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Geography Class

Okay, it's filled with stereotypes - hillbillies, moonshine, less than smart individuals, revenue runners, etc. but it was still fun!

Contrary, West Virginia has been receiving a federal grant for 4 years for buses to run in their town, but this year when the DOT sends an auditor he ends up dead. Well, the audit has to be finished so DOT sends another - Owen Allison - to Contrary to finish up and he ends up un the middle of a can of worms that nearly gets him killed too.

The problem is just a "small clerical error" on the request changing 2 buses to 20 buses and the DOT didn't notice so they been sending $500,000 a year. Well, the town of Contrary didn't want to live up to its name so they kept the extra funds and used them for other things. Trouble comes when a "disabled" veteran wants a bus ride to his "job" of guarding the local still.

Well, you can see how this is filled with the stereotypes but they are woven in so humorously, you just keep going with a smile on your face.

An absolutely entertaining read - and perfect for my West Virginia state visit!

Challenge Book #93

Title: Calamity Jayne ★★★
Author: K.C. Bacus
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Subject: ineptitude
Setting: Iowa
Main Characters: Tressa Jayne Turner, Rick Townsend, Joe Townsend
Series: yes, #1
Dates Read: June 18 - June 20
Number of pages: 326
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: no, Public Library
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Geography class

Tressa Jayne Turner is accident prone. She also seems to manage to get herself into, shall we say, unusual situations. In this introductory story, Tressa manages to inadvertently "steal" a car without realizing it and then finds a dead body in the trunk when she goes to change a flat tire.

Since she finds the body and then loses it, she has to prove to everyone she knows that she hasn't lost her mind and so sets out to solve the murder that hasn't been recorded yet.
It was a fun story but I have a hard time with somebody being that dumb. Also the cover of the book has this straight haired blonde while through out the book Tressa complains about her unmanageable curly hair.

Challenge Book #94

Title: Wolf Hall ★★½
Author: Hilary Mantel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Subject: Thomas Cromwell
Setting: England
Main Characters: Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour
Series: no
Dates Read: June 10 - June 23
Number of pages: 640
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Extra curricular activites

Wolf Hall is one of those books that shows that not everyone will feel the same about any one book. The majority of readers appear to gush over this book, extolling the writing and the narrative manner, but I found it tedious, constantly trying to follow the story as it was told even though I knew the story quite well.

My English teacher from high school would have been horrified at the poor sentence structure and unidentified pronouns throughout. It was an interesting concept using Thomas Cromwell as the central character, but for me, the book fell flat.

Challenge Book #95

Title: The Enchanted April ★★★½
Author: Elizabeth von Arnim
Genre: Fiction
Subject: Italian holiday, shared quarters
Setting: San Salvatore, Italy
Main Characters: Mrs. Lotty Wilkins,Mrs. Rose Arbuthnot,Lady Caroline,Mrs. Fisher,Mellersh Wilkins, Mr. Briggs
Series: no
Dates Read: June 24 - June 27
Number of pages: 361
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes , audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Extra curricular activites

"To Those Who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine" - how enticing can an advertisement be than to lore you in with the thought of flowers and sunshine? So four unrelated ladies decide to rent an Italian castle for 4 weeks to escape from their everyday lives.

Four ladies so uniquely different - Lottie is a demoraliized house wife who decides that this is what she wants to do with her nest egg. Having met Rose Arbuthnot, who is of like mind, they advertise for two additiinal ladies to share the cost of the rental and head off to Italy for the month of April. Each lady has her own reason for avoiding their normal home environment, and friendships are formed as well as lives repaired amid the flourishing gardens and idyllic setting.

The writing brings a sense of peace to the reader as we picture the buzzing bees, blazing flora, and the puffing floating clouds on the hill overlooking the Mediterranean. There are also moments of amusement as well as self-analysis.

A great beach read IMHO.

JUNE RECAP
I was involved in two group reads in June so I didn't get as many books read as I would have liked but they were fatties! With those group reads I finished my first category - EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES - isn't that how it was in high school - studies took second place to those group activities?!?
Here's the stats:

June: 2 pre-owned: 6 borrowed: 1 new: 0 ARC - 9 books.
Best of the Month: Sprinkle with Murder
The worst of the month - Rutherford B. Hayes

Here's what I read this month:

Sprinkle with Murder ★★★★
Shakespeare's Landlord ♫ ★★★
Summer of Fire ★★★½
Balkan Escape ★★★
Rutherford B. Hayes ★½
Contrary Blues ★★★½
Calamity Jane ★★★½
Wolf Hall ★★★
Enchanted April ★★★½

I. 1. Class schedule - Nook Books/Net galley 10/12

II. Study Hall - Mysteries 6/12

III. Home Economics - crafts and home themed books 11/12

IV. History - USPC and background reconstruction thru 1900 5/12
Rutherford B. Hayes

V. English Lit - mysteries set in Great Britian 7/12

VI. Lunch - leftovers, culinary and game themed books 6/12
Balkan Escape

VII. Foreign languages - foreign settings 9/12

VIII. Speech Class - Audiobooks 5/12

IX. Homework - TBRs 9/12

X. Math - 1st,2nd, 3rd….. Series books 8/12

XI. Geography - euro and 50 state challenges 7/12
Sprinkle with Murder
Shakespeare's Landlord ♫
Summer of Fire
Contrary Blues
Calamity Jane

XII. Extra curricular activites - group reads or recommended by LTers 12/12
CATEGORY COMPLETED
Wolf Hall
Enchanted April


Genre Summary

Nonfiction:
1 books History
0 book Health
0 book memoirs
Fiction:
Novels: 2
Youth/Children: 0
Mystery: 5
Historical Fiction: 1
Classic: 0

Books for next month:
True Justice
Irish Country Doctor ♫
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President
Gone to Ground
The Winter Palace
The Girl Below
Travelling with Pomegranates
Summer Breeze
Jar City
Emperor's Tomb ♫
The Colfax massacre and the death of Reconstruction
Alexander Graham Bell
The 19th Wife: A Novel ♫
Queen's Vow
Lucifer Code
Temple Mount Code
From the tow-path to the White House: The early life and public career of James A. Garfield ..

If I get these read, I'll finish another 3 categories (I hope, I hope)

Quarterly totals
Books Read Owned 10 (Pages: 3,546)
Books Read Borrowed 8(Pages: 2,047)
Audio Books heard 15 (163¼ hours, equivalent 5,867 ages)

Total Completed
8 books, 9 e-books and 16 audio books - 11,460 pages
29 fiction; 4 nonfiction

Genre Summary

Nonfiction:
3 books History
0 book Health
1 book Memoir

Fiction:
Novels: 5
Youth/Children: 7
Mystery: 16
Historical Fiction: 1
Classic: 0

is anybody else having issues posting?

Cheli, I haven't had any problems. That was quite a recap! You're are certainly filling your categories nicely.