Colleen’s Comments (group member since Jan 05, 2015)

Colleen’s comments from the Read 100+ Books in 2015 group.

Sheila wrote: "Manda wrote: "Sheila wrote: "Manda wrote: "Hi all, are you continuing next year, if so would love to rejoin xx"

We are but we'll move to a new group and call it Read 100+ books in 2016. I look for..."

Is it up yet?

Looking forward to next year's group. Spent most of this month reading Christmas stories which I love to do at this time of the year. My favorite from this year's group was "A Gift from Bob" by James Bowen about his life with his cat. They are known from their blogs. Loved their adventures. Also read "Twelve Days" about taking in foster children for the holidays and their affect on a family. "A Lonely Dog for Christmas" gave a pet's eye view to the holidays. That was fun to read. It would be good to read to pet loving kids.
"Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy" by Debbie Macomber was a fun tale of angels and their adventures at this time of year. Cute little book to read. "Checkout Girl" was a cute angel story for Christmas as well. Also read the collection by Marjorie Holmes called "At Christmas the Heart Goes Home". It collected stories she wrote over the years for magazines. It was interesting. On the non-Christmas front I read "Girl Meets Change" about coping with and learning to like change by Kirsten Strong. " The Isle of the Lost" was the prequel to the Disney movie Descendants. It is an interesting story about the lives of the children of the villains in Disney movies. Very good set up for the movie. Loved that book. But most importantly I read "Darth Vader and Friends" which was great and saw the new movie. It is awesome. Looking forward to the reads of 2016. Starting with "The Crystal Star", another Star Wars book. Happy New Year's Eve to you all.

Well I just wrote a long post about what I was reading and I lost it. Just posted 14 new reviews under my books. I spent the last few months reading lots of Star Wars books to prepare for the new movie, including the Rebel Force series for young readers and "Star Wars Aftermath" dealing with the fall of the Empire. Good book for fans of Wedge Antilles. I also read Anne Rice's "The Wolves of Midwinter" where the werewolves celebrate the Christmas holiday and their own version of a winter holiday. It was fun if you like Anne Rice. I read "Letting in the Wild Edges", which I found at the library. It shows how to use local, natural plants as food and medicine. It also talks about earth celebrations. I read "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire". It definitely keeps the action moving in that story and shows how friendships change over time. I read another in the Warriors series "Rising Storm". Now I am starting to do some Christmas reading. Hope to be on here with more reviews soon.

I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy reading though. Throughout the past couple of months I have finished reading Sweetgrass, When Mockingbirds Sing, Being Mortal, The first two books in the Survivor's series, Books 2 & 3 in the Warriors series. Right now, my banned book is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I'm reading the Legends of King Arthur, The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Girl Meets Change, among others. I have also finished 2 devotionals, Small Graces and The Hidden Beauty of Everyday Life. Both of those were excellent. I have also read We Need to Talk About Kevin, which was strange. I have read Animal Farm and liked it. So that is where I am on my reading. Hope you all are having a great fall.

I also read "Being Mortal". I thought it was interesting, well written, and had many points that should be brought up by doctors and patient's families to get the best life possible for people.

Well I haven't posted in a while. Of course I spent part of June in Disney with Sheila, so obviously reading didn't happen. Some of what I've read recently has included Simple Secrets, which Rachel made sound good. It was a pleasurable summer read although I managed to figure out the central mystery of the book early on. I also read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" which was much more interesting than I expected. I was surprised that much of the Tom Sawyer lore I knew happened early in the book. I read Dee Henderson's "Undetected". That was a good love story, although I was expecting more of an adventure story. I read "Messages From A Blue Jay" which was a memoir of a woman who always seems to be searching for something she can't quite name. "A New Name" was a quick read from Grace Livingston Hill that showed how God can change you if you let Him. "Waiting for Jacob" was an interesting book about a local woman's Civil War experience as she wrote to her husband. She was from Westmoreland County and I like reading books about people from areas near me. "The Choice" is a story about a woman who thinks she wants to be Amish and how her life changes as she explores that decision. "The Mennonite in the Little Black Dress" was another good memoir that kept me interested and wanting to read more. "Paint Me True" was a simple, predictable love story with a backstory of family drama that kept me interested. I liked the characters.
I also read a couple of kids books that were good for young readers including "Ranger in Time Rescue on the Oregon Trail", "The Happy Bee", and "Thea Stilton and the Spanish Dance Mission". Well I hope everyone is enjoying their summers.

So to catch up what I've been reading for the month, here goes. My mystery was "The Westing Game". This is a great young readers book that my daughter read in school. We both loved it. It was well written and had some great plot twists to keep it exciting right to the end. The rest of what are read are all my choices this month. I finished "Darksaber", another awesomely fun Star Wars book. I love how it built on others and that I've read and I look forward to new books and the new movie. Yeah. I finished "Ramona and her Mother" for Ruth's book club. It is a cute book for young readers. Ramona makes me laugh and it is easy to see why Beverly Cleary has endured the test of time. I guess that counts for my C author too. I read "St. Augustine in History" which combines the history of the oldest city in America with a travel guide to the sites of the town. That was interesting to read and has me looking forward to vacation. I also read "The Matchmakers" by Janette Oke. It is a cute story of one set of people working to set up another couple who are trying to set up the 1st couple. Very cute, quick, light, fun read. I read that in one night. I also read "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson. That was one of my favorites from my childhood and I love and understand it better as an adult. It deals with coping with siblings and discovering the real you and finding peace with that discovery. Excellent book. I'm hoping Ruth reads that one. I also finished "The Jesus Hearted Woman" by Jodi Detrick. We were using that one in my women's group. It deals with leading like Jesus and the uniqueness of woman as leaders. Very interesting book on leadership. I also read the Scholastic version of "Star Wars A New Hope". Ruth brought that home from the library as a surprise for me. It followed the original movie exactly but it is still fun. So now I'm working on two books for myself. I'm reading Grace Livingston Hills' "A New Name" and "The Mennonite in the Little Black Dress". Both are interesting so far. Happy reading all and Happy Memorial Day to you as well.

I have that book Rachel. I should try to read it.

So it's been a while since I've posted. I've been reading The Warriors series about cats. Another really well written series of books for middle grade children. I've finished "Into the Woods" where an ordinary house cat goes feral and is added to a wild clan. I've also finished "Fire and Ice", the second book in the series continuing the rivalries between the clans and added to the adventure. Very good books. Now I just need my daughter to finish up book 3. So those are my books set in the forest. I also finished "By the Shores of Silver Lake". The books are so much better than the Little House series on tv ever was. Right now for May 4th I'm on "Darksaber" continuing the Star Wars adventures of the original characters before the new movie changes all the work those authors have done. Another great fun read. Counting down the days to vacation and looking forward to summer.

So I have finished "Secrets According to Humphrey", another cute kids book with an adventurous hamster as the protagonist. I also finished "Twelve Extraordinary Women", good study of some of the women of the Bible. I finished "Ella Enchanted" to get one title off my to read list, which is huge. And now I am working on "Sense and Sensibility". I'm just sort of in a Jane Austen mood and she's always fun to reread. So there's my author with an A name for the month. Happy reading out there folks.

Chuck wrote: "Now listening to Stephen King's audio book "LT's Theory of Pets."

"A Rare Live Stephen King Recording!
Stephen King delivers a haunting, heartfelt performance as he shares a story about the bond..."
Cats in Stephen King books are always creepy. I give you "Pet Cemetery".

So I finished my March challenge of the book about high school and a book about magic. Nate and I finished "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". I liked it but not as well as Sorcerer's Stone. Still going to finish the series. Now working on the Prisoner of Azkaban. I've also finished reading "The Bridge to Terabithia". I read it as a kid and loved it and love it even more now as an adult. I never realized it was written by the same author as "Jacob Have I Loved" which I also loved as a child. I want to reread that soon also. Right now in addition to Prisoner of Azkaban, I'm still working on "By the Shores of Silver Lake" with Ruth, "Ella Enchanted" and "Twelve Extraordinary Women" on my own. I should have both of those done by the end of next week with any luck.

Rachel wrote: "-John and Stasi Eldredge 3-1-15
This was a helpful and interesting Christian nonfiction book about marriage."

I read this book Rachel. It was very good. I really like the Eldredges with Captivating being my favorite of theirs that I've read. They are some of my favorite writers.

So I'm going to take card of the high school and the magic options in one shot with "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" that Nate and I are currently reading. Still working through "By the Shores of Silver Lake" with Ruth. Also working on Twelve Extraordinary Women. I have finished reading "Star Wars X-Wing Wedge's Gamble". I enjoyed it. It was a nice bit of light reading after some of the heavy books I read before it. So that's my start for March. Hope spring comes soon. I'm tired of snow.

So I just finished "Merle's Door". Merle is a dog so this is my book with an animal in the title. It was a great book about one man and his interactions with his dog. It gave interesting insights into the interactions between dogs and humans. Grab a tissue box though because you will need it. After the emotional toll I took from reading this, I'm picking a little light reading next so it's time to read "Wedge's Gamble" another Star Wars book.

So I haven't posted in a while but have been busy reading. I've finished both "Anne of Green Gables" and "Anne of Avonlea". Both were very good. I liked Anne and she in some ways reminded me of my daughter Ruth. Both were well written and entertaining. I liked the characters. They really grew on me. Then I finally finished reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with my son. I liked it better than I expected to since the movies get somewhat on my nerves. I think I could enjoy them all more if the Quiddich stuff was gone. Right now I am working on reading "Scary Close" by Donald Miller. He is one of my favorite authors and the book is hitting close to home. I am also working on "By the Shores of Silver Lake" with my daughter. We are closing in on finishing the LIttle House Series. That is continuing to be good. That's all for now. Hope to read more soon.

I also just finished reading "The Adventure Twins in a Mayan Mystery". That was a cute little fantasy book for a beginning reader. It was a good book with family adventure in it. Still also reading "Anne of Green Gables". I can see why one of my sisters (not Sheila) thought I would like it and see my daughter in the story.

So I finished "The Myth of the Submissive Christian Woman". It was an interesting book on not letting others walk all over you and what follow Christ entails. Good read. Next up my book by an author from another country I chose "Anne of Green Gables" by Canadian Lucy Maud Montgomery. It should be fun.

So Chuck, you are absolutely right about checking out books the library has for sale. That is how I got "Greasy Rider" and "Emily's Ghost" that I just finished. "Emily's Ghost" is a fictitious account of the lives of the Bronte sisters and how they wrote. It was interesting for me since I've read 2 of the 3 sisters writings. The author kept the characters interesting and had some interesting debates about the education of women and the confines of the time period for women. Very well written book. Makes me want to read the 3rd sister, Anne's works.

So my book about heroes is "A Million Ways Home" which my daughter got as a Christmas present from her teachers. It is a story about a young girl who witnesses a murder while sneaking out of a children's home where she was staying after her grandma's stroke put her in the hospital. She then ends up with the mother of a police officer as a temporary place to live while the crime is investigated. Very well written book. Grab the tissues before you start it though. I also finished reading "Greasy Rider", an adventure of two guys driving across the country in a veggie powered car. They also explored the environmental impact of several people and companies. It was interesting to read and had the feel of some Bill Bryson books without as much sarcasm. Both were interesting books.