Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I am not going to read as many doorstoppers this year as I did in 2013 in an effort to clean up my nook and the library sale books i have. I did just finish my first book of the year which i started back in June of last year

1. Les Misérables- i gave this book 3 stars for two reasons. 1. it was too long for the story, 2. there were unnessasary chapters about the history of Paris that didnt need to be there and even through the French revolution was a big part of the story, i thought some of the details were overkill. Im glad i got it done though and didnt give up on it ( thought about that plenty of times!)

pages-130 (this is the amount of pgs I read in this book in 2014)
books- 1
bible study-

And my goal is 35 books and 7500 pages. I will have to calculate how many pages of Les Mis i read in 2014.

Alison wrote: "I am not going to read as many doorstoppers this year as I did in 2013 in an effort to clean up my nook and the library sale books i have. ..."

Good luck :)

thx! Im reading HP and the Sorcerers stone and Peter Pan right now. They are like kindergarten books compared to Les Mis. lol

Ewww, you read the hard version! Congrats on making it through Les Mis!

yeah... thanks!! its a relief :). that was my big goal last year, so im gonna enjoy what i read this year.

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- 3 stars. Compared to Les Miserables this book was a kindergarten book. Kinda nice for a change!! I am probably one of the last people on the planet to read the Harry Potter books. I will read the others to see what kind of trouble Harry and his friends get into.

books-2
bible study-
pages-130+211=341

3. Journal of a Civil War Nurse- 2 stars.i read this in 5 mins but it was good. It wasnt in depth like i thought it would be. It was a fictional true story about a nurse in the civil war. The nurse in the book was fictional but i bet the real nurses did those things. She helped a soldier write a letter back to his parents after he had his leg amputated. in the 1860s this was a major surgery with the wrong equipment. i wish it was longer though because I like reading about the civil war.

books-3
bible study-
pages- 341+59= 400

Doorstoppers? Is that meaning massive books?

If so, I too am attempting that, at least to read the two that I own.

I got into the habit of reading big ones when I read all of A Song of Ice and Fire in 2012.

I've owned Les Mis since 2009, and I want to read it this year. Also, War and Peace.

I also have 1Q84 placed on hold. I like big books, and I cannot lie.

Ah, I see you said, NOT as many. So I guess not the same thing at all.

I want to read Peter Pan though. I own that one. I just need to read what I own.

What is the bible study thing for?

Sorry, I get all up in people's book posts.

Doorstoppers are massive books. I read most of Les Mis last year and finished it the first few days of January. I also read Clash of Kings last year and 11/22/63. Im gonna try this year to read Storm of Swords and Gone with the Wind. Other than that, no more doorstoppers. They took too much time. I do bible studies at my church. We have a couple a year, so I just put down that category if I do participate in them this year.

Man I need to catch up. I have been a reading machine lately!

4. Shadow of the Wolf-I was disappointed with this book, until I realized it was a series so this book was just an introduction. It was very short. Catherine and her business partner are on a work trip and she decides to take a walk outside the hotel. In a dark alley she comes across two werewolves. That is where the story ends. I guess I will have to find the rest of the series to figure out the rest of the story! Overall, not a bad book for the first book in a series. I just wished it was a little longer for more introduction.

5. Daniel Boone: Taming the Wilds-This was a very short, short story about the life of Daniel Boone. I didn't know much about him, so it was kind of interesting for me. Daniel Started out in Pennsylvania and then moved to Kentucky with his family. He is the person who basically got people to go to kentucky. He had a lot of encounters with indians but he managed to conquer them. I would encourage anyone who is interested on how kentucky was founded to go and read about Daniel Boone.

6. Peter Pan- I liked this book a lot. Although i am ashamed to say I haven't seen the movie in years, so I forgot a lot.I will have to find it now and watch it to compare. I did think that Barrie had Wendy's character be a little TOO motherly to the Lost Boys. Yes, she was supposed to go to Neverland to be their mother, but there was just a little too much there. I liked the last chapter about just Wendy though. I definitely don't remember that in the movie. It talked about her growing older telling her children about Peter. Definitely a book to read, and its pretty short too.

books-6
bible study-0
pages- 550

I need help!! I can't decide what to read next. 1. start sookie stackhouse 2. Divergent 3. Return of the king 4 Delerium 5. a free book on my kindle 6. A is for Alibi 7. One for the money

I have Les Misérables on my list to read this year, too. I was going to start it this week, but I just finished a really emotional memoir so now I'm looking for a light, fun read before I tackle it. I've read most of the Sookie books, the first few are fun reads. I also enjoyed the Divergent trilogy; quick reads but definitely not "fun". I haven't read the others. Good luck on your decision!

My vote is a is for alibi. It might my favorite out of those listed, with a balance between interest and ease of reading.

I decided to start Sookie. Its not as great as I was expecting but I'm not that far into it either.

Alison wrote: "I decided to start Sookie. Its not as great as I was expecting but I'm not that far into it either."

Yeah, I had no expectations when I started the series. The first few books were okay. They weren't great reads, just light and fun in between the "door-stoppers". I probably enjoyed them more because I read them outside during the summer and they only took me a few hours. They start going downhill rather quickly after the fourth or fifth book, if I remember correctly. I haven't read the last 2 or 3 yet. Hope it gets better for you.

7. Stories Of Great Inventors- This book wasn't that great. It was 5 short stories of different inventors. Each story was maybe 5-8 pages of each inventor. The inventors that were written about were: Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney, Robert Fulton, Samuel Morse and Peter Cooper.
THOMAS EDISON- Phonograph, lightbulb
ELI WHITNEY- Cotton Gin
ROBERT FULTON- First successful Steamboat
SAMUEL MORSE- single wire telegraph system and Morse Code
PETER COOPER- invented a lot of things :) (I cant remember!)

books-7
bible study-0
pages-550+40=590

8. Dead Until Dark- Im really behind on updating my reviews. I decided to start this series and hopefully will get through it this year. I have heard so many good things about it, reading it made me a bit disappointed. It didnt live up to all the hype for me. Maybe it will get better as the series moves on. I am giving this book 3 stars.

books-8
bible study-0
pages 590+220= 810

9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- I totally forgot about this review. lol. This book took me forever to get through!! The first few hundred pages were really slow for me. So, I put the book down and read others. Then a friend of mine said to keep reading and it gets better. She was right. It was a really cute continuation to the series. Although I think that there was too much of dull stuff in the beginning that didnt need to be there.

BOOKS-9
bible study-0
pages 810+341= 1151

10. Panic- I really like vampire and paranormal books so i thought I would read a zombie book. I did not like it at all.
Basically all that happens is that one zombie takes over a town infesting people and eventually the town is in an uproar. A brother and sister try to outrun the infestation. Im just not into the characters attacking and biting eachother. A little would have been ok. 1 star.

books-10
bible study-0
pages 1151+160= 1311

11. Safe Haven- I loved this book. There were so many unexpected twists in it that it made me not want to put it down. This is the second Nicholas Sparks book I have read, and out of the two this one is my favorite. Reading this story I just had to keep thinking that it is so scary that even if you change your name and total identity someone can find you. Want to know what I mean? Read the book! This was a great Valentine's Day love story.

books-11
bible study-0
pages 1311+352= 1663

You are doung great so far! I loved the Sookie Stackhouse series! I love Nicholas Sparks books, this one reminded me of a Nora Roberts book!

I'm loving it too. I got sucked in yesterday and read about 100 pages.

12. Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss : 30 Delicious Detox, Cleanse and Green Smoothie Diet Book- I mostly just skimmed this book to find a smoothie recipe, but I did! The Chocolate Peanut Butter one is yummy! It has 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter (duh), 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, half of a banana, and 1 cup almond milk. There is another ingredient that it has that I didn't have. Either way it was pretty yummy! Ill definitely be making that one a lot. And trying the others too!

books-12
bible study-0
pages 1663+50=1713

13. Fifty Shades of Grey I just finished this book about an hour ago. I am still processing it. I really liked the romance. It was very descriptive, which I liked. But on the other hand, I didn't like the "red room of pain" and what happened in that room. My mind is having a tug-of-war to try to figure out if I liked or disliked it more. It does make me want to continue on with the series though.

books-13
bible study-0
pages 1713+204= 1917

Chocolate and peanut butter together are my fave. This smoothie sounds delicious!!

it is!!!! I made it the other day again and forgot to put in the banana. lol.

I am going to be going back to school in may hopefully and possibly moving, so I dont know how many books for fun I will be able to read when I start. I will put my books for school on here though.

Congrats!! Yes, They count!! What are you going to school for?

I haven't exactly decided. lol. I'm either gonna start by getting my coding certificate first, working and then getting my bachelors or the opposite. the bachelors will be in either health science or health administration.

Very cool! Have fun with it!

14. Anne of Green Gables- I thought that I might have read this book before when i was younger, but if I did, I didnt remember any of it. This book wasn't my cup of tea. Yes, it was a cute story of Anne and how she gets into trouble while growing up but it wasn't my favorite. I have Anne of Avonlea on my nook somewhere so I will eventually read that one just to see what happens.

books- 14
bible study- 0
pages- 1917+320= 2237

15. Father and Child Reunion- Not a bad book for a short story. It is just part 1 of a 3 part series. Rio and Eve got pregnant. When Eve finds out she is pregnant, she runs. Five years later Eve comes back to her hometown because her mother was murdered and runs into Rio. She finally tells him that he is a dad. She knows that he knows more about her moms death from the police case than anyone will tell her. For her to get more information about the police case her and Rio will have to see each other a lot. Will her conscience of not having him in her daughters life for 5 years make her think twice if she wants him back in her life... and their daughters.

books-15
bible study-0
pages-2237+64= 2301

16. Fifty Shades Darker- Much better than the 1st book!! I just wasn't into all the sex toys. Yes, there are still some in this book but not a lot. Ana and Christian get very serious about each other and you learn more about Christian's past and why he is how he is. Their relationship turns really cute! One like I want. This book isn't just about their relationship though. Drama appears out of nowhere from Christian's past that causes a great storyline. And the stuff with Ana's new job too. I thought that part was pretty predictable though. I can't wait to get my hands on the last book!!

books-16
bible study-0
pages- 2301+532=2833

Good luck with school Allison and your fun reading. Oh and your not the only one who hasn't read the Harry Potter series. I haven't either. I tried starting it but has the same issue you had. I started then lost interest and the best is I own them and haven't touched any of them.

Thanks Carmen. I am going to give Harry Potter a break now and read some other series books that I want to start.

17. Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back- Being from Nebraska and living a couple hours from Imperial, I had heard about the Burpo's story even before the book came out. I didn't know a few of the occurrances though. Even though I had heard about it, I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. This book made me think a little different about what heaven will be like and it makes dying to me not as scary.If you believe in heaven and Jesus you need to read this book. It is a very fast read!

I am going to add a school category now since I start school next week. I dont know what my books will be yet though.

books-17
bible study-0
school-0
pages-2833+163=2996

Hi Alison. I was wondering about the book Heaven and glad to run into your thought. I'm going to try and read it later on in the month or maybe next month. Thanks for the review.

I agree with you Ali abt making it easier to envision Heaven. I was glad that the Bible passages were included that backed up things this young boy saw. It was a good read. I put it off for a long time, but I really wanted to read it before I saw the movie. I am soo glad I read it with or without a movie!!

18. The Thirty-Nine Steps- I love mysteries but this one did not do its job. It is only 100 pages, so I should be able to read it in a day. I was so confused in this book with what was happening, I had to take quite a few breaks. I have been disappointed with quite a few of the Boxalls 1001 books to read, and this was one of them.

books-18
bible study-0
school-0
pages 2996+100=3096

19. Cinderella is Evil- This was a very short story about Cinderella written from the pov of one of the stepsisters. It was cute, and brought me back to my kid years but it was not my type of book now.

books-19
bible study-0
school-0
pages- 3096+34=3130

20.Basic Current Procedural Terminology and HCPCS Coding 2011- book for school. Bring on ICD-10!!

21.CPT 2014 Standard Edition (Cpt / Current Procedural Terminology- I didn't read this cover to cover because it is the book with all the medical codes, but I bet I was close.

books-19
bible study-0
school-2
pages-369+3130+768=4267

22. Divergent- I really liked this book. Since Divergent and the Hunger Games are both dystopian, I founs myself comparing the two. As far as action, I liked the Hinger Games better. I have been to Chicago before though, so it was cool having the setting of Divergent in Chicago with familiar landmarks mentioned.

books-20
bible study-0
school-2
pages-4267+487=4754

Alison wrote: "20. Current Procedual Terminology and HCPCS Coding- book for school. Bring on ICD-10!!..."

Is it really that different? My boss is convinced that they don't need to send us to a class. She's sending the surgical nurse, but not those of us who do the billing and precerting.

I don't know what icd9 is like. this is my first time learning it. I have heard it is different though. the coding book weighs like 7 lbs!

7lbs? Well, that hasn't changed.

School has taken my actual fun reading life away, so I thought I would add my school books to this too.
23. Basic ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding575
24. ICD-10-CM/PCS workbook
25. ICD-10-CM 2013 with Free ICD-9 & ICD-10 e-Book1350
26. 2014 ICD-10 PCs Draft Code Set600
27. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 1232
28. Balancing It All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose(my fun book although it wasn't much fun) 240

books-21
school-7
bible study-0
pages- 4754+575+1350+600+240=7519+1232=8751

Forgot one from a quarter ago at school!

29. Structure & Function of the Body - Softcover, 13e

30.Clinical Coding Workout, with Answers 2013: Practice Exercises for Skill Development

books-21
school-8
bible study-0
pages-8751+640=9391+495=9886

31.Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Billing and Reimbursement

32. Principles of Healthcare Reimbursement

books-21
school-10
bible study- 9886+351+720= 10957 FINAL TOTAL FOR 2014