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Ready to read! (I hope)

1. The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy Finished 1/10/2024

(I've seen so many Tom Clancy-based movies; it's about time I try reading his books. This might be the start of many, we'll see.

2. The Knowledge, by Martha Grimes Finished 1/19/2024

3. The Old Success, by Martha Grimes Finished 1/29/2024

(I have loved the entire inspector Richard Jury series. These two books will bring me to its end).

4. When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan, by Peggy Noonan Finished 5/27/2024

5. Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love Finished 5/2/2024

6. Star Trek Memories, by William Shatner Finished 5/10/2024

(I purchased these three non-fiction books years ago. Now is the time to finally read them!)

7. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Finished 4/18/2024

(It seems only right to include one classic)

8. Poland, by James A. Michener Finished 2/24/2024

9. The Covenant, by James A. Michener

(Decades ago when I read a lot of Michener I picked up these two to read. Again, it's about time! Because they are so long, I might have to replace with one of the +4. It's more an issue of my attention span these days than the amount of time I have to read.)

10. Deception by Randy Alcorn finished 3/24/2024

11. Leaving Blythe River, by Catherine Ryan Hyde

12. The Spice King, by Elizabeth Camden finished 4/13/2024

(These last 3, plus the +4 are random fiction books that have been on my To Read list a long time and are ones I think I might particularly like).

+ 4:
1. DNF: Uncommon Ground, by Joy Ohagwu

2. The House on Tradd Street, by Karen White Finished 6/5/2024

3. Tangled Threads, by Sandy Hill Finished 4/9/2024

4. DNF: The Unusual Suspects, by Dominic Carrillo

I haven't read any of these, but I think this is a great list, with lots of variety. I can't wait to see your reviews, happy reading!

You're brave to have two Michener books on your list. I have a friend who reads one Michener book every year, but I have put off reading his works so long that I might have to read two per year too when I get going on them. I did enjoy The Scarlet Letter, I hope you do too. I also started Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series and have read two or three books in the series. I need to get back to it, but I really enjoyed those that I read. Hope you enjoy your choices, Karol!

I did enjoy most of the Martha Grimes' series years ago. She fell off my radar for some reason. I'll look forward to hearing what you think of the end of the series.
Read both Poland & The Scarlet Letter years ago. I did enjoy them. Hope you do too!
Happy Reading!

Well, Karol, I had to add two more books to my tbr because of your list. Good luck with your reading for 2024.

Great looking list, Karol.

I read The Scarlet Letter years ago; and even though it is "dated", it was a decent read. I need to reread it.

Good luck and happy reading!📚

I have been enjoying the Martha Grimes books as well but luckily I still have quite a few to enjoy. I think I have only read The Bridge at Toko-ri and The Bridge at Andau by Michener. I did have Covenant once but I think I got scared away by its size. Must check him out again. Enjoy your selections. Happy New Year.

Thanks, all. I appreciate the comments. We'll see how this goes!

Karol wrote: "Thanks, all. I appreciate the comments. We'll see how this goes!"

It will go well. 🤗

I have only read The Scarlet Letter. Good luck with your challenge.

Completed #1, The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy, 5/5 stars

It's hard for me to be objective in my review of this book, because I've seen the movie maybe 5-6 times. Obviously, the book has more characters and scenes than the movie and of course the book moves at a slower pace due to explaining more of the technical stuff.

I did enjoy FINALLY reading the book, though. I will probably read others from the Jack Ryan series in the future.

Karol wrote: "Completed #1, The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy, 5/5 stars

It's hard for me to be objective in my review of this book, because I've seen the movie maybe 5-6 times...."

I enjoyed his books for awhile but kind of gave up on his later ones. Hunt was excellent. Red Storm Rising is excellent. The Cardinal of the Kremlin I enjoyed for its spy craft... I'll stop there.

Bill wrote: "I enjoyed his books for awhile but kind of gave up on his later ones. Hunt was excellent. Red Storm Rising is excellent. The Cardinal of the Kremlin I enjoyed for its spy craft... I'll stop there"

I found it interesting, Bill, that there are something like 37 or 38 books in the Jack Ryan series, but only 12 were written solely by Tom Clancy. If I do pick up more in the series I'll probably stick with the Tom Clancy authorship.

The Knowledge, by Martha Grimes, 5/5 stars

I loved in this book all the things I love about Martha Grimes: the way she poses and solves a mystery, the characters she has developed, and in particular the way she writes about very intelligent children.

This book was unique in the series, as it took me all the way to Nairobi, Kenya.

In this book, the author brings in a lot of things amongst Richard Jury and Melrose Plant's social circle that I found funny or touched my emotions in other ways because of how these characters have interacted and evolved over the prior 23 books. I still think this is a great stand-alone novel but I can't help thinking that it would be more enjoyable to someone familiar with the series than with a person reading the author for the first time.

Karol wrote: "Completed #1, The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy, 5/5 stars

It's hard for me to be objective in my review of this book, because I've seen the movie maybe 5-6 times...."

Wow! Glad you loved this. I have the same sentiment about the tech stuff. I tried reading it a few years ago and just could not get into it. I'm going to try again

The Old Success, by Martha Grimes, 5/5 stars

I loved this book. I'm sad only because I've reached the end of the series. What a joy it has been to read this series - it is one of my favorites.

The Old Success is wonderful in its storytelling as well as the mystery. I was surprised, this time, at how the mystery was solved. To me, this novel checked the box for "mystery".

But what makes the series delightful to me was very evident in this book: the character development, a bit of quirkiness, and a wonderful use of humor. I just loved it.

I’ve had Poland sitting on my bookshelf for decades! I’m particularly interested in it since I have Polish ancestry. I used to love Michener’s books but haven’t read one in awhile! You’ve inspired me to bump this one up my reading list (maybe 2025). Hope you read at least one of the Michener books on your challenge!

Pam wrote: "I’ve had Poland sitting on my bookshelf for decades! I’m particularly interested in it since I have Polish ancestry. I used to love Michener’s books but haven’t read one in awhile! You’ve inspired ..."

Just finished Poland, Pam, and loved it. The country certainly has experienced both beauty and pain in its history.

Poland, by James A. Michener, finished 2/24/2024, 5/5 stars

Long but interesting and insightful historical fiction. I understand the history of Poland a little better after reading this masterful book by James Michener.

Well, I may be in trouble with this challenge. I tried reading two of my +4 and they were both really bad. I guess I should have expected that back when I discovered and collected so many free books on Kindle!

On the other hand, I did accomplish reading one of my 12 books this month, and it was a lengthy one (Poland).

So I have 4 books read for this challenge, with 10 months to get 8 more in. Should be doable assuming I haven't listed any other klinkers!

At least you gave them a try. They can't all be winners. I'm finding I'm a bit impatient with my choices these days too.. Too many books to read, maybe a bit quicker to give up... Good luck with the rest of your choices.

Karol wrote: "Well, I may be in trouble with this challenge. I tried reading two of my +4 and they were both really bad. I guess I should have expected that back when I discovered and collected so many free book..."

I actually recently just deleted a bunch of free/cheap kindles from my library- some I had on there from the very beginning. If I don't want to read something for years, I probably never will now.

Bill wrote: "At least you gave them a try. They can't all be winners. I'm finding I'm a bit impatient with my choices these days too.. Too many books to read, maybe a bit quicker to give up... Good luck with the rest of your choices..."

Thanks, Bill. It's interesting: I thought that once I retired from work (as I did almost a year ago) I would have all the time in the world to read. But I find that I have so many new interests I can pursue also! So, I'm one of those folks who wonders how I ever had time to work. I think that sense of limited time is what makes me want to waste no time on books that I'm not enjoying.

Bonnie wrote: "I actually recently just deleted a bunch of free/cheap kindles from my library- some I had on there from the very beginning. If I don't want to read something for years, I probably never will now. ."

Yes, I reached the same conclusion. I made a separate challenge in the Independent Challenges thread to attack the 50 books that have been on my To Read list the longest time. Either to read them, or remove them. I'll probably continue that annually until I've gotten that list down to only 2-3 that I know for sure I want to get to . . . mostly, I'd like my reading to come to me from recommendations of others, or what grabs me when I browse at the library or a book store. Not driven by endless "bargains" on Kindle or elsewhere.

Finished one that was kind of a tome at 486 very small-print pages.

Deception, by Randy Alcorn, 3/5 stars

This book was multi-faceted and parts of it were outstanding. The detective aspect and the solving of a complex murder was quite well done.

I love Randy Alcorn as a non-fiction author. But this fictional story had some drawbacks for me. These were around how Christianity, heaven and hell were addressed. I didn't necessarily disagree with anything the author presented along those lines, but I did have issues with how they were included in the story telling. Seems like they could have been handled differently so as not to be such a huge distraction.

Tangled Threads, by Sandy Hill, 3.5 stars

Complicated story . . . (Potential spoilers below)

One aspect is historical fiction from a time when lives were very hard, which covered 1898 - 1918 amongst North Carolina mill workers. Working conditions were awful before the days of OSHA and child labor laws. Then there was World War I, and the Spanish Flu on its heals.

The other aspect involved an elderly woman in 1957, looking back to this town and the events there as she is given an opportunity to go back and confront someone from her past, if she chooses to do so.

I had a love/hate relationship with the book. Definitely loved the main character but felt that the looking back on the emotional past dragged out a bit too long. Didn't get frustrated with that enough that I wanted to quit reading, though.

The Spice King, by Elizabeth Camden, 3 stars

Historical fiction / Christian romance. On the historical fiction aspect I would rate this book very highly. There were some interesting sub-plots, too. The historical fiction included efforts to make sure processed food was safe in the late 1890's, in particular a push for labeling that included all ingredients. There was also some history around Cuba at that time. All of this was presented in a quite interesting way.

For me, the "romantic" nature of the book was melodramatic, and detracted from the rest.

I haven't read any of Camden's books in a while, but I remember I did enjoy them. I need to pick her up again.

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 5 stars

Reading this book was a bit of a slog for me - but I think it has more to do with being a reader in the fast-paced world of 2024, than with the skill of the writer in this book published in 1850.

Despite my frustrations with the book's pace, its descriptions of the characters and the internal workings of their minds and souls was amazing. I think there is much in this novel worth thinking about today. It shows how the world will treat us differently based on our outward presentation - including whatever wrongs we may either confess and live up to, or hide. It then sheds light on what agony there is in hiding something that one is ashamed of! And what strength, in accepting one's "wrongs" and society's reactions to them but moving forward despite it all.

Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love, by Bret Baier

I picked this book up on Kindle a few years ago. Because Bret Baier is in the news industry, some of the things he mentions in the book are a bit dated, but they did provide an interesting context.

The book is about the challenges his newborn son faced as an infant and for several years, having to have multiple serious heart surgeries to correct how arteries were connected to his heart. The story, with its ups and downs, was told very well.

3 stars

(This gets me to 9 of 12 books for this challenge. I'm hoping I can finish another 3 . . . I've removed a few from the list because they ended up being not quite for me).

You're doing great!!

You're doing great!!

At least you know those books aren't for you! You're doing well on your challenge!

Star Trek Memories, by William Shatner

I was so lucky to find this book in a stack of freebies - especially since it was a hard-cover, first edition! I truly enjoyed reading it.

The book came out quite a while ago, but by then Shatner was understanding the importance of the series (which he had previously tried to distance himself from), and he was beginning to understand how he had offended several other members of the cast. So, in this book he tries to give cast members, writers, and producers a voice by quoting them extensively. I was fascinated and enjoyed all the behind-the-scenes looks at how Star Trek came into existence and survived on NBC for three years.

4 stars

(2 more to go on this challenge!)

10 of 12 done.

That is awesome, Karol!

Sorry about the 2 DNFs. Those can't be helped sometimes; but Kudos on your progress regardless.

Alondra wrote: "10 of 12 done.

That is awesome, Karol!

Sorry about the 2 DNFs. Those can't be helped sometimes; but Kudos on your progress regardless."

Thanks, Alondra!

Good for you, Karol!

I just finished reading
When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan

I have owned this book for many years, and finally got around to reading it. The author did a wonderful job writing about her own memories of President Reagan as well as including stories from others inside his political and personal circle. I especially found his daughter Patty Davis's comments interesting.

This gets me to 11 of 12 read, one of which was an alternate.

Way to go, Karol.

I just finished reading my 12th book, and thus I've completed this challenge!

The House on Tradd Street, by Karen White

Enjoyed this book that is outside my typical genre, in that it involves the paranormal. (Which is to say, fantasy).

I found the story and its characters engaging, be they full-bodied or translucent. It's hard to beat the setting of Charleston, South Carolina. There were a few snippets of history in the book that I enjoyed.

Overall, a very good book and a fun read. 4 stars.

Congrats, Karol; on officially completing your challenge!! Woot-Woot!!

Even with the 2 DNFs; you did so good! :)

Good on you, Karol. I'm still working through my list. LOL

Congratulations, Karol!

Awesome!

Thanks, everyone!

Yay, congratulations! Are you going to make a 2nd list for the year?

Congratulations, Karol! Are you going to finish your last two books or is it time for a new list? :-)

Karol, Congratulations 🎉 You did a Fantastic Job, Finishing Already!

Lea wrote: "Congratulations, Karol! Are you going to finish your last two books or is it time for a new list? :-)"

I'm not sure I'll get to the other two this year . . .

Ioana wrote: "Yay, congratulations! Are you going to make a 2nd list for the year?"

Maybe . . . If I do, I'll focus on lining it up with my library's annual reading challenge. They have several categories I haven't gotten to yet.