You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

I can see my choices changing throughout the challenge, obviously I'm far too indecisive, you've been warned!

Month 1 Birthday Month - May: Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt - finished 23/07/11, 5*
Month 2 Birthstone - Emerald: Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong - finished 21/11/11, 5*
Month 3 Published in 1984: Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania by Raymond T. McNally - finished 14/09/11, 3*
Month 4 Welsh Author: Keep Smiling: The Autobiography by Charlotte Church - finished 22/08/11, 2*
Month 5 Country I'd like to visit - Russia: The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer - finished 03/09/11, 5*
Month 6 Favorite Genre - Horror: Different Seasons by Stephen King - finished 23/07/11, 4*
Month 7 Author name: The Republic of Trees by Sam Taylor - finished 07/07/11, 4*
Month 8 Favourite Flower - Rose: Heartstone by C.J. Sansom - finished 16/12/11, 5*
Month 9 Longest on TBR: True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey - finished 31/07/11, 3*
Month 10 Favorite animal - Dragon: Jake West - Warriors of the Heynai by M J Webb - finished 08/11/11, 5*
Month 11 Most Admire: Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People by Mo Mowlam - finished 21/12/11, 4*
Month 12 Issue/Cause: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson - finished 08/09/11, 5*
Bonus Task Hobby:
Cooking: Recipe for Murder by Esterelle Payany - finished 07/08/11, 5*

Your book choices look great Sam. I add Desperation by Stephen King to my wishlist. While I was looking at the book, I learned there was a Stephen King group which I joined. ACK!

I like the cover of The Dragon's Eye - cool dragon.

You aren't married to your choices so feel free to swap them out if you like.

I was tempted to join that group too but I'm a member of so many others I don't think I could give it enough attention (or it would take over my life hehe).

I do like that cover myself, it's actually why I bought it in the first place. It's part of a series but I haven't seen the others around yet (although that may be because I tend to shop in second-hand stores).

Luckily most of those books fit in to challenges I'm doing for other groups so they might survive my indecision yet!

Seven down, six to go :-D

I absolutely loved that one by Bryson. I've not much liked anything else I've read by him, though. I hope you like it!

I've read a couple of others by him and enjoyed them, and I'm about half way through Walk in the Woods and I think it is one of the best I've read (I keep getting strange looks when I read it at lunchtime from laughing out loud)!

That's one of the ones I've read Judy, did thoroughly enjoy it though. I think I prefer this one (so far anyway) as a lot of the stuff he's done I can sympathise with as I enjoy rambling myself and spend a lot of time out and about with work :-D

Judy wrote: "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is great for virtual exercise, too. LOL!"

That's true, I do feel I've done the trek myself after some bits of it. Wonder if it still counts as exercise ;-) lol

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trailwas the first Bryson I read and I thoroughly enjoyed it; I've now read a whole bunch since. Currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything. I think my favorite of his is actually Shakespeare: The World as Stage--although as a once-upon-a-time Eng Lit major I may be a bit biased.

As a science nerd I love a short history of nearly everything!

Short History was actually the first Bryson book I read and I loved it, couldn't believe how well he managed to write about such a huge subject, he definitely knows how to make subjects appeal to wider audiences!

Changed my book for my favourite animal to Jake West - Warriors of the Heynai by M J Webb, still a dragon though but this one is scarier!

And another one down:

Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong - finished 21/11/11, 5*

How many does that leave for you to complete the challenge, Sam? You must be close.

Just got the two left, my favourite flower and someone I admire so still got Heartstone by C.J. Sansom and Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People by Mo Mowlam to read. Basically the two longest ones on the list!

That's another one finished with Heartstone by C.J. Sansom - finished 16/12/11, 5*, just got Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People left, which I started last night.

Super job, Sam! I seem to be on a mystery kick lately and CJ Sansom appeals to me. I'd have to start at the beginning though.

Janice wrote: "Super job, Sam! I seem to be on a mystery kick lately and CJ Sansom appeals to me. I'd have to start at the beginning though."

Somehow I managed to start with the fourth one (didn't realise it was part of a series, damn Amazon) but they are very good even when not read in order :-)

That's good to hear. With series in the mystery genre, often they are related only by the sleuth. It's fantasy genre where the series are continuations. Still, it doesn't hurt to be careful.

My husband loves the books about Stone Barrington by Stuart Woods. He's reading them totally out of order, but after getting around to reading the first two says that it would have been nice to read them in order, but not necessary.

Personally, I think I'd get bored with a series if the characters didn't undergo growth and development, and that therefore reading them in order was important.

(Says she who has a couple dozen assorted Star Trek from all eras haphazardly piled up. :)

The Shardlake series is better in order but the stories don't overlap, it'smore for the character development and some of the things they go through carry on from one book to the next. But saying that I think Sansom has written them to allow for them to be read anyway you like...apart from maybe upside down, they make no sense then!

lol! tx for clarifying :)

Sam wrote: "I've read a couple of others by him and enjoyed them, and I'm about half way through Walk in the Woods and I think it is one of the best I've read (I keep getting strange looks when I read it at lu..."

This thread has inspired me to try A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and Bill Bryson's other works.

I'll be reading it as a "start" and you'll read it as a "finish".

I hope that I can catch up.

Congratulations.

And I'm done, last book Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People by Mo Mowlam - finished 21/12/11, 4*

Awesome :-)

Well done Sam!

Thanks Kat :-)

Awesome job, Sam!

Congratulations!

Thanks Judy, Janice and Cheryl! :-D