THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON

Kate Morton

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: 2008

Personal Rating: 3.5/5

Yearly Count: 65

Grace Reeves leaves home at the age of 14 to work as a servant at Riverton House. Now at the age of 98, she is approached by a director to verify facts of the Hartford family and death at Riverton. Flipping from flashback to present, Grace shares all the details of her relationship with the children of the house and reveals the secrets she has kept all these years.

I fall into the minority with my rating, but I'm not too surprised. Overall, I thought it was good - its saving grace being the last 100 pages or so, even though they were somewhat predictable. I felt like the other 300 plus pages were just okay, with some of them actually being dull. I had hoped for more, but still enjoyed parts of the story.

9th Completed Challenge!

I recently completed this challenge, well . . . sorta. It depends on how you want to look at the evidence. :) This particular challenge makes me break out in hives (okay, it's not that bad, but close), so I am counting what I did as good. I currently have a book in the wings that will legitimately qualify as a "chunkster", so I will be adding it on, but for now . . . I'm done.

Thank you Dana from So Many Books, So Little Time for hosting this challenge.


Chunkster Challenge Reads:

A Thousand Bones (Parrish)
This book is only in paperback, so it qualified for page numbers. However, if it were in hard-cover, I don't think it would have - but it isn't, so it's good.


New Moon (Meyer)
The host said, "No" to audiobooks. This was an audiobook. I'm counting it anyway, because I probably spent more time listening to it than I would have if I read it.


The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Selznick)
This qualifies for page numbers, but it's a graphic novel. Lots and lots of pictures. I could be wrong, but I don't remember reading "No Graphic Novels". I hope I'm not wrong.


Blankets (Thompson)
This qualifies for page numbers as well - just shy of 600 pages! The catch is that it's a graphic novel, too.


So, there ya have it. My list may not technically count for the "real challenge", but it counts for me - for now. There's still plenty of time left in the year for one of those door stoppin' books to land in my hands. YIKES!

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.


Favorites:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Selznick)
Blankets (Thompson)


Least Favorite:
New Moon (Meyer)

BLANKETS

Craig Thompson

Genre: YA Graphic Memoir

Published: 2003

Personal Rating: 4.25/5

Yearly Count: 57

Craig Thompson shares the natural progression of his childhood through the combination of pictures and words. The memories of living in his parents' home with his brother, going to school and church, and seeking the desires of his heart are the focus.

Once I got over the shock that this book weighed a ton, I turned the first page and became wrapped up in the story. I soon forgot that it was almost 600 pages long! The emotions that Thompson was able to depict in his drawings were fabulous and even though they were caricatures, he made them come alive. This honest and deep coming-of-age memoir is powerful in its realism. Through the pictures and words, I felt as if I experienced Craig's life right alongside him. The final pages left me a little gloomy or empty, so I am tacking on the fact that he is, now, a successful graphic novelist and hopefully has found himself and happiness.

Oh yes, there are some pertinent graphic pictures that are meant for mature young adults.

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

Brian Selznick

Genre: Children

Published: 2007

Personal Rating: 4.25/5

Yearly Count: 28

Hugo Cabret, an orphaned child of twelve, lives in the walls of a train station in Paris and he has a secret. A secret that has kept him safe, thus far. The mystery behind this graphic novel is based on his secret and it's in jeopardy of being found out.

While reading this in one sitting, I found it to be fascinating - until the ending. Even though many characters had unflattering traits, the storyline was engrossing. The illustrations, which were created by the author himself, were impressive and appealing; they drew me deeper into the story. Every page turned steadily increased my curiosity and excitement. My thoughts often revolved around how much I was enjoying the build up and how children would just love this book. Unfortunately though, it fell apart with the ending. Well, maybe not "fell apart", but it didn't hold to the same standard as the rest of the book. Aside from that, it's a wonderful mystery, full of adventure for both boys and girls!

NEW MOON

Stephenie Meyer

Genre: YA Fantasy

Published: 2006

Personal Rating: 2.75/5

Yearly Count: 23

This installment of the Twilight Saga brings a separation for Bella and Edward which throws Bella into a depression. During this time, she deepens her friendship with Jacob and discovers that there is more to him than she thought. Once Bella and Edward reunite, their agenda is to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives.

There were many issues regarding the story line, the realism, and the message that this book portrayed that disappointed me. And, yes, I did state realism. Twilight was presented in such a way that the supernatural didn't seem so far-fetched. New Moon turned hokey and silly in some scenes that made me remember why I don't care for vampire stories. I'm happy to cross it off my lists and move on.

A THOUSAND BONES

P. J. Parrish

Genre: Crime Thriller

Published: 2007

Personal Rating: 4/5

Yearly Count: 14

P. J. Parrish is actually a sister team and this is the first in their new series starring Joette (Joe) Frye, who was plucked from their Louis Kincaid series. One sister is more adept at "character development" while the other's strength is the "gory stuff", so they make quite a pair . . . and it works!

In A Thousand Bones, Joe (note: pet peeve of mine - naming characters with cross gender names) who is currently on the Miami Police Department's Homicide Division shares with her lover, Louis (too close to Louise for my liking) Kincaid, about her past harrowing experience of being a rookie cop in Echo Bay, Michigan. Almost the entire book is told in flashback, which gives the reader a great understanding of Joe and how she dealt with chasing down a killer.

Ultimately, Joe's experience happened to be one of terror. The word choice and sentence structure contributed to a very fluent flow with no lulls in the story. I didn't find it to be a page-turner, yet I was always interested - making it a good, solid read. I look forward to following this series.

Chunkster Challenge 2008

COMPLETED: April, 2008

OH MY GOODNESS!

This challenge has been haunting me ever since it was announced for I am deathly afraid of "chunksters". (And not afraid to admit it.) However, as I was looking through my TBR list and books read I discovered I have read several books chunkster-size and have survived, so I was in consideration mode. THEN, as I breezed through my current challenges . . . I discovered that I already have 3 lined up! So, here I am, posting another challenge I will be participating in. I need some air.

Hosted By: So Many Books, So Little Time

(4 - at least 450 pps books/January - December, 2008)

POSSIBILITIES:

A Thousand Bones (Parrish)

(Finished: January, 2008)

New Moon (Meyer)

(Finished: February, 2008)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Selznick)

(Finished: February, 2008)

Blankets (Thompson)

(Finished: April, 2008)

The House at Riverton (Morton)

(Finished: May, 2008)

The Winter Rose (Donnelly)

Not gonna happen!


Ashes to Ashes (Hoag)

A Prayer for Owen Meany (Irving)

The Slave Ship: A Human History (Rediker)

Chunkster Challenge & TBR Challenge

LYING WITH STRANGERS
James Grippando
Personal Rating: 3/5
Yearly Count: 37




Well, I can't seem to allow myself to rate this any higher, even though I want to. It was a read that kept my interest, yet annoyed me more. The plot had a good foundation, but there was much too much miscommunication, assumptions, and just plain silliness on the part of so-called adults. It was consistent throughout the book.

I have to say that I did want to continue reading, so Grippando had a "grip" on me one way or another. (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun.) Although, I couldn't tell you exactly what that was. The characters consisted of rising lawyers and doctors, and the plot involved infidelity and chatrooms, all of which were realistic. Maybe that was the draw, I'm not sure. ???

I received this book from Bookfool (see "Recommended By" below) and believe we are actually on the same page, yet she rated it higher than me. I truly believe ratings are not just based on genre, but frame of mind and expectations.


*Recommended By: Bookfoolery and Babble

By the Decades Challenge ~ 00's (2005) & Personal Genre Challenge

TWILIGHT

Stephenie Meyer ~ YA

Personal Rating: 4/5

Yearly Count: 16

I actually read a vampire book...AND enjoyed it! Thankfully it was a YA book, which gave me a slow, gentle introduction to the genre. Staying in that simply spoken arena ultimately worked well for me.

Being a teacher, I enjoyed the school setting and the children. I expected some immature behaviors and general teenage angst, which was prevalent, but what I didn't expect was how the vampire issue was discovered and formulated in the first place. (I actually had no expectations.) The manner in which the details were revealed was slow, yet for a newbie it was just right and I found it very interesting to learn about them. The actually plot itself was pretty good and I can see why this has transcended into adult hands.

My intentions are to read the sequel, but TWILIGHT has not persuaded me to dive deeper into this genre; although, it was a fun diversion and I'm glad I read it.

*Recommended By: Lost in the Pages

Challenges, Challenges, Challenges!!!

Oh my goodness!
I just signed up for my THIRD challenge and I said I couldn't participate in ANY until my own New-to-Me Author-Based A ~ Z Reads was complete. What am I thinking!?! Being in a current state of "reading deprivation", I'm thinking I want to read all the books I can...and these challenges provide the perfect avenue for me to pursue that goal. How could I pass up such fun? I couldn't...so I'm in!

COMPLETED ON: 5-20-07

Sponsored by: Bookfoolery & Babble
(January - June)

*1. Twilight (Meyer)

Finished on 3-7-07

2. Lonesome Dove (McMurtry)

Shelved for another day.

(TOO CHUNKY!)

*2. Lying with Strangers (Grippando)
Finished on 5-2o-07

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~


COMPLETED ON: 11-26-07

Sponsored by:Literary Cache

(one book a month from my TBR list)

1. Year of Wonders (Brooks)

2. The Power of One (Courtenay)

*3. A Can of Peas (DePree)

Finished on 9-16-07

*4. Sister of My Heart (Divakaruni)

Finished on 2-14-07

5. Desperation Moon (Douglas)

*6.The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Edwards)
Finished on 7-4-07

*7. Birdman (Hayder)

Finished on 10-30-07

*8.Birds in Fall (Kessler)

Finished on 2-23-07

*9. A Girl Named Zippy (Kimmel)

Finished on 3-20-07

*10. Lolita (Nabokov)

Finished on 1-7-07

*11. Blindsighted (Slaughter)

Finished on 6-29-07

*12.Snow Blind (Tracy)

Finished on 4-15-07

ALTERNATIVES:

*1. Even Steven (Gilstrap)

Finished on 10-12-07

*2. Lying with Strangers (Grippando)

Finished on 5-20-07

3. Half Broken Things (Joss)

4. Oh My Stars (Landvik)

5. Runaway: Stories (Monroe)

*6. In the Bleak Midwinter (Spencer-Fleming)

Finished on 11-26-07

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~


COMPLETED ON: 1-27-07

Sponsored by: A Reader's Journal

(five classics during January & February)


*1. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Copote)

Finished on 1-10-07

*2. Lord of the Flies (Golding)

Finished on 1-21-07

*3. Animal Farm (Orwell)

Finished on 1-14-07

*4. Rabbit, Run (Updike)

Finished on 1-1-07

*5. Mrs. Dalloway (Woolf)

Finished on 1-27-07

ALTERNATIVE:

*1. The Good Earth (Buck)

Finished on 5-14-07

*Clicking on a title will link you to "Thoughts of Joy..."