Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Thursday Thirteen 312: Recently Read

It's that time again — for the final time this year, here are the most recent thirteen books finished. I can’t believe the year is nearly over already. I still have six books to read in order to make this year’s goal of 100. I’ve exceeded that goal the last three years. While it doesn’t look like I’ll top 100 this year, here’s hoping I can at least meet my goal. As always, click on any cover to find out more about the book.













BOOK NOTES

ROW 1: In October and November, I caught up on one of my favorite cozy mystery series, the "Flower Shop" series by Kate Collins. I was able to apply each book towards a mini-challenge, so double bonus there, and I'm looking forward to book 15 out in February.

ROW 2: The books in this row were all used for mini-challenges in October and November. Joyce and Jim Lavene were also the November featured author for the GR Cozy Mysteries group. One Last Good-Bye is book two in their "Sharyn Howard" series, and A Timely Vision book one in their "Missing Pieces" series. Undead and Unfinished is the ninth book in MJD's "Undead" series and, unfortunately, not one of the better installments of this series.

ROW 3: The romance selections, all read for mini-challenges. I loved Saint's Gate, a rom-suspense, and look forward to continuing that series, as well as reading more books by this author. Assumed Identity is book four in Julie Miller's "The Precinct: Task Force" series. Born on the Fourth of July was an anthology of three novellas featuring men in uniform, and was quite a bit steamier than Saint's Gate and Assumed Identity. Most 3-in-1's can be hit-or-miss, with one really good story and two so-so, but I liked all three in this collection.

ROW 4: The recent classic reads. Frankenstein was the October group read for a classics group at Goodreads, and was also applied towards a mini-challenge for Halloween. I had been wanting to reread The Legend of Sleepy Hollow since the start of the FOX series, Sleepy Hollow, and finally worked it in on Halloween. Boy did the SH writers take liberties with that story! A Journey to the Center of the Earth was another classics group read, and one I did not enjoy very much. I've opted against the December classics read as people foolishly chose a thousand-plus page book for the busiest time of the year. I'd rather not spend an entire month on one book when I have Christmas-themed books I want to read. Thankfully, a much shorter book (and one for which I actually voted) has won for January.

ROW 5: The Clearing is a middle-grade mystery I picked up from a local Little Free Library. Pretty good book for that age group.


What have you been reading lately?


LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen







18 comments:

jennifer anderson said...

go for it, you can read six books in a few days!

Heather said...

Thanks, Jennifer A! I hope I can get six books read over the next 26 days (that's a book every 4.3 days), but I also have Christmas presents to finish and haven't been home the last four or five weekends, which really eats into my reading time.

Colleen@Looseleafnotes said...

That's a good mix! I wonder how you choose them.

Sidne said...

The Flower Shop series I would like to cozy up and read in my favorite chaise in the sunroom.

Heather said...

Hi Colleen! If I have a book chosen for a group read, I will try to read it that month. If I have a book by a featured author I will plan to read it (or as many as I can by that author).

And then there are the mini-challenges. If I have a book that fits a challenge, I'll plan on reading it. It's even better if a book fits multiple challenges.

For example, in Oct. we were to read a book with a pink cover for breast cancer awareness. I read To Catch a Leaf, which also fit the "A-U-T-U-M-N" challenge. Likewise, Nightshade on Elm Street fit the "A-U-T-U-M-N" challenge and one with a character who was up to no good for Mischief Night.

Heather said...

Sidne: The Flower Shop series is a good one to curl up with, especially on a cold winter day.

CountryDew said...

That is an impressive number of book. I think I have managed only about half that this year.

Alice Audrey said...

I like Jill Shalvis. I discovered her right around the time I entered the blogsphere - around 2006.

Heather said...

Thanks, Anita. I've always loved reading and can't imagine a life without books. I always have a book with me, no matter where I go. :)

Heather said...

Alice: I discovered her books around 2001, which is when I met her at a conference. I haven't read everything she's written, but I do enjoy her writing, and her blog.

Jennifer Leeland said...

Huh. I like the look of "The Clearing". Good books in Middle Grade are tough to find.
Great TT as always, Heather. Hope you're staying warm!

Heather said...

Hi Jennifer! I had never heard of this title or the author, but it was a good mystery for middle-grade readers. Trying to stay warm, but weather only seems to get colder. Snow coming in for Sunday and highs in the single digits for next week. *whimper*

Paige Tyler said...

I'm all over those HQN books! LOL! And I'm with you Sleepy Hollow! It's my favorite scary tale!

*hugs*
Paige

Rekaya Gibson said...

You rock! Thanks for sharing your list; it looks interesting. I'm inspired to read more in 2014.

The Food Temptress

Heather said...

Paige: I had a feeling you might like that row, particularly Born on the 4th of July.

Heather said...

Rekaya: LOL -- thanks. I'm pushing to reach my 100 book goal. It helps when it's too cold to do anything outside, except -- I also need to get a move on and finish some Christmas presents. The last couple months have flown by too fast!

Alice Audrey said...

I used to hang out at her blog all the time. I just got busy, and never make it over anymore.

Heather said...

That's why I miss Google Reader. It made keeping up soooo much easier. The entity I was forced to go with in their place sucks big time, but other services won't support my current op system.