2005 “50 Books” Challenge

The 50 books I read and my (from memory) opinions of them.

1. The Conspiracy Club, Jonathon Kellerman
I read this before I officially started the challenge and don’t really remember a thing about it, other than it is typical Jonathon Kellerman

2. The Murder Book (Alex Delaware), Jonathon Kellerman
Ditto

3. Therapy, Jonathon Kellerman
Yet again, ditto

4. Hubener Vs Hitler, Richard Lloyd Dewey
A non-fiction book about a group of young (Mormon) men who defy the Nazis and spread the message of Hitler’s true mission. The title character is executed because of it. It read far too much like a textbook, with way too many footnotes for my liking; it interrupted the flow of a very powerful story.

5. The Final Solution : A Story of Detection, Michael Chabon
A boy who can’t or won’t talk and his parrot (?). A lovely little read from a Pulitzer Prize winning (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) novelist.

6. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss
I’m sure people did question whether Italian printers were quite the right people to legislate on the meaning of everything; but on the other hand, resistance was obviously useless against a family that could invent italics.

7. Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston
Amazing story of a man who gets trapped while hiking in Southern Utah and is forced to cut his hand off to escape. I cried and cried during this book.

8. Mississippi Trial, 1955, Chris Crowe
Fictionalized account of the Emmett Till murder. This event helped touch off the civil rights movement, and I am incredibly disappointed in our educational system to have not been taught about this in school.

9. Irish Cream : A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel (Nuala McGrail Mystery), Andrew Greeley
Another Nuala Anne mystery. I remember enjoying the book, but can’t remember the plot to save my life.

10. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
A recommendation from Erin, a wonderful little book about growing up.

11. Getting Away with Murder, Chris Crowe
Again, I was stunned at learning of these events. This is a non-fiction account of the abomination.

12. 102 Minutes : The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, Jim Dwyer & Kevin Flynn
Reconstruction of the 102 minutes between the time the first plane crashed into the WTC and when the 2nd tower collapsed. Heroic acts by ordinary people, bravery from New York’s Finest combined with confusion, politics, and poor planning. Absolutely riveting.

13. Touching the Void, Joe Simpson
You will likely never hear me say this again, but…WATCH THE MOVIE. Unless you are an avid climber the terminology will sink you, but the movie leaves you breathless with anticipation, constantly wondering if Joe (and Simon) will make it down the mountain alive. (They do, they narrate the film and the book was written by Joe, but trust me…you’ll forget that fact while you’re watching.)

14. The Broker, John Grisham
I remember thinking it was not as good as his early stuff, but not as bad as his later stuff. Other than that, I got nothing!

15. Vanishing Acts : A Novel, Jodi Picoult
A woman who has made a career of finding lost people suddenly finds out she was abducted as a young girl by her father. Not as good as My Sister's Keeper : A Novel, but better than the average riff-raff.

16. Alone, Lisa Gardner
The main character was kidnapped, held hostage, and repeatedly abused before she was rescued. Now, he’s after her again. Okay, but nothing special.

17. I Am Charlotte Simmons : A Novel, Tom Wolfe
Poor country girl Charlotte goes off to a big fancy college where everyone is having sex with everyone else and eventually she does too. Oh, she also ends up with Jojo Johnson which you see coming from the first time they meet. I had to force myself to finish this pile of *insert your own adjective*!

18. Blood Memory : A Novel, Greg Iles
A woman (who is a forensic something or other) is working to solve a series of bizarre murders. The murders bring up long suppressed memories of her past and why her father was murdered. I thought it was a pretty decent read.

19. Prince of Fire, Daniel Silva
All the Daniel Silva books ran together after awhile, but I still enjoyed them all. This series is about an Israeli intelligence agent/art restorer who has paid a heavy price for his “work”.

20. Ender's Shadow (Ender), Orson Scott Card
A companion book to Ender’s Game. Same story, different perspective. I enjoyed both books (I read Ender’s Game last year) immensely.

21. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Beautifully written story of a young boy in Afghanistan (before, during and after the Soviet invasion and the resulting take-over by the Taliban). It was really a heart-wrenching book.

22. The Ice Queen : A Novel, Alice Hoffman
She gets struck by lightning and finds love and renewal in the arms of another survivor.

23. 4th of July (Women's Murder Club), James Patterson
Not as good as his Alex Cross series, but still better than a sharp stick in the eye.

24. No Place Like Home: A Novel, Mary Higgins Clark
Typical Mary Higgins Clark…I saw the bad guy coming a mile away.

25. Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries), John Sandford
The Lucas Davenport series is one of my favorites, and I was diggin’ this book right up until the end. Then it sucked!

26. The Kills (Fairstein, Linda), Linda Farenstein
I remember thinking, “Well that was certainly a waste of time.”

27. In The Shadow of the Ark, Anne Provoost
I unique and *somewhat* blasphemous view of Noah and his ark. That said, I was intrigued by the whole concept and enjoyed the book to boot.

28. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5), J.K. Rowling
A re-read in anticipation of the next book. I enjoyed it more the second time around, although I still believe some of the material was unnecessary to the plot.

29. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6), J.K. Rowling
Loved it! Loved it! LOVED! IT! Although, I still maintain he isn’t dead and I have a whole theory to support that belief. I cannot wait for the next book.

30. The Finishing School : A Novel, Muriel Sparks
It took me forever to finish this tiny little book…enough said.

31. Trace (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries), Patricia Cornwell
Re-read in anticipation of her next book in the “Scarpetta” series. Better than her last several attempts, but damn*!* she needs to lighten up.

32. Gilead: A Novel, Marilynne Robinson
Won the Pulitzer Prize this year. Lovely book, but had no chapters or breaks so I had difficulty getting through it.

33. A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett
A girl witch with crazy-ass little blue men protecting her. That is some seriously good reading!

34. The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
“Dear Mr. Pratchett, Please abandon Discworld and write more about these delightful characters. Much obliged, caoimhe"

35. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
Black, honey-makin’ sisters take in a runaway white girl only to find out they knew her Momma and have the answers she’s looking for. Moral of this story, family is where you find it.

36. Rage (Alex Delaware), Jonathon Kellerman
See: previous entries regarding Jonathon Kellerman
Maybe I shouldn’t read his stuff any more…

37. Hunting Fear, Kay Hooper
Psychic cops hunting down deadly killers….these books freaked me out, but in a good way.

38. Chill of Fear, Kay Hooper
Freaked me out even more than Hunting Fear

39. The Confessor, Daniel Silva
See #19

40. The English Assassin, Daniel Silva
My least favorite Daniel Silva novel, but still pretty good. I think I got burned out on him and shouldn’t have read this immediately following The Confessor.

41. The Mermaid Chair: A Novel, Sue Monk Kidd
A married woman falls in love (and has an affair) with a Benedictine monk. Not as good as The Secret Life of Bees, but very enjoyable, nonetheless.

42. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Full-Color Collector's Edition), C.S. Lewis
Loved the book and the movie. I’ll again express my disappointment with the education system. This is the first time I’d read this classic and it was worth the wait.

43. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt
How many times can you try a man for murder? Apparently at least 4. Stephanie has cautioned me about moving to the South, but I still have a longing for it.

44. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
Is Drakulya still alive today? Maybe, according to this wonderful novel from Elizabeth Kostova. There were certainly parts that could have been left out, but I really enjoyed this book.
“For all his attention to my historical education, my father had neglected to tell me this: history’s terrible moments were real. I understand now, decades later, that he could never have told me. Only history itself can convince you of such a truth. And once you’ve seen that truth—really seen it—you can’t look away.”

45. Prince Caspian (Narnia), C.S. Lewis
I enjoyed this next Chronicle of Narnia almost as much as the first.

46. Whisper of Evil, Kay Hooper
Her very first book about the psychic detectives and this one I couldn’t read before bedtime. I really enjoy her writing, but I may have to give it up. Weird and vaguely disturbing dreams do no help an already restless sleeper.

47. The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
Thus far, my least favorite Chronicle. Blah, blah, enchanted. Blah, blah, escaped. Moving on!

48. The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
As the year drew to a close, I was behind on my reading and picked the Chronicles because they were quick, easy reads. I enjoyed this book more than The Silver Chair, but not as much as the others I’d read.

49. The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
I really enjoyed this one! Right up there with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. *I see dead people* 240 pages

50. Predator, Patricia Cornwell
Again, I thought this book was much better than Blow Fly, but I'ms till incredibly tired of these once intriguing characters. Now they are tired, bitter and quite frankly uninteresting. I've become deeply disappointed in this once brilliant series. 406 pages

50/50 17742/15000