Friday, December 30, 2011

2012 Reading Challenges

These are the reading challenges for 2012 that I find fascinating.
I'll be joining many of these for 2012.  Join along with me. 
I'll list each challenge on it's own tab.

1.  A - Z Reading Challenge (26 Titles + 26 Authors)

2.  52 Books in 52 Weeks

3.  12 Books in 2012

4.  Mind Voyages (SciFi/Fantasy)
    Sling shot back to Earth : Read at least 3 winners on the Nebula Winner's List

5.  Cruisin' Through The Cozies -
    Level 2 - Investigator - Read 7-12 books

6.  Reading Romances - 12 books


7.  What's In A Name 5 - 6 books

8.  Foodies Read 2
    Pastry Chef: 4 to 8 books

9.  Chick Lit Challenge - 12 books

10.  Cozy Mystery Challenge - 12 books
      Level 4 Super Sleuth: 10 to 12 Cozy Mysteries

11.  Steampunk Reading Challenge
       Geared –  Choose 5 books to read


12.  The Classics 
        Level One: 1-3

13.  YA Reading Challenge
      The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.

14.  Time Travel Reading Challenge
      Surprise Trip: 1 to 3 time travel books.


Thursday, December 8, 2011

How to Knit a Heart Back Home by Rachael Herron

This is the second book in the  Cypress Hollow Yarns series.
I've been knitting more this year so I'm finding I enjoy books with knitting too.  In this series the characters love to knit and I want to pick up my knitting right along with them.

There is also romance built into this series and this book focus's on Lucy Harrison, fire brigade volunteer, bookseller, and fan of the famous knitting work of Eliza Carpenter.  Eliza is the deceased friend of Lucy's grandmother and Irene Bancroft, the mother of Lucy's high school crush, Owen.

Owen, is a former San Francisco cop. An on-the-job injury forces him into retirement at 35 so Owen returns to Cypress Hollow to visit his mother and decide where he will live next.  Lucy is thrilled. With Irene suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's in a home, Owen takes up residence in the parsonage next to the Book Spire, a deconsecrated church turned book store that Lucy owns and a romance blooms between them.

While helping Owen with his mother's belongings, Lucy discovers a valuable cache of Eliza Carpenter's patterns and papers, prompting her to write a biography of Eliza. Things come to a dramatic and contrived head when Owen's mother flees the home and ends up in an abandoned lighthouse, where Owen's injury forces Lucy into action.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Dead Days of Summer by Carolyn Hart

This book is number 17 in the Death on Demand Mystery series.

I really enjoy this who-done-it series by Carolyn Hart and number 17 is another hit.  Most books in this series has some focus on Annie Darling's book store, but this one has less focus on the book shop when Annie goes undercover to do some investigating and set up a trap.

Annie's PI husband, Max, accepts a new case and fails to come home, she's frantic and calls in all her friends, including the police. The authorities organize an effective search that leads to the body of an attractive woman near Max's abandoned car; in the trunk is the murder weapon. Portrayed by the press as an unfaithful husband and killer, Max is arrested as soon as he surfaces. That's when Annie and her friends go to work to hunt down a killer.


Friday, December 2, 2011

Only Mine by Susan Mallery

This is another book in the Fool's Gold series.  This is another series I can't get enough of.  It's well written without repeating what has happened in previous books.  There is a short reference here and there but definitely acceptable.

Fool's Gold is a small town filled with mostly women and since someone reported this, a reality TV series is trying to create interest for the town and men have started showing up.
Her town’s lack of men may make headlines, but it isn’t news to Dakota Hendrix. The beautiful blonde has bigger problems to deal with, such as overseeing the romance reality competition filming in Fool’s Gold. Screening eligible bachelors is a difficult enough task, but Dakota hits an unexpected snag when a sexy stranger comes to town. Finn Anderssen will do anything to keep his twin brothers — the perfect contestants — off the show. Despite Dakota’s better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious outsider. Like her, Finn knows about heartbreak and how a family can fall apart, so she doesn’t dare to hope for anything more than a fling. After all, even in the Land of Happy Endings, finding true love is never as easy as it looks on TV.