Day: November 26, 2009

So Book Chick City will be hosting the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Challenge this year. I signed up for the 2008/2009 challenge but not the 2009 one because I was still working on the previous one. So I was glad to see that someone took this one over for J. Kaye. Thriller/Suspense is one of my very favorite genre of books. It’s probably what a good 90% of my books are. So this one will be a good challenge for me. The rules are simple: Read 12 books between January 1st and December 31st, 2010. No lists are required and crossovers with other challenges are okay. There are many different sub-genres within the realm of Thriller/Suspense books. You will choose your books from that list, but don’t worry it’s easy to fit books into the categories. . There is a list of the sub-genres which can be found here. I will be keeping my list here:

1. Exposed by Alex Kava (Eco-Thriller)
2. Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Police Procedural)
3. Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer (Conspiracy Thriller)
4. Final Breath by Kevin O’Brien (Stalker Thriller)
5. 18 Billion by Jack Gresham (Terrorist Thriller)
6. Hotshot by Catherine Mann (Romantic Thriller)
7. All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell (Serial Killer Thriller)
8. The Dying Game by Beverly Barton (Private Detective Mystery)
9. The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen (Medical Thriller)
10. The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry (Historical Mystery)
11. The Alexandria Letter by George R. Honig (Religious Thriller)
12. The Spire by Richard North Patterson (Psychological Thriller)

I am looking forward to doing this challenge again! I’m not going to meet my 2009 goals, but that’s okay. I relied too much on the library this year because I wanted to read more than a few new releases (and I refuse to buy hardbacks). It’s silly, I have what seems like a gazillion books on my shelves and I browse the library like I have no books at home. So, once again I’m going to be setting a goal of 50 books: 25 of those have to be on my shelves prior to 2010. I would prefer to have all of them on my shelves before 2010, but I like to leave myself a little leeway for new books to get read 🙂 You can click on the button above to go to the post about the challenge. The rules are simple: You set a goal of how many books off of your shelves that you want to read and you choose as you go. However, re-reads cannot count.  I will be keeping up with my list on this page.

1. Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
2. Exposed by Alex Kava (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
3. Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
4. Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
5. Final Breath by Kevin O’Brien (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
6. Hotshot by Catherine Mann (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
7. Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
8. All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
9. Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
10. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
11. From Potter’s Field by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
12. Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
13. The Dying Game by Beverly Barton (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
14. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
15. Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
16. Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
17. The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
18. The Camel Club by David Baldacci (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
19. Victim Six by Gregg Olsen (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
20. Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
21. Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
22. The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
23. The Spire by Richard North Patterson (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
24. Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
25. The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
26. London Bridges by James Patterson (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
27. Pacific Vortex by Clive Cussler (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
28. The Next Killing by Rebecca Drake (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
29. The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
30. Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
31. The President’s Assassin by Brian Haig (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
32. Step on a Crack by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
33. Body Double by Tess Gerritsen (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
34. From Love Field by Nellie Connally (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
35. The Black Sun by James Twining (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
36. Run For Your Life by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
37. Crimson Rain by Meg O’Brien (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
38. The Collectors by David Baldacci (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
39. Predator by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
40. 14 by J.T. Ellison (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
41. Cross by James Patterson (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW
42. The General by Patrick A. Davis (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
43. Worst Case by James Patterson (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
44. Stone Cold by David Baldacci (Acquired in 2010) REVIEW
45. Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell (On shelf before 2010) REVIEW

On shelf before 2010: 31
Acquired in 2010: 14

So I have signed up for the Celebrate the Author Challenge hosted by Becky the past two years. Of course I couldn’t resist signing up once again. I know I stated that I wanted to be a little less restrictive in my challenges this year, but I just had to make an exception for this one! It’s been one of my favorite challenges, and it’s always easy to do as long as you pay attention to what month you’re in, lol! You can click on the image above to take you to Becky’s page regarding sign-ups. The rules are simple: you choose 12 books (no lists required) and you essentially “celebrate” the author’s birthday. Take Harlan Coben, for example. His birthday is in January, so you would read a Harlan Coben book in January to fulfill January’s requirement. You choose one author for each month and read what you want. Pretty much any type of book goes. I will be keeping my list here.

January: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
February: The Spire by Richard North Patterson
March: The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
April: Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer
May: The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver
June: The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen
July: Pacific Vortex! by Clive Cussler
August: The Camel Club by David Baldacci
September:
October: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry
November:
December: The Dying Game by Beverly Barton

So, J. Kaye might be cutting back in 2010 but thankfully she is still hosting this challenge! I was not signed up in 2008, but almost made 100 coming in at 97 I believe. In 2009, I haven’t done quite as well, only currently sitting at 61. But I’m going to try again in 2010. You can click on the button above to go to the sign-up page on J. Kaye’s blog. The rules are really simple: read 100 books between January 1st and December 31st, 2010. There are no necessary lists beforehand and crossovers with other challenges are allowed. Pretty much any kind of book and/or format of book can count. I will be keeping my list here:

1. Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Finished: 1/6/10) REVIEW
2. Exposed by Alex Kava (Finished: 1/10/10) REVIEW
3. Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Finished: 1/22/10) REVIEW
4. Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer (Finished: 1/26/10) REVIEW
5. Final Breath by Kevin O’Brien (Finished: 2/3/10) REVIEW
6. 18 Billion by Jack Gresham (Finished: 2/7/10) REVIEW
7. Black Friday by Alex Kava (Finished: 2/11/10) REVIEW
8. Hotshot by Catherine Mann (Finished: 2/16/10) REVIEW
9. Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 2/23/10) REVIEW
10. All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 3/14/10) REVIEW
11. Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 3/17/10) REVIEW
12. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 3/23/10) REVIEW
13. From Potter’s Field by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 3/26/10) REVIEW
14. The Clouds Roll Away by Sibella Giorello (Finished: 3/28/10) REVIEW
15. Burn by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy (Finished: 3/31/10) REVIEW
16. Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 4/8/10) REVIEW
17. The Dying Game by Beverly Barton (Finished: 4/13/10) REVIEW
18. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 4/18/10) REVIEW
19. Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 4/21/10) REVIEW
20. Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass (Finished: 4/27/10) REVIEW
21. The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson (Finished: 4/30/10) REVIEW
22. The Camel Club by David Baldacci (Finished: 5/7/10) REVIEW
23. Victim Six by Gregg Olsen (Finished: 5/12/10) REVIEW
24. Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 5/19/10) REVIEW
25. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson (Finished: 5/22/10) REVIEW
26. Never Let You Go by Erin Healy (Finished: 5/28/10) REVIEW
27. Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman (Finished: 6/1/10) REVIEW
28. The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 6/5/10) REVIEW
29. The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry (Finished: 6/8/10) REVIEW
30. The Alexandria Letter by George R. Honig (Finished: 6/11/10) REVIEW
31. The Spire by Richard North Patterson (Finished: 6/14/10) REVIEW
32. Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 6/23/10) REVIEW
33. The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver (Finished: 7/4/10) REVIEW
34. London Bridges by James Patterson (Finished: 7/10/10) REVIEW
35. Pacific Vortex! by Clive Cussler (Finished: 7/14/10) REVIEW
36. The Next Killing by Rebecca Drake (Finished: 7/25/10) REVIEW
37. Damaged by Alex Kava (Finished: 7/27/10) REVIEW
38. The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 7/31/10) REVIEW
39. Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell (Fiished: 8/6/10) REVIEW
40. The President’s Assassin by Brian Haig (Finished: 8/13/10) REVIEW
41. Step on a Crack by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge (Finished: 8/21/10) REVIEW
42. Body Double by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 8/25/10) REVIEW
43. Death on the D-List by Nancy Grace (Finished: 8/29/10) REVIEW
44. The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 9/3/10) REVIEW
45. From Love Field by Nellie Connally (Finished: 9/4/10) REVIEW
46. The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 9/5/10) REVIEW
47. 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan (Finished: 9/11/10) REVIEW
48. The Black Sun by James Twining (Finished: 9/19/10) REVIEW
49. The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund (Finished: 9/21/10) REVIEW
50. Run For Your Life by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Finished: 9/25/10) REVIEW
51. Crimson Rain by Meg O’Brien (Finished: 9/28/10) REVIEW
52. The Collectors by David Baldacci (Finished: 10/5/10) REVIEW
53. Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 10/9/10) REVIEW
54. Predator by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 10/14/10) REVIEW
55. The Fun of Dying by Roberta Grimes (Finished: 10/15/10) REVIEW
56. 14 by J.T. Ellison (Finished: 10/24/10) REVIEW
57. Cross by James Patterson (Finished: 10/29/10) REVIEW
58. City in Shadow by Evan Marshall (Finished: 10/31/10) REVIEW
59. The General by Patrick A. Davis (Finished: 11/9/10) REVIEW
60. The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer (Finished: 11/25/10) REVIEW
61. Damaged by Pamela Callow (Finished: 11/30/10) REVIEW
62. When No One is Watching by Joseph Hayes (Finished: 12/4/10) REVIEW
63. Worst Case by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge (Finished: 12/6/10) REVIEW
64. Stone Cold by David Baldacci (Finished: 12/16/10) REVIEW
65. Defending the Enemy by Elaine Fischel (Finished: 12/21/10) REVIEW
66. At the Crossroads of Terror by Lenny Emanuelli (Finished: 12/24/10) REVIEW
67. Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 12/27/10) REVIEW