Category: READING CHALLENGES 2012

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Myron Bolitar, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, SERIES

2012.2 REVIEW – Drop Shot by Harlan Coben

Tara

Drop Shot
by Harlan Coben

Copyright: 1996
Pages: 341
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 8 – Jan. 15, 2012
Challenge: The Eclectic Reader 2012; Mystery & Suspense 2012; Off the Shelf 2012
Yearly Count: 2
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb: A young woman is shot in cold blood, her lifeless body dumped outside the stadium at the height of the US Open. Once her tennis career had skyrocketed. Now the headlines are being made by another young player form the wrong side of the tracks.

When Myron Bolitar investigates the killing he uncovers a connection between the two players and a six-year-old murder at an exclusive club. Suddenly Myron is in over his head. And with a dirty senator, a jealous mother, and the mob all drawn into the case, he finds himself playing the most dangerous game of all…

Review: So this is the second in the Myron Bolitar series. I read the first one (Deal Breaker) a long time ago. (And please excuse my terrible review, which was before I got very detailed in my reviews). I wasn’t too impressed, so naturally I wasn’t in very much of a hurry to get around to the second book. For whatever reason, I decided to give this series another shot. I’m glad I did. To be completely honest, having that big of a gap (3 years) in between reading the two books, I was a little lost. I didn’t remember the supporting characters. I didn’t remember some things that were mentioned. But that was okay for me; it didn’t hurt my opinion of the book at all.

What I continually kept asking myself while reading this book was this: was the first book this funny? I mean, I’m talking laugh out loud funny at times. Other times it was cheesy funny. But in all seriousness, I don’t recall Myron being humorous. I would assume that he was funny in the first book, that’s not something that is likely to change in a character; I just don’t remember that aspect of Myron’s character. Either way, I enjoyed the humor.

The big ah-ha moment came at a perfect time in my opinion. I hadn’t figured out what was really going on before the big reveal. That’s exactly how I like my books to be, I don’t want to figure it all out way too early and then have to finish the rest of the book. And to be completely honest, the person who ended up being the killer made perfect sense when I sat down and really thought about some of the clues left throughout the book.

Overall, I would recommend this book. I found it to be funny and enjoyable. And while I would recommend reading any series in order, this book stands relatively well on its own.

4/5, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Cotton Malone, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, SERIES

2012.1 REVIEW – The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry

Tara

The Venetian Betrayal
by Steve Berry

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 540
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 1 – Jan. 7, 2012
Challenge: The Eclectic Reader 2012; Mystery & Suspense 2012; Off the Shelf 2012
Yearly Count: 1
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb: After narrowly escaping incineration in a devastating fire that consumes a Danish museum, Cotton Malone – former Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer – learns from his friend, the beguiling adventurer Cassiopeia Vitt, that the blaze was neither an accident nor an isolated incident. As part of a campaign of arson intended to mask a far more diabolical design, buildings across Europe are being devoured by infernos of unnatural strength. Born from the ashes is a new Eastern European nation whose ruthless leader will soon draw Cotton into an intense geopolitical chess game against a shadowy cabal of power brokers. The prize lies buried with the mummified remains of Alexander the Great – in a tomb lost to the ages for more than two thousand years. Trekking from Denmark to Venice to Central Asia, Cotton and Cassiopeia are determined to solve an ancient puzzle whose solution could destroy or save millions of people – depending on who finds the lost tomb first.

Review: This is the third in the Cotton Malone series. I find this to be such a fun series! There’s always just enough history combined with incredible action, it just makes a great combination.

I felt in this book we really got a lot more insight into who Cassiopeia Vitt is. In the two previous books, she’s kind of been an enigma in my opinion. So it was really nice to learn more about Cassiopeia in a way that the readers hadn’t before.

As I stated above, I think what really draws me to these books is how there is some historical aspect to them. The first book dealt with Templars, the second involved the lost Library of Alexandria, and this book focused on Alexander the Great and where he was really buried. Having majored in history, these books really interest me. And there’s always non-stop action. I really do find it to be a perfect blend.

I have the next book in this series already on my shelf, I hope I get to it sooner rather than later. I would highly recommend this book and the series as a whole.

READING CHALLENGES 2012

2012 Challenge: Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2012

Tara

*Clicking on the image will take you to the information page on Book Chick City’s site.

This is always my favorite reading challenge! Mystery and Suspense books are my absolute favorites! So naturally I’m always looking forward to this book year after year! This year there’s a slight change, there has been two levels added. Any other year I would probably choose to go with the second level (24), but since 2012 is likely to be insane for me with Baby Boy due in June, I’m just going to stick with 12 books. Read on for what the instructions are:

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2012 – 31 Dec 2012
• Rules: There are TWO LEVELS you can choose from:
– Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2012 – Read TWENTY FOUR (24) mystery & suspense novels in 2012
• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
• You can join at anytime. All books read in 2012 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
• At the beginning of Jan 2012, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.
• Audiobooks do not count, but all other formats are accepted.
• This challenge can crossover to other challenges.

• You don’t have to have a blog to join in – for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don’t have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link:http://www.bookchickcity.com/2011/12/sign-up-mystery-suspense-reading.html
• You can choose from the numerous sub-genres of mystery and suspense, from cosy mysteries such as Agatha Christie to the more hard-boiled kind like V I Warshawski by Sara Paretsky, or romantic suspense written by the likes of Linda Howard, forensic crime such as those written by Kathy Reichs and even paranormal/supernatural suspense such as Kelley Armstrong. I’m sure this challenge will have something for everyone! 🙂
To help you figure out and decide, I have updated a sub-genre list – to view this list go HERE.
READING CHALLENGES 2012

2012 Challenge: Off the Shelf 2012

Tara

*Clicking on the image will take you to the information page on Bookish Ardour’s site.

This will be my final challenge for 2012. And this is one that I need *desperately*.  I have way too many books on my shelves, I need to either purge them or start reading them … and I’m not a purger! This challenge requires us to choose a participation level. I am going to go with Making a Dint – 30 books, even though I know that this is a stretch for me for 2012 … but this is a *challenge* and I need to challenge myself 🙂 However, I’m not going to do the extra challenges.

Here’s the details as posted on Bookish Ardour’s site:

The Deets

  • The Main Rule: Do not include books acquired during 2012, it defeats the purpose, read those books from before 2012 started!
  • Running Dates: 1st of January – 31st of December 2012
  • When Can I Sign Up: All the way up to the last two weeks of December!
  • Crossover Genres: Anything! The name of the game is to turn those unread books into read ones.
  • Mr Linky: To use the Mr Linky you’ll need to click on the graphic then enter your link. These will be updated and posted into this page every couple of weeks or so.
  • Further Details: Crossover challenges are fine, you can change levels at any time, this is eBook, short story, and graphic novel friendly, and you don’t need a blog to join in (read further for details).

The How To

  1. Choose Your Level:These are listed further down and you can change levels at any time.
  2. Grab The Badge: Place it somewhere on your blog, profile, or in a signature where possible and link back (main page or this page, it’s up to you).
  3. Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (only if allowed) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
  4. Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link!
  5. Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment!

Afterwards

  1. Your Reviews: Reviewing is optional! But if you do review we’d love for you to share them by submitting them on the Review Page (including social networks).
  2. Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the Completion Post page!

Challenge Levels

  1. Tempted– Choose 5 books to read
  2. Trying – Choose 15 books to read
  3. Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read
  4. On A Roll – Choose 50 books to read
  5. Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read
  6. Hoarder – Choose between 76-135 books to read
  7. Buried – Choose between 136-200 books to read

Extra Challenges

If you feel like that extra kick to your reading challenges here’s a couple you can choose from.

  • World: Choose a country as your theme, reading only books from that country or where it’s the setting. For how high you go you can choose more than one country;
    • Level Tempted and Trying: Choose one country
    • Level Making a Dint and On A Roll: Choose two countries
    • Level Flying Off to end of Hoarder: Choose three countries
    • Level Buried: Choose four countries.
  • Gender Battle: Read books only by female or male authors. Another alternative is to read equal amounts of both.
READING CHALLENGES 2012

2012 Challenge: Eclectic Reader Challenge

Tara

*Clicking on the image will take you to the information page on Book’d Out’s site.

This is the first challenge that I am signing up for in 2012. This challenge will force me to expand my horizons (fantasy and science fiction will be a challenge for me), but it is still open enough that I am confident I can be successful. I’m definitely looking forward to this challenge!! Below you can find the instructions as found on Book’d Out.

  • The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 201. Participants may join at any time up until December 1st 2012
  • Create a blog post committing to  your participation in this challenge.

Select, read and review a book from each genre listed below during the year for a total of 12 books.

*  You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish.

*  Where a book is identified by more than one genre eg historical romance, it may only count for either the historical fiction or romantic fiction genres – not both.

Genres

  1. Literary Fiction
  2. Crime/Mystery Fiction
  3. Romantic Fiction
  4. Historical Fiction
  5. Young Adult
  6. Fantasy
  7. Science Fiction
  8. Non Fiction
  9. Horror
  10. Thriller /Suspense
  11. Classic
  12. Your favourite genre
  • Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, make sure you identify it by adding either a direct statement  and /or the challenge image badge to the post.
  • Share your review with other challenge participants by posting your name/blog name and title of the book with a direct link to your review in the Linky.

All participants that complete the challenge by December 31st 2012 will be eligible to win a book of their choice to the value of $15 from bookdepository.com (or paypal funds of  US$10) to be drawn via random.org Jan 1st 2013.