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Did anyone else have summer reading challenges through their library? I used to LOVE that and would read 50 books each summer (that was the max), although those were slightly quicker reads and I had pretty much nothing better to do with my days :P

That being said, 50 books in a year now should be doable? We'll see.

Books I've read in 2010:

1. Bon Bon Voyage Carolyn Blue Mystery Book 9 - Nancy Fairbanks
2. Kitchen Confidential Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly - Anthony Bourdain
3. The World to Come - Dara Horn
4. The Wonder Spot - Melissa Bank
5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There - Lewis Carroll
6. Assassin's Apprentice Farseer Trilogy 1 - Robin Hobb
7. The Sword of Shannara Shannara 1 - Terry Brooks

Hmmm...that's not too many and it's almost April...

Vivian wrote: "Did anyone else have summer reading challenges through their library? I used to LOVE that and would read 50 books each summer (that was the max), although those were slightly quicker reads and I h..."

Yes, and we had to write a review of each book for it to count. And you couldn't just say "I liked it" or "It was good." You had to say why. My current library has a summer challenge for each age group, but the kid's challange always looks more fun!

Wow Donna - writing reviews about them? That's hardcore. I'm pretty sure we just had to list them, but my memory may be failing me...

Yes, one paragraph minimum. Luckily, they weren't graded or anything. I think it was to keep us honest so we couldn't just say we'd read it and get our prize. Did you get prizes?

There were checkpoint mini-prizes, like a bookmark for reaching the halfway point or something. Then you got to choose a book when you reached your goal. Thinking about it, they probably did have us do something to keep us honest, but that was almost a couple of decades ago at this point (yikes, that makes me feel old!). I was way into the babysitters club books then, so always chose one of that series for my prize.

8. Royal Assassin Farseer Trilogy 2 - Robin Hobb Not the best book, giving up on the series :(
9. Driving Sideways - Jess Riley fun book, nice to get away from the fantasies (may have OD'd a little with the epic fantasies)

Almost to the double digits...

Vivian wrote: "There were checkpoint mini-prizes, like a bookmark for reaching the halfway point or something. Then you got to choose a book when you reached your goal. Thinking about it, they probably did have..."

It was decades ago for me, too. I remember one year they had a puppet show for all the kids who participated. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. Good gravy, how do I manage to pull this stuff out when I can't even remember what I've gone into the next room for?!

Hehe. Amazing what random memories the brain comes up with :)

10. Moon Called - Patricia Briggs I am liking Mercy, a kick-ass female character but in a realistic-ish human way rather than infallible.

Donna wrote: "Vivian wrote: "There were checkpoint mini-prizes, like a bookmark for reaching the halfway point or something. Then you got to choose a book when you reached your goal. Thinking about it, they pr..."

Donna, that's a sure sign of that 'old-folks disease' CRS...Can't Remember S... (stuff) LOL I have a lot of that, too...but I love to go back down memory lane and reminisce.

Vivian wrote: "8. Royal Assassin Farseer Trilogy 2 - Robin Hobb Not the best book, giving up on the series :(
9. Driving Sideways - Jess Riley fun book,..."

Nooooo, you CAN'T give up on the series! It's SO good! Plus it ties in excellently with the next two trilogies to form a wonderfully epic story! But then again, if you're not liking it so far, you might not like the rest of it. What didn't you like about it?

I honestly liked the first book and I expected to enjoy the entire series, but book 2 was just so depressing! It was one tragic event after another. I would've appreciated some happier events, but this is a dark series, so no point complaining about it.

Also, this series is somewhat character driven rather than action driven, which is fine (I really enjoyed the character development of the first book) unless you aren't feeling the main character. Personally, I ended up liking the minor characters more than Fitz, partly because he reminded me of Bella from Twilight. He spent so much time pining over Molly - even when he had her! - and didn't take any initiative ever. I guess I expected Fitz to grow more than he did? And since the story is told from Fitz' POV, I don't feel like there was enough about the other characters to keep me interested.

To tie it all up, I feel like all the bad stuff occurred because Fitz was too dense to realize it or just not proactive enough to prevent it and he seems like he should be smarter than that.

Sorry, this got a little long. Are the other two trilogies any less depressing than this one? If so, maybe one day I'll give it a shot because I do like this world of the six duchies overall and I don't like giving up on series. I still think I'm going to go back and finish the Wheel of Time one day...

Yes, it does pick up a lot. The third book ends really well, and the second trilogy is set with completely new characters, so no Fitz :) He does stop pining over Molly, though, so there is that! The series starts to focus more on the Fool and what's going on with him/her, and it becomes more about dragons than anything else. REALLY good stuff! I think the third trilogy is probably the best.
The Wheel of Time! THOSE books are excellent, too! How far did you get? Apparently the new one is as good as the first five (the series kind of lost it from books 7-10, but picked back up with 11 and 12), so you should definitely follow through with it.

Heather wrote: "Yes, it does pick up a lot. The third book ends really well, and the second trilogy is set with completely new characters, so no Fitz :) He does stop pining over Molly, though, so there is that! ..."

You're just so enthusiastic about the series, I feel like I need to continue now :) I did see that one of the other trilogies is about the fool, which does intrigue me, so maybe one day.

With WoT, I think I stopped at 7 or 8. I have heard good things about the most recent one too. There are just so many books out there to read...

Thanks for sharing, it's great to get other people's opinions and recommendations!

Went through the Mercy Thompson series this week. Probably fastest I've been through books in a while, good series. I think I liked it because each book revolves around different characters and conflicts with more than just the werewolves. You get vampires, fae, ghosts, etc. A fun series if you're into urban fantasy.

11. Blood Bound
12. Iron Kissed
13. Bone Crossed
14. Silver Borne
by Patricia Briggs

15. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Loved it.

16. Halfway to the Grave
17. One Foot in the Grave
by Jeaniene Frost

Don't know why I never read these before! Good series so far.

Vivian wrote: "Did anyone else have summer reading challenges through their library? I used to LOVE that and would read 50 books each summer (that was the max), although those were slightly quicker reads and I h..."

my school did kind of, it wasn't just a summer thing. it was a pizza hut thing, where you had to read so many books(10 i think) to get a free personal pan pizza. it was pretty awesome

18. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
19. Upgrading by Simon Brooke

Two eh books. Rebecca was a disappointment, not even close to Jane Eyre.

20. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
21. At Grave's End
22. Destined for an Early Grave
by Jeaniene Frost

Three stars for these three.

23. Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
24. The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells
25. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Urban fantasy. Quick, easy, fun.

Gosh, it's been so long.
26. The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs
Loved it, next is The Know-It-All, so excited to read it!

27. Minion by L.A. Banks
It was okay...think I've OD'd on the UFs, but they're so great when you want a night of quick reading...

28. Blood Law by Jeannie Holmes
Read this a couple months ago. Pretty interesting, will probably continue with the series as it comes out.

29. A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix
30. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison

31-34. Fever series by Karen Marie Moning
Addicting series, although partly due to the cliffhangers at the end of each book. 3 stars.

35. Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

36. A Wrinkle in Time

A re-read. Remember loving it in elementary school, but had completely forgotten the story. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series now (for the first time).

37. The Know-It-All

A.J. Jacobs is super-amusing, but in short spurts. Despite only being able to read a few chapters at a time, still really liked the book.

38. Compromising Positions

Free for kindle! Don't know why I've never thought about looking for free ebooks before this (maybe because I don't have an e-reader...). Fun, light, happy book.

39. Fallen
40. Torment
Really really liking this series. First book is a little slow to start, but second book really picks up the pace and also starts answering some questions. Can't wait for the next book to come out.

41. Ill Wind
Good start to a series. Will continue in the future, but not in a rush.

42. A Wind in the Door :(

43. Veronika Decides to Die
I liked the idea of the story, if not the way it was written, although translation might have something to do with it. Haven't read any of his other books, but based on this one, I would pick up another book by Coelho someday.

44.
45-46.
Great series so far. Looking forward to reading more.

47.
48.

2 more series to add to the list. Fun times :)

49.
Oh, this was a bit of a painful read in the second half, but I wanted to finish it to see what happened.

50.
A good book, but kind of a re-hash of the first in the series (but not as good). I want to continue because I love the world she built, but hoping the story formula changes a bit.

And we made it to 50!

51. Grave Witch
52. Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception
53. Three Days to Dead
54. Any Place I Hang My Hat
55. Covet
56. Poison Study