Books Read in April
14. Ten Big Ones-Janet Evanovich (Grade B+)
15. Club Dead-Charlaine Harris(Grade B+)
16. Dead to the World-Charlaine Harris (Grade A)




Best surprise/Most recommendable: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris was quite the interesting read. This series is turning in another direction and I really like it.

Worst read of the month: I really like the Stephanie Plum series. However Ten Big Ones was just an ok read.




**I am currently reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. What are you reading?

Book #14
Book Title: Ten Big Ones
Author: Janet Evanovich
Category: fiction; thriller
# of pages: 319
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best].: B+
Short description/summary of the book: (taken from amazon.com):Stephanie Plum, girl bounty hunter, the terror of Trenton, the bane of her boyfriend Joe Morelli's existence, and the delight of her crazy grandma's heart, is in the wrong place at the wrong time--as usual. Just happening to be indulging her nachos jones at a local deli when it's robbed by the notorious Red Devils, Plum is the eye witness who could put the gang leader, known as the Junkman, behind bars... if he just lets her live long enough. Looking for a place to hide out from the killer until the cops catch up with him, Stephanie sneaks into her fellow bounty hunter Ranger's apartment without telling Morelli, who's not overly fond of him. All the usual suspects in this long-running series are along for a wilder than ever ride, including Lula the gun-toting ex-hooker, Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's pregnant sister Valerie and her fiancé, as well as a host of minor characters who bring Trenton's seedier environs to life. Ten Big Ones is another madcap caper by a writer whose fans will doubtless catapult this easy beach read to the top of the bestseller list.

My Thoughts: This book was pretty funny. However to me the plot seemed a bit simple to predict. However this series is really funny and the characters are great.

Books read this year: 14/50. I'm 27% done!!!


Next read(s): I am about to start Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

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Books Read in March
11. To the Nines-Janet Evanovich (Grade B)
12. Confessions of a Shopaholic-Sophie Kinsella (Grade A+)
13. Life Strategies-Phillip C. McGraw (Grade B+)




Best surprise/Most recommendable: Confessions of a Shopaholic. This was such a cute and fun read. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series!

Worst read of the month: I really like the Stephanie Plum series. However To the Nines was just an ok read.




I am still reading Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich. Next I am going to read the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse series.

I was trying to read this book called Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen. I really hated the writing style and it seemed like she had a difficult time focusing on the storyline. Have you all read any of books by this author? Were they written in that same style?


I decided to start the next book in the Stephanie Plum series which is Ten Big Ones. What are you all reading? Maybe I can be inspired to read something different next lol!

Book #11
Book Title: To the Nines
Author: Janet Evanovich
Category: fiction; mystery
# of pages: 320
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best].: B
Short description/summary of the book: (taken from amazon.com):The story opens with the outrageous apprehension of a nude, Vaseline-coated fugitive by Stephanie and her plus-sized, ex-hooker, "sometimes partner" Lula. Soon after, Stephanie sets off on the trail of Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant who apparently fled a Visa bond and his fiancee. With plenty of prior experience narrating Evanovich titles (Hard Eight, etc.) Evanovich's quick-witted, sarcastic and often raunchy dialogue takes the edge off the story's suspense.

My Thoughts: I thought that this story wasn't one of the best in the series. I was able to predict the twist before it even happened. However I still cannot wait to finish the rest of the series.

Books read this year: 11/50. I'm 22% done!!!


Next read(s): I am about to start reading Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.

X-posted to my book community, book_stuff and a whole lot of other places!

I am now reading three books all at the same time.

My gorl is to finish To the Nines by Janet Evanovich so that my mom can borrow it. Then I would like to finish The Testament by John Grisham. I have borrowed a bunch of those books from my mom and I should finish them and give them back to her so I can borrow some more lol. Then I would like to finish Life Strategies by Dr. Phil so that I can have at least one helpful book read this month.

ETA: I should add that I would like to read one book that is considered classical literature each month.


What will be your first read for March?
What will be your reading goals this month?

Books Read in February
7. Hot Six-Janet Evanovich (Grade A)
8. Seven Up-Janet Evanovich (B)
9. Hard Eight-Janet Evanovich(B)
10. Jurassic Park-Michael Crichton (A)



Best surprise/Most recommendable: Jurassic Park. This was so different from the movie. It was a very exciting read.

Don't bother: I enjoyed most of the reads of this month. I didn't enjoy Hard Eight as much as the rest of the series and if you have read it you know why.




I am still trying to figure out what I am going to read next. I couldn't finish The Lost World.

Book #9
Book Title: Hard Eight
Author: Janet Evanovich
Category: fiction; mystery; humor
# of pages: 326
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best].: B+
Short description/summary of the book: (taken from amazon.com):In Hard Eight, Stephanie Plum picks up a case a little nastier than anything the wisecracking bounty hunter's seen before. Evelyn Soder and her young daughter have gone on the run, leaving an angry ex-husband who's planning to collect on a child custody bond that will leave Evelyn's grandmother homeless. Stephanie's first clue that there's more to it than that comes in the form of Eddie Abruzzi, a shady local businessman who warns her to butt out of the case. Stephanie doesn't scare easily, but when Abruzzi's henchmen leave a bag of snakes on her doorknob and tarantulas in her car, she has no choice but to call Ranger, the hunky man of mystery whom she already owes too many favors. Steph knows that Ranger will soon be calling in his marker, but with her ex- fiancé Joe Morelli out of the picture, that should be OK--shouldn't it? In the meantime, she's got other fugitives to catch, aided by the usual band of misfits, plus a bumbling correspondence-school lawyer who's developed the hots for Stephanie's sister, Valerie. And Steph's in for a surprise from her mother, who proves she's not above wielding a dangerous weapon to save her daughter's life.
Author Janet Evanovich has made a bold move in using a soupçon of child jeopardy to pull this series out of the comfortable but formulaic pattern it was threatening to fall into. It's still funny, and yes, some cars are destroyed, but now there's a real edge of darkness under the humor. Fans needn't fear, though: Jersey girl Stephanie is still full of sass and Tastykakes.


My Thoughts: This series is very interesting. However I didn't like this one as much simply because Plum and Morelli were not together anymore. They made such a great couple and there is a great dynamic between the two. Without that the plot seemed a bit lackluster. However I am still enjoying this series and cannot wait to read the rest of the books.

Books read this year: 9/50. I'm 18% done!!!


Next read(s): I started rereading Jurassic Park since it has been a while.

X-posted to my book community, book_stuff and a whole lot of other places!

Book #8
Book Title: Seven Up
Author: Janet Evanovich
Category: fiction; mystery; humor
# of pages: 337
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best].: B+
Short description/summary of the book: (taken from amazon.com):Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's got a lot on her mind. How does cigarette smuggler Eddie DeChooch, a fugitive so geriatric that even the hot-to-trot Grandma Mazur won't go out with him a third time, keep giving her the slip? How did a woman who died of a heart attack end up in DeChooch's garden shed with five bullet holes in her chest? Who stole a rump roast from Dougie and Mooner, the two lovable potheads who have decided to be crime fighters in Spandex bodysuits? Can Stephanie's perfect sister Valerie make it as a lesbian single mother without driving her family crazy? And--oh yeah--what should Stephanie do about that damn wedding dress on hold at Tina's Bridal Shoppe, waiting for her to decide whether vice cop Joe Morelli's really the one for her?

I did look good in the gown. I looked like Scarlett O' Hara getting ready for a big wedding at Tara. I moved around a little to simulate dancing.
"Jump up and down so we can see how it'll look when you do the bunny hop," Grandma said.

"It's pretty but I don't want a gown," I said.

"I can order one in her size at no obligation," Tina said.

"No obligation," Grandma said. "You can't beat that."

"As long as there's no obligation," my mother said.

I needed chocolate. A lot of chocolate. "Oh gee," I said, "look at the time. I need to go."

To complicate matters further, Stephanie's made a reluctant deal with the devil: if she can't bring in DeChooch by herself, her sexy but dangerous cohort Ranger is willing to help--for a price that a girl who's not-exactly-engaged is uncertain whether she should pay. But when Dougie and Mooner disappear, Grandma is kidnapped, and a crazy widow starts taking pot shots, no one who hides her .38 in a cookie jar is going to turn down a little friendly assistance.

In Seven Up, Janet Evanovich serves up her usual bubbly fare: a totaled car, raucous viewings at Stiva's Funeral Parlor, buffoonish bad guys, and down-and-dirty mud wrestling, all stirred up with some snappy Jersey repartee and a few tart, new twists that will keep her fans impatient. Heaven can't wait for number eight.


My Thoughts: This series is very interesting. This was not one of my favorites in the series. However the ending was a cliffhanger. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

Books read this year: 8/50. I'm 16% done!!!


Next read(s): I'm still reading The Amber Spyglass and I'm going to read the next book in the Stephanie Plum series.

X-posted to my book community, book_stuff and a whole lot of other places!

Book #7
Book Title: Hot Six
Author: Janet Evanovich
Category: fiction; mystery; humor
# of pages: 336
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best].: A
Short description/summary of the book: (taken from amazon.com):Never mind who did the deed with New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum at the end of High Five. Five months later, that night's only a dim, cherished memory, and Stephanie's freezing her butt off on a Trenton bridge trying to keep her friend Carol--caught shoplifting some crotchless panties she was too embarrassed to buy--from committing suicide.

Truth is, I didn't for a minute think she'd jump. For one thing, she was wearing a four-hundred-dollar jacket from Wilson Leather. You just don't jump off a bridge in a four-hundred-dollar jacket. It isn't done. The jacket would get ruined. Carol was from the Chambersburg section of Trenton, just like me, and in the Burg you gave the jacket to your sister, then you jumped off the bridge.
When Stephanie finally talks Carol down and makes it in to work at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, it's only to find that her libido-boosting pal Ranger, the professional bounty hunter and sometime hit man, has disappeared. A building owned by black-market arms dealer Alexander Ramos has burned down, with Ramos's son Homer lying inside, dead from a gunshot wound. Ranger, who was caught on film there by video cameras, is wanted for questioning. Stephanie's boss Vinnie wants her to find him, but Stephanie, who knows she won't find Ranger if he doesn't want to be found, refuses. Soon everyone, from her cop boyfriend Joe Morelli to the two Laurel and Hardy wannabes who suddenly start following her around Trenton in a badass black Lincoln, thinks she's hot on Ranger's trail.
And Stephanie's got other things to worry about. For one thing, Grandma Mazur's moved in with her, and so has Bob, a golden retriever who's only partly house trained. Then Ranger starts popping up at odd times of the night, with instructions for Stephanie to keep an eye on another Ramos son, Hannibal. Add to that one homicidal maniac, a couple more dead bodies, Stephanie's usual bad car karma, and the zit from hell, and you've got yourself one fine Stephanie Plum adventure. Will Stephanie triumph? You can bet a jelly doughnut on it. And there's another great cliffhanger waiting at the end.

My Thoughts: This is a great series! Stephanie's grandmother is hilarious and this plot has many twists and turns. If you like chick lit, murder mysteries, and funny plots then this is the series for you.

Books read this year: 7/50. I'm 14% done!!!


Next read(s): I'm still reading The Amber Spyglass and am about to start reading Seven Up by Janet Evanovich.

X-posted to my book community, book_stuff and a whole lot of other places!