I found one of the book blogs that I had previously started.  I figured I would link it here, so here it is  http://cgreads.wordpress.com/

Eclectic Reader Challenge

I was googling reading challenges and came across this one at bookd out Eclectic reading challenge.  Since I am new at this, I can't figure out how to post on her blog, so I will just write about it here.  Perhaps by December I will have figured some things out.

Anyway, the challenge is to read twelve books from twelve different categories.  I liked this one because many of the categories aren't books I would normally read.  Maybe I will find a genre that I like that I never would have tried.  Of course, I may find out that I truly do not like a specific genre and that is okay too.

Here are the categories:

1. Translated fiction ~ The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
2. Historical mystery ~ The DaVinci Code (That's right folks.  I've owned this for years and never read it)
3. Romantic suspense ~ One for the Money???
4. Made into a movie~ Options:
   Atonement
   Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
   Catch-22
   The kite runner
   In Cold Blood
5. New Adult
6. Urban Fantasy~ City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instrument book 4)
7. Dystopian ~ The Giver and/or The Maze Runner
8. Memoir ~ Stories I only Tell My Friends
9. LGBT ~ A separate Peace ???
10. Action Adventure
11. Humour
12. Published in 2013 ~ Dead Ever After

"If you need some ideas for what to read in the above categories I suggest you search Listopia at Goodreads for example click here for a list that includes New Adult titles" ~from the challenge website.

My guess is I will have some issues with categories 3, 9, 10, and 11.  but I am heading off to goodreads (if it isn't still overloaded) to try and find the books that I will choose for this challenge.

ETA:  Blue = read/done

The 11th Hour by James Patterson

Since this is the 11th book in this series and I have read all but one (apparently I missed the 10th one even though we own it), it is easy to deduce that I enjoy reading this series.
Lindsey Boxer is pregnant which is part of the cover tease, but really has nothing to do with the book.  There are two high-priority cases going on at the same time.  The first is a string of drug dealer murders.  Someone the press has dubbed "Revenge" is taking out drug dealers on the street.  The second case involves two heads on a stick and 6 more found buried in the ground of an estate belonging to an old movie star who was accused of killing his wife 10 years prior.
The Woman's Murder Club books are always a fun read.  This book is no different. It kept me on the edge of my seat trying to piece together the clues and how they would shake out.  I was not a fan of the infidelity piece of the book.  I felt it detracted from the story instead of enhancing it.  All in all I liked the book.  Three stars doesn't seem to be enough, but 4 seems to be too high (I really liked it), so let's split the difference and go 3.5.

Private by James Patterson

Reading is a strange force in my life.  I can go a long time in between books, but once I start I just want to read, read, read.  I am currently on a reading kick, so last night I finished Private by James Patterson.

Private is similar to other Patterson novels.  It has short chapters, a myriad of cast members in the book, twists and turns, and just when you think you might have a clue it all changes.

Private is a private investigating firm, apparently one of the best in the business.  They have all the technology they could possibly think of, employees with fantastic skill sets, and money to burn.  Private seems to be the beginning of a series for Patterson (much like the Women's Murder Club and Alex Cross series).  The firm picks up three involved and complicated cases:  a football fixing scheme, a serial killer hunt, and exonerating an old friend of murder.

It wasn't the best written novel of our time and it was predictable in that you knew a certain way the Patterson and his crew tend to write, but it was a fun read and it kept me hooked.  If you like the suspenseful writings of Patterson, this book will not disappoint.

While this book won't count toward my 2013 reading challenges,  I figure there is no reason not to post it here.

It begins

I've started a couple of blogs over time, but never stuck with them.  I doubt this one will last the winter break, but I'll give it a shot.  Since I've written so many scholarly papers, I probably won't be a very entertaining blogger but this is mainly for me so it shouldn't matter.

I started this to keep track of the books I read in 2013.  I've joined two reading challenges so far and plan and joining at least one more.

The first challenge is the 100 Novels of the 20th Century challenge (on goodreads.com).  I decided to do the lowest level which means I will be reading 10 of the novels on the list.  My current list that I think I will read is:

1. 1984 by George Orwell

2. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 

3. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 

4. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells 

5. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 

6. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 

7. On the Road by Jack Kerouac 

8. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 

9. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien 

10.An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

They were chosen because either they sounded interesting or I already own the book and just haven't read it yet.

The second challenge that I joined was the "You have the right to remain silent" reading challenge.  This one focuses on crime novels.  As with the previous challenge, I committed to the lowest level (ex-con) and will read one book from each category.  This one should be pretty easy as this is a genre that I do enjoy.

Elementary My Dear Watson - Of course we start with Sherlock Holmes.
The Little Grey Cells of Agatha Christie
True Crime - A book which is based on a real incident (can be fiction or non-fiction).
Watching the Detectives - The central character is a member of the police.
Outside The Law - The central character is a lawyer, private detective, criminal (i.e not a member of the police).
Come Up To The Lab - Central character is a doctor/medical examiner.
Things Ain't What They Used To Be Historical Crime (i.e a book that is not set in the present).
Crime in a Cold Climate - A book that is written by an author from/set in Scandinavia (Norway, Finland, Sweden).

I'm still looking for one more challenge to join.  I'll be back when I do.