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Month: December 2017

My Life as a White Trash Zombie – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

My Life as a White Trash Zombie – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

My Life as a White Trash Zombie   by Diana Rowland is an urban fantasy novel about, you guessed it Zombies.   This is the first in the series and would fit into the First things First category for the 2018 reading challenge.   It would also work as the Sleuthing category as the plot unfolds as a mystery. This book takes a somewhat typical origin story that unfold within the first 15-20 pages, “I’m not sure what happened but brains sound good right…

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The Woman in Cabin 10 – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The Woman in Cabin 10 – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The Woman in Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware is a mystery, who-done-it, thriller that would be perfect for the Sleuthing category for the 2018 reading challenge.     The middle was a little slow but after the midpoint it was a race to the end with some unexpected twists. What is it about?  This book is about a travel journalist, Lo Blacklock  who never really gets the prime destinations for work assignments.  In twist of fate she gets the opportunity to…

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Fangirl – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Fangirl – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a book that would meet the young adult category:  Youthful  Notions in the 2018 reading challenge.  This is story about twin sisters, Cath and Wren (think Catherine split into two names).  They are starting their first year of college. Instead of being roommates with each other, they are going to have a more traditional experience and have roommates that they don’t know.  This causes an internal conflict between the twin sisters as they have always…

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The Name of the Wind – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The Name of the Wind – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss had a birthday this year.  The ten-year anniversary edition came out in October, below is a picture of the latest cover art.  This would be a good pick for the 2018 reading challenge as it would fit into the multiple categories: The Big Bad (depending on version, other versions hover just shy of 700 pages.)  Noteworthy and Acclaimed, Time Warp, First things First,  The Re-Read, Hidden in Plain Sight, Read and Review and…

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Small Great Things – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Small Great Things – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult tackles relevant themes such as prejudice, privilege, race and justice.   It would fit into the the following categories for the 2018 reading challenge:  Criminal Intent for the courtroom procedural portion of the book, & pay it forward as you’ll finish this book and want your friend to read it so you can discuss it. The novel opens with Ruth Jefferson a seasoned labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital. During her shift, Ruth…

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Columbine – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Columbine – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Another school shooting happened this week.  This brings me back to the following book I read this year.  This would fit into the criminal intent category for the 2018 reading challenge.  Columbine by Dave Cullen is a well-researched account of the victims and shooters of the Columbine High School Massacre which took place in 1999.  Dave  Cullen had arrived on the scene in Columbine an hour after the shooting started and this moment in time has forever shaped his life. …

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The Art Forger – 2018 reading challenge suggestion

The Art Forger – 2018 reading challenge suggestion

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro  is a clever mystery revolving around a Boston art heist that took place years earlier in 1990 and Claire who makes her living reproducing famous works of art for an online retailer.  Claire is struggling with the tug of war between having to work and having time to create.  Until she gets an offer from a powerful gallery owner that would put her in a moral tug of war as she would be able…

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Breaking away from Realistic Fiction: Investigating Fantasy Sub-Genres

Breaking away from Realistic Fiction: Investigating Fantasy Sub-Genres

Remember when you thought of books in two categories, fiction and non-fiction? That might be a stretch to think back to elementary school. There is a wonderful world of genres out there and then layers of sub-genres underneath the categories of fantasy, romance, science fiction, horror and western.  Sometimes these are influenced by content, sometimes they are influences by target audience and sometimes despite what genre the author intended, the book gets lumped or shelved in a completely different category…

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11/22/63 – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

11/22/63 – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Sometimes it’s hard enough to pick a book to read that’s 350 pages.   Now double that!  That can be quite the commitment to take on for your leisure reading.  You might as well enjoy yourself while conquering the Big Bad category of the 2018 reading challenge. 11/22/63 by Stephen King is not the classic horror that King is know for.  11/22/63 is fiction, speculative fiction, true crime, historical fiction, science fiction/fantasy.  This one is a complex melting pot of genres. …

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Outlander – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Outlander – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

If you’ve survived your 20s you might have had to choose between two people to date.  Imagine that scenario but escalated to choosing between two different time periods. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon would be an excellent choice for the following categories in the 2018 reading challenge:  The Big Bad as it comes in at 850 pages, Noteworthy and Acclaimed for being a RITA Award for best romance in 1991, Time Warp for historical fiction/science fiction/time travel, It’s All about the…

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