10. Ready Player One

Oh my crone!
This is an AMAZING BOOK!!! I really don't even know how to describe it.

Here is what Amazon has to say...

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. 

That sets you up for the story. It references the decade of the 80's in every pop culture way. 

No more - you just need to read it or listen on audio book as I did. Just amazing.

9. Deeply Odd

This is the 7th Odd Thomas book. Love them all!

It starts with an encounter with a weird cowboy who threatens him. Odd is "drawn" to the cowboys truck and he knows that this bad guy has or is going to hurt some kids. So Odd tries to follow the guy. Here is where a supernatural dimension comes in...

Odd can travel into this dimension and he overhears conversations that lead him to the main event - a bunch of really crazy dark supernatural worshippers who hurt people. A real cat & mouse chase ensues. Winner - Odd Thomas of course!

8. Fly Away

I normally really like this author, Kristin Hannah. But this book was sooooooooooo emotional with everyone making really bad decisions that I did not love it. You just want to smack everyone in the head and tell them to stop being so stupid.
Basically the mom dies of cancer. Her husband is not there emotionally for his kids, the best friend handles everything terribly, and the daughter makes a complete mess of her life and is mad at everyone all the time.

7. A Street Cat Named Bob

This is the true story of how a basically homeless recovering drug addict befriended a cat and how his life was changed. I usually don't love animal stories like this (I think I've said this before) but it was a great story and I fell in love with Bob (the cat). After  having 2 pets with extreme personalities (Hazel & Trouble) I can never be surprised at any animal and what they do.
This is a really good book and I am glad I read it.

6. Political Suicide

This book is a political roller coaster murder mystery. It was so intense at times that is was hard to read. I just couldn't believe some of the no-win situations that the "hero" got himself into. The corruption was so high up and seemed impossible to fix. I can't say that I enjoyed reading it, but I had to finish it to find out what happened.

5. Forever Odd

Another Odd Thomas book. I love Odd, he is a great humble character who fights bad guys with his supernatural gift of seeing ghosts. In this book Odd sees the recently departed dad of one of his best friends. He finds out that he was murdered and goes on an adventure to find the murdered and his kidnapped friend. These books will be classics someday.

4. The Silver Star

This is a great little story about 2 sisters who are being raised by a very artistic yet completely irresponsible mother. The mom goes off for days/weeks at a time and the teenage girls have to fend for themselves. They end up going cross country to find their long lost uncle. Reminds me of the Tillermans (Dicey & crew). Not as good as The Tillerman's though, because I love Dicey!

3. Already Gone

This has a basic good story. A man gets attacked and doesn't know why. Could his past be catching up to him? His new wife is a little mysterious... But the story is a little choppy and elementary in the beginning. So I give it a 5.

2. The Two Mrs. Abbotts

This is the 3rd and final book in the Miss Buncle series by D.E. Stevenson. I love her. The author and miss Buncle!
If you like Anne of Green Gables, then give these a try.

1. The Midwife's Here

I got this book on my kindle because I thought it was the book that the show "Call the Midwife" was based on. It was not, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Great stories about the ups and down of being a midwife in 1970's England.

Also, if you have not seen the TV show mentioned above, watch it. We love it. By we, I mean Megan & I. Mark hates it! Too much stress watching a show about babies being born!

Catching up for 2013

I am sooooo far behind in blogging that I am just going to list my last 20 books or so and do better in 2014 of keeping current!

51. The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna
52. the Best American Mystery Stories 2012 by Robert Crais
53. BROKEN BY Karin Slaughter
54. The 9th girl by Tamil hoag
55. When the women came out to dance by Elmore Leonard
56. High heat by lee child
57. When I found you by Catherine Hyde
58-60. Divergent & insurgent & allegiant by Veronica Roth
61. Austenland by Shannon hale
62. A prayer for Owen meany by John Irving
63. The reason I jump by Naoki higashida & David Mitchell
64. Wonder by r.j. Palacios
65. Pride & prejudice by Jane Austen
66. New earth by Ben bova
67. Odd Thomas by dean koontz
68. Game of thrones by George r r Martin
69. A feast for crows by George r r Martin
70. Marriage carol by Gary smalley
71. Zoo by James Patterson
72. Miss Buncle's book by D.E. Stevenson
73. Miss Buncle's married by D.E. Stevenson
74. Ten lords a leaping by C.C. Venison
75. Wilderness by dean koontz

50. Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

This short book introduces Alex Rider, a 14-year-old hero of British author Horowitz's spy thriller. When his guardian and uncle, Ian, is mysteriously killed, Alex discovers that his uncle was not the bank vice-president he purported to be, but rather a spy for the British government. 
Now the government wants Alex to take over his uncle's mission: investigating Sayle Enterprises, the makers of a revolutionary computer called Stormbreaker. The company's head plans to donate one to every secondary school in England, but his dealings with unfriendly countries and Ian Rider's murder have brought him under suspicion. Posing as a teenage computer whiz who's won a Stormbreaker promotional contest, Alex enters the factory and immediately finds clues from his uncle.

Good short book, good main character, Alex Rider. 

49. Raylan

Okay, if you haven't yet discovered the FX tv series "JUSTIFIED", now is the time. I got this book because the tv series is based off of the author's character, Raylan Givens. Raylan is an US Marshal. And he is so super cool!! Mark and I love the show and can't wait for the new season to start.

Anyway, uncharacteristically, I like the tv show better than the book. Raylan is good in the book Raylan, but he is awesome in the show. Also the other characters, who are minor in the book, are remarkable and unforgettable in the show.

So I say read the book if you love to read. But for sure watch the show!!!

48. Just an Ordinary Day

This is a collection of short stories by Shirley Jackson. I got it because I love "The Lottery", her most famous short story, which I have mentioned before that I think the Hunger Games is based on.

Anyway...I did not love this collection. Not one really memorable story. :(

47. Odd Hours

Another Odd Thomas book. He meets AnnaMaria in this book who comes into play in at least one later book (the Odd Interlude which was my first Odd Thomas book).

Still loving this series!

46. Brother Odd

This is a new author that I am exploring along with his signature character - Odd Thomas.

So far I am loving them. Odd (supposed to be Todd but misspelled on his birth certificate) see the spirits of the recently dead.

In this book, Odd is drawn to a monastery that takes care of severely handicapped children. Then of course, strange things start happening and the adventure begins. This story has an ending and a bad guy that I didn't see coming.

45. The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart

This was a delightful little book. And I listened to it as an audio book. And the Narrator was the WONDERFUL Jim Dale. I could listen to ANYTHING read by him.

I won't spoil this one. It is worth reading. A great little fantastical love story.

FIRSTLY: don’t touch the hands of your cuckoo-clock heart. 
SECONDLY: master your anger. 
THIRDLY: never, ever fall in love. For if you do, the hour hand will poke through your skin, your bones will shatter, and your heart will break once more.

44. The Flight of Gemma Hardy

Spoiler Alert - 

Okay so this book has the following description...

The resonant story of a young woman’s struggle to take charge of her own future, The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a modern take on a classic story—Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre—that will fascinate readers of the Gothic original and fans of modern literary fiction alike, with its lyrical prose, robust characters, and abundant compassion.

It might have been an okay book. But when you say that it is a modern take on Jane Eyre - you better deliver. 

Well, I hate to say that this is NO JANE EYRE. How does a switched identity with your cousin compare to a crazy wife in the attic??? And this Mr. Sinclair is a 3 compared with Mr. Rochester (a total 10 +). You never really get to know Mr. Sinclair. 

Jane Eyre is one of my 10 most favorite books ever, so I was excited to read a so called modern take. I really wanted to like it but I couldn't. So sad.

43. Snatched

This was a novella. By the way, what is the difference between a short story and a novella??
Answer -- 
NOVELLA --a fictional prose narrative that is longer and more complex than a short story; a short novel.
Now we know!

Anyway, I got this cheap on my kindle. And I loved it. I will definitely be reading more of this author. In this story an FBI agent accidentally witnesses a child abduction and the chase is on. Great story that I couldn't put down.

42. A Textbook Case

This is a short story starring Lincoln Rhyme by Jeffrey Deaver. Loved it as usual. Great writer and great character.