Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2020/What I've Read in 2020

Excellent points Terry.

#9 Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald


This was an okay story. The characters and setting were interesting. The explanation for time travel unique. But I felt the author could've done more with the premise of the two lovers from different times.

23) The First South Pacific Campaign: Pacific Fleet Strategy December 1941-June 1942 by John B. Lundstrom I ended up being rather disappointed with this one especially when I had the expectation of it being about the Battle of the Coral Sea the first naval engagement in history whereby the adversaries did not see each other in direct surface vessel combat and the first engagement whereby it was fully engaged by aircraft carriers. This is more about American strategy during the early stages of the Pacific campaign and didn’t contribute to me any more than what I already knew.

24) Notes on Nationalism and 25) Fascism and Democracy both by George Orwell both these books (although books is a rather loose description as they are really essays) can serve as a companion read to Orwell’s 1984. I found them both to be insightful and alarming. While they refer to the time period they are written (the latter stages of WWII) they serve as warnings of what dangers extreme politics can pose.

#10 The NIght Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My daughter recommended this one a while back and it's good. Great sense of mystery and magic and an intriguing plot.

26) Timaeus and Critias by Plato for those interested in the story of Atlantis, this is the primary source from which all other mentions of the fabled island that disappeared into the sea derive from. Originally written in two parts, but because they are similar are often put together in modern re-printings. Timaeus is Plato’s writings on the creation of the universe as well as the nature of the physical and eternal world. Critias, is the description of the rise and fall of Atlantis and often seen as a allegory to the hubris of nations. Not a very light read if you were hoping for it to be and certainly for me who is capable of reading books that most people find not enticing this was a hard one even for me to really persevere with still, it is interesting enough.

15) The Earl and His Lady by Sally Britton: I skipped book three in this series because I didn't recognize any of the characters (the first two books were of sisters and there were several in the family, but I didn't even recognize any of the names. This one wasn't about any of the sisters, but I at least recognized the characters. A widow marries an earl to keep her evil brother-in-law from taking her children away after her husband changes his will to exclude him only months before he dies. (audiobook)

16) Daisies and Devotion by Josi S Kilpack. A woman attempts to help her friend find a suitable wife and then (audiobook)

17) Promises and Primroses by Josi S Kilpack. So these two are part of a series in which the men (and I believe there will be a woman in one of the books but it hasn't been written yet) are cousins and their rich uncle is giving them incentives to marry suitable brides (in a good way suitable) This was actually book 1, but I'm glad I read it second. In this one the mother of suitable bride holds a grudge against the uncle. (audiobook)

18)The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery. Valancy finds out she's going to die within the year and decides to do whatever she wants, which includes marrying the towns known bad guy. There were parts of this that I liked and parts of this that I didn't. I liked how Valancy stood up for herself. I didn't like how they went on and on about how not pretty she was. Even her new husband never once told her she was pretty (or even pretty on the inside), not even at the end. I also couldn't keep up with the millions of relatives Valancy seemed to have that were excessively described.
(audiobook that I wish I had a copy of so I could skim the irritating descriptions of her family...)

19) The Truth about Miss Ashbourne by Joanna Barker. This was excellent! Juliana's estranged grandfather leaves her an inheritance that she can only have if she agrees to spend a month with the rest of her estranged family.

20) Kiss by Ted Dekker. I stepped out of my historical romance genre for this one. Doing a bit of research on mystery/suspense/thriller novels. This one was so intriguing that I finished it in a day. Shauna wakes up after an accident and can't remember what happened to get her there. Her quest to figure it out reveals that even things she does remember aren't exactly true either. (audiobook)

Side note: Reading has been a coping strategy of mine, but its been almost all audiobooks because I can clean (my other coping strategy) at the same time.

Heart of Black Ice by Terry Goodkind

I've been reading the Sword of Truth series since 2008, when I discovered the original book(s) were being developed into a TV series by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert (same guys who brought us Xena and the Evil Dead movies - some of my favorites). This latest book does not center on Richard and Kahlan, but on (former) Sister of the Dark, Nicci, as she and her companions as they are split apart while trying to save the world from two rampaging armies. After so many books, I'm still enjoying the series, even if the author can, occasionally, be a little predictable with his solutions to problems. It's still a really fun ride though.

Conceal, Don't Feel by Jen Calonita

A Disney "Twisted Tale" that centers on, of course, Frozen. In this AU, Elsa and Anna began life as sisters but circumstances forced them to grew up apart, with no memory of one another. We see a young Elsa learning how to one day rule Arendelle only to lose her parents just as she did in the film. However, unlike the film, she is unaware of her ice powers until the agony of losing her parents forces them to the surface - her grief makes her create ice. She spends the next 3 years alone with only Olaf for company, while Anna grows up in a different village as the daughter of bakers. When Coronation Day arrives, everything goes awry with Elsa's powers and she and Anna start to remember the past...

21) All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda - another mystery/suspense recommended by a friend (I gave her a list of what I was looking for and this one totally met my requirements: 1st person POV, no gore or explicit scenes, suspense, face paced). I'm not sure I can describe this book without giving it all away. What sticks with me right now is how much I hated the ending. I really hated the ending. It was so good leading up to it. It's written out of order but still in a somewhat logical fashion. And I got over some other little things that bothered me. But I stopped liking the characters about two-thirds through the story, and near the end when I realized where it was going, I hoped and prayed I'd missed something, but no. And now I'm just sitting around feeling cheated and disappointed. It makes me nervous to take any more recommendations from the friend who suggested it.

22) The Bluestocking and the Dastardly, Intolerable Scoundrel by Jenni James. After the last one with the ending I didn't like, I needed a bit of fluff. I appreciated this ending much better, though the story was very cheesy.

23) Brentwood's Ward by Michelle Griep. This one was a nice bit of mystery wrapped up in a love story. Plenty of twists I didn't see coming. It was an audiobook that I finished in a day and now my kitchen (including inside the microwave and under the fridge ) is spotless.

Tomorrow I start teaching from home, so presumably fewer books will be read...

27) China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History, 1912-1949 by James Edward Sheridan this was given to me by a friend who found it in her local op-shop who knew my love of history and in particular the history of this period. While I did already know the basics it also filled in quite a few blanks in my understanding of this period in history of The Republic of China when they were still on the mainland. I’ve always believed that history isn’t entirely black and white, but has shades of grey and of course there are two sides to every story. This certainly is that, it also confirms to me the utter ineptitude of the KMT was apparent even right from its beginnings to now. Even today despite the 70 year exile on Taiwan they still harbour the desire to return even though it is not really the desire of the Taiwanese who are now generations removed from the era.

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

I picked this one up in the local "Little Free Library" where you can put books you don't want anymore and take a new book to read. Wilson Rawls is the author of Where The Ren Fern Grows, one of my favorite young adult books ever. I still reread that one and I still cry like a baby by the end every time. So I was thrilled to find another book by the author (I almost bought it from Amazon but something stopped me). I really enjoyed the book, but I felt like it lacked the emotional gut-punch of Where The Ren Fern Grows. And I found the two books to be almost a little TOO similar to one another - poor boy living in the Ozark Mountains having adventures with his dog(s) and eventually winning/earning money that helps his family in a big way. But overall, I found the story enjoyable and in maybe another year or so, I'll recommend it to my girls, or perhaps read it to them. (Nothing racy or over their heads, but there is a fair amount of "women are crazy and boys can't understand them, boys are hunters and girls stay in the kitchen" because it takes place in the late 1800s, and I'm not sure my girls will fully grasp how different life was back then.)


Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Another favorite from my childhood that I decided to reread. Its been a long time since I last picked this one up and only thought of it because I stumbled upon that fact that there are now 5 books in the series. I had known and read the sequel long ago, but the others are new, so I figured I would restart from scratch. As I've always felt, the book feels almost too short to me. I wish we'd seen more of Brian's struggles to survive and the ending feels a little too convenient and abrupt, but I still find it to be a short, fun little read.

#11 The Night Before by Wendy Walker

Woman goes on blind date and doesn't come home the next day. Her sister is worried and tries to find her.

I thought this was a poor thriller. It was all over the place. I don't recommend it.

The River by Gary Paulsen

A sequel to Hatchet, 13 year old Brian returns to the wilderness with a man named Derrick, in order to show the man how he survived on his own in the woods after the plane crash in Hatchet. I've read this one once before and didn't care for it, and I'm still not overly thrilled with how short it was. Yes, it IS a younger reader novel, but it could have been a beefier story. Brian's new set of challenges seem almost trivial to what he faced in the first book, even with Derrick's life depending on the choices Brian makes. It's disappointingly short, even if it's an okay read.


Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen

This one is an AU of a sorts, exploring what would have happened to Brian if he had not been rescued at the end of summer in the first book. Here, Brian is still stranded in the Canadian wilderness as a brief fall and harsh winter set in. Forced to hunt bigger game for both meat and clothing, Brian faces a whole new set of problems from the ones that nearly killed him in the gentle summer days. As with the others, I wish the book was longer, more in depth, and threw more curveballs at our hero. I wish the series was meant for adults, in order to give us those more involved stories, but I really did enjoy this one, as much as I enjoyed Hatchet.

28) Gallipoli by Peter Fitzsimons Gallipoli is to Australia what perhaps the War of Independence is to Americans in that both events forever defined a nation. Unlike America though, the birth of Australia as a nation (or more correct the Commonwealth) was not established in bloodshed and Gallipoli would be the event that would define Australia as a nation. This goes through the events that would lead to Australia’s involvement in the invasion of the narrow Dardanelles strait and the subsequent withdrawal from the peninsular. There is no doubt that the events of Gallipoli were an unmitigated disaster for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers, but however disastrous the Gallipoli campaign It would be the birth of the ANZAC legend. In Australia we are about to come to the 105 year anniversary of the invasion (April 25) and while the men of that day have long departed, this book brings them to life again serving to remind me that their stories should never be forgotten

29) Retreat from Kokoda by Raymond Paull I once had a chance meeting with a very sweet elderly man who informed me that he was a veteran of this campaign. My deepest regret is that I didn’t have any further opportunity to ask him what he endured because the story of Kokoda (and also that of The Siege of Tobruk) is pretty much the WWII equivalent of Gallipoli and one that is entrenched in Australian legend. This book was one I found on an online charity bookshop (which however many times I tell myself I don’t need to buy any more books I always guilt trip myself by saying the money is going to charity) and I was not disappointed. This brought the story to life and like that of Gallipoli is shrouded in mystery, probably for most Australians like myself this really hits home as it reminds us that the war was literally on our doorstep (not withstanding also that the Japanese had already bombed Darwin) and it was our own troops that drove back the Japanese

Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen


In an interesting turn of events, this book continues after the "AU" of Brian's Winter. Not only did Brian survive the Canadian winter on his own, but he also willingly returned in The River. Here, Brian is haunted by memories of his time in the woods and finds himself unable to adjust to living back in the city. Everything becomes a source of sensory overload/saturation until he finally explodes, beating a bully up after slipping into the "predator/prey" mindset (ie: "I have to keep him down or the predator will kill me"). It's nice to see some consideration given to his mindset and how surviving a traumatic experience changes a person. However, being a parent now, I couldn't get on board and believe the whole "his parents have some concern about letting him return to live in the woods on his own with no assurances that he will come back out - alive or willingly" aspect. It just felt too contrived and the ending was too open ended. (Note: there is an author's note that this would be the final "Brian" book, which would have made the ending awful, IMO.)

Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen

So, this one picks up directly after the last book. Brian is still in the wilderness and still planning to visit the Cree family of trappers that saved him in Brian's Winter. Along the way, he meets a dog who is clearly comfortable with humans, is wounded, and in the middle of nowhere. Brian's instincts kick in, telling him something is terribly wrong.... I liked the book, but again, felt the situation was less enjoyable than the events in Hatchet and Brian's Winter. It's less fun for the reader when the main character is surviving with modern conveniences like a lighter and canoe. The "hunt" was short and disappointing and terribly contrived. And I'm convinced the author can't write an ending to save his life. Once again, it was abrupt, open ended, and not all that satisfying. Still, not a bad read, all things considered.

30) Anzac to Amiens by C. E. W. Bean Charles Bean was an Australian war correspondent during WWI. After the Armistice, he returned home and would write a 12 volume account of Australia’s involvement. This however, is a condensed version of that 12 volume account as Bean believed that the story of what those brave men went through in a foreign land was to be made known to all Australians. What I loved about the book, is that it took me back to my trip to Europe several years ago where I actually visited the battlefields themselves where I had to imagine in my head what it must have been like over 100 years ago. Given the current situation, it served to remind me too that there were many who made greater sacrifices for me.

#12 Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I read this book a few years ago and was excited to see that Hulu was adapting it to a series. There are obvious differences from the start. I started watching the series and kept thinking, "I don't remember it happening this way". So that motivated me to re-read the book. I finished the book but I'm only three episodes into the series. There are big differences between the two. I'm predicting I'll like the book better but we shall see...

31) The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux definitely not my usual read here, but I was curious about the original story after watching the YouTube stream of the 25th anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical. I felt though that it dragged on longer than necessary and therefore made it less suspenseful than the show. What also made it less enjoyable was the fact that it jumped between perspectives of a third party observer to that of a first person’s recollection of the events towards the end which ends up being confusing especially when you get right to the last chapter. I am happy though that I watched the musical first because it allowed me to see why things are often left out of movies or changed when books are adapted into movies and in this instance I vastly prefer the show to the novel which is rare for me.

Ooh! I read that one about 10ish years ago after seeing Phantom on Broadway for the second time. I remember the book having some enlightening moments (the hand at the level of your eyes as mentioned by Madame Giry is because the Phantom might throw a noose over over head and hang you, which is not elaborated on in the show, and I think the book shows Meg as Madame Giry's daughter, which I don't remember the show touching on, but it's also been 10 years...I really should bust out the dvd). But overall, I enjoyed the show more than the book.

Side note: The show you watched on Youtube is available on DVD. So is the sequel, Love Never Dies, which I watched on Youtube over the weekend and did not like, although a few of the songs are still haunting my brain.