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

#22 All Adults Here by Emma Straub


I was hoping for a light read and this certainly fit the bill. I didn't like the characters very much.

29: I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying, by Bassey Ipki. A series of "essays" detailing bits and pieces of the life of former Def Poetry Jam performer as she struggles with anxiety and bipolar II disorder.

30: The Solicitor's Son by Rachael Anderson. Guy is treated abysmally by girl's family a long time ago, but he comes back to help her anyway. I didn't really like the way the ending played out.

31: The Jewels of Halstead Manor by Kasey Stockton. Girl goes to her uncle after her father dies and stumbles into some mystery. I felt like this one was poorly written, like the author was just filling space on the pages and it didn't matter if it made sense or was relevant to the story. But the kissing scenes were very well done.

32: The Rise of Miss Notley by Rachael Anderson. I read the previous book in the series some time ago and couldn't really remember what had already happened, so I was a little confused at what was happening, but it didn't really matter. I really liked the story and the characters. The best part was the absence of some very popular historical romance tropes which was so very refreshing.

#23 Something She's not telling Us by Darcey Bell


I enjoyed "A Simple Favor" and saw the movie so I was looking forward to more from this author. There was potential there - Brother with a reputation of choosing erratic girlfriends brings a new one to meet his sister and her family. There's instant tension between the girlfriend and sister which was interesting. It just didn't come together. Very disappointing.

Guess I'll start to number mine:

#18 - The Indian In The Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

A favorite of mine as a child, it was fun to delve back into the story of Omri and his magic cupboard that brings plastic toys to life. I was wondering if it would be age appropriate to read to my daughters this summer, but it's a 1980 book that's a bit...shall we say...stereotyped. Not horribly so, but enough to make me put off reading it to my girls until they are a bit older and can understand that it's a reflection of it's time and not the way we would view things/people today. Still, it's a cute story despite that and, eventually, I'm sure they will pick it up.

#19 - Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Another one from my childhood that I loved. I was into the whole "kid survives on their own in the wilderness" stuff at one point, as evidenced by my earlier stated love of Hatchet. I also read this one with the eye of "can I read this to my girls" and I think the answer to that one is yes. What really got me this time is...I don't think I'd ever read the afterword in the book. This time I did and was both pleased and surprised to find out that, while the story is fictional, the girl it is based on was actually real and she really did live on her own for a period of time. It definitely makes the story all the cooler!

#20 - Timeline by Michael Crichton

One of my favorite Michael Crichton books, I've read this one probably three or four times over the last maybe 20ish years. It's the first book I ever read and thought "I want to make this into a movie when I grow up." (PS - the movie came out when I was in college and it stunk!) I just love getting lost in the medieval world and following along with the time travelers who find themselves stuck there without a clear way home again.

#21 - Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

I read this book for the first time the summer before I entered the 6th grade. It was on my summer reading list (one of those "here's 20 books, choose 5 and do a book report" kind of things) and I had just given up on A Wrinkle In Time. My mom told me I would probably hate Where The Red Fern Grows because it is about a boy who, along with his two redbone hounds, hunts racoons in the Ozark Mountains. I decided to read it anyway and it swiftly became a treasured favorite, even now in my adulthood. I have read it I don't know how many times over the last 27ish years and I have never once made it through without crying by the end. It's just such a beautiful story with a heart shattering, yet equally beautiful, ending.

Also, not sure if it "counts," but my husband has read the first two Harry Potter books to the girls at bed time over the last 2ish months. I've been forced to listen to them against my will (I did fall asleep one of the nights). I'm not afraid to say that I really don't care for them all that much. I'm just not into the drawn out drama of a preteen wizard boy and find them to be all build up with very little in the way of climax and resolution. I've never read the series and I bailed on the movies halfway through. (Hubby had me watch the ones that were out on DVD while we were dating/engaged/maybe married? and then when the rest hit the theatres I declined to accompany him as I really didn't care to see how it ended.)

Yes, I know I am very much in the minority with my viewpoint on the series. I'm okay with that.


Also, I found it HILARIOUS that the girls had exactly ZERO reaction to the Tom Riddle = evil wizard revelation in the second book. This coming from the kids who gasped and then continually asked us "Is that for real?" when we watched Star Wars and Darth Vader told Luke he is his father.

#24 The New Husband by D.J Palmer

Nina's first husband mysteriously disappears and she learns he has lied about losing his job and has been draining their bank account. So of course she falls for a new guy almost immediately and doesn't think to question his background. There's an even sillier twist midway through the book.that had me laughing. Some one on Good Reads described this as a Lifetime movie and I completely agree!

I read too much to keep track. I think this one is about #65 this year for me.

I want to recommend When There Is No Applause by Rene Gutteridge, pub. 2019 by Writing Momentum LLC. This book is written to writers, for writers, by a writer. Here's her dedication.


How can you not love that?

The first chapter is titled "Dear White Page." It's a letter to the blank page facing the writer at the beginning of the writing session, whether it be on a word processor, a typewriter, or a legal pad.

Every chapter - all of which are posts from her blog - is an absolute gem. They're never dull, never boring, and my Kindle tells me the reading time is forty-three minutes. Anyone can get through that.

Don't misunderstand. This book is not about the writing craft, it's about the life of a writer and how very difficult it can be on any number of levels. But there are some good tips in there disguised as "just chatting," both for writing and for life, and they're valuable. Rene's books are well-written, tightly woven, interesting, and easy to read. This one is no exception.

I recommend it to anyone who is writer, a reader, or in need of a time-filler. And let me know how you like it.

#22 The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa

This was a new experience for me. I've never read a Manga before, so there was a bit of an adjustment reading from right to left and from the back of the book forward. But, I'm a huge Zelda fan and Ocarina is my favorite of the games (tied neatly with Breath of the Wild, which I really, really need to get back to). This comic is, in every way, faithful to the game, so it was a lot like "going home" in that sense. (I've been known to go back to Ocarina over and over as time allows.) Non gamers might find the comic a bit abrupt in places, but gamers will recognize that these "jumps" in the action are where the player would be battling their way through a dungeon to get to the final boss. That wouldn't translate well to the page, so instead we have Link entering the dungeon and immediately facing off against the boss.

What struck me the most, however, was how faithful the comic is to the characters. Usually, I find comic dialogue to be very stilted and out of character (I've read my far share of Xena and Evil Dead comics), but not in this case. The goodness and innocence of Link shines through the page in a way I've never seen before. This is especially heartwarming and unexpected as Link NEVER TALKS in the games. So to see him having dialogue that remains true to the silent hero I've loved since 1987 is just incredibly special.

I've already dropped some not so subtle hints to my husband that I would like the other Mangas in the Zelda series.

#25 Time Salvager by Wesley Chu

A decaying future raids the past via time travel to gain resources. Interesting premise. There was blatant hinting that something was really wrong with the time travel organization but I guess that will be dealt with in future books. I'll check them out.

42) The Long Walk to Freedom: 1918-1962: Early Years, 1918-1962 vol. 1 by Nelson Mandela of the many books that I have in my collection, this is the one that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time and for me it didn’t disappoint. Nelson Mandela the first president of a post-apartheid South Africa reflects on his early years of his life, the people who would influence him the most and also the early years of his fight for the rights of his people.

43) The Long Walk to Freedom vol 2: Triumph of Hope, 1962-1994 v 2 by Nelson Mandela In this second part of his autobiography, Nelson Mandela will reflect back on his time while imprisoned on Robben Island to his release and his rise to become South Africa’s first fully democratically elected leader. A wonderful testament to his resilience and his character to remain positive that he could bring about change even in the most dire of circumstances

#26 Becoming by Michelle Obama

I'm not an Obama fan but I read this book for an upcoming book club meeting. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I found I could relate more to Michelle than I originally thought. It was a little annoying that she presented her husband as if he was perfect and could do no wrong.

44) Babysitters’ European Vacation (The Babysitters Club Super Special #15) by Ann M. Martin this was actually ghostwritten by another person, but billed under the series’ creator. In truth this was more a nostalgic memory rather than me actually wanting to read this as I was watching the remade series on Netflix (which I have to say I was impressed with with). If you’ve read the series as a child this follows the same vein, but the girls have all been split with one half in Stoneybrook running a summer day camp for children while the others go on a school trip to Europe. I long stopped reading the series by the time this book was originally published save for an occasional book here and there, but it was nice to revisit the world again. Especially for me most poignant is Stacy’s encounter with a WWII veteran who was a part of the D-Day landings as it took me back to when I visited those very beaches.

45) How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship by Ece Temulkuran Temulkuran, is a Turkish journalist who was fired for criticising the Turkish government. This book serves as a guide to what the warning signs to look out for as a country descends into a dictatorship from a democracy and the rise of right wing populism. This was extremely interesting especially given the current climate of the world and while my opinion of these ‘leaders’ was already set in concrete even before reading this it was great to see how passionate she is about the state of the land of her birth.

#27 Kindness and Wonder: Why Mr. Rogers Matters Now More than Ever by Gavin Edwards

Great book about Mr. Rogers.

#23 Into Darkness by Terry Goodkind

The 5th book in the Children of D'Hara series, this one was satisfyingly longer than its predecessors. Although, I hate to say it, but it *almost* could have been split into two parts, as the first half deals with the threat of the "Witch's Oath" from the previous books and the second half sees the end of the threat from the Golden Goddess that has plagued the characters since the first book in the Children of D'Hara series. I'm glad, however, that it was left as one longer book and not two short ones. I found the end of the Golden Goddess extremely unsatisfying and far too easy, although the author makes up for it in the continued problems Richard faces after ending that threat. And the "Witch's Oath" section was pretty cool but ultimately not at all surprising in who was actually behind it (I called it as soon as I read that a Witch's Oath had been invoked). Still, it was nice to see some familiar faces pop up and have some untied threads finally put to rest and I had fun reading it. I do wonder if he will continue to write further adventures, as it's clear that certain new characters are going to be extremely powerful in their gifts of magic. If more books are written, I will gladly read them.

#28 Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer


Light and fluffy beach read with unrealistic plot turns.

46) Tandia by Bryce Courtenay this is the sequel to The Power of One detailing the struggle for justice during the Apartheid era in South Africa. Tandia is a half Indian half black girl who was brutally raped by a white policeman at her father’s funeral. This event triggers her to join the fight against the injustices brought on by the apartheid regime. Joining her fight is Peekay fresh from Oxford University and the welterweight champion of the world. I’m not into boxing so I could have done without the pages of references to it, but it does form an integral part of this novel. All in all this was a compelling and well written novel

33: The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change by INgrid H.H. Zabel - Somewhat slow and painful beginning, but informational nonetheless. Honestly, I didn't finish the entire book, skimming sections, and skipping other sections altogether that didn't seem to pertain to things I could actually use in my classroom.

34: Bipolar Disorder for Dummies by Candida Fink - Informational, well organized. I did a fair amount of skimming with this one as well. And I spent a good bit of time (after writing this) carrying on about the author's first name...

35: The Pursuit of Lady Harriett by Rachael Anderson - Same Series as Rise of Miss Notley. An interesting story of a woman who sees herself in constant competition with those around her. Heartwarming.

36: Honor and Redemption by M.A. Nichols - This book turned out to have multiple plot lines and it was a great read.

37: The Last Eligible Bachelor by Ashtyn Newbold. I loved this one. Not your usual characters in a historical romance and written from first person.

38: The Noble Guardian by Michelle Griep. This one is actually some other number, I just forgot to mark it. I read it monhts ago. An interesting twist on the classic historical romance.

39: Wedded for the Baby by Dorothy Clark. A rather cheesy read, but enjoyable. Somewhat centered around a fictitional flu epidemic which I was not too happy about showing up in my fiction reading right now.

40: Diamond in the Rough by Jen Turano. Jen Turano's books feature female characters that remind me of Lois Lane - fearless, stubborn, prone to finding themselves in situations where they need someone to save them. This one was named Poppy and she did not disappoint.

The last month has been interesting to say the least.

I was reading a lot at the beginning of the year, but lately not as much. I was working on Jenna Bush-Hager's Book Club from the Today Show. I read about half of the books from this year and then suddenly couldn't read as much.

I read

1. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (heartbreaking story about a boy who survived a plane crash)
2. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (nice easy read that went fast)
3. Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok (hard to read at first, but was nice to hear about another country and it's traditions).
4. A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum (this book I wanted to scream through so many times at the characters but worth the read).
5. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin (I enjoyed this book about the bond between siblings)

Right now I'm listening to Hilarie Burton's The Rural Diaries which I find very entertaining and funny at times.

47) April Fool’s Day by Bryce Courtenay don’t be deceived by the title, because this book is anything but light hearted. While this book does have some light hearted moments, it also reduced me to tears by the end of it which is a hard thing to do. Courtenay wrote this as a testament to his youngest son Damon who would tragically pass away from medically acquired HIV/AIDS due to his having been born a haemophiliac. It details not only the physical struggles with haemophilia and HIV/AIDS, but also the fight against the prejudices surrounding HIV/AIDS during the 1980s. Beautifully written and utterly heartbreaking

#29 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

This was a story about two light-skinned black sisters who grew up in the South during the 40s. Both left home - one passing for white, the other for black. This book had great potential but it fell a bit flat for me.