2010 Countdown Challenge

Hosted by 3M at 1 More Chapter

9/9/09 – 10/10/10

• indicates option to read (not actually read)
  

2010 (10 required):

1. The Day I Shot Cupid by Jennifer Love Hewitt
2. Twilight: Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer
3. Linchpin by Seth Godin
4. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
5. Rich Again by Anna Maxted
6. Everything Counts by Gary Ryan Blair
7. The Anah’jari File by Douglas Armentrout
8. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
9. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
10. 9th Judgment by James Patterson

2009 (9 required):

1. Murder of King Tut by James Patterson
2. Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn
3. Power Ambition Glory by Steve Forbes
4. Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson
5. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
6. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
7. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
8. Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain
9. Twitter Power by Joel Comm

2008 (8 required):

1. Smile and Move by Sam Parker
2. Cross Country by James Patterson
3. Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson
4. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
5. Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain
6. The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper
7. In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz
8. Sail by James Patterson

2007 (7 required):

1. Double Cross by James Patterson
2. The Shack by William P. Young
3. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
4. Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
5. You Suck by Christopher Moore
6. 6th Target by James Patterson
7. Extras by Scott Westerfeld

2006 (6 required):

1. Cross by James Patterson
2. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
3. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
4. 5th Horseman by James Patterson
5. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
6. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

2005 (5 required):

1. Free Stallion by Amber Tamblyn
2. Pretties by Scott Westerfled
3. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
4. Dear Jane Austen by Patrice Hannon
5. 4th of July by James Patterson

2004 (4 required):

1. Generation Kill by Evan Wright
2. 3rd Degree by James Patterson
3. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
4. The Narrows by Michael Connelly

2003 (3 required):

1. To the Nines by Janet Evanovich
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
3. Lost Light by Michael Connelly

2002 (2 required):

1. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
2. Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

2001 (1 required):

1. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

2009 Countdown Challenge – COMPLETE

I absolutely loved this challenge, and just barely made it. I think the next round will be easier as I become more familiar with the new books out. I know 3M has already started it up, so I should be posting my challenge page soon,

2009 (9 required):

1. Fool by Christopher Moore
2. Twilight Director’s Notebook by Catherine Hardwicke
3. 8th Confession by James Patterson
4. Mommywood by Tori Spelling
5. Swimsuit by James Patterson
6. Take Your Shirt Off and Cry by Nancy Balbirer
7. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
8. Run For Your Life by James Patterson
9. The Noticer by Andy Andrews

2008 (8 required):

1. 7th Heaven by James Patterson
2. Smoke Screen By Sandra Brown
3. Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
5. Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson
6. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
7. Influence by Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen
8. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

2007 (7 required):

1. You’ve Been Warned by James Patterson
2. The Quickie by James Patterson
3. You Know You’re a Writer When by Adair Lara
4. Love is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison
5. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles
6. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan
7. Step on a Crack by James Patterson

2006 (6 required):

1. With Our Good Will by Doug Copsey
2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
3. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
4. Startled By His Furry Shorts by Louise Rennison
5. Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
6. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

2005 (5 required):

1. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison
2. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
3. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
4. Marley and Me by John Grogan
5. Mary Mary by James Patterson

2004 (4 required):

1. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
2. Dancing in My Nuddy Pants by Louise Rennison
3. santaKid by James Patterson (children’s book)
4. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel by Louise Rennison

2003 (3 required):

1. Journals by Kurt Cobain
2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
3. The Lake House by James Patterson

2002 (2 required):

1. Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas by Louise Rennison
2. Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

2001 (1 required):

1. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

2009 RYOB Challenge – COMPLETE

• read from your own collection between January 1st and December 31st, 2009

My Goal – 50 Books

1. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
2. Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
3. You Know You’re a Writer When by Adair Lara
4. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
5. C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton
6. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
7. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
8. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
9. Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson
10. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
11. The Writer’s Idea Book by Jack Heffron
12. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
13. Fool by Christopher Moore
14. Roses are Red by James Patterson
15. Twilight Director’s Notebook by Catherine Hardwicke
16. Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
17. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
18. Love Letters of Great Men Vol 1 by John C. Kirkland
19. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
20. Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
21. Violets are Blue by James Patterson
22. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
23. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
24. 8th Confession by James Patterson
25. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan
26. The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner
27. Step on a Crack by James Patterson
28. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
29. Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg
30. Atonement by Ian McEwan
31. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
32. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
33. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
34. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
35. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
36. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
37. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
38. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
39. Swimsuit by James Patterson
40. Take Your Shirt Off and Cry by Nancy Balbirer
41. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories by Norman Maclean
42. Marley and Me by John Grogan
43. Four Blind Mice by James Patterson
44. Run For Your Life by James Patterson
45. Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
46. The Noticer by Andy Andrews
47. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
48. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
49. Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
50. London Bridges by James Patterson

I think next year I may aim for a higher number to force myself to continue reading books I already own. At this rate, the number will never go down.

REVIEW: Mary Mary

Title: Mary Mary
Author: James Patterson
Finished: September 9, 2009
Pages: 308
Published: 2005

I’m on a roll with the Alex Cross series. With Alex having finished his latest serial case, he’s finally on a decent vacation with his family. But you can always anticipate what is coming up next, when Alex gets called to check out a homicide in Los Angeles.

But one murder mystery turns into more as the rich and famous start to die under tragic circumstances. It becomes the case that tests Alex’s family the most, causing rifts between all the loves of his life.

Alex is forced to make choices that compromise not only the case but his personal life, which could leave him unemployed and without family.

This may have been one of my favorites so far. Lots of mystery and intrigue, different from some of the others, but a great combination of the storylines.

*Challenges: 999 Challenge, 100+ Challenge, Countdown Challenge, Series Season 3, James Patterson Challenge

REVIEW: London Bridges

Title: London Bridges
Author: James Patterson
Finished: September 6, 2009
Pages: 391
Published: 2004

The next Alex Cross adventure fits perfectly with the previous book. Alex is still hunting for the Wolf, and comes across another familiar killer.

All the while, Alex is still struggling with him family life, finding that maybe the FBI isn’t all he thought. Everyone begins to suffer and while Alex tries to finally catch a couple killers, he’s watching his kids grow up without him.

I really enjoyed this Alex Cross novel. They seem to keep getting better as the characters develop and the conflict continues to ebb and flow with Alex’s life. I’m speeding through these final books to catch up to the present. The newest titles and releases have me very curious as to what Patterson has up his sleeve for Cross but if it’s anything like the past, I’m sure it’s going to be amazing.

*Challenges: 999 Challenge, 100+ Challenge, RYOB Challenge, Series Season 3, James Patterson Challenge