48 Hour Reading Challenge – The Start

I’m off work and finally have some uninterrupted hours for reading. I don’t have an official goal considering from 8am until 5pm tomorrow I will be completely busy babysitting and picking up trash along the highway for work. I have a large stack of books that I need to finish for the Spring Reading Thing challenge that ends on the 20th.

My first goal: finish Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb. I think tonight I will also finish the last two Nancy Drew’s on my list: Sign of the Twisted Candles and Clue in the Broken Locket. After that, who knows.

I am also listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling so while I drive around town I will also be listening to as I drive around town.

Now … onto reading.

REVIEW: Anna Karenina

Title: Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Finished: May 27, 2010
Pages: 935
Published: 1875
Format: audiobook, hardback, e-book

Wow! Two Tolstoy classics down – the biggest and best.

I heard that Anna Karenina was a better story to follow and more intriguing than other Tolstoy works, much like War and Peace was a great classic everyone should read. It took me awhile to get into reading the book, to get the flow, and finally picked up the audiobook, I began to really enjoy it.

I wasn’t sure where the book was going in the beginning and how the title would fit it with everything else, but it didn’t take long to realize where the focus was, the love stories and triangles, the heartache, break and trials of the lives of the characters.

It was another epic tale of the lives of rich, famous, and war wounded. The character development and interpersonal relationships of the characters in this book were so different than in the previous book. I hate to compare, but with their sizes and the same author, you are bound to find similarities. It’s hard to sum up everything about this book – but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the story much more than actually reading the portions I did.

Other Reviews:

• Becky’s Book  Reviews
• My Two Blessings

*challenges: monthly mixer mele, 1010 category challenge, tbr challenge, ryob challenge, support your local library challenge, 100+ challenge, 2nds challenge, romance reading challenge, genre challenge, project fill in the blanks, chunkster challenge, four month challenge, spring reading thing, classics challenge, may 12×12 challenge

REVIEW: To the Nines

Title: To the Nines
Author: Janet Evanovich
Finished: May 26, 2010
Pages: 312
Published: 2003
Format: First Edition

Stephanie Plum is back again and things seem to be going a little bit more smoothly for her, until she has to work with Ranger on finding a man who jumped a very special visa bond – putting Vinny in hot water after he is featured in the papers.

What Stephanie doesn’t realize is that there is a killer targeting her more than his other victims, sending them roses and carnations. Stephanie is forced to leave her cozy apartment, further complicating her relationship with Morelli.When the search leads Stephanie to Las Vegas, she has more problems than losing her bodyguard and Connie and Lula tagging along. Morelli is not too happy about Stephanie teaming up with Ranger and it appears to be with good reason and Stephanie has a hard time keeping her personal life out of the workplace.

I loved this one. Having a little break between the books seems to help with not feeling the repetitive nature of Stephanie’s antics. I haven’t gotten bored yet.

Other Reviews:

• Reading With Tequila

*challenges: 345 challenge, countdown challenge, series iv challenge, stephanie plum challenge, 1010 category challenge, ryob challenge, 100+ challenge, four month challenge, spring reading thing, cozy mysteries, may 12×12 challenge

REVIEW: Who Moved My Cheese?

Title: Who Moved My Cheese?
Author: Spencer Johnson
Finished: May 24, 2010
Pages: 95
Published: 1998
Format: Hardback

Adapted to a very cute cartoon film, this popular film has been used all over the world as a learning/teaching tool for employers.

Who Moved My Cheese? blends a real life example of a group of old high school friends who reconnect and begin discussing their work and personal lives. One brings up this amazing story he heard about two mice and two men who were searching for the perfect “cheese”.

Part two of the book tells the story of the two little mice and the two little men who run out of cheese and have to begin searching their maze to find more cheese. Each has their own personality and method to searching for the new cheese that makes them unique.

This simple story helps every person come to realize why type they are and both their strengths and weaknesses in this short little tale. It was so much fun and great to read. I highly recommend it to everyone.

*challenges: 1010 category challenge, new author challenge, a-z challenge, ryob challenge, 100+ challenge, 30 books to movies challenge, whats in a name challenge, may 12×12 challenge

REVIEW: Password to Larkspur Lane

Title: Passoword to Larkspur Lane
Author: Carolyn Keene
Finished: May 24, 2010
Pages: 175
Published: 1933
Format: Hardback

Nancy’s latest mystery has her searching for the owner of a bracelet that has been snuck to a doctor while visiting a secret compound.

Something is fishy as Nancy finds a pigeon with strange markings and soon links it to a hidden house with some big secrets. It’s a world of mysteries for Nancy when she rescues a young girl only to find out her grandmother has been missing, and the initials on the bracelet become the clue to finding the hidden house and the missing pigeons.

This was a very interesting stories with lots of twists and little clues from all different areas that slowly lead Nancy to finding out the truth … but not before risking her life again.

*challenges: 1010 category challenge, a-z challenge, support your local library, 100+ challenge, nancy drew challenge, what’s in a name challenge, spring reading thing, may 12×12