REVIEW: The Message in the Hollow Oak

Title: The Message in the Hollow Oak
Author: Carolyn Keene
Finished: September 25, 2010
Pages: 181
Published: 1935
Format: hardback

The twelfth Nancy Drew adventure takes us back in time when Nancy is hired to help find a missing treasure. Mr. Drew is helping some men on a case and on the side they hire Nancy to help out with a corresponding mystery.

Every year a group of men find an adventure of their own, and this year they have chosen to go after the “message in the hollow oak” left by a missionary a long time ago. But they aren’t the only ones searching and soon Nancy finds herself mixed up with some not very nice men.

All the while, she has been invited on an archeological dig near the area she is searching for the message and befriends a great group of people more than willing to help her out.

This was a very fun adventure and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.

*challenges: monthly mixer mele, 1010 category challenge, support your local library challenge, 100+ challenge, nancy drew challenge, september 12×12

Support Your Local Library Challenge – COMPLETE

Hosted By: J. Kaye’s Book Blog
January 1 – December 31, 2010

I loved this challenge. I think I went to the library more this year than I did the previous and I look forward to this challenge again next year and the possibility of increasing my number to the next level.

MY LIST:

1. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
2. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
3. Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain
4. Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
5. You Suck by Christopher Moore
6. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
7. The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene
8. The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene
9. The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene
10. Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
11. Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene
12. Nancy’s Mysterious Letters by Carolyn Keene
13. Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene
14. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
15. Clue of the Broken Locket by Carolyn Keene
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
17. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
18. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
19. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
20. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
21. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
23. Precious by Sapphire
24. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
25. The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene

Romance Reading Challenge – COMPLETE

Hosted by Naida of The Bookworm

January 1 – December 31, 2010

I think I had previously set a goal to read more books than I did but changed it as I really need to get some challenges off my plate and focus on some of the ones that are harder to fulfill. Plus, I don’t think this was the year of the romance for me.

MY LIST:

1. The Day I Shot Cupid by Jennifer Love Hewitt
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

I look forward to this challenge again next year as I have some good Sandra Brown books just waiting to be read.

REVIEW: Committed

Title: Committed
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Finished: September 16, 2010
Pages: 285
Published: 2010
Format: audiobook

The second novel by Elizabeth Gilbert and the “sequel” to Eat, Pray, Love. This journey is about coming into a serious relationship and learning along the way that some things are meant to be and you are willing to do everything to make it happen.

In Committed, the reader has passed through Gilbert’s journey through finding herself and is now learning how to commit to her serious relationship in ways she swore she would never approach again – marriage.

I loved this second just as much as her first. To see the conclusion of this journey and find the happy ending no matter what the means felt more complete than the ending we received in her previous book. There are more demons to face and for any person struggling with the same emotions and conflict, it could be very comforting to know that everything happens for a reason and you will always find your happy ending one way or another.

*challenges: 1010 category challenge, support your local library, 100+ challenge, romance reading challenge, september 12×12