#10--9th Judgement

My #10 book was 9th Judgement by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. This is another of my favorite authors and the 9th installment of a great series called The Women's Murder Club.

In this installment it follows detective Lindsey Boxer on some of the most complicated cases yet. There is a case about a burglar that sneaks into wealthy people's homes while they are having parties and steal all their jewelry. However, one night there is a murder at one of the homes and a famous actor's wife is killed. Another case is of a terrorist that hunts down women and their children in public places and threatens chaos on the city of San Francisco.

We also learn more about Lindsey and her friends Claire, Cindy and Yuki on their personal lives and working to solve the cases.

Picture found HERE.

#9--The Shadow of Your Smile

My #9 book is called The Shadow of Your Smile by one of my favorites, Mary Higgins Clark. I have loved just about every book that she has written, and this one did not disappoint.

An elderly women name Olivia and is in failing health, with no children or family she is alone. However, there is a secret that Olivia keeps for her deceased cousin, that could affect her becoming a saint, the face that she had a child that was put up for adoption before entering the convent. If she decides to keep it a secret the unknown family of her cousin would not get any type of inheritance but if she seeks them out it could affect her cousin Catherine's beatification process.

Dr. Monica Farrell is also living in New York City and is working at a Pediatrics hospital. After her parents passed away she dedicated her time to the hospital. Since her father was adopted she does not have many relatives and she is determined to find her father's family.

Can Olivia and Monica meet in time for her to inherit the family fortune before it's all gone?

Picture found HERE.

#8--Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See was the 8th book I read for the challenge. Usually I am not into any type of Asian materials, but I couldn't put this book down after I started it.

The book follows a Chinese girl named Lily throughout her entire life and highlights the roles of women in nineteenth century China. Lily is from a farming family and is secluded in the house almost her entire life. Women cooked and cleaned for the men in the house but rarely left the house. When it came time for her foot binding she was paired up with a "laotong" or "old-same" friend named Snow Flower and they were a huge part of each other's lives from that time on. They experienced foot binding, marriage and learning the women's writing called nu-shu together as well. As they get older they stay in contact, have problems in their relationship but also stay in contact with their secret fan.

This is a great story of friendship and love. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the sequel called Peony in Love that highlights the life of Lily's granddaughter.

Picture was found HERE.

#7--Running with the Buffaloes

Running with the Buffaloes was my pick for #7. It was written by Chris Lear and it highlights the 1998 cross country season of the University of Colorado team.

The author followed the Buffaloes throughout their training, competitions, and everything in between. The main characters that were focused on were the coach Mark Wetmore, the star runner Adam Goucher and Chris Severy. The team has many challenges throughout the season including losing one of their top runners in a motorcycle accident and overcoming challenges to make it a successful season. Included in the book was a lot of their training schedules, along with their distances and times. I was shocked with many of the times and distances these guys were putting in during the season...and I don't know much about running!

Up next....Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Picture found HERE.

#6--Again to Carthage

Again to Carthage by John L. Parker was my 6th book. It is the sequel to Once A Runner, which I have previously read. This was a great second book and the reader really gets to know the characters better.

The main character is Quentin Cassidy, who in the previous book had won a silver medal at the Olympics in the 1 mile race. This book picks up with Quentin wanting to accomplish something new and sets a new goal of competing in the Olympic marathon at the next Olympics. The book follows him through struggles with deaths of family and friends and his training. It really makes you want to go out for a run!

On to #7!

Picture found HERE.

#5--At First Sight

My #5 book is At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks. I really cannot help but to read his books, this is already the last one I can use for the challenge! At First Sight is the sequel to one of Sparks' previous books titled, True Believer, which I enjoyed very much.

In the this book it picks back up on the story of Jeremy and Lexie who in the previous book decides that he will be moving from New York City to Boone Creek, North Carolina to get married to Lexie. This story highlights their wedding on the beach, buying a new house and getting ready for their daughter to be born. Jeremy is having a hard time adjusting to the small town that he has moved to and misses his friends/family back in the city and he's just getting over the shock of having a child (he had a medical problem that would be almost impossible to have one). As you read you understand more about the characters and their relationship, especially when there seems to be a problem with the baby and how they are tested with problems along the way. This book really shows the genuine love between the two people and how to over come all the obstacles along the way.

I think I only have 1 more Nicholas Sparks book to read before I can finally say I've read them all :)

Picture found here.

#4--Confessions of a Shopaholic

My #4 book was Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. This was a really fun read for me. I saw the movie when it came out last summer and thought it was a cute story line so I decided to try the book.

The book was different from the movie in some ways, mainly where the story is set and the language was also different since in the book the main character, Rebecca Bloomwood, is from England. In the book Rebecca gets into trouble with her spending habits, she likes to shop and always has a justification for a new scarf, sweater, pair of shoes or other unnecessary items that she "has to have." Rebecca also has a tendency to put all her purchases on her credit cards and avoids checking the mail when the statements come. After receiving the advice, "either cut back or make more money" from her father, she realizes it would be too hard to cut back (I mean she NEEDS that scarf!), Rebecca decides to try whatever it takes to make more money with finding jobs, trying the 'make money at home' technique and other crazy ideas. This book was very enjoyable and a quick read. I think I'm going to have to read the sequels! :)

Picture found here.

#3--Dear John

My third book I read for the challenge was Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. This is my second book by him for this so I can only include one more....

Dear John is about John a rebellious high school graduate that enlisted in the army to turn his life around. He doesn't have a good relationship with his father, they just don't seem to understand each other, and he doesn't enjoy coming home. One one of his trips home from Germany (where he is stationed), he meets a college student named Savannah who is working in his area with Habitat for Humanity. He helps retrieve her bag from the ocean and ends up hanging out with her for the remainder of his leave. The book highlights their long distance relationship through their letters and feelings. After reenlisting after 9-11 the two begin to fall apart since he now will have another 2 years before he can return home. After returning home to visit his sick father, he finds out that Savannah has moved on and he is faced with several hard decisions in his life, and difficult situations with both her and his father.

This is a very good book but it is also quite sad as well. After seeing the movie adaption, I think I enjoyed the ending and the flow of the movie better than the book, there are a few small adoptions but the movie is pretty accurate to the book. I really enjoyed both the movie and the book and would recommend it to everyone!

Now moving on to the next book....I think I'm going to read Confessions of a Shopaholic next...it's a bit more fun and upbeat then my previous choices! :)

Picture was found here.

#2--The Rescue

My second book is by one of my favorite authors EVER, Nicholas Sparks. The name of this book was The Rescue and it didn't disappoint! I was up half the night just to finish!

The Rescue is about a young woman named Denise who is forced to move back to her hometown in North Carolina after quitting her job to help her four year old son Kyle with his special needs. As a single mother she could no longer afford their life in Atlanta. They are driving home from a doctors appointment when a huge storm hits and they end up in a ditch. When Denise wakes up Kyle is gone. A volunteer fire fighter named Taylor comes to her rescue and helps to find her son in the wilderness. From that moment they have a bond and slowly get closer throughout the summer and Taylor helps Kyle and Denise through their hard times. The story highlights their hard times and struggles but also about love.

This is one of only 3 Nicholas Sparks books that I can use for this....I would definitely recommend this one!

2 down....98 to go....

Picture from:andreasbookclub.blogspot.com/

#1--Born to Run

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall was the first book that I read for the book challenge and it also knocks out one of my 10 non-fiction books!

The book is about the author's (McDougall) quest to find out the secret to running. He goes to visit the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico to find out how they run, this group is known for their ability to run long distances without resting and in a hot climate. In the book the author includes chapters on the science to running and side stories that all come together at the end, when the author himself trains for a 50 mile race with the Tarahumara Indians as well as the best he could find from the US to come down to race.

This book is not something that I would normally read but it was very enjoyable and I would recommend it for anyone that is a runner or would like to get motivated to try it.

Picture courtesy of http://borntorun.org/

I think I'm up for the challenge.....

So, I've heard about a reading challenge that many libraries have been starting to put on, the goal is to read 100 books by 10-10-10. This is a challenge that I think I'm up for! I love reading and I have a growing list of books that I need to read so this is definitely do-able. Here are the guidelines that my sister and I have set up for our challenge:

• 100 books
• Books must have 150 pages
• No more than 3 books by the same author
• 10 must be non-fiction

I'm looking forward to starting the challenge, all the books I have completed will be posted in the blog to keep track and to influence others to maybe choose some of the same books to read! :) If you have any suggestions feel free to leave it in the comments. Gotta go and start reading.....