My October Reads

I had another really good reading month. I read 14 full length books and a few shorts. As per usual, the number in parentheses is where the book falls in my running tally for the year. The number immediately after that is where the book falls in my tally just for the month.

* (164) Book 1 - Rogue Angel Book 16: Polar Quest by Alex Archer (audio) (HQ)

* (165) Book 2 – The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag (audio)

* (166) Book 3 – Wild Country: Cold Case Affair by Loreth Anne White (print) (HQ)

* (168) Book 4 – Everything But a Christmas Eve by Holly Jacobs (print ARC)

* (169) Book 5 – Glass Book 2: Sea Glass by Maria V Snyder (print) (HQ)

* (170) Book 6 – Agent Pendergast: The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (audio)

* (171) Book 7 – The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer (audio)

* (172) Book 8 – Last Kiss by Luanne Rice (audio)

* (173) Book 9 – The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson (audio)

* (174) Book 10 – The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (audio)

* (175) Book 11 – Druids of Avalon Book 3: Silver Silence by Joy Nash (print ARC)

* (176) Book 12 – Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz (audio)

* (177) Book 13 – The Sentinel Wars Book 1: Burning Alive by Shannon K Butcher (print)

* (178) Book 14 – Three Wishes by Barbara Delinsky (audio)

 

And the shorts:

* (167) Faery Rose: Dragon Healer by Rachel Reeves (short eBook)

* (167) Snowbound: Snow Dream by Michele Bardsley (short eBook)

* (167) Demon Hunters Inc Book 1: See No Evil by Michele Bardsley (short eBook) 
 

Kelley

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My September Reads

Had another really good month for reading. I finished 15 full length books (mostly audio books) and 9 shorts. I was surprised to finish so many considering that while I had vacation this month, I didn't get nearly as much reading in as I normally do (on a typical vacation I read a book a day and I only finished 5 plus 4 or 5 shorts in the entire 2 weeks). As always, the number in parentheses is where the books fall in my running tally for the year. The second number is where they fall in my tally for the month.

 

September 2009:

 

* (147) Book 1 – The Book of Names by Karen Tintori (audio)

 

* (148) Book 2 – And Then You Die by Iris Johansen (audio)

 

* (149) Book 3 – Deadlock by Iris Johansen (audio)

 

* (150) Book 4 – Dark Horse by Tami Hoag (audio)

 

* (151) Book 5 – Whispers in the Blood: A Kate Shugak Novel by Dana Stabenow (audio)

 

* (152) Book 6 – The Champion Chronicles Book 1: Retribution! By M Flagg (eBook)

 

* (153) Book 7 – Mothers of the Year by Lori Handeland, Rebecca Winters, Anna DeStefano (print) (HQ)

 

* (154) Book 8 – Absolute Fear by Lisa Jackson (audio)

 

* (156) Book 9 – Draicon Book 3: Immortal Wolf by Bonnie Vanak (print) (HQ)

 

* (157) Book 10 – Here Lies Arthur by Phillip Reeve (print ARC)

 

* (159) Book 11 – Mr. and Miss Anonymous by Fern Michaels (audio)

 

* (160) Book 12 – Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs (audio) (HQ)

 

* (161) Book 13 – Dark Summer by Iris Johansen (audio)

 

* (162) Book 14 – The Lost Hours by Karen White (audio)

 

* (163) Book 15 – Mortal Path Book 1: Dark Time by Dakota Banks (print)

 

* (155) Time Raiders: The Seduction by Cindy Dees (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (155) Wrapped and Ready by Julie Kenner (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (155) Wild, Tethered, Bound by Stephanie Draven (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (155) The Wind Keepers Book 1: Winter Kissed, Fire Bound by Anna Hackett (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (158) Lords of the Underworld: The Darkest Prison by Gena Showalter (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (158) Savage Dragon by Anna Hackett (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (158) After the Kiss by Michele Hauf (eBook) (HQ)

 

* (158) Wolf Bait by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom (eBook) (HQ)

 

Josie by Lora Darling (eBook)

My August Reads

Not a bad month at all. I finished 16 full length books and four shorts. So here they are. The number in parentheses is where they fall in my tally for the year. The second number is where they fall in my tally for the month.  

 

* (130) Book 1 – Jane Rizzoli Book 2: The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen (audio)

* (131) Book 2 – Pregnant Mistresses: Price of Passion by Susan Napier (eBook) (HQ)

* (132) Book 3 – The Walker Papers Book 3: Coyote Dreams by CE Murphy (audio) (HQ)

* (133) Book 4 – Invitation to Provence by Elizabeth Adler (audio)

* (134) Book 5 – Agent Pendergast: The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (audio)

* (135) Book 6 – Jane Rizzoli Book 3: The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen (audio)

* (136) Book 7 – Seduced by a Stranger by Eve Silver (print)

* (137) Book 8 – Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (audio)

* (138) Book 9 – The Revenge of the Sisterhood Book 10: Fast Track by Fern Michaels (audio)

* (139) Book 10 – The Nobility Book 1: Noble Blood by Linda J Parisi (print)

* (140) Book 11 – The Colby Agency: Investigating 101 by Debra Webb (audio) (HQ)

* (141) Book 12 – Arcane Society: The Third Circle by Amanda Quick (audio)

* (142) Book 13 – The Hollows: The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison (audio)

* (143) Book 14 – Codex Alera Book 1: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (audio)

* (145) Book 15 – About Face by Fern Michaels (audio)

* (146) Book 16 – Fever Book 4: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning (audio)

 

And four short stories:

* (129) Keegan's Bluff by Dani Sinclair (eBook) (HQ)

* (144) Beyond Magic: Beyond Dreams by Elaine Cunningham (print)

* (144) Beyond Magic: Hill and Sky by Kassandra Sims (print)

Lord John Grey: Hellfire by Diana Gabaldon (short audio)

 

Current Reads:

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs (audio) (HQ)

Cry No More by Linda Howard (audio)

The Champion Chronicles Book 1: Retribution! by M Flagg (eBook and print - back and forth as needed)

Dark Horse by Tami Hoag (audio)

Deadlock by Iris Johansen (audio) 

 

Kelley

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My July reads

Not one of my best months but still pretty good. And that's more because I went on a "shorts" reading binge and did a lot of those for a break. I still finished 12 novels even doing that, so pretty good. And I got in 13 shorts so if not for all the shorts, this would've been a really good month for books. LOL

 

The asterisks don't mean anything. that's just how I track whether or not I've blogged the book/story for the 100,000 Book Challenge I'm participating in yet. Number in parentheses is where the books fall in my running tally for the whole year. The "book #" is where it falls in my tally for the current month. I don't assign "book #'s" to shorts since I use those #'s only for full length novels, not stuff I'm combining to reach the set page count for it to qualify at the Challenge. HQ means it is a Harlequin read since I have to track those to make sure I'm meeting one of the requirements on the Challenge.

 

July 2009:

* (111) Book 1 – The Blade Keepers Book 1: Knight in Blue Jeans by Evelyn Vaughn (print) (HQ)

* (112) Book 2 – Agent Prendergast Book 2: The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (audio)

* (113) Book 3 – Chicks with Sticks Book 2: Loves Me, Loves Me Knot by Heidi Betts (eBook)

* (114) Book 4 – Can You Keep a Secret? By Sophie Kinsella (audio)

* (115) Book 5 – The Door to December by Dean Koontz (audio)

* (116) Book 6 – Fostering Family: The Family He Wanted by Karen Sandler (eBook) (HQ)

* (117) Book 7 – Jane Rizzoli Book 1: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen (audio)

* (118) Book 8 – The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (audio)

* (119) Book 9 – Famous Families (Men of the Double-C): A Weaver Wedding by Allison Leigh (eBook) (HQ)

* (121) Book 10 – Women of the Otherworld Book 8: Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong (audio)

* (122) Book 11 – Summer Island by Kristin Hannah (audio)

* (123) Book 12 – Light Warriors Book 3: Edge of Dawn by Patti O'Shea (print)

 

And the shorts:

* (120) Draicon: Darkness of the Wolf by Bonnie Vanak (eBook) (HQ)

* (120) Aspect of Crow: Wild's Call by Jeri Smith-Ready (eBook) (HQ)

* (120) Atlantis: The Amazon's Curse by Gena Showalter (eBook) (HQ)

* (120) Primal Instinct: Edge of Craving by Rhyannon Byrd (eBook) (HQ)

* (126) Soul Screamers: My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent (eBook) (HQ)

* (126) Blazing Bedtime Stories: Once Upon a Bite by Kimberly Raye (eBook) (HQ)

* (129) Harlequin Mini Round Robin: Night Magic by Mia Zachary et al (eBook) (HQ)

* (124) Anticipation by Patrice Michelle (eBook)

* (124) Strange Angels Prologue by Lili St. Crow (eBook)

* (125) Four Dukes and a Devil: The Duke Who Came to Dinner by Elaine Fox (print)

* (125) Four Dukes and a Devil: Devil to Pay by Jeaniene Frost (print)

* (126) Harlequin Mini Round Robin: The Rancher and the Rose by Carolyn Zane et al (eBook) (HQ)

* (129) You Must Remember This by Laurie Paige (eBook) (HQ)

 

Kelley

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My June Reads

I was down a bit from last month's numbers, but still had a pretty good number finished, considering I didn't have any vacation or downtime at conventions. I came in at 16 for the month plus one novella length book. I did have a 5 hr one way road trip for work but I was listening to a long one during that time so I only finished one book in the car on that trip. And I did hit my book 100 two weeks earlier than necessary for reaching my goal for the year so I'm still doing really well and expect to surpass my goal this year again. :-)

I had one more I had hoped to finish by the end of the month but it didn't quite happen. I've only got about 3 chapters left of it but... it'll be counted for July.

The number in parentheses is where they fall in my running tally for the year. The "Book #" is where they fall in my tally for the month.

* (93) Book 1 – Smokescreen by Sandra Brown (audio)

* (94) Book 2 – Let It Ride by Jillian Burns (print) (HQ)

* (95) Book 3 – The Morcai Battalion by Diana Palmer (audio) (HQ)

* (96) Book 4 – The Revenge of the Sisterhood Book 8: Hide and Seek by Fern Michaels (audio)

* (97) Book 5 – Taken by Chris Jordan (audio) (HQ)

* (98) Book 6 – Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night edited by James Patterson (audio) (HQ)

* (99) Book 7 – Wings of Refuge Book 4: A Soldier's Reunion by Cheryl Wyatt (print) (HQ)

* (100) Book 8 – Jackson's Retreat Book 3: The Taking of Carly Bradford by Ramona Richards eBook) (HQ)

* (103) Book 9 – More than Men: Red-Hot Ranchman by Victoria Pade (print) (HQ)

* (104) Book 10 – Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down edited by Clive Cussler (audio) (HQ)

* (105) Book 11 – Paradox III by JC Wilder and Rosemary Laurey (eBook)

* (106) Book 12 – The Revenge of the Sisterhood Book 9: Hokus Pokus by Fern Michaels (audio)

* (107) Book 13 – Blossom Street: Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (audio) (HQ)

* (108) Book 14 – Feral Warriors Book 1: Desire Untamed by Pamela Palmer (print ARC)

* (109) Book 15 – What You Wish For by Fern Michaels (audio)

* (110) Book 16 – The Greatest Generation Speaks by Tom Brokaw (audio)

And one novella this month:

Song of the Muses: Dancing with Fate (Terpsichore) by Hywela Lyn (eBook) (91 pages)

books to movies - My Sister's Keeper

This is something of a rant so be prepared. :-) But you know what? I’ll probably STILL buy the DVD when it’s released. LOL

I love that so many books get made into books nowadays and at the same time I am glad more aren't made into movies. How's that for a contradiction? LOL And let me preface the rest of this post by saying how I have been waiting for this movie ever since I first heard about it because I was absolutely dying to see this particular big screen adaptation after how wrung out emotionally I was by reading the book.

I also have a very important rule about seeing those movies. If I haven't already read the book I do NOT read it until after I go see the movie. Otherwise the movie is ruined for me because I constantly compare it to the book.

I went to see My Sister's Keeper tonight. I read the book several years ago so it fit the rule mentioned above. I know the book is a total tearjerker so I went in to the movie prepared with plenty of Kleenex. And I most definitely needed them. And that’s OK. I was in the mood for a good heart-wrenching emotional movie which is precisely why I picked this one to see instead of Transformers (the other movie I was considering for tonight).

Unfortunately, even though I read the book a long time ago, I still remembered certain things about it and a couple of those things actually ruined the movie for me. They did do a pretty decent job sticking to the book but a few of the changes made were a little bit too big of a change for me. They even tried to keep the style of the book, with each chapter being a different character's POV by having different scenes told from different characters' perspectives.

I'm going to try to keep this spoiler free but just in case I slip and don't think of something as a spoiler that really is.....

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They cut out almost Jesse's entire story (the big brother of Kate and Anna Fitzgerald). There were a few snippets from his POV but they cut out most of his story. His story doesn't really contribute a huge amount to the relationship between Kate and Anna which is the heart of the book but his part adds a deeper, darker element to the story as we see what happened to HIM as a result of living a life revolving around keeping Kate alive and the pressure that put on him.

They also cut out some of the parts about what their parents did to save Kate (starting with the number one priority about Anna's birth being to get the cord blood to the doctors to use in Kate's treatment before they even worry about how newborn Anna is doing.) I think they felt the lengths the parents went to was well represented in the scenes occurring in the courtroom. And that cutting those parts out maybe made Mom (Sarah) more sympathetic to the viewers. But those scenes in the book show so strongly exactly WHAT Anna’s life had been like and the real reason her parents even decided to have another child. And more importantly why Anna wanted medical emancipation and how much she struggled with the decision that basically would kill her sister.

Now it HAS been a while since I read the book but I totally do not remember the part about the revelation in the courtroom as to Anna's real reason for suing for medical emancipation. I don't remember that part at all but that could be attributed to just plain forgetting. But I really don't think it was something I forgot. I think that part of the story was changed to lead to the part that REALLY was changed and actually upset me quite a bit they changed this other part….

They COMPLETELY changed the ending! Well almost completely, they kept one small facet of the ending (the outcome of the lawsuit Anna files against her parents). I was FURIOUS!!! about that changed ending! One of the most incredible parts of the book is the ending since it is a total and utter shocker that I never saw coming. I was angry at first with the way the book ended, but after a lot of thought on it, I came to accept the book's ending and saw it as a fascinating part of the story, as much as it blew me away, showing that sometimes Fate is a real b!%*h. (FYI, this was the first Picoult book I ever read so I did not know at the time she’s kinda known for doing that.)

I know they changed it to try to make the movie a little more uplifting, or as uplifting as can be when it's about a teenager dying of leukemia. And her younger sister having been genetically engineered before birth to be an exact match for her so as to be used as "spare parts" for her big sister. I think they were trying to spin the story a little bit differently with the ending they used but still...

I felt cheated out of that extra emotional investment! I cried buckets already through the whole movie but the ending in the book is the biggest tearjerker of all of them in the book (though for different reasons). And to not be given that part! The almost ending of the movie (I guess it would be the ending before the epilogue if it were a book) was meant to be a tearjerker but I was so surprised they changed it, I didn't even get THAT cry out of the movie! I was too busy thinking "how could they change it like that!" to cry over the scene. Which upset me even more. LOL

My May Reads

I had an excellent reading month in May. It helped I had that one week's vacation where I got some reading in and a weeklong convention with a lot of downtime spent reading. And with the Kindle, it is SOOO much easier to read while exercising now since I don't need to hold the book open on the book shelf on the gym equipment! LOL I read a total of 20 books (my best yet this year). I also finished twelve novellas, about half of which have so far been counted towards the equivalent of a full book. I could have read even more, but I downloaded a lot of samples to my Kindle so read a lot of first chapters to decide whether or not to buy a book. I wish I could count those towards my numbers! LOL

The number in parentheses is where they fall in my running tally for the year. The "Book #" is where they fall in my tally for the month.

* (69) Book 1 – Ghost Hunter Series: Ghost Hunter by Jayne Castle (audio)

* (70) Book 2 – Wings of Refuge Book 3: Ready-Made Family by Cheryl Wyatt (print) (HQ)

* (71) Book 3 – The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor by Diane Gaston, Deb Marlow, Amanda McCabe (print) (HQ)

* (72) Book 4 – The Relics of Merlin Book 3: Enchanting the Beast by Kathryne Kennedy (eBook)

* (73) Book 5 – Shifters Book 2: Rogue by Rachel Vincent (audio) (HQ)

* (74) Book 6 – Mistletoe Reunion by Anna Schmidt (print) (HQ)

* (75) Book 7 – Golden Threads by Kay Hooper (audio)

* (76) Book 8 – Rogue Angel Book 15: Swordsman’s Legacy by Alex Archer (audio) (HQ)

* (77) Book 9 – Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux (audio)

* (78) Book 10 – Dry Creek: Dry Creek Sweethearts by Janet Tronstad (print) (HQ)

* (79) Book 11 – The Sentinels Book 3: Touched by Light by Catherine Spangler (eBook)

* (80) Book 12 – While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky (audio)

* (81) Book 13 – A Woman Betrayed by Barbara Delinsky (audio)

* (82) Book 14 – Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts (audio)

* (84) Book 15 – Shifters Book 3: Pride by Rachel Vincent (audio) (HQ)

* (85) Book 16 – Love in 60 Seconds Book 2: His 7-Day Fiancée by Gail Barrett (print) (HQ)

* (86) Book 17 – The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman (audio)

* (87) Book 18 – Kiss by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy (audio)

* (89) Book 19 – Catch a Mate by Gena Showalter (audio) (HQ)

* (92) Book 20 – Atlantis Book 2: The United States of Atlantis by Harry Turtledove (audio)

Novellas:

* (91) A Red Hot Valentine’s Day: Hell Is Where the Heart Is by Jackie Kessler (print)

* (83) Ur by Stephen King (eBook)

* (88) The Christmas Visit: Love at First Step by Terri Brisbin (print) (HQ)

* (88) Midnight Clear: Let It Snow by Debbie Macomber (print) (HQ)

Song of the Muses: Ancient Musings (Calliope) by Skhye Moncrief (eBook) (83 pages)

* (90) One Candlelit Christmas: Blame It on the Mistletoe by Terri Brisbin (print) (HQ)

Songs of the Muses: Destiny’s Light (Euterpe) by Robyn Wren (eBook) (87 pages)

* (90) A Bride by Christmas: Home for Christmas by Heather Graham (print) (HQ)

* (91) Love Beyond Time: Forever by Bobby Hutchinson (print)

Love Beyond Time: Time-Stolen Love by Bobbi Smith (print) (71 pages)

Cravings: Originally Human by Eileen Wilks (print) (102 pages)

Cravings: Burning Moon by Rebecca York (print) (95 pages)