The 2020 Book Hoarders Reading Challenge

The only reading challenge I set for myself at the beginning of the year was to read some Pulitzer prize winning novels. I didn't do that at all. Not even a single one... Oops.

I was browsing around for a reading challenge to do in 2021, and I found a group on Facebook called The 2020 Book Hoarder Reading Challenge. I joined the group and while the 2021 challenge hadn't been posted yet, the 2020 was still up and available to do. I looked through the different prompts and realized that I had a few books I could use for this challenge. I went through my Goodreads, looking at books I'd read this year and when I was done, I only had five empty prompts. This was the week of Thanksgiving. I challenged myself to finish the challenge, and by the next week, I had. 

My two favorite books from this challenge were Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah and Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale Jr. The first was an emotional roller coaster and the second was fun and had been on my list to read since watching the movie many, many years ago. It felt really great to finally check that off my list, and it made me want to watch the movie again.

My least favorite was Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo: it just went on and on and on. The writing was dull and the story was not engaging. I struggled to finish that one. 

One of the last prompts I needed was number 12, Rainy day. I stumbled upon The Children Act by Ian McEwan and was so glad I did. It was a very interesting read and this occurrence reminded me why I participate in reading challenge. Those random finds are often pretty good. 

Here is the list of prompts along with the book:

1. Star on the cover or in the title: Secret Star by Nora Roberts

2. You Liar! Word Liar or Lies in Title: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott

3. Flower on the cover or in the title: The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton

4. Read in October: Plain Jane Wanted by Rose Amberly

5. State name in the title: New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

6. Read in April: The Bridges of Madison County by James Robert Waller

7. Five star read: Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks

8. Over 350 pages: The Prince of Wales by Jonathan Dimbleby

9. Finally! On TBR forever: Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale Jr.

10. Red-Cover or title: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

11. Make it a movie: The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

12. Rainy Day-umbrella or rain on cover: The Children Act by Ian McEwan

13: House on the cover or in the title: Captive Star by Nora Roberts

14. Just a girl (Only a girl on the cover): The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin

15. I've lost my head (head chopped off at nose): Brazen Virtue by Nora Roberts

16. Just walk away (person walking away on cover): The Suicide Killer by Zach Lamb

17. Read in a day: Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks

18. Love or Hate in the title: Speaking the Truth in Love by Kenneth C. Haugk

19. Random Read: The Au Pair by Emma Rous

20. Clouds on the cover or in the title: Murder at the Village Fete by Catherine Coles

21. Number in the title: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

22. Freebie: Try Easy by Jill Brashear

23. Food or drink on the cover or in the title: The Bake Shop by Amy Clipston

24: Two female authors: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings)

25. Not Your Norm Genre: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

26. New to you author: Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead

27. Trees on cover: Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin

28. Time of day in title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

29. Over 1000 ratings on Goodreads: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

30. Seasonal: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

31. By an author you'd love to meet: Hidden Star by Nora Roberts

32. I can relate (relate to main character): You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Bonus:

1. Won in a giveaway: One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty

2. ARC: Trade Secrets by V.K. Tritschler

3. Over 475 pages: Pieces of Her by Karen Slaughter

4. Non Fiction: Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith

5. Never Ending Story: Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

I didn't write reviews for all of them because sometimes I forgot, and sometimes I just didn't have much to say. I did give them all a rating on Goodreads, so check them out there!

The President is Missing: James Patterson & Bill Clinton

James Patterson is an excellent writer, and to have a former president on your team as you write this presidential novel was an excellent move on his part. 

As I was wondering what to write in my review, I thought of a roller coaster. They most often start slowly, climbing up the steepest hill, and once they drop, there are rarely pauses or chances to catch your breath. This is how I felt reading this book. It took a while to get going, to the point where I was worried I would be disappointed by Patterson. But then the drop came, and it never stopped. 

The thrill and urgency is keenly felt by readers as they go along with President Duncan, trying their hardest to keep up, keep their breath, and solve problems alongside the POTUS. It was definitely a fun ride.

The many twists and turns kept me on my toes and meant that rereading chapters was occasionally necessary to make sure I caught each minute detail as we all tried to nab the "bad guy," so to speak. 

President Duncan was a fun main character, a great narrator, and an all around clever "detective." He was brave and bold, while having seriously human qualities: fatherhood, widowhood, sickness, etc. He was a real human, a character we can get behind and root for, a character we desperately want to see win. If I'm being honest, I definitely pictured him as President Bartlett from The West Wing and placed several other members of the staff in the book as well. That also made it fun.

I'm really glad I picked up this book from a Goodwill. It was a truly delightful read and kept me up later than I intended.

The Diplomat's Wife: Pam Jenoff

This was a very well-written, thrilling saga of a brave woman who was arrested by Nazis for her work in the Polish resistance during World War II. After being rescued and losing her fiance and the father of her unborn child, she marries a British government worker and begins a job as his secretary. The British government needs her help in locating a Communist spy and send her back to Germany on an undercover mission.

Apparently this is book number two in a series (I did not know that), but I haven't read the others. I didn't notice missing information, so reading the other books is not necessary. I'm guessing that you just get more background on some of the minor characters in this book. I am interested enough to now go back and read the first book. 

This book was engaging right off the start. We start with Marta in prison and have no idea where the book will go from there, even with the summary on the back. Each character we meet is brave and not all what they seem. They are each real and well-written: easy to understand, empathize with, and track growth. Some have said that the middle of the book is hard to track with, and I can agree. Our main heroine becomes a nobody, weak and cowardly, just doing what her husband tells her to. Only when we need the plot to pick back up does she become the woman she was at the beginning. 

My only complaint with this novel is that each chapter begins at a different, undisclosed time. Sometimes weeks have passed, sometimes years, and sometimes only seconds. I do wish each chapter had begun with a date/year header to keep readers informed of where we were. It was hard to start each new chapter trying to discover where in time we were.

Winter Garden: Kristin Hannah

Wow. 

This was by far the most emotionally moving and draining book by Hannah I've read. Heartbreak after heartbreak. It's the story with very little happiness, which makes those happy moments even more powerful.

It's the story of sisterhood, of motherhood, of love, of survival. A cold relationship between Anya and her daughters is tested when the father dies. All they have left is unfinished fairy tales. As Anya finishes the story, the girls learn who their mother really is.

Hannah weaves a story well, changing between narrators and narration style by throwing in a fairy tale throughout. This keeps the story moving and keeps the reader reading because of the desire to understand what everything means. The setting is beautifully and sometimes painfully described which helps readers visualize along with the daughters as Anya tells her story. I also love when they go to Alaska, and I now know that I need to visit there soon. It sounds lovely. 

I would highly recommend picking up this book soon, and others of Hannah's if you haven't read much by her. She always does a great job weaving together a story and tearing apart your emotions. 

House of Correction: Nicci French

 Tabitha is in prison for murdering Stuart. She claims she didn't do it but doesn't remember anything from that day. Her lawyer wants her to plead guilty, so Tabitha fires her. Now she has to build her case and discover the real murderer all from inside the House of Correction.

Great premise. I think it's clever! The Nicci French team pulls it off very well. If I had disappointments, which I suppose I did, they were in the reviews on the book/the way the book was advertised. It claimed to be a page-turning, nail-biting suspense. I found that to be incorrect. Most of the book is reading along while Tabitha searches for evidence either by reading papers, talking to people, or watching street cams. This isn't what I would consider thrilling. It's dramatic, for sure, and interesting, but not "nail-biting." I was prepared for a "keep-the-lights-on" thriller. 

I did not enjoy Tabitha as a person. She was impossible to relate to, and this led to it being somewhat difficult to feel badly for. I couldn't understand why the first half of the book consisted of her rejecting help from all avenues, and attacking everyone who approached her. I can't imagine what it's like to be in her position, so maybe this is just a reaction to that, but I think she could have been more appreciative and more forthcoming. But my hunch is that this is to let Tabitha shine on her own in court.

Speaking of court, this is where the book finally picks up and gets interesting, maybe even "thrilling."  It was exciting, it was fast-paced, it was emotional: all the things I wanted in the beginning and middle of the book. Tabitha had a great "enemy" in the prosecuting attorney; he was well-written, as was the judge. They made those scenes much fun to read. 

Tabitha was interesting as a character there as well. She had a spine and grit and fierceness. When listening to her interview and when hearing of her high school experiences, we're left believing that she has no backbone and lets things roll off her as they come. Even in town she's painted as a quiet loner, which makes this courtroom Tabitha difficult to understand. Where did she come from? Wherever she was hiding, she was impressive and well-written in the end.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Karen Abbott

 This was an excellent read. Abbott writes like fiction, and I had to remind myself several times throughout that these women were real people. 

Abbott used journals and letters and other quotes well to make this read like a story instead of a report. The descriptions throughout the book make the story come alive in the mind as well. Even though this was a nonfiction, it was still very much a page-turner, as I was excited to learn what each woman would do next, and whether or not they would be successful.

The interweaving of the women's stories helped carry the book along. I appreciated the change in characters, even in the middle of chapters sometimes. This helped keep me interested, as I was always changing women and even changing sides in the war which leads to another point.

It was very interesting to me that of the four women, two were with the Confederacy and two were with the Union. It was very educational to have both insights and get "insider" information on both sides.

I'm amazed at what people can do when it comes to standing up for their beliefs, and it's even more fascinating when those people are women. Each woman has an excellent story to tell, and I'm glad Abbott was able to share their tales so well!

Hood: Stephen R. Lawhead

The tricky thing with this book is that it is clearly the first book of the trilogy. I have to read the rest to know if this is truly the case, but most of this feels like set-up, the foretaste of the story to come. I felt like I finally understood the plot as I read the final few chapters, and that was the point when I realized I did, in fact, want to read the rest of the trilogy. 

It is a quick read, shouldn't take too much time to read it, even though it is longer. It also definitely feels like a young adult/teen read, perhaps because of the Robin Hood connection. 

This was a slow moving book. There are many moving pieces and many characters telling stories, so the plot takes its time getting along. This is what added to it feeling like an introductory book. The last 100 pages or less felt like actual adventure and action, so that was where I really enjoyed it. 

It's advertised as a retelling of Robin Hood, so that was the lens through which I read it. I almost wish I had come upon that on my own, instead of trying to read the book as though I was reading Robin Hood: that made it complicated for me to get into the book on my own. 

I also wish there was a table of contents. I quickly lost track of which baron was who and what "side" they were on. I couldn't keep up with all of the players, partly because the switches in narrative were quick and partly because the names were unpronounceable for me. That always makes it difficult for me to follow along with the cast. I have to be able to speak their names in my head for me to connect who they are. 

I'm starting the second one now: hopefully that one is good!