Medical Mystery Madness Challenge

I've never actually read much in the medical mystery sub-genre, but I have about five or six Robin Cook novels so I figured I'd try reading a few of them for this challenge. Here are the ones I chose:

1. Fatal Cure by Robin Cook
2. Acceptable Risk by Robin Cook
3. Brain by Robin Cook

Chick Lit Challenge

I absolutely LOVE Chick Lit....so when Debi, the owner of the Journey to the End of the TBR Pile blog, decided to host this challenge I was overjoyed....here is a list of the books I've decided to read for this challenge:

1. Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella

2. Goodbye, jimmy Choo by Annie Sanders

3. Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

I Heard It Through the Grapevine Challenge

The idea behind this challenge is to read books that have been recommended to the challenge participant by someone else. The truth of the matter is most of the books I currently own have been recommended to me by other avid readers so it took a moment to choose just three, but here is my list:

1. Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian

2. The Tea Rose By Jennifer Donnelly

3. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

Anything Agatha Challenge

It took me a while to sort through my books and come up with a list of ten for this challenge, but after much thought and personal debate here are the ones I've chosen to read for this challenge:

1. The Golden Ball and Other Stories

2. A Murder is Announced

3. Endless Night

4. And Then There Were None

5. Elephants Can Remember

6. Black Coffee

7. The Body in the Library

8. Postern of Fate

9. Remembered Death

10. Nemesis

1% Well-Read Challenge

I've been working my way through Peter Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list on my own for awhile now so when I saw an announcement about this challenge on 1morechapter.com I could not wait to join. The rules are simple, just read any 10 books from the list of 1001 between May 1, 2008 and February 28, 2009. Here is the list I am looking forward to tackling:

1. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
2. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
5. The Secret History by Donna Tart
6. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley *changed from my original list*
8. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
9. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
10. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood *changed from my original list*

Consequences

Author: Penelope Lively
Challenge: The 21st Century Fiction Group Read
Date Finished: March 9, 2008
Rating: 3.5/5

Consequences is a story that spans across three generations of women in one English family. The story begins with the meeting of Matt and Lorna on a park bench. They have a whirl wind romance and are quickly married. It was this first couple that I enjoyed reading about the most....later in the story it is fun to see how each of the other two generations connect back to this first couple. The story was like reading an old family history. I did find it enjoyable and the first couple, Matt and Lorna, will probably remain in my memory, but the others seemed to be more than a bit forgettable.

Eye Contact

Author: Cammie McGovern

Challenge: The Winter Reading Challenge

Date Finished: March 1, 2008

Rating: 4/5

"Eye Contact is a thriller of hypnotic suspense and a powerful story of the bond between a mother and a very special child." (back cover)

The story is about an autistic boy who witnesses the murder of a classmate but because of his autism can not communicate what happened. It is part drama, part mystery and even a little suspense. It was intriguing to read because I actually know very little about autism and it was obvious from reading the book that the author has some knowledge of the subject. I did find the mother character to be a bit annoying at times. And the ending was extremely predictable, but all in all it was an enjoyable read.