Booking It 2010 update - again!

So I finished up the Carson Springs novels series by Eileen Goudge.  They were such a good set of books!  When I last shared about my reading progress I had some others to read still:  James Patterson's Pop Goes the Weasel and two Karen Kingsbury books - Waiting for Morning and the next one in that series.  Sadly, I took the second one back to the library without reading it because it was due, I'd already renewed it once and had other books I needed to read first (an inter-library loan book that can't be renewed).  I also received The Help by Kathryn Stockett in between the Carson Springs novels and the two listed here so that kinda threw me for a loop.  But Patterson's and Kingsbury's books are done and I'm to something new.  Here's what I've read in the last couple of weeks and what I've got going on now...

James Patterson's Pop Goes the Weasel is the next book in the Alex Cross series.  And while these books aren't listed as Book #1, Book #2, etc it truly helps to read them in the order he wrote them because each progressing book might refer back to a case in a previous book. 

As with other Alex Cross novels, there is a search for a killer.  A cold-blooded killer.  There is always a lot of suspense and plenty of action.  This one is about a killer who is playing a fantasy game online, a game called The Four Horsemen.  But this killer has decided to take the fantasy game into reality.  A synopsis on James Patterson's website says,

Detective Alex Cross is back- and he's in love. But his happiness is threatened by a series of chilling murders in Washington, D.C., murders with a pattern so twisted they leave investigators reeling. Cross's pursuit of the killer produces a suspect, a British diplomat named Geoffrey Shafer. But proving he's the murderer becomes a potentially deadly task. As Shafer engages in a brilliant series of surprising countermoves, Alex and his fiance become hopelessly entangled with the most memorable nemesis Cross has ever faced.

A great book (as always when it is coming from James Patterson!) that I couldn't put down - I'd recommend James Patterson's Alex Cross novels to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

Once I finished up that one I picked up Karen Kingsbury's Waiting for Morning.  I really enjoy Karen Kingsbury's books and this one was no different.  When I pulled it off the shelf at the library I thought I had read it before but didn't remember how it ended.  As I started reading, I knew it sounded familiar but a few chapters in I was completely blank.  So I'm guessing I must have picked it up before and for whatever reason, never finished it.  I'm glad I did now. 

In this novel, Hannah Ryan seems to have the perfect life - a wonderful husband and two daughters who are the best of friends until a tragic accident tears it all apart.  In the aftermath of the accident and then ensuing court battle against the drunk driver who caused the accident Hannah loses her faith in God and becomes a bitter, angry woman.  With the help of a MADD advocate, the prosecutor on the case and the book of Lamentations from the Bible, Hannah finally finds the peace that she was so desperately looking for. 

This was another quick read for me and I'm looking forward to getting the next book in this series (the one I had to take back).

And when we went to the library this past week I picked up Lynne Truss's Eat, Shoots & Leaves and a book called Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker which came from Dave Ramsey's recommended reading list.  Dave says, “This is the best book available on being a father to daughters. I have two daughters, and this book inspired me. I liked it so much that I provided a copy for every dad on my team who has a daughter. If you are a dad with a daughter, you must read this book TODAY.”  So while I'm the mom in the equation, I'm excited to read this book.

And finishing these two books will get me to 34 books read this year.  When I first started Booking It 2010 I was scared to set a goal of one book a week because I didn't want to overwhelm myself.  So I decided that reading 52 books in a year would be my goal.  At this point we are 24 weeks into the year so I think I'm doing pretty well on my goal!