Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In Death Challenge Post: August 2010

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time. See the sign up post HERE.


This is the round up post for the 8th month of the In Death Reading Challenge. Congratulations to everyone who has kept up with the one book per month challenge and to everyone who has almost kept up, too! I happen to know this second part deserves recognition too because I personally fall in this category myself! LOL!

I can't believe today is the last day of August already. Oh! Which reminds me... Happy Birthday, Brandy!!! ;) I don't know about all of you, but this month flew by for me. August is typically my most productive reading month of the year, but I've only read six books this month! I was so hoping that my seventh book was going to be Betrayal In Death, but it's not going to happen by midnight tonight. Maybe by Friday.
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CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS:

Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and enter in the Mr. Linky below along with your name so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily.

If you're just keeping a running list of the books as you read them, grab the link to your list post and enter in the Mr. Linky so we can recognize your success this month.

If you're reading or rereading without documenting it on your blog, let me know in the comments which book(s) you read in this month. This will also help me keep track of who's eligible for the challenge giveaway in August.

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CHALLENGE GIVEAWAY:

In the meantime, if you've read your In Death Challenge book for this month and the previous three months, you're eligible to be in my challenge giveaway! I'll wait until Friday for everyone to come by and link up before randomly drawing the winner of a $5 gift card to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. If you don't have one of those coffee shops in your area, we'll work something else out.

To qualify for the giveaway, you must do or have done the following:

1. Be signed up for the In Death Reading Challenge in this post HERE either with Mr.Linky or in the comments if you do not have your own blog.

2. Have read FOUR In Death novels between May 1, 2010 and August 31, 2010. Actually, let's make that by September 3, 2010 to allow any stragglers to catch up.

3. Have documented the In Death novels you have read for the challenge by:

Maintaining a running list somewhere on your blog ...
OR
Posting reviews or commentary on your blog ...
OR
Having notified me which book(s) you read in comments on any of the In Death Challenge posts ...
OR
Any combination of the above.

Pretty simple. You read four In Death books, leave me proof, and voila! You're in the drawing.

I'll select a winner on September 4, 2010.

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BOOK REVIEW:

Betrayal In Death by J.D. Robb
Book 13

... still reading ...

September 5, 2010
Edited to add: I finally finished Betrayal in Death and while it is not a favorite, it was still very good. The crime fiction mystery turned out to be pretty good. It was one of those mysteries in which you know who the murderer is--in this case an elusive assassin, but it takes time for all the pieces to come together and all his connections to various people and plots are made. As always, the relationship developments really pull the story together and are what makes me anxious to get to the next book.


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DISCUSSION PROMPT:

I'm going for the easy way out here this month by asking which In Death book or books are your favorite in this series so far. Feel free to share why it's your favorite--just don't be too specific that results in revealing any spoilers about plot or characters.

I know this is kind of a lame question because I don't even like answering it! I've liked all the books so far, but I guess in different ways for different reasons. I think Naked In Death (Book 1) will always be one of my favorites because it was the first one and I loved the way Eve and Roarke tripped their way through the very beginnings of a personal relationship. I also liked Judgement In Death (Book 12) because I thought the crime fiction plot and the personal relationship plots were equally exciting and suspenseful.


14 comments:

  1. My favorite is Judgment in Death.

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  2. I managed to read one ID story, Portrait in Death. I started it a month ago and made little progress. I just wasn't feeling like reading it back then. Now the month coming to an end I decided to pick it up again. And ended up liking it really much. I rated it 4+ out of 5. Well the murder mystery was okay, nothing too suspenseful. My main interest was in learning things about Roarke's past. I look forward to next books to see how things will develop...

    My favorite ID stories have been Conspiracy and Judgment. I’ve given those books 5 stars. There’s also many books with 4.5 stars that I’ve upgraded to 5 stars in Goodreads. So many lovely books indeed :) When I started this series, I didn’t really like Naked in Death that much (weird I know!). But I think if I’d read it again, I’d really love it now. It just took me a while to grow to love these books. I think I got the hang of it from book three...

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  3. I'm not entered into the reading challenge. But, I do have to say one of my favorite books was of course the first book, Naked it Death and then Visions in Death. Also, if I have to pick one of a myriad of favorite scenes? It would have to be the book where Peabody is promoted and then scared when she thinks she'll be leaving Eve's supervision and Eve tells her she has no need of an aid, but she needs a partner. Makes me tear up every time. *g*

    Hope you finish your book soon! Have a laugh-filled day!

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  4. Don't kill me but I had completely forgotten about this *sheepish*

    However, last week I got a hankering for Naked in Death... and ended up reading Glory, Immortal and Rapture as well.

    What can I say? Can't take just one, you know? *wink*

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  5. My favorite book is Vengeance in Death. You learn about Roark's past as well as Sommerset's past, and they actually say Sommerset's REAL name. You have to pay attention because they only say it once, but it's there. I just finished reading this book for the third time (Since I have read them all at least twice). But, I think this one is in my top 5. :)

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  6. Well it looks like three of us named Judgment In Death as a favorite! ... and I guess Naked In Death will always be sort of ... classic.

    Conspiracy In Death was also very good, as was Vengeance In Death.

    Dru, great taste! That's one of my favorites, too!

    Maija, I think a lot of people who are playing catch up with this huge series go through the same thing you describe about not feeling like reading then picking it back up again. Do you think we need a break from the challenge?

    Brandy, I'm looking forward to Visions In Death for sure now! : )

    azteclady, why would I be mad that you forgot about the challenge? It's not like you haven't been reading ID books every month! ;p

    Teena, I missed the part about Summerset's real name! Now I want to go back and hunt for that tidbit.

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  7. Ha -- I'm still trying to finish the Intruder in Death. So far my favorites? Oh Lord, I seem to like all In Death novels and I love, love, love J.D. Robb. Hmmm...this is hard for me to select, but if you threaten me with a gun in my head -- well I just have to close my eyes and surrender to death. Yes, that's right...I am not giving up my answer that easy Christine. You'll just have to kill me!

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  8. Natalie, you're like me. I can't pick just one! ;p

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  9. Okay, this is crazy. I still haven't finished Betrayal In Death. I don't know what's wrong with me... it's not that it isn't a good story. Maybe I'm just distracted with a lot of other things going on right now.

    So... it looks like there are three people who have kept up with the challenge in this last quarter by reading four In Death books between May 1 and now. Maija, Natalie and azteclady. I used random.org to select a winner and .... drum roll....

    Maija!!!!

    Congratulations!
    Send me an email (see my profile page) so we can work out your prize. Woohooo!

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  10. *whimper* I don't know what's wrong with me that I can't seem to finish another one. I know if I just pick it up, all will be fine.

    Congrats, Maija!

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  11. Unfortunately, I didn't complete this challenge. Managed to read only 2 books. I enjoyed them very much, but I never found the books in the order that I wanted to read them...and generally got side-tracked.

    Anyways, it was nice to be introduced to a new, different kind of detective series

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  12. Ok, I know I'm late posting this, I didn't even read one in August but I have em altogether now so I want to do a main post. I just finished Immortal In Death.

    In Death Challenge

    Paula

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  13. Lori, that's okay! You read so many of these books right in a row. Take a break and you'll come back to it. In the meantime, maybe I'll catch up to your place in the series a bit and we'll be reading the same books soon!


    nishitak, no worries. I get side tracked off my intended reading list all the time, too. The only reason I've been good with this series is because I'm hosting the challenge! LOL! Whenever you feel like reading one of the ID books, just pop back over and join the discussion. :)


    Paula, Yay! I'm glad you're back in the ID game! ;)

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