You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

The confession of a serial killer: "I killed ten last year. "
The headstone: "Dead According to Jannene and Dom".

the link to my 2019 thread https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Ongoing Series list:

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini 2/3 read Feb 1st
The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss 2/3 read - still waiting for #3
She by H. Rider Haggard 1/4 read
Discworld Witches Series by Terry Pratchett 2/6 read
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin 5/6 read
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 2/7 read Mar 28th
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 6/8 read Oct 7th
Discworld Rincewind Novels by Terry Pratchett 3/8 read
Discworld City Watch Series by Terry Pratchett 3/8 read
44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith 1/13 read
Harry Hole by Jo Nesbø 3/12 read
Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie 11/4X read Sept 24th
Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout 30/47 read
*The Passage by Justin Cronin 2/3
Miss Marple by Agatha Christie 4/12 read
Children of the Mist by Paula Quinn 3/5 read
*The Clockwork Century by Cherie Priest 3/6 read
*Irene Adler by Carole Nelson Douglas 1/8 read
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare 1/3 read
Charley Davidson by Darynda Jones 1/13 read
The Origin Mystery by A.G. Riddle 2/3 read
The CHRONOS Files by Rysa Walker 1/3 read
Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood 1/20 read
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch by Robert B. Parker 3/4 read (only the books written by Parker) are being counted
Morrie Morgan by Ivan Doig 1/3 read
October Daye by Seanan McGuire 2/13 read
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny 1/15 read
Kurt Wallander by Henning Mankell 6/10 read Sept 9th
Jeremy Logan by Lincoln Child 1/5 read
Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen 4/8 read
Cotton Malone by Steve Berry 1/13 read
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor 1/3 read
Red Sparrow Trilogy by Jason Matthews 2/3 read Apr 25th
*Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde 1/7 read
The Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer 1/7 read
Joe Sandilands by Barbara Cleverly 2/13 read
Impossible Times Series by Mark Lawrence 1/3 read

New Series added in 2020:
The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries by Leonard Goldberg 3/4 read Mar 31st
Lady Sherlock by Sherry Thomas 2/5 read Aug 25th
A Chet and Bernie Mystery Series by Spencer Quinn 1/10 read June 26th
The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice 5/13 read Aug 19th
Sherlock Holmes Adventures by Bonnie MacBird 2/4 read Dec 19thst
Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton 2/3 read Aug 31st
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher 1/16 read Aug 22nd
(Fairly) True Tales by Liesl Shurtliff 2/4 read Sept 9th
Rampart Trilogy by M.R. Carey 2/3 read Nov 5th (#3 due March 23, 2021)
Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith 1/6 read Oct 23rd
Haunting Danielle by Bobbi Holmes 1/25 read Oct 25th
Catteni by Anne McCaffrey 2/4 read Dec 1st
Nicholas Meyer Holmes Pastiches by Nicholas Meyer 2/4 read Nov 16th

Series Killed in 2020: (+ started and finished in 2020)
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club by Theodora Goss 3/3 finished Feb 25th
The Unwanteds Quests by Lisa McMann 5/5 finished March 29th
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear 15/15 finished Apr 30th
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King 15/15 finished May 6th
Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs 12/12 finished May 28th
+Chronicles of the One by Nora Roberts 3/3 finished June 1st
+Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin 4/4 finished June 8th
Barker & Llewelyn by Will Thomas 11/11 finished June 25th
+Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore 3/3 finished July 15th
+Talon Saga by Julie Kagawa 5/5 finished July 26th
+The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer 3/3 finished Aug 6th
+Legend by Marie Lu 4/4 finished Aug 28th
Gone by Michael Grant 6/6 finished Sept 21st
+The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells 5/5 finished Oct 12th
+Bread Alone by Judi Hendricks 3/3 finished Nov 7th
+Lady Astronaut by Mary Robinette Kowal 3/3 finished Nov 25th
Old Man's War by John Scalzi 6/6 finished Dec 11th
Charlotte Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro 4/4 finished Dec 28th/


Orphans Killed in 2020:
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Riviera Gold read June 14th.
Pendergast Crooked River read July 1st.

Currently Reading:

Downloaded but not started yet:

Up Next - books on hold:
An Echo in the Bone - audiobook #3 on 3 copies - postponed my hold until Dec 31st for next year.

I have pared down the list and removed many that I just do not seem to want to get to. All ones in bold text are what I read from last year with the thirteen new adds from 2019 at the bottom. The ones with * are what I plan on reading. I may add the titles. I have not decided yet.

Captain Blood is not really a series, but the second book, which are short stories was available from my library. There seems to be a third book of short stories, but, I have not been able to locate a copy. GR seems to be the only one listing it.

I will be reading the Mistress of the Art of Death series (4 books) by Ariana Franklin with Jannene and Dom.
Mistress of the Art of Death - buddy read Jan 15th finished Jan 28th
The Serpent's Tale - buddy read March 7th finished Mar 24th
Grave Goods - buddy read April 16th finished May 11th
A Murderous Procession - buddy read June 1st finished June 8th

We will also be reading another series together.
The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer
The Inventor's Secret - buddy read Feb finished Mar 1st
The Conjurer's Riddle - buddy read June finished June 22nd
The Turncoat's Gambit - buddy read August finished Aug 6th

Watch those series book numbers. I just updated my Thursday Next list from 8 to 7 because book #8 has not been written yet. Now, to find a REAL 8 book series for Card 7, Nay on Art/Literature. Grrrr!

The Inventor's Secret series looks interesting. I must resist! I have way too many "firsts" that could potentially lead to more series if I decide to continue past the first book. The book I'm reading just now, The Darkest Night will not induce me to read further in the series.

New Series Resistance is futile, Janice! LOL.

Checking my orphan books, I realized that I own #18 and #19 No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencies books. Now, I need to update my TT challenge, Card 8 Nay task under Geography. Botswana is definitely in Africa. I posted Who Fears Death for that task, but I can move it to the mountains on the cover task on Card 24 Nay for Geography.

I admire your perseverance on the serial killer challenge. It's nice that we can continue to work on them through the latest challenge. I plan on working on the Clan of the Cave Bear series, Dark Tower and Number 1 Lady's Detective Agency series.

Cherie wrote: "I’m going to have to come up with a new line for my challenge intro next year. The headstone on the cemetery plot can say “Dead according to Jannene and Dom!”"

Cherie, you need a more imaginative headstone.

Cherie wrote: "New Series Resistance is futile, Janice! LOL."

*sigh* I know. I can try to resist, though.

Cherie, I'm taking a leaf out of your book this year -I'm going try and get some series under control. I own so much unread fantasy!

Jannene wrote: "Cherie wrote: "Cherie, you need a more imaginative headstone..."

Noted and added. LOL!

My first series book for the year is done with The Game. The next book, Locked Rooms is on hold. I will start the Captain Blood short stories tonight.

I downloaded and re-listened to A Monstrous Regiment of Women last night. I still did not care for the plot much, but Mary's character and her feelings were not so shocking the 2nd/3rd time. I enjoyed the ending more. I am posting this because book #8 Locked Rooms, is related to book #2 through Mary's friend from college. If I could get all of the books in this series in a reasonable time, I think I could spend a month and binge on this series, but then, what would I want to read, after it was over? I did that last year with Pendergast and was crushed when I thought it was over.

Cherie wrote: "I have pared down the list and removed many that I just do not seem to want to get to. All ones in bold text are what I read from last year with the thirteen new adds from 2019 at the bottom. The o..."

I like how you addressed the series listing. I guess I'll use your ideas... copy is the highest form of flattery ;)

Janice wrote: "Cherie wrote: "New Series Resistance is futile, Janice! LOL."

*sigh* I know. I can try to resist, though."

At least you would be doing it as a group and it is really only 3 books, Janice.

Cherie, I love the headstone.

The Mary Russell & SH book #8, Locked Rooms, just jumped into my reading que, with the notice from my library this morning. I will download the ebook and start reading tonight, maybe.

I had forgotten that I had requested my library to purchase the audiobook of The White Lioness. This is book #3 in the Wallander series. I really like the narrator's voice. Wallander is such a unique character. I feel sorry for him at times, as he goes through a case, getting little sleep and eating only sporatically. I do not see how he can keep on. He is so compassionate, it almost hurts to listen as he and his group go through things over and over to try to figure out clues and try and make sure they have left nothing uncovered.

I know that I should not have started it yet, but I cannot help myself! I am reading Locked Rooms. I have to get it out of my system, then, I can continue with all of the books I have started and decide if I can use it for my TT challenge. If not, no worries. It is fascinating, so far. I love King's humor and how she weaves the stories together. The only thing better than reading it, is if I had been able to listen to the audiobook. It is still on hold...

I finished reading Locked Rooms. I think I can move on now and let Mary and SH rest for a while. I may still pick up the audiobook when it becomes available though.

I am 58% done with the Kurt Wallander audiobook The White Lioness. It is hard to keep track of what is going on with the switch back and forth from South Africa and Sweden. The names are very confusing. I wish I had the ebook available to follow along, but my library does not have it.

I started the first story in Captain Blood Returns, after reading the recap of the first book. It was nice that they included it. I really like the old time feel of the story, the way the English is written.

The White Lioness had a hold on it and I could not renew it. I was at 87% and it quite, although I thought I had one more day. I am #2 on 1 copy - about a four week wait. ;o(

The audiobook for To Kingdom Come just arrived and I downloaded it. This book is for Card 20 Art/Lit-Yay, which is for "book set between 1880 and 1889". Hopefully it is, else, at least I will have finished another book in the series. :O)

Thank you, thank you for the post about Captain Blood. I was looking for a pirate book for the Year Long and didn't even realize it was on my tbr.

LOL! Any time, Roz. I hope you like it, if you get to it.

Cherie wrote: "The White Lioness had a hold on it and I could not renew it. I was at 87% and it quite, although I thought I had one more day. I am #2 on 1 copy - about a four week wait. ;o(

The audi..."

That task is so time specific. At first I thought it was a misprint 😅

Margo wrote: "Cherie wrote: "The White Lioness had a hold on it and I could not renew it. I was at 87% and it quite, although I thought I had one more day. I am #2 on 1 copy - about a four week wait..."


I normally do not take three weeks to listen to an audiobook, Margo, but for some reason, I never downloaded it, probably because I did not see the library notice and I already had other books lined up to listen to. When I looked up the title, and noticed it was for a series I had on my list, I only had a week left on the loan. I received a notice that the book was due in two days, and I was actually listening to it, when it just quit playing. I tried to renew it to finish listening, but I could not. If it had not had another hold on it, I could have downloaded the files again and finished. Now, I have to wait my turn.

I finished To Kingdom Come for Barker & Llewelyn. It fit my TT challenge task for Card 20, Art/Lit-Yay task. It is set in 1884.

I will start Mistress of the Art of Death tonight. Buddy read with Jannene and Dom and others and TT challenge (Card 22, Science-Nay, medical theme).

Cherie wrote: "Margo wrote: "Cherie wrote: "The White Lioness had a hold on it and I could not renew it. I was at 87% and it quite, although I thought I had one more day. I am #2 on 1 copy - about a ..."

That's such a pain Cherie with only 13% to go!

Margo wrote: "Cherie wrote: "Margo wrote: "Cherie wrote: "The White Lioness had a hold on it and I could not renew it. I was at 87% and it quite, although I thought I had one more day. I am #2 on 1 ..."

Oh, well. The library still says 4 weeks. I can be patient.

That's too bad!

I just got a notice that my next Maisie Dobbs audiobook is available to download. Figures, just when I download three other books for - just because. None are series books - just looking for something to listen to in-between reading to rest my eyes, or doing chores, or driving.

I downloaded Elegy for Eddie last night when I got home and started listening to it. I could not stop, to pick up my other books to read. There is just something about the character, and I am sure that it all has to do with the way the narrator reads the story, that is just so compelling. I love listening to her. The narrator is Orlagh Cassidy. She brings the same kind of magical ambiance to the Maisie Dobbs stories as James Langton does with the Charles Lenox series books.

The nice thing about doing some of the tasks that need to be done at my work is that it allows me time to listen to audiobooks. I absolutely loved Elegy for Eddie. Now, for some equal time with other series. I cannot finish the Maisie Dobbs books too quickly. I will miss her though.

Brilliant! I loved Mistress of the Art of Death. A very well told story and great cast of characters. Looking forward to the next book.

And now - back to Captain Blood Returns - I just renewed it for the 4th or 5th time. I am not starting another until it is done and back at the library.

I’m glad that you liked the book as well Cherie. I thought it was great and am looking forward to the next one. :)

I am enjoying the stories in Captain Blood Returns. I found out that the third one is called The Fortunes of Captain Blood. More short stories, but I have not found a copy yet. The first book, Captain Blood, tells the story of Peter Blood and how he became a pirate. The other two, are stories of him and his crew "being" pirates. He was never blood thirsty and really lives by a code of honor. It was an interesting time when the Spanish, French and British, and Dutch were all fighting with each other on the high seas in the 1690s.

I put a hold on The Inventor's Secret, in print, at my library. I could download the ebook or audiobook format too.

Finally, I can write that I have read a book from the series at the top of my old, old list. I really enjoyed the ten stories in Captain Blood Returns.

All of my series book requests from the library are still on hold.

I broke down and bought The Inventor's Secret books from Barnes & Nobel, along with the other three books in the Mistress in the Art of Death series.

I downloaded Pendergast #19 onto my Nook tablet this morning. I had pre-ordered it from B&N. It will be an Orphan read for me, but I can't start it yet. Goes on my TT challenge, but will be a badge 3 book.

What's an "orphan" Cherie? I know you told me before but my memory is a joke.

That's a long series. I usually find they go off the boil. That's obviously not the case with this one or you wouldn't be preordering it ;-)

Margo an orphan is a book of a series that you already finished. I finished the “Harry Hole” series and then he came out with Knife. I finished that book and said I killed off the orphan.

Yes. I killed the Pendergast Series off after book 18 because I thought it was the last one. I will add the Orphan kill, after I read it. There are actually series that I killed off in the original yearly challenge that have more books too, like the Ladies's #1 Detectives. He just keeps writing more. I am two or three behind now.

Did you see they released another Pendergast today?

Yes, Jannene, that is the book I had on pre-order. Crooked River is Pendergast #19. It is now on my Nook tablet ready to read.
❤️🧡💛💚💙

Jannene wrote: "Margo an orphan is a book of a series that you already finished. I finished the “Harry Hole” series and then he came out with Knife. I finished that book and said I killed off the o..."

Ah thanks, I should have remembered that.

Is there a term for a book that you read as a standalone and them the next time you see it, it has become "book 1"? That has happened to a lot of the books on my shelf. I suppose they were successful so the decided to make some more cash out of them. It's very annoying when the book came to a natural end though.

Margo - the original series killer challenge defined a series as three books or more. It was considered a kill, if we had read all of the "currently published, whole number" books. I admit that I have The Kingkiller Chronicle on my list although it only has two published books. It is only there so that I do not forget it.

My answer to your question about a standalone that has become "book 1 " is annoying. It still does not count as a series. Also, the books that authors have been writing novelas or short stories for, like #4.5 or #0.1, #0.2, etc were also not allowed as series books as part of the count. Yes, they are part of a series and you can certainly list them, for your own use, but Janice does not allow them as part of the published count of a series when she is looking for numbers of books in a series. example: Pendergast was officially 18, until Crooked River was published on Feb 4th. If you decided to read the series today, you would be looking at reading 19 books before you could claim it killed or even 20, if they keep writing more books.

Jannene - I added an "Orphans Killed in 2020: list to track my orphan reads, just for you. ;O)

Orphans to read:
Crooked River
The Long Cosmos
The House of Unexpected Sisters
The Colors of All the Cattle
To the Land of Long Lost Friends
The Labyrinth of the Spirits

I love it!

Cherie, did you like The 18th Pendergast?

Dominique wrote: "Cherie, did you like The 18th Pendergast?"

For the most part yes. (okay - I gave it five stars, just because I was happy to be reading another Pendergast book). There were some elements of the forced partnership that I did not like, but other parts were amusing. I just keep wondering how longer he can go on, with all of the trauma that his body has taken over the course of the series. I really wanted the authors to go back to the story of him and Constance some more, but I guess that is not going to happen. I liked the ending, but am wondering where the next one is going to go.

I listened to Iron Kissed for Card 17 on my TT challenge list.
I have Silver Borne next up on Card 8 on hold at my library.

I am still waiting for The White Lioness to become available again.

I just downloaded The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl. I am bumping The City of Mirrors off of my challenge again.

I might kill one soon!

Dragon Curse showed up in my downloads today too. My ears are super busy! According to GR #5 was published on Feb 4th. It is not available from my library yet. Hmm. I could count #4 in my TT challenge for the series of 5 published books now.