Play Book Tag discussion
Member Challenge Tracking 2022
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Cindy's 2022 Challenges
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LibraryCin
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Dec 24, 2021 12:37PM
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12x12 ChallengePlay Book Tag (tags or challenges)
1. Lab Girl / Hope Jahren. 3.25 stars
2. Songs of the Humpback Whale / Jodi Picoult. 3.5 stars
3. Prayers for Sale / Sandra Dallas. 3.5 stars
4. As I Lay Dying / William Faulkner. 2 stars
5. Career of Evil / Robert Galbraith. 3.75 stars
6. The Dutch House / Ann Patchett. 3.75 stars
7. Our Souls at Night / Kent Haruf. 3.75 stars
8. The Patron Saint of Liars / Ann Patchett. 3.25 stars
9. Troublemaker / Leah Remini. 4 stars
10. The Testaments / Margaret Atwood. 4.5 stars
11. Hour of the Witch / Chris Bohjalian. 3.5 stars
12. The Lost Village / Camilla Sten. 4 stars
____________________________________________________
13. The Ha-Ha / Dave King. 3.5 stars
ARCs (Netgalley, Early Readers)1. The Heights / Louise Candlish. 4 stars
2. The Lives of Diamond Bessie / Jody Hadlock. 3.5 stars
3. Until Leaves Fall in Paris / Sarah Sundin. 3.5 stars
4. Breathless / Amy McCulloch. 4.25 stars
5. The Keepers / Tan Van Huizen. 3.5 stars
6. Cults / Max Cutler. 3.5 stars
7. The Night Whispers / Caroline Mitchell. 4 stars
8. The Castleton Massacre / Sharon Cook, Margaret Carson. 4.5 stars
9. Killing the Butterfly / Dale Ward. 3.5 stars
10. Little Red House / Liv Andersson. 4.25 stars
11. City Under One Roof / Iris Yamashita. 3.5 stars
12. The Doctor from Hell / Genoviva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
_______________________________________________
13. Cobalt Red / Siddharth Kara. 3.5 stars
Reading Through Time1. Little Town on the Prairie / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
2. A Stitch in Time / Kelley Armstrong. 4 stars
3. How We Got to Now / Steven Johnson. 3.5 stars
4. Cradle to Cradle / William McDonough & Michael Braungart. 3.25 stars
5. The Wilderness Warrior / Douglas Brinkley. 3.25 stars
6. They Called Us Enemy / George Takei. 4 stars
7. Starvation Heights / Gregg Olsen. 4 stars
8. These Happy Golden Years / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
9. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving. 3.5 stars
10. Forever Liesl / Charmian Carr. 3.5 stars
11. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? / Caitlin / Doughty. 4 stars
12. Omaha Beach / Joseph Balkoski. 3.75 stars
_________________________________________________
13. From Here to Eternity / Caitlin Doughty. 3.5 stars
Oh Canada! (Canadian Authors) 1. Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 / Jo-Anne Cristensen. 4 stars
2. Brian's Return / Gary Paulsen. 3 stars
3. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place / Alan Bradley. 3.75 stars
4. The Clay Girl / Heather Tucker. 2.5 stars
5. Wild Awake / Hilary T. Smith. 3 stars
6. Anne of Green Gables / L. M. Montgomery. 4 stars
7. First Snow, Last Light / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
8. Remembering the Bones / Frances Itani. 3.5 stars
9. The Innocents / Michael Crummey. 2 stars
10. The War in the Country / Thomas F. Pawlick. 4 stars
11. Fountaineville / C. A. Simonsen. 3 stars
12. The Wife's Tale / Lori Lansens. 3.5 stars
_______________________________________________
13, All Together Now / Alan Doyle. 4.25 stars
14. Ballgowns & Butterflies / Kelley Armstrong. 4 stars
Trim the TBR (On TBR 3+ years) 1. Penelope / Rebecca Harrington. 2.5 stars
2. The Only Alien on the Planet / Kristen D. Randle. 3.5 stars
3. Blue Meridian / Peter Matthiessen. 2.5 stars
4. Journey Toward Justice / Dennis Fritz. 4 stars
5. The Stone Monkey / Jeffery Deaver. 4 stars
6. MirrorMask / Neil Gaiman. 2 stars
7. In One Person / John Irving. 3 stars
8. The Runaway Wife / Rowan Coleman. 3.5 stars
9. Annabel / Lauren Oliver. 3 stars
10. All Around the Town / Mary Higgins Clark. 4 stars
11. Paper: An Elegy / Ian Sansom. 3 stars
12. The Lake House / Marci Nault. 3.5 stars
______________________________________________
13. The Ophelia Cut / John Lescroart. 3.5 stars
14. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? / Roz Chast. 4.5 stars
15. A Cabinet of Wonders / Renee Dodd. 3.5 stars
16. You Take it From Here / Pamela Ribon. 3.5 stars
Will it Ever End? (Continuing Series) 1. Click Here for Murder / Donna Andrews. 4 stars
2. Big Boned / Meg Cabot. 4 stars
3. Rose in Bloom / Louise May Alcott. 2 stars
4. Not the Killing Type / Lorna Barrett. 3.5 stars
5. Death of Riley / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
6. Lies That Comfort and Betray / Rosemary Simpson. 4 stars
7. The Queen and Lord M / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
8. Iced / Karen Marie Moning. 3 stars
9. The Fated Sky / Mary Robinette Kowal. 4 stars
10. Dance of Death / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child. 3.5 stars
11. Pop Goes the Weasel / James Patterson. 4 stars
12. Book Clubbed / Lorna Barrett. 3.5 stars
_______________________________________________
13. Lady Knight / Tamora Pierce. 3 stars
14. The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant / Joanna Wiebe. 3.5 stars
Off the Shelf (Print or E- Books I Own)1. A Tap on the Window / Linwood Barclay. 4.25 stars
2. Shopaholic Ties the Knot / Sophie Kinsella. 4 stars
3. The Island of Sea Women / Lisa See. 3.5 stars
4. The House from Hell / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.75 stars
5. Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell. 3 stars
6. A Gentleman in Moscow / Amor Towles. 2.25 stars
7. The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor / Mark E. Drotos. 3.5 stars
8. Pretty Little Wife / Darby Kane. 4 stars
9. Between Two Kingdoms / Suleika Jaouad. 4 stars
10. Preventing Her Shutdown / Sammie Marsalli. 3.5 stars
11. The Hunting Party / Lucy Foley. 4 stars
12. Elevator Pitch / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
_____________________________________
13. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth / Chris Hadfield. 4 stars
Audio Books1. The Five / Hallie Rubenhold. 4 stars
2. I'll Be Gone in the Dark / Michelle McNamara. 3.5 stars
3. The Outsider / Stephen King. 4 stars
4. The Great Alone / Kristin Hannah. 4.5 stars
5. Olive Kitteridge / Elizabeth Strout. 2 stars
6. Becoming Mrs. Lewis / Patti Callahan. 2 stars
7. Home Before Dark / Riley Sager. 4 stars
8. The Arctic Fury / Greer Macallister. 4 stars
9. The Virgin Queen's Daughter / Ella March Chase. 3 stars
10. Midnight Sun / Stephenie Meyer. 3.5 stars
11. Insomnia / Stephen King. 2.5 stars
12. David Copperfield / Charles Dickens. 2 stars
_____________________________________________
13. Pandemonium / Lauren Oliver. 3.5 stars
14. Once Upon a Wardrobe / Patti Callahan. 3.5 stars
I'll Travel Virtually (Books Set in Other Countries - not Canada, USA, or England) 1. Penance / Kanae Minato. 3.5 stars
2. Maus I / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
3. Maus II / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
4. The Tusk that did the Damage / Tania James. 2.5 stars
5. The Council of Twelve / Oliver Potzsch. 4.25 stars
6. The Voyage of the Narwhal / Andrea Barrett. 3.5 stars
7. The Lacuna / Barbara Kingsolver. 1 star
8. Royal Blood / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
9. Reflections of Eden / Birute Galdikas. 4 stars
10. Abundance / Sena Jeter Naslund. 3 stars
11. To See You Again / Betty Schimmel. 4 stars
12. Woman at 1,000 Degrees / Hallgrimur Helgason. 3.25 stars
________________________________________
13. The Vatican Princess / C. W. Gortner. 3.75 stars
14. The Swiss Family Robinson / Johann Wyss. 3 stars
Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My! (Animals) 1. Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals / Helene Rajcak, Damien Laverdunt. 4 stars
2. The Bluebird Effect / Julie Zickefoose. 4 stars
3. Buzz, Sting, Bite / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. 4 stars
4. A Street Cat Named Bob / James Bowen. 4 stars
5. Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species / Joel Sartore. 4 stars
6. Seabiscuit / Laura Hillenbrand. 3.5 stars
7. The Last Wild Wolves / Ian McAllister. 4.5 stars
8. Next of Kin / Roger Fouts. 4.5 stars
9. Pit Bull / Bronwen Dickey. 4.5 stars
10. Grey Matters / Clea Simon. 3.5 stars
11. Beyond Words / Carl Safina. 4 stars
Truth is Stranger than Fiction (Nonfiction)1. Confessions of a Sociopath / M. E. Thomas. 3.5 stars
2. Elizabeth of York / Alison Weir. 3.25 stars
3. The Greatest Traitor / Ian Mortimer. 3.5 stars
4. Lucky / Alice Sebold. 4 stars
5. Offshore / Catherine Dook. 3.5 stars
6. Alone Together / Leah Hennel. 5 stars
7. The Dorito Effect / Mark Schatzker. 4 stars
8. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly / Jean-Dominique Bauby. 2.5 stars
9. The Witches: Salem, 1692 / Stacy Schiff. 3.25 stars
10. Titanic Survivor / Violet Jessop. 3 stars
11. Lady Killers / Tori Telfer. 4 stars
12. The Great American Dust Bowl / Don Brown. 3.5 stars
________________________________________
13, Going Clear / Lawrence Wright. 3.5 stars
14. The Splendid and the Vile / Erik Larson. 2.25 stars
BIPOC (Authors or main characters)1. Forgiveness / Mark Sakamoto. 4 stars
2. Jonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead. 2 stars
3. Take My Hand / Dolen Perkins-Valdez. 4 stars
4. Becoming / Michelle Obama. 3.75 stars
5. Tituba of Salem Village / Ann Petry. 3.5 stars
6. They Said This Would be Fun / Eternity Martis. 3 stars
7. Little Fires Everywhere / Celeste Ng. 3.25 stars
8. How to Pronounce Knife / Souvankham Thammavongsa. 3.5 stars
9. Five Little Indians / Michelle Good. 3.5 stars
10. Long Walk to Freedom / Nelson Mandela. 4 stars
11. Mediocre / Ijeoma Oluo. 3.5 stars
12. The Secrets Between Us / Thrity Umrigar. 3.5 stars
__________________________________________
Overflow (doesn’t fit other categories)1. The Lady of the Rivers / Philippa Gregory. 4 stars
2. This Tender Land / William Kent Krueger. 3.5 stars
3. Ashfall / Mike Mullin. 4 stars
4. The Family Upstairs / Lisa Jewell. 3.5 stars
BingoDOG
1. An Award Winning book. Maus I / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
2. Published in a year ending 2. The Bluebird Effect / Julie Zickefoose. 4 stars
3. A modern retelling of an older story. This Tender Land / William Kent Krueger. 3.5 stars
4. A book you'd love to see as a movie. The Island of Sea Women / Lisa See. 3.5 stars
5. A book that features a dog. Our Souls at Night / Kent Haruf. 3.75 stars
6. The title contains the letter Z. The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia / C.W. Gortner. 3.75 stars
7. Published the year you joined LT. Not the Killing Type / Lorna Barrett. 3.5 stars
8. A book by a favourite author. A Tap on the Window / Linwood Barclay. 4.25 stars
9. A long book (long for you). Elizabeth of York / Alison Weir. 3.25 stars
10. A book you received as a gift. Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell. 3 stars
11. The title contains a month. Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 / Joseph Balkoski. 3.75 stars
12. A weather word in the title. The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Rain Forest / Ian McAllister. 4.5 stars
13. Read a CAT. Rose in Bloom / Louise May Alcott. 2 stars
14. Contains travel or a journey. The Lady of the Rivers / Philippa Gregory. 4 stars
15. A book about sisters or brothers. The Clay Girl / Heather Tucker. 2.5 stars
16. A book club read (real or online). Forgiveness / Mark Sakamoto. 4 stars
17. A book with flowers on the cover. Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals / Helene Rajcak, Damien Laverdunt. 4 stars
18. A book in translation. Buzz, Sting, Bite / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. 4 stars
19. A work of non-fiction. Confessions of a Sociopath / M. E. Thomas. 3.5 stars
20. A book where a character shares a name of a friend. Big Boned / Meg Cabot. 4 stars
21. A book set in a capital city. The Five / Hallie Rubenhold. 4 stars
22. A children's or YA book. The Only Alien on the Planet / Kristen D. Randle. 3.5 stars
23. A book set in a country other than the one you live. Lab Girl / Hope Jahren. 3.25 stars
24. A book by an LGBTQ+ author. Jonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead. 2 stars
25. A book with silver or gold on the cover. Click Here for Murder / Donna Andrews. 4 stars
CATWomanJanuary: Biography/autobiography/memoir by women
- Confessions of a Sociopath / M. E. Thomas. 3.5 stars
- The Five / Hallie Rubenhold. 4 stars
- The Bluebird Effect / Julie Zickefoose. 4 stars
- Lab Girl / Hope Jahren. 3.25 stars
February: Women in Translation (Women authors and/or translators)
- Buzz, Sting, Bite / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. 4 stars
- Penance / Kanae Minato. 3.5 stars
March: Women Pioneers
- Prayers for Sale / Sandra Dallas. 3.5 stars
April: Women of Color
- The Tusk that did the Damage / Tania James. 2.5 stars
- Becoming / Michelle Obama. 3.75 stars
- The Island of Sea Women / Lisa See. 3.5 stars
May: Classics by Women
- Seabiscuit / Laura Hillenbrand. 3.5 stars
- Anne of Green Gables / L. M. Montgomery. 4 stars
June: Books set in cities or about cities by women
- The Lacuna / Barbara Kingsolver. 1 star
- Lies That Comfort and Betray. 4 stars
*July: Women in Science
- The Fated Sky / Mary Robinette Kowal. 4 stars
- Reflections of Eden / Birute Galdikas. 4 stars
August: Children's/YA/Graphic Novels
- Annabel / Lauren Oliver. 3 stars
- These Happy Golden Years / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
September: Women during War
- To See You Again / Betty Schimmel. 4 stars
October: Women and Crime
- Little Red House / Liv Andersson. 4.25 stars
- Hour of the Witch / Chris Bohjalian. 3.5 stars
- Lady Killers / Tori Telfer. 4 stars
November: Issues as seen through women's eyes
- Mediocre / Ijuoma Oluo. 3.5 stars
December: Prize Winner by a Woman
- Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? / Roz Chast. 4.5 stars
AuthorCATJanuary: Indigenous Writers
- Jonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead. 2 stars
February: 19th Century Authors
- Rose in Bloom / Louisa May Alcott. 2 stars
March: Authors First Published at Age 40 or later
- The Clay Girl / Heather Tucker. 2.5 stars
April: Debut Authors
- Journey Toward Justice / Dennis Fritz. 4 stars
- Wild Awake / Hilary T. Smith. 3 stars
May: Authors From Your Own Country
- Anne of Green Gables / L. M. Montgomery. 4 stars
- Offshore / Catherine Dook. 3.5 stars
*June: Nonfiction Authors
- Alone Together / Leah Hennel. 5 stars
- They Called Us Enemy / George Takei. 4 stars
- The Dorito Effect / Mark Schatzker. 4 stars
July: Asian Authors
- They Said This Would Be Fun / Eternity Martis. 3 stars
- Little Fires Everywhere / Celeste Ng. 3.25 stars
- How to Pronounce Knife / Souvankham Thammavongsa. 3.5 stars
August: Prize Winning Authors
- Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell. 3 stars
- Five Little Indians / Michelle Good. 3.5 stars
September: African Authors
- Long Walk to Freedom / Nelson Mandela. 4 stars
October: Authors in Translation
- Woman at 1,000 Degrees / Hallgrimur Helgason. 3.25 stars
- The Lost Village / Camilla Sten. 4 stars
November- Authors who set their books against real events
- The Great American Dust Bowl / Don Brown. 3.5 stars
- Omaha Beach / Joseph Balkoski. 3.75 stars
- The Doctor from Hell / Genoviva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
December: Favorite Authors
- The Splendid and the Vile / Erik Larson. 2.25 stars
- Elevator Pitch / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
RandomKITJanuary: Home Sweet Home
- Forgiveness / Mark Sakamoto. 4 stars
- Jonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead. 2 stars
- Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 / Jo-Anne Christensen. 4 stars
- Brian's Return / Gary Paulsen. 3 stars
- Big Boned / Meg Cabot. 4 stars
February: Read a "cat"
- A Street Cat Named Bob / James Bowen. 4 stars
March: Hobby Love
- Rare / Joel Sartore. 4 stars
April: April Showers
- The Last Wild Wolves / Ian McAllister. 4.5 stars
May: May Flowers
- Seabiscuit / Laura Hillenbrand. 3.5 stars
June: Cookin' the Books
- The Dorito Effect / Mark Schatzker. 4 stars
July: Dog Days of Summer
- Pit Bull / Bronwen Dickey. 4.5 stars
August: Canada!
- Remembering the Bones / Frances Itani. 3.5 stars
- The Castleton Massacre / Sharon Cook, Margaret Carson. 4.5 stars
- Five Little Indians / Michelle Good. 3.5 stars
September: A Time to Harvest
- The War in the Country / Thomas F. Pawlick. 4 stars
October: What's in a Name?
- Forever Liesl / Charmian Carr. 3.5 strs
November: City (in title)
- City Under One Roof / Iris Yamashita. 3.5 stars
- Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief / Lawrence Wright. 3.5 stars
December: Christmas Sweets
- The Wife's Tale / Lori Lansens. 3.5 stars
ScaredyKITJanuary: Haunted Houses
- Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 / Jo-Anne Christensen. 4 stars
February: Spiders, Snakes, and Other Creepy Crawlers
- Buzz, Sting, Bite / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. 4 stars
March: Switched
- The Outsider / Stephen King. 4 strs
April: Serial Killers
- The Stone Monkey / Jeffery Deaver. 4 stars
- Career of Evil / Robert Galbraith. 3.75 stars
May: Anthologies, Short Stories, and Novellas
- MirrorMask / Neil Gaiman. 2 stars
- The House from Hell / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.75 stars
June: Out in the Wild
- The Arctic Fury / Greer Macallister. 4 stars
*July: The Living Dead (zombies, vampires, frankensteins...)
- Iced / Karen Marie Moning. 3 stars
- Royal Blood / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
August: Children/YA
- Annabel / Lauren Oliver. 3 stars
- Ashfall / Mike Mullin. 4 stars
September: It's All in Your Head--Or Is It?
- Pretty Little Wife / Darby Kane. 4 stars
October: Witches, Evil Spirits, and Black Magic
- Hour of the Witch / Chris Bohjalian. 3.5 stars
- Lady Killers / Tori Telfer. 4 stars
November: Stephen King and family
- Insomnia /Stephen King. 2.5 stars
December: Holiday Theme
- The Hunting Party / Lucy Foley. 4 stars
MysteryKITJanuary: Series
- Click Here for Murder / Donna Andrews. 4 stars
- Big Boned / Meg Cabot. 4 stars
February: Cold case crimes
- I'll Be Gone in the Dark / Michelle McNamara. 3.5 stars
- Penance / Kanae Minato. 3.5 stars
March: Small towns, big secrets
- Not the Killing Type / Lorna Barrett. 3.5 stars
April: Noir/hard boiled
- The Stone Monkey / Jeffery Deaver. 4 stars
- Career of Evil / Robert Galbraith. 3.75 stars
May: Detectives in translation
- The Council of Twelve / Oliver Potzsch. 4.25 stars
June: Historical fiction mysteries
- First Snow, Last Light / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
- The Arctic Fury / Greer Macallister. 4 stars
- Lies That Comfort and Betray / Rosemary Simpson. 4 stars
July: Golden Age
- Royal Blood / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
August: Technothrillers
- Dance of Death / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child. 3.5 stars
September: Animal mystery
- Grey Matters / Clea Simon. 3.5 stars
October: Mysteries featuring food
- Book Clubbed / Lorna Barrett. 3.5 stars
November: Gothic
- The Family Upstairs / Lisa Jewell. 3.5 stars
December: Holiday Mysteries
- The Hunting Party / Lucy Foley. 4 stars
AlphaKITYear-Long: X, Z
- The Bluebird Effect / Julie Zickefoose. 4 stars
Jan: R and H
- Penelope / Rebecca Harrington. 2.5 stars
- Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals / Helene Rajcak, Damien Laverdunt. 4 stars
- The Five / Hallie Rubenhold. 4 stars
- The Only Alien on the Planet / Kristen. D. Randle. 3.5 stars
- Lab Girl / Hope Jahren. 3.25 stars
- The Heights / Louise Candlish. 4 stars
Feb: A and B
- Rose in Bloom / Louisa May <>Alcott. 2 stars
- Buzz, Sting, Bite / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. 4 stars
- Elizabeth of York / Alison Weir. 3.25 stars
- The Grave's a Fine and Private Place / Alan Bradley. 3.75 stars
- A Street Cat Named Bob / James Bowen. 4 stars
Mar: P and S
- Rare / Joel Sartore. 4 stars
- Shopaholic Ties the Knot / Sophie Kinsella. 4 stars
- Prayers for Sale / Sandra Dallas. 3.5 stars
- The Outsider / Stephen King. 4 stars
- Maus I / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
- A Stitch in Time / Kelley Armstrong. 4 stars
- Maus II / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
- Blue Meridian / Peter Matthiessen. 2.5 stars
- Lucky / Alice Sebold. 4 stars
- Take My Hand / Dolen Perkins-Valdez. 4 stars
- Until Leaves Fall in Paris / Sarah Sundin. 3.5 stars
Apr: L and J
- The Tusk that did the Damage / Tania James. 2.5 stars
- Journey Toward Justice / Dennis Fritz. 4 stars
- The Stone Monkey / Jeffery Deaver. 4 stars
- How We Got to Now / Steven Johnson. 3.5 stars
- The Island of Sea Women / Lisa See. 3.5 stars
May: O and D
- The Council of Twelve / Oliver Potzsch. 4.25 stars
- Offshore / Catherine Dook. 3.5 stars
- The Dutch House / Ann Patchett. 3.75 stars
- Our Souls at Night / Kent Haruf. 3.75 stars
- The Wilderness Warrior / Douglas Brinkley. 3.25 stars
- The House from Hell / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.75 stars
Jun: Q and C
- The Runaway Wife / Rowan Coleman. 3.5 stars
- The Queen and Lord M / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
Jul: E and T
- They Said This Would be Fun / Eternity Martis. 3 stars
- How to Pronounce Knife / Souvankham Thammavongsa. 3.5 stars
- Troublemaker / Leah Remini. 4 stars
- The Virgin Queen's Daughter / Ella March Chase. 3 stars
Aug: M and F
- Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell. 3 stars
- The Castleton Massacre / Sharon Cook, Margaret Carson. 4.5 stars
- All Around the Town / Mary Higgins Clark. 4 stars
- Five Little Indians / Michelle Good. 3.5 stars
- Ashfall / Mike Mullin. 4 stars
Sep: K and I
- The Innocents / Michael Crummey. 2 stars
- Pretty Little Wife / Darby Kane. 4 stars
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving. 3.5 stars
- Paper: An Elegy / Ian Sansom. 3 stars
Oct: V and N
- The Lake House / Marci Nault. 3.5 stars
- The Vatican Princess / C.W. Gortner. 3.75 stars
Nov: G and U
- The Secrets Between Us / Thrity Umrigar. 3.5 stars
- The Doctor from Hell / Genoviva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
- Going Clear / Lawrence Wright. 3.5 stars
Dec: Y and W
- The Wife's Tale / Lori Lansens. 3.5 stars
- You Take It From Here / Pamela Ribon. 3.5 stars
- The Swiss Family Robinson / Johann Wyss. 3 stars
- The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant / Joanna Wiebe. 3.5 stars
Roundtuits/(Classic) Trim the TBR3+ years on the tbr.
1. Stay / Allie Larkin
2. Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt
6. Out With It / Katherine Preston
7. The Perfect Ghost / Linda Barnes
9. Something About Sophie / Mary Kay McComas
12. The Sister Season / Jennifer Scott
13. Dead Run / Dan Schultz
1. Forgiveness / Mark Sakamoto. 4 stars
2. Confessions of a Sociopath / M. E. Thomas. 3.5 stars
3. Penelope / Rebecca Harrington. 2.5 stars
4. Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals / Helene Rajcak, Damien Laverdunt. 4 stars
5. Click Here for Murder / Donna Andrews. 4 stars
6. The Bluebird Effect / Julie Zickefoose. 4 stars
7. The Only Alien on the Planet / Kristen D. Randle. 3.5 stars
8. Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 / Jo-Anne Christensen. 4 stars
9. A Tap on the Window / Linwood Barclay. 4.25 stars
10. Big Boned / Meg Cabot. 4 stars
11. Elizabeth of York / Alison Weir. 3.25 stars
12. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place / Alan Bradley. 3.75 stars
13. A Street Cat Named Bob / James Bowen. 4 stars
14. Rare / Joel Sartore. 4 stars
15. The Greatest Traitor / Ian Mortimer. 3.5 stars
16. Shopaholic Ties the Knot / Sophie Kinsella. 4 stars
17. Not the Killing Type / Lorna Barrett. 3.5 stars
18. Blue Meridian / Peter Matthiessen. 2.5 stars
19. Lucky / Alice Sebold. 4 stars
20. The Tusk that did the Damage / Tania James. 2.5 stars
21. Journey Toward Justice / Dennis Fritz. 4 stars
22. The Stone Monkey / Jeffery Deaver. 4 stars
23. Wild Awake / Hilary T. Smith. 3 stars
24. Cradle to Cradle / William McDonough & Michael Braungart. 3.25 stars
25. MirrorMask / Neil Gaiman. 2 stars
26. Offshore / Catherine Dook. 3.5 stars
27. Tituba of Salem Village / Ann Petry. 3.5 stars
28. Our Souls at Night / Kent Haruf. 3.75 stars
29. The Wilderness Warrior / Douglas Brinkley. 3.25 stars
30. The Last Wild Wolves / Ian McAllister. 4.5 stars
31. First Snow, Last Light / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
32. In One Person / John Irving. 3 stars
33. The Dorito Effect / Mark Schatzker. 4 stars
34. The Runaway Wife / Rowan Coleman. 3.5 stars
35. The Queen and Lord M / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
36. Next of Kin / Roger Fouts. 4.5 stars
37. Pit Bull / Bronwen Dickey. 4.5 stars
38. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly / Jean-Dominique Bauby. 2.5 stars
39. Iced / Karen Marie Moning. 3 stars
40. Troublemaker / Leah Remini. 4 stars
41. The Virgin Queen's Daughter / Ella March Chase. 3 stars
42. Reflections of Eden / Birute Galdikas. 4 stars
43. Remembering the Bones / Frances Itani. 3.5 stars
44. The Witches: Salem, 1692 / Stacy Schiff. 3.25 stars
45. Dance of Death / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child. 3.5 stars
46. Annabel / Lauren Oliver. 3 stars
47. All Around the Town / Mary Higgins Clark. 4 stars
48. Abundance / Sena Jeter Naslund. 3 stars
49. Titanic Survivor / Violet Jessop. 3 stars
50. Grey Matters / Clea Simon. 3.5 stars
51. Long Walk to Freedom / Nelson Mandela. 4 stars
52. To See You Again / Betty Schimmel. 4 stars
53. The War in the Country / Thomas F. Pawlick. 4 stars
54. Paper: An Elegy / Ian Sansom. 3 stars
55. Midnight Sun / Stephenie Meyer. 3.5 stars
56. Woman at 1,000 Degrees / Hallgrimur Helgason. 3.25 stars
57. Forever Liesl / Charmian Carr. 3.5 stars
58. The Lake House / Marci Nault. 3.5 stars
59. The Ophelia Cut / John Lescroart. 3.5 stars
60. The Great American Dust Bowl / Don Brown. 3.5 stars
61. The Secrets Between Us / Thrity Umrigar. 3.5 stars
62. Omaha Beach / Joseph Balkoski. 3.75 stars
63. The Ha-Ha / Dave King. 3.5 stars
64. David Copperfield / Charles Dickens. 2 stars
65. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? / Roz Chast. 4.5 stars
66. The Wife's Tale / Lori Lansens. 3.5 stars
67. Pandemonium / Lauren Oliver. 3.5 stars
68. A Cabinet of Wonders / Renee Dodd. 3.5 stars
69. Elevator Pitch / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
70. You Take it From Here / Pamela Ribon. 3.5 stars
71. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth / Chris Hadfield. 4 stars
72. The Swiss Family Robinson / Johann Wyss. 3 stars
73. The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant / Joanna Wiebe. 3.5 stars
PBT Trim the TBR 1. Don’t Throw it Out / Lori Baird
2. A Book in Every Hand / Don Kerr
3. 13 Ways to Kill Your Community / Doug Griffiths, Kelly Clemmer
4. Chief Piapot: I Will Stop the Train / Vincent McKay
6. The Second Life of Samuel Tyne / Esi Edugyan
8. Next of Kin / Roger Fouts. 4.5 stars
9. Tituba of Salem Village / Ann Petry. 3.5 stars
10. The Only Alien on the Planet / Kristen D. Randle. 3.5 stars
11. Lucky / Alice Sebold. 4 stars
12. The Son of a Certain Woman / Wayne Johnston
13. The Courts of Love / Jean Plaidy (Victoria Holt)
14. Memories of Anne Frank / Alison Gold
16. All My Patients Are under the Bed / Louis J. Camuti, Marilyn Frankel, Haskel Frankel
18. The Greatest Traitor / Ian Mortimer. 3.5 stars
19. A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan
21. The Big Book of Irony / Jon Winokur
23. The Traitor's Wife / Susan Higginbotham
PBT's Walk Down History Lane1. The Five / Hallie Rubenhold. 4 stars (nonfiction - Cindy)
2. Mr. Churchill's Secretary / Susan Elia MacNeal (fiction - Fran; link = murder in London)
3. The Disappearing Spoon / Sam Kean (nonfiction - Anna; link = WWII)
4. Prayers for Sale / Sandra Dallas, 3.5 stars (fiction – Cindy; link = gold)
5. The Boys in the Boat / Daniel James Brown (nonfiction – Fran; link = Great Depression years)
6. Olympic Affiar / Terry Frei (fiction – Anna; link = 1936 Olympics)
Loop 2
1. Seabiscuit / Laura Hillenbrand. 3.5 stars (nonfiction – Cindy; link = sports)
2. The Giver of Stars / Jojo Moyes (fiction - Fran; links = 1930s, horses)
3. Kon-Tiki / Thor Heyerdahl (nonfiction - Anna; links = dangerous journey (also Kentucky/Kon-Tiki soundalike))
4. The Voyage of the Narwhal / Andrea Barrett. 3.5 stars (fiction - Cindy; link = ocean travel)
Who's PBT's Favorite?1. A Tap on the Window / Linwood Barclay. 4.25 stars
2. Songs of the Humpback Whale / Jodi Picoult. 3.5 stars
3. Shopaholic Ties the Knot / Sophie Kinsella. 4 stars
4. The Outsider / Stephen King. 4 stars
5. The Great Alone / Kristin Hannah. 4.5 stars
6. Olive Kitteridge / Elizabeth Strout. 2 stars
7. Death of Riley / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
8. The Island of Sea Women / Lisa See. 3.5 stars
9. The Dutch House / Ann Patchett. 3.75 stars
10. The Lacuna / Barbara Kingsolver. 1 star
11. The Patron Saint of Liars / Ann Patchett. 3.25 stars
12. A Gentleman in Moscow / Amor Towles. 2.25 stars
13. The Testaments / Margaret Atwood. 4.5 stars
Travel Across CanadaAlberta: (9 books between 2014 – 2021)
- Forgiveness / Mark Sakamoto. 4 stars
- Alone Together / Leah Hennel. 5 stars
British Columbia: (16 books between 2014 – 2021)
- Wild Awake / Hilary T. Smith. 3 stars
- Offshore / Catherine Dook. 3.5 stars
- The Last Wild Wolves / Ian McAllister. 4.5 stars
- Five Little Indians / Michelle Good. 3.5 stars
Labrador: (1 books between 2014 - 2018)
Manitoba: (6 books between 2014 – 2020)
- Jonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead. 2 stars
New Brunswick: (0 books between 2014 - 2020)
Newfoundland: (7 books between 2014 – 2019)
- First Snow, Last Light / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
- The Innocents / Michael Crummey. 2 stars
- All Together Now / Alan Doyle. 4.25 stars
Northwest Territories: (3 books between 2014 – 2021)
Nova Scotia: (6 books between 2014 – 2021)
- The Clay Girl / Heather Tucker. 2.5 stars
Nunavut: (4 books between 2014 – 2021)
Ontario: (18 books between 2014 – 20201)
- They Said This Would be Fun / Eternity Martis. 3 stars
- Remembering the Bones / Frances Itani. 3.5 stars
- The Castleton Massacre / Sharon Cook, Margaret Carson. 4.5 stars
- The War in the Country / Thomas F. Pawlick. 4 stars
- The Wife's Tale / Lori Lansens. 3.5 stars
Prince Edward Island: (2 books between 2014 – 2018)
- Anne of Green Gables / L. M. Montgomery. 4 stars
Prairie Provinces: (2 books between 2014 – 2021)
Quebec: (6 books between 2014 – 2019)
Saskatchewan: (14 books between 2014 – 2021)
- Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 / Jo-Anne Christensen. 4 stars
- Fountaineville / C.A. Simonsen. 3 stars
Yukon: (1 book between 2014 – 2019)
Northern Canada (2 books 2019-2021)
- Brian's Return / Gary Paulsen. 3 stars
Play Book TagJanuary: Science
- Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals / Helene Rajcak, Damien Laverdunt. 4 stars
- The Bluebird Effect / Julie Zickefoose. 4 stars
- Lab Girl / Hope Jahren. 3.25 stars
February: Thought Provoking
- Buzz, Sting, Bite / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. 4 stars
- Songs of the Humpback Whale / Jodi Picoult. 3.5 stars
March: Classics
- Maus I / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
- Maus II / Art Spiegelman. 4 stars
- Blue Meridian / Peter Matthiessen. 2.5 stars
- As I Lay Dying / William Faulkner. 2 stars
April: Detective
- Death of Riley / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
- The Stone Monkey / Jeffery Deaver. 4 stars
- Career of Evil / Robert Galbraith. 3.75 stars
May: Character driven
- The Dutch House / Ann Patchett. 3.75 stars
- Our Souls at Night / Kent Haruf. 3.75 stars
June: LGBT
- The Lacuna / Barbara Kingsolver. 1 star
- They Called Us Enemy / George Takei. 4 stars
- In One Person / John Irving. 3 stars
July: Memoir
- They Said This Would Be Fun / Eternity Martis. 3 stars
- The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly / Jean-Dominique Bauby. 2.5 stars
- Troublemaker / Leah Remini. 4 stars
August: Women's History
- The Witches: Salem, 1692 / Stacy Schiff. 3.25 stars
September: Favorites
- The Testaments / Margaret Atwood. 4.5 stars
- Long Walk to Freedom / Nelson Mandlea. 4 stars
- Beyond Words / Carl Safina. 4 stars
October: Scary
- Hour of the Witch / Chris Bohjalian. 3.5 stars
- The Lost Village / Camilla Sten. 4 stars
November: book club
- Between Two Kingdoms / Suleika Jaouad. 4 stars
- The Ha-Ha / Dave King. 3.5 stars
December: Leadership
- The Splendid and the Vile / Erik Larson. 2.25 stars
- Lady Knight / Tamora Pierce. 3 stars
- Elevator Pitch / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
- An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth / Chris Hadfield. 4 stars
Reading Through TimeFebruary: Rural Life
- Little Town on the Prairie / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
March: We Are Time's Subjects
- A Stitch in Time / Kelley Armstrong. 4 stars
*April: Technology
- How We Got to Now / Steven Johnson. 3.5 stars
- Cradle to Cradle / William McDonough & Michael Braungart. 3.25 stars
May: Beginnings
- The Wilderness Warrior / Douglas Brinkley. 3.25 stars
June: The Golden State
- They Called Us Enemy / George Takei. 4 stars
July: Mental Health - Then and Now
- Cults / Max Cutler. 3.5 stars
- Starvation Heights / Gregg Olsen. 4 stars
August: What can Fiction Teach us About History?
- Hamnet / Maggie O'Farrell. 3 stars
- These Happy Golden Years / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
- A Gentleman in Moscow / Amor Towles. 2.25 stars
- Abundance / Sena Jeter Naslund. 3 stars
September: Harvest Moon
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving. 3.5 stars
October: Musically Speaking
- Forever Liesl / Charmian Carr. 3.5 stars
November: Ends and Endings
- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? / Caitlyn Doughty. 4 stars
- Omaha Beach / Joseph Balkoski. 3.75 stars
December: Reader's Choice
- Fountaineville / C.A. Simonsen. 3 stars (Rural Life)
- From Here to Eternity / Caitlin Doughty. 3.5 stars (Ends and endings)
12x12 BIPOC, Roundtuit, Travel Across Canada, BingoDOG, RandomKITForgiveness / Mark Sakamoto
4 stars
Mark Sakamoto’s grandparents were on two different sides of WWII. His maternal grandfather fought in the war and was captured and spent years as a prisoner of war, first in Hong Kong, then in Japan. Mark’s paternal grandmother, a Japanese-Canadian, and her family lost their home and livelihood in BC and were sent to rural Alberta to farm. Mark and his brother were born and raised in Medicine Hat, Alberta. After Mark’s parents marriage ended, his mother had a really hard time (to put it lightly, but trying not to give too much away in my summary).
The summaries of this book make it sound like it’s all WWII, but it’s not. I found the book to be an entire biography of his grandparents, then his own – with a focus on his relationship with his mom. I really liked this. A little “bonus” for me was that Mark’s wife is from Assiniboia, Sask, a small town about 45 minutes from the town I grew up in.
12x12 Nonfiction, CATWoman, Roundtuit, BingoDOGConfessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight / M. E. Thomas
3.5 stars
The author is a sociopath and wants to describe it to others. She is not violent, but she doesn’t feel things the way other people do. She talks about her life and what makes her different from “normal” people.
I thought she did a good job explaining. I have read other books that tell me that not all sociopaths are serial killers, etc. They aren’t all violent, as this author isn’t. I did find some of her comparisons to “empaths” a bit odd, and they often didn’t seem to ring true for me. It was only in the epilogue that she defined how she was using the word to mean non-sociopaths (if she also defined it earlier, I missed it). I listened to the audio and it was done well. I rarely lost interest.
12x12 Trim the TBR, Roundtuits, AlphaKITPenelope / Rebecca Harrington
2.5 stars
Socially-awkward/inept Penelope is off to Harvard, her mom providing tips for her to make friends, etc. Her roommates don’t seem interested in becoming friends, so Penelope tends to hang out with some of the boys a couple of floors below in their dorm. Eventually, she is roped into helping with a non-speaking part in an experimental/absurdist play.
Everybody in this book was weird. Penelope seems a bit clueless as to academic life (not quite sure how she got into Harvard…). There was a lot of crushes that everyone was having on everyone else; it rarely seemed to be reciprocated. None of the characters were likeable, in my opinion, so I didn’t really care all that much what happened and if they ever got together.
12x12 Animals, Roundtuits, PBT, BingoDOG, AlphaKITSmall and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals / Helene Rajcak, Damien Laverdunt
4 stars
This is a children’s book with large illustrations and cartoons explaining 27 extinct animals (well, 26 extinct, and at the time of publication, the giant tortoise George would likely to be the last of his species; he has since died). The book is divided into geographical areas and the animals focused on went extinct between 15,000 years ago up George (in 2012). Each animal gets a cartoon that either explains a myth or maybe a person who studied or “discovered” them, a large illustration with info about how/when it went extinct and general bits of info about it, as well as some stats like size, weight, etc.
I really liked this. I got my copy from the library, but to be honest, it’s such a quick read and there is a tiny bit of info about each, I don’t know how much I will remember. For that reason, I feel like this is a book that might be nice to have (though I can’t see myself buying it, but others might want to) in order to look back on.
I liked the little cartoons, and the corner with the stats also showed a silhouette of the animal beside a human for a size comparison (for birds, the silhouette compared the animal to a human hand). I thought that was a nice addition. One I will remember – I had no idea there were once giant 6’ beavers running around North America! It does frustrate me that the majority of these animals went extinct, due to (or at least in part) humans – hunting, habitat loss, and/or bringing invasive species with them. There is also a glossary at the back to help kids understand some of the terminology.
12x12 Series, MysteryKIT, BingoDOG, RoudtuitClick Here For Murder / Donna Andrews
4 stars
Turing is an Artificial Intelligence Personality (AIP) and has been working hard to figure out how humans work. One of the guys at her company, Ray, has been murdered. Ray has only been with the company for 6 months. Turning helps her (and Ray’s) human friends, Tim and Maude, try to figure out what happened after the police assume Ray was involved in drugs and his murder had something to do with that. Turing and friends don’t think this is the case, but they quickly learn that Ray isn’t really who he says he is. What else might Ray have been hiding? And why did Ray want Tim to play this online role-playing game – unfortunately, it kept Tim from meeting Ray the night Ray died.
I really liked this. I think the role playing game upped my interest a bit. I do see I’ve rated it higher than the first in the series (this is the 2nd). Although the game wasn’t everything I was interested in. Finding out who Ray really is, and why he was hiding his identity was also of interest. I just really enjoyed this one, and am glad I continued the series. (I’m sad to see many other ratings are not as high as mine.)
12x12 Audio, PBT History Lane, BingoDOG, CATWoman, AlphaKITThe Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper / Hallie Rubenhold
4 stars
This book looks at the five (cannonical) women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper. It doesn’t look at the murders, but it is a biography of each of the women.
So, they weren’t all prostitutes. In fact, most of them weren’t. They were all, however, poor and had trouble finding money to pay for a place to sleep on many nights. Most of them were also alcoholics (well, my perception is that they were – I’m not sure the book actually says that).
In any case, I’m surprised the author was able to find as much information about them as she was. A number of years ago, I read another book that focused on the Ripper victims, but it was thin. I don’t remember it well (only the cover), and I thought I kept it, but it doesn’t look like I did, or I would have checked, but my assumption was that there just wasn’t a lot of information about five very poor girls who grew into women in the mid to late 19th century. But Rubenhold was able to find quite a bit. I was extra surprised to read about Mary Jane Kelly, but I won’t spoil it!
I listened to the audio book and my mind wandered occasionally, but not much. I was interested enough a few times to rewind, as well, so as to not miss what was just said.
12x12 Animals, PBT, Roundtuits, CATWoman, AlphaKIT, BingoDOGThe Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds / Julie Zickefoose
4 stars
The author grew up with parents who enjoyed watching birds and helping them. As an adult she has regularly helped rehabilitate injured and raise orphaned wild birds, and this book contains stories of all the different types of birds she has helped. She is also an artist, so while helping them, she has drawn them at different stages (often as they grow), so many of her illustrations and paintings, with notes alongside, are included.
I really liked this. I do enjoy watching birds myself, but what a lot of work and effort it takes to raise the babies! The author also touches on habitat destruction, hunting, outdoor cats and other threats to wild birds, as well. The illustrations were beautiful, and I have to admit, although I prefer reading on my old Kobo Touch (black & white), the Kobo doesn’t always recognize DRM-free for library books, anymore, so I often end up reading on my tablet via Libby. The colour was really nice for the beautiful illustrations and paintings in this book.
12x12 Trim, Roudtuits, PBT Trim, AlphaKIT, BingoDOGThe Only Alien on the Planet / Kristen D. Randle
3.5 stars
When Ginny and her family move across the country when Ginny is in grade 12, she does not want to go, and is lonely. She becomes friends with her neighbour, Caulder. There is an odd boy at school, Smitty, who doesn’t talk. None of the kids have ever known him to talk. Not only that, he doesn’t show emotion or any kind of reaction to anything. He is, however, very smart. Ginny is a bit reluctant, but Caulder insists on introducing her to Smitty. The premise behind them visiting is that Ginny needs help with math (she really does!), and Smitty is able to help by showing her how to figure it out on paper. Caulder and Ginny eventually consider themselves “friends” with Smitty, but something soon goes wrong…
I liked this. Ginny and Caulder frustrated me at times when (I felt that) they pushed Smitty too hard or just couldn’t seem to understand why he was having trouble, but I guess – teenagers? And I sometimes wondered what the psychologist was thinking, but what do I know!? I did love the interactions between Ginny and her brothers, though. The last bit of the book picked up a bit with a confrontation, but it wasn’t quite enough to bring my rating up to 4 stars. 3.5 stars is still good for me, though. I liked it.
12x12 BIPOC, AuthorCAT, Travel Across Canada, BingoDOG, RandomCATJonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead
2 stars
Not really much of a story to this – Jonny is a gay indigenous boy growing up on the rez, and he moves to Winnipeg when he gets older, where he becomes a prostitute (my mistake – apparently not a prostitute, but a cybersex worker).
It was not in chronological order, and it was quite sexually graphic at times. The author narrated the audio – I rarely lost focus, but he did have a monotone voice. Turns out there might have been more of a “plot” than I thought (although, still kind of flimsy, I think), so maybe I did miss more than I thought. For some reason, I had it in my head that indigenous 2-spirit people were more accepted in indigenous cultures than gay people in white cultures, but (at least in this book) that doesn’t appear to be the case.
12x12 Oh Canada, ScaredyKIT, Rounduits, Travel Across Canada, RandomKITGhost Stories of Saskatchewan 3 / Jo-Anne Christensen
4 stars
This is the third book of Saskatchewan ghost stories written by this author. This one had a few chapters that were a bit different, though. In addition to the ghost stories from around the province, she interviewed a few groups of ghost hunters based in Saskatchewan.
This had me scared enough – when reading by myself at night – to not head down to the basement after reading, before bed, to scoop the cat’s litter box down there! The chapters on the ghost hunters was unexpected, but surprisingly interesting. Although (sadly), none of the ghost stories were really near where I grew up, I quite liked this one.
12x12 Off the Shelf, Who's PBT's Fave, BingoDOG, RoundtuitsA Tap on the Window / Linwood Barclay
4.25 stars
On a dark rainy night, when PI Cal Weaver has a teenage girl knock on his window asking for a ride, he hesitates. But the girl knows his son (his son who died not long ago – via drugs that made him think he could fly… he tried to fly), so Cal feels he can’t refuse (and hopes maybe she can answer some questions for him).
When the girl, Claire, and her friend Hanna do a switch when Claire gets out of the car to use a washroom (Hanna is dressed to look like Claire), it’s not long before Cal figures out it’s not the same girl. But, Hanna refuses to answer questions on what they are doing and tries to jump out of the car. With reservations, Cal decides it’s better to let her out of the car than to have her jump out while the car is moving. The next day, he discovers Claire – the first girl – is missing. And it gets worse...
I really liked this (like most of Barclay’s books). It might not have been as fast paced as some of them, but in the wrap up, there were a couple of surprises, along with a couple of twists to go along with it. With the occasional short chapter from the POV of the “bad guy”, so to speak, I had a guess as to who it was, but I was wrong. To be honest, there is a lot more going on in this book – police corruption and a “fight” with the mayor, Cal and his wife trying to heal, and more.
12x12 PBT, PBT, AlphaKIT, BingoDOG, CATWomanLab Girl / Hope Jahren
3.25 stars
Hope is a research scientist and professor. She studies trees. This is a memoir primarily focusing on her life starting as a student (though there is a little bit when she is younger). She and fellow scientist and best friend, Bill, set up a lab at a different university three times. Eventually, amidst their long working hours, Hope gets married and has a son, while dealing with bi-polar disorder.
I know most people loved this. I’m waffling between good and ok. I liked the biography/memoir parts of the book. I found some (but not all) of the science interesting (my favourite science chapter was the one on desert plants.) Where I definitely lost interest was in the philosophical parts. She did tend to mix her science with philosophy. Too much philosophy my liking, anyway.
12x12 PBT, RandomKIT, Travel Across CanadaBrian's Return / Gary Paulsen
3 stars
This fourth book in the series has Brian back at home in the city, but longing to be back in nature and really not fitting in. He manages to convince his counsellor and his mom that he should head back out to the wilderness.
This one was super short, so only about ½ of it was in the wilderness. Which for me is the most interesting part. Also, very unrealistic – to think the adults would let him go back on his own (he was supposed to be meeting up with someone, but how come an adult didn’t accompany him that far?). I did find the author’s note at the end very interesting, though.
12x12 Series, RandomKIT, MysteryKIT, BingoDOG, RoudtuitsBig Boned / Meg Cabot
4 stars
In the 3rd book in the Heather Wells mystery series, the dorm Heather works at is once again the scene of a murder – this time it’s her new boss. Of course, Heather is the one who finds him. It seems not too many people liked him. Heather has been dating Tad, the perfect guy, but he likes running, herbal tea, and is a vegetarian – and is her remedial math instructor.
I really liked this. This was a lot of fun, but they are as much (or maybe more so) chick lit as mystery, with humour thrown in. And there were parts that made me laugh.
12x12 ARCs, AlphaKITThe Heights / Louise Candlish
4 stars
When Ellen spots a young man she recognizes but hasn’t seen in two years, she is shocked. That man was supposed to be dead! She made sure of that. Keiran was a friend of Ellen’s son, Lucas, and a very bad influence. Things went very wrong due to that friendship and Ellen just couldn’t stand to see Keiran around. How is it possible he’s back?
I really liked this. Much of the book was told from Ellen’s point of view and it was easy (at least for me) to get caught up in her anger and her adrenaline! The book did also show the POV of Ellen’s ex (and Lucas’ father) Vic. This certainly brought some interesting information and twists to light, but his POV was more business-like and so I wasn’t quite as caught up. At the same time, it also pointed out what an “unreliable narrator” Ellen might be (although I was already questioning that). Maybe that’s not the correct phrase, but it did show how obsessed she was (rightly or wrongly).
12x12 ARCsThe Lives of Diamond Bessie / Jody Hadlock.
3.5 stars
In the mid-1800s, Annie was kicked out of her home and sent to the nuns when she was pregnant and unwed at 16-years old. When her baby was born and taken away, she ran and ended up in a brothel. Unmarried “fallen” women really didn’t have much in the way of options if they wanted to make enough money to live. Here, she became Bessie and was very good at what she did. She made enough money to travel and she did fall in love with a couple of clients. There was an “issue” with one of those men...
This was good. It took an unexpected turn in the middle of the book, and initially I wasn’t impressed with where (I thought) it was heading, but it did get better again. As I always appreciate, there was an author’s note at the end, explaining that Bessie was a real woman. I had wondered as I read it if she was a real person, but didn’t know for sure until that note.
12x12 Series, AlphaKIT, AuthorCAT, BingoDOGRose in Bloom / Louisa May Alcott
2 stars
I don’t really have a summary because I wasn’t really interested/paying attention. It seems Rose (raised with a bunch of boy cousins – I know this from the previous book) was away and has returned. I think she might now be looking for a husband. If she isn’t, others are (Phoebe?), as there is lots of talk of “lovers”. Oh, I do remember Rose wanted to become a philanthropist.
I listened to the audio, but neither the narrator nor the story made this interesting enough to really listen to what was going on. I rarely paid attention. Oh, and cousins getting married kind of creeps me out.
12x12 Overflow, BingoDOG, For ReginaThe Lady of the Rivers / Philippa Gregory
4 stars
In the early/mid-15th century Jacquetta of Luxembourg married John of Bedford, the brother of King Henry V and the man responsible for holding Calais (and other parts of France) for England, but she did not have any children with him. When he died, she (without permission) married John’s squire, Richard Woodville. She and Richard went on to have many children (including Elizabeth, who would later marry Edward IV and become Queen) while Richard continued to serve King Henry VI (the kind who was “mad”), and Jacquetta served Margaret of Anjou, Henry’s wife. During this time, the tensions between the Houses of York and Lancaster continued to escalate, in no small part due to Margaret’s desire for revenge on those who sided against her husband and son.
I really liked this. I’ve read very little (looks like only one book… and I don’t remember it!) about Margaret of Anjou, but she sure wasn’t likeable (even a little bit!) in this book. How much of the venom was accurate, I don’t know. I did, however, like Jacquetta and Richard. The book did not go all the way to Jacquetta’s death, but ended right around when her daughter Elizabeth would have met and married Edward.
12x12 Animals, AlphaKIT, ScaredyKIT, CATWoman, PBT, BingoDOGBuzz, Sting, Bite: Why We Need Insects / Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
4 stars
The subtitle pretty much says it all. Chapters include insect anatomy, sex, the food chain, symbiosis between insects and plants, insects and human food, insects as “janitors”, industries, and more.
I found this really Interesting, but I’m afraid I won’t remember much. There were so many little tidbits of information, it will be hard to remember. I have heard it before, but even if they are pests, insects really are beneficial, and humans would be hard-pressed to live on a planet without them.
12x12 Audio, MysteryKITI'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer / Michelle McNamara
3.5 stars
The Golden State Killer, murdered and raped over the course of about ten years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The author of this book was obsessed with finding out who he was… or really, just bringing him to justice. The book is part-memoir, in addition to true crime. The name “Golden State Killer” was even coined by this author; unfortunately, she died before she finished the book.
The man she called the Golden State Killer started off known as the East Area Rapist (the EAR). Later on, someone else (they hadn’t linked the two at the time) was known as the “Original Night Stalker” (I think there was another Night Stalker, as well.)
I listened to the audio, so that may not have helped keep things straight, but between following the rapist/murderer and his (many many) activities, and the author’s sections that were memoir, it didn’t help that nothing was in chronological order. And there were so many murders and rapes, it was hard to follow what was happening. Maybe it would have been easier to read (I suspect so) rather than listen to. So, I was a bit confused for a while, trying to figure out who everyone was and where they fit in.
12x12 Nonfiction, AlphaKIT, BingoDOG, RoundtuitElizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World / Alison Weir
3.25 stars
Elizabeth of York was Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydeville’s daughter. During the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, they were Yorkists. Elizabeth married Henry VII, who was a Lancaster, thus bringing the two sides together. Between them, they began the Tudor era, and Henry VIII was their son. This is meant to be a biography of Elizabeth.
I only say it’s “meant to be” a biography because, as with so many women of the time (including queens), there is just so little information about them. So, really, I feel like it’s more of a history of what happened around her during her life, often with musings as to what Elizabeth may have been doing or feeling at certain times or about certain things. It’s a long book, over 500 pages, and nonfiction, which does tend to go slower for me. There’s a lot of information, much of it I didn’t know (I think this is the first book I’ve read specifically focusing on Elizabeth), and even though I found much of it interesting, there are still dry parts.
12x12 PBT, PBT, Who's PBT's FavoriteSongs of the Humpback Whale / Jodi Picoult
3.5 stars
Jane and Oliver have been married for 15(?) years, and they were together longer than that. Their daughter Rebecca’s 15th birthday is coming up soon. Oliver is a famous marine biologist who studies humpback whales, but his career success has come to the detriment of his home life. After a big argument, Jane and Rebecca leave. Jane’s brother Joley (Jane and Joley have always been close), helps direct Jane from California to Massachusetts (where Joley is living and working) via letters along the way.
The first half was a bit more confusing with regard to timeline. Rebecca’s POV was told with each chapter going backward in time (but luckily, those were the chapters that told us a date). Until the middle of the book where other timelines met up, chapters were all moving forward chronologically, but they had started at different points in the story. Luckily, mid-way through, the timelines met up.
I didn’t find this as good as Picoult’s other books, but the second half did pick up for me – maybe because all timelines (except Rebecca’s) were now moving forward. But it might also have been that I liked reading the same thing happening from a different POV. Have to admit, though. I don’t think I really liked any of the characters. I suppose that could mean that everyone had good and bad points (like in real life), but I really didn’t like (view spoiler). I agreed with the ending (view spoiler) (but there are probably readers who wanted it to end the way I didn’t!).
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Wild Awake (other topics)The Island of Sea Women (other topics)
Offshore (other topics)
Long Walk to Freedom (other topics)
A Stitch in Time (other topics)
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