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Member Challenge Tracking 2023
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Cindy/LibraryCin's 2023 Challenges
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LibraryCin
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Dec 31, 2022 10:54AM
Setting up my challenges...
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12x12 CHALLENGEPlay Book Tag (tags or challenges)
1. Deal Breaker / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
2. To Hold the Crown / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
3. Dewey Decimal System of Love / Josephine Carr. 3 stars
4. The Courts of Love / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
5. The Forgotten Sisters / Shannon Hale. 3.5 stars
6. The Wild Trees / Richard Preston. 4 stars
7. The One Man / Andrew Gross. 3.5 stars
8. Plain Truth / Jodi Picoult. 4 stars
9. John Hughes: A Life in Film / Kirk Honeycutt. 3.5 stars
10. The Flight Attendant / Chris Bohjalian. 3.75 stars
11. Spinning Silver / Naomi Novik. 2.75 stars
12. Secret Santa / Andrew Shaffer. 3 stars
______________________________________
13. The Children's Blizzard / Melanie Benjamin. 4 stars
14. Blue Heron / Avi. 3.25 stars
ARCs (Netgalley, Early Readers)1. Last Winter / Carrie Mac. 3.5 stars
2. The Other Family Doctor / Karen Fine. 4.5 stars
3. A Death at the Party / Amy Stuart. 4.5 stars
4. How I'll Kill You / Ren DeStefano. 5 stars
5. Homecoming / Kate Morton. 3.75 stars
6. A Walk in the Dark / Pamela Kiami. 4 stars
7. Wolvercraft Manor / Cas E. Crowe. 4.5 stars
8. The Quiet Tenant / Clemence Michellon. 4.5 stars
9. Dead of Winter / Darcy Coates. 5 stars
10. The September House / Carissa Orlando. 4 stars
11. West Heart Kill / Dann McDorman. 3.25 stars
Reading Through Time1. Neighbors to the Birds / Felton Gibbons, Deborah Strom. 3 stars
2. Rescued / Allen & Linda Anderson. 3.5 stars
3. The Borden Murders / Sarah Miller. 3.5 stars
4. King's Fool / Margaret Campbell Barnes. 3 stars
5. Paris / Edward Rutherfurd. 2.5 stars
6. The Golden Tresses of the Dead / Alan Bradley. 3.25 stars
7. Reconstruction / Eric Foner. 2 stars
8. One Thousand White Women / Jim Fergus. 3.5 stars
9. The Four Winds / Kristin Hannah. 4 stars
10. Miss Spitfire / Sarah Miller. 3.5 stars
11. Up Ghost River / Edmund Metatawabin. 4 stars
12. The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England / Ian Mortimer. 3.5 stars
___________________________________________
13. Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge / J.M. Younker. 3.5 stars
Oh Canada! (Canadian Authors) 1. The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat. 4 stars
2. The Broken Girls / Simone St. James. 4.25 stars
3. The Barren Grounds / David A. Robertson. 2.25 stars
4. The Son of a Certain Woman / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
5. Beneath the Faceless Mountain / Roberta Rees. 2 stars
6. Tell it to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami. 4.25 stars
7. Correction Road / Glen Dresser. 3 stars
8. Twopence to Cross the Mersey / Helen Forrester. 4 stars
9. The Book of Cold Cases / Simone St. James. 4 stars
10. Anne / Kathleen Gros. 3.5 stars
11. A Book in Every Hand / Don Kerr. 3.5 stars
12. Kids on a Case: Hunting Black Dragon. 3 stars
_______________________________________
13. Country Roads: Memoirs from Rural Canada / Pam Chamberlain (ed.) 3 stars
Trim the TBR (On TBR 3+ years) 1. Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt. 3.5 stars
2. Ruby Red / Kerstin Gier. 4 stars
3. Garbage Man / Joseph D'Lacey. 3.5 stars
4. The Road / Cormac McCarthy. 4 stars
5. The Secret Wife of King George IV / Diane Haeger. 3.5 stars
6. Out With It / Katherine Preston. 3.5 stars
7. The Big Tiny / Dee Williams. 3.5 stars
8. 13 Ways to Kill Your Community / Doug Griffiths, Kelly Clemmer. 3.5 stars
9. Burning Bright / Tracy Chevalier. 3.5 stars
10. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend / Katarina Bivald. 3 stars
11. Invisible Ellen / Shari Shattuck. 3 stars
12. Missing You / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
_______________________________________________
13. Libriomancer / Jim C. Hines. 3.75 stars
Will it Ever End? (Continuing Series) 1. Lethal White / Robert Galbraith. 4 stars
2. All Things Wise and Wonderful / James Herriot. 3.5 stars
3. Game / Barry Lyga. 4 stars
4. Ashen Winter / Mike Mullen. 4 stars
5. The Luck Runs Out / Charlotte MacLeod. 3 stars
6. Final Assignment / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
7. Pray for Silence / Linda Castillo. 4 stars
8. Auggie & Me / R. J. Palacio. 4 stars
9. Milk Glass Moon / Adriana Trigiani. 3 stars
10. The First Four Years / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
11. All Things Slip Away / Kathryn Meyer Griffith. 4 stars
12. A Tangled Web / Mercedes Lackey. 4 stars
__________________________________________________
13. The Magician King / Lev Grossman. 2 stars
14. Out of Circulation / Miranda James. 3.5 stars
Off the Shelf (Print or E-Books I Own)1. Don't Throw it Out / Lori Baird. 3 stars
2. Perfect Match / Jodi Picoult. 3.75 stars
3. The Wagoner / C.A. Simonsen. 3.25 stars
4. The Other People / C. J. Tudor. 4 stars
5. An Unwanted Guest / Shari Lapena. 4.5 stars
6. The Lying Game / Ruth Ware. 3.75 stars
7. Everyone Here is Lying / Shari Lapena. 4 stars
8. Weather for Dummies / John D. Cox. 3.5 stars
9. The Rose Code / Kate Quinn. 4.5 stars
10. The Haunting of Blackwood House / Darcy Coates. 4 stars
11. The Stranger Diaries / Elly Griffiths. 4 stars
12. A Time for Mercy / John Grisham. 4.5 stars
_____________________________________________
13. Greenwood / Michael Christie. 4 stars
Is Listening Really Reading? (Audio Books)1. Horrorstor / Grady Hendrix. 3.75 stars
2. Curse of the Blue Tattoo / L. A. Meyer. 4 stars
3. The Fountainhead / Ayn Rand. 2 stars
4. Daisy Jones & the Six / Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4 stars
5. Klara and the Sun / Kazuo Ishiguro. 3 stars
6. Denali's Howl / Andy Hall. 3.5 stars
7. The Shining / Stephen King. 4 stars
8. Prey / Michael Crichton. 3.5 stars
9. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue / V. E. Schwab. 3.5 stars
10. The Last Tudor / Philippa Gregory. 4 stras
11. The Last Thing He Told Me / Laura Dave. 3.5 stars
12. When the Stars Go Dark / Paula McLain. 4 stars
____________________________________________
13. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine / Gail Honeyman. 3.75 stars
14. I Love You More / Jennifer Murphy. 3.5 stars
I'll Travel Virtually (Books Set in Other Countries - not Canada, USA, or England) 1. Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones / Brandon Sanderson. 2.5 stars
2. The Searcher / Tana French. 3.5 stars
3. Blue Lightning / Ann Cleeves. 3.5 stars
4. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos / Dominic Smith. 2.25 stars
5. Shadow of the Titanic / Andrew Wilson. 4 stars
6. The Romanov Bride / Robert Alexander. 2.5 stars
7. Memories of Anne Frank / Alison Leslie Gold. 3.5 stars
8, Solar System / Rosemary Mosco, Jon Chad. 4 stars
9. House Aretoli / K. M. Butler. 3.75 stars
10. Paper and Fire / Rachel Caine. 2 stars
11. Carve the Mark / Veronica Roth. 2.5 stars
12. The Hunter and the Wild Girl / Pauline Holdstock. 2.5 stars
____________________________________________________
13. Naughty in Nice / Rhys Bowen. 3.5 stars
Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My! (Animals) 1. Ivan: The Remarkable True Story... / Katherine Applegate. 4 stars
2. Chomp / Carl Hiaasen. 4 stars
3. Down the Mysterly River / Bill Willingham. 3.75 stars
4. Beautiful Joe / Marshall Saunders. 3.5 stars
5. A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan. 4 stars
6. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be / Farley Mowat. 3.5 stars
7. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest / Charles de Lint. 3.5 stars
8. The Animal Dialogues / Craig Childs. 3 stars
9. Crows: Genius Birds / Kyla Vanderklugt. 4 stars
10. Birds of Prey: Terrifying Talons / Joe Flood. 4 stars
11. Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland / Bill Willingham. 3.5 stars
12. Noir / Christopher Moore. 3.25 stars
____________________________________________________
13. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents / Terry Pratchett. 3 stars
14. All My Patients are Under the Bed / Louis J. Camuti. 3.5 stars
Truth is Stranger than Fiction (Nonfiction)1. Stuffed and Starved / Raj Patel. 3.5 stars
2. The Rape of Nanking / Iris Chang. 3.5 stars
3. Talking to Strangers / Malcolm Gladwell. 3.75 stars
4. The Johnstown Flood / David McCullough. 2.5 stars
5. The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets / Sarah Miller. 4.25 stars
6. Dead Run / Dan Schulz. 3.5 stars
7. Stuffocation / James Wallman. 3.5 stars
8. The Garden of Evil / Genoveva Ortiz. 4 stars
9. The Big Book of Irony / Jon Winokur. 2 stars
10. The Discovery of the Titanic / Robert Ballard. 3.5 stars
11. Plague! / John Farndon. 3.5 stars
12. The Colony / John Tayman. 3.5 stars
___________________________________________
13. When Books Went to War / Molly Guptill Manning. 3 stars
14. The Only Plane in the Sky / Garrett M. Graff. 4.5 stars
BIPOC (Authors or main characters)1. Halfbreed / Maria Campbell. 3 stars
2. White Chrysanthemum / Mary Lynn Bracht. 4 stars
3. Mambo in Chinatown / Jean Kwok. 4 stars
4. Chief Piapot: I Will Stop the Train / Vincent McKay. 3.5 stars
5. Seven Fallen Feathers / Tanya Talaga. 4.5 stars
6. China Rich Girlfriend / Kevin Kwan. 3 stars
7. The Vanishing Half / Brit Bennett. 3.5 stars
8. The Second Life of Samuel Tyne / Esi Edugyan. 3 stars
9. This Place: 150 Years Retold / Misc authors. 3.5 stars
10. Dial A for Aunties / Jesse Q. Sutanto. 4 stars
11. The Porcupine Year / Louise Erdrich. 3 stars
Overflow (doesn’t fit other categories)1. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen. 3.25 stars
2. By Book or By Crook / Eva Gates. 4 stars
3. Famine / Graham Masterton. 3 stars
4. The Judge's List / John Grisham. 4 stars
5. How to Sell a Haunted House / Grady Hendrix. 4 stars
6. The Woman in the Library / Sulari Gentill. 4 stars
7. Duma Key / Stephen King. 3 stars
BingoDOG
1: Features music or a musician. Dewey Decimal System of Love / Josephine Carr. 3 stars
2: Features or is set in an Inn or Hotel. Blue Lightning / Ann Cleeves. 3.5 stars
3: Features a member of the cat family (as big a cat as you like) . A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan. 4 stars
4: The next book in a series you've started. Lethal White / Robert Galbraith. 4 stars
5: A book by an author that shares your sign of the zodiac. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen. 3.25 stars
6: A memoir. The Other Family Doctor / Karen Fine. 4.5 stars
7: A bestselling book from 20 years ago. Prey / Michael Crichton. 3.5 stars
8: Book with a plant in the title or on the cover. Ivan: the Remarkable True Story... / Katherine Applegate. 4 stars
9: A book with switched or stolen identities. How I'll Kill You / Ren DeStefano. 5 stars
10: A book that taught you something. Stuffed and Starved / Raj Patel. 3.5 stars
11: A book with a book on the cover. Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt. 3.5 stars
12: Features something art or craft related. Don't Throw It Out / Lori Baird. 3 stars
13: Read a CAT. By Book or By Crook / Eva Gates. 4 stars
14: A book with a small town or rural setting. The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat. 4 stars
15: A book on a STEM topic (Science Technology, Engineering or Maths) . Klara and the Sun / Kazuo Ishiguro. 3 stars
16: A book with an LT rating of 4 or more. White Chrysanthemum / Mary Lynn Bracht. 4 stars
17: A book by a local or regional author. Halfbreed / Maria Campbell. 3 stars
18: A book involving an accident. Last Winter / Carrie Mac. 3.5 stars
19: A book featuring a journalist or about journalism. The Broken Girls / Simone St. James. 4.25 stars
20: A popular author's first book. The Johnstown Flood / David McCullough. 2.5 stars
21: A book on a topic you don't usually read. The Barren Grounds / David A. Robertson. 2.25 stars
22: A book with a number or quantity in the title. The Secret Wife of King George IV / Diane Haeger. 3.5 stars
23: A book by an author under 30. The Rape of Nanking / Iris Chang. 3.5 stars
24: A book set on a plane, train or ship. Shadow of the Titanic / Andrew Wilson. 4 stars
25: A book in >1000 libraries on LT . Deal Breaker / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
KiddyCAT:January: picture books/graphic novels
- Ivan: The Remarkable True Story... / Katherine Applegate. 4 stars
February: mystery
- Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones / Brandon Sanderson. 2.5 stars
March: YA historical fiction
- Curse of the Blue Tattoo / L. A. Meyer. 4 stars
April: fantasy for middle grade/YA
- The Forgotten Sisters / Shannon Hale. 3.5 stars
- Down the Mysterly River / Bill Willingham. 3.75 stars
May: classics
- Beautiful Joe / Marshall Saunders. 3.5 stars
June: animals as main character
- The Dog Who Wouldn't Be / Farley Mowat. 3.5 stars
August: series
- Auggie & Me / R. J. Palacio. 4 stars
- Solar System / Rosemary Mosco, Jon Chad. 4 stars
September: history/ biography
- Plague! / John Farndon. 3.5 stars
October: siblings
- Spinning Silver / Naomi Novik. 2.75 stars
November: fairy tales/myths/legends
- A Tangled Web / Mercedes Lakey. 4 stars
December: holiday stories
- Blue Heron / Avi. 3.25 stars
Series CAT: January: new to you
- By Book or By Crook / Eva Gates. 4 stars
February: in translation
- Ruby Red / Kerstin Gier. 4 stars
March: YA/children
- Game /Barry Lyga. 4 stars
- Curse of the Blue Tattoo / L. A. Meyer. 4 stars
- Ashen Winter / Mike Mullin. 4 stars
April: don't need to read in order (or a one-off)
- Blue Lightning / Ann Cleeves. 3.5 stars
May: trilogies
- China Rich Girlfriend / Kevin Kwan. 3 stars
June: favorite author
- Final Assignment / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
July: nonfiction
- Weather for Dummies / John. D. Cox. 3.5 stars
August: meaning to get back to
- Auggie & Me / R. J. Palacio. 4 stars
- Milk Glass Moon / Adriana Trigiani. 3 stars
September: began more than 50 years ago
- The First Four Years / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
October: Asian setting
- Dial A for Aunties / Jesse Q. Sutanto. 4 stars
November: historical series
- The Porcupine Year / Louise Erdrich. 3 stars
December: set in a country/region where you do not live
- Out of Circulation / Miranda James. 3.5 stars
- Naughty in Nice / Rhys Bowen. 3.5 stars
- The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England / Ian Mortimer. 3.5 stars
RandomKIT:January: Hidden Gems (long-time TBR)
- The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat. 4 stars
- Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt. 3.5 stars
- Don't Throw It Out / Lori Baird. 3 stars
February: Second or Two
- Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones / Brandon Sanderson. 2.5 stars
- Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster / Allen & Linda Anderson. 3.5 stars
March: Water, Water Everywhere!
- The Johnstown Flood / David McCullough. 2.5 stars
April: Seven Ages of (Wo)Man
- The Judge's List / John Grisham. 4 stars
May: Royal Names
- A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan. 4 stars
June: Walls
- Correction Road / Glen Dresser. 3 stars
July: The Muppets
- The Cats of Tanglewood Forest / Charles de Lint. 3.5 stars
- The Wild Trees / Richard Pretson. 4 stars
August: Tell Me Something Good!
- Solar System / Rosemary Mosco, Jon Chad. 4 stars
September: The Wild Wild West
- The First Four Years / Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4 stars
October: Treats, not Tricks
- Missing You / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
- A Time for Mercy / John Grisham. 4.5 stars
November: A Little Light
- Paper and Fire / Rachel Caine. 2 stars
December: O (Christmas) Tree
- Greenwood / Michael Christie. 4 stars
ScaredyKIT:January: comedy horror
- Pride & Prejudice & Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen. 3.25 stars
- Horrorstor / Grady Hendrix. 3.75 stars
February: historical horror
- The Broken Girls / Simone St. James. 4.25 stares
March: indie authors/small press
- Garbage Man / Joseph D'Lacey. 3.5 stars
April: food-related horror
- Famine / Graham Masterton. 3 stars
May: surviving the horror
- An Unwanted Guest / Shari Lapena. 4.5 stars
- Wolvercraft Manor / Cas E. Crowe. 4.5 stars
June: Stephen King and family
- The Shining / Stephen King. 4 stars
July: horror beach reads
- How to Sell a Haunted House / Grady Hendrix. 4 stars
August: your favorite scary trope/wildcard month
- The Book of Cold Cases / Simone St. James. 4 stars
- The September House / Carissa Orlando. 4 stars
September: Haunted houses
- The Haunting of Blackwood House / Darcy Coates. 4 stars
October: tricks not treats
- Missing you / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
December: ghost stories
- Duma Key / Stephen King. 3 stars
MysteryKIT:January: TV/movie detectives
- Lethal White / Robert Galbraith. 4 stars
February: classic settings
- The Searcher / Tana French. 3.5 stars
- The Broken Girls / Simone St. James. 4.25 stars
March: paranormal
- The Other People / C.J. Tudor. 4 stars
April: tartan noir
- Blue Lightning / Ann Cleeves. 3.5 stars
May: true unsolved mysteries
- Seven Fallen Feathers / Tanya Talaga. 4.5 stars
June: vintage
- The Luck Runs Out / Charlotte MacLeod. 3 stars
July: police procedural/private detectives
- Pray for Silence / Linda Castillo. 4 stars
August: past and future
- The Rose Code / Kate Quinn. 4.5 stars
September: college/university setting
- The Stranger Diaries / Elly Griffiths. 4 stars
October: locked room
- The Woman in the Library / Sulari Gentill. 4 stars
November: senior sleuths/kid sleuths
- Kids on a Case: Hunting Black Dragon / Tony Peters. 3 stars
December: cozy mystery
- Out of Circulation / Miranda James. 3.5 stars
- Naughty in Nice / Rhys Bowen. 3.5 stars
AlphaKIT: January: I S
- Ivan: The Remarkable True Story... / Katherine Applegate. 4 stars
- Pride & Prejudice & Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen. 3.25 stars
- Stuffed and Starved / Raj Patel. 3.5 stars
- Neighbors to the Birds / Felton Gibbons, Deborah Strom. 3 stars
- Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt. 3.5 stars
February: J F
- Perfect Match / Jodi Picoult. 3.75 stars
- The Searcher / Tana French. 3.5 stars
- The Broken Girls / Simone St. James. 4.25 stars
- Mambo in Chinatown / Jean Kwok. 4 stars
- To Hold the Crown / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
- The Other Family Doctor / Karen Fine. 4.5 stars
- Dewey Decimal System of Love / Josephine Carr. 3 stars
March: G A
- Garbage Man / Joseph D'Lacey. 3.5 stars
- Talking to Strangers / Malcolm Gladwell. 3.75 stars
- Game / Barry Lyga. 4 stars
- Ashen Winter / Mike Mullin. 4 stars
April: W D
- The Johnstown Flood / David McCullough. 2.5 stars
- The Secret Wife of King George IV / Diane Haeger. 3.5 stars
- The Son of a Certain Woman / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
- Daisy Jones & the Six / Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4 stars
- Down the Mysterly River / Bill Willingham. 3.75 stars
- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos / Dominic Smith. 2.25 stars
May: U C
- An Unwanted Guest / Shari Lapena. 4.5 stars
- China Rich Girlfriend / Kevin Kwan. 3 stars
- Wolvercraft Manor / Cas E. Crowe. 4.5 stars
June: B K
- The Vanishing Half / Brit Bennett. 3.5 stars
- Tell it to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami. 4.25 stars
- The Golden Tresses of the Dead / Alan Bradley. 3.25 stars
- Out With It / Katherine Preston. 3.5 stars
- Final Assignment / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
- The Shining / Stephen King. 4 stars
July: O P
- The Wild Trees / Richard Preston. 4 stars
- The One Man / Andrew Gross. 3.5 stars
- Pray for Silence / Linda Castillo. 4 stars
August: M Q
- The Rose Code / Kate Quinn. 4.5 stars
- Memories of Anne Frank / Alison Leslie Gold. 3.5 stars
- Milk Glass Moon / Adriana Trigiani. 3 stars
- Solar System / Rosemary Mosco, Jon Chad. 4 stars
September: V E
- Crows: Genius Birds / Kyla Vanderklugt. 4 stars
- The Stranger Diaries / Elly Griffiths. 4 stars
October: N H
- House Aretoli / K. M. Butler. 3.75 stars
- Missing You / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
- Spinning Silver / Naomi Novik. 2.75 stars
November: T L
- The Porcupine Year / Louise Erdrich. 3 stars
- A Tangled Web / Mercedes Lackey. 4 stars
- Libriomancer / Jim C. Hines. 3.75 stars
- The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents / Terry Pratchett. 3 stars
- Kids on a Case: Hunting Black Dragon / Tony Peters. 3 stars
- The Magician King / Lev Grossman. 2 stars
December: R Y
- Naughty in Nice / Rhys Bowen. 3.5 stars
- Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge / J.M. Younker. 3.5 stars
Historical Fiction Challenge1. Read a work of historical fiction set in the country you’re from. . Chief Piapot: I Will Stop the Train / Vincent McKay. 3.5 stars
2. Read a work of historical fiction set in a different country to the one you’re from. White Chrysanthemum / Mary Lynn Bracht. 4 stars
3. Read a work of historical fiction set in your favourite historical time period to read about. To Hold the Crown / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
4. Read a work of historical fiction set in a time period you’ll less familiar with. Curse of the Blue Tattoo / L. A. Meyer. 4 stars
5. Read a work of historical fiction with a speculative element. One Thousand White Women / Jim Fergus. 3.5 stars
6. Read a work of historical fiction about a real historical figure or a specific historical event. The Secret Wife of King George IV / Diane Haeger. 3.5 stars
7. Read a classic work of historical fiction. King's Fool / Margaret Campbell Barnes. 3 stars
Bonus: Read a work of historical fiction of over 500 pages. The Courts of Love / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
Roundtuits/(Classic) Trim the TBR(3+ years on the tbr)
1. Stay / Allie Larkin
3. Sea of Slaughter / Farley Mowat
5. The Perfect Ghost / Linda Barnes
6. Something About Sophie / Mary Kay McComas
7. The Sister Season / Jennifer Scott
9. The Incredible Journey / Sheila Burnford (own)
11. The Homing Instinct / Bernd Heinrich
12. Somewhere in France / Jennifer Robson
13. The Collector of Dying Breaths / M. J. Rose
1. Deal Breaker / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
2. Ivan: the Remarkable True Story... / Katherine Applegate. 4 stars
3. The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat. 4 stars
4. Stuffed and Starved / Raj Patel. 3.5 stars
5. Sugarhouse / Matthew Batt. 3.5 stars
6. Don't Throw it Out / Lori Baird. 3 stars
7. Perfect Match / Jodi Picoult. 3.75 stars
8. Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones / Brandon Sanderson. 2.5 stars
9. Mambo in Chinatown / Jean Kwok. 4 stars
10. Rescued / Allen & Linda Anderson. 3.5 stars
11. To Hold the Crown / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
12. Ruby Red / Kerstin Gier. 4 stars
13. Dewey Decimal System of Love / Josephine Carr. 3 stars
14. All Things Wise and Wonderful / James Herriot. 3.5 stars
15. Garbage Man / Joseph D'Lacey. 3.5 stars
16. Talking to Strangers / Malcolm Gladwell. 3.75 stars
17. The Road / Cormac McCarthy. 4 stars
18. The Courts of Love / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
19. The Forgotten Sisters / Shannon Hale. 3.5 stars
20. The Secret Wife of King George IV / Diane Haeger. 3.5 stars
21. The Son of a Certain Woman / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
22. Down the Mysterly River / Bill Willingham. 3.75 stars
23. King's Fool / Margaret Campbell Barnes. 3 stars
24. Dead Run / Dan Schultz. 3.5 stars
25. Beneath the Faceless Mountain / Roberta Rees. 2 stars
26. Beautiful Joe / Marshall Saunders. 3.5 stars
27. A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan. 4 stars
28. Shadow of the Titanic / Andrew Wilson. 4 stars
29. Denali's Howl / Andy Hall. 3.5 stars
30. The Second Life of Samuel Tyne / Esi Edugyan. 3 stars
31. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be / Farley Mowat. 3.5 stars
32. Out With It / Katherine Preston. 3.5 stars
33. Correction Road / Glen Dresser. 3 stars
34. Final Assignment / Linwood Barclay. 4 stars
35. The Lying Game / Ruth Ware. 3.75 stars
36. The Big Tiny / Dee Williams. 3.5 stars
37. Stuffocation / James Wallman. 3.5 stars
38. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest / Charles de Lint. 3.5 stars
39. The Romanov Bride / Robert Alexander. 2.5 stars
40. The Wild Trees / Richard Preston. 4 stars
41. The One Man / Andrew Gross. 3.5 stars
42. Weather for Dummies / John D. Cox. 3.5 stars
43. 13 Ways to Kill Your Community / Doug Griffiths, Kelly Clemmer. 3.5 stars
44. Memories of Anne Frank / Alison Leslie Gold. 3.5 stars
45. Auggie & Me / R. J. Palacio. 4 stars
46. Milk Glass Moon / Adriana Trigiani. 3 stars
47. Twopence to Cross the Mersey / Helen Forrester. 4 stars
48. The Animal Dialogues / Craig Childs. 3 stars
49. John Hughes: A Life in Film / Kirk Honeycutt. 3.5 stars
50. The Big Book of Irony / Jon Winokur. 2 stars
51. The Last Tudor / Philippa Gregory. 4 stars
52. Burning Bright / Tracy Chevalier. 3.5 stars
53. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend / Katarina Bivald. 3 stars
54. All Things Slip Away / Kathryn Meyer Griffith. 4 stars
55. Invisible Ellen / Shari Shattuck. 3 stars
56. The Colony / John Tayman. 3.5 stars
57. Missing You / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
58. A Book in Every Hand / Don Kerr. 3.5 stars
59. A Time for Mercy / John Grisham. 4.5 stars
60. The Porcupine Year / Louise Erdrich. 3 stars
61. Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland / Bill Willingham. 3.5 stars
62. When Books Went to War / Molly Guptill Manning. 3 stars
63. Libriomancer / Jim C. Hines. 3.75 stars
64. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents / Terry Pratchett. 3 stars
65. Paper and Fire / Rachel Caine. 2 stars
66. Carve the Mark / Veronica Roth. 2.5 stars
67. Kids on a Case: Hunting Black Dragon / Tony Peters. 3 stars
68. The Magician King / Lev Grossman. 2 stars
69. All My Patients are Under the Bed / Louis Camuti. 3.5 stars
70. The Hunter and the Wild Girl / Pauline Holdstock. 2.5 stars
71. Blue Heron / Avi. 3.25 stars
72. I Love You More / Jennifer Murphy. 3.5 stars
73. Country Roads: Memoirs from Rural Canada / Pam Chamberlain (ed). 3 stars
74. Greenwood / Michael Christie. 4 stars
75. Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge / J.M. Younker. 3.5 stars
PBT Trim the TBR 2. A Book in Every Hand / Don Kerr. 3.5 stars
3. 13 Ways to Kill Your Community / Doug Griffiths, Kelly Clemmer. 3.5 stars
4. Chief Piapot: I Will Stop the Train / Vincent McKay. (own) 3.5 stars
5. The Second Life of Samuel Tyne / Esi Edugyan. 3 stars
6. The Son of a Certain Woman / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
7. The Courts of Love / Jean Plaidy (Victoria Holt). 3.5 stars
8. Memories of Anne Frank / Alison Gold. 3.5 stars (openlib)
9. All My Patients Are under the Bed / Louis J. Camuti. 3.5 stars
10. The Traitor's Wife / Susan Higginbotham
12. A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan. 4 stars
Happy Birthday, PBT 2. PBT was founded in February, 2008. Read a book that represents or relates to any event that occurred (or occurs) in February. Dewey Decimal System of Love / Josephine Carr. 3 stars
3. Read a 5 star book from any of our administrators (past or present) "read" shelf (Ladyslott). Daisy Jones & the Six / Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4 stars
4. We have been compiling the PBT Top 10 list since our inception. Read a book from any of our 15 years of Top 10 selections. One Thousand White Women / Jim Fergus. 3.5 stars
5. Read a book that fits the tag of India. Read in December, 2013, it represents our least read tag (excluding administrator special tags). Tell it to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami. 4.25 stars
6. Surprisingly, our favorite tag as measured by books read in one month was read way back in 2008. Read a book that fits the tag of mystery. Deal Breaker / Harlan Coben. 4 stars
7. When PBT was 7 years old, we compiled our own top 100 non-fiction books of all time. The Colony / John Tayman. 3.5 stars
8. When PBT was 8 years old, we compiled our own top 100 fictional books of all time. The Road / Cormac McCarthy. 4 stars
9. In 2016, we were forced to make the move from Shelfari to Goodreads. Read a book that fits EITHER the last tag we read at Shelfari (2010) or the first tag we read at Goodreads (world war ii). White Chrysanthemum / Mary Lynn Bracht. 4 stars
10. Our most prolific poster (in the Goodreads era) is Amy. Read a book in Amy's honor that somehow relates to her. (psychologist/mental illnes): Last Winter / Carrie Mac. 3.5 stars
11. Read a book that was a buddy read here on PBT that you have not read before. Klara and the Sun / Kazuo Ishiguro. 3 stars
12. Fall Flurries and Trim the TBR have been staples for PBT for a very long time! Select a book that has been read for either of these PBT stalwarts: The Flight Attendant / Chris Bohjalian. 3.75 stars
13. When PBT was one year old (in its infancy still), we played a game called "Last Tagger Standing", and it was modeled on the famous television show, Survivor. Read a book that is tagged with survival or survivor. Chomp / Carl Hiaasen. 4 stars
14. Read a book from your favorite tag of all the tags you've personally read with PBT. (Thriller). Lethal White / Robert Galbraith. 4 stars
15. PBT is 15 years old! Read a book that was published the year YOU turned 15. (1987) The Courts of Love / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
Subdue the ShelfRoll 1: 5-4 (9). The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat. 4 stars
Roll 2: 1-5 (15). Perfect Match / Jodi Picoult. 3.75 stars
Roll 3. 2-1 (18). To Hold the Crown / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
Roll 4. 2-2 (22). The Wagoner / C.A. Simonsen. 3.25 stars
Roll 5. 5-5 (32). The Secret Wife of King George IV / Diane Haeger. 3.5 stars
Roll 6. 2-6 (40). Beneath the Faceless Mountain / Roberta Rees. 2 stars
Roll 7. 2-6 (48). Shadow of the Titanic / Andrew Wilson. 4 stars
Roll 8. 5-4 (57). Denali's Howl / Andy Hall. 3.5 stars
Roll 9. 4-6 (67). Stuffocation / James Wallman. 3.5 stars
Special Advantage +15 (82). The One Man / Andrew Gross. 3.5 stars
Roll 10. 6-3 (91). Twopence to Cross the Mersey / Helen Forrester. 4 stars
Roll. 11. 2-1 (94). John Hughes: A Life in Film / Kirk Honeycutt. 3.5 stars
Moved by Tien. (100). All Things Slip Away / Kathryn Meyer Griffith. 4 stars
Porter Level (Board 2):
Roll 1. 4 (4). A Time for Mercy / John Grisham. 4.5 stars
Roll 2. 6 (10). The Hunter and the Wild Girl / Pauline Holdstock. 2.5 stars
Special Advantage. +30 (40). Country Roads / Pam Chamberlain (ed). 3 stars
Travel Across CanadaAlberta:
- The Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat. 4 stars
- Beneath the Faceless Mountain / Roberta Rees. 2 stars
- The Second Life of Samuel Tyne / Esi Edugyan. 3 stars
- Correction Road / Glen Dresser. 3 stars
British Columbia:
- Last Winter / Carrie Mac. 3.5 stars
- Tell it to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami. 4.25 stars
- Greenwood / Michael Christie. 4 stars
Labrador:
Manitoba:
- The Barren Grounds / David A. Robertson. 2.25 stars
New Brunswick:
Newfoundland:
- The Son of a Certain Woman / Wayne Johnston. 3 stars
Northern Canada:
Northwest Territories:
Nova Scotia:
Nunavut:
Ontario:
- The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets / Sarah Miller. 4.25 stars
- Seven Fallen Feathers / Tanya Talaga. 4.5 stars
- Up Ghost River / Edmund Metatawabin. 4 stars
Prince Edward Island:
Prairie Provinces:
Quebec:
Saskatchewan:
- Halfbreed / Maria Campbell. 3 stars
- Chief Piapot: I Will Stop the Train / Vincent McKay. 3.5 stars
- The Wagoner / C.A. Simonsen. 3.25 stars
- The Dog Who Wouldn't Be / Farley Mowat. 3.5 stars
- A Book in Every Hand / Don Kerr. 3.5 stars
Yukon:
Play Book TagJanuary: Food
- Stuffed and Starved / Raj Patel. 3.5 stars
February: England
- To Hold the Crown / Jean Plaidy. 3.5 stars
- Ruby Red / Kerstin Gier. 4 stars
March: Japan
- The Rape of Nanking / Iris Chang. 3.5 stars
April: Friendship
- The Forgotten Sisters / Shannon Hale. 3.5 stars
- Daisy Jones & the Six / Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4 stars
- Down the Mysterly River / Bill Willingham. 3.75 stars
May: Indigenous
- Seven Fallen Feathers / Tanya Talaga. 4.5 stars
June: Immigration
- Tell it to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami. 4.25 stars
- The Second Life of Samuel Tyne / Esi Edugyan. 3 stars
July: Adventure
- The Wild Trees / Richard Preston. 4 stars
August: Moral Dilemmas
- Plain Truth / Jodi Picoult. 4 stars
September: Literary Fiction
- Burning Bright / Tracy Chevalier. 3.5 stars
- The Stranger Diaries / Elly Griffiths. 4 stars
- West Heart Kill / Dann McDorman. 3.25 stars
October: Winter
- Spinning Silver / Naomi Novik. 2.75 stars
- Secret Santa / Andrew Shaffer. 3 stars
November: Dragons
- Kids on a Case: Hunting Black Dragon / Tony Peters. 3 stars
- The Magician King / Lev Grossman. 2 stars
December: Holiday
- Blue Heron / Avi. 3.25 stars
Reading Through TimeJanuary: Our feathered friends
- Neighbors to the Birds / Felton Gibbons, Deborah Strom. 3 stars
February: Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!
- Rescued / Allen & Linda Anderson. 3.5 stars
- The Other Family Doctor / Karen Fine. 4.5 stars
- All Things Wise and Wonderful / James Herriot. 3.5 stars
March: Notorious women
- The Borden Murders / Sarah Miller. 3.5 stars
April: April Fool
- King's Fool / Margaret Campbell Barnes. 3 stars
May: The big city – yesterday, today & tomorrow
- Paris / Edward Rutherfurd. 2.5 stars
June: The fabulous fifties
- The Golden Tresses of the Dead / Alan Bradley. 3.25 star
July: Revolutions
- The Romanov Bride / Robert Alexander. 2.5 stars
- Reconstruction / Eric Foner. 2 stars
August: Migration and immigration
- One Thousand White Women / Jim Fergus. 3.5 stars
- The Four Winds / Kristin Hannah. 4 stars
September: School days
- Miss Sptifire / Sarah Miller. 3.5 stars
October: Traditions
- This Place: 150 Years Retold / Misc authors. 3.5 stars
November: Indigenous peoples
- The Porcupine Year / Louise Erdrich. 3 stars
- Up Ghost River / Edmund Metatawabin. 4 stars
December: Reader's choice
- The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England / Ian Mortimer. 3.5 stars
- Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge / J. M. Younker. 3.5 stars
- The Only Plane in the Sky / Garrett M. Graff. 4.5 stars
12x12 PBT, Happy b-day PBT, BingoDOG, RoundtuitsDeal Breaker / Harlan Coben
4 stars
Myron Bolitar is a sports agent, and he represents Christian Steele. Christian’s girlfriend disappeared over a year ago and was presumed dead, when Christian receives a phone call supposedly coming from her, so Christian calls Myron for help. It appears that her naked body is also now in an ad in a porn magazine with very low circulation, and this magazine has been sent to Christian and a few others. Myron also used to date Kathy’s sister, Jessica. More recently, Kathy and Jessica’s dad was murdered, but the police have chalked that up to a robbery and not related.
I had forgotten that I’d already read one other book in this series, although this is the first in the series (unusual for me to read out of order). I wasn’t sure I’d like it with all the references to sports, but I still did. And there were a lot of sports references. But the mystery and what happened to Kathy kept me interested. And even the sports negotiations and such were interesting (there was another story thread about another one of Myron’s clients, as well) – or more likely, what was happening around those negotiations was interesting. I liked Jessica and her relationship with Myron; not too sure about Myron’s friend, Win, though – he’s a bit scary! I’m still not convinced this series will be nearly as good as Coben’s standalones, but I will definitely continue this series to see where it goes.
12x12 BIPOC, BingoDOG, Travel Across CanadaHalfbreed / Maria Campbell
3 stars
The author grew up in Saskatchewan; she is Metis (or “halfbreed” is the word she uses: part Cree (indigenous), and part European), descended from Gabriel Dumont. Her family was poor and she never really got out of the poverty, even as she married, had kids, moved to B.C. and Alberta, etc. She also ended up drinking, doing drugs… I think prostitution, too, but (unless I missed it), she only hinted at it.
I maybe made a mistake in listening to the audio. Maria herself read it, but she has a very monotone voice. I thought that I was still able to focus in the first half or so of the book, but I did miss things as the book continued, and I suspect I missed more earlier in the book than I originally thought.
12x12 Animals, KiddyCAT, AlphaKIT, Roundtuits, BingoDOGIvan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla / Katherine Applegate
4 stars
This is a picture book about Ivan, a gorilla poached as a baby and brought to the U.S. to live, first with a family until he was too big, then he lived for almost three decades in a mall by himself. From there, he was taken to a zoo to live the rest of his life with other gorillas in a more natural habitat.
I loved the YA book “The One and Only Ivan”. This is a really nice children’s story about the same gorilla with such a sad life. There are some really great illustrations. Despite it being so short and succinct (it’s a kid’s book, and no surprise, really), this one still had me crying a couple of times. There are a few pages at the end with a longer textual summary of Ivan’s life and a note from one of the zookeeper’s who took care of him in his last decade of life.
12x12 Overflow, ScaredyKIT, BingoDOG, AlphaKITPride and Prejudice and Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen
3.25 stars
I don’t think a summary is really needed for this one, but not only are the Bennett sisters looking for husbands with the help of their mother, but the girls in this book are also all trained (they’ve been to the Orient and have a dojo for further training) to fight zombies – those with the “plague”.
This was ok. It does surprise me that I rated the original so high, as on parodies such as this, the story itself seems so slow and not something I would usually like. I suppose I was in the right frame of mind when I first read it? Anyway, with the addition of the zombies, a couple of big fight scenes livened things up a bit! I was also amused with Charlotte’s illness. The zombies did seem quite out of place in the book. The notes at the end of the book were interesting and one did touch on how it might not have been so out of place to add zombies into the book with the popularity of gothic fiction at the time it was written. The other fun extra at the end was a list of “discussion” questions – now those were amusing!
12x12 Oh Canada, Travel Across Canada, Subdue, Roundtuits, BingoDOG, RandomKITThe Boy / Betty Jane Hegerat
4 stars
This book is a combination fiction, memoir, and true crime. The author goes back and forth between telling her fictional story… which (in some ways) mimics the true crime portion of the story as she writes about her research into the crime. The chapters alternate between the fiction and the memoir.
The fictional story is set in the 90s, and is from the POV of a woman, Louise, marrying a man, Jake, who has a 12-year old son, Daniel. Louise is a teacher and knows that Daniel often gets into trouble, so she is concerned about how this will go as she becomes his stepmother. The true crime portion of the story is about a boy (Bobby Cook) in small town Alberta who, in his 20s, was convicted and hanged in 1960 for murdering his family: his father, stepmother, and five younger half-siblings. This was the last execution in Alberta.
It seems kind of an odd mix, but it worked really well for me. I liked that the character Louise would “talk” to the author, usually in between chapters, but occasionally in the memoir chapters, as well, as Louise and the author Betty figured out what the fictional Louise’s story would be and how similar it would be to Bobby Cook’s story. I liked both the fictional story, and I found the true crime portion of the story quite interesting, as well. Might have to look further into Robert Raymond Cook.
12x12 Nonfiction, PBT, AlphaKIT, BingoDOG, RoundtuitsStuffed And Starved: Markets, Power And The Hidden Battle For The World Food System / Raj Patel.
3.5 stars
The title of the book comes from the fact that as more and more people are becoming overweight, there is also a larger number of people who are starving. The author has done a lot of research for this book, looking at our increasingly corporate food system, where so much of every step of our food is produced and brought to our plates via businesses in it for the profit only. There is a lot of focus on the farmers (many commit suicide as it’s harder and harder to make a living) around the world. There are chapters on genetically-modified foods, on the supermarket, Mexico, Brazil, corn, soy, and much more.
The author has actually worked fro the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the World Bank, both are mentioned (generally, not in a good way) in this book. There is a lot to take in in this book. Mostly interesting stuff here. He does end with some suggestions to try to make things better, but the sad part is corporations that make a lot of money won’t go for it, and though you’d like to think governments will step up, over and over that doesn’t happen with money from those large corporations funding the politicians.
12x12 Series, BingoDOG, MysteryKIT, Happy 15th PBTLethal White / Robert Galbraith
4 stars
Robin is just married and away when a man who is obviously having a psychotic episode comes in to Cormorant Strike’s office saying he saw a little kid murdered years ago when he himself was younger, but the man soon disappears. Meanwhile, a politician comes to Strike to help him find “dirt” on someone the politician says is blackmailing him.
I listened to the audio and thought it was really good. I did miss a couple of things near the beginning, I think, so I was briefly confused, but I got past that. And for the most part, I really liked it and wanted to know how this was going to play out (and how are these two stories connected?). Although I have to admit sometimes I find the personal stuff going on in these books to me just as interesting or more interesting that the mystery itself!
12x12 Reading Through Time, Read Thru Time, AlphaKITNeighbors to the Birds: A History of Birdwatching in America / Felton Gibbons, Deborah Strom.
3 stars
There is more than a history of birdwatching here (as described in the subtitle). Much of the first part of the book includes biographical information about many naturalists and birdwatchers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other chapters include artwork of birds (not on-the-wall art, but artwork in publications and field guides), women naturalists/birdwatchers, the Audobon “movement”, conservation, literature, and more.
This was ok. Although I do also like biographies and history, some of this was a bit dry and didn’t hold my attention. It was the biographical parts that were of less interest to me, though the rest was a bit more interesting. I quite enjoyed the art chapter with all the pictures included. Really, this book wasn’t so much about the birds themselves – a bit, but maybe more about the people who watched and/or studied them.
12x12 Trim, Roundtuits, RandomKIT, AlphaKIT, BingoDOGSugarhouse: Turning the Neighborhood Crack House into Our Home Sweet Home / Matthew Batt
3.5 stars
Matthew Batt and his wife Jenae are in Salt Lake City and looking to buy a home. Unfortunately, they can’t afford what they really want, so they end up with a (huge!) fixer-upper. It is only after they are renovating they find out that the house used to be a crackhouse. Oh, and they aren’t particularly handy people, but do the bulk of the work themselves.
Interspersed with their house dilemmas, Matt’s grandmother passes away, so Matt and his mom have to help out Matt’s grandfather, a playboy who really just wants to be with Tonya, the home care nurse who took care of his wife when she was alive.
It maybe doesn’t sound like the more interesting part of the story, but I liked the renovating of the house portions of the story better. I’m actually not quite sure how the two stories fit together, except I suppose that the things that happened with Matt’s family really were happening at the time. There were plenty of humourous bits, maybe more humourous because super-non-handy me could relate. I’m sure they managed to do a heck of a lot more than I ever could have, even with help from friends! Overall, I liked it.
12x12 Audio, ScaredyKITHorrorstör / Grady Hendrix
3.75 stars
Amy works at a big box furniture store called Orsk. Odd things have been happening in the store overnight – vandalism and such. Amy is asked, along with another employee, Ruth-Ann, to stay overnight to keep watch with their supervisor, Basil, to see if they can find out what’s happening. Things take a bad turn…
Extra ¼ star for the audio – loved the Orsk “ads”, and they got better as the book went along (to kind of fit what was happening in the book). I particularly liked the last ad, and it was Bronson Pinchot doing those. The story was less horror in the first half, more mystery? And humour. I really liked how it ended.
12x12 Overflow, SeriesCAT, BingoDOGBy Book or By Crook / Eva Gates
4 stars
Lucy has left her family and former fiancee behind in Boston, as well as her librarian job at Harvard. She is thrilled to be the new (assistant) librarian at a lighthouse library in a small town in North Carolina. But while at a party to open a Jane Austen exhibit when Lucy is just starting to meet people, the chair of the library board is murdered. He seemed to be arguing with a lot of people at the party, including Lucy (he didn’t think another librarian was needed) and the head librarian, who of course, had hired Lucy. Bertie, the head librarian, was found in the room with the murdered man and the murder weapon in her hands by Lucy. Lucy is convinced Bertie would never do such a thing.
I really enjoyed this. Loved the setting of the library inside the lighthouse. I also liked (most of) the characters. I will absolutely be continuing this cozy series. I want to see what happens with Lucy and Butch… or Lucy and Connor! And, of course, I loved Charles, the library cat.
12x12 BIPOC, BingoDOG, PBT Candles, Historical Fict. Ch.White Chrysanthemum / Mary Lynn Bracht
4 stars
It is during WWII, and 16-year old Hana is a haenyeo with her mother in he water on Jeju Island in Korea when she is stolen from the beach in an effort to protect her younger sister from the soldier Hana spotted. She is taken with other young girls to a brothel in Manchuria to “service” the soldiers (these girls/women are later known as “comfort women”). In 2011, an older woman, Emi, is still haenyeo, but has two middle-aged children in Seoul. Emi has kept plenty of secrets from her children about her life when she was younger.
I was not prepared for the amount of violence and rape. I must have known that would be the case when I added it to my tbr, but often, between the time of adding a book to my tbr and actually reading it, I forget what the book is about. I only remembered it being about haenyeo (women divers in Korea). That being said, although I learned about haenyeo in Lisa See’s book, I didn’t know about “comfort women”; the two books have a different focus.
I often like one storyline more than the other in these dual timeline books, but although Hana’s story is the more jarring and powerful of the two (I often “like” those better), I think Emi’s story gave me a bit of a break from Hana’s abuse. Oddly, although I often don’t like unrealistic endings, this one didn’t bother me (and the author explains in her note why she ended it this way). Overall, I thought this was very good.
12x12 Off the Shelf, PBT Trim, Roundtuits, BingoDOG, RandomKITDon't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew, and Reuse to Make Things Last / Lori Baird
3 stars
The title of the book kind of says it all. It’s more of a reference book to check when you have something you might need to fix or if it’s time to get rid of, you can look up some alternate ways to use those things.
There are lots of suggestions in the book, some of which I already know about or do. Many, though, (especially the fixes, but even some of the maintenance to help things last longer) require someone handier than I. I am not handy at all. That being said, I do plan to hold on to the book so I can check if there is something I might be able to do with something when it’s time to get rid of it. I already try to use most things until they die.
12x12 Animals, PBT BirthdayChomp / Carl Hiaasen
4 stars
Mickey and his son Wahoo take care of animals that are used on screen. When reality survival star Derek Badger wants to hire their alligator, Alice, to “wrestle” with for his tv show, Mickey is not impressed with Derek. Even “better” is when Derek decides he wants to really head to the wild in the Everglades to do some filming. Wahoo’s friend, Tuna, who is running from her abusive father, comes along with them.
Ah, plenty of humour here, but also frustration with the idiot Derek! (And how he treats the animals… I was right there with Mickey with regard to the annoyance/frustration on that!) Enjoyed the read about how scripted reality shows can be, too. I would actually love to read about these characters again – Mickey and Wahoo, anyway. I really liked them (and how they are with the animals). I listened to the audio narrated by James Van Der Beek, and it was done very well.
12x12 ARCs, Travel Across Canada, BingoDOG, PBT B-dayLast Winter / Carrie Mac
3.5 stars
Early in the book, we learn that 5 children died in an avalanche. One adult also died. 8-year old Ruby was one of 2 children who made it out alive, along with one other adult.
Leading up to the avalanche, we follow Ruby, her mother Fiona, who has a mental illness, and Ruby’s father Gus, who is a former Olympic snowboarder and now runs a backcountry guiding company and was one of the adults on the trip when the avalanche happened. Fiona and Gus’s relationship is in bad shape and they fight a lot. Fiona often does not take her medication, so is quite shocking in some of the things she says and does with friends.
It took me a long time to get “into” the book. It was hard to follow for the first 1/3 to ½ of the book, as there were a lot of characters I had trouble keeping straight (who was who, and how are they “related”?). There were also a couple of shifts in time that I struggled with. Fiona was extremely unlikable; I guess I should try to have more sympathy, but it’s hard when she won’t take her mediation. But, the book really picked up in the second half as the avalanche hit, along with the aftermath.
12x12 Off the Shelf, AlphaKIT, Subdue, RoundtuitsPerfect Match / Jodi Picoult
3.75 stars
Nina is a lawyer, a prosecutor who usually takes on child sexual abuse cases. She is horrified (this happens very early in the book, so not a spoiler) when her 5-year old son, Nathanial, stops talking and she learns that he was molested. She knows how traumatic it is for kids to have to testify to put their molester away and if they are convicted, they aren’t in jail for nearly long enough.
This drew me in right away with the intro/set up, but I didn’t like the ending (I took ¼ star off for the end). I didn’t like many of the things Nina did/didn’t agree with her logic for some of it; I did, for the most part, agree with her husband Caleb and how he saw things. I learned something new about DNA that I found that very interesting. There were a few twists, and I did figure a couple of them out ahead of time (but not all).
12x12 Travel, KiddyCAT, RandomKIT, RoundtuitsAlcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones / Brandon Sanderson
2.5 stars
Listened to the audio of this one and really couldn’t tell you the plot of the story. All I know is that Alcatraz (and a cousin(?), Bastille) ended up at the Library of Alexandria, where the curators (skeleton(?) librarians) require the signing over of a soul in order to check out a book. I think they were looking for Alcatraz’s mother (or father or maybe Bastille’s mother?). Not too sure.
Ok, so it’s been a long time since I read the first in the series, but I gave it 4.5 stars! This one is only rated as high as it is for the humourous bits when Alcatraz was talking directly to the reader (not usually to do with the story, itself), and the stuff about the “evil” librarians (I am a librarian, so I did find that very entertaining!). Listening to the audio, though, those were the only parts where I was interested enough to pay attention. I have found that many (most?) adventure does not translate well for me on audio. No idea what the story actually was about. Not sure if I want to continue. I probably should give the next one a chance, but not on audio (let’s hope I remember that!).
12x12 Travel, AlphaKIT, MysteryKITThe Searcher / Tana French
3.5 stars
Cal is a retired police officer from Chicago who has moved to a small town in Ireland. He has a fixer-upper of a house, but is disturbed by someone creeping around the house. It’s not long before he finds out it’s a local 13-year old, Trey. Trey is not terribly trusting, but on finding out Cal was a cop, he asks Cal to look for his missing older (19-year old) brother, Brandon, who disappeared after simply walking away about 6 months previous. Brandon, who was so close to Trey, and Trey doesn’t believe Brandon would have left on purpose without saying anything.
This was a good story, and I liked the setting and some of the supporting characters, but it did move quite slowly. So, this was not as good as her other books, in my opinion. That being said, I liked the characters enough that I would be happy to read a sequel if there is ever one published.
12x12 Oh Canada, ScaredyKIT, MysteryKIT, BingoDOG, AlphaKITThe Broken Girls / Simone St. James
4.25 stars
At Idlewild Hall, a boarding school in Vermont in 1950, a girl is returning (early) from a visit with family off-campus. It’s night, and no one was expecting her back early. As she walks across the schoolyard, something catches her eye. Scared, she starts running, but she never makes it back.
In 2014, Fiona is a reporter with bad memories of that school from 1994 (though the school closed in 1979) – Fiona’s sister was murdered and her body found in the schoolyard. Although, the guy was caught, convicted and is in jail, Fiona just can’t get past this. When she learns that someone has bought the school and wants to refurbish it and reopen it, she gets permission to do a story on it. Her investigations lead her to not only discover what happened in 1950, it puts her in danger as she also learns more about her sister’s murder.
This was really good! The 1950 portions of the story are told from four different points of view – four friends/roommates at Idlewild Hall. In these portions, we learn the backstories for each of the girls, plus we follow them for a month or two leading up to the disappearance of the one returning from her off-campus visit. There is creepiness all around the school. Although Fiona’s story doesn’t initially sound as interesting as the girls in 1950, I really liked both timelines and thought it all came together really nicely at the end.
12x12 BIPOC, Roundtuits, AlphaKITMambo in Chinatown / Jean Kwok
4 stars
Charlie lives in Chinatown in New York City with her father and sister, Lisa. Her mother (formerly a dancer) died when Charlie was younger. Charlie is 22-years old and Lisa is much younger (middle school/junior high?).
Charlie hates her job dishwashing, and has never been good as a receptionist, but she is able to get a new job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio. She is still not good at it, but when the studio is very short of teachers, she steps in to find herself a really good teacher (though she is barely a step ahead of the students when it comes to the dancing!).
Meanwhile, Lisa’s health is taking a turn for the worse. They aren’t sure what’s wrong, but their father refuses to have anything to do with Western medicine and will only have Lisa treated by their uncle, who practices Chinese medicine.
I really enjoyed this! I listened to the audio and it (fairly easily) held my interest. I definitely got frustrated with Charlie’s dad. I really liked Ryan, one of Charlie’s students, and Nina, another dance teacher at the studio, who became friends with Charlie. I thought the author did a good job with the ballroom stuff (turns out she has done ballroom professionally), as (though it’s been a number of years), I took lessons off and on for 15 years myself.
12x12 Read Thru Time, Reading Through Time, RandomKIT, RoundtuitsRescued: Saving Animals from Disaster / Allen & Linda Anderson
3.5 stars
This book looks at the volunteers and organizations that went to help the animals left behind when people evacuated New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It also looks at disaster planning for animals (which was pretty much nonexistent at the time), and how that could change going forward.
I had it in my head that this would look at more than just the one disaster, but I guess there was enough for the book with just Katrina and aftermath. It was chaos. It was hard to understand why some people were turned away due to not being “trained” (so some volunteers went “rogue”), but later in the book they explained why that would be the case. And untrained people can help elsewhere (as opposed to going door to door in a boat to pull animals out of the houses). Not surprisingly, the stories of specific people and their pets were the most interesting here. Overall, it was good.
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