Play Book Tag discussion
Member Challenge Tracking 2024
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Cindy/LibraryCin's 2024 Challenges
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LibraryCin
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Dec 31, 2023 02:49PM
Setting up my challenge thread for 2024.
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12x12 ChallengePlay Book Tag (tags or challenges)
1. Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come / Jessica Pan. 4 stars
2. The Man Who Lived Underground / Richard Wright. 3 stars
3. Son of the Shadows / Juliet Marillier. 3.75 stars
4. The Amaranth Enchantment / Julie Berry. 4 stars
5. Roses are Red / James Patterson. 4 stars
6. The Last Seance / Agatha Christie. 2.5 stars
7. White Fragility / Robin DiAngelo. 3.5 stars
8. All Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque. 3 stars
9. Anne Frank Remembered / Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold. 4 stars
10. The Polygamist's Daughter / Anne LeBaron, Leslie Wilson. 4 stars
11. Nevernight / Jay Kristoff. 2.25 stars
12. Pretty Baby / Mary Kubica. 4 stars
__________________________________________
ARCs (Netgalley, Early Readers)1. Lottery of Secrets / Nadija Mujagic. 4 stars
2. A Call From Hell / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
3. Daughter of Calamity / Rosalie M. Lin. 2 stars
4. Killer Dead, Victim Alive. 4 stars
5. The Devil's Tapestry / Barbara Cole. 3.75 stars
6. Guilty Creatures / Mikita Brottman. 4 stars
7. What Have You Done? / Shari Lapena. 4 stars
8. The Naturalist's Daughter / Tea Cooper. 4 stars
9. Supremacy / Parmy Olson. 4.5 stars
10. The Nomadic Devil / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
11. Hunting a Cat in Dogtown / Michael Geczi. 2.5 stars
Reading Through Time1. Before and After / Judy Christie, Lisa Wingate. 3 stars
2. The Lake of Dreams / Kim Edwards. 3.25 stars
3. The Sawbones Book / Justin & Sydnee McElroy. 4 stars
4. The Story of My Life / Helen Keller. 3 stars
5. Utopia for Realists / Rutger Bregman. 3.5 stars
6. Stonehenge / Rosemary Hill. 2 stars
7. The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
8. Index, A History of The / Dennis Duncan. 2.5 stars
9. Anne of Cleves / Elizabeth Norton. 3.5 stars
10. Mary Boleyn / Alison Weir. 3.5 stars
11. Did She Kill Him? / Kate Colquhoun. 4 stars
12. The Icepick Surgeon / Sam Kean. 4 stars
_______________________________________
Oh Canada! (Canadian Authors) 1. Fayne / Ann-Marie MacDonald. 3 stars
2. What Strange Paradise / Omar El Akkad. 4 stars
3. Somewhere in France / Jennifer Robson. 4 stars
4. Up and Down / Terry Fallis. 4 stars
5. That Night in the Library / Eva Jurczyk. 3.5 stars
6. Dark Roads / Chevy Stevens. 4 stars
7. The Wars / Timothy Findley. 2.5 stars
8. Gutenberg's Fingerprint / Merilyn Simonds. 3.5 stars
9. The Northwomen / Heather Pringle. 3.5 stars
10. Runaway / Alice Munro. 2.25 stars
11. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act / Bob Joseph. 3.5 stars
12. Stars Between the Sun and Moon / Lucia Jang. 3.5 stars
_______________________________________
Trim the TBR (On TBR 3+ years) 1. The Traitor's Wife / Susan Higginbotham. 4.25 stars
2. Not a Drop to Drink / Mindy McGinnis. 3.75 stars
3. Arbella / Sarah Gristwood. 2.75 stars
4. Back on Blossom Street / Debbie Macomber. 3.5 stars
5. Shift / Hugh Howey. 3 stars
6. The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country / Neil Gaiman. 4 stars
7. Deliverance From Evil / Frances Hill. 4 stars
8. Three Bedrooms, One Corpse / Charlaine Harris. 3 stars
9. Footsteps in Time / Sarah Woodbury. 4 stars
10. Let Him Go / Larry Watson. 3.5 stars
11. Thousand Words / Jennifer Brown. 4.5 stars
12. Julia Child: A Life / Laura Shapiro. 3.5 stars
____________________________________
13. Something About Sophie / Mary Kay McComas. 3.5 stars
Will it Ever End? (Continuing Series) 1. Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer. 3.5 stars
2. Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets / Rosemary Simpson. 3.5 stars
3. Bone Crossed / Patricia Briggs. 3.5 stars
4. Requiem / Lauren Oliver. 3.5 stars
5. Sapphire Blue / Kerstin Gier. 3.5 stars
6. Red Lilly / Nora Roberts. 3 stars
7. The Price of Blood / Patricia Bracewell. 4 stars
8. Alex / Lauren Oliver. 2.5 stars
9. The Relentless Moon / Mary Robinette Kowal. 4 stars
10. Booked for Trouble / Eva Gates. 4 stars
11. Old Bones / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child. 3.75 stars
12. Silver Borne / Patricia Briggs. 4 stars
________________________________________
13. The Twelve Clues of Christmas / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
Off the Shelf (Print or E-Books I Own)1. Garment of Shadows / Laurie R. King. 2.5 stars
2. North and South / John Jakes. 4 stars
3. Gallows Hill / Darcy Coates. 4 stars
4. You Look Like a Thing and I Love You / Janelle Shane. 4 stars
5. Murder on Black Swan Lane / Andrea Penrose. 1.5 stars
6. Lone Wolf / Jodi Picoult. 4 stars
7. On This Day / Nathaniel Bellows. 3.25 stars
8. Bet Me / Jennifer Crusie. 3.5 stars
9. The Taster / V. S. Alexander. 4 stars
10. Minding Frankie / Maeve Binchy. 3.5 stars
11. Lessons in Chemistry / Bonnie Garmus. 4.25 stars
12. The Missing Ones / Patricia Gibney. 4 stars
___________________________________________
Is Listening Really Reading? (Audio Books)1. The Word Exchange / Alena Graedon. 2.75 stars
2. The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter / Hazel Gaynor. 3.5 stars
3. Victoria / Daisy Goodwin. 4 stars
4. A Murder in Time / Julie McElwain. 4 stars
5. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt / Beth Hoffman. 3 stars
6. An Inquiry Into Love and Death / Simone St. James. 2.5 stars
7. Valley of the Moon / Melanie Gideon. 4 stars
8. Blood of My Blood / Barry Lyga. 3.5 stars
9. The Little French Bistro / Nina George. 2 stars
10. The Lesser Dead / Christopher Buehlman. 3.25 stars
11. The Dressmaker / Kate Alcott. 3.5 stars
12. Horseman / Christina Henry. 3 stars
___________________________________
13. Carnegie's Maid / Marie Benedict. 3.5 stars
I'll Travel Virtually (Books Set in Other Countries - not Canada, USA, or England) 1. Death Cruise / Lawrence Block (ed.). 4 stars
2. The Paris Apartment / Lucy Foley. 4 stars
3. The Miniaturist / Jessie Burton. 3.5 stars
4. The Sandcastle Girls / Chris Bohjalian. 1.5 stars
5. By Chance Alone / Max Eisen. 4 stars
6. Resistance / Jennifer A. Nielsen. 4 stars
7. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot / Marianne Cronin. 3.5 stars
8. Women Talking / Miriam Toews. 3.5 stars
9. The Collector of Dying Breaths / M.J. Rose. 3 stars
10. Alone Time / Stephanie Rosenbloom. 2.25 stars
11. The Secrets of Vesuvius / Caroline Lawrence. 2.5 stars
12. When the Moon is Low / Nadia Hashimi. 4 stars
_____________________________________________
13. The Librarian of Burned Books / Brianna Labuskes. 3.5 stars
Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My! (Animals) 1. The Genius of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman. 3.5 stars
2. Fuzz / Mary Roach. 3.5 stars
3. A Beautiful Truth / Colin McAdam. 3.5 stars
4. The Mountaintop School for Dogs... / Ellen Cooney. 2.5 stars
5. Saving Simon / Jon Katz. 3.5 stars
6. The Homing Instinct / Bernd Heinrich. 3.25 stars
7. The Finders / Jeffrey B. Burton. 3.5 stars
8. Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture / Andy Hirsch. 4 stars
9. Enslaved by Ducks / Bob Tarte. 4 stars
10. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? / Frans De Waal. 4 stars
11. Spilover / Dennis Quammen. 3.25 stars
Truth is Stranger than Fiction (Nonfiction)1. Get Well Soon / Jennifer Wright. 4 stars
2. You May Also Like / Tom Vanderbilt. 3.5 stars
3. The Cold Vanish / Jon Billman. 3.5 stars
4. Hell's Half-Acre / Susan Jonusas. 3.5 stars
5. Prairie Tale / Melissa Gilbert. 4 stars
6. Race to the Polar Sea / Ken McGoogan. 3 stars
7. Schulz and Peanuts / David Michaelis. 4.25 stars
8. A Chef on Ice / Sebastien J.M. Kuhn. 3.5 stars
9. Fire Weather / John Vaillant. 4.5 stars
10. Climate Changed / Philippe Squarzoni. 4.25 stars
11. A Crack in the Edge of the World / Simon Winchester. 2.25 stars
12. Thank You for Your Service / David Finkel. 3 stars
__________________________________
13. Favorite Wife / Susan Schmidt. 4 stars
BIPOC (Authors or main characters)1. The Night of the Storm / Nishita Parekh. 4 stars
2. Bluebird, Bluebird / Attica Locke. 3.75 stars
3. Such a Fun Age / Kiley Reid. 2.5 stars
4. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet / Jamie Ford. 4.5 stars
5. Calligraphy of the Witch / Alicia Gaspar de Alba. 3.5 stars
6. Behold the Dreamers / Imbolo Mbue. 3 stars
7. Concrete Rose / Angie Thomas. 4 stars
8. Sisters in Arms / Kaia Alderson. 4 stars
9. Passing / Nella Larsen. 2 stars
10. This Cursed House / Del Sandeen. 4 stars
11. Arsenic and Adobo / Mia P. Manansala. 3.5 stars
12. The 57 Bus / Dashka Slater. 4 stars
________________________________
13. Homicide and Halo-Halo / Mia P. Manansala. 3.5 stars
Overflow (doesn’t fit other categories)1. Little Fires Everywhere / Celeste Ng. 3.75 stars
2. Where the Forest Meets the Stars / Glendy Vanderah. 3.75 stars
3. The Scapegracers / H. A. Clarke. 3.75 stars
4. Two Days Gone / Randall Silvis. 3.5 stars
5. Cell / Stephen King. 3.5 stars
6. Piranesi / Susanna Clarke. 2.5 stars
7. A Face in the Crowd / Stephen King, Stewart O’Nan. 3.5 stars
8. The Collector / Nora Roberts. 3.5 stars
BingoDOG
1. Food or Cooking Bet Me / Jennifer Crusie. 3.5 stars
2. A book with an ugly cover. Three Bedrooms, One Corpse / Charlaine Harris. 3 stars
3. A book with nothing on the cover but the title and author. Women Talking / Miriam Toews. 3.5 stars
4. Features twins. Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets / Rosemary Simpson. 3.5 stars
5. A topic about which you have specific knowledge. That Night in the Library / Eva Jurczyk. 3.5 stars
6. Published in year ending in 24. The Night of the Storm / Nishita Parekh. 4 stars
7. Epistolary or diary. The Story of My Life / Helen Keller. 3 stars
8. Big or little in title. Little Fires Everywhere / Celeste Ng. 3.75 stars
9. A book from one of the libraries listed under the "Similar libraries" featured on your LT profile page. White Fragility / Robin DiAngelo. 3.5 stars
10. About friendship. Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come / Jessica Pan. 4 stars
11. Three-word title. The Traitor's Wife / Susan Higginbotham. 4.25 stars
12. Paper-based item in plot. The Word Exchange / Alena Graedon. 2.75 stars
13. Read a CAT. The Man Who Lived Underground / Richard Wright. 3 stars
14. Short story collection. Death Cruise / Lawrence Block (ed.). 4 stars
15. Person's name in title. Victoria / Daisy Goodwin. 4 stars
16. Set in a city. Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer. 3.5 stars
17. A book with fewer than 100 copies on LT. Lottery of Secrets / Nadija Mujagic. 4 stars
18. Something written by a person of colour. Bluebird, Bluebird / Attica Locke. 3.75 stars
19. Written by an author 65 or older. By Chance Alone / Max Eisen. 4 stars
20. Featuring water. The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter / Hazel Gaynor. 3.5 stars
21. Involves warriors or mercenaries. North and South / John Jakes. 4 stars
22. Re-read a favourite book. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet / Jamie Ford. 4.5 stars
23. Written in another cultural tradition. Daughter of Calamity / Rosalie M. Lin. 2 stars
24. Something that takes place in multiple countries. Get Well Soon / Jennifer Wright. 4 stars
25. Current or recent best-seller. The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
CalendarCAT:January (Introvert Day):
- Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come / Jessica Pan. 4 stars
February (Black History Month, Missing Persons Day):
- Such a Fun Age / Kiley Reid. 3.5 stars
- The Man Who Lived Underground / Richard Wright. 3 stars
- The Cold Vanish / Jon Billman. 3.5 stars
- The Paris Apartment / Lucy Foley. 4 stars
March (World Wildlife Day):
- Fuzz / Mary Roach. 3.5 stars
- A Beautiful Truth / Colin McAdam. 3.5 stars
April (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, Earth Day):
- Saving Simon / Jon Katz. 3.5 stars
- The Homing Instinct / Bernd Heinrich. 3.25 stars
May (Nurse's Day):
- The Sandcastle Girls / Chris Bohjalian. 1.5 stars
June (D-Day):
- By Chance Alone / Max Eisen. 4 stars
- Resistance / Jennifer A. Nielsen. 4 stars
- The Wars / Timothy Findley. 2.5 stars
July (Tiger Day, Canada Day, Bastille Day, Nature Conservation):
- Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture / Andy Hirsch. 4 stars
- Women Talking / Miriam Toews. 3.5 stars
- The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
- The Naturalist's Daughter / Tea Cooper. 4 stars
August (Respect for Parents Day, Friendship Day, Lighthouse Day):
- Concrete Rose / Angie Thomas. 4 stars
- Booked for Trouble / Eva Gates. 4 stars
September (Grandparents' Day):
- Let Him Go / Larry Watson. 3.5 stars
October (Halloween):
- This Cursed House / Del Sandeen. 4 stars
- Horseman / Christina Henry. 3 stars
- The Nomadic Devil / Genoviva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
November (Remembrance Day):
- Thank You for Your Service / David Finkel. 3 stars
*December (Christmas):
- The Twelve Clues of Christmas / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
PrizeCAT: January: Long-Running Prizes
- Bluebird, Bluebird / Attica Locke. 3.75 stars
February: A Prize from Your Own Country
- What Strange Paradise / Omar El Akkad. 4 stars
March: A Prize That's New to You
- Son of the Shadows / Juliet Marillier. 3.75 stars
May: Doubling Up (books that won two or more awards)
June: Book Lists
- The Wars / Timothy Findley. 2.5 stars
August: A Prize for a Genre
- The Relentless Moon / Mary Robinette Kowal. 4 stars
October: One That Missed Out (a book on a shortlist/longlist that didn't win)
November: Children's Book Awards
- The 57 Bus / Dashka Slater. 4 stars
December: A Prize of Your Choice
HistoryCAT:January: North & South American Wars & Conflicts
- North and South / John Jakes. 4 stars
February: Georgian/Regency Britain
- Victoria / Daisy Goodwin. 4 stars
*March: Science & Medicine
- The Sawbones Book / Justin & Sydnee McElroy. 4 stars
April: Riots, Revolution, & Mayhem
- Requiem / Lauren Oliver. 3.5 stars
May: Middle Ages
- The Price of Blood / Patricia Bracewell. 4 stars
June: Historians
- Stonehenge / Rosemary Hill. 2 stars
- Race to the Polar Sea / Ken McGoogan. 3 stars
July: Spies
- The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
August: Byzantine Empire
- Footsteps in Time / Sarah Woodbury. 4 stars
September: WWI/WWII
- The Taster / V. S. Alexander. 4 stars
- Sisters in Arms / Kaia Alderson. 4 stars
- Anne Frank Remembered / Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold. 4 stars
October: Disasters
- A Crack in the Edge of the World / Simon Winchester. 2.25 stars
November: Ancient & Classical History
- The Secrets of Vesuvius / Caroline Lawrence. 2.5 stars
December: Religions and Religious Festivals
- Favorite Wife / Susan Schmidt. 4 stars
ScaredyKIT:January: Psychological Thrillers
- Lottery of Secrets / Nadija Mujagic. 4 stars
February: Gothic
- Gallows Hill / Darcy Coates. 4 stars
March: True Crime
- Hell's Half-Acre / Susan Jonusas. 3.5 stars
April: Witches, Evil Spirits, and Black Magic
- The Scapegracers / H.A. Clarke. 3.75 stars
May: Graphic Novels and Short Fiction
- The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country / Neil Gaiman. 4 stars
*June: Serial Killers
- The Finders / Jeffrey B. Burton. 3.5 stars
- Dark Roads / Chevy Stevens. 4 stars
July: Corporeal Undead
- Cell / Stephen King. 3.5 stars
August: Middle grade and YA horror
- Blood of My Blood / Barry Lyga. 3.5 stars
September: Stephen King and Family
- A Face in the Crowd / Stephen King, Stewart O'Nan. 3.5 stars
October: Contemporary Horror
- This Cursed House / Del Sandeen. 4 stars
November: Things with a Bite - Vampires and Werewolves
- Silver Borne / Patricia Briggs. 4 stars
December: Catch Up! Read Something That Fits Any Month's Theme
- Pretty Baby / Mary Kubica. 4 stars
MysteryKIT:January: Short story mysteries
- Death Cruise / Lawrence Block (ed.). 4 stars
February: True unsolved mysteries
- The Cold Vanish / Jon Billman. 3.5 stars
March: Historical
- A Murder in Time / Julie McElwain. 4 stars
- Hell's Half-Acre / Susan Jonusas. 3.5 stars
April: Series
- Bone Crossed / Patricia Briggs. 3.5 stars
- Roses are Red / James Patterson. 4 stars
May: Golden age
- The Last Seance / Agatha Christie. 2.5 stars
June: Authors new to you
- That Night in the Library / Eva Jurczyk. 3.5 stars
- The Finders / Jeffrey B. Burton. 3.5 stars
- Two Days Gone / Randall Silvis. 3.5 stars
July: Cross genre mysteries
- The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
August: Amateurs
- Three Bedrooms, One Corpse / Charlaine Harris. 3 stars
- Booked for Trouble / Eva Gates. 4 stars
September: Upstairs/downstairs
- This Cursed House / Del Sandeen. 4 stars
October: Not too scary mysteries
- The Collector / Nora Roberts. 3.5 stars
- Old Bones / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child. 3.75 stars
- Arsenic and Adobo / Mia P. Manansala. 3.5 stars
- Hunting a Cat in Dogtown / Michael Geczi. 2.5 stars
November: Noir
- The Missing Ones / Patricia Gibney. 4 stars
December: Culinary mysteries
- Homicide and Halo-Halo / Mia P. Manansala. 3.5 stars
RandomKIT:January: Early Birds
- The Genius of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman. 3.5 stars
February: Escape or Rescue
- The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter / Hazel Gaynor. 3.5 stars
- The Man Who Lived Underground / Richard Wright. 3 stars
- The Cold Vanish / Jon Billman. 3.5 stars
March: World Wildlife Day
- Fuzz / Mary Roach. 3.5 stars
- A Beautiful Truth / Colin McAdam. 3.5 stars
April: Enchanting Garden Visitors
- Back on Blossom Street / Debbie Macomber. 3.5 stars
- The Homing Instinct / Bernd Heinrich. 3.25 stars
- Where the Forest Meets the Stars / Glendy Vanderah. 3.75 stars
May: Art & Architecture
- Schulz and Peanuts / David Michaelis. 4.25 stars
June: Shared Initial
- Dark Roads / Chevy Stevens. 4 stars
July: Favourites
- Cell / Stephen King. 3.5 stars
August: Titles
- A Chef on Ice / Sebastien J.M. Kuhn. 3.5 stars
- The Collector of Dying Breaths / M.J. Rose. 3 stars
- Three Bedrooms, One Corpse / Charlaine Harris. 3 stars
*September: It's Raining Men! (Weather)
- Fire Weather / John Vaillant. 4.5 stars
- Climate Changed / Philippe Squarzoni. 4.25 stars
October: 'Tis the Season (Halloween memories):
- The Nomadic Devil / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
November: I Told It My Way
- Carnegie's Maid / Marie Benedict. 3.5 stars
- Stars Between the Sun and Moon / Lucia Jang. 3.5 stars
December: Roll a Die! (5: CAT or BingoDOG category (food): HistoryCAT (Science and Medicine))
- Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? / Frans De Waal. 4 stars
- Julia Child: A Life / Laura Shapiro. 3.5 stars
- The Icepick Surgeon / Sam Kean. 4 stars
- Homicide and Halo-Halo / Mia P. Manansala. 3.5 stars
- Spillover / Dennis Quammen. 3.25 stars
AlphaKIT: January: A Y
- Fayne / Ann-Marie MacDonald. 3 stars
- Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer. 3.5 stars
- The Genius of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman. 3.5 stars
- Bluebird, Bluebird / Attica Locke. 3.75 stars
- You May Also Like / Tom Vanderbilt. 3.5 stars
February: F E
- The Lake of Dreams / Kim Edwards. 3.25 stars
- What Strange Paradise / Omar El Akkad. 4 stars
- The Paris Apartment / Lucy Foley. 4 stars
March: H R
- Fuzz / Mary Roach. 3.5 stars
- Somewhere in France / Jennifer Robson. 4 stars
- Hell's Half-Acre / Susan Jonusas. 3.5 stars
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet / Jamie Ford. 4.5 stars
April: U O
- Requiem / Lauren Oliver. 3.5 stars
- Up and Down / Terry Fallis. 4 stars
May: N P
- Red Lilly / Nora Roberts. 3 stars
- Murder on Black Swan Lane / Andrea Penrose. 1.5 stars
- The Price of Blood / Patricia Bracewell. 4 stars
- The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country / Neil Gaiman. 4 stars
- Prairie Tale / Melissa Gilbert. 4 stars
June: J B
- That Night in the Library / Eva Jurczyk. 3.5 stars
- The Finders / Jeffrey B. Burton. 3.5 stars
- Lone Wolf / Jodi Picoult. 4 stars
- Resistance / Jennifer A. Nielsen. 4 stars
- Guilty Creatures / Mikita Brottman. 4 stars
- An Inquiry Into Love and Death / Simone St. James. 2.5 stars
July: I S
- Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture / Andy Hirsch. 4 stars
- Behold the Dreamers / Imbolo Mbue. 3 stars
- Cell / Stephen King. 3.5 stars
- What Have You Done? / Shari Lapena. 4 stars
- Schulz and Peanuts / David Michaelis. 4.25 stars
- Piranesi / Susanna Clarke. 2.5 stars
- Index, A History of The / Dennis Duncan. 2.5 stars
August: M G
- Gutenberg's Fingerprint / Merilyn Simonds. 3.5 stars
- The Collector of Dying Breaths / M.J. Rose. 3 stars
- The Relentless Moon / Mary Robinette Kowal. 4 stars
- The Little French Bistro / Nina George. 2 stars
- Booked for Trouble / Eva Gates. 4 stars
September: V C
- The Taster / V. S. Alexander. 4 stars
- Fire Weather / John Vaillant. 4.5 stars
- The Lesser Dead / Christopher Buehlman. 3.25 stars
- Climate Changed / Philippe Squarzoni. 4.25 stars
October: D T
- This Cursed House / Del Sandeen. 4 stars
- Enslaved by Ducks / Bob Tarte. 4 stars
- Old Bones / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child. 3.75 stars
November: L W
- Mary Boleyn / Alison Weir. 3.5 stars
- The Secrets of Vesuvius / Caroline Lawrence. 2.5 stars
- Stars Between the Sun and Moon / Lucia Jang. 3.5 stars
December: K Q
- The Icepick Surgeon / Sam Kean. 4 stars
- Something About Sophie / Mary Kay McComas. 3.5 stars
- Pretty Baby / Mary Kubica. 4 stars
- Spillover / Dennis Quammen. 3.25 stars
Historical Fiction Challenge1. Read a work of historical fiction set in the country you’re from
3. Read a work of historical fiction set in [one of] your favorite historical time period[s] to read about. Deliverance From Evil / Frances Hill. 4 stars
4. Read a work of historical fiction set in a time period you’re less familiar with. The Traitor's Wife / Susan Higginbothem. 4.25 stars
5. Read a work of historical fiction with a speculative element. Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer. 3.5 stars
6. Read a work of historical fiction about a real historical figure or a specific historical event. The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter / Hazel Gaynor. 3.5 stars
7. Read a work of historical fiction of over 500 pages. Fayne / Ann-Marie MacDonald. 3 stars
8. Read a Classic work (written/published at least 60 years ago). All Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque. 3 stars
or Bonus: Read a Classic work of historical fiction (written at least 60 years ago about a time period at least sixty years before the work was written/published)
Roundtuits/(Classic) Trim the TBR(3+ years on the tbr)
1. Stay / Allie Larkin
2. Sea of Slaughter / Farley Mowat
3. The Perfect Ghost / Linda Barnes
5. The Sister Season / Jennifer Scott
6. The Incredible Journey / Sheila Burnford (own)
12. No Way Down / Graham Bowley (openlib)
13. No Kidding: Women Writers on Bypassing Parenthood / Henriette Mantel
15. Benazir Bhutto: Favored Daughter / Brooke Allen
1. The Traitor's Wife / Susan Higginbotham. 4.25 stars
2. Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come / Jessica Pan. 4 stars
3. The Genius of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman. 3.5 stars
4. You May Also Like / Tom Vanderbilt. 3.5 stars
5. The Word Exchange / Alena Graedon. 2.75 stars
6. Such a Fun Age / Kiley Reid. 3.5 stars
7. The Lake of Dreams / Kim Edwards. 3.25 stars
8. Not a Drop to Drink / Mindy McGinnis. 3.75 stars
9. Garment of Shadows / Laurie R. King. 2.5 stars
10. North and South / John Jakes. 4 stars
11. Somewhere in France / Jennifer Robson. 4 stars
12. A Beautiful Truth / Colin McAdam. 3.5 stars
13. Arbella / Sarah Gristwood. 2.75 stars
14. The Sawbones Book / Justin and Sydnee McElroy. 4 stars
15. The Mountaintop School for Dogs / Ellen Cooney. 2.5 stars
16. Bone Crossed / Patricia Briggs. 3.5 stars
17. Saving Simon / Jon Katz. 3.5 stars
18. Calligraphy of the Witch / Alicia Gaspar de Alba. 3.5 stars
19. Back on Blossom Street / Debbie Macomber. 3.5 stars
20. The Homing Instinct / Bernd Heinrich. 3.25 stars
21. Shift / Hugh Howey. 3 stars
22. Red Lily / Nora Roberts. 3 stars
23. The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country / Neil Gaiman. 4 stars
24. Prairie Tale / Melissa Gilbert. 4 stars
25. By Chance Alone / Max Eisen. 4 stars
26. Lone Wolf / Jodi Picoult. 4 stars
27. Deliverance From Evil / Frances Hill. 4 stars
28. On This Day / Nathaniel Bellows. 3.25 stars
29. The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
30. Bet Me / Jennifer Crusie. 3.5 stars
31. Schulz and Peanuts / David Michaelis. 4.25 stars
32. White Fragility / Robin DiAngelo. 3.5 stars
33. Alex / Lauren Oliver. 2.5 stars
34. Gutenberg's Fingerprint / Merilyn Simonds. 3.5 stars
35. Concrete Rose / Angie Thomas. 4 stars
36. Three Bedrooms, One Corpse / Charlaine Harris. 3 stars
37. Footsteps in Time / Sarah Woodbury. 4 stars
38. The Collector of Dying Breaths / M. J. Rose. 3 stars
39. Let Him Go / Larry Watson. 3.5 stars
40. The Polygamist's Daughter / Anne LeBaron, Leslie Wilson. 4 stars
41. Climate Changed / Philippe Squarzoni. 4.25 stars
42. Anne of Cleves / Elizabeth Norton. 3.5 stars
43. Enslaved by Ducks / Bob Tarte. 4 stars
44. Runaway / Alice Munro. 2.25 stars
45. Alone Time / Stephanie Rosenbloom. 2.25 stars
46. Thousand Words / Jennifer Brown. 4.5 stars
47. Mary Boleyn / Alison Weir. 3.5 stars
48. Nevernight / Jay Kristoff. 2.25 stars
49. Did She Kill Him? / Kate Colquhoun. 4 stars
50. Julia Child: A Life / Laura Shapiro. 3.5 stars
51. The Icepick Surgeon / Sam Kean. 4 stars
52. Something About Sophie / Mary Kay McComas. 3.5 stars
53. Favorite Wife / Susan Schmidt. 4 stars
54. Pretty Baby / Mary Kubica. 4 stars
55. Spillover / Dennis Quammen. 3.25 stars
PBT Trim the TBR 1. Sea of Slaughter / Farley Mowat
2. Still Life / Joy Fielding
4. Everything She Ever Wanted / Ann Rule
6. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox / Maggie O’Farrell
8. Runaway / Alice Munro. 2.25 stars
9. Tiger / Tash Aw
10. Born Bad / Heather Burnside
12. We Bought a Zoo / Benjamin Mee
14. Garment of Shadows / Laurie R. King. 2.5 stars
15. A Newfoundlander in Canada / Alan Doyle
16. Seal Wars / Paul Watson
18. Arbella / Sarah Gristwood. 2.75 stars
19. Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III / Michael Hicks
20. Cry Rape / Bill Lueders (openlib)
22. Nobody's Mother: Life Without Kids / Lynne van Luven
23. Fostering Sustainable Behavior / Doug McKenzie-Mohr
24. The Autobiography of an Execution / David R. Dow
PBT Books With FriendsJanuary: HISTORICAL
- Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer. 3.5 stars
- Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets / Rosemary Simpson. 3.5 stars
February: AUTHORS
- Such a Fun Age / Kiley Reid. 3.5 stars
March: COMING
- Son of the Shadows / Juliet Marillier. 3.75 stars
April: FANTASY
- The Amaranth Enchantment / Julie Berry. 4 stars
- Sapphire Blue / Kerstin Gier. 3.5 stars
May: CRIME
- Murder on Black Swan Lane / Andrea Penrose. 1.5 stars
June: EUROPE
- By Chance Alone / Max Eisen. 4 stars
July: DEBUT
- Behold the Dreamers / Imbolo Mbue. 3 stars
August: STARS
- All Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque. 3 stars
October: TRAVEL
- The Dressmaker / Kate Alcott. 3.5 stars
November: STEAMPUNK
- Nevernight / Jay Kristoff. 2.25 stras
PBT SteeplechaseSpin 1 (2. Nonfiction). Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come / Jessica Pan (tagged 401 times). 4 stars (Finished Jan 9)
Spin 2 (+8 = 10. Technology). The Word Exchange / Alena Graedon (tagged 13 times). 2.75 stars (Finished Feb 1)
Spin 3 (+4 = 14 Race). Such a Fun Age / Kiley Reid (tagged 631 times + matches month tag “Authors of color”). 3.5 stars (Finished Feb. 4)
Spin 4 (+5 = 19. Drama). The Lake of Dreams / Kim Edwards (tagged 13 times). 3.25 stars (Finished Feb 10)
Spin 5 (+7. +2 from #14 tagged w/ monthly tag = 28. True Crime). The Cold Vanish / Jon Billman (tagged 250 times). 3.5 stars (Finished Feb 17)
Spin 6 (+6 = 34. Fairytale). Son of the Shadows / Juliet Marillier. (tagged 14 times + matches monthly “coming of age”). 3.75 stars (Finished Mar 8)
Spin 7 (+6. +1 from Leap Day review = 41. Gothic). The Miniaturist / Jessie Burton (tagged 45x + matches monthly tag “coming of age” (19x)). 3.5 stars (Finished Mar 18)
Spin 8. (+3 +1 from Leap Day review = 45. Coming of Age). Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet / Jamie Ford (tagged 116x + matches monthly tag “coming of age” (116x). 4.5 stars (Finished Mar 30).
Spin 9. (Apr 1). +10 (+2 from matching tag) = 57. Police. Roses are Red / James Patterson (tagged 27x). 4 stars (Finished Apr 21).
Spin 10. (Apr 21). +9 = 66. Hollywood. Prairie Tale / Melissa Gilbert. (tagged 7x). 4 stars (Finished May 31).
Spin 11. (May 31). +6 (+1) = 73. Spooky. An Inquiry Into Love and Death / Simone St. James. (tagged 17x). 2.5 stars. (Finished June 25).
“Spin” 12 (moved by Amy via hurdle). +14 = 87. Strong Women. Women Talking / Miriam Toews. (tagged 5x). 3.5 stars. (Finished July 6).
Spin 13. (July 6). +2 = 89. Life Changing. White Fragility / Robin DiAngelo. (tagged 6x + matches “5 stars” tag 56x) 3.5 stars (Finished Aug 4).
Spin 14. (Aug 4). +4 = 93. Disasters. Fire Weather / John Vaillant (tagged 7x). 4.5 stars. (Finished Sept 18).
Spin 15. (Sept 15). +3 = 96. Comedy. Arsenic and Adobo / Mia P. Manansala. (tagged 13x). 3.5 stars (Finished Oct 27).
Spin 16. (Oct 30). +7 = 103. Canada. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act / Bob Joseph. (tagged 78x). 3.5 stars (Finished Nov 23)
Spin 17. (Nov 24). +8 = Off the board – DONE!
PBT Fall FlurriesOctober (Halloween):
- This Cursed House / Del Sandeen. 4 stars
- Horseman / Christina Henry. 3 stars
- The Nomadic Devil / Genoveva Ortiz. 3.5 stars
November (Remembrance Day):
- Thank You for Your Service / David Finkel. 3 stars
December (Christmas):
- The Twelve Clues of Christmas / Rhys Bowen. 4 stars
Travel Across CanadaAlberta:
- Fire Weather / John Vaillant. 4.5 stars
British Columbia:
- Dark Roads / Chevy Stevens. 4 stars
Labrador:
Manitoba:
New Brunswick:
Newfoundland:
Northern Canada:
Northwest Territories:
Nova Scotia:
Nunavut:
Ontario:
- Up and Down / Terry Fallis. 4 stars
- Gutenberg's Fingerprint / Merilyn Simonds. 3.5 stars
Prince Edward Island:
Prairie Provinces:
Quebec:
- Lone Wolf / Jodi Picoult. 4 stars
Saskatchewan:
Yukon:
Play Book TagJanuary: Historical Mystery
- Against a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer. 3.5 stars
- Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets / Rosemary Simpson. 3.5 stars
February: Authors of Color
- Such a Fun Age / Kiley Reid. 3.5 stars
- The Man Who Lived Underground / Richard Wright. 3 stars
- What Strange Paradise / Omar El Akkad. 4 stars
March: Coming of Age
- Son of the Shadows / Juliet Marillier. 3.75 stars
- The Miniaturist / Jessie Burton. 3.5 stars
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet / Jamie Ford. 4.5 stars
April: Fantasy Romance
- The Amaranth Enchantment / Julie Berry. 4 stars
- Sapphire Blue / Kerstin Gier. 3.5 stars
May: Crime
- The Devil's Tapestry / Barbara Cole. 3.75 stars
- Murder on Black Swan Lane / Andrea Penrose. 1.5 stars
- The Last Seance / Agatha Christie. 2.5 stars
June: Europe
- By Chance Alone / Max Eisen. 4 stars
- Resistance / Jennifer A. Nielsen. 4 stars
- The Wars / Timothy Findley. 2.5 stars
July: Debut
- On This Day / Nathaniel Bellows. 3.25 stars
- Behold the Dreamers / Imbolo Mbue. 3 stars
August: 5 Stars
- White Fragility / Robin DiAngelo. 3.5 stars
- All Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque. 3 stars
- Blood of My Blood / Barry Lyga. 3.5 stars
- Concrete Rose / Angie Thomas. 4 stars
September: Sad
- Anne Frank Remembered / Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold. 4 stars
- Fire Weather / John Vaillant. 4.5 stars
- The Polygamist's Daughter / Anne LeBaron, Leslie Wilson. 4 stars
October: Travel
- The Dressmaker / Kate Alcott. 3.5 stars
- Alone Time / Stephanie Rosenbloom. 2.25 stars
November: Steampunk
- Nevernight / Jay Kristioff. 2.25 stars
December: Mystery-Suspense
- Pretty Baby / Mary Kubica. 4 stars
Reading Through TimeJanuary: Janus
- Before and After / Judy Christie, Lisa Wingate. 3 stars
- Fayne / Ann-Marie MacDonald. 3 stars
February: Aquarius & Amethyst (water)
- The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter / Hazel Gaynor. 3.5 stars
- The Lake of Dreams / Kim Edwards. 3.25 stars
- What Strange Paradise / Omar El Akkad. 4 stars
- Not a Drop to Drink / Mindy McGinnis. 3.75 stars
March: Medicine & Epidemics
- The Sawbones Book / Justin & Sydnee McElroy. 4 stars
April: Characters with disabilities
- The Story of My Life / Helen Keller. 3 stars
May: International Labour Day
- Utopia for Realists / Rutger Bregman. 3.5 stars
June: Wonders of the World
- Stonehenge / Rosemary Hill. 2 stars
July: Vive la France
- The Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff. 4 stars
*August: The Joy of Reading
- The Naturalist's Daughter / Tea Cooper. 4 stars
- Index, A History of The / Dennis Duncan. 2.5 stars
- Gutenberg's Fingerprint / Merilyn Simonds. 3.5 stars
September: Royal to the Bone
- Anne of Cleves / Elizabeth Norton. 3.5 stars
October: Adultery
- Did She Kill Him? / Kate Colquhoun. 4 stars
November: Biographies & Memoirs
- Mary Boleyn / Alison Weir. 3.5 stars
- Stars Between the Sun and Moon / Lucia Jang. 3.5 stars
December: Reader's Choice
- The Icepick Surgeon / Sam Kean. 4 stars
- Spillover / Dennis Quammen. 3.25 stars
12x12 Trim, Roundtuits, Hist Fict Ch, BingoDOGThe Traitor's Wife: A Novel of the Reign of Edward II / Susan Higginbotham
4.25 stars
This is fiction during the times of Edward II and Edward III. It is told from the point of view of Eleanor, the wife of Hugh le Despenser, who was a favourite of Edward II for a while. Eleanor was only 13 when she married Hugh, but she seemed to be completely in love with him. However, he was often away, and apparently committed piracy (among other bad things). Still, he loved Eleanor and their children. He also may have “loved” the king. Later in the book, once Edward II is gone (he was likely murdered), and a teenage Edward III is ruling, it is really his mother and Roger Mortimer (her new lover) who rule through him. But they were ruthless, and when Edward was older, he was not going to go along with this.
This was really good. I think I’ve only read one other book (nonfiction) about this time period and these kings. (The focus of that book was on Mortimer.) It took a bit to get “into” this one since I was unfamiliar with the time period and the people, so I spent a bit of time at the start figuring out who everyone was. Also, there are so many people with the same name! The author tried to distinguish most of the time, but it was still sometimes a bit confusing. But still very good, I thought.
12x12 Nonfiction, BingoDOGGet Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them / Jennifer Wright
4 stars
This book looks at various “plagues” (or diseases) over the years and how they were overcome. There are chapters on smallpox, the Spanish flu, polio, leprosy, syphilis, typhoid, and more. Not only does she talk about the diseases and how they affected people, but she included specific people stories for some of them, as well (“Typhoid Mary”, Father Damien at Moloka’i...)
This was published pre-COVID. I listened to the audio and although my mind did wander at times, I thought it was very good. She does pepper the book with humour. It was interesting to read about vaccines, etc, especially with COVID fresh in my mind. She does end on a positive/hopeful note, but it does make me curious about how she feels about how people have reacted to the COVID vaccine, particularly anti-vaxxers (she does talk a bit about vaccines and anti-vaxxers in her chapter on polio).
12x12 PBT, Steeplechase, CalendarCAT, BingoDOG, RoundtuitsSorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert's Year of Living Dangerously / Jessica Pan
4 stars
The author is a “shintrovert” (shy + introvert… a word she made up). She decided she was going to try a bunch of extroverted-type things over a year. She did things like learn to talk to strangers on the street or public transit, she joined a website/app to meet new friends (like a dating app, but to meet friends), took an improv class, forced herself to do some group networking, took a comedy class (with the end result everyone up on stage to perform their comedy), travelling alone, hosting a dinner party, and probably more I’m forgetting.
Pretty sure this book will appeal much more to the introverts of the world. I am one. As a kid and teen, I was even a shintrovert, but the shyness is (mostly) gone as an adult. Obviously (based on the title), Jessica includes some humour in her story. I think there can’t help but be humour, though, in some of these situations that she puts herself though. I admire that she was able to do all those things (comedy! Improv!), and she ended up enjoying most of it.
12x12 RTT, Read Thru TimeBefore and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society / Judy Christie, Lisa Wingate
3 stars
Lisa Wingate’s “Before We Were Yours” is a fictional account of Georgia Tann and her illegally obtaining kids and babies to illegally adopt out. With the popularity of that book, she and Judy Christie decided to reach out to many of those “kids” (now adults, of course) to hear their stories and to set up a reunion.
I listened to the audio and that may have been my downfall. Because there were multiple individual stories to this one, it was more similar to a book of essays or short stories, so (because – audio) when I missed parts, it was hard to “catch up” on what I’d missed before we moved on to the next story. It did seem like many of the adopted kids had good lives, in the end.
There was some talk at the end about one of the reunion attendees not having a great home life post-adoption and that she was heartened to find others out there with a similar story – that is, she wasn’t alone in that. But if those stories were told in this book, I missed them. The entire story (Georgia Tann) is sad, but I suspect I might have liked this more if I’d actually read it. In any case, I’m still rating it ok.
12x12 Oh Canada, AlphaKIT, Hist Fict Ch, RTTFayne / Ann-Marie MacDonald
3 stars
In the late 19th century, 12-year old Charlotte lives with her father at Fayne (in Scotland or England). Her mother died in childbirth and her brother died when she was young, as well (Charlotte does not remember her brother). Charlotte is extremely smart and her father hires a tutor for her (who is initially perturbed that he was brought to tutor a girl). She wants to attend university.
This did not turn out as I’d expected. It was very long and I’m rating it ok. There were parts I liked (more toward the beginning of the book), but whenever we switched perspectives, I felt like I was starting over (even though after the first couple of times, we were mostly going back and continuing from where the last switch left off), and wasn’t interested for the first bit (of every switch). It took time to get interested again, but just as that happened, we switched again.
So, the other perspective is Charlotte’s mother. I honestly didn’t find this nearly as interesting, overall, as Charlotte herself. Though, after a bit, I was interested (then… switch!). Clarissa (Charlotte’s aunt) was a piece of work, wow! I didn’t like her from the start. The end was a bit weird: (view spoiler)
12x12 BIPOC, BingoDOGThe Night of the Storm / Nishita Parekh
4 stars
Jia is divorced and raising her 12-year old son, Ishaan, who was recently in trouble at school. So much trouble that her ex-husband is threatening to take him away from her. However, the urgent issue this evening is the hurricane coming toward Houston. Told to evacuate their area Jia and Ishaan are invited to Jia’s sister Seema’s place, not too far away. What they don’t realize until it’s too late is Seema’s area was also supposed to evacuate (though Jia does question that there are so few people nearby). Seema and her husband, Vipul, have also invited Vipul’s brother, Raj and his wife, Lisa. Also in the house is Vipul and Raj’s mother and Seema and Vipul’s young daughter.
When a neighbour urgently presses the doorbell to be let in, he is injured and needs help. Although Vipul does not like Rafael at all (they have had a number of disagreements), they let Rafael in, anyway. And things go terribly wrong.
I really liked this. There were, of course, also flashbacks to what led Jia to her divorce, Ishaan’s issues at school, and other things going on with Jia (including unwanted advances from Vipul). I did find the storm/”current day” scenes more interesting than the flashbacks, but of course the flashbacks were needed to figure out what was going on, in general. There were times I wasn’t a fan of Jia, as she did do some stupid things. I almost rated it a bit lower due to more focus on these flashbacks (when I’m really interested in the storm and the murder/thriller/suspense parts of the book), but the end brought the rating back up for me.
12x12 Series, BWF, PBT, AlphaKIT, BingoDOG, Hist Fict ChAgainst a Brightening Sky / Jaime Lee Moyer.
3.5 stars
It’s 1919 in San Francisco. When Delia and Gabe, Sophie and Jack (and their two kids), and Sam and Libby head to a parade, they never expected a riot to break out. Not only a riot, but then gunfire and explosions. Gabe and Jack are police so they go to help. Delia is a “spiritualist” – she can see ghosts; not only that, Sophie’s young son Connor sees them, too, but he is too young to do anything about it and they scare him. Delia does what she can to protect him. She also noticed the people who ended up rioting had something odd happen just before the riot. Once again, Delia and her friend Dora (also a spiritualist) must help Gabe solve this mystery.
I liked this. This is the third (and final, I’m guessing?) in a series. The POV changes between Gabe and Delia. Like the 2nd book, I think I liked Gabe’s storyline a bit better. I really liked the police officer, Jordan Lynch, whom they brought in from Chicago. There were a few times I really didn’t like Dora. I would continue with this series if it was to keep going (and would hope Jordan Lynch would continue to be in it, as well), but I see there aren’t (currently) more and this was published in 2015, so I’m not sure how likely another one is. It also kind of ended in a way that appears that there is unlikely to be more in the series.
12x12 Series, PBT, BWF, BingoDOG, Hist Fict ChLet the Dead Keep Their Secrets / Rosemary Simpson
3.5 stars
It’s the late 19th century in New York City. Prudence and Geoffrey run an investigation business. An opera singer, Claire, comes to them to ask them to investigate her twin sister’s (Catherine’s) death. Her sister, also an opera singer, was married to Aaron who seemed to keep her from her family and, by his request, she had stopped performing/singing. Catherine had just had a baby and they are now both dead. Aaron remarried very quickly after their deaths, and now Prudence and Geoffrey worry about his new wife, Ethel (who is pregnant).
This continues to be an enjoyable series. I love that a woman is doing much of the investigating. Apparently there were a few women investigators with the famous Pinkerton investigation agency at the time, as well. The story didn’t grip me as much as the first two in the series did, but it did ramp up a bit toward the end. Definitely still enjoying it enough to continue the series. I didn’t mention it in my description, but Aaron had a photographer come take a post-mortem photograph of Catherine and their baby; I did know this happened, but only because of the Nicole Kidman movie “The Others” from the late 90s?, so that wasn’t a surprise.
12x12 Animals, RandomKIT, AlphaKIT, RoundtuitsThe Genius of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman
3.5 stars
As the title suggests, this book looks at bird intelligence. How intelligent are birds? And how do we measure this?
It’s hard to base intelligence on what humans think is smart. I think it’s similar to culturally-biased IQ tests, really. Birds don’t need to know the same things as humans. That being said, there are things that birds know or can figure out that is comparable to humans and/or other primates. They are smart, IMO. Most of us know how smart corvids (crows, ravens, etc) are, but other birds are smart, too, in different ways, including sparrows, pigeons… some birds that aren’t “traditionally” thought of as smart. Some of the things discussed in the book include songs, migration, tools, aesthetically—pleasing displays, etc. I listened to the audio, but I bet I would have taken in more had I actually read it in print or via ebook.
12x12 Travel, MysteryKIT, BingoDOGDeath Cruise: Crime Stories on the Open Seas / Lawrence Block (ed.)
4 stars
These are mystery short stories mostly set on cruises.
But. Short stories so mostly not memorable by the end of the book, though I really enjoyed most of them as I read them (hence the 4 stars, which is higher than I rate most short story collections). One had a short author’s note at the end, which made me happy because I did wonder (the story took place on the Queen Mary, and there were some interesting stats and uses of the ship during WWII). Unfortunately, one of the last stories (and potentially also the longest), I didn’t like, but almost all the others I really liked. Might help that I have enjoyed the cruises that I’ve taken, so the setting is familiar and enjoyable for me.
12x12 BIPOC, PrizeCAT, BingoDOG, AlphaKITBluebird, Bluebird / Attica Locke
3.75 stars
Darren is a black man and a Texas Ranger. Though he is on suspension, he gets a tip that there have been two murders one county over – a black man and a white woman. Bodies found in the river a few days apart. Initially, he heads over just to see what things are looking like. Turns out there is an active chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (a modern-day KKK) in this small town where there hasn’t been even one murder in decades. When he does get the go ahead from his Ranger supervisor to help investigate, the local sheriff isn’t thrilled.
I mostly liked this, but some of the flashbacks to previous happenings didn’t completely hold my interest. I liked Darren, but didn’t like some of the other characters much. I feel like dark and gritty are good words to describe this one. I do plan to continue with book 2 at some point.
12x12 ARCs, ScaredyKIT, BingoDOGLottery of Secrets / Nadija Mujagic
4 stars
Lynn has won 5 million dollars in the lottery. But she doesn’t want to tell her abusive husband, Jimmy. She plans to donate the money to charity. She is sick and doesn’t want him getting his hands on any of the money. But then the threats start.
There are more layers to this than I’ve mentioned. I’m not sure how much I want to give away (even if much of it is revealed early on, and I think much more is said in some of the other reviews).
Lynn is a very unreliable narrator. I thought all the feelings she went through after winning (about winning) probably were legitimate, but stacked on top of that was all the abuse she’s suffered over decades. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. There was a surprise/twist near the end, but then it ended so abruptly, so that was disappointing, as it seems it is meant to continue in another book. If it wasn’t for the (non?) ending, I might have rated it a bit higher.
12x12 Nonfiction, AlphaKIT, RoundtuitsYou May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice / Tom Vanderbilt
3.5 stars
The author looks at what people like, why we like those things, etc. Our “taste” so to speak (not the sense of taste, but our “taste” for what we like). He does, of course, discuss food, but there is also a chapter (I found this one particularly interesting) on online reviews and recommendations, etc. Other chapters include museums/art, ways to describe why we like something, and more.
Not too much to say about this. I found it (mostly) interesting and easy to read. Oddly, although I’m not really one for art appreciation, I remember that chapter a bit more than some of the others (also the online review chapter, but that may not be a surprise considering I am writing a review to post online…!).
12x12 Audio, BingoDOG, Steeplechase, RoundtuitsThe Word Exchange / Alena Graedon
2.75 stars
It’s a little bit into the future and almost everyone uses a “Meme”, a recent handheld device that does pretty much everything, including coming up with language/words for people to use. Print dictionaries are almost at an end. Doug is working on the last one that will be printed, but when he disappears, he leaves a clue for his daughter, Anana. While she searches for him, Memes start controlling more and more of people’s language as they also need to pay for words (via “The Word Exchange”. Not only that, there is now a “word flu” making its rounds where people are not only not feeling well, they are garbelling their words.
I feel like I might have liked it better and paid better attention if I hadn’t listened to the audio. I got the gist of the bulk of what was happening, and was a little bit interested, but not completely. Hmm, in some ways (based on other reviews), maybe the audio was better? I didn’t notice too many super-big words that made it hard to understand, and I mostly didn’t have an issue understanding what people were trying to say when garbled words were coming out – that was likely easier due to hearing the “word” rather than reading it. Overall, I’m rating it just under “ok”.
12x12 BIPOC, PBT, Steeplechase, BWF, Roundtuits, CalendarCATSuch a Fun Age / Kiley Reid
3.5 stars
Emira is a black 25-year old and she doesn’t have a “real” job. She is a babysitter (not a nanny) for a white couple three days/week and a typist the other two days. Briar is the toddler she looks after, mostly because Alix (Bri’s mom) doesn’t really like Bri and wants time away (though Emira is told Alix needs quiet to write her book (despite Alix taking her baby with her)).
When there is an emergency at Alix’s house one night while Emira is our with friends, Alix calls Emira in a panic asking if she can come take Bri while Alix and her husband call the police. Alix suggests Emira take Bri to the local grocery store… where another shopper decides Emira must have stolen the little white child and reports her to security. Another shopper gets the confrontation on video until it is sorted out. Emira wants nothing to do with the video and just wants to put it all behind her.
This was good. I didn’t really like any of the characters, though. (And although I don’t particularly like kids), I did love Emira’s relationship with Bri. Alix weirded me out there when she tried to befriend Emira. At the end, I liked the way the author delved into future years with how Emira was doing and what she continued on to do after the main part of the story was done.
12x12 Audio, Hist Fict Ch, BingoDOG, PBT Jan Trim, RandomKIT, RTTThe Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter / Hazel Gaynor
3.5 stars
Unmarried and pregnant, Matilda is 19-years old in 1938 when she is sent across the ocean to live with a distant relative in Rhode Island, Harriet, who watches the lighthouse there.
One hundred years earlier, in England, a storm washed up survivors of a shipwreck, including Sarah. Sarah’s two young children died in the wreck. Grace Darling is the lighthouse keeper’s daughter who saw the survivors still in the water, so she and her dad went to help them. Grace become a local hero after this. (And apparently, Grace Darling was a real person.)
Matilda has a book on keeping lighthouses that she brings with her. The inscription includes one from Grace to Sarah and Sarah to (a different) Matilda.
I listened to the audio and it was good. I did lose focus at times, but I think I caught the main happenings in the book. Harriet also kept secrets and it took time for her to open up to Matilda. I liked her, though she did seem “gruff” at times. I liked all the characters, really. The women were pretty tough and self-sufficient – or certainly tried/wanted to be as much as they could in their time periods. There were a lot of characters, though, and there were times that it took me a bit to figure out which time frame and character’s POV I was listening to. It did say when the POV changed, but since I know my mind wandered some plus putting away the audio and picking it up later sometimes made it a bit tricky.
12x12 RTT, AlphaKIT, Roundtuits, RTT, SteeplechaseThe Lake of Dreams / Kim Edwards
3.25 stars
Lucy has been living abroad for a number of years, but when her mother is injured and in hospital, she decides to come home. Her partner, Yoshi, will join her later. Lucy’s family has had some quarrels (particularly her father (died a while back) and his brother/Lucy’s uncle Art), mostly over the family business and inheritance. Now, her brother is working for Art, and her mom is considering selling the house and land to Art. The land sits on an ecologically sensitive lake that Art wants to develop.
While Lucy is helping clean out the house, she comes across some paperwork that mentions Rose. It sounds like Rose is someone in the family, but Lucy has never heard of her, so she does some research to try to find out who Rose was. And uncovers other secrets along the way.
Through the first 2/3 or so of the book, I would have rated it 3 stars (ok), but I increased it just a touch, as I got much more interested in the last 1/3. I did skim parts of the first of the book, so I did miss a few things. I liked that Lucy (view spoiler). So many novels would go the other way. I think I liked it because the author made sure that the reader could see (view spoiler), whereas so many other books wouldn’t go into that. I also liked the ecological slant to the story (though that wasn’t explored in a lot of detail, but it still appealed to me).
12x12 PBT, PBT, RandomKIT, CalendarCAT, BingoDOGThe Man Who Lived Underground / Richard Wright
3 stars
This actually consists of a novella-length story, plus a nonfiction essay. The short story is the one of the title. It’s set in the 1940s(?) (that’s when it was originally written, anyway), and a black man, Fred, leaving work, just having been paid in cash, is “arrested” by the police and “questioned”/tortured. Initially not knowing even what they police were talking about, it turns out the neighbours of the people Fred worked for had been murdered in their home earlier in the day. Fred manages to escape and moves underground via the sewers from building to building for a few days.
The essay talked about how the author grew up with his very religious Grandmother and how some things from that experience related to this story.
Overall, I’m rating it ok. The essay got pretty philosophical, so wasn’t all that interesting to me. The story itself was better, but also a little bit odd while Fred was underground. I definitely did not see the end coming (but maybe I should have?).
12x12 Travel, PBT, RTT, PrizeCAT, AlphaKITWhat Strange Paradise / Omar El Akkad
4 stars
Amir is a 9-year old Syrian boy who survives a shipwreck. Everyone else to be seen has washed up on shore, dead. He is on an island, but doesn’t know where he is, nor does he understand the language. When two men see him and point and shout, Amir gets scared and runs. He runs into Vanna, 15-years old and though they are unable to communicate verbally, she hides him.
The story then shifts to “Before”, which brings us up to date on how Amir got where he is. We go back and forth between Amir’s before and “After”. Much of after is told from Vanna’s POV, but occasionally we switch to the POV of a colonial who is dead set on finding Amir, the little boy who ran away.
Given that it’s (primarily) from a 9-year old’s POV, it took a bit to figure out what was going on through much of the story. I am still not sure I understand the ending. But it was a “good” (powerful) story, even so.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic (other topics)Pretty Baby (other topics)
Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy (other topics)
The Librarian of Burned Books (other topics)
Something About Sophie (other topics)
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