Sammy’s Comments (group member since Nov 18, 2020)

Sammy’s comments from the Sinful Readers Anonymous group.

Hey, sounds like my offspring too, though instead of books read, it's computer games played, lol.

Sonia wrote: "I think I need a new jar. Mainly things that say, do not re-read this month or stay away from KU, or there are other books to be read"

Yes but if you didn't do all those things you wouldn't be Sonia!

Certain things are just part of the natural order of things:

- The run rises in the East
- Water is wet
- Chocolate is necessary
- Sonia will be happy when she re-reads a favourite KU series.

You just don't mess with those things, or the world will go wrong.

I keep getting swamped by challenges that don't give me much wriggle room. Right now my books are getting so specific I'm starting to think I'll never get back to my tbr, lol!

I thought The Wasp Factory was very good, but also extremely gory and disturbing. not for the squeamish!

So I needed some help figuring out what to read next and turned to my tbr jar for help...

"Read a book by a male author"

Wonderful, narrowed it down to 75% of my tbr! LOL

Settled on The Wasp Factory in the end, because I've been meaning to read it all year now.

I have no current print book requirements for team challenges, so time for a prompt!
I got:

Read a children's book

Which gives me the perfect excuse to finally open up my copy of which I inherited from my grandfather. He got this copy when he was 19 (back in '55), and now it's my turn to enjoy it. It has both the first and second Jungle Books in it :)

Oh dear... Here's hoping I do better this year!

- Read 375 books
- Read 50 new books from the 1001 list
- Finish the year with less books in my TBR than I started (138 audio, 291 print)
- Finish at least 5 series
- Read the Lovecraft collection already!


Results:

- 540/375
- 38/50
- 132 audio, 304 print
- 5/5
- Finished story 9

And the list keeps growing...

- The Chronicles of St Mary's (finished book 14)
- Raymond E. Feist's complete works (Finished Shards of a Broken Crown)
- The Dark Tower series
- Continue Discworld re-read (finished book 18)
*- Continue Murderbot Diaries (read book 7) - finished for now
*- Continue Matthew Corbett series (finished book 9)
- Continue Outlander series (finished book 3)
*- Finish Jackman & Evans series (finished book 10)* - finished for now, but apparently lots more books coming
Finally finish Alice In wonderland series
- Continue Hornblower series (finished book 10)
- Continue Old Man's War series (book 1-3 & 5 + 6 completed)
- Continue chronicles of Amber series
- Continue Firefly series (finished book 1-3, 5 & 6)
- Continue Sookie Stackhouse (book 4 completed)
- Acquire and read more Burton and Swinburne! (Finished book 3)
- Read Elizabeth Cage trilogy
continue Pieter Vos series
- Continue MaddAddam trilogy
- Complete Baroque cycle (finished book 2)
- Continue Angelique de Xavier trilogy (finished book 2)
*- Continue John Milton series (read book 1-11)* - pausing series here for now
- Continue Middle Falls Time Travel series (finished book 1)
- Continue Orphan X series (finished book 9)
- Continue the Witcher series (finished book 0.5)
- Continue Lily Bard series (finished book 1, 2, 4 &5)
- Finish Kingsbridge series (finished book 0-3)
- re-read and continue The wheel of time (finished book 1)
*- Continue Simon Serrailer series (Read up to book 9 + 11)* pausing here for now
- Continue Jane Yellowrock series
- Continue The Expanse series (finished book 5)
- Continue Percy Jackson series (finished book 4)
- Continue Shades of Magic series
- Continue Until the End of the World series (finished book 1.5)
- Continue The Clifton Chronicles (finished book 1 + 3)
- Continue the Enzo Files (read book 1-3)
- Finish Chronicles of the One trilogy
- Continue Dexter series (read book 1+2)
- Continue aurora Teagarden series (read book 1-5 & 7-9)
- Continue detective William Warrick series (read book 1-4)
- Read Lady Hardcastle Mysteries (read book 1-5 and 7 & 9)
- Continue The Time Police series (read up to book 5)
- Continue Mary Russel series (read book 1 & 2)
- Continue DCI Gilchrist series (read book 2)
- Read the Skyward series
- Re-read Sharpe series (finished book 6)
- Continue the Poppy War (Finished book 2)
- Read the Years of Longdirk trilogy (completed book 2)
- Finish Santa Olivia Duology (read book 1)

5 down!

- Continue Aubrey & Maturin series (read book 1-3, 5-10, 17) - *stopping the series here for now*
- continue Shadow of the apt series (read book 1-4) *stopping the series here for now*

I still have a hundred or so prompts in my jar, so count me in :D

Time frame is an awkward one, because team challenges always get in the way. I'm gonna go with monthly for now and see how I get on :)

welp... I failed miserably on several counts... Most particularly the "have less books on the TBR at the end of the year than at the start"

I bought over 400 books this year!

*sigh*

Also, I really need to get stuck into the Lovecraft. A year on and I've still barely started!

Steven wrote: "Love that series!"

I may or may not have picked up book 2 this weekend, lol.

Finished , which was a lot of fun, but going to hold off on grabbing another prompt until I've gotten a few challenge books out of the way.

And finished . Definitely so much better than Addie LaRue!!

Next prompt:

"read a book with books on the cover"

Yes, I have enough books of the kind that I can use (and re-use) this as a prompt and still have quite a selection to choose from, lol.

Settled on

finished season 1 of 'Once Upon a Time' and season 1 of 'Chuck', and also finished season 15 (final season) of Supernatural! :D

ready to move on please!

Sammy's channel

Supernatural

Pilot-season 3
S 4-6
S 7-8
S 9-11
S 12-14

Season 15 12/12


• But if we marry science with magic, the results could be… explosive. - Read a book with MPG ‘science’ or ‘Magic’, or read a book with a character who has a bad-boy rep. Or read a book in which there is serious sexual tension between two characters. - Mercy Blade MPG magic
• Death is an infinite vessel - Read a book with a musical instrument on the cover, or which has the word ‘Death’ in the title. Or read a book which has a character that grew on you. - North and South - drum and trumpet on cover
• Angel blade. You upgraded. - Read a book in which a supposed good character turns out to be bad, or in which someone has bad dreams. Or read a book in which someone goes camping. - The Lightning Thief - Percy is betrayed by someone he thought was a friend
• Clarence kills a Djinn… - Read a book by an author/with a character named Clarence, or in which someone has a nick-name. Or read a book that’s written in a journal/diary format. - Secrets at Bletchley Park - one of the characters gives everyone nicknames
• I thought you were dead. Yeah, I got better. - Read a book by an author/with a character named Patrick, or a book which contains a song. Or read a book in which someone meets an old friend. - The Night Watch - song: Oranges and Lemons
• Amazon doesn’t deliver here. Yet. - Read a book which features a queen or an apology. Or read a book which has a mentally ill character. - Termination Shock One of the MCs is a queen
• You see this boomstick? - read a book with one of the following words in the title: EVIL, DEAD, ARMY, DARKNESS. Or read a book with the word ‘purgatory’ in the text, or which features a character who can see the future. - The Nowhere Man Purgatory in text
• Just because God yanked the magic horseshoe out of our ass, doesn’t mean we’re going to give up. - Read a book which has a black & white cover, or a character who is a dentist. Or read Fight Club. - Coffin Road black & white cover
• Go get her, pizza man. - Read a book in which someone eats pizza, or calls someone an idiot. Or read a book with a garden on the cover. - Complicated characters eat pizza and people get called idiots
• We have a monster radar - Read a book which features a nymph, or a character who is very cheerful. Or read a book in which a radar is used. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Calo and Galdo are usually cheerful
• You have a very distinctive musk - Read a book with MPG Crime, or which mentions ‘Kool-Aid’ in the text. Or read a book with a “smell” word in the title (like, scent, perfume, odour, stink, etc.) - The Wrong Girl MPG crime
• Let’s go reap a reaper - Read a book with a scythe or other farming implement on the cover, or which has death as a major theme. Or read a book in which someone mysteriously vanishes, or has an emotional ending. - I Am Watching You teenager vanishes

Meh. not so great. Next prompt:

"Read a book with a red item on the cover"

Chose . Hope I enjoy it more than Addie Larue!

coming up to the end of a team challenge, and I don't think I'll manage another 500+ page print book (it's possible, but unlikely), so I grabbed a prompt to help me narrow down the 300 page ones.
I got:

Read a book set in the USA.

Doesn't narrow it down as much as I'd hoped, lol. But I settled on , as I'm very behind on my 1001-list books goal for the year.

Hope to get to at least 3 more print books before the end of the year. It's a stupidly busy time of year, so I'll be doing mostly audio, but I should get to some at least :)

.

Chuck: Season 1

• Chuck versus the Intersect - Read a book in which someone receives a surprising email, or in which a character has special powers. Or read a book in which someone has a party or eats pancakes.
• 1.2 Chuck versus the Helicopter - Read a book in which someone flies in a helicopter, or eats hotdogs. Or read a book which features a character who is a scientist.
• Chuck versus the Tango - Read a book in which two people pretend to be in a relationship, or in which characters dance. Or read a book that was originally written in Spanish.
• Chuck versus the Wookie - Read a book that’s tagged ‘Space Opera’, or read a book that has a gemstone in the title.
• Chuck versus the Sizzling Shrimp - Read a book that has an item of food in the title or on the cover, or read a book set in China.
• Chuck versus the Sandworm - Read a book that takes place in the desert, or which is tagged ‘Halloween’. Or read one of Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ books.
• Chuck versus the Alma Matar - Read a book set at a school, university or college, or read a book in which someone goes up against an enemy in the workplace.
• Chuck versus the Truth - Read a book which features poison. Or read a book which takes place during or after a nuclear war, or in which characters race to prevent one.
• Chuck versus the Imported Hard Salami - Read a book which has the word ‘sandwich’ in the text, or which features a smuggler. Or read a book with a character/by an author named Lou/Louise.
• Chuck versus the Nemesis - Read a book tagged ‘thanksgiving’, or read a book in which someone is forced to help a person they don’t like. Or read a book with a character or by an author named Bryce.
• Chuck versus the Crown Vic - Read a book with a car or a boat on the cover. Or read a book in which someone goes to a work’s party, or a book with a character/by an author named Mike/Michael.
• Chuck versus the Undercover Lover - Read a book with a firearm on the cover, or which is set in Russia. Or read a book with a doll on the cover.
• Chuck versus the Marlin - Read a book with a type of fish on the cover or in the title, or which features a proposal. Or read a book with a character or author named Vic(tor), Jeff(rey), Anna or Harry.

Big update from my channel today...

I finished the pilots of both 'Chuck' and 'Once Upon a Time' and also season 14 of 'Supernatural'.

Could I binge the first seasons of the first 2, and the last season of the last one please? :)

Sammy's channel

Season 12 (view spoiler)[

• Ok agent… Beyonce - Read a book with a ‘cold’ cover, or which has a child MC. Or read a book with a fire or cup of tea on the cover. - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - Snowy cover
• One’s an angel, one’s a demon, and they solve crimes… - read a ‘buddy Cop’ book, or one in which characters enter a church. Or read a book that features telekinesis. - Another Time, Another Place - everyone goes to church for a wedding
• I killed Hitler. I think I deserve some pie. - Read a book with MPG ‘Classics’, or which is set during WWII. Or read a Harry Potter book. A Ship of the Line - MPG classics
• I just know you’d make an amazing father - Read a book in which the president of the USA is a character, or which has a white house on the cover. Or read a book in which British and American characters work together. - Snow Crash - president char.
• I pity the fool - Read a book in which a character has the same name as an A-Team character or actor, or which has a character who is in prison. Or read a book with the letters in HUD in the title. - Flying Colours - MC is in prison to start
• No wings, no home, just a ratty old coat and a pair of poorly trained monkeys - Read a book with wings or monkeys on the cover, or which features a character named Lily. Or read a book set in the early 20th century (between 1900 & 1925) - Shakespeare's Landlord - MC's named Lily
• This is a… Lightstick - Read a book in which a character suffers memory loss, or which has the word ‘Grimoire’ in the text. Or read a book with a black cover. - Time Regained - a couple of characters suffer memory loss/dementia
• Either you get good fast, or you get dead faster - Read a book with the term ‘pureblood’ in the text, or which has characters who are brother and sister. Or read a book with ‘fast’ or ‘faster’ in the title. - His Bloody Project - features MC and his sister
• Assimilate or Eliminate - Read a book which features a puppy or an accidental injury, or read a book which is set at a boarding school. -Deadeye Dick - Accident
• Moloch, God of sacrifice - Read a book which features half-brothers or a character/author named Bill/William. Or read a book with a goat or hammer on the cover. Or read Make room! Make room! The Pillars of the Earth - char William

• I can keep you safe if you play nice - Read a book which features a missing person, or which has a doll on the cover. Or read a book tagged ‘Magic’ - Sputnik Sweetheart - Missing person
• I kinda always wanted to punch the Devil in the face - Read a book in which someone throws a punch, or has a baby. Or read a book which features alternate dimensions, or which is the 11th in a series. - The Chrysalids - MC gets baby sister (hide spoiler)]

Season 13 12/12 (view spoiler)[

• I’m not stoned, I’m… hungry - Read a book in which a character gets stoned or has the munchies, or which has a naked man on the cover. Or read a book which has pirates. - The Confusion - pirates
• Team Free Will 2.0 - Read a book about 4 friends/family members/colleagues, or read a book with MPG Western. Or read a book which has a smiling person on the cover, or the word ‘Ghoul’ in the text. - Dead Men Can't Complain and Other Stories - Ghoul
• The doctor’s going to eat our liver with some fava beans and a bottle of Chianti - Read a Hannibal Lecter book, or read a book in which someone is dealing with grief. Or read a book which has all the letters in CLOSURE in the title. - The Outsiders - lots of grief here
• Bullets, bacon and booze. A lot of booze - Read a book which features a plague, or in which someone undergoes a traumatic experience. Or read a book with an alcoholic beverage on the cover. - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Kid loses dad in 9/11 attack
• Honey, you’re not Lucifer. My ex husband is Lucifer - Read a book which features divorce, twins or a motorbike. - 4 3 2 1 - MCs parents divorce in one storyline
• I think it just rang the dinner bell - Read a book with MPG Feminism, or which contains multiple kick-ass females. Or read a book with a lizard on the cover. - Half of a Yellow Sun - Female MC and her sister are both pretty kick-ass
• Magical Zombie Mom - Read a book which has witches or zombies, or in which someone falls madly in love. -The Various Haunts of Men - char falls in love with her boss
• Your world’s got your boys. This place… I’m pretty much all it’s got - Read a book with MPG Post-apocalypse or War, or which features a character who is brain-damaged. - Sharpe's Assassin - MPG war
• Failure is not an option - Read a book which has a skull on the cover, or which features the Mafia or a character who is described as a saint. - Empire of the Vampire - chars referred to as saints
• I’m especially fond of Sam’s impressive… extensive array of hair products - Read a book which has someone with fabulous hair on the cover, or in which a character dies too soon (in your opinion). Or read a book in which a mother grieves for her child. - Ariadne - Minotaur dies way too soon in the book.
• Lucifer’s driving the bus - Read a book which has some form of public transport on the cover, or which features an evacuation. Or read a book which contains a family squabble. - The Border - the safe zone is evacuated after zombies threaten to overrun
• You’re going to put out an APB on the Devil? - read a book in which a character moves somewhere new, or which is by an author/has a character named Michael. Or read a Shakespeare play. Moving Pictures - Lots of people move to Holy Wood. (hide spoiler)]

Supernatural: Season 14 12/12

• Nick is a mess - read a book which has a character who is dealing with severe depression, or read a book which features a murder. - The Constant Gardener - MC's wife is murdered
• First love strikes quick - Read a book with MPG romance, or in which someone is beheaded or has blood on the cover. - Marie Antoinette: The Journey - Marie Antoinette is beheaded
• If I had kryptonite gloves, I could beat up superman. It’s science - Read a superman book or graphic novel, or a book with a very geeky character. Or read a book with MPG Horror. - The Scar - MPG Horror
• Bobby’s SON!? - Read a book by an author/with a character named Daniel, or in which someone has a nightmare. Or read a book which features a trap. - Gone South - MC named Dan
• Have you ever read a romance novel? - Read a book with MPG Romance, or which features a character who works in a library. Or read a book which has the term ‘love at first sight’ in it. - North and South MPG Romance
• His father got stabbed in the heart and exploded - Read a book which features a serial killer or a medical emergency, or read a book in which someone learns to drive. - Beneath a Scarlet Sky - Pino learns to drive
• Impossible odds… Feels like home. - Read a book in which someone mails a package, or goes undercover, or read a book with an egg on the cover, or (part of) which takes place on Christmas eve. - Dark Currents - Daisy goes undercover at frat house
• Dean builds a box - Read a book with a box on the cover, or in which characters say goodbye or have a homecooked meal. - The Dark Forest lots of people say goodbye as they go into hibernation
• I wish I could have gotten it before she took my temperature… - read a book with a snake on the cover, or which mentions ‘Ouroboros’ or ‘medusa’ in the text. Or read a book which has a character who is a vet. - To Marry Medusa - Lots of Medusa
• His head exploded. Like a ripe melon on the sun. - Read a book with a melon or sun on the cover or in the title. Or read a book set in the 60s, or which features mind control. - Blue Gemini - set in the 60s
• Nobody stays dead anymore, you know that. - Read a book in which someone returns from the dead, or which features poison in some way. Or read a book with the word ‘Empty’ in the title. - Tarzan of the Apes - the human tribe uses poisoned arrows
• Stop Lying!! - Read a book in which someone is caught in a lie, or which has the word ‘God’ in the title. Or read a book which features riots or zombies. - Feed - zombies

Downton Abbey

Pilot - season 3
Season 4 & 5 (view spoiler)[

• Sneaking off like a thief in the night - Read a book in which a character disappears suddenly without telling anyone, or read a book set in India or which is by an Indian author. - Credence - Kaleb keeps disappearing
• Nanny West - Read a book which has a compass direction in the title, or which has a character who is a nanny, or is horrible to children. - Far Eastern Tales - Eastern
Edna comes back - Read a book in which someone lies at a job interview, or which has a scheming character. - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Much scheming!
• Spratt - Read a book by an author or set in the North east of England, or read a book by an author or with a character whose first and surnames both begin with the same letter. - I Love the Bones of You - author from north of England
• Mary inherits - read a book in which someone comes into an inheritance, or has an argument with their parent(s), or in which someone receives a letter, or has a letter on the cover. - Letters from Father Christmas - lots of letters
• Albert sits a cooking exam - Read a book in which someone cooks a meal, or which has some kind of cooked food on the cover. - White Silence - Jones cooks Christmas dinner
• A thief at the Dower house? - Read a book that has a character who is a thief, or who works in a garden, or read a book with a silver item on the cover. - A Morbid Taste for Bones - Cadfael is the monastery's gardener/herbalist
• A difficult decision for Edith - Read a book in which a character has to make a difficult life choice, or is considering doing something illegal. Or read a book in which someone turns to a family member for advice. - Snapshot - MC considers shooting his partner
• Miss Bunting - Read a book which has a character who is a teacher, or which has bunting on the cover. Or read a book by an author or with a character named Sarah. - Heidi - teacher char
• A desire of suitors - Read a book by an author or with a character named Evelyn, Charles or Tony, or read a book with three men on the cover. - The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
• The London Season - Read a book set in London, or which has a character/author named London. - What Maisie Knew - set in London
• Lady Rose is presented - Read a book in which someone “comes out”, or read a book with a king or queen character. - Shadow and Bone - features a king and queen

Downton Abbey: Season 5 12/12

• The anniversary dinner - Read a book in which characters have a dinner party or some kind of celebration. Or read a book tagged ‘political’. - Black Dogs - political
• Fire! - Read a book with a fire or fireman on the cover, or which features a building on fire in the story, or has the word ‘fire’ in the title. - Lord Hornblower - fire on cover
• The King on the wireless - Read a book in which a character is pressured into using some kind of technology against their will, or which has a radio on the cover or in the title. - I Capture the Castle - father is very against the wireless when it first arrives
• Mary’s naughty weekend away - Read a book in which a character goes on a trip/journey, or read a book tagged ‘erotica’. - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - chars travel around the world
• Violet’s Russian Prince - Read a book set in Russia, or which has a character who is a prince. Or read a book with a fan on the cover. - Commodore Hornblower - set in Russia
• Cora has an admirer - Read a book tagged ‘art’, or which has something that could be considered art on the cover. - Cakes and Ale - painting on cover
• An investigation into Green’s death - Read a book with ‘murder’ in the title, or read a book with a green cover. - Call for the Dead - green cover
• Mr & Mrs Drew - Read a book in which someone adopts or fosters a child, or read a book with a male and female on the cover. - When We Were Orphans - MC is fostered by his aunt
• Edith runs away - Read a book where a character runs away, or escapes a scandal, or read a book with a baby on the cover or in the title. - Gargantua and Pantagruel - baby on cover
• Denker - Read a book with a character that is a troublemaker, or in which someone gambles. - The Secret History - Bunny causes a lot of trouble
• Rose gets married - Read a book by a Jewish author, or which features a Jewish character. Or read a book by an author or with a character whose name is also the name of a bird. The Human Stain - Jewish character
• Tom leaves for America - Read a book set in the USA. - The Silence of the Lambs - set in USA (hide spoiler)]

Season 6 12/12

• Andy - Read a book by a London-born author, or read a book by an author or with a character named Andrew/Andy. - A Dance to the Music of Time: 3rd Movement - london born author
• Mary is blackmailed - read a book with a blackmail plot, or read a book by an author or with a character named Ellen. - World Without End - Gwenda is blackmailed
• Anna is cleared - Read a book which features a celebration, or in which someone is cleared of a crime. Or read a book with no green on the cover. - The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock - no green
• Best in show - Read a book in which someone joins a competition, or which has an animal on the cover. - Junkyard Cats - cats on cover
• Marigold is missing - Read a book in which someone is abducted, or read a book with a yellow or orange cover. - Perdido Street Station - Lin is abducted
• Mr & Mrs Carson - Read a book which features a relationship between older people, or which has a church or school on the cover. Or read a book with the letters C A R S O & N in the title. - the StRaNge CAse Of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde
• Edith’s new beau - Read a book by an author or with a character named Bertie/Bert/Albert, or which features a character who is a member of the peerage. - lord Edward Campion
• Neville Chamberlain comes to tea - Read a book which features a political character, or a real life historical figure. Or read a book in which a character has a medical emergency. - Shakespeare: The World as a Stage - Shakespeare is an Historical figure
• A day at the races - Read a book in which characters attend some kind of race, , or in which someone has an accident. Or read a book with a car on the cover. - Rabbit Is Rich - Car on cover
• Henry Talbot - Read a book in which a character is looking for a job, or read a book by an author or with a character named Henry. - Woman at Point Zero - MC looks for job after leaving husband
• Mrs Patmore’s house of ill repute - Read a book which features a Bed & Breakfast, or in which someone commits adultery. Or read a book in which someone’s business is threatened through no fault of their own. - Moll Flanders - lots of adultery
• ”Cassandra Jones” - Read a book by an author writing under a Nom de Plume, or in which a character uses an assumed name. Or read a book which has both ‘agony’ and ‘aunt’ in the text. - Coming Up for Air - George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair