Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I didn't reach 100 in 2018, but I'm going to go for it again. I've GOT to make some progress on my giant TBR!

Ann A wrote: "I didn't reach 100 in 2018, but I'm going to go for it again. I've GOT to make some progress on my giant TBR!"

hehehe. Good luck on your 100 (!!!) this year! :)

1 - Angle of Investigation - Just a short, but I'm counting it! I'll read anything Connelly writes. 4*

2 - Death of a Celebrity - I always enjoy hanging out with Hamish in Scotland. 4*

3 - Christmas in Plains: Memories - 4*

4 - Educated - Couldn't put this down. 5*

5 - The Scarecrow - Not quite up to par for Connelly, but still good. 3 1/2*

6 - James Monroe - 3*

7 - Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses - 4*

8 - A Passage to India - Good writing, but I didn't like the way the Indians were portrayed. (1001 books) 3*

9 - Lady Fortescue Steps Out - Total fluff, but entertaining. 3*

10 - Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine - Kindle Short. 4*

11 - Death of a Village - 4*

12 - Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays - Wish I had discovered Mary Oliver sooner. 4*

13 - The Drop - 4*

14 - Archie, Vol. 1: The New Riverdale - 3*

15 - Becoming - LOVE. 5*

16 - Yes, Chef - It's now on my bucket list to go to this guy's restaurant in New York. - 4*

17 - One of Our Thursdays Is Missing - 4*

18 - Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman - 4*

19 - Unsheltered - What a writer. But don't expect to feel jolly after reading this. 4*

20 - Miss Tonks Turns to Crime - 3*

21 - Mrs. Budley Falls from Grace - 3*

22 - America Is Not the Heart (Tournament of Books) 2 1/2*

23 - Sir Philip's Folly - That's quite enough of this series. 2*

24 - The Golden State (Tournament of Books) 4*

25 - Montalbano's First Case, and Other Stories -
3*

26 - Cranford (1001 Books) - 4*

27 - The Friend (Tournament of Books) - 4*

28 - Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos - 4*

29 - The House of Broken Angels (Tournament of Books) - 4*

30 - The Overstory (Tournament of Books) - I had never truly appreciated trees. I will now. 4*

How many books do you read in a week?

Yvonne wrote: "How many books do you read in a week?"

I average only 1-2 books a week, but I got behind in updating this thread so it will look like I have read a whole bunch very quickly! (I've read 47 so far this year.)

31 - The Clue of the Broken Locket - Have to pull out a Nancy Drew now and then. It's just fun. 3*

32 - The Mars Room (Tournament of Books) - Not a "pleasant" read, but took me to some knowledge and understanding of a life very different from my own. 3*

33 - Paris for One and Other Stories - 3 1/2*

34 - One, Two, Buckle My Shoe - Solid 4* mystery.

35 - A Terrible Country (Tournament of Books) - I found the main character's life in Moscow fascinating. 5*

36 - Me: Stories of My Life - Some really interesting parts, but other sections dragged on too long. I do plan to re-watch many of Ms. Hepburn's movies now. 3 1/2*

37 - Warlight (Tournament of Books) - Liked, not loved. 3*

38 - Milkman (Tournament of Books) - Really different, that's for sure. 3*

39 - Census (Tournament of Books) - Just didn't work for me. 2*

40 - Washington Black (Tournament of Books) - I thought for sure this would be a 5* read, but it fizzled a bit towards the end. 4*

41 - The Dog who Came in from the Cold - A.M. Smith comfort read. 3*

42 - There There (Tournament of Books) - A beautiful (and heartbreaking) debut novel. There were a few things that bothered me with the plot, but I'd definitely read more by this author. 4*

43 - The Parking Lot Attendant (Tournament of Books) - I wanted to like this book about the Ethiopian immigrant community, but just couldn't appreciate the writing style. 2*

44 - Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea - I feel such sadness for these people and respect for this author for writing about them. 4 1/2*

45 - A Study in Scarlet - Hmmm. Kind of a convoluted plot. 3*

46 - The Dictionary of Animal Languages (Tournament of Books) - Another one I really wanted to like because the premise was so interesting. Just couldn't ever sink my teeth into it. 2*

47 - Red Rock Stories: Three Generations of Writers Speak on Behalf of Utah's Public Lands - I bought and read these essays in protest of the current administration opening much of this sacred land back up to development. 4*

48 - The Bat - Wasn't wild about this, but I've read that later books in the series are better so I'll try another one or two. He IS a good writer. 3*

Ann A wrote: "31 - The Clue of the Broken Locket - Have to pull out a Nancy Drew now and then. It's just fun. 3*..."

:)

49 - The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1001 books)
I was surprised to find the main focus was the city of Paris and its architecture. I liked Les Mis a lot better. 3*

50 - This Boy's Life
Excellent memoir. 4*

51 - The Fifth Risk
Interesting, scary stuff. 4*

52 - My Sister, the Serial Killer (Tournament of Books)
I quite enjoyed this (didn't really expect to from the title). 4*

53 - So Lucky (Tournament of Books)
That's what I love about the ToB - discovering gems like this that I would not otherwise have picked up. 5*

54 - The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1001 books)
I do like Tolstoy. 4*

55 - Death of a Poison Pen 3*

56 - Daisy Jones & The Six (Tournament of Books)
Loved it. 5*

57 - Book Love
This woman 'gets' me. 4*

58 - Consider the Lobster and Other Essays
I think DFW was a genius (and he's FUNNY). I continue to be sad he's no longer with us. 4* (some essays were better than others)

59 - Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Another author I love and miss. 4*

60 - 1776 4*

61 - Murder in Mesopotamia
Yet another clever plot. How does the woman do it? 4*

62 - The Ape Who Guards the Balance
Amelia Peabody always thoroughly entertains me. 4*

63 - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
It bogged down in a couple of places, but mostly lived up to its title. Excellent audiobook narration. 4*

64 - The PreHistory of The Far Side: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit
Just love these. 5*

65 - American Spy
Started off great, but then lost some credibility. 3*

66 - Death of a Bore
It was time for a cozy mystery fix. 3*

67 - The Falcon at the Portal
Subtracted a star for a creepy plot line (not the main plot). 3*

68 - Empire Falls
Richard Russo can tell a story. 4*

69 - Death of a Dreamer
These library audiobooks always seem to be available and they're fun to listen to. 3*

70 - Lost Children Archive (Tournament of Books)
5* for the impression it made and the amount of time I suspect it will stay with me.

71 - The Black Box
On pace for 4* right up until the last 10% (audiobook). I'd sacrifice a little excitement for more believability. 3 1/2*

72 - The Three Musketeers (1001 books)
Pretty good, but I liked The Count of Monte Cristo more. Milady is quite the villainess. 3 1/2*

73 - A Ballad for Georg Henig (1001 books)
Lovely and sad. 4*

74 - The Italian Teacher 4 1/2*
5* for Rachman's writing. I took 1/2 star off for a few questions about the story.

75 - The Bear and the Nightingale
Well-written, but I'm not enough of a fantasy fan to properly appreciate this. 3*

76 - The Thirteen Problems
That Miss Marple - thirteen cases solved just like that! 4*

77 - The Septembers of Shiraz
Set in Iran right after the revolution. I won't try to summarize it, but thought it was excellent. 4 1/2*

78 - The Haunting of Hill House
Has a more "dated" feel than a lot of books from the 1950's, but I appreciate how Jackson builds an eerie tale. 4*

79 - In the Bedroom: Seven Stories
Not what you would think from the title ;) Very well-written stories about tough things that happen to average people. 4 1/2*

80 - Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert's Story
So me. My favorite panel is "perfect date night" - the woman curled up with a book, the man on his computer. Ha ha. 4*

81 - The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy
Cute little book about giving yourself permission to be lazy. Nothing ground-breaking. 3*

82 - Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
Excellent graphic memoir about interracial families. 5*

83 - The Message in the Hollow Oak
Time to visit Nancy Drew. 3*

84 - Every Brilliant Thing
Hope to see this play performed some day. 4*

85 - The Book of Will
Ditto for this play. 4*

86 - The Woman Who Died a Lot
This almost tipped the wacky cleverness scale. 4*

The New York Trilogy, which was published as three separate books (see below), so I'm counting them separately!

87 - City of Glass
88 - Ghosts
89 - The Locked Room
A little too Murakami-esque for me to love this trilogy, but a solid 3*.

90 - The Vegan Starter Kit: Everything You Need to Know About Plant-Based Eating
As it states - a starter kit. I think it dropped half a star when I read it's possible to get all the protein you need from broccoli (it neglected to say how MUCH of it you'd have to eat ;) I have enjoyed the recipes I've tried so far. 3*

91 - Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
Well-researched and extremely disturbing. 5*

92 - Playing for the Ashes
George writes the anti-cozy mystery, but they're so well-done I keep reading her. 4*

93 - The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared 3*

94 - Death of a Maid 3*

95 - Gitanjali: A Collection of Indian Poems by the Nobel Laureate

96 - Dumb Witness 4*

97 - The Jane Austen Book Club 3*

98 - Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory
Really liked some of the stories, not so much others - probably averages out to 3*

99 - The Glass Palace
Loved it. 5*

100 - Death of a Gentle Lady 3*

101 - The Return of the Soldier 4* (1001 books)

102 - Death of a Witch 3*

Surpassed my goal. Yay! Happy New Year to all. Hope you have a marvelous reading year in 2020!

Yay! Congratulations on your year of reading! Happy new year and happy new readings to you!