75 Books...More or Less! discussion

In my 2020 post in this group, I wrote about trying to achieve balance in my reading. In the weirdness of 2020, I think I achieved that in some of the ways I'd hoped to (e.g. doing better in the Mount TBR Challenge) and not in other ways (e.g. I still feel like I don't have time to reread old favourites or add in books from book clubs). I'm going to try to continue being mindful of this in 2021 and pretty much aim for the same things.

I will once again be aiming for 150 books.

1. Rick by Alex Gino (school library, personal choice)

I loved George (Alex Gino's first book) and I loved Rick too! It actually connected to George, which I didn't expect. Melissa (the main character in George) is a side character in this book, and the bully is also the same kid in both books. I wonder if Gino's other book (You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P.) is also connected through characters. I'll have to go back and read that one too!

I'm asexual, so I'm thrilled to see a middle grade novel with asexual/aromantic representation. I think this is probably the first book in my school library to have that.

2. The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster by Cary Fagan (school library, MYRCA nominee)

I really like the premise of this book: a boy starts finding artsy postcards hidden around town, signed by "g.o." How intriguing!

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "1. Rick by Alex Gino (school library, personal choice)

I loved George (Alex Gino's first book) and I loved Rick too! It actually connected to George, which I didn't expec..."

I hadn't heard of this, but I think I may need to sneak it in between my next couple books. I loved George too.

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "1. Rick by Alex Gino (school library, personal choice)

I loved George (Alex Gino's first book) and I loved Rick too! It actually connected to George, which I didn't expec..."

I nabbed it from Overdrive this week! I enjoyed George!

3. Fairest (Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer (TBR pile)

Loved it! And first TBR book down!

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "3. Fairest (Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer (TBR pile)

Loved it! And first TBR book down!"

So good! I really enjoyed the whole Lunar series. I don't know WHY it took me so long to read it. lol. But I'm glad because all the books are out and that is the upside of being behind the masses. lol

Elyse wrote: "So good! I really enjoyed the whole Lunar series. I don't know WHY it took me so long to read it. lol. But I'm glad because all the books are out and that is the upside of being behind the masses. lol"

Seriously! I read Cinder for the first time in 2012, and now it's 2021 and I'm not done the series yet lol! But I'm so bad at finishing series. I don't have the stamina to read them back-to-back (plus I didn't have all the books until like two years ago), but then I always feel the need to reread before continuing because I've forgotten everything. So I never reach the end! Even now, after reading Fairest I went back and reread a few chapters at the end of Cress because it's been long enough that I didn't remember how it ended! I'd better make sure I get to Winter soon.

So, fun blast from the past for me: I just went and looked at my first thread in the 50 Books group! It's called Lianne's 2010 Reads. That was my last year of university, and I had not yet achieved 50 books in a year (except that I probably did that a lot when I was a kid/teen and wasn't tracking my reading; if only I had a record of those years!).

Amusingly, I mentioned having "over 500" books on my TBR at the time. And that I hoped to catch up by the time I was 30. LOL. Anyway now I'm 32 and have 997 books on my TBR. Oh and at the time I was starting a read-through of all of Anne Rice's books and planned to do so in a short timeframe. I still haven't finished.

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "So, fun blast from the past for me: I just went and looked at my first thread in the 50 Books group! It's called Lianne's 2010 Reads. That was my last year of university, and I had not yet achieved..."

haha that's really cool!

4. Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle (borrowed from a friend)

Mostly comics I've already seen on Facebook, but some I probably missed along the way. Hilarious either way!!

5. Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden (public library)

This book was sooooo good. Definitely going to check out more from this author!

6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (public library, audiobook)

7. We Will Rock Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins (school library, storytime)

8. Be You! by Peter H. Reynolds (school library, storytime)

The first couple storytimes of the new year caught me up on my reading goal.

9. The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes (school library, storytime)

10. Mary Shelley (Little People, Big Dreams) by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara (school library, storytime)

11. A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1) by Arthur Conan Doyle (Project Gutenberg, reread)

I read this one a few years ago; now I'm excited to get to all the other Sherlock stories I've never read before! The only other one that will be a reread is Hound of the Baskervilles, which I read in high school and don't really remember.

12. Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer (TBR pile)

So good!!!

13. Stranger Planet (Strange Planet #2) by Nathan W. Pyle (borrowed from a friend)

Further hilarity!

14. The Unicorn Whisperer (Phoebe and Her Unicorn #10) by Dana Simpson (school library, personal choice)

15. We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (school library, storytime)

16. The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole (public library, audiobook)

17. Check It Out -- And Die! (Spinetinglers #5) by M.T. Coffin (TBR pile)

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "1. Rick by Alex Gino (school library, personal choice)

I loved George (Alex Gino's first book) and I loved Rick too! It actually connected to George, which I didn't expec..."

I am adding that to my list. I loved George.

18. The Great Googly Moogly by Courtney Dicmas (school library, storytime)

19. Lights Out (Fear Street #12) by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)

20. The Dark by Lemony Snicket (school library, storytime)

21. The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers (school library, storytime)

22. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (public library)

23. Beware the Kitten Holy (Lumberjanes, vol. 1) by Noelle Stevenson (school library, personal choice)

24. Camping with Unicorns (Phoebe and Her Unicorn #11) by Dana Simpson (school library, personal choice)

25. Virtual Unicorn Experience (Phoebe and Her Unicorn #12) by Dana Simpson (school library, personal choice)

26. Greta and the Giants by Zoë Tucker (school library, storytime)

27. Late for School by Mike Reiss (school library, storytime)

28. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera (school library, personal choice)

29. The Sign of the Four (Sherlock Holmes #2) by Arthur Conan Doyle (Project Gutenberg)

I'm 10 books behind right now! Luckily we've got the read-a-thon coming up in a couple weeks!

Oops, fell a little behind with all the reading I did in the pre-readathon challenge!

30. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, read by Benedict Cumberbatch (public library, audiobook)

31. Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max (school library, personal choice)

32. Small Saul by Ashley Spires (school library, storytime)

33. Lumberjanes, Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan by Noelle Stevenson and Shannon Watters (school library, personal choice)

34. We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib (public library, audiobook)

35. Back to Before (Megamorphs #4) by K.A. Applegate (TBR pile)

36. Hunger in Her Bones (Sparkstone Saga #3) by Clare C. Marshall (TBR pile)

37. Ghost in the House by Ammi-Joan Paquette (school library, storytime)

38. Lumberjanes, Vol. 4: Out of Time by Noelle Stevenson and Shannon Watters (school library, personal choice)

And now for the read-a-thon itself:

39. Bat and the End of Everything (A Boy Called Bat #3) by Elana K. Arnold (school library, personal choice)

40. Fray by Joss Whedon (reread from my own shelves)

41. The Phantom of Five Chimneys by Betty Ren Wright (TBR pile)

42. Lumberjanes, Vol. 5: Band Together by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Kat Leyh (school library, personal choice)

43. The Familiar (Animorphs #41) by K.A. Applegate (TBR pile)

44. Twin Spica, Vol. 12 by Kou Yaginuma (TBR pile)

45. Santa Claus Doesn't Mop Floors (The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids #3) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (reread from my own shelves)

46. Revenge of the Computer Phantoms by J.R. Black (TBR pile)

47. Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories by Zack Whedon (reread from my own shelves)

48. Lumberjanes, Vol. 6: Sink or Swim by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (school library, personal choice)

You had a great readathon!

Elyse wrote: "You had a great readathon!"

I did!! I thought my book pile was way too much and then I read almost all of it! :D And I went from being 8 books behind on my Goodreads goal to being a little ahead.

49. A Bean, a Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack by William Joyce (school library, storytime)

50. The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill (school library, storytime)

51. Bats at the Library by Brian Lies (school library, storytime)

52. Bone, vol. 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith (school library, personal choice, reread)

53. Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman (school library, storytime)

Just a bunch of storytime books, plus started the Bone series again.

I actually made a second Goodreads account just for all the picture books I'm reading that I don't use for storytime! I didn't want them clogging up my main account and depriving my Goodreads Challenge of all meaning, lol. I'm going to (slowly) try to read every picture book in my school library!

54. How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Falls) of a Rock-Climbing Champion by Ashima Shiraishi (school library, storytime)

55. Les fantômes de Spiritwood by Martine-Noel Maw (French TBR pile)

56. Lumberjanes, vol. 7: A Bird's-Eye View by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (public library)

57. Bone, vol. 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith (school library, personal choice, reread)

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "54. How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Falls) of a Rock-Climbing Champion by Ashima Shiraishi (schoo..."

I love Lumberjanes!

Juli wrote: "I love Lumberjanes!"

Me too! I've now caught up in my reread to how much of the series I've read before. Now I've got the next 5 volumes out from the library to experience for the first time! :D

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "Juli wrote: "I love Lumberjanes!"

Me too! I've now caught up in my reread to how much of the series I've read before. Now I've got the next 5 volumes out from the library to experience for the fir..."

That's a fun problem to have!

58. We Wear Masks by Marla Lesage (school library, storytime)

59. What Matters by Alison Hughes (school library, storytime)

60. The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe (TBR, part of a bigger book)

OK so I'm hesitant to include this one in my count, but if I don't, my count here won't match my Goodreads challenge, which will just confuse me for the next 6 months lol! I'm actually reading the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe in one volume. The only reason I logged this story on its own (and will do so for a couple others) is because it's on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, which I want to shelve accurately. Soooo, it's kinda getting double counted, but also I'm counting a LOT of EAP stories as one big book so it's fine. :D

61. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (public library, audiobook, reread)

I've read the first book before and want to read the rest but couldn't remember a lot (thanks, brain). Really enjoyed the audiobook, though! Great narrator.

62. Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders (school library, storytime)

63. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson (school library, storytime)

64. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano (school library, storytime)

65. Bone, Vol. 3: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith (school library, personal choice)

66. Coming Out, Again: Transition Stories by Sabrina Symington (public library)

67. Lumberjanes, Vol. 8: Stone Cold by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (public library)

68. Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali (school library, storytime)

69. Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (public library, audiobook)

One of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Can't say I agree on this one lol.

70. Leprechauns Don't Play Fetch (Bailey School Kids Holiday Special #4) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (school reading group)

Read this one with a group of grade 2s. It was fun introducing them to a bit of my childhood!

71. Lumberjanes, Vol. 9: On a Roll by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyn (public library)

72. Lumberjanes, Vol. 10: Parents' Day by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (public library)

73. Treaty Words: For As Long As the Rivers Flow by Aimée Craft (school library, personal choice)

74. How Hot Was It? by Jane Barclay (school library, storytime)

75. Stars Above (Lunar Chronicles #4.5) by Marissa Meyer (TBR)

76. Lumberjanes, Vol. 11: Time After Crime by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (public library)

Current status on Goodreads challenge: 3 books behind on a goal of 150, with a whole pile on the go. Not concerned!

Doing well!

Whoops, didn't update over summer lol. Didn't read much, either, alas.

77. Lumberjanes, Vol. 12: Jackalope Springs Eternal by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (public library)

78. Dune by Frank Herbert (reread of book I own)

79. Don't Stand So Close to Me by Eric Walters (school library)

80. Jerks-in-Training (Space Cadets #1) by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)

81. The Secret Bedroom (Fear Street #13) by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)

82. Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman (school library, MYRCA nominee)

83. The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy (school library, storytime)

84. Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett and Natasha Donovan (school library)

I'm 22 books behind. Maybe the most behind ever?? We'll see if I can recover from this. I have to finish roughly two books every three days for the rest of the year to hit 150. (With some wiggle room since there's a read-a-thon in there.)

85. Surviving the City, Vol. 2: From the Roots Up by Tasha Spillett and Natasha Donovan (school library)

86. The Third Planet from Altair (Choose Your Own Adventure #7) by Edward Packard (TBR pile)

87. Bloom by Kenneth Oppel (school library)

88. The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

Two great reads! And I've already started the sequel to Bloom and will start the sequel to The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane on my Monday commute.

21 books behind. Holding fairly steady for the moment.

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "87. Bloom by Kenneth Oppel (school library)

88. The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel (school library, au..."

I’ve got Bloom on my TBR, but I was hoping to get a set of the trilogy before I started. Kenneth Oppel wrote some of my favourite books.

Shelby wrote: "I’ve got Bloom on my TBR, but I was hoping to get a set of the trilogy before I started. Kenneth Oppel wrote some of my favourite books."

The end of Bloom definitely made me want to start Hatch right away! I had the first two ready to go, and have ordered the third for my library so should have it soon.

89. The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

90. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (public library)

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "89. The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

90. House of Leaves by Mark Z. ..."

I’ve been wanting to read House of Leaves for ages but I’m probably going to have to just get a used copy.

Shelby wrote: "Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "89. The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

90. [bookcover:House of Leaves|..."

I picked up a used copy at a library sale a couple of years ago! It IS available on KU but I don't think it'll translate well on electronic format. I might borrow it just to see.

Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "89. The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

90. [bookcover:H..."

I can't imagine reading this book as an ebook. Maybe as a PDF on a reader with a large screen... There are many pages where you have to read text that is upside down or sideways or a mirror image. Also quite a bit of flipping back and forth between pages due to the very long footnotes situation.

91. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (school library, storytime)

92. When We Were Alone by David Alexander Robertson (school library, storytime)

93. Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival (school library, storytime)

Just a few storytimes, slightly out of order since I forgot to log the first one. Now I'm only 20 books behind! *sweats nervously* lol

94. Barry Squires, Full Tilt by Heather Smith (school library, audiobook)

Another MYRCA nominee. Most of the story is hilarious, and the audiobook is read in a delightful Newfoundland accent. Then 3/4 of the way through the book it just straight up punches you in the gut.

Shelby wrote: "Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "89. The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

90. [bookcover:House of Leaves|..."

It definitely must be read with your own copy lol. I had to make notes ;)

Juli wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "89. The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel (school library, audiobook)

90. [bookcover:H..."

I recently ordered one from ThriftBooks so I should be able to read it for myself in the near future.

95. Hatch (Bloom #2) by Kenneth Oppel (school library)

96. This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell (school library)

97. Broken Date by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)

98. Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (school library, audiobook)

99. The Montague Twins, Vol. 1: The Witch's Hand by Nathan Page and Drew Shannon (school library)

Ooh I'll hit 100 this weekend! There's still hope for 150, I think!

Woohoo go Lianne!!

Elyse wrote: "Woohoo go Lianne!!"

Thanks!! :D

100. The Knife (Fear Street #14) by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)

Hit 100 with a really good Fear Street book!!

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Woohoo go Lianne!!"

Thanks!! :D

100. The Knife (Fear Street #14) by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)

Hit 100 with a really good Fear Street book!!"

Oh I totally remember this one!! lol