Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Good morning!!  I'm on vacation so I slept late today so I'm getting a late start here.  Here we are, in the last week of the year!  We made it to the end of another year.  Congratulations to all of us!! :-)  Happy New Year!

I've never been a big partier on New Year's Eve - it's always felt like too much pressure to be excited and cool and have big plans & resolutions and go to the perfect party and be super happy.  I used to like to go to the movies: go into the theater in the old year, come out in the new year.  No pressure to party!  But now that I've discovered Reading Challenges, I am excited for the New Year so I can start my new Challenge!  I am ready!!!

I see a lot of us are finishing the 2021 Challenge in the last week of the year.  Congrats to all of us!!


My mouse update: I've been setting those cheap snap traps and I've been catching A LOT in the last week, over a dozen. I had to go buy more traps. The snap traps don't always kill instantly, which I did not know, and it is absolutely awful, so I ordered four of those electric shock traps, guaranteed to kill instantly. They're a little pricey, but I've got a big problem and they are the solution. I think mice are cute and I wish I didn't have to kill them, but they are in my walls and my garage and my basement and when they showed up in my kitchen, that was the last straw.



*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
Admin stuff:

Our December group read of Malibu Rising is finishing up -  join the conversation here:
December group read discussion

Our January group read of People We Meet on Vacation will be starting this weekend!
I don't think we have a  volunteer yet to lead this discussion, so we might end up with pure anarchy!!  

Our February group read will be:  Get a Life, Chloe Brown!! Let us know if you would like to lead this discussion!

And the final poll for our March group read is here:
Vote for the March 2022 Group Read!

*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************




This week I finished five books, one was the last book on my personal challenge, and one was my last Challenge read, so I am finally 50/50 for the 2021 Challenge!  

A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor - my longest book on my TBR (and wow did it ever feel long!), I am so happy to be finished!!  I thought I would learn a lot of fascinating little things, but I didn't really come away with much at all.  My mother was visiting, and she usually loves this sort of book, but even she said it was too dry and she pushed it aside.

Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters - I love listening to Barbara Rosenblat read Amelia Peabody mysteries!  Five stars just for the fun.  (The mystery wasn't really all that, but I enjoyed this anyway.)

A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint - I really enjoyed this, and I absolutely did not guess who the murderer was.  This was the last book on my list of 21 books I must read in 2021, so I completed my personal challenge.  I look forward to reading more in this series.

And I read two graphic novels on Christmas Day (my Christmas Day tradition for the last few years):
Chew, Vol. 5: Major League & Chew, Vol. 6: Space Cakes - volume 5 was fantastic, five stars!  Volume 6 was disappointing, not enough Tony Chu.  I decided I'm going to try to finish this series (six more volumes) in the next month or two. I've got volume 7 downloaded now!



Question of the Week
What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)

This year I set up "brackets" and I chose a favorite book for each month, each quarter, each half year, and finally an overall favorite.

My favorite read each quarter:
Catherine House
The Good Son
American Elsewhere
Harlem Shuffle

with The Good Son just nosing out American Elsewhere as my favorite read of this year.

I'm glad to hear you loved American Elsewhere, Nadine! RJB's Divine Cities trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time, but American Elsewhere just did not do it for me.

Currently I'm neck-deep in weeding through my shelves and trying to clear out a bunch of old adds which have since moldered and collected dust bunnies (i.e. things I don't think I'll ever pick up EVER); if I do get to them, I can always add them back :) My TBR has really gotten out of control though so I'm trying to rein it in before the new year arrives. This counts as cleaning, right?

Oooooh I really loved Get a Life, Chloe Brown! I'd be interested in helping with the February discussion but I've never been a discussion leader before; how does it work? Should I come up with discussion questions?

I finished Bethany C Morrow's So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix earlier this week and loved it! Such a charming Little Women retelling. There are more Remixed Classics retellings scheduled for release in the new year and I'm so excited for all of them!

I should also be finishing The Mountains Sing today. It's been a heavy read, and not my usual end-of-year fare, but I picked it for another group's challenge. No regrets!

I'm still reading The Bone Shard Emperor, it's anyone's guess if I'll finish it by the new year (of course it's no big deal if I don't!) and Lore is on track to be the first audiobook I finish in 2022 :)

QOTW: What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)
I adored Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga (Jade City) and was so glad I read it this year, as the final book was probably my most-anticipated read of 2021 and it did not disappoint!
Craig Schaefer's Revanche Cycle (Winter's Reach), can't wait to delve deeper into his work
Nic Stone's Dear Martin duology
Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet
Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing
Andrea Stewart's The Bone Shard Daughter

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Intimacy with God: Revised and Updated: A Bible Study in the Psalms. My morning routine really went out the window with the holidays, so hopefully my Bible reading gets back on track next week.

I finished Fatal Throne. Pretty good. Love Henry VIII. Well, I don't love him, he's kind of creepy, I just find him fascinating.

I finished A Christmas Carol. Always make me feel warm and fuzzy.

I read Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates. It was pretty good. Working my way through the childhood classics I never read as a child.

I've started Lonesome Dove. It's my all-time fave book and I think this is my 4th reading. I'm starting 2022 so I'm reading it for a former category fave--a book you've seen someone reading on TV.

QOTW: I read a lot of good ones this year.

I think my favorite was Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. I read it in January and I still find myself thinking about it. I really felt like I was there, and it was so tragic and a good lesson on why just because maybe you can do something doesn't mean you should.

I'll be a semi copy cat and try your quarterly thing. (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).

1st quarter, not including Into Thin Air my favorit ewas War and Peace

2nd quarter, either The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life or Miriam's Song

3rd quarter-A Thousand Splendid Suns

4th quarter-Apparently I only read 13 books. I guess I'll go with The Homecoming. But, I think that was mostly because of the nostalgia and it was my Christmas read for the year.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Oooooh I really loved Get a Life, Chloe Brown! I'd be interested in helping with the February discussion but I've never been a discussion leader before; how does it work? Should I come up with discussion questions?..."



I'm pencilling you in as leader :-) Everyone does it differently, some people have structured questions to ask throughout the month, some people just throw out a few open-ended questions to start conversation. I haven't seen that one method is superior to another, they all seem good to me. Some books lend themselves to conversation better than others, some months it's been tough!


I go through and mercilessly cull my TBR every few months, but it's still out of hand!! This time of year is when I add a lot, because of all the new books coming out.

OK, I was reading this and thinking ‘why has no one posted last week’. Well, because it’s already this week’s check-in, wake-up! I was absorbed in my book and apparently forgot it was Thursday.

Finished
Slavernij: Een geschiedenis by Dirk J. Tang ⭐⭐
Dutch book on the history of slavery. Boring text. Beautiful collection of illustrations.

Currently reading
De vriendschap by Barbara Keating - will finish it tonight

QOTW
Where the Crawdads Sing - just a beautiful story
Dear Edward - this one suprised me. And touched me.
Anxious People - I just love Backman's books
The Four Winds - beautiful story, Hannah digs one slice deeper than so many other writers in this genre
A Promised Land - it's so interesting to read how decisions were made in Obama's White House

Congratulations to all for participating in the challenge this year! This year was more difficult for me than last year because I didn't get as much reading done as I wanted to.

GR: 55/52
PS: 50/50
ATY: 52/52

I only read 3 books that weren't for the challenge, but I am glad I finished - I didn't think I was going to this year.

Finished:

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (A book with an oxymoron in the title). This was my last book for the challenge and I finished it on December 27th.

On Deck:
There are so many possibilities of where to start now that I have over 50 book possibilities.

QOTW:
My favorite reads of this year:

A Promised Land
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Concrete Rose
In Five Years
This Tender Land
These Silent Woods

Katelyn wrote: "The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (A book with an oxymoron in the title). This was my last book for the challenge and I finished it on December 27th.."

So, what did you think of it? I read it a few years ago and I just remember that I hated the main character so much, it ruined the book for me.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I finally managed to get my Christmas decorations put away this week (about an hour ago, actually), and it feels good to have that done. I'm totally wiped out though, so I won't be doing much this afternoon.

I haven’t been able to spend very much time reading this week, and only managed to finish one of the books I was reading during last week’s check-in. I was hoping to finish the titles I’m currently reading before the end of 2021, but it’s looking like that probably won’t happen.

POPSUGAR: 50/50
Beat the Backlist: 52/52
Goodreads: 319/200

Finished Reading:
~Nurse, Come You Here!: More True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle

Decided to DNF:
~The Screaming Staircase — I made it through the first 5 chapters of this book, but just couldn’t get into the story.

Currently Reading:
~The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
~The Lady of the Lake
~The Borgias: The Hidden History

Books I Got for Christmas (I can’t wait to read these!):
~The Cracked Spine
~The Monarch of the Glen
~Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche
~Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories:
~Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers

QOTW:
I had quite a few favorites this year, so I’m going to have to divide them into categories…

Classics: North and South
Comics: The Complete Peanuts, vol. 1-25
Fantasy: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking
Horror: Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow
Manga: Cutie and the Beast, vol. 1 and 2
Mystery: Death of a Gossip
Non-fiction: Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other
Romance: The Hygge Holiday
Science Fiction: Fugitive Telemetry
Thriller: One by One
Series: The Witcher Saga

It's that weird time between Christmas and New Year when I lose all sense of time and space. Is it Thursday again? I've had a nice lazy week and am now around 50% cheese and turkey.

Finished:
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy for review (it's only out in the UK in January). At first I thought it was a bit us versus them but as it pans out, you realise it is from her perspective only and she admits she's not being fair. Not quite as good as Migrations but I still loved it and cried a fair bit. Warning for domestic abuse, rape and animal death though. I have to turn my brain back on a write a proper review.

Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe. This is apparently a super popular web comic, but it only came to my attention when Illumicrate announced a special edition. I loved the artwork and Persephone and Hades are my favourite retelling subjects, so of course I adored this.

QOTW:
I just posted my top ten on my blog:
https://www.curiositykilledthebookwor...

Favourite fantasy: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Favourite sci-fi: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (closely followed by A Psalm for the Wild-Built)
Favourite general fiction: Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Favourite YA: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Favourite non-fiction: Brown Baby: A Memoir of Race, Family and Home by Nikesh Shukla

I don't have a lot of time for a check in today. I am very excited to start the challenge on Saturday. I have so many good books lined up that I hope I don't overwhelm myself with trying to decide.

QOTW:

There are always books that I know I'm going to love, like the Fredrik Backman books I read this year, but the books I love to talk about are the ones that surprise me. The one that surprised me most and stuck with me the longest was A Heart in a Body in the World. I thought it was very special. I also really enjoyed:
The Vanishing Half
Hairpin Bridge
Falling
A Solitude of Wolverines

Hi all, totally missed last week due to trying to get my migraine to go away enough that I could clean for my in laws to visit for Christmas. I did eventually succeed but it meant my cleaning push didn’t start until after noon instead of morning, so was cleaning into the evening and still had some stuff to do Friday mornings. Also since it was a caffeine fueled adhd cleaning rush it meant I was scrubbing stains off the wall with a magic eraser while vacuuming was still left to do, because that’s how how it goes sometimes. Kitchen looked great though. Was nice to host again, and it was just 4 of us. Everyone was boosted, so felt pretty good. Was a nice weekend, but was super exhausted after. Been catching up on sleep this week, lots of reading and crafting!

Last couple weeks I finished:

Termination Shock - This took FOREVER. 17 days, which for me is forever, anyhow. 700 some pages, which usually doesn’t take me THAT long but it was a slow read. I tend to really like Stephenson but this one felt a little too “ok dude, I get it, we’re headed for disaster” rather than some fantasy type future setting or wild speculation. I don’t think I’m really ready for post COVID fiction and there was SO MUCH of that, and lots of “yeah our climate is a mess”. Just kind of a depressing read for right now haha.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate- audio re-read, I liked the narrator. Excited for her next book, love her style so much.

Norse Mythology: A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation- did the BBC radio drama, was pretty good if not as amazing as some other years. LOVE the Neverwhere one for example.

Ever After- reread, got American Demon finally so finishing up my reread of the series because it’s been a while and I forgot too much.

Harold and the Purple Crayon - trying to finish last reading challenge, needed a children’s classic. Not sure I actually read this one before, though I’d heard of it. Was cute.

Currently reading:

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories - haven’t actually started, but i’m about to.

The Titan's Curse - audio re-read.

QOTW:

Hard to pick just one, so I’ll just list a few in no particular order!

Black Sun
The House in the Cerulean Sea
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Ashley Marie wrote: "I'm glad to hear you loved American Elsewhere, Nadine! RJB's Divine Cities trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time, but American Elsewhere just did not do it for me."

I'm so glad you loved American Elsewhere, Nadine! And Ashley, thanks for the reminder for me to pick up City of Stairs! (I also enjoyed his novella Vigilance, but it's a really raw and over-the-top satire of American MAGA/gun culture and is probably not some people's cup of tea!)

Ellie wrote: "It's that weird time between Christmas and New Year when I lose all sense of time and space. Is it Thursday again? I've had a nice lazy week and am now around 50% cheese and turkey."

OMG, I just saw the best, most crudely hilarious term for this time, from Quite Interesting on Twitter: MERRYNEUM (because it ain't Christmas and it ain't the new year, I assume) 🤣

-- DNF --

So disappointed and sad - I had been looking forward to The Last House on Needless Street for my Jolabokaflod book, and it was so awful I actually returned it to Amazon! All the blurbs are like, "Nothing in this book is what it seems!" but by the second chapter, I knew what the "big mystery" was and found it generally off-putting in plot and style.

-- Currently reading --

Nothing active at the moment. I feel like I want a big fat Gothic read that will suck me in and that I'll look forward to cracking open in front of the fire during my time off. Any recommendations, y'all? I'm considering The Poison Thread since I loved The Silent Companions

-- QOTW --

Narrowing it down by excluding re-reads:

Best Audio Book - Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection - Stephen Fry is a treasure
Best Short Story - A Dead Djinn in Cairo - I love scary eldritch angels
Best Nonfiction - You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism
Best Fantasy - The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Best Horror - The Fisherman - amazing literary cosmic horror
Best Science Fiction - A Memory Called Empire (though the Murderbot series is still my favorite, Fugitive Telemetry wasn't as perfect as this was)
Best Graphic Novel - Sass & Sorcery - oh my, yes. More of this please!

Christine wrote: "I feel like I want a big fat Gothic read that will suck me in and that I'll look forward to cracking open in front of the fire during my time off. Any recommendations, y'all? ..."



If I were in that sort of mood, I would pick up something from Sarah Waters that I haven't read yet. She's not exactly gothic, I guess, but she hits the dark Victorian part of gothic.

Or if I wanted something lighter, with ghosts, I'd pick up something from Simone St. James back list that I haven't read. Her first few books were rather gothic.

6/50

My new year's resolution is to read less, so I only finished two books this past week:

Finished:
Candidly Cline for a sapphic novel. Also about music, could be stretched to cover the band prompt, though there are only two players in the "band." I quite enjoyed this one!

Sisters of the Neversea for book with two POV's. This sacrificed the charm of Barrie's original in an attempt to give a more respectful portrayal of the Natives. Only sort of succeeded. Other people enjoyed the retelling. I did not.

Started: If Minds Had Toes Given to me as a Christmas present that I've had on my wishlist for two years! Am loving it! Set in the World of Ideas which is kind of purgatory after they die and before the afterlife, Socrates and Wittengenstein wage a bet to prove to a common riff-raff that philosophy adds value to life.

Qotw: We're going to go with the 5-star only reads this year!

The Art of Running Away Loved the characters and dialogue.

Recipe for Disaster This one made me cry so hard, I had a hard time getting through it. Brutal sibling relationship.

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hilarious re-read. I love hearing my husband laugh out loud at it.

Property of the Rebel Librarian Re-read. This became very relevant as a local parents' group tried to ban some books in a school district. A Little Free Librarian stocked the books in her library instead!

Real Awesome book about neurodiversity!

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story Made me not trust the CDC as much.

Never Work Harder Than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching helpful suggestions.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Probably my favorite of this past year!

The Mark of Athena re-read. I love all the strategizing Annabeth uses in this one.

Love Lettering Romance is a foreign category to me and I enjoyed this one!

Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom Great suggestions.

The Lost Hero Re-read.

Man! There were a lot more 5's than I realized!

Katy wrote: "Katelyn wrote: "The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (A book with an oxymoron in the title). This was my last book for the challenge and I finished it on December 27th.."

So, what ..."

It was only ok. I don't like self-deprecating characters like "woe is me, I am a 'giant' and therefore don't deserve love or kindness"

I wish there was more emphasis on Tabitha and the "potions" she used. The author just glossed over all of it. I kept waiting for some full circle realization but it never came.

I FINISHED THE CHALLENGE!

My finish this week was the final book for challenge - and it was of course for the prompt the longest book in pages from my TBR:
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 1,476 pages of deliciousness! Loved loved loved this and a top lifetime read.

I finished that on the 28th and I have not settled to reading anything else mostly because I have had a terrible workload these last couple of weeks, including many evening meetings. But there was also a bit of book hangover going on.

Currently reading:

Dune - need to make progress this weekend as I have Feminerdy Book Club discussion on it in less than 2 weeks.

I'll also sneak a couple of Christmas cozy and romance reads in...as there have been so few due to finishing A Suitable Boy.

QOTW: I'm picking literally from off the top of my head - which means these are the books I mention when someone asks me socially what I have read and loved recently:

A Suitable Boy
A Brief History of Seven Killings
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
She Who Became the Sun
Black Water Sister
Mexican Gothic
The Lacuna

Theresa wrote: "I FINISHED THE CHALLENGE!

My finish this week was the final book for challenge - and it was of course for the prompt the longest book in pages from my TBR:
A Suitable Boy ..."


Congrats! You cranked through that behemoth at an amazing pace!!!!

Question of the Week:

Skywalker: A Family at War by Kristin Baver
Star Trek: Coda: Book 2: The Ashes of Tomorrow by James Swallow
Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Rereads of five-star books:

The Art of the Impossible by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Day of the Vipers by James Swallow
Sarek by A.C. Crispin
Canto Bight by various authors
Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn
Solo Command by Aaron Allston
The Latter Fire by James Swallow
Return of the Jedi by James Kahn

Finished:

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (pen name of Ursula Vernon) (3/5, read for book club)

The story and characters here are fine, and there is some inventive use of bread/dough magic. If there had been less featuring of bodily functions and bathrooms, then this might have gotten a 4 from me.

Currently Reading:

DUNE: The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (reread)
The Buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett (reread)
Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by Aaron Allston (reread)

Two weeks since I checked in. No prompts because I finished a few weeks ago. Organized from most enjoyable to least.

A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw. Contemporary thriller/mystery (???). A PI tracks a missing person to a hidden commune. Very atmospheric. Enjoyable. The twist was on the verge of being eye-rollingly annoying.

The Third Best Thing by Maya Huges. Contemporary romance. Moderately spicy. Set in college. Heroine had been writing steamy letters to a friend anonymously and then friend ropes her into finding the letter writer. Really enjoyed.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. YA sequel to The Inheritance Games. I may have actually enjoyed this more than the first.

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray. YA fantasy. Great first book in a series. Will pick up the next.

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox. Contemporary romance. Very Hallmark-esque. Spice level 0.

You'll be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus. Along the lines of One of Us is Lying. highly enjoyable.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. Contemporary thriller. Main character is the daughter of a serial killer and now girls are disappearing again just like in her youth. I enjoyed it. The twists didn't annoy me like they so often do since Gone Girl.

Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price. Pride and Prejudice retelling where Lizzie helps in her father's law firm. I wish the characters had been aged up. It would've worked better for me.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. Contemporary romance. Little spice-a dash of pepper. I feel like the hero was woefully underdeveloped. Cute but way overhyped.

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan. Contemporary romance. Friends to lovers to rivals to lovers. (CW: cheating). Spice. I think I would have enjoyed this more if instead of the main male character saying he was a ruthless a**hole a lot, we saw it. Also, near the end there was a thing that took the heroine away from the hero and it dragged on for way too long.

DNF

The Bully by Sophie Lark. Saw it rec'd on booktok a few times. Started it even though Mafia romances are not my thing but stopped because they are in high school and that's an immediate no for me. I don't need spicy books with teenage characters. Eww.

QOTW

Infinite Country
Hollywood Park
Hail Mary
The Secret Life of Addie LaRue
Razorblade Tears
Concrete Rose
Clap When you Land
The Firekeeper's Daughter
The Song of Achilles

Doni wrote: "6/50

My new year's resolution is to read less, so I only finished two books this past week:

Finished: ..."




gahhhhhhh I have FINALLY figured out why your profile picture is so familiar!! It's from LOST!!!

Happy check-in!!
This week I read a lot. Holidays are done, company is gone and oh yeah omicron showed up while the temperature dropped. Also my fave hockey tournament had to be cancelled cause of covid 3 days in. It has been in the -30s Celsius with windchills putting it near or at -50 all week. Today felt warm when going to the grocery store because there was no wind so it's just fresh out despite being minus 30.
I'm definitely getting impatient waiting to start the new challenge in 2022. I'm saving books for Saturday. Although I did read two books this week that I had slotted in for prompts but they came in early from the library...

Finished Reading:

The Red Files ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A poetry collection about Residential Schools. I really enjoyed this despite the upsetting topic. It was nice to read an indigenous perspective that was local so I was more familiar with pronunciation of words and locations. I have been reading from authors in other parts of North America lately.

Radiance ⭐⭐⭐
This was a good option for some 2022 prompts but I didn't feel like waiting. This is an interesting world with a good plot. I had troubles with the writing and often had to go back and read to find out when things happened only to discover the author didn't write it in.

Firefly: Blue Sun Rising Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐
This was disappointing. It seemed like the Blue Sun Rising story wasn't long enough for two volumes. So this had filler until tying up story arcs.

Oh Look, a Cake! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a random new picture book on overdrive. I thought it was cute and awesome. I laughed out loud and read it a couple times.

Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now Greg Pak is writing comics set after the movie. There was new characters and old favourites.

Call Us What We Carry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Amanda Gorman's poetry collection written during the pandemic. I had an ebook of this and I think an actual book or audiobook would be better. Diagrams didn't quite load right. This was at times difficult to read because the lockdown feelings came back but I really enjoyed it. The research she put into this made her poems that much more powerful.

99 Percent Mine ⭐⭐
I was going to use this for next year but... Anyway this was disappointing. I loved The Hating Game and had been told this was okay but my expectations still were too much. I did not like a huge portion of the book. It seemed ridiculous.

PS 2021 50/50
PS 2017 52/52
Goodreads 277/250

QOTW:
Okay well I can't pair down 277 books down to 4 but here are the stand outs/faves in order excluding re-reads:

Inside Out & Back Again children's poetry
You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism humour/memoir
The Echo Wife sci-fi
The Song of Achilles retelling/Greek mythology
Big Little Lies fiction
Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1 graphic novel (so gorgeous)
A Man Called Ove fiction
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores humour
Lore ya fantasy/Greek mythology
Ring Shout horror/novella
Bubble graphic novel
Grave War urban fantasy (favourite series ender)
The Magic Fish ya/mg graphic novel
The Hawthorne Legacy ya mystery
The Love Hypothesis romance
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo historical fiction
Long Way Down ya poetry
The Hating Game romance
Oh Look, a Cake! picture book
Call Us What We Carry poetry

Nadine in NY wrote: "If I were in that sort of mood, I would pick up something from Sarah Waters that I haven't read yet."

Ooh yes - just picked up The Little Stranger, among many other potentials at the library. I loved Fingersmith! (And BTW if anyone likes that book, I highly recommend the movie adaptation The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan-wook. It's sooo gorgeous, and yes, just as twisted.)

@Nadine if the January discussion still needs a leader I'd like to volunteer.

Hello! I spent Christmas Day reading about Pearl Harbor investigations, and then the drive home from my husband's family gathering reading the oxymoron book, finishing off the PopSugar challenge (and ATY) on Monday. I needed 15 more books read to finish all of the challenges, which isn't happening. Read Harder and Reading Women will just have be finished in January, and that's okay. Now I know for next year to not sign up for ALL of the challenges.

Finished This Week:
At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor by Gordon W. Prange. I finally finished the book I got probably 30 years ago. Very in-depth, very informative, and I can see how a lot of more recent Pearl Harbor books used this author's research to aid their own arguments. I'm glad I finally read it, but no plans to read it straight through ever again.

Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough. I borrowed this from a friend in June 2019 and hadn't gotten around to it, but once I saw the oxymoron prompt, I knew that would be the motivation to finally read it. Except I still didn't. Finally, I told said friend I'd have it done by end of the year, and she's holding a present for me hostage until I give her back her book. That was what it took to finally read it. It turned out to be a very easy read, especially after the Pearl Harbor book.

Under the Sea-Wind: A Naturalist's Picture of Ocean Life by Rachel Carson. This was my natural world book for Reading Women. Very odd, but short. I now know far too much about the food chain in the Atlantic ocean.

Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher. In the same vein as, and possibly same world as, A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, the author wrote another young wizard with limited skills asked to do something they don't think they're qualified for. In this case, bring the rain back to his village that is suffering a drought. The wizard is only 12, and the townspeople made him go while his mom was out of town and couldn't stop them. Very enjoyable.

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Reading Women prompt to read something by this author. It's short, only 200 pages and 10 chapters, but it's dense. Probably going to read the other two in the series, to see where it goes.

PS: 50/50 RH: 20/24 RW: 24/28 ATY: 52/52

Currently Reading:
Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman. I needed an epistolary novel, and this one was available. It's going quick, as I'm already a third of the way through and I started it last night.

Up Next:
Here's the wildly optimistic list for finishing by tomorrow:
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Daughter of Fortune
Rebecca
Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love
Love Is a Revolution
Setting Free the Bears
Plains of Promise

(Honestly, probably only going to read Setting Free the Bears and Love is a Revolution.)

QotW: What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews. Just adored being back in the Kat Daniels world with everyone, plus finally getting to see more of Julie and Derek.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. I read this for the Hugos, and did not expect to love it as much as I did. I went and bought my own copy the next day, as well as the sequel, and reread it immediately. Then I reread it again last week. The last book I'd done that with was Blood Heir, and I don't remember the last one before that.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa. Such a sweet book that still tells a good story.

Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway by Elliot Carlson. Really enjoyed this biography about Rochefort, who's given credit for the US knowing about the Japanese coming to attack Midway, but disappears from the narrative of the Pacific War after that battle.

Erica wrote: "@Nadine if the January discussion still needs a leader I'd like to volunteer."



Yes!! At the eleventh hour, our hero emerges!! It's yours to lead, and thank you :-)

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erica wrote: "@Nadine if the January discussion still needs a leader I'd like to volunteer."



Yes!! At the eleventh hour, our hero emerges!! It's yours to lead, and thank you :-)"

Okay, cool.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I FINISHED THE CHALLENGE!

My finish this week was the final book for challenge - and it was of course for the prompt the longest book in pages from my TBR:
[book:A Suitable Boy|50..."

Took 5 weeks. Should have finished in 2 maybe 3 but there were days where zero time to read. Far too many of those.

Well. We survived. This Christmas was by far the worst we ever had in that we had to rush our little girl to the hospital after a bad fall. She busted a tooth (that got pulled today) and suffered a concussion. Overnight in a hospital is not how you want to spend your holidays! But she's 100% back to normal now (minus the tooth), and we did eventually get to open presents but, still, not how I'd choose to spend Christmas weekend. We're all exhausted. I almost forgot the New Year is upon us!

Finished 50/50

Did not read this week. At all. No time. But I'm excited for next year, and my first four books are set and ready to go!

QotW

My top 5 fave fiction of 2021:

Crime and Punishment
Oathbringer
Scarlet
Pearls of Lutra
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

My top 5 fave non-fiction of 2021:

The Philokalia, The Complete Text
Darkness Is As Light
The Hidden Power of F*cking Up
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Didn't finish anything this last week, mostly been reading fanfic. I do have a lot of books selected for next year's challenge so I'm looking forward to that.

QOTW Love this one. Okay I'll do mine by genre
Mysteries - Who Speaks for the Damned & What the Devil Knows both by C.S. Harris

Young Adult/Middle grade - City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Lori M. Lee

Urban Fantasy
Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

Science Fiction - The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indiraby Lou Diamond Phillips

Non Fiction - A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Themby Neil Bradbury

Well, I believe I *may* finish by tomorrow. Thank goodness for picture books!

I'd be less concerned if my allergies weren't making me feel so awful. But it's hard to read when focusing doesn't feel good. I thought I'd get a lot read at my parents', but I always forget how much I tend to help around the house and in the kitchen when I'm there.

Finished:
Silverswift by Natalie Lloyd: A book with a rock, gem, or mineral in the title. This was very cute -- I listened to it on the way to and from my parents'. It was perfect because I had no idea it takes place at Christmas!

Marya Morevna by Irina Zheleznova: A book that takes mostly or entirely outdoors. A Russian fairy tale with gorgeous illustrations that I found in a used bookstore on my trip to North Carolina!

Der Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffmann: Ugliest book cover. Like several of you, I hate calling books "ugly," so this was perfect - the point is that the boy on the cover is SUPPOSED to look ugly! Another used bookstore find of some old German cautionary tales.

Mentalligence: A New Psychology of Thinking--Learn What It Takes to be More Agile, Mindful, and Connected in Today's World by Kristen Lee: A book by a vlogger, blogger, youtuber. She has some articles online so I'm counting it lol! It was interesting--some of it was common sense but she made good points and had some good practices to implement.

What's Left?
Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose by Stephanie Laurens: Book I meant to read last year

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales: A bestseller from the 1990s

Inkblot, Vol. 1: A book you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing (cats)

Inkblot, Vol. 2: A book chosen at random

Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka / The White Duck: Most beautiful cover

Am I shoehorning things in just to say I finished? 100%.

QOTW:
Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Looking back, I had a really good reading year, ratings-wise. I know I'm already someone who tends to rate things higher, but I had a lot of books I really loved. There are some others I considered adding here, but I'd say these were my most favorite.

Happy Thursday and Happy “End of 2021”! I am always grateful to have survived another year and hope that the next year is even better!

I have been a reading machine these past 10 days or so. Our team of 10 “Penguins” read 60 books and earned almost 9 wildcards in the 9-day ATY Winter readathon! That placed us at 3rd place out of 4 teams. Well, at least we weren’t in last place! LOL

I will place my listing of books finished, etc., in a different posting since it is so long, and as you can see, my answer to the Question of the Week is unbelievably long! That’s what you get when you ask me for favorite books! LOL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Question of the week:
What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)
Oh, my! You know me…I like so many of the books I read and then I also LOVE many of the books I read… I think that means I’m a relatively easy-to-please reader and I’m okay with that! I started trying to prioritize those I enjoyed most, etc., and finally ended up just scrolling through my ‘books read’ for 2021 and ended up with this listing…
1) I finished the Binti: The Complete Trilogy trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
Highly recommend all three books!
2) All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
I doubt I’ll ever forget this one!
3) Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals and Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin
Excellent reminder that you never know what or how someone else sees the world and each of us should be open to others' interpretations! Reading Thinking in Pictures is so informative and fascinating!
4) Inside the O'Briens and Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
I have yet to read one of her books that isn’t absolutely excellent!
5) Ready Player Two (Ready Player One #2) by Ernest Cline
He does amazing things with words and world-building!
6) Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary Trump
I think it is important to understand how this person was created…
7) The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) and The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French
I don’t believe she’ll never write one I don’t absolutely love!
8) The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Absolutely adorable! Anxious to read his newest release!
9) Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (Theodore Boone #1) and Calico Joe by John Grisham
Grisham is amazing! Love this juvenile series and the stand-alone! Both were rereads.
10) Saving Shiloh (Shiloh #3) and A Shiloh Christmas (Shiloh #4) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
One of the best children’s writers, IMO! I adore this series!
11) A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Such a readable and intimate nonfiction recounting of the Titanic.
12) Love Story (Love Story#1) and Oliver's Story (Love Story #2) by Erich Segal
A revisit 50 years later and the sequel for the first time. I enjoy Segal’s writing and plan to explore more of his books.
13) The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My first Haig book and I don’t plan for it to be the last!
14) Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Anything this man writes is going to be an excellent read for me!
15) The Ender's Saga series by Orson Scott Card
I love his writing and am looking forward to The Shadow Series in 2022!
16) The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
I still have 3 books left to catch up in this series. Looking forward to them in 2022!
17) Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax series is delightful and I hope to read the rest of them in 2022!
I believe Gilman will be as Agatha Christie is for me…any of her books will be good reads!
18) The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
I definitely plan on continuing this series!
19) Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries series is outstanding!
20) Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Purposefully searching out her books!
21) Nic Stone’s Dear Martin was amazing and I am definitely planning to read more of her books!
22) Moon Pie by Simon Mason was much more intense than I expected… A great example of children needing to become the adult of the household. An excellent read!
23) Origin (Robert Langdon #5) by Dan Brown
I have now read and loved all Dan Brown’s books.
24) Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
One of the best books I’ve read!
25) Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women held up for me 50 years later
I also read Good Wives and plan to continue the series in 2022!
26) The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais
Much more enjoyable than I expected it to be!
27) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
While this story arc was not one of my favorites, I loved her writing and am anxious to read more of her books.
28) The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman
One of the best books! And now I am anxious to read more of her writing!
29) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
I love this man’s writing and look forward to reading more of his books!
30) Elsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela
I loved this so much that I now own another two of her books and look forward to reading them in 2022!
31) Gaither Sisters Trilogy Box Set: One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, Gone Crazy in Alabama trilogy by Rita Williams-Garcia
Anxious to finish this by reading the third installment in 2022!
32) Shades of Magic series and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Anxious to read the third installment in this series! Fairly certain I would like whatever she writes!
33) Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Yet another absolutely excellent book by Weir! Certain I’ll enjoy anything he writes!
34) How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
READ THIS!!
35) The Sound and the Furry (Chet & Bernie #6) by Spencer Quinn
Love to pick one of these up and read it every now and then. Pure enjoyment! Love me some Chet!
36) The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
Loved it! I now own two more of her books and plan to read the in 2022!
37) The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
This was a DEBUT novel!! Will definitely plan to read anything she releases in the future!
39) The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
Loved it! Definitely plan to read more of hers, especially The Memory Police!
40) The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson
A fascinating autobiography! Own two more of hers and anxious to read them in 2022!
41) Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
This should NEVER happen! But does…unfortunately! READ THIS!
42) Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Another DEBUT novel!! Loved it and will definitely plan to read whatever she writes in the future!
43) The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Love his writing! Own two more of his books and hope to read them in 2022! He also writes graphic novels, but I’m not into those…
44) Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series
Yeah…as soon as one is released I’ll own it and read it! Pure escapism!
45) The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
I learned so much real history! (Not just the ol’-white-guy version…)
46) There There by Tommy Orange
47) The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams was soooo good!
I have now read 2 of her books and look forward to reading more of them!
48) A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris
I didn’t know what to expect, but this was a good read and I plan to read more of his writing.
49) The Gift of the Magpie (Meg Langslow #28) by Donna Andrews
I will definitely plan to read this series! Quite enjoyable!
50) The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
READ THIS! Such an excellent representation of immigrants to the US!
51) The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
I definitely plan to read his fiction!
52) Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair by Danielle Sered
READ THIS! We must put more resources into much more effective and efficient alternatives to mass incarceration!
53) Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Yep! Reid is the bomb! My third book written by her and now I want to work my way through her backlist!
54) Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
This Reid is also the bomb! Another fantastic debut! Racism at a whole ‘nother level. This wasn’t what I expected at all. Much better!
55) Waiting to Exhale (Waiting to Exhale #1) by Terry McMillan
I love her writing and am anxious to read the second installment, Getting to Happyin 2022!
56) Gold by Chris Cleave
My second book written by him. Now on my “absolute favorite author” list. Own 2 more written by him that I want to read in 2022!

Popsugar: 49/50 ALMOST!!
ATY: 52/52 DONE!!
RHC: 19/24
Reading Women: 18/28

I have just one more book to read for the Popsugar challenge—Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Although the premise seems like a book I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy, I own a copy and it is a book I feel as if I “should” read… I should finish it tomorrow easily enough…

Picking up where I left off...

Popsugar: 49/50 ALMOST!!
ATY: 52/52 DONE!!
RHC: 19/24
Reading Women: 18/28

FINISHED:
Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair by Danielle Sered ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was definitely what I would term a “must-read”! Sered confirms what I’ve always felt to be true…our ‘criminal’ “justice” system is based upon and only encourages violence. There is little to no long-term positive value to such a system. It needs to be replaced for the most part and used only as a last resort. But our culture must first change to encourage and incorporate such changes effectively.
POPSUGAR: #7- Activist to establish effective alternatives to incarceration and all the cultural changes needed, #15, #20, #21- Culture, Nonfiction, Politics, Psychology, Race, Sociology, Social Justice, #27, #34-Mass incarceration, #36-105 reviews on Goodreads, #37, #47-Social justice is of the utmost importance!
ATY: #4, #20- Only by effectively reckoning with the past in the present can we hope to build a better future for all!, #23- Culture, #24, #27-Death, Judgment, The World, #36, #44, #47, #52- In the end this will require a majority of voters to make changes on local, regional, and national levels!
RHC: #2
Reading Women: NEW #3

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was an absolutely excellent reading experience for me! Although it was quite poignant it was also uplifting and hopeful. We all do what we can do… And exactly how do you define “family”? If you read this, make sure you read the Acknowledgments! I cried at the last paragraph!
POPSUGAR: #1, #18-Family: biological, found, and committed, #19, #21- Family, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Marriage, Romance, #22, #27, #30-Malibu, #33, #37, #43, #47-Reid is one of my absolutely favorite authors!
ATY: #4, #13- I read Daisy Jones & the Six in 2020, #15, #19- The past may well affect the present, but doesn’t need to always determine the future, #23-Family, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Marriage, Romance, #27- The Lovers, Death, Temperance, Judgment, The World, The Fool, #32, #34, #42, #49, #50, #52-In the end, family is what you make of it…
RHC: #19

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was initially to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #26 A book written by Isabel Allende AND now will fulfill the 2021 Reading Women prompt #6 A book written by a Southern American author in translation. I was determined to finish this one in 2021! Upon rereading the first 54 pages I found it to be much more enjoyable this time around! It seems I am a bit disillusioned by South American authors thus far. Though I will read more of Allende’s books since I own at least two of them. The Stories of Eva Luna is probably the next one…sometime in 2022.
POPSUGAR: #7-Eva is a storyteller and writer, #16-Chile, #18-Equal rights for all!, #21-Classical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Politics, Romance, South America, #27, #28, #34-Feminism, political exploitation, wealth redistribution, #38-Eva is a storyteller and writer, #46
ATY: #3- Bright copper kettles, Riad furnishes his house with all kinds of kitchen gadgets, including copper pots and pans!, #6, #8-the South American continent, #14-Although it is a South American country, it is not identified as a specific one, #17-Riad, #20-One can hope for a less chaotic future for Eva!, #23-Classical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Politics, Romance, South America, #24, #27- The Lovers, The Hanged Man, Death, Judgment, The World, #31, #35-South America, #39-Riad and Eva herself, really, though she was kidnapped!, #41, #52- In the end, I can only hope Eva’s life will be less chaotic and more enjoyable in the future!
RHC: #1-South American author, #5
Reading Women: NEW #6, #18

Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was a very enjoyable read. I really need to rewatch the movie since it has been many years. I’m sure they toned down the language. I feel for each of these woman. Life is not easy… Anxious to read the sequel, Getting to Happy in 2022!
POPSUGAR: NEW #10, #18-Treating others with respectful honesty and sincerity, #19, #21-Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Race, Romance, #27, #36-587 reviews on Goodreads, #46, #47-McMillan is one of my favorite authors!
ATY: #5, #6, #9-Colorado, #20-The past teaches lessons to make better decisions in the present and create a better future overall, #23-Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Race, Romance, #24, #27-The Lovers, Justice, The World, The Fool, #31, #32, #34, #49, #52-In the end, life goes on…
RHC: #17

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was not at all what I expected. It was much more and more intense in some ways. It delved below the surface with interpersonal relationships and “race,” familial relationships and parenting, and a twenty-something female trying to find her way in the world, especially with regard to full-time employment.
POPSUGAR: NEW #12- On Brit Bennett's bookshelf during the 2020 Texas Book Festival Interview, #18- Interracial relationships and intrinsic (perhaps unconscious) motivations, #19, #20, #21- Coming-of-Age, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Race, Romance, Social Justice, #27, #30-Philadelphia, PA, and NYC, #34-Racial profiling/unjust harassment, #37, #43, #46, #47-My favorite books are those that make me think at a deeper level in the aftermath.
ATY: #2, #5, #6, #8-New York City, #10-Alex was definitely a lying villain, IMO!, #19-Sometimes we must cut ties in the present to ensure a different future, #23-Coming-of-Age, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Race, Romance, Social Justice, #24, #41, #46-2020 Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Novel, #52-In the end, growing up can be tough!

Gold by Chris Cleave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ proved to be much more than I expected. Cleave is excellent at demonstrating the complexities of being human in this one! Truly an enjoyable and thoughtful read! There is so much to unpack in it that I’m sure my mind will be processing it for a while…
POPSUGAR: #6, #21-Contemporary Fiction, Family, Fiction, Marriage, Sports, #27, #29-Greece, Switzerland, United Kingdom, #30-Greece and Switzerland, #43, NEW #45, #46, #47-Cleave is one of my favorite authors!
ATY: #1-In the beginning, you could tell Zoe was emotionally unstable, #6-Tom and Zoe, but without any sexual relationship, just genuine love for each other!, #8-Greece, Switzerland, United Kingdom, #9-Competitive cycling season, #20-The past and present can be overcome to create a worthy future!, #22, #23-Contemporary Fiction, Family, Fiction, Marriage, Sports, #27-Jack, Death, Judgment, The World, #49

CONTINUING:
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Paradise by Toni Morrison to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #25 A book written by Toni Morrison. I admit the beginning of this really threw me off. But I feel as if I really need to finish it!

PLANNED:
Violets Are Blue (Alex Cross #7) for a January 2022 Buddy Read!
For our own Popsugar January 2022 Monthly Group Read:
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry!
To complete the 2021 Read Harder Challenge:
*Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Glad to see this is our February Monthly Group Read!
*Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
*Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
*Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
*Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
*Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson

Finished:

Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily
ATY prompt: A book you associate with a specific season or time of year (Christmas)
Popsugar prompt: A genre hybrid (I admire two authors who can write alternating chapters. Their books often seem like two books seemingly melded into one. They each have their own YA story, plus it's a Christmas book, with a little romance.)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
ATY prompt: A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name
Popsugar prompt: A book with a black-and-white cover

The Flame
ATY prompt: A book related to "the end"
Popsugar prompt: A book about a subject you are passionate about

Currently reading:
nothing - waiting for January 1

B.F.
A Slow Fire Burning - 60% done. Waiting to get another copy - will probably happen in 2022

QOTW:
My best books were:
And Then There Were None
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
The Book of Negroes
The Flame

Those were the only ones to which I gave 5 stars

Okay, I have been lax in my moderator duties, but finally got a good start on updating and moving some of the 2022 Monthly Group Read information...

ADMIN STUFF:
December's Monthly Group Read is Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid and that discussion is here. Technically, that will wrap up tomorrow, however, it will be archived and you can read through and/or post to that discussion thread in the future. Teri is the most gracious volunteer who led this discussion. And I truly am going to participate, Teri! Really! I loved the book!

I have updated the comprehensive listing of 2022 Monthly Group Reads and now we are anxious to fill those volunteer slots for each monthly discussion leader! *Hint! Hint!* 😊

As always, there is also a thread for you to post any books you have finished reading to fulfill prompt #1 A book published in 2021 as well. Since I just finished reading it, I’ll go to the thread tonight or tomorrow to participate!

The January 2022 Monthly Group Read discussion of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is here. This can be used to satisfy the 2022 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge prompt #11 A #BookTok recommendation! I’m excited for this one! We need a “fascinating facilitator”! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!

Please post the book you read to satisfy this prompt here.

Erica wrote: "@Nadine if the January discussion still needs a leader I'd like to volunteer."
YAY!!! I'll go update everything! Thank you so much, Erica!

This is my first check-in in ages. Grad school kicked my butt, so I spent a lot of the time between September and December reading for history courses plus trying to keep up with teaching and all that good stuff. Yikes. I'm so glad to be done with teaching and writing essays until the new year!

I've started the 2022 PS Challenge already because I'm on winter break, and I have the unlimited time to read in between the holidays. I'll check in with the books I've finished next week.

Currently reading Station Eleven, which is eerily like March 2020, without, of course, the same virulence in COVID as the flu in the book. However, I'm really enjoying the book. It's well-written and better overall, in my opinion, than The Glass Hotel.

QotW
My best books for the PS 2021 Challenge:




NonPS Challenge Bests:

Lynn wrote: "Happy Thursday and Happy “End of 2021”! I am always grateful to have survived another year and hope that the next year is even better!

I have been a reading machine these past 10 days or so. Our ..."

Ahhhhh I never knew there was a fourth Shiloh book!! My childhood! <333 Adding immediately.

My overnight thing at work got moved again this week so I don't have much time to play. Counting down to PTO! Just over a week to go.

Finished:
Murder at Melrose Court: A Country House Christmas Murder - Yup, that's what it is.

Cranky Chicken - Surprisingly heartwarming. Sadly I have been in a Cranky Chicken phase lately, so it was nice to see worm want to be friends anyway.

The Night Before Christmas - With my friend, to her 1 year old on Christmas Eve.

Good Omens: A Full Cast Production - Did I need a different audiobook version of this title? Yes. Yes I did. David Tennant reads Crowley and Michael Sheen reads Aziraphale.


Currently Reading:
The Quick - been on my TBR for ages

Fox & I - Cute cover but I'm not quite sure I'm going to get on well with this one

I'll probably answer the qotw tomorrow

Hey all! I got pretty behind on my reading this year (I'm at 27/50), with some long reading slumps and real-life issues, but I'm excited for a new year ahead and the 2022 prompts seem pretty neat.

(lmao I typed "2020 prompts" - time is a circle)

QotW:

- Harrow the Ninth is my favorite book of the year. I guess that's not surprising because Gideon the Ninth was my fav last year, but they're strikingly different books. Gideon was a straightforward plot-focused book, a genre blend of magical competition + murder mystery. Harrow is much more character-based, centering an unreliable narrator who may or may not be gaslighting herself. Also it has magical school elements? And a weird alternate reality thingy? I'm doing a bad job describing it, but it was brilliant and I loved every bit of it.

- I also really liked the Ninefox Gambit series. I read a critical review saying that the author really, really likes the character Jedao and hopes that you will too. But I did like Jedao - a snarky devious mastermind with a dark past, he's basically tailor-made for me. Definitely my character of the year.

- Honorable mention to books 2 and 3 of the Poppy War series (The Dragon Republic and The Burning God).

Alex wrote: "Well. We survived. This Christmas was by far the worst we ever had in that we had to rush our little girl to the hospital after a bad fall. She busted a tooth (that got pulled today) and suffered a..."


Oh no!! I've been there, it's stressful. Was it a baby tooth? Did they warn you that the adult tooth might come in discolored? They warned us of that when my daughter face-planted, but her adult tooth was fine.

It's been awhile, but I decided I couldn't not post on the last check-in of 2021! My last check-in was in mid-November, so I've finished a ton of books since that time. I'm just doing one monster check-in rather than going back to each week that I missed.

I won't finish this challenge before the clock strikes midnight, but, I should complete the last four prompts (three main challenge and one advanced) in early January. I've started all of the books I've slated for those remaining prompts, so that's close enough for 2021! I abandoned the other challenges and lowered my overall Goodreads challenge from 100 books to 80 books (I will reach that tonight!).

I haven't printed out the 2022 PS list yet, but look forward to another fun reading challenge year with the group :)

Finished:
* The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin, which I used for "a book about forgetting;"
* The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which I used for "a book everyone seems to have read but you;"
* The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, which was one of my book clubs' picks for December;
* The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit, which was a drive to the beach read and used for the advanced prompt "the book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover;"
* The Collective by Alison Gaylin, which was a drive to the beach read and used for the advanced prompt "a book from your TBR list chosen at random;"
* All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny, which was a beach read;
* Night Rounds by Helene Tursten (translator not listed in GR), which was a beach read. I decided this would have to work for "a bestseller from the 1990s" because the original Swedish work was published in 1999, the author is described as a best-selling author, AND the series was adopted for Swedish tv;
* Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, which was a beach read despite being quite an unnerving read;
* Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev, which was a return from the beach read (and delightful!);
* The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, which was my other book clubs' pick for December (and a newly revived book club's pick for our first meeting in January...looks like I'm ahead of the game if we actually meet!);
* Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton, which I used for "a book with an oxymoron in the title" (perfectly imperfect!);
* Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series by Jesse Dougherty, which was a return from the beach read;
* Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez, which I used for "a magical realism book" even though this was the least magical realistic book I've read by Gabo...but the prompt needed to be checked off, so it's gonna have to work;
* Murder on Christmas Eve: Classic Mysteries for the Festive Season edited by Cecily Gayford, which was a holiday read pick;
* Lucifer, Book One by Mike Carey, which I used for "a DNF book from your TBR list" since I realized I had started it at some point but never finished it (the bookmark was right where I left it!);
* The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum, which I used for "a book set mostly or entirely outdoors" since a lot of it took place in the forest; and,
* The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story by F. Marion Crawford, which was a holiday pick. It was...different.

Currently Reading:
* The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, which is for the final advance prompt "the longest book (by pages) on your TBR list;"
* Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream by Carson Vaughan, which I'm using for "a book whose title starts with Q, X, or Z;"
* No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd, which I'm using for "a book with something broken on the cover;"
* On Beauty by Zadie Smith, which I'm using for "a book that has won the Women's Prize for Fiction;" and,
* The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny, which I'm reading for pleasure now that I'm caught up on the series!

QotW:
What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)

I just went through my list and picked out the non-fiction and fiction titles that I liked best. I was going try and pick the same number from each category, but I ended up with a Top Ten instead, so that's what I'm going with :)

For non-fiction:
* Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement
* The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
* A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
* Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series

For fiction:
* The Conjure-Man Dies: A Harlem Mystery
* Anxious People
* Homegoing
* Midnight at Malabar House
* The Reading List
* Raphael, Painter in Rome

Hi all! Can't believe the year is at an end! I'm looking forward to a new year, but I said that last year and would like to request a refund...

Things are going about as well as can be expected given that Covid exploded around here with the colleges. It actually slightly benefits me because my work has decreed that we shall not meet with clients in person and must call instead. Fine with me.

Kiddo had a great Christmas, but she keeps asking why there aren't more presents under the tree! I offered her a sugar cookie the other day and she said that they were Santa's cookies and we couldn't eat them because he would want them. I've tried to explain that it's gonna be a while, but 3 year old logic... :)

I finished my final book of the year, The Diary of a Young Girl for a book everyone has read but me. I've long been annoyed that my school never assigned it, but I honestly think I would have been bored by it as a young person.

The library was open for 2 days this week, so I snuck over on my lunch break! I picked up a couple of options for some prompts, I checked out Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them which I might use for the disaster book (but maybe not). I also checked out Proxy which I might use for a social horror book, but I also put The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South on hold with that prompt in mind. And then I grabbed Tales of Pain and Wonder which has a short story in it called Rats Live on No Evil Star, which I might use for the palindrome title. It's only like 10 pages long, so I might use it unless something amazing shows up later in the year! Anyway, I'm excited to get started and overestimating my ability to read quickly, as usual!

QOTW:
My favorites of the year were The Housekeeper and the Professor and Dear Martin. Amazing books, I'll definitely reread them both at some point.

Alex wrote: "Well. We survived. This Christmas was by far the worst we ever had in that we had to rush our little girl to the hospital after a bad fall. She busted a tooth (that got pulled today) and suffered a..."

Oh dear! Glad she's doing better. I just know mine's going to knock herself out one of these days and I hover nervously all the time!

Happy Thursday, y’all.

Finally out of Covid quarantine. Whoo. Feeling a lot better. Christmas was a bit of a bummer this year, since I was stuck in my room during most of the festivities, but hopefully New Year's will make up for it.

Also I'm psyched for the PopSugar Challenge! I've already picked out the books I'm going to start the year with...

Books read this week:

Skeleton Crew -- Stephen King story/novella collection. A dang good and varied collection of stories that show his versatile range… and surprisingly, not all of them are out-and-out horror.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus -- rather cute, and a thoughtful look at dealing with disabilities of several kinds.

Star Wars Alien Archive: A Guide to the Species of the Galaxy -- not as good as the old-school Star Wars guides, but still neat.

Sunny Makes a Splash -- I like this graphic novel series. Sure, it’s aimed at kids, but it’s still fun and the setting of the ‘70s makes for some good blast-from-the-past vibes.

Currently Reading:

NOTHING! Though I do have a plan for what books I'm going to start the year off with, and they're as follows...

Kiki's Delivery Service -- for "book about witches"
Entry-Level Cancer: My First Six Months in the Club No One Wants to Join -- for "book with a constellation on the cover or in the title"
Hidden Figures -- for “an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner”
Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three -- for "a book about the afterlife"

QOTW:

Project Hail Mary
The Serpent King
Children of Time
Iron Widow
The Sparrow
Boy's Life
The Red Tent
Station Eleven
The Girl with All the Gifts

Happy Thursday, And I hope everyone has a Happy New Year. I was too busy last week to post, so this will cover 2 weeks. I had a wonderful, busy Christmas, but I still managed to get some reading done.

Books I finished:

Don't You Forget About Me ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Mhairi McFarlane's books tend to be a bit heavier than the usual romcoms, but they do always make me laugh.

Cravings: All Together: Recipes to Love ⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the recipes in this one more then the last, but I still read these more for her comments then on the recipes themselves. Still, I did copy out a couple of them to try at a later date.

Chasing Christmas Eve ⭐⭐⭐ - A fun yet disposable holiday romance.

Dead White Writer on the Floor ⭐⭐⭐ - I love Drew Hayden Taylor but this play was a little too experimental/meta for my tastes.

Sea of Silver Light ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I wanted to finish off the reread that I started 2 years ago before the end of he year. It's not that I don't love the series, but with each book being over 1000 pages, it's a little too easy to put off reading the next one in favour of a new short book that answers a challenge prompt.

The Last Halloween: Children ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This was a wonderful surprise. It looked at me when I was in the library trying to pick out short books for the ATY read-a-thon, but I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. (Or for it to break my heart so much). But now I need book 2, and yet there doesn't seem to be any plans for it any time soon. 😥

The Folk of the Air Series ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I really do love this series, and it's such a comfort to reread it.

Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future ⭐⭐⭐ - I've been trying to go through this series, and like all collections with multiple authors, some entries were better than others.

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt's Creek ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This was a fun book that provided behind the scenes stories plus a complete episode guide to the series.

Firefly: Blue Sun Rising Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This took the leadup that had taken 3 books and then 'solved ithe problem' in only a couple of panels. It was a bit of a letdown, but I love the world, and the artwork was good.

Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This one had a MUCH better story, but the artwork was terrible.

Books I made progress on:

High Jinx - I started this, but now the library has taken it away and I'm going to have to wait on a hold to come through to get it back.

QOTW
I tried to do a top 10, but it left off too many. And I don't count rereads, because of course I love those, otherwise why would I reread them?

1. Fugitive Telemetry Murderbot #6 - Scifi
2. The Witch's Heart - Mythology retelling
3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - Fantasy
4. A Man Called Ove - General fiction
5. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - The Folk of the Air #3.5 - YA Fantasy
6. This Is How You Lose the Time War - Scifi
7. Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Time Travel Fantasy
8. Apple: Skin to the Core - Poetry Memoir
9. Crooked Kingdom - Grishaverse # 4 - YA Fantasy
10. When Sorrows Come - October Daye # 15 - Urban Fantasy
11. House of Earth and Blood - Crescent Ciy #1 - Fantasy
12. Nimona - YA Fantasy Graphic Novel
13. Salt to the Sea - YA Historical Fiction
14. Inside Out & Back Again - MG story in free verse
15. A Very Punchable Face - Humour Memoir
16. Wilf Perreault: In the Alley / Dans la ruelle
17. Generations - Artist retrospective
18. The Love Hypothesis - Romance
19. Blood Heir - Aurelia Ryder #1 (Kate Daniels Spinoff Series) - Urban Fantasy
20. The God of Lost Words - Hell's Library #3 - Fantasy
21. Calculated Risks - InCryptid #10 - Urban Fantasy
22. The Charm Offensive - Romance
23. People We Meet on Vacation - Romance
24. Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever - Nonfiction
25. The Last Halloween: Children - YA Horror Graphic Novel

I didn't participate in the 2021 challenge, but I hope no one minds me checking in early, I'm so excited about next year 🥰 I am just over halfway through The People in the Trees, my 39th book this year, so I despair of reaching my goal of 40 before midnight tomorrow. It's not been a banner year for reading, to be honest, but I don't mind too much because I spent a lot of that time writing instead. The few standouts this year were Death on the Nile (my introduction to Agatha Christie!) and The Name of the Rose.
I'm off work on New Year's Eve so the only thing on the agenda is walking down to the library to pick up some books that I have on hold! First read of 2022 is going to be The Devil and the Dark Water, then Revolutionary Road. I'm hoping it will get me off to a better start!

I missed last week and am super tired (and need some energy for my birthday/NYE tomorrow) so let's see if I can do a quick check in for the past two weeks...

I finished:
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running 4 stars
The Writing Life 2.5 stars
Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora 5 stars
19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East 5 stars
Dava Shastri's Last Day 4 stars
The Art of Revision: The Last Word 4 stars
Can We Talk About Israel?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted 4.5 stars
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive 4 stars
The Knockout 3 stars
The Trees 5 stars
These Precious Days: Essays 4 stars
Wish You Were Here 4 stars
Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo 5 stars
Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing 4.5 stars

QOTW: I made a bookstagram post about this today and I don't think I can narrow it down more than this...

Fiction:
What Strange Paradise
How to Order the Universe
Chouette (I know the author from another Goodreads group! :)
Infinite Country
The Trees
Of Women and Salt
What Storm, What Thunder
Things We Lost to the Water
The House of Impossible Beauties
Bolla
Skye Falling
Riot Baby
Love From A to Z
Ace of Spades
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
Ponciá Vicêncio

Nonfiction/poetry:
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
An American Sunrise
Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping
Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance
Beautiful Country
19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East
The Undocumented Americans
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth
Concepcion: An Immigrant Family's Fortunes
Negotiations
Bird Uncaged: An Abolitionist's Freedom Song
A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

I have been ill nearly the entire month, and I gave up on finishing my longest and last challenge book. Then it occurred to me the other night that I could give myself permission to cheat. The conditions - if the longest book I read this year had been on my TBR before this year and had not been used for another prompt, then I would count it as my longest book and finish the challenge. I assume that if there is any kind of unifying force in the universe that it doesn't care about my reading challenge, and therefore I don't believe in signs - but the longest book I read this year fit my criteria. It was meant to be. So I consider my challenge complete.

I read one book this month: "A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories" by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is a 5 star read, The Chimes was 3 stars, and A Cricket on the Hearth was 4 stars, so you math whizzes have already figured out I gave the entire book 4 stars.

I'm looking forward to ending my reading break and start a new challenge. Happy New Year to all!

Goodreads: 102/100
Popsugar: 55/55

QOTW:
My favorite books this year (in order read):
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Nadine in NY wrote: "Good morning!! I'm on vacation so I slept late today so I'm getting a late start here. Here we are, in the last week of the year! We made it to the end of another year. Congratulations to all of us!! :-) Happy New Year!"
Glad you slept in. I can't. I have 4 cats who make sure I'm awake to feed them no later than 8AM at the very latest!

"I've never been a big partier on New Year's Eve - it's always felt like too much pressure to be excited and cool and have big plans & resolutions and go to the perfect party and be super happy. I used to like to go to the movies: go into the theater in the old year, come out in the new year. No pressure to party! But now that I've discovered Reading Challenges, I am excited for the New Year so I can start my new Challenge! I am ready!!!"
Ha! Ha! I used to party when I was much younger--college and a couple of times after I was married. In fact, each of the first two years of my first marriage we hosted a huge New Year's Eve party which I literally spent at least one week preparing for: shopping for specialty foods, cooking, cleaning, decorating... But that ended when we moved the first time and I quickly discovered that having infants/young children meant I had to be up and going the next morning with NO hangover. So that put perspective on it for me! LOL

"I see a lot of us are finishing the 2021 Challenge in the last week of the year. Congrats to all of us!!"
Working to do so today! Bel Canto is finally getting a bit better for me after the first 100 pages... I hope it isn't a total slog for me to get through and finish!

"My mouse update: I've been setting those cheap snap traps and I've been catching A LOT in the last week, over a dozen. I had to go buy more traps. The snap traps don't always kill instantly, which I did not know, and it is absolutely awful, so I ordered four of those electric shock traps, guaranteed to kill instantly. They're a little pricey, but I've got a big problem and they are the solution. I think mice are cute and I wish I didn't have to kill them, but they are in my walls and my garage and my basement and when they showed up in my kitchen, that was the last straw."
Oh, I am so sorry that happened to you, Nadine! I have spent my lifetime fighting mice in the house it seems, since I've always lived in the country! Once you see one you can almost rest assured you will catch at least 5-10 if not more!

"Admin stuff:

Our December group read of Malibu Rising is finishing up - join the conversation here:
December group read discussion"
Great discussion, Teri! I'm thrilled my copy finally arrived and I was able to read it in time!

"Our January group read of People We Meet on Vacation will be starting this weekend!
I don't think we have a volunteer yet to lead this discussion, so we might end up with pure anarchy!! "
I'm so glad this one won! I had a copy ordered and just received an email that it was no longer available to be shipped, so will be picking up a copy this weekend at my favorite local used bookstore! And thank you so much to Erica who has volunteered to help guide us!

"Our February group read will be: Get a Life, Chloe Brown!! Let us know if you would like to lead this discussion!"
This is one I had scheduled to read in January anyway! YAY!!

"And the final poll for our March group read is here:
Vote for the March 2022 Group Read!"
Ooh. Ooh. Oohhh,,.I hope the one I voted for wins! LOL I already own it and have really wanted to read it!

"This week I finished five books, one was the last book on my personal challenge, and one was my last Challenge read, so I am finally 50/50 for the 2021 Challenge! "
YAY!! So proud of you for persevering through that longest book! I knew you could do it! Yay for your finish!

"A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor - my longest book on my TBR (and wow did it ever feel long!), I am so happy to be finished!! I thought I would learn a lot of fascinating little things, but I didn't really come away with much at all. My mother was visiting, and she usually loves this sort of book, but even she said it was too dry and she pushed it aside."
Huh. Well, at least you have confirmation that it probably wasn't a compelling read for others as well. And it sounds so very interesting... But you never know.

"Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters - I love listening to Barbara Rosenblat read Amelia Peabody mysteries! Five stars just for the fun. (The mystery wasn't really all that, but I enjoyed this anyway.)"
That's so cool to have something that you know you will enjoy!

"A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint - I really enjoyed this, and I absolutely did not guess who the murderer was. This was the last book on my list of 21 books I must read in 2021, so I completed my personal challenge. I look forward to reading more in this series."
That is on my TBR listing. I think the author looks to be just as interesting as her books! LOL

"And I read two graphic novels on Christmas Day (my Christmas Day tradition for the last few years):
Chew, Vol. 5: Major League & Chew, Vol. 6: Space Cakes - volume 5 was fantastic, five stars! Volume 6 was disappointing, not enough Tony Chu. I decided I'm going to try to finish this series (six more volumes) in the next month or two. I've got volume 7 downloaded now!"
What a cool tradition!

"Question of the Week
What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)

This year I set up "brackets" and I chose a favorite book for each month, each quarter, each half year, and finally an overall favorite."
I had to chuckle! This sounds like a mathematical formula! Then I was going to make some smart-ass remark about being "left-brained" and Googled just to make sure I had that right and ended up at this article which I found extremely interesting: https://deansforimpact.org/exploring-...
This left and right brain idea is evidently purely mythological... I admit I'm kinda glad about that. It leaves more potential for everyone to become a more broad-minded thinker, doesn't it? But I am off topic...

"My favorite read each quarter:
Catherine House
The Good Son
American Elsewhere
Harlem Shuffle

with The Good Son just nosing out American Elsewhere as my favorite read of this year."
The Good Son and American Elsewhere are both books that look to be way too "horror-ish" for my liking! And here might be the proof that left-brained and right-brained are NOT so mythical. I have a listing of 57 and you narrow it down to 4 and then just 1 for the year! LOL We disprove the claim of mythology!! LOL 😁 Maybe that's one reason we seem to make a good team!

Shannon wrote: "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka / The White Duck: Most beautiful cover ..."


The illustrations on those books is so familiar, I definitely have a book with those illustrations. As a teen, I spent many happy hours copying them into sketchbooks. Mine has stories about Baba Yaga and Vasilisa, and sadly it's been lost, it's in one of the many unopened boxes in this house, maybe mouse-damaged or water-damaged by this point. I lost track of a lot of my books when I moved in with my then-boyfriend.