Play Book Tag discussion

Goals:

* Read at least 1 book for each PBT monthly tag

* Participate in PBT's annual challenges:
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- PBT Trim (ongoing)
- Fall Flurries (ongoing)
- Presidential Biographies (ongoing)
- Long Books (ongoing)

* Read books from at least 24 countries during the year

* Read at least 24 books from the Boxall List

* Read at least 24 Booker Prize nominees (past or present)

* Read at least 30 Non-fiction books

* Read at least 5 books from an author's backlist: Penelope Lively

* Read at least 12 Tomes (over 600 pages)

Note: One book may be used to satisfy more than one challenge.

PBT Tags:

January: History
The Next Everest by Jim Davidson - 1/2/26 - 4* - My Review
The Pawn by Paco Cerdà - 1/4/26 - 4* - My Review
The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro - 1/5/26 - My Review
Empireland: How Imperialism has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera - 1/6/26 - 4* - My Review
We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill - 1/8/26 - 4.5* - My Review
Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic by Simon Winchester - 1/9/26 - 4.5* - My Review
The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander - 1/10/26 - 5* - My Review
The Whisper on the Night Wind: The True History of a Wilderness Legend by Adam Shoalts - 1/11/26 - 4* - My Review
Shadowplay by Joseph O'Connor - 1/12/26 - 4.5* - My Review
The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje - 1/13/26 - 4* - My Review
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer - 1/14/26 - 5* - My Review
The Successor by Ismail Kadare - 1/14/26 - 4* - My Review
Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon by Robert Kurson - 1/15/26 - 3.5* - My Review
Chasing the Devil: A Journey Through Sub-Saharan Africa in the Footsteps of Graham Greene by Tim Butcher - 1/17/26 - 4* - My Review
The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World by Oliver Milman - 1/18/26 - 4* - My Review
The German War: A Nation Under Arms by Nicholas Stargardt - 1/19/26 - 4* - My Review
Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 by Ian W. Toll - 1/21/26 - 5* - My Review
The Lion by Conn Iggulden - 1/22/26 - 4* - My Review
The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery by Siddharth Kara - 1/23/26 - 4* - My Review
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick - 1/25/26 - 4* - My Review
Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia by Janet Wallach - 1/26/25 - 4* - My Review
The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind by Simon Winchester - 1/28/26 - 4* - My Review
The Bonanza King: John Mackay and the Battle over the Greatest Riches in the American West by Gregory Crouch - 1/29/26 - 4.5* - My Review
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier by Stephen E. Ambrose - 1/30/26 - 4.5* - My Review
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow - 1/31/26 - 5* - My Review

February: Love
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde - 2/4/26 - 4* - My Review
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna - 2/5/26 - 4* - My Review
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer - 2/6/26 - 3* - My Review
Departure by Julian Barnes - 2/8/26 - 4.5* - My Review
Love is Blind by William Boyd - 2/9/26 - 4* - My Review
The Tiny Things Are Heavier by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo - 2/10/26 - 3* - My Review
Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward - 2/11/26 - 4* - My Review
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - 2/13/26 - 5* - My Review
The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams - 2/14/26 - 4* - My Review

March: Diversity, Spirituality, 21st Century
voted

PBT Tags:

April:


May:


June:

PBT Tags:

July:


August:


September:

PBT Tags:

October


November:


December:

Rabbit Trail:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

GrabTag:

Planning:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Tracking:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Into the Forest: 2026 Occupations Challenge

Read a book involving each of the following occupations:

✅1. People-at-Arms
Includes knights, soldiers, guards, police, etc.
The German War: A Nation Under Arms by Nicholas Stargardt - 1/19/26 - 4* - My Review
✅2. Magic Users
Includes witches, warlocks, wizards, mages, necromancers, etc.
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna - 2/5/26 - 4* - My Review
✅3. Leaders & Governmental
Includes kings, queens, aristocracy, politicians, judges, lawyers, elected officials, diplomats, etc.
We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill - 1/8/26 - 4.5* - My Review
4. Caretakers & Healers
Includes doctors, nurses, parents, nannies, elderly care, etc.
5. Academics & Alchemists
Includes professors, teachers, scientists, students, etc.
✅6. Outlaws
Includes thieves, assassins, pirates, and other nefarious folk.
This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin - 2/3/26 - 3* - My Review
7. Clerics & Druids
Includes nuns, priests, devotees, and other religious and spiritual folk.
✅8. Artists
Includes musicians, visual artists, writers, dancers, storytellers, etc.
Snow Road Station by Elizabeth Hay - 1/3/26 - 3* - My Review (protagonist is an actress)
9. Land Stewards
Includes farmers, gardeners, shepherds, foresters, etc.
✅10. Merchants & Tradespeople
Includes innkeepers, bakers, chefs, seamstresses, blacksmiths, traders, shopkeepers, etc.
Love is Blind by William Boyd - 2/9/26 - 4* - My Review
✅11. Servants & Enslaved Folk
The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery Kara - 1/23/26 - 4* - My Review
✅12. Travelers
Includes messengers, mapmakers, wanderers, nomads, sailors, etc
The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander - 1/10/26 - 5* - My Review

Tracking all challenges here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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