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: First Quarter 2026
(view spoiler)[
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
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - 2/20/26 - 4* - My Review
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - 2/25/26 - 4* - My Review
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma - 2/26/26 - 4* - My Review
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - 2/28/26 - 5* - My Review

March: Diversity
Telephone by Percival Everett - 3/1/26 - 3* - My Review
Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky - 3/3/26 - 4* - My Review
You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War by Elizabeth Becker - 3/3/26 - 4* - My Review
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis - 3/5/26 - 3.5* - My Review
Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher - 3/7/26 - 4* - My Review
Woman On The Edge Of Time by Marge Piercy - 3/7/26 - 4* - My Review
Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch - 3/8/26 - 3* - My Review
Kin by Tayari Jones - 3/10/26 - 5* - My Review
When the Nightingale Sings by Suzanne Kelman - 3/14/26 - 3* - My Review
Dominion by Addie E. Citchens - 3/16/26 - 3* - My Review
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ - 3/19/26 - 4.5* - My Review
Lion by Sonya Walger - 3/23/26 - 4* - My Review
The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol - 3/24/26 - 4* - My Review
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy - 3/28/26 - 4* - My Review
A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang - 3/30/26 - 3* - My Review
The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar - 3/31/26 - 4* - My Review (hide spoiler)]

PBT Tags: Second Quarter 2026
(view spoiler)[
April: Nature
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond - 4/8/26 - 4* - My Review
Wintering by Peter Geye - 4/10/26 - 3* - My Review
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey - 4/13/26 - 4* - My Review
The Bees by Laline Paull - 4/14/26 - 4* - My Review
The Genius of Trees: How They Mastered the Elements and Shaped the World by Harriet Rix - 4/20/26 - 3.5 - My Review
Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa L. Sevigny - 4/22/26 - 4* - My Review
Alaska by James A. Michener - 4/30/26 - 4* - My Review

May: Sports
The Umpire Strikes Back by Ron Luciano - 5/4/26 - 4* - My Review
The Golden Goal by Annah Conwell - 5/9/26 - 2* - My Review
Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss - 5/15/26 - 4* - My Review
Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball by Keith Law - 5/24/26 - 4* - My Review
Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters by James M. Tabor - 5/27/26 - 4* - My Review
Blind Your Ponies: A Novel by Stanley Gordon West - 5/28/26 - 4* - My Review
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay - 5/29/26 - 3* - My Review

June: Secrets
Honor by Thrity Umrigar - 6/8/26 - 4* - My Review
Family Album by Penelope Lively - 6/9/26 - 4.5* - My Review
At the End of the Matinee by Keiichirō Hirano - 6/10/26 - 3* - My Review
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins - 6/11/26 - 4* - My Review
The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer - 6/12/26 - 4* - My Review
The Battle of Midway by Craig L. Symonds - 6/13/26 - 5* - My Review
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout - 6/15/26 - 3.5* - My Review
John of John by Douglas Stuart - 6/16/26 - 5* - My Review
Donnie Brasco by Joseph D. Pistone - 6/28/26 - 3* - My Review
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi - 6/20/26 - 4* - My Review
A Manuscript of Ashes by Antonio Muñoz Molina - 6/21/26 - 3.5* - My Review
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith - 6/23/26 - 4* - My Review (hide spoiler)]

PBT Tags: 3rd Quarter 2026

July: Westerns
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom - 7/10/26 - 4.5* - My Review
Let Him Go by Larry Watson - 7/11/26 - 3* - My Review
Fools Crow by James Welch - 7/13/26 - 4* - My Review
Dream Wheels by Richard Wagamese - 7/17/26 - 4* - My Review
Wilderness by Lance Weller - 7/29/26 - 3* - My Review
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury - 7/30/26 - 3* - My Review

August: Asia
The Distance Between Us by Maggie O'Farrell - 8/4/26 - 4* - My Review - only partially set in Asia (Hong Kong)
The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream by Michael Wood - 8/11/26 - 4.5* - My Review (China)
The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell - 8/13/26 - 4* - My Review (Singpaore)
My Brilliant Life by Kim Ae-ran - 8/24/26 - 4* - My Review (South Korea)
Life by Lu Yao - 8/27/26 - 4* - My Review (China)
Colors of the Mountain: A Memoir by Da Chen - 8/27/26 - 4* - My Review (China)
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao - 8/30/26 - My Review (China)
Fierceland by Omar Musa - 8/31/26 - 4.5* - My Review (Malaysia)
Palaver by Bryan Washington - 9/1/26 - 4* - My Review (Japan)

September: Law
The Book of Daniel by E.L. Doctorow - 9/11/26 - 4* - My Review
Neptune's Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire by Julian Sancton - 9/13/26 - 5* - My Review
What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848 by Daniel Walker Howe - 9/14/26 - 4* - My Review
Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal by Alexandra Natapoff - 9/17/26 - 4* - My Review
Burr by Gore Vidal - 9/21/26 - 5* - My Review
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult - 9/22/26 - 4* - My Review
The Elements by John Boyne - 9/24/26 - 4.5* - My Review

PBT Tags: 4th Quarter 2026

October: Adventure
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - 10/3/26 - 4* - My Review

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
(view spoiler)[
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.
Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch - 3/8/26 - 3* - My Review
✅5. Academics & Alchemists
Includes professors, teachers, scientists, students, etc.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - 2/25/26 - 4* - My Review
✅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.
Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher - 3/7/26 - 4* - My Review
✅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.
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma - 2/26/26 - 4* - My Review
✅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
(hide spoiler)]
Challenge completed 3/8/26

Tracking all challenges here:

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

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