I did go on to the next two in the Coroner’s Lunch series and they were both great. So we can just stick with those.😉 Thank you regarding the challenges. I have to say audiobooks really made it happen.........I enjoy listening to many things I would never manage to read. Anyone else having problems with backspacing? When I backspace it eats my posts. I have to edit or copy/paste to have a post that vaguely makes sense.

I have to admit I like The Hobbit and LotR. Actually planning to reread in 2020 so will see how I feel in a few months. I can’t seem to finish anything by Jane Austen but like the adaptions and the movies.

2019 Wrap Up! Where did your armchair travels take you? I managed to visit 33 countries during my reading adventures and for the first time ever I managed all 7 continents! Which books stood out, made an impression and/or stayed with you the longest? The Milkman was one of those books that really resonated how lucky I was to grow up in a quiet small town in America. Which book had the most original, most unique story? Unique is hard, I read a whole bunch of Sci Fi.......going with Murderbot because I loved it. Which book made you laugh? I fell in love with Sheriff Bo Tully this year......The Blight Way is the first! Which one made you cry? What is a Girl Worth.......just plain horrifying. Which book did you like the least and why? To the Lighthouse........but I didn’t finish. Most are abandoned far sooner! Which new to you authors did you discover and would you read another book by this author? Too many to mention......seriously most of Robin’s detectives were new to me and are on next year’s reading list! My reading list is long....... Did you try any of the main or mini challenges? If so, which Bingo category did you like the most and the least and what did you read? Which authors and/or detectives would you like to continue exploring from Whodunit Bookology? How’d the 10 x 10 categories work out? I binged on challenges last year! I completed my 10x10’s, Bingo, the monthly spelling of the detective’s names, and A to Z by both author and title. After a few attempts I managed to make a book chain work. I also accidentally completed the 7 Continents which was one of my goals in a previous year. Please share your book lists, stats for the year, favorite quotes, and/or favorite book covers. This year I kept track of my Brit Tripping but got off the detective bus a counted everything. I managed to visit 24 counties on the Rebel bus not counting the multitude How the Heather looks more than once. A total of 51 of my books visited England. I read at least 18 books in translation per my Goodreads shelves which is a statistic I have worked hard to improve. My Nordic Noir and Asian Detective 10’s were picked to hopefully improve the number but I seem to be pretty much at my average. Not sure how to improve this with next years plans. I listened to 87 audiobooks......seems like I should have finished more quilts! My favorites of the year! In no particular order....... Wesley the Owl by Stacey O’Brien Mrs. Pollifax in general ..... can’t believe I never read these The Expanse series by Corey The Linesman....like everyone else Murderbot series by Martha Wells The Keeper of Lost Causes, Department Q The Goblin Emperor, once again like everyone else! Dread Nation by Justina Ireland I’m looking forward to starting next year’s challenges!

My very last 10x10 is done.🎉 Killed at a Whim of a Hat is the first in Colin Cotterill other series......the featuring an elderly pathologist in Laos which is wonderful. This book was simply acceptable . I doubt I will read more. Asian Mystery Tour 1. The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown by Vaseem Khan (India) 2. Aunty Lee’s Deady Specials by OvidiaYu (Singapore) 3. A Case of Two Cities by Qiu Xiaolong (China) 4. Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (Laos) 5. Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashimo (Japan) 6. The Corose at Koryo by James Church (N. Korea) 7. The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Liang (Beijing) 8. Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness by David Casarett (Thailand) 9. The Shadow Walker by Michael Walters (Mongolia) 10. Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill (Thailand)

For me the BaW threads tend to be all of the above so perhaps anything related to books is the best answer. I think it depends on the individual and how much they want to share. We will definitely cheer you on if you want to post what you read and complete challenges. If you want rec’s someone(s) will do their best. If you want to talk about kindle freebies or a fun book loving tshirt you found you will be welcome. We are planning some group reads for next year ( Lord of the Rings because it’s been awhile) and people will be popping into that depending on the book I suspect. We definitely are not a competition.😉 Not sure what Robin’s POV on this is but would hate for you not to read because you are waiting so will jump in. I normally have at least one book that carries over. I can’t imagine going to bed without reading a few pages. That said I normally avoid books for my Bingo until the new year but that may very well be me being picky!

Before I forget........the author Ilona Andrews is realeasing chapters of her new novella in The Innkeeper series as a Christmas present to fans on her website . Guess what I am doing /reading today! I can’t get the link to work but it’s called Sweep with Me.

Praying

I am almost at the point where I get to pick my new 2020 Bookshelves over on Goodreads. I am 50 percent done with Killed at the Whim of a Hat for my very last 10x10 Asian Detectives so will hopefully finish that up tonight or tomorrow. For people new to BaW please notice that many of the titles that I am using to fulfill this and other challenges are used in more than one challenge. Totally within the rules. I especially like the spelling challenges because they give me an excuse to read historical romances and other fluffy books that I love and to be a bit ......productive..... for like of a better word with the titles! I am a very eclectic reader but only in one language.....I have been working on my French and German but suspect I have at least another year in Duolingo before I manage to even read a children’s book! My December spelling challenge is complete..........Daniel Silva’s The English Assassin was read as part of the spelling so I did Gabriel Allon two ways.😉 I have read some of this series out of order in the past and plan to go back and continue my reread in order........The English Assassin is the second in the series and I read the first recently. Only 15 or so to go! G.......Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw A........The English Assassin by Daniel Silva B........Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren R........Hooked on Ewe by Hannah Reed I.............Intermediate Thermodynamics by Susannah Nix E..........Plain Dead by Emma Miller L..........Blue Lightning by Anne Cleeves A.........Penny for Your Secrets by Anna Lee Huber L.........Fragile by Lisa Unger L........To Love a Duchess by Karen Raney O.......Wesley the Owl by Stacey O’Brien N.......The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts

Fallacy Detective is a great place to start.

Thank you for sharing the Winnie the Pooh pictures.......they answer one of those lingering questions my mind had from How the Heather Looks. The Bodger family actually were able the meet Mrs. Milne and the children had a stuffed Pooh and Piglet with them, she commented that Piglet was all wrong, that he needed to be small enough to fit in a child’s pocket! He is definitely smaller in you photo! Smaller in proportion than any set I have ever seen for sale I think. We had a few versions of Pooh characters when the kids were growing up and they were always sort of the same size in their sets.......we actually still have some!😉 When you read the book do not google or read the afterword until after you finish.........just trust me on this.

Completed Bingo Card Book List B.......... Something Old .......The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax by Dorothy Gilman (pub. 1983) Machiavellian ......The Magician by Michael Scott (M was a character) Ice or Snowbound..... No Exit by Taylor Adams Ancient.......Spelled ........A....Alliance by SK Dunstall N....The Shape of the Night by Tess Gerritson C....Confluence by SK Dunstall I....I’ll Stand by You by Sharon Sala E...Twisted Twenty Six by Janet Evanovitch N...Remedial Rocket Science by Susannah Nix T...The Corpse Wore Tartan by Kaitlyn Dunnett Something Borrowed.....Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith I.......... Alternative History......Dread Nation by Justine Ireland Amateur Sleuth........Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials by Ovidia Yu Bildungsroman ........Milkman by Anna Burns Medical Thriller.......Amnesia by GH Ephron Sacred........Sacred Games by Gary Corby N............ Sea Voyage.......The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books by Edward Wilson Flufferton........My One and Only Duke by Grace Burrows Time Travel.......The Day Before Forever by Anna Caltabiano Cryptography......Unspeakable by Laura Griffin Road Trip.......How the Heather Looks by Joan Bodger G........ Classic........Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw Private Investigator ......An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber Allegory........A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay Police Detective........Hush Hush by Mel Sherratt Fantasy......The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison O................ Something New......Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts Nature.........Wesley the Owl by Stacy O’Brien Deep Space.......Murderbot Series by Martha Wells Modern ..........The Third Man by Graham Green Something Blue.......Cast a Blue Shadow by PL Gaus

I finished my Bingo card this evening with How the Heather Looks by Joan Bodger https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/375045.How_the_Heather_Looks. This book became rather infamous during last years Brit Tripping because they visit 20+ counties forcing Amy and I to state one book per county please.😂 I hadn’t realized what a treasure trove of children’s literature titles this book would be....at some point I plan to explore my kindle and Gutenberg to attempt to find some of those titles. I will admit I hope to do a bit of exploring using the book as my guide next summer but already know that in terms of directions it is possibly lacking.

Praying

Sounds great Robin! It will give me time to finish the challenges and do my year end counting...... Speaking of challenges I finished listening to The Fire Dance this afternoon so my Nordic Noir is now complete. I have to say I really enjoyed Helene Tursten’s storytelling and plan to return to hear book series soon.....I actually have one on my nightstand that was a spare in case I didn’t like the Fire Dancer. Might be too soon.....I am a bit tired of Detectives at the moment. Nordic Noir..........All different authors with all Nordic countries represented. 1. The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg (Sweden) 2. Killed by Thomas Enger (Norway) 3. Rupture by Ragnar Jonasson (Iceland) 4. The Absent One by Jossi Adler Olsen (Denmark) 5. The Shadow Killer by Arnaldur Indrirdason (Iceland) 6. The bird tribunal by Agnes Ravatn (Norway) 7. Helsinki White by James Thompson (Finland) 8. Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg (Greenland) 9. The Caller by Karin Fossum (Norway) 10. The Fire Dance by Helene Tursten (Sweden)

Thank you! That is such a great series. I read it a few years ago and there appears to be a new book, maybe two, since I read them. It might be time for a reread!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Today’s entryway table..........the turkey wasn’t dressed on Thanksgiving so he needed to be out!😉

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Our packages have been opened, cinnamon rolls consumed, and we are off enjoying the sun poolside for a few hours! I plan to cook later, more like warming an easy feast!

I recently reread the series leading up to this book and far prefer the older sister as a main character. I have probably done my only reread for this series.

Most of us just post on the WTM. I am absolutely clueless how to post on the 52 books blog! Mr. Linky and I will never ever meet I suspect......that said that blog is handy for looking up rules for challenges.😉. I actually visit and reference it In my WtM posts quite a bit, especially for the Agatha Christie challenge.

Yum!

Maybe a food quality issue........Years ago when visiting my mom I bought myself a special treat of a favorite Bar Cheese at a local grocery store that apparently was very lax regarding expiration dates. Lots of mom related medical stuff was going on around me and I was treating myself to a couple crackers with that cheese every day over two weeks, fortunately my mom hated that cheese. I felt dreadful the whole trip, just off with occasional nausea. Because my mom was fragile I didn’t want to even consider that I might be sick so I ignored it. When I finished it I flipped it over and discovered it had expired 6 months before! It tasted fine but I hadn’t had any in a few years so.....I ate it. Could you be exposing yourself to something like that?

One of my mom’s friends had her last baby at 50. He must be in his 60’s now.

I love the challenges now but never did them when I first joined BaW. It’s just fine to join in and watch the challenges for awhile until you spot something you want to try. My reading interests have expanded so much recently and totally thanks to the BaW group. I used to read mainly romances and mysteries but last year managed to learn to love Sci Fi! Seriously I have had conversations with strangers about great Science Fiction.......Chinese Science Fiction to be exact. 😉

Bills should be handled by a family member. My mom’s caregivers/companions came through a county agency that was somehow connected with the meals on wheels for that county. There was a sliding income based scale for payment but everyone qualified.