Book a Week 2018 - BW52: Year End Wrap Up

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week Fifty-Two in our reading quest. Greetings to all our readers and everyone following our progress. Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as the central spot to share links to your book reviews.  

 Merry Christmas dear hearts.  We are gathering in London this week to celebrate Christmas, the completion of our mystery Brit Trip as well as our armchair travels around the world.  Many, many thanks to Sandy and Amy for guiding us along the Roman Roads through England and providing us with many, many fun rabbit trails.

While we are celebrating in London check out these wonderful Rabbit trails: 

Christmas Dinner, Magical London Christmas, Victorian Christmas, Victorian Christmas Feast, Victorian Christmas Traditions,  Pop ups,  Christmas Markets, and Lights.

During my adventures I went through several pairs of walking shoes and filled my backpack with quite a few new to me authors to enjoy during the new year.  How about you? 

Please tell us about the highlights of your reading year:

During your travels did you have time to stop and smell the flowers with our Blossom Bookology challenge or explore a plethora of mysteries with 52 Books Bingo?  Did you stay on the detective bus, join the rebel bus or hang around with Bertram Wooster?  Did you remain earthbound or take off for worlds unknown? 

Did you reach your reading goal or did you decide to just meander about and follow rabbit trails and end up getting lost in the enjoyment of reading?  Waving my hand as I lost track halfway through the year.

Where did your armchair travels take you?  Which countries and time periods did you journey through?

Which books stayed with you the longest?  Did you set any aside to read again at some point and savor the story all over again?

Did you discover any new to you authors or genres?

Which books intrigued or entertained, made you laugh, cry, dance or sing?

Share your favorite titles, covers, quotes and of course, your reading lists.

Congratulations and thank you to all sharing in our 52 Books reading journey.  Thank you also to all those following our progress and hope you decide to dip your toes in next year.  Whether you read fast or slow, dabble in classics or romance, fill your shelves with translated books or comics, prefer non fiction or contemporary books, the most important thing is the joy of reading and sharing that joy with each other.  I have enjoyed our adventures together and look forward to more fun in the coming new year.

 

You know when you start to read
The books on your shelf tend to breed.
They expand your horizon
And fill your house by the dozen.

 Fiction, nonfiction, poetry and essays,
Dive in and let yourself play.
Imaginary and not so imaginary worlds fill your mind.
Real life gets left behind.

 It’s never too late
Let thoughts cogitate and marinate.
A debate, a discussion
Oh my…a literary concussion!

 So grab a cat, a cup,  a cozy chair,
Never mind about your hair.
Ignore the day and set yourself free,
Blessed be with much love --- me!

 

 Our 2019 Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks reading quest has been posted on the 52 Books blog  and includes a new 52 Books Bingo, Whodunit Bookology and the Sound of Silence.  Brit Trip is turning into a perpetual challenge and the other mini challenges have been updated.  

 What are you reading?

 Link to Week 51

[Robin M]

Morning, my lovelies.  Traveling this morning, so will check back in this afternoon. 😘

[Lady Florida.]

For those of you who don't frequent the Chat Board outside of these threads - SWB's husband is in the hospital with a drug-resistant form of pneumonia. 

There's more information on her Facebook and Twitter pages.

[Violet Crown]

This week I finished Mrs. Humphry Ward's Robert Elsmere (about which more in a later post) and also Dickens' novella The Cricket on the Hearth. Which I would count as a story rather than as a novella if I hadn't just read two Victorian novels for a total of ~1200 slow-moving pages. Before addressing Robin's questions, here's my BritTrip Final! Reading! List!

Ermine Street

George Gissing, New Grub Street (London)+

C. P. Snow, The Masters (Cambridgeshire)

T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets (Huntingdonshire)

John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress (Bedfordshire)

John Clare, Bird and Animal Poems, from The Rural Muse (Northamptonshire)

Francis Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Nottinghamshire)

Snorri Sturlason, King Harald's Saga (East Riding of Yorkshire)

Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy (York)+

 

Dere Street

Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship (North Yorkshire)

Bede, Life of St. Cuthbert (Durham)

Geraldine Jewsbury, The Half Sisters (Tyne & Wear)

Robert Fergusson, Selected Poems (Northumbria)

 

Ichnield Way

John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids (Isle of Wight)

Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd (Dorset)

Thomas Malory, Le Morte D'Arthur (Hampshire)+

William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Berkshire)*

Robert Louis Stevenson, Essays of Travel (Buckinghamshire)

Graham Greene, A Sort of Life (Hertfordshire)

Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret (Essex)

David Wilson, The Anglo-Saxons (Suffolk)**

Thomas of Monmouth, The Life and Passion of William of Norwich (Norfolk)

 

Fosse Way

Thomas Hardy, A Pair of Blue Eyes (Cornwall)

Anthony Trollope, He Knew He Was Right (Devon)+

Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Dorset)

Evelyn Waugh, The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold (Gloucestershire)

C. P. Snow, Time of Hope (Leicestershire)

Sheridan Le Fanu, Uncle Silas (Derbyshire)

George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (Lincolnshire)+

 

Akemam Street

Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor (London)+

J. H. Newman, Loss and Gain (Oxfordshire)

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited (Wiltshire)

Richard Sheridan, The Rivals (Somerset)

 

Watling Way

Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (Kent)+

Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm (Sussex)

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (Surrey)

M. R. James, Casting the Runes & Other Ghost Stories (Spooky London)

W. H. Auden, Collected Poems 1933-38 (Worcestershire)

George Eliot, Adam Bede (Warwickshire)

Henry Green, Living (West Midlands)

Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives' Tale (Staffordshire)+

William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I (Shropshire)

Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford (Cheshire)

Herman Melville, Redburn (Merseyside)

Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange (Manchester)

Harrison Ainsworth, The Lancashire Witches (Lancashire)+

Mrs. Humphry Ward, Robert Elsmere (Cumbria)+

Charles Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth (Christmas in London)

 

+Chunkster

*Plus saw performed as '50s situation comedy

**Plus saw Sutton Hoo artifacts at British Museum

 

Rebel Ranks

Wilfred Owen (book set during WWI and one WWI poem): Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front; var. Wilfrid Owen

J. K. Rowling (Robin Hood alternative): Francis Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads

Jane Austen (published anonymously): The Anonymous Life of St. Cuthbert

Bram Stoker (Spooky October): M. R. James, Casting the Runes & Other Ghost Stories

Geoffrey Chaucer: Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

William Shakespeare (attend play): Hamlet*

Georgette Heyer (Regency era): Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford

Charles Dickens (chunkster): Eugene Sue, The Wandering Jew

 

*Bonus points? Saw it in the actual Globe Theatre in London!

[Violet Crown]

Thanks for forwarding that, Kathy.

[mumto2]

VC Woot!  Your list is incredible!  🎉🎊. All I can say is I am so impressed that Brit Tripping turned into a wonderful list like yours.  🙂

I will post more later but have a couple of hours where everyone else is busy to try and finish up some sewing projects before Christmas!

[Negin]

Kathy, thank you for forwarding that. Hoping and praying that her husband is better very soon. 

I read A Redbird Christmas - 4 Stars - I read this book more than seven years ago, but barely remembered it. I was in the mood for a comfort, Christmas read, and this was perfect. This story touched my heart, as pretty much all Fannie Flagg books do. Yes, they often are a bit predictable and a bit like a “Hallmark” movie, but sometimes that’s what we need. Reading them makes me wish that I lived in that world – full of southern charm, where people are genuinely hospitable, caring, and compassionate. 

MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine. 
4 Stars
Really Good
3 Stars
Enjoyable 
2 Stars
Just Okay – nothing to write home about
1 Star
Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[Negin]

3 hours ago, Robin M said:

Did you reach your reading goal or did you decide to just meander about and follow rabbit trails and end up getting lost in the enjoyment of reading?  Waving my hand as I lost track halfway through the year.

I reached them. 

3 hours ago, Robin M said:

Where did your armchair travels take you?  Which countries and time periods did you journey through?

Mostly Italy. 

3 hours ago, Robin M said:

Which books stayed with you the longest? 

Beyond the Pasta - loved this - I still think about it, not just a recipe book. 

Beach Music

Life's That Way

3 hours ago, Robin M said:

Which books intrigued or entertained, made you laugh, cry, dance or sing?

Beyond the Pasta 

Beach Music

Life's That Way

The Girl with Seven Names

3 hours ago, Robin M said:

Share your favorite titles, covers, quotes and of course, your reading lists.

My favorite books this year. 

                                 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Negin

[Matryoshka]

Finished three books this week: 

129. El diario de Frida Kahlo - For the Art Bingo square. Written/drawn in the last years of her life. Many love letters to Diego, talking about her many surgeries and living with pain, enthusing about communism, poetry, and some interesting art (which tends to bleed from page to page - paper must have been thin).  Two intros and lots of commentary as well; some of it a bit pretentious, I thought.  3.5 stars, averaging the diary itself and the commentary.

130. Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain and How It Changed the World by Carl Zimmer - Mainly centered on a group of scientists and thinkers that met in Oxford in the mid-1600's, focusing mostly on Thomas Willis, who made the first accurate diagrams of the human brain and nervous system, and also recognized it as the seat of consciousness (rather than the heart).  Apparently they used to think that the heart did the thinking and the brain was some kind of pump or filled with 'humors' or something.  But also members of the group were Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke, and Christopher Wren, among others.  Thomas Hobbes comes into it as well, and turns out the reason we don't all know much about Thomas Willis is because of John Locke.  4 stars.

131. Euphoria by Lily King (audiobook) - Said to be loosely based of the life of Margaret Mead, but I'd say more inspired by.  Three anthropologists in the 1930's meet up in New Guinea and things get a bit messy. Told in alternating voices of two of the anthropologists. I liked it.  4 stars.

Currently reading:

- Gilgi, eine von uns / One of Us by Irmgard Keun - Finally found a German author I'm quite enjoying.  She writes in a very conversational, sometimes almost stream-of-consciousness sort of tone.  It was published in 1931, and set in the 20's, sometime after the inflation.  Gilgi is an independent young woman with ambitious plans, but her well-regulated life is upended when on her 21st birthday she finds out she was adopted, and then promptly falls for someone completely wrong for her and starts to lose her self-identity.  I already ordered another one of her books that sounds very interesting (Nach Mitternacht / After Midnight), about a group of young people in Germany in the 30's as Hitler was coming to power (published in 1937).  The Nazis banned Keun's novels and she had to live under an assumed name for the duration of the war.  Oh, and there is the weirdest blurb on the back cover - a critic quips about the book: "Humor like a fat man".  Must be a German saying, lol.

And almost done with El fiesta del chivo / The Feast of the Goat.

If I finish all my current books and read a graphic novel, I will have Bingo blackout!

[RootAnn]

I lost track after a few months, but tried to reconstruct. My goal was to listen to 21 audiobooks from a backed-up Audible list & read 6 ebooks. I didn't achieve that goal, but ended up with 44 books (either audio, book, or ebook) under my belt. (There were probably a couple more, but I didn't write them down & can't remember them.) 
Some, I read because of my kids reading them for school. Others, I read due to a recommendation (here or IRL). The dystopians I read over the summer continue to come up as parallels to daily life abound (! especially the UnWind & Little Brother books). Some were just delightful reads (Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine & Ready Player One). Others were thought-provokers (Rethinking School). Some are old favorites (Pat of Silver Bush/Mistress Pat) while I struggled to finish others (Bird by Bird, the Chaos Walking trilogy). I'm working on one light audiobook & one fun ebook (a Jon Sciezka Guys Read Sci Fi compilation) to finish the year. I have no idea what my goal will look like for next year, but I'm happy I got quite a few books read this year. Obviously, my year was a meandering one. Thanks for letting me ride along!

1    Prairie Fires
2    100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window
3    Pat of Silver Bush
4    Mistress Pat
5    The Gold Bag
6    The Mysterious Affair at Styles
7    Voyage of the Dawn Treader
8    Life in Motion
9    The Sign of Four
10    Rethinking School
11    Bird by Bird
12    The Moon Dwellers (Dwellers Saga Book 1)
13    Ready Player One
14    Eve (Eve Book 1)
15    Once (Eve Book 2)
16    Rise (Eve Book 3)
17    The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking Book 1)
18    The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking Book 2)
19    Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking Book 3)
20    Matched (Matched Book 1)
21    Crossed (Matched Book 2)
22    Reached (Matched Book 3)
23    Unwind (Unwind Dystology Book 1)
24    UnWholly (Unwind Dystology Book 2)
25    UnSouled (Unwind Dystology Book 3)
26    UnStrung (Unwind Dystology)
27    UnDivided (Unwind Dystology Book 4)
28    UnBound (Unwind Dystology Book 5)
29    Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker Book 1)
30    The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker Book 2)
31    Bears in the Caviar
32    Little Brother
33    How I Live Now
34    The Forest of Hands and Teeth
35    Ogre Enchanted
36    Space Opera
37    Darkness of Dragons (Wings of Fire Book 10)
38    The Lost Continent (Wings of Fire Book 11)
39    Archenemies (Renegades Book 2)
40    Storybound (Storybound Book 1)
41    Story’s End (Storybound Book 2)
42    To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
43    P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Book 2)
44    Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Book 3)

 

[Penguin]

Here are my Bingo Books. The ones in blue were particularly memorable. The ones in green were duds and/or slogs.

Written or Set in 14th century: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset

Art: Head In Flames by Lance Olsen (Van Gogh and the murder of his descendent in Amsterdam )

Micro History: The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan (Biltmore mansion in NC)

Mystery: The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Cozy: Thrush Green by Miss Read

Music: Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin by Myra Friedman

Book To Movie: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Written or Set in 15th century: The Lady and The Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

Translated: My Beautiful Friend by Elena Ferrante

Philosophical: Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Biography or Memoir: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Feminist Author: Bait and Other Stories by Mahasweta Devi

Free Space: Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabo

Nobel Prize Winner: The Cross by Sigrid Undset

Written or Set in 16th century: Wolf Hall by HIlary Mantel

Foodie Book: Food is the Solution: What to Eat to Save the World by Matthew Prescott

Fantasy: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip

SciFi: Space Opera by Catherynne Valente

Written or Set in 17th century: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Comic or Graphic Novel: The 9/11 Report

Crime: The Trial by Franz Kafka

Written or Set in the 18th century: Letters Written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark by Mary Wollstonecraft

Self Help: Mighty Ugly by Kim Piper Werker

Indie Author: The Kurdish Bike by Alesa Lightbourne

Cartography: To The Bright Edge of The World by Ivey Eowyn

 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Penguin

[mumto2]

Penguin,  Congratulations on BINGO!  I loved looking at your conveniently color coded list.  What a great idea!

[-M-]

Hello, BaWers!

At this writing, I've finished 133 books. A few stats:

-- 51 novels

-- 31 non-fiction works, 2 of which were graphic works

-- 39 graphic works, 2 of which were non-fiction

-- 13 plays

-- 1 work of poetry (Virgil’s Aeneid)

Of the 133 books, 51 were published in 2018 (!!), which is what prompted my "Read from the shelves challenge" for 2019. I will read one hundred books from my shelves, including at least twenty-four non-fiction titles and at least one book from each of the following “special collections”: Shakespeare, poetry, NYRB, Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates, philosophy, art, and children’s / YA. Since I’ve been finishing between 120 and 150 books annually for the last few years, this goal leaves me a little room for impulsivity.

My 2018 list follows. I'm reading Pete Souza's Shade, Hanya Yanagihara's The People in the Trees, and Michelle Obama's Becoming. 'hard to know if I'll have time to finish any, though.

January
■ Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro; 2005. Fiction.)
■ An Enemy of the People (Henrikson Ibsen; 1882. Drama.)
■ The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Margareta Magnusson; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ The Perfect Nanny (Leila Sliman; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Saga, Volume 8 (Brian Vaughan; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Postal, Volume 6 (Matt Hawkins; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Bitch Planet: Triple Feature, Volume 1 (Kelly Sue DeConnick; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Descender, Volume 5: Rise of the Robots (Jeff Lemire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Disappearance at Devil’s Rock (Paul Tremblay; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Fire and Fury (Michael Wolff; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ You Deserve Nothing (Alexander Maksik; 2011. Fiction.)
■ The Woman in the Window (A.J. Finn; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Inheritors (Susan Glaspell; 1921. Drama.)

February
■ Killers of the Flower Moon (Dan Grann; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ Shelter in Place (Alexander Maksik; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Childhood’s End (Arthur C. Clarke; 1953. Fiction.)
■ Landscape with Invisible Hand (M.T. Anderson; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Emilie (Lauren Gunderson; 2010. Drama.)
■ Memento Mori (Muriel Spark; 1959. Fiction.)
■ Alive, Alive Oh! (Diana Athill; 2016. Non-fiction.)

March
■ Briggs Land, Volume 2: Lone Wolves (Brian Wood; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Dead People Suck (Laurie Kilmartin; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ Instead of a Letter (Diana Athill; 1962. Non-fiction.)
■ The Walking Dead, Volume 29: Lines We Cross (Robert Kirkman; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ A Moon for the Misbegotten (Eugene O’Neill; 1947. Drama.)
■ Mary Stuart (Friedrich Schiller; 1800. (Trans. Peter Oswald; 2006.) Drama.)
■ Educated (Tara Westover; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ Candide (Voltaire; 1759. (Trans. John Butt; 1947.) Fiction.)
■ hang (debbie tucker green; 2015. Drama.)
■ Dying (Cory Taylor; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ The Reapers Are the Angels (Alden Bell; 2010. Fiction.)
■ Injection, Vol. 3 (Warren Ellis; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Letter 44, Vol. 5: Blueshift (Charles Soule; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Letter 44, Vol. 6: The End (Charles Soule; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Exit West (Mohsin Hamid; 2017. Fiction.)

April
■ Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Everything I Never Told You (Celeste Ng; 2014. Fiction.)
■ Black Hammer, Vol. 1: The End (Jeff Lemire; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Female Persuasion (Meg Wolitzer; 2018. Fiction.)
■ If We Were Villians (M.L. Rio; 2017. Fiction.)
■ American Kingpin (Nick Bilton; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ Fractured (Catherine McKenzie; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Harmony (Carolyn Parkhurst; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Lazarus X+66: The End (Greg Rucka; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ An Abbreviated Life (Ariel Leve; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ With or Without You (Domenica Ruta; 2013. Non-fiction.)

May
■ I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This (Nadja Spiegelman; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (Michelle McNamara; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ A Higher Loyalty (James Comey; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ The Rules Do Not Apply (Ariel Levy; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ After the Eclipse (Sarah Perry; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ The Best We Could Do (Thi Bui; 2017. Graphic non-fiction.)
■ The Perfect Mother (Aimee Molloy; 2018. Fiction.)

June
■ Red Clocks (Leni Zumas; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Daytripper (Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá; 2011. Graphic fiction.)
■ Mrs. Caliban (Rachel Ingalls; 1983. Fiction.)
■ Suddenly, Last Summer (Tennessee Williams; 1958. Drama.)
■ Sometimes I Lie (Alice Feeney; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Buried Child (Sam Shepherd; 1978. Drama.)
■ The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet (Justin Peters; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ Behold the Dreamers (Imbolo Mbue; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Macbeth (William Shakespeare; 1606. Drama.)
■ Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth (Jeff Lemire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Sorry to Disrupt the Peace (Patty Yumi Cottrell; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Macbeth (Hogarth Shakespeare) (Jo Nesbø; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Hamlet (William Shakespeare; 1602. Drama.)
■ The Lying Game (Ruth Ware; 2017. Fiction.)
■ The Hole (Hye-young Pyun; 2017. Fiction.)

July
■ Papergirls, Vol. 4 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned (Brian K. Vaughan; 2003. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Cabin at the End of the World (Paul Tremblay; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Bel Canto (Ann Patchett; 2001. Fiction.)
■ Victims of Duty (Eugène Ionesco; 1953. Drama.)
■ Redlands, Vol. 1 (Jordie Bellaire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Give Me Your Hand (Megan Abbott; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Alone (Chabouté; 2008 (2017, English). Graphic fiction.)
■ An American Marriage (Tayari Jones; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Janesville: An American Story (Amy Goldstein; 2016. Non-fiction.)

August
■ Mockingbird, Vol. 1: I Can Explain (Chelsea Cain; 2016. Graphic fiction.)
■ Mockingbird, Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (Chelsea Cain; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Park Bench (Chabouté; 2012 (2017, English). Graphic fiction.)
■ Midlife: A Philosophical Guide (Kieran Setiya; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne; 1870. (Trans. Anthony Bonner; 1962.) Fiction.)
■ Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America (Alissa Quart; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ The Outsider (Stephen King; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century (Jessica Bruder; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery (Andrew Shaffer; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Things We Lost in the Fire (Mariana Enriquez; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Outcast, Vol. 6 (Robert Kirkman; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Aeneid (Virgil. (Trans. Robert Fagles; 2006.) Poetry.)
■ When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead; 2009. Fiction.)
■ Proof (David Auburn; 2001. Drama.)
■ Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (Chabouté; 2014 (2017, English). Graphic fiction.)
■ The Soul of an Octopus (Sy Montgomery; 2015. Non-fiction.)

September
■ The Children (Lucy Kirkwood; 2016. Drama.)
■ Vox (Christina Dalcher; 2018. Fiction.)
■ The Water Cure (Sophie Mackintosh; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Dept. H, Vol. 1: Murder Six Miles Deep (Matt Kindt; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Walking Dead, Volume 30: New World Order (Robert Kirkman; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ His Favorites (Kate Walbert; 2018. Fiction.)
■ The Incendiaries (R.O. Kwon; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath (Sigrid Undset; 1920. (Trans. Tiina Nunnally; 1997.) Fiction.)
■ The Devoted (Blair Hurley; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Grass Kings, Volume 1: New World Order (Matt Kindt; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Descender, Volume 6: The Machine War (Jeff Lemire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Dept. H, Vol. 2: After the Flood (Matt Kindt; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Dept. H, Vol. 3: Decompressed (Matt Kindt; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Beverly (Nick Drnaso; 2016. Graphic fiction.)

October
■ Saga, Volume 9 (Brian Vaughan; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Third Hotel (Laura van den Berg; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wife (Sigrid Undset; 1921. (Trans. Tiina Nunnally; 1999.) Fiction.)
■ Postal, Volume 7 (Matt Hawkins; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ When She Woke (Hillary Jordan; 2011. Fiction.)
■ Gorilla and the Bird (Zack McDermott; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ Gideon Falls, Volume 1: The Black Barn (Jeff Lemire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Kristin Lavransdatter: The Cross (Sigrid Undset; 1922. (Trans. Tiina Nunnally; 2000.) Fiction.)

November
■ Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom (Ken Ilgunas; 2013. Non-fiction.)
■ Mansfield Park (Jane Austen; 1814. Fiction.)
■ The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt (Ken Krimstein; 2018. Graphic non-fiction.)
■ Oblivion Song, Volume 1 (Robert Kirkman; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Royal City, Vol. 3: We All Float On (Jeff Lemire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Woods (Harlan Coben; 2007. Fiction.)
■ The Heretic’s Daughter (Kathleen Kent; 2008. Fiction.)
■ The Sculptor (Scott McCloud; 2015. Graphic fiction.)
■ Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth (Sarah Smarsh; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying (Sallie Tisdale; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ Sabrina (Nick Drnaso; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Lost Dogs (Jeff Lemire; 2005; reissued, 2012. Graphic fiction.)

December
■ Hazards of Time Travel (Joyce Carol Oates; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism (Scott and Kimberly Hahn Carreyrou; 1993. Non-fiction.)
■ Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (John Carreyrou; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ On Living (Kerry Egan; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ Euphoria (Lily King; 2018. Fiction.)

Edited December 24, 2018 by Melissa M

[Lady Florida.]

In the midst of last minute Christmas prepping I managed to finish a book. I've been reading The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, The Playboy Prince for nearly a month and finally finished it last night. It dragged in several places and could have used some editing. Though I often read long books this one doesn't seem like it needed to be 750+ pages long because it was somewhat repetitious. I'm still glad I read it.

I found out Thursday night that we'll be hosting Christmas, when ddil texted me and asked if our offer to host was still open. They've hosted for the past 5 or 6 years but I think it was just too much for them with Emma this year. So we'll have the three of us, two of them and the kids, ddil's mother, stepfather, and sister. I'm secretly glad because though I was fine with turning the host duties over when they asked to be the holiday gathering home, I still love hosting holidays. I've been shopping/planning/cooking/baking this weekend. I would have done the baking anyway but I'll also be making meatballs and sauce today for our ravioli dinner tomorrow. And of course I had some extra cleaning to do. It's just family but I still had to do a more thorough job than if we weren't hosting.

I'm not listening to my audio book because I have Alexa playing Christmas music. Considering that my audio book is The House of Mirth, the music is much better at this time of year than hearing about Edith Wharton's characters with their rich people problems. 🙂 

I doubt I'll check in again until after Christmas so - Merry Christmas! to those who celebrate. See you after it's over. 🎅🎄

[Robin M]

Oh my! @Negin, @Violet Crown, @Melissa M, All your book lists are incredible.  Have the eyes are bigger than my stomach syndrome. Fun reading through your lists and figuring out which ones I want to add to my stacks before my new year buying ban kicks in.  

@Violet Crown My father in law keeps suggesting I read Evelyn Waugh.  Which one would you suggest I start with?

Congratulations @Penguin on completing Bingo and love the color coding

Have fun Kathy and Merry Christmas to you and yours!  @Lady Florida.

@RootAnn Lovely to see you again and congratulations on what you accomplished. 

 

I'm reworking my 10 x 10 list a bit as I perused the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die and realized how many books I have on the shelves that are in the book. So I came up with '1% of 1001'.   Plus Hubby asking me once again if I read such and such book he bought me.  Remember he brought home a backpack full of 25 mystery books from a garage sale.  Now every time he sees me reading, he ask's  "Have you read (fill in the title) yet?  Now if I could just think of an interesting category name. Hubby buggy books? Nah. Hubby loves me books. Hubby Bonus Books. Hubby's picks!   😁

 

Edited December 25, 2018 by Robin M

[mumto2]

4 hours ago, Robin M said:

Oh my! @Negin, @Violet Crown, @Melissa M, All your book lists are incredible.  Have the eyes are bigger than my stomach syndrome. Fun reading through your lists and figuring out which ones I want to add to my stacks before my new year buying ban kicks in.  

@Violet Crown My father in law keeps suggesting I read Evelyn Waugh.  Which one would you suggest I start with?

Congratulations @Penguin on completing Bingo and love the color coding

Have fun Kathy and Merry Christmas to you and yours!  @Lady Florida.

@RootAnn Lovely to see you again and congratulations on what you accomplished. 

 

I'm reworking my 10 x 10 list a bit as I perused the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die and realized how many books I have on the shelves that are in the book. So I came up with '1% of 1001'.   Plus Hubby asking me once again if I read such and such book he bought me.  Remember he brought home a backpack full of 25 mystery books from a garage sale.  Now every time he sees me reading, he ask's  "Have you read (fill in the title) yet?  Now if I could just think of an interesting category name. Hubby buggy books? Nah. Hubby loves me books. Hubby Bonus Books. Hubby's picks!   😁

 

I think Hubby’s picks sounds good......

I set up my Goodreads shelves for next year yesterday ....... yes, I am looking forward to getting started.

[Violet Crown]

5 hours ago, Robin M said:

My father in law keeps suggesting I read Evelyn Waugh.  Which one would you suggest I start with?

Brideshead Revisited is easily his best.

[mumto2]

I finished my Flower Challenge earlier today.......posting before I forget.  Still trying to finish KL.....

H.....Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

O....The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher 

L....Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

L....Lamentation  by CJ Sansom

 Y.... It had to be You by Jill Shavis

[Guest]

You all blow my mind! Such accomplished readers. I feel like such a child by comparison. 

I did not quite meet my goal of 52 books, but I came close. Had I finished all books I partially read, I would have made it. 

I read several memoirs this year. My two favorites were the Glass Castle and The Distance Between Us. 

In general, I read more NF than F. My favorite new-to-me author this year was William Alexander. I started by reading The $64 Tomato and then went on to read Flirting with French and 52 Loaves. It’s interesting how the topics he writes about are hobbies and interests of mine, too. 52 Loaves really turned on an interest in baking bread and I learned how to make bread from a starter. My BIL, who is a chef, gave me some 8-year-old starter to play with. 

I came just one square short of making Bingo (I don’t do these as mysteries, though). I even had more than one book to fit in the “red shoe” square, but I never got around to them, so my Bingo is incomplete. 

I was very happy to have listened to the Bill Homewood audible version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is simply the very best narrator for a French and English book. I have his version of Les Miserables, which I plan to “sip” on in 2019. 

I probably read 20,000 pages of text on Chat Board. 😀 If I would trim that back, I could probably cover 52 books much more easily. 

[Robin M]

Merry Christmas! We had a Jólabókaflóð Christmas Eve with lots of books!  And of course, lots of green coffee beans for hubby from Sweet Maria's. James received video games, movies and a couple doctor who books.  After watching the 1938 Christmas Carol, we spent the evening reading. Today is a lazy day, reading and hanging out, Hubby doing his 10k steps, and more book plans for me.   

😘

[Robin M]

17 hours ago, Quill said:

You all blow my mind! Such accomplished readers. I feel like such a child by comparison. 

I did not quite meet my goal of 52 books, but I came close. Had I finished all books I partially read, I would have made it. 

I read several memoirs this year. My two favorites were the Glass Castle and The Distance Between Us. 

In general, I read more NF than F. My favorite new-to-me author this year was William Alexander. I started by reading The $64 Tomato and then went on to read Flirting with French and 52 Loaves. It’s interesting how the topics he writes about are hobbies and interests of mine, too. 52 Loaves really turned on an interest in baking bread and I learned how to make bread from a starter. My BIL, who is a chef, gave me some 8-year-old starter to play with. 

I came just one square short of making Bingo (I don’t do these as mysteries, though). I even had more than one book to fit in the “red shoe” square, but I never got around to them, so my Bingo is incomplete. 

I was very happy to have listened to the Bill Homewood audible version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is simply the very best narrator for a French and English book. I have his version of Les Miserables, which I plan to “sip” on in 2019. 

I probably read 20,000 pages of text on Chat Board. 😀 If I would trim that back, I could probably cover 52 books much more easily. 

I think you are doing great and enjoy hearing about your reads.  Our 2019 New Year thread won't start until Jan 1 on Tuesday, so you have a couple extra reading days if you want to shot for Bingo.  😉    I love the idea of Les Miserables as your sip book.  I had considered it among other things. Still thinking about it.  I saw the movie, never read the book. I might just join you. 

[Robin M]

17 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I finished my Flower Challenge earlier today.......posting before I forget.  Still trying to finish KL.....

H.....Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

O....The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher 

L....Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

L....Lamentation  by CJ Sansom

 Y.... It had to be You by Jill Shavis

How does Killing Commendatore compare to his other books?   I'm debating on whether going to start year with Murakami's Kafka on the Shore or something else. Not sure yet?

I completed Holly with The Last Chance Christmas Ball which has a "Lady Holly" who is hosting the ball and the stories all revolve around the ball.  

 

[mumto2]

3 hours ago, Robin M said:

How does Killing Commendatore compare to his other books?   I'm debating on whether going to start year with Murakami's Kafka on the Shore or something else. Not sure yet?

 

First, remember I like most books by Murakami quite a bit so I may not be a great judge.   The only one I wasn’t that fond of was Wind Up Bird Chronicle and much of that was disappointment that it wasn’t more like 1Q84 which I loved.  Kafka is somehow his classic with AP Lit classes reading it etc. so obviously it is filled with the odd that he is known for 😉 It’s a good story, pretty long as I remember, with one scene that cat lovers ( possibly you......I can’t remember how many cats you have) seem to find upsetting.  I love animals but wasn’t that upset because for me it was an alternate universe if that makes sense.  Probably the second best Murakami.  I know you own this one so perhaps you should give it a go........

That being said Killing Commendatore might be third on my list.  I liked it a whole lot.  I liked the main character.......a portrait artist in the midst of a failed marriage.  He is a good person and I think his general likability carries the book along well through the strangeness.  Also it has closure......Murakami books lack closure generally and I liked the ending.  Not many cats but it had wells..........

If you are going to start the new year with a Murakami I will join you.  I have After DarK marked to read next........ 🙂

I was browsing through new books in Overdrive earlier today and checked out a distopian called Severence by Ling Ma https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36348525-severance.  It looks intriguing and will fit in with my categories.

I have actually gotten quite a bit of reading done today alternating between KL The Cross and a fun Miranda James cozy titles Six Cats Slayin.....Christmas themed.

[RootAnn]

So, we received Tui T Sutherland's latest Wings of Fire book on Christmas Eve even though it isn't released until tomorrow. We'll be doing it as a read aloud, but I gorged on it last night and finished it. 

[mumto2]

17 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

So, we received Tui T Sutherland's latest Wings of Fire book on Christmas Eve even though it isn't released until tomorrow. We'll be doing it as a read aloud, but I gorged on it last night and finished it. 

Lucky you!  I just peeked at the series and they look good.

[madteaparty]

I received and am finishing The Order of the Day today (it’s very short). Idea was to go to a book club that discusses this, and see if DS wanted to read in English and French, but I don’t love it enough to trek to the book club and DS wouldn’t get much out of it as we have not formally done WW2 yet. It’s a micro history/sort of fiction book based on the events of  Austria’s annexation. Anyway it’s fine but I’m surprised it won Prix Goncourt. I go back to saying that the only literary prize that actually works for me is the Man Booker. Milkman here I come. 

Edited December 26, 2018 by madteaparty

[Lady Florida.]

The Christmas madness is over and the kitchen is clean. Ds is watching dh play the latest version of Doom. I'm not a gamer but I know that's one of the games dh used to play when he and I first met. Ds has heard all about those days, and when the newest version came out he bought it for himself. But he wanted to see his dad play so he hooked up a cable and cast it from his computer to the family room tv. I'm listening to them discuss the finer points of the game and smiling over the 21 yo giving his dad pointers on a game dear old dad played before he was even a gleam in anyone's eye. 😄 

I had forgotten how much work it is to host a holiday dinner. Fun, but definitely work. I can understand why dss and ddil just really didn't want to do it this year. I'm actually impressed they hosted when each of the boys were babies though I know part of their reasoning was that it was easier than packing the kid(s) and their stuff to go to one of the grandparents homes.

There was only one book gift. We gave ddil a book that was on her wish list - it's a guide for parents on gross motor skills for babies and children with Down Syndrome. Apparently she attended a webinar by the author and really wanted the book. They haven't been happy with Emma's physical therapist and are hoping to find a different one; one who has worked with or at least better understands DS. 

I hope all who celebrate had a lovely day. Once I get myself off the computer I plan to settle down and read so I can unwind from our hectic but enjoyable day.

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[Ottakee]

Lady Florida.....feel free to message me if you want on some DS stuff.  I am not a parent of a child with DS but I am the home bound teacher for a student with DS and I work with many kiddos with DS.

[Lady Florida.]

1 minute ago, Ottakee said:

Lady Florida.....feel free to message me if you want on some DS stuff.  I am not a parent of a child with DS but I am the home bound teacher for a student with DS and I work with many kiddos with DS.

Thank you. That would be appreciated. I'll pm you tomorrow when I have more energy for a coherent message. 🙂 

Edited December 26, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[Teaching3bears]

I finished the three books by Steig Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the other two). They were well real page turners and well put together books. I am currently finishing off Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. It was hard to switch from such a fast pace to a slower style, focused on thought so it is taking me a while but I have been so busy I have not had a moment and it has been so dark. I might be getting reading glasses and I hope that helps.

This was my first year doing this challenge. I did not read 52 books. Life would not allow but I am proud of what I did. I read about 32. This does not include several long classics we read for homeschooling and nonfiction books I did not read cover to cover.

I will list the few I strongly recommend. I am picky. These are ones that really stuck with me and/or educated me.

A Thousand Splendid Suns (the book that moved me the most and not for the faint-hearted). I will try to read The Kite Runner this year.

Angela's Ashes

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. (And the sequel) By Marjane Satrapi. (A graphic novel)
(I learned this year that I like graphic novels as a way of learning)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Felix Mendelssohn by Kupferberg (this was an old-fashioned biography)

Escape from Syria. By Samya Kullab. (Graphic novel)

[Penguin]

(For Bingo, maybe I need to clarify that I only did the 25 square Bingo. I ignored the 18 bonus mystery squares because I don't read mysteries.)

I only care a little bit about the number of books I read each year. Caring too much would keep me from reading long books, and would certainly keep me from reading books in Danish.

Goodreads tells me that I have these stats for 2018:

8 books in Danish (up from 3 in 2017, so super happy with this)

48 Adult /YA books

12 Children's/Middle grades books

3 Shorts. I call them shorts if they just seem to short for me to count as a book. These three were short books of poetry.

I am content with my numbers. 

Edited December 26, 2018 by Penguin

[mumto2]

@Penguin Yeah, on all those books in Danish!  What an accomplishment.

@Teaching3bears  you have a great list with far more challenging books than most of mine.  It really isn’t the number it is the enjoyment.  I read a whole lot of cozy mysteries and historical romances which make my numbers soar.  

[Penguin]

I will add that EVERYONE here motivates me to read MORE, and I am grateful for the nudge. 

It is so fun to read all of the annual wrap-ups.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Penguin

[Robin M]

More best of lists for your end of the year purchases:

 

Off the Shelf:   The Best of 2018: The Top 10 Book Lists of the Year

Book Riot's Best Paranormal and Fantasy Romances of 2018 - A Hogwarts Reading List

Literary Salon: Best books of the year in ... the Netherlands (and Flanders)

Tor: From the Zombie Post-Apocalypse to Candyland: Where to Start with Seanan McGuire’s Books

 

 

[Robin M]

I think I've finalized my ten by ten reads and covers many of the books I already have on my physical and virtual shelves.

1% of 1001 Books  (From 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Peter Ackroyd)

Book Chain  (Linking titles)

Creative Nonfiction  

Digits and Directions  (Books with numbers or directions in the title)

Fantasy Rules 

Hubby's Picks 

Revisit old Friends 

Sound of Silence

Who's on First  (First book in series)

Whodunits

 

[Robin M]

5 hours ago, Penguin said:

(For Bingo, maybe I need to clarify that I only did the 25 square Bingo. I ignored the 18 bonus mystery squares because I don't read mysteries.)

I only care a little bit about the number of books I read each year. Caring too much would keep me from reading long books, and would certainly keep me from reading books in Danish.

Goodreads tells me that I have these stats for 2018:

8 books in Danish (up from 3 in 2017, so super happy with this)

48 Adult /YA books

12 Children's/Middle grades books

3 Shorts. I call them shorts if they just seem to short for me to count as a book. These three were short books of poetry.

I am content with my numbers. 

I'm impressed with what you did read and 8 books in Danish is quite awesome!  Congrats again on Bingo! 

 

I've probably said this before but it bears repeating --- it's the reading that matters, and the goal is just there as an incentive.  My motto and favorite quote of all time - 

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."    

I have many chunky books on my shelves which I'm looking forward to reading in the coming year.    

Edited December 26, 2018 by Robin M

[Robin M]

6 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

I finished the three books by Steig Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the other two). They were well real page turners and well put together books. I am currently finishing off Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. It was hard to switch from such a fast pace to a slower style, focused on thought so it is taking me a while but I have been so busy I have not had a moment and it has been so dark. I might be getting reading glasses and I hope that helps.

This was my first year doing this challenge. I did not read 52 books. Life would not allow but I am proud of what I did. I read about 32. This does not include several long classics we read for homeschooling and nonfiction books I did not read cover to cover.

I will list the few I strongly recommend. I am picky. These are ones that really stuck with me and/or educated me.

A Thousand Splendid Suns (the book that moved me the most and not for the faint-hearted). I will try to read The Kite Runner this year.

Angela's Ashes

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. (And the sequel) By Marjane Satrapi. (A graphic novel)
(I learned this year that I like graphic novels as a way of learning)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Felix Mendelssohn by Kupferberg (this was an old-fashioned biography)

Escape from Syria. By Samya Kullab. (Graphic novel)

I'm proud of you too and glad you joined in this year.  😘  I have Kite Runner in my stacks and plan to read it in 2019.  I totally enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series as well.  

[Robin M]

58 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I think 2018 ended up being the year of dropped books for me. I'm not sure what happened- if I lost my patience for slow starts, or if I just made some really lousy choices, but the first six months of the year had a considerable amount (for me) of DNF books added to my GoodReads shelf. I am now thinking I didn't make my 52 after all, because I just realized it counted some books DNF as read, so BOO for that. I started The Historian last night, so I doubt it will make the 2018 Read shelf at this rate! 

@Teaching3bears, you have quite a few of my favorites on that list! I'm a fan of Khaled Hosseini as well. 

 

I had a few dnf's as well so no worries.  The Historian is so good and one of those that worth rereading. Contemplating what's going on my reread shelf for 2019. Enjoy! 

[Robin M]

18 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

What a great picture and you all are so adorable!!!!  

[Violet Crown]

Kathy, that photo fills me with such joy. May you and those precious children be sources of joy for each other for this New Year and many years to come.

No worries to anyone who read less than a book every darn week. Life is busy, and it's important to be able to read long books. My numbers this year will take a hit if I read some of the very long ones waiting on my shelves. (I think my first year I read substantially less than 52.)

[marbel]

5 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I think 2018 ended up being the year of dropped books for me.

<snip>

 

Just riffing off this... 2018 was the year of light fluffy fiction for me.  I am so not proud of the fact that I read ZERO nonfiction books.  I did read over 52 books but there are several I couldn't tell you a thing about (I'm looking at you, Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series, which I mostly listened to in 20-minute installments while driving to and fro). 

My goals at the beginning of 2018:

Read a chapter a day of War and Peace, which takes about a year. (This was inspired by some blog.) Didn't work, I was doing OK till I got a job in July, and then it all fell apart. It was destined to anyway, because reading a chapter a day in a book like that is not the path to enjoying the book.

Reading a chapter a day of the Bible, which takes about 3 years, I think? Again, fell off this wagon when I went to work. Which is so wrong, because for me, daily scripture reading would help strengthen my spirit for the work day.  

I did do fairly well on the Brit Trip; I will total up my counties by the end of the week. I might squeeze one more quick easy read in before the end of the year, right?

Goals for 2019:

Get back to daily Bible.

Some nonfiction for sure. I have The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan sitting close at hand, ready to be picked up.  Lots of other good nonfiction around.  Actually today I was thinking that a book of nonfiction based on each of the US States could be a fun challenge. Alabama is the first, right? (Do I know my alphabet?)  Civil Rights, surely something good on that topic.  John McPhee's Coming into the Country takes care of Alaska, and McPhee can make any topic interesting... I'm toying with that idea but not too seriously.  Might do as a long-term goal rather than try to fit it into a year.

Thank you all for being here. This is my first year actually sticking with BaW for the whole year. Usually I would peter out around April!  It was the Brit Trip that intrigued me, so special thanks for Mumto2 and AggieAmy!

[Robin M]

Here's my wrap up 

During your travels did you have time to stop and smell the flowers with our Blossom Bookology challenge or explore a plethora of mysteries with 52 Books Bingo? 

I finished the Blossom Bookology spelling challenge and squeaked by the last three months with flowers mentioned in the stories as colors or characters.  I forgot to keep track of all the reference mentioned in my reads, but pretty sure there were more than a few mentions of a variety of flowers so I'm calling this challenge completed. 

Did you stay on the detective bus, join the rebel bus or hang around with Bertram Wooster?  

I joined the rebel bus and bounced back and forth between London.  I did manage to make it to London Scotland Yard, York, Buckinghamshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Somerset, Kent and back again to London.

·         London: Spymaster's Lady,  What Angels Fear, Midnight Riot as well as Last Chance Christmas Ball

·         York - Sunne in Splendour as well as I found You

·         Buckinghamshire - Flowers from the Storm

·         Herefordshire - Foxglove Summer

·         Leicestershire – Dinner Most Deadly

·         Somerset - For Deader or worse  and Cozy Tea Shop in the Castle

·         Kent – Midsummer Moon

 

Did you remain earthbound or take off for worlds unknown? I think I remained pretty much earthbound although I did visit quite a few alternate realities.  I also traveled through different centuries to England, Africa, Germany, France, Antarctic, Ireland, Canada, Amsterdam, and Ceylon.

Did you reach your reading goal or did you decide to just meander about and follow rabbit trails and end up getting lost in the enjoyment of reading?  I totally lost track two thirds of the way through the year but I did make my goal of 100 books.

Did you set any aside to read again at some point and savor the story all over again?   Oh yes. Rachel Caine’s Great Library series, Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling trinity with Silver Silence and Ocean Light, as well as Roxanne St. Claire’s Dogfather series are all well worth rereading.  

Which books intrigued or entertained, made you laugh, cry, dance or sing?  So many and it is hard to narrow it down.

• Anna Richard’s The Road Home and Laura Kinsale’s Midsummer’s Moon touched my heart.  Thank you to KarenI  for introducing me to these two authors.
• Lian Dolan’s Elizabeth the First Wife and  Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm made me laugh.
• Robyn Cadwaller’s The Anchoress and Julia Drosten’s The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter enthralled me while and Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour pulled me into the history of the times.  
• Tahareh Mafi’s Shatter Me and Mindy McGinnis’  A Madness So Discreet and Dean Koontz Innocence gave me the chills.
• Mark Helprin’s Soldier of the Great War pulled me from the present into the past and back again and put my emotions through the ringer.
• Two WWII novels - Leon Leyson’s The Boy on the Wooden Box made me cry while John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas irritated me with the child’s naivete.

Stats Wise

I read 114 Fiction books and 9 non fiction. I read quite a few series so have many repeat authors I enjoy which include Nora Roberts aka J.D. Robb, James Rollins, Keri Arthur, Nalini Singh, Jennifer Estep, Roxanne St. Claire, and Faith Hunter to name a few. 

Female authors -  47

Male authors – 11

New to me authors – 29

The majority of my reads were Fantasy and Mystery/Suspense/Thriller with quite a few contemporary romance, historical and a few nonfiction thrown in.

I only read 37 physical books versus ebooks which explains why my book stacks didn’t decrease much.

 

My plans for 2019 are slow my reading down a bit, read more from my physical shelves and dig into more of my chunky books as well as extend my buying ban through May. But new releases from favorite authors pre-ordered don’t count. 😊

Edited December 27, 2018 by Robin M

[mumto2]

@marbelGlad you had fun Brit Tripping!  I am looking forward to reading your list.  🤗

Last night I completed The Cross, the third in the Kristin Lavransdatter series.  I found the last parts of the trilogy very bittersweet.  Really glad that I finished and know the whole story. 

The most exciting part is this means my Bingo card has been completed!  Here is my list:

B

Written or Set in the 14th Century....Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark

Art...The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

Microhistory...The Monopolists by Mary Pilon

Mystery...Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

Cozy...Styx and Stones by Carola Dunn

 

I

Music..... Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon

Book to Movie....Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie ( I saw the movie too! ❤️)

Written or set in the 15th Century....The Virgin Widow by Anna O’Brien

Translated .....Wind/Pinball by Murakami

Philosophical......Sophie’s World (Wish I had used this book for home ed)

 

N

Biography or Memoir...Adrift by Tammi Oldham Ashcraft

Feminist Author....Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton

Free Space......Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Nobel Prize Winner....Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy by Sigrid Undset 

Written or set in the 16th Century... To Ruin a Queen by Fiona Buckley

 

G

Foodie Book.....Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Fantasy....Flame in the Dark by Faith Hunter

Science Fiction....The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Written or Set in the 17th Century .... A Column of Fire by Ken Follett

Comic or Graphic Novel.....Mercy Thompson’s Homecoming by Patricia Briggs

 

O

Crime....I’ll be gone on the Dark by Michell McNamera

Written or set in the 18th Century....Anatomy of Murder by Imogene Robertson

Self Help......What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death......Kate Fagon 

Indie Author....The Late Greats by Nick Quantrill

Cartography......Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

 

The Bonus Mystery Book Squares.... I loved these😋

Top of the Card

Author with my initials...Second Life by SJ Watson

Amateur Detective.....A Grave is a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

Ancient Civilization .....The Ionia Sanction by Gary Corban

Elephant on the Cover...The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan

New to me author......Test of Wills by Charles Todd

Bottom of Card

Strange or Unusual...The Square of Revenge by Peter Aspe

Red Shoe on the Cover....With Vic’s you get Eggroll by Diane Vallere

A Ghost in the House....Aunt Dimity Beats the Developer by Nancy Atherton 

Character with Disability.....Dark Fire by CJ Sansom

Number in Title....Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich

Left side

Size in the Title.....ADeath in the Small Hours by Charles Finch

First Person POV....The Mysterious Affair ar Styles by Agatha Christie

Crime other than Murder....Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

Silk Road....Song of the Silk Road by Mingmei Yip

Right Side

Set on an Island.....Unnatural Selection by Aaron Elkins

Involves time travel.....Man in the Empty Suit by Sean Ferrell

Color in Title...Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

Female Judge...High Country Fall by Margaret Maron

 

 

 

 

 

[Negin]

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. 

Kindle book on sale today (spy thriller/espionage/biography)

 

[Robin M]

@mumto2   Woot! Woot!  Amazing list of books and congratulations on completing all the categories including the bonus categories!   

@marbel  Glad you made it through the year and I like your idea of U.S. nonfiction reads.  

Second and third and fourth thank yous to @mumto2 and @aggieamy for putting together Brit Trip. 👏

 

Deal of the day --- Haruki Murakami's Killing Commendatore is available on Kindle today for $4.99 

[Violet Crown]

21 hours ago, marbel said:

Get back to daily Bible.

I'm happy to join you in this. I think there's a Bible-in-a-year group, but I'm not interested in working through the whole Bible again; I just want some accountability for the New Testament or Psalms daily. 

[Guest]

On 12/26/2018 at 3:57 PM, Robin M said:

I'm impressed with what you did read and 8 books in Danish is quite awesome!  Congrats again on Bingo! 

 

I've probably said this before but it bears repeating --- it's the reading that matters, and the goal is just there as an incentive.  My motto and favorite quote of all time - 

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."    

I have many chunky books on my shelves which I'm looking forward to reading in the coming year.    

I hope this doesn’t amount to idea-infringement, but I created my own Bingo from your template for 2019. I included the bonus squares; I did not use these as mysteries because I read few mysteries. 

I wanted to have some categories that are more targeted to the kind of books I read, although I did also use some repeats of yours. Here are some of my categories: 

*improve a skill (I read a lot of NF); Book of the Bible; a long walk; champion; a different world; corruption; a foolish choice (made by a character, not me, lol!); Paris; a castle; animals; famous; very intelligent; re-read; fluffy read; finance; well-fed...

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Violet Crown said:

I'm happy to join you in this. I think there's a Bible-in-a-year group, but I'm not interested in working through the whole Bible again; I just want some accountability for the New Testament or Psalms daily. 

I signed up to do a Chronological Bible in a year after seeing Marbel’s post.  It’s something I have always wanted to do and the daily emails (which provide the reading if you are OK with NIV) seem easy to use.  I have always looked at the emails for the daily and read my ESV,  and slowly quit the one year when I don’t have WiFi for a few weeks.  Since  I should have WiFi most days I plan to try it again chronological.  I own a beautiful chronilogical but it must weigh 10 pounds....that does hinder using it daily for me.  If anyone wants a link here it is.

https://www.oneyearbibleblog.com/2018/12/december-27th-one-year-bible-readings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+oneyearbibleblog%2FMoJZ+(One+Year+Bible+Blog)

[marbel]

3 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

I'm happy to join you in this. I think there's a Bible-in-a-year group, but I'm not interested in working through the whole Bible again; I just want some accountability for the New Testament or Psalms daily. 

I have done the Bible in a year a few times, but I find it becomes a burden and a box-checking thing for me. So I decided in 2017 to just read a chapter a day. I wasn't successful even at that! But I am carrying on. 

[Robin M]

3 hours ago, Quill said:

I hope this doesn’t amount to idea-infringement, but I created my own Bingo from your template for 2019. I included the bonus squares; I did not use these as mysteries because I read few mysteries. 

I wanted to have some categories that are more targeted to the kind of books I read, although I did also use some repeats of yours. Here are some of my categories: 

*improve a skill (I read a lot of NF); Book of the Bible; a long walk; champion; a different world; corruption; a foolish choice (made by a character, not me, lol!); Paris; a castle; animals; famous; very intelligent; re-read; fluffy read; finance; well-fed...

Perfectly okay to modify it for your own reading pleasure.  I had thought about doing more bonus squares like last year but didn't have the time to come up with any. I joined the 10 minute novelist 365 writing challenge for accountability next year and  I've been working on my outline to finish typing up, edit and rewrite current wip. Wrote most of it and only typed up 1/3 so lots of typing and editing to do this coming year.  I love your categories and look forward to hearing about what you decide to read. 

I've also got Psalms in mind, plus more Thomas Merton since I already did the Bible in the year,

Edited December 28, 2018 by Robin M