Book a Week 2019 - BW52: Year End Reading Wrap Up

[-M-]

Merry Christmas, BaWers! And, Robin, thank you again for keeping this going.

With a week remaining in the year, there is little question that I will finish Providence of a Sparrow: Lessons from a Life Gone to the Birds, so I am calling it at 121 books read this year. (As always, I have included only cover-to-covers.) Here are a few numbers:

— 50 novels (not including graphic works)
— 38 non-fiction titles (not including graphic works)
— 3 poetry selections
— 6 plays
— 24 graphic works (six of which were non-fiction selections)

As I mentioned back in October, I crafted a bold reading challenge this year: Read one hundred books from my shelves (i.e., books in my collection before the end of 2018), including at least 24 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. I also planned to make short work of 2018’s unfinished business and to closely (re)read Moby-Dick.

Knowing that my daughters’ relocation would consume a great deal of my spring and summer, I chose a goal of 104 books total for the year, but I happily surpassed that goal by 17. So, yes, I missed my goal of one hundred from the shelves (by 46), but what a fascinating and productive year of reading! While I only read 19 non-fiction titles from my shelves (missing my goal by five), the 44 non-fiction books I did read this year represents a substantial increase over previous years. I had completed the books I carried over from last year well before my October review, and I completed my reread of Moby-Dick on Christmas Eve. I met all of my mini-challenges, too:

Shakespeare RFS: Hamlet
Poetry RFS: Lunch Poems (Frank O’Hara)
NYRB RFS: The Summer Book (Tove Jansson)
Vonnegut RFS: Player Piano
Joyce Carol Oates RFS: The Rise of Life on Earth
Philosophy RFS: Letters from a Stoic (Seneca)
Art RFS: But is it art? (Cynthia Freeland)
Children’s / YA RFS: Milkweed (Jerry Spinelli)

Here are a few more facts about this year’s 121 books, 32 of which were published this year:

— 54 read from shelves
— 31 acquired this year
— 28 borrowed from the library
— 8 other

And here are the standouts:

Even better on rereading:
■ Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale (Herman Melville; 1851. Fiction.)
■ Beowulf (Trans. Seamus Heaney; 2000. Poetry.)
■ Oedipus the King (Sophocles (Trans. Ian Johnston; 2007); 429 B.C. Drama.)

The most engrossing books I read this year (not including rereads):
■ Ghost Wall (Sarah Moss; 2018. Fiction.)
■ A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family (Lou Ann Walker; 1986. Non-fiction.)
■ The Wall (John Lanchester; 2019. Fiction.)
■ Charmed Particles (Chrissy Kolaya; 2015. Fiction.)
■ Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America (Beth Macy; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic (Daniel Mendelsohn; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ The Mighty Franks (Michael Frank; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ In the Woods (Tana French; 2007. Fiction.)

Honorable mention:
■ The Story of Arthur Truluv (Elizabeth Berg; 2017. Fiction.)
■ American Spy (Lauren Wilkinson; 2019. Fiction.)
■ Wild Game (Adrienne Brodeur; 2019. Non-fiction.)
■ All the Names They Used for God (Anjali Sachdeva; 2018. Fiction.)

Fabulous story for a long car trip:
■ Paddle Your Own Canoe (Nick Offerman; 2013. Non-fiction.)

Fabulous story to read while waiting in airports:
■ My Sister, The Serial Killer (Oyinkan Braithwaite; 2018. Fiction.) 

Cannot stop talking about the ideas in these books:
■ Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality (Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton; 2013. Non-fiction.)
■ The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged (Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison; 2019. Non-fiction.)
■ The Years That Matter Most (Paul Tough; 2019. Non-fiction.)
■ The Privileged Poor (Anthony Abraham Jack; 2019. Non-fiction.)

Best graphic works I read this year:
■ Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead (Bill Griffith; 2019. Graphic non-fiction.)
■ They Called Us Enemy (George Takei; 2017. Graphic non-fiction.)

The list (not including Providence of a Sparrow):

January
■ The People in the Trees (Hanya Yanagihara; 2013. Fiction.) RFS
■ A Sorrow Beyond Dreams (Peter Handke; 1972. Fiction.) RFS
■ Upgrade Soul (Ezra Claytan Daniels; 2016. Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ Fieldwork (Mischa Berlinski; 2007. Fiction.) RFS
■ Becoming (Michelle Obama; 2018. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ The Widower’s Notebook (Jonathan Santlofer; 2018. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Reasons to Stay Alive (Matt Haig; 2015. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Paper Girls, Vol. 5 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2018. Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ Fear: Trump in the White House (Bob Woodward; 2018. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ The Shakespeare Requirement (Julie Schumacher; 2018. Fiction.) RFS

February
■ Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning (Gary Marcus; 2012. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Ghost Wall (Sarah Moss; 2018. Fiction.) LIB
■ A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family (Lou Ann Walker; 1986. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ Gone for Good (Harlan Coben; 2002. Fiction.) RFS
■ The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty (Simon Baron-Cohen; 2011. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ First, Learn to Practice (Tom Heany; 2012. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ The Current (Tom Johnston; 2019. Fiction.) LIB
■ How to Love Your Flute (Mark Shepard; 1979. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ The Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut; 1959. Fiction.) RFS
■ Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (Carlo Rovelli; 2014. Non-fiction.) RFS

March
■ Man-eaters, Vol. 1 (Chelsea Cain; 2019. (Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ Paddle Your Own Canoe (Nick Offerman; 2013. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ Why Art? (Eleanor Davis; 2018. Graphic non-fiction.) LIB
■ The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ The Walking Dead, Vol. 31 (Robert Kirkman; 2019. Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ All Systems Red (Martha Wells; 2017. Fiction.) LIB
■ Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? (Frans de Waal; 2016. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Grass Kings, Vol. 2 (Matt Kindt; 2018. Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ The Wall (John Lanchester; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ Inspection (Josh Malerman; 2019. Fiction.) LIB
■ D’Aulaires Book of Norse Myths (Ingri Mortenson and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire; 1967. Fiction.) RFS
■ Sweat (Lynn Nottage; 2015. Drama.) LIB
■ Norse Mythology (Neil Gaiman; 2017. Fiction.) RFS
■ The Orchid Thief (Susan Orlean; 1998. Non-fiction.) RFS

April
■ The Story of Arthur Truluv (Elizabeth Berg; 2017. Fiction.) ATY
■ Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America (Beth Macy; 2018. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Crow Lake (Mary Lawson; 2002. Fiction.) RFS
■ Grass Kings, Vol. 3 (Matt Kindt; 2018. Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ Charmed Particles (Chrissy Kolaya; 2015. Fiction.) RFS
■ How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals (Sy Montgomery; 2018. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home (Nora Krug; 2018. Graphic non-fiction.) LIB
■ Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality (Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton; 2013. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ To Walk the Night (William Sloane; 1937. Fiction.) RFS
■ The Awakening (Kate Chopin; 1899. Fiction.) RFS
■ The Pigman (Paul Zindel; 1968. Fiction.) ATY
■ Gideon Falls, Vol. 2: Original Sins (Jeff Lemire; 2019. Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ The Test (Sylvain Neuvel ; 2018. Fiction.) ATY
■ Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead (Bill Griffith; 2019. Graphic non-fiction.) LIB
■ Hey, Kiddo (Jarrett J. Krosoczka; 2018. Graphic non-fiction.) RFS

May
■ Still Life (Louise Penny; 2005. Fiction.) ATY
■ The Uses of Enchantment (Heidi Julavits; 2006. Fiction.) RFS
■ Hamlet (William Shakespeare; 1602. Drama.) RFS
■ Where Reasons End (Yiyun Li; 2019. Fiction.) LIB
■ The Farm (Joanne Ramos; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ The Last Stone (Mark Bowden; 2019. Non-fiction.) ATY

June
■ A Fatal Grace (Louise Penny; 2007. Fiction.) ATY
■ Oblivion Song, Vol. 2 (Robert Kirkman; 2019. Graphic fiction.) ATY
■ The Suspect (L.R. Wright; 1985. Fiction.) RFS
■ True West (Sam Shepard; 1980. Drama.) RFS
■ Beowulf (Trans. Seamus Heaney; 2000. Poetry.) RFS
■ Man-Eaters, Vol. 2 (Chelsea Cain; 2019. Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged (Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison; 2019. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ The Rise of Life on Earth (Joyce Carol Oates; 1991. Fiction.) RFS
■ Recursion (Blake Crouch; 2019. Fiction.) ATY

July
■ American Spy (Lauren Wilkinson; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic (Daniel Mendelsohn; 2017. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ The Odyssey (Gareth Hinds; 2010. Graphic fiction.) ATY
■ Women Talking (Miriam Toews; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ The Wicked and the Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act (Kieron Gellen; 2014. Graphic fiction.) LIB

August
■ The Mighty Franks (Michael Frank; 2017. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ My Sister, The Serial Killer (Oyinkan Braithwaite; 2018. Fiction.) ATY
■ The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein; 2008. Fiction.) RFS
■ The Walking Dead, Vol. 32: Rest In Peace (Robert Kirkman; 2019. Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ The Cruelest Month (Louise Penny; 2008. Fiction.) ATY
■ Where’d You Go, Bernadette (Maria Semple; 2012. Fiction.) RFS

September
■ Audubon: On the Wings of the World (Fabien Grolleau and Jérémie Royer; 2017. Graphic non-fiction.) LIB
■ Howards End (E.M. Forster; 1910. Fiction.) RFS
■ Hope Rides Again (Andrew Shaffer; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ Outcast, Vol. 7 (Robert Kirkman; 2019. Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ Orange Is the New Black (Piper Kerman; 2014. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ American Prison (Shane Bauer; 2018. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ A Doll House (Henrik Ibsen (Trans. Rolf Fjelde); 1879. Drama.) RFS
■ The Testaments (Margaret Atwood; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ Milkweed (Jerry Spinelli; 2003. Fiction.) RFS
■ Ulysses (James Joyce; 1922. Fiction.) RFS
■ They Called Us Enemy (George Takei; 2017. Graphic non-fiction.) LIB
■ Lunch Poems (Frank O’Hara; 1964. Poetry.) RFS
■ The Summer Book (Tove Jansson; 1972. Fiction.) RFS

October
■ Joyce’s Ulysses (James A.W. Heffernan; 2001. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Paper Girls, Vol. 6 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2019. Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ Oblivion Song, Vol. 3 (Robert Kirkman; 2019. Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ But is it art? (Cynthia Freeland; 2001. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ Player Piano (Kurt Vonnegut; 1952. Fiction.) RFS
■ Gideon Falls, Vol. 3: Stations of the Cross (Jeff Lemire; 2019. Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ Old in Art School (Nell Irvin Painter; 2018. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ A Rule against Murder (Louise Penny; 2009. Fiction.) ATY
■ Mere Motherhood (Cindy Rollins; 2016. Non-fiction.) RFS

November
■ Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare; 1597. Drama.) RFS
■ Wild Game (Adrienne Brodeur; 2019. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ The Years That Matter Most (Paul Tough; 2019. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ Who Was Andy Warhol? (Kristen Anderson; 2014. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ Oedipus the King (Sophocles (Trans. Ian Johnston; 2007); 429 B.C. Drama.) RFS
■ Man-eaters, Vol. 3 (Chelsea Cain; 2019. (Graphic fiction.) OTH
■ The Privileged Poor (Anthony Abraham Jack; 2019. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ Tell No One (Harlan Coben; 2001. Fiction.) RFS
■ An Iliad (Alessandro Baricco; 2006. Fiction.) RFS
■ Letters from a Stoic (Seneca (Robin Campbell, ed.) c. 65 A.D. Non-fiction.) RFS
■ In the Woods (Tana French; 2007. Fiction.) RFS
■ No Small Gift (Jennifer Franklin; 2018. Poetry.) ATY
■ All the Names They Used for God (Anjali Sachdeva; 2018. Fiction.) ATY

December
■ The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse (Charlie Mackesy; 2019. Fiction.) ATY
■ Ascender, Vol. 1 (Jeff Lemire; 2019. (Graphic fiction.) LIB
■ Universal Harvester (John Darnielle; 2017. Fiction.) RFS
■ Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now (Jaron Lanier; 2018. Non-fiction.) LIB
■ A Warning (Anonymous; 2019. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ The Book of Job (Trans. Stephen Mitchell; 1979. Poetry / Religion.) RFS
■ The Late Starters Orchestra (Ari L. Goldman; 2014. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (Herman Melville; 1851. Fiction.) RFS
■ Dive Deeper: Journeys with Moby-Dick (George Cotkin; 2012. Non-fiction.) ATY
■ Shortest Way Home (Pete Buttigieg; 2019. Non-fiction.) ATY

[Laurel-in-CA]

On 12/22/2019 at 12:16 PM, Kareni said:

Curiously, I also read the graphic work  A Fire Story by Brian Fies this week. It makes me feel fortunate that I have not suffered a devasting loss. 

 "Early morning on Monday, October 9, 2017, wildfires burned through Northern California, resulting in 44 fatalities. In addition, 6,200 homes and 8,900 structures and were destroyed. Author Brian Fies’s firsthand account of this tragic event is an honest, unflinching depiction of his personal experiences, including losing his house and every possession he and his wife had that didn’t fit into the back of their car. In the days that followed, as the fires continued to burn through the area, Brian hastily pulled together A Fire Story and posted it online—it immediately went viral. He is now expanding his original webcomic to include environmental insight and the fire stories of his neighbors and others in his community. A Fire Story is an honest account of the wildfires that left homes destroyed, families broken, and a community determined to rebuild."

* *

I also read and enjoyed the novella Get Lit  by Kim Fielding which has a Hanukkah focus.

"Uri Kessler is a bit of a klutz. Recently divorced from a guy he married too quickly and yearning to have a holiday that feels special, he decides to make Hanukkah candles. The results are literally a blazing disaster. But Uri’s mishap helps him get to know Oscar Cortez, his sexy new neighbor, and the two men instantly hit it off. While Uri finds himself drawn to Oscar, he’s also afraid to make a mess of their budding relationship. It’ll take a small miracle to make things work between them." 

Regards,

Kareni

 Our house was a mile from the fire lines in Sonoma County in 2017. *This month* friends are moving back into their rebuilt homes.

[Laurel-in-CA]

Someone mentioned looking for time travel reads for next year. I wanted to recommend Jodi  Taylor and her Chronicles of St. Mary's. They are quite a romp. The first one is:

https://www.amazon.com/Just-Damned-Thing-After-Another-ebook/dp/B017YA73OO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=chronicles+of+st.+mary's+1&qid=1577336356&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

 

[mumto2]

8 hours ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

Someone mentioned looking for time travel reads for next year. I wanted to recommend Jodi  Taylor and her Chronicles of St. Mary's. They are quite a romp. The first one is:

https://www.amazon.com/Just-Damned-Thing-After-Another-ebook/dp/B017YA73OO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=chronicles+of+st.+mary's+1&qid=1577336356&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

 

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!

[Robin M]

On 12/25/2019 at 3:50 PM, Melissa M said:

As I mentioned back in October, I crafted a bold reading challenge this year: Read one hundred books from my shelves (i.e., books in my collection before the end of 2018), including at least 24 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. I also planned to make short work of 2018’s unfinished business and to closely (re)read Moby-Dick.

Knowing that my daughters’ relocation would consume a great deal of my spring and summer, I chose a goal of 104 books total for the year, but I happily surpassed that goal by 17. So, yes, I missed my goal of one hundred from the shelves (by 46), but what a fascinating and productive year of reading! While I only read 19 non-fiction titles from my shelves (missing my goal by five), the 44 non-fiction books I did read this year represents a substantial increase over previous years. I had completed the books I carried over from last year well before my October review, and I completed my reread of Moby-Dick on Christmas Eve. I met all of my mini-challenges, too:

Love your list and looking up all the books you read. Lots of intriguing reads. I know you've been trying to read more nonfiction, so congrats on surpassing your nonfiction goal and on fnishing your close reread of Moby Dick.  What did you discover this time?    Any particular books you are planning on revisiting for 2020? 

 

19 hours ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

Someone mentioned looking for time travel reads for next year. I wanted to recommend Jodi  Taylor and her Chronicles of St. Mary's. They are quite a romp. The first one is:

https://www.amazon.com/Just-Damned-Thing-After-Another-ebook/dp/B017YA73OO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=chronicles+of+st.+mary's+1&qid=1577336356&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Thank you! Loved the first two book and just added the 3rd book to my virtual stacks. 

[Robin M]

I think I may end up carrying over Knife of Dreams over to 2020.  It's slow going.   My reading time in the evenings has been taken over by movies with John and James.  Christmas night we watched a Toho movie Battle in Outerspace (In Japanese with subtitles). Christmas Eve, we watched Toy Story 4.  Oh my gosh, creepy creepy characters after Woody.  Forky reminded me too much of Mr. Bill from SNL.  And the night before that,  Ironman.  James posts his thoughts on the movies on my facebook page.  

I went back to A Secret Sisterhood and enjoying the tale of the friendship between George Eliot and Harriet Beecher Stowe.  It's turned into a sip read at breakfast time along with Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer.  

The guys gave me a few books for Christmas including Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowel;  Sharon Kay Penman's Time and Chance, Patricia Brigg's Dragon Bones, Michael Crichton's Timeline, Jussi Adler-Olsen's The Keeper of Lost Causes, and Deborah Crombie's A Share of Death. 

 

 

Before I forget, going to keep this thread going through the end of the year so no new thread on Sunday. The New Year's thread and Post will go up on New Year's day. 

 

[mumto2]

16 minutes ago, Robin M said:

I think I may end up carrying over Knife of Dreams over to 2020.  It's slow going.   My reading time in the evenings has been taken over by movies with John and James.  Christmas night we watched a Toho movie Battle in Outerspace (In Japanese with subtitles). Christmas Eve, we watched Toy Story 4.  Oh my gosh, creepy creepy characters after Woody.  Forky reminded me too much of Mr. Bill from SNL.  And the night before that,  Ironman.  James posts his thoughts on the movies on my facebook page.  

I went back to A Secret Sisterhood and enjoying the tale of the friendship between George Eliot and Harriet Beecher Stowe.  It's turned into a sip read at breakfast time along with Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer.  

The guys gave me a few books for Christmas including Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowel;  Sharon Kay Penman's Time and Chance, Patricia Brigg's Dragon Bones, Michael Crichton's Timeline, Jussi Adler-Olsen's The Keeper of Lost Causes, and Deborah Crombie's A Share of Death. 

 

 

Before I forget, going to keep this thread going through the end of the year so no new thread on Sunday. The New Year's thread and Post will go up on New Year's day. 

 

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)

[-M-]

2 hours ago, Robin M said:

Love your list and looking up all the books you read. Lots of intriguing reads. I know you've been trying to read more nonfiction, so congrats on surpassing your nonfiction goal and on fnishing your close reread of Moby Dick.  What did you discover this time?    Any particular books you are planning on revisiting for 2020? 

Moby-Dick is, among other things, a witty book. The humor is sometimes ribald, sometimes punny, sometimes quiet, sometimes laugh-aloud... you get the idea. But it is funny, and the audiobook narrated by William Hootkins successfully uncovers every note of humor (to say nothing of pathos, weirdness, irony, universality, and more). Melville would have loved hearing Hootkins interpret his work, and I so appreciated having it underscore my book-in-hand reread.
 

I may reread Middlemarch in 2020. I will also reread Emma and some Shakespeare in anticipation of plays we will see this season. Per your recommendation I am revisiting Agatha Christie, beginning with The Mousetrap.

[Junie]

I just finished reading my first real book in Spanish.  I have read very simple children's books in Spanish, but this was the first time reading a book with chapters.

There is nothing complicated about this book (Because of Bethlehem).  It is an explanation of the Christmas story with some down-to-earth illustrations and applications.  I have read some of Max Lucado's books in English before, and he has a style of writing that I thought I would be able to handle in Spanish.  While I didn't understand every word -- or even every sentence -- I was able to read enough that I would be able to summarize on a paragraph level.  I probably understood about 3 out of every 4 paragraphs.

I would like to try to read this book again next Christmas -- and hopefully see a big improvement in my Spanish skills.

[Kareni]

Currently free for Kindle readers, a collection of EIGHT fantasy novels ~

Sword & Magic: Eight Fantasy Novels

Innocence Lost by Patty Jansen

Beneath The Canyons by Kyra Halland

The Last Priestess by Elizabeth Baxter

Book Of Never by Ashley Capes

Stargazy Pie by Victoria Goddard

The Dragon’s Champion by Sam Ferguson

Float: The Enchanted Horse by Demelza Carlton

The Silverleaf Chronicles by Vincent Trigili

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

Kindle book on a bit of a sale today. 

[Robin M]

3 hours ago, Penguin said:

LONG POST WARNING!

This is my wrap  up data for 2019. Maybe I'll finish one more book this year and maybe not. I actually did better than I thought I had done.

I plan to come back later and with commentary and analysis. Hits and misses and whatnot.

Totals

Adult / YA (49)

Middle Grades / Children’s Lit (6)

Shorts (1)

Among these, five were re-reads 

10X10 Categories

Mine had overlap. Even with overlap, I only completed Nordic and Foreign Language

 Fantasy/Folklore/Mythology (8)

Nordic (10)

Poetry (4)

American South (7)

Around the World [new additions only] (4)

Politics (6)

1960s (6)

Foreign Language (12): Danish (8), Latin (2), Dutch (2)

Non-Tropical Islands (3)

Good Catholic / Bad Catholic (2)

 

THE LIST :

Miscellaneous Nonfiction (7 English and 2 Danish)

1966: The Year the Decade Exploded by Jon Savage

1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky

The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X / Alex Haley

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario

 

Billedhuggerens datter af Tove Jansson

Ståsteder af Svend Brinkmann

 

 Books about Books (3)

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel

Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy

Original Dysfunctional Family: Classical Mythology for the New Millennium by Rose Williams

 

Latin (2)

A Natural History of Latin by Tore Janson

Cambridge Latin Textbook Unit 1

 

Middle Grades / Children’s Lit (6)

Read in Danish

Mumitrolden: De Små Trolde of Den Store Oversvømmelse af Tove Jansson

Mumitrolden: Kometen Kommer af Tove Jansson

Mumitrolden: Troldmandens Hat af Tove Jansson

Da Julen kom til Mumidalen af Tove Jansson

Read in Dutch

Het grote zelfleesboek by Divers

Jip en Jannek: Vierde Boek by Annie MG Schmidt

 

Adult/YA Fiction English (30)

 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (plus three short stories) by Truman Capote

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel

Alberta and Freedom by Cora Sandel

Alberta Alone by Cora Sandel

The Door by Magda Szabo

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Circe by Madeline Miller

A Beleaguered City: Being a Narrative of Certain Recent Events in the City of Semur… by  Margaret Oliphant

News from Thrush Green by Miss Read (#3)

Battles at Thrush Green by Miss Read (#4)

Return to Thrush Green by Miss Read (#5)

Gossip from Thrush Green by Miss Read (#6)

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovannino Guareschi

Lincoln in the Bardo (2X - once in print, once audio)

Translation is a Love Affair by Jacques Poulin

Milkman by Anna Burns

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

Penguin Lost by Andrey Kurkov

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

 

 Adult/YA Fiction read in Danish (2)

De nærmeste af Lotte Kirekeby Hansen

Den, der lever stille af Leonora Christina Skov

 

Poetry (4)

 Yahya Hassan by Yahya Hassan

The Profile Makers: Poems by Linda Bierds

My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter by Aja Monet

I Hate this About Me by Henry Alberto (poetic nonfiction)

Carried over from the taking the plunge thread. 🙂

[Penguin]

16 hours ago, Junie said:

I just finished reading my first real book in Spanish.  I have read very simple children's books in Spanish, but this was the first time reading a book with chapters.

Congratulations! That is a huge accomplishment. I will be joining you next year with learning to read in a language. I'll be learning to read Dutch and will be starting with very basic children's books.

[Robin M]

18 hours ago, Melissa M said:

Moby-Dick is, among other things, a witty book. The humor is sometimes ribald, sometimes punny, sometimes quiet, sometimes laugh-aloud... you get the idea. But it is funny, and the audiobook narrated by William Hootkins successfully uncovers every note of humor (to say nothing of pathos, weirdness, irony, universality, and more). Melville would have loved hearing Hootkins interpret his work, and I so appreciated having it underscore my book-in-hand reread.
 

I may reread Middlemarch in 2020. I will also reread Emma and some Shakespeare in anticipation of plays we will see this season. Per your recommendation I am revisiting Agatha Christie, beginning with The Mousetrap.

Makes me want to listen to the audiobook since he did such a wonderful job of reading the story. 

Love Mousetrap.  I saw a play Deathtrap with Christopher Reeves which really was pretty similar. 

 Right now I'm reading about George Eliot and her correspondence friendship with Harriet Beecher Stowe which is putting me in the mood to read Middlemarch.  I never did get a chance  and thinking I should try to fit it in this year.  Not sure how, maybe a sip read.   

 

[Robin M]

While we sharing our year end lists, you can also share your new year's resolutions,  bookish and anything else wise. if you wish.    I started the 52 Lists project this week since it said to start with the beginning of Winter. Good timing!  The task for week one is to list your goals and dreams for the new year.  The take action item is what's the first step toward achieving your biggest goal?  Pick one thing you can do this week to get started.  So while I'm writing out bookish goals, I'm also looking at writing goals and family goals as well.   

Almost done working up my end of the year book list and will post it in the next couple days. 

[mumto2]

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.

 

[Violet Crown]

23 hours ago, Junie said:

I just finished reading my first real book in Spanish.  I have read very simple children's books in Spanish, but this was the first time reading a book with chapters.

There is nothing complicated about this book (Because of Bethlehem).  It is an explanation of the Christmas story with some down-to-earth illustrations and applications.  I have read some of Max Lucado's books in English before, and he has a style of writing that I thought I would be able to handle in Spanish.  While I didn't understand every word -- or even every sentence -- I was able to read enough that I would be able to summarize on a paragraph level.  I probably understood about 3 out of every 4 paragraphs.

I would like to try to read this book again next Christmas -- and hopefully see a big improvement in my Spanish skills.

Well done! The fruits of hard work.

[mumto2]

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

[Penguin]

@mumto2 Congrats on finishing Bingo. Two of your books were among my favorites this year: Milkman and The Goblin Emperor.

With the mention of How the Heather Looks (which I simply must read!), here are photos from last week's trip to NYC. I asked each family member for their top three three requests for the itinerary. One of mine was to see the real stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie the Pooh stories. They now reside in the New York Public Library (link to article). Poor little Roo was lost in an apple orchard in the 1930s.

Edited December 28, 2019 by Penguin

[mumto2]

4 minutes ago, Penguin said:

@mumto2 Congrats on finishing Bingo. Two of your books were among my favorites this year: Milkman and The Goblin Emperor.

With the mention of How the Heather Looks (which I simply must read!), here are photos from last week's trip to NYC. I asked each family member for their top three three requests for the itinerary. One of mine was to see the real stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie the Pooh stories. They now reside in the New York Public Library (link to article). Poor little Roo was lost in an apple orchard in the 1930s.

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.

[aggieamy]

On 12/22/2019 at 1:44 PM, Negin said:

 

 

 

@Negin - most days I want to stow away in your suitcase for your travels and adventures!

On 12/22/2019 at 3:21 PM, tuesdayschild said:

December's bookolgy challenge completed.

S= Mrs. Tim ~ D.E. Stevenson.
I= Parker Payne investigates ~ Agatha Christie.
L= D.L Moody: A Life ~ Kevin Belmonte.
V= Murder at the Vicarage ~ Agatha Christie
A= A Christmas Visitor ~ Anne Perry. ( absolutely recommend this as a Christmas time listen for Agatha Christie appreciators)

D= Rules of Murder ~ julianna Deering
A= Artists in Crime ~ Marsh
N= The Nursing Home Murder ~ Ngaio Marsh
I= By its Cover ~ Donna Leon
E= Mrs Jeffries Takes Stock, Bk4 ~ Emily Brightwell
L= Light Thickens ~ Ngaio Marsh

Other books:
More Cases of Miss Marple (bbc radio drama.) Fun listen

 

I'm making a list of Christmas books for next year. I'll have to add the Anne Perry book. It seems you and I always have a lot of overlap in the books we enjoy. And I've read the first two Mrs. Jeffries and thought they were delightful. Just what I want in an easy cozy mystery. I'm glad you mentioned them because I'd kind of forgotten all about them!

On 12/25/2019 at 1:18 PM, Lady Florida. said:

On audio I finished a few more Agatha Raisin books. They're easy to listen to while I'm going through stuff to decide if we're keeping it or while painting baseboards, which has been my job lately. 

We have local friends that are doing the same thing. I've been helping them a bit and while doing it I've decided to go through my house and do a purge otherwise I'm afraid I'll end up with thirty years worth of stuff to purge in two months. Good luck on the move!

On 12/25/2019 at 10:52 PM, Laurel-in-CA said:

 Our house was a mile from the fire lines in Sonoma County in 2017. *This month* friends are moving back into their rebuilt homes.

I have a dear friend whose mother and sister lived in Paradise. They've just broken ground for their new house. I don't think they'll be able to move back for another six months or so. 

[aggieamy]

Junior member of the Woolf UN-fan club reporting in! I've attempted three of her books (can't remember exactly which titles but the Lighthouse one was certainly one). Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. 

[Robin M]

I finally put together my reading list. I lost track along the way and had to do a bit of hunting through the threads, my books and my ipad.  *facepalm@

Tell us about your reading year? What was your goal this year and did you have a plan, and/or follow rabbit trails or wing it?

I started out the year with a book buying ban in place, except for new releases preordered, and a  plan to read from my shelves.  I read 25 physical fiction books and 10 physical nonfiction books so managed to make a small dent.  I didn’t buy any new books until mid May I think and those were mainly ebooks. Stress about the completion of the house project got the better of me and I turned to revisiting old friends for three months or so and reread several series and afterwards, just sort of winged it.  I managed to complete 7 out of 10 of my  10 x 10, failing completely with 1001 books, book chain and hubby picks because I forgot which books he gave me. Bad me.  However, based on the books I did read, I replaced those with three new categories -  steampunk, romance and thrillers and there is a little overlap.  Not including the rereads, I read a total of 88 books.  

Which book had the most original, most unique story?   Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark. It may have been the shortest book I read, but it was the most unique with a mixture of dystopian, steampunk, and Haitian culture.   

Which book made you laugh? Weaver Takes a Wife by Sheri Cobb Smith.  I enjoyed the by play between the two main characters.

Which one made you cry?  The Lost Art of Letter Writing by Menna Van Praag touched my heart.

Which new to you authors did you discover and would you read another book by this author?  I really liked S.K. Dunstall, and Rebecca Roanhorse and will definitely read more of their books.   

Which authors and/or detectives would you like to continue exploring from Whodunit Bookology.  I definitely want to read more of Ellis Peter, Kwei Quartery, and Fred Vargas.  Plus read the first book in the series of the authors I somehow never quite finished for some odd reason: Donna DeLeon, Harry Kemelman, and Stuart Kaminsky. 

And here's the list:  (I have no idea how I made it blue and single spaced.  I hit two keys and voila! Now to figure out which ones. 🙃

Non Fiction – From my shelves 
1.    Benedict Option - Rod Dreher (304 p)
2.    The Cat Who Came for Christmas - Cleveland Armory  (256 p)
3.    View from the Cheap Seats - Neil Gaiman  (544 p)
4.    Thanks a Thousand - A.J. Jacobs  (160 p)
5.    King Alfred's English - Laurie White  (170 p)
6.    Writers and their Notebooks - Diana Raab (208)
7.    Writer's Guide to Persistence - Jordan Rosenfeld  (234 p)
8.    Writing from the Inside Out - Dennis Palumbo (256 p)
9.    Story Trumps Structure - Stephen James (304 p)
10.    A Secret Sisterhood: Literary Friendships  of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf - Emily Midorikawa  and  Emma Claire Sweeney (352 p)

Steampunk
11.    Lady of Devices - Shelley Adina (#1 Magnificent Devices)
12.    Her Own Devices #2
13.    Magnificent Devices #3
14.    Brilliant Devices #4
15.    A Lady of Resources #5
16.    A Lady of Spirit #6
17.    A Lady of Integrity #7
18.    A Gentleman of Means #8
19.    Devices Brightly Shining #9
20.    Fields of Air #10 
21.    Fields of Iron #11  
22.    Fields of Gold - Shelley Adina #12
23.    The Black God's Drums -  P. Djeli Clark  

Romance

24.    Act Like It - Lucy Parker (#1 London Celebrities )
25.    Archer's Voice - Mia Sheridan  
26.    Black Hawk - Joanne Bourne (#4 spymaster, historical romance)
27.    Forbidden Rose - Joanna Bourne (historical romance)
28.     Changing Habits - Debbie Macomber ( 400 p)
29.    Dangerous to Trust - Teresa Hill (#1 Spies, Lies and Lovers)
30.    Must Love Weiners - Casey Griffin. (359 p)
31.    Summer on Mirror Lake - Joanna Ross  (#3 Honeymoon Harbor,  432 p)
32.    Barefoot in the Sun – Roxanne St Claire (#3 Barefoot bay)
33.    Barefoot by the Sea (#4 Barefoot Bay)
34.    Barefoot Bound (#7 Barefoot Bay)
35.    Old Dog, New Tricks - Roxanne St Claire (#8 The Dogfather)
36.    Hot under the Collar - Roxanne St Claire (#1 Dogmothers, 376 p) 
37.    Three Dog Night – Roxanne St. Claire (#2 Dogmothers)
38.    Under Currents - Nora Roberts   (Romantic suspense, 448 p)
39.    Weaver Takes a Wife - Sheri Cobb Smith (Historical London)

Detective 

40.    A Better Man - Louise Penny (#15 Armand Gamache, 448 p)
41.    Kingdom of the Blind - Louise Penny  (#14 Armand Gamache,  400 p)
42.    Connections in Death - J.D. Robb (#48 In Death, 384 p)
43.    Vendetta in Death - #49 (368 p)
44.    Golden in Death #50 (400 p)
45.    Amnesia - G.H. Ephron (#1 Peter Zak Medical )
46.    Chalk Circle Man - Fred Vargas   (#1 Adamsberg)
47.    Killing Floor - Lee Child (#1 Jack Reacher, Thriller)
48.    Morbid Taste for Bones - Ellis Peters (#1 Brother Cadfael, 12th Century mystery)
49.    Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie (Mystery)
50.    Wife of the Gods - Kwei Quartey  (#1 Darko Dawson)
51.    Cocaine Blues – Kerry Greenwood (#1 Phyrne Fisher) 

Thriller

52.    Deep Fathom  - James Rollins  (608 p)
53.    Crucible - James Rollins #13 Sigma Force, 637 p) 
54.    Origin - Dan Brown (656 p)
55.    Promise Not to Tell - Jayne Ann Krentz (Suspense thriller, 464 p)
56.    Rise of Magicks - Nora Roberts (Supernatural thriller, 480 p)
57.    The First Prophet - Kay Hooper  (#1 Bishop files, Paranormal thriller, 400 p)

Fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction

58.    Circle of the Moon - Faith Hunter (#4 Soulwood, 368 p)
59.     Shattered Bonds - Faith Hunter  (# 13 Jane Yellowrock,  400 p)

60.    Archangel's War - Nalini Singh (Guild hunter series)
61.    Silver Silence - Nalini Singh (#1 psychangeling/trinity series)
62.    Ocean Light - Nalini Singh (#2 psychangeling/trinity series)

63.    Black Kiss – J.R. Ward (#1 Black dagger legacy)
64.    Blood Vow (#2)
65.    Blood Fury (#3)
66.    Blood Truth (#4)
67.    The Beast (#14 Black Dagger Brotherhood)
68.    Chosen (#15 BDB) 
69.    Thief  (#16 BDB)
70.    The Savior (#17 BDB)
71.    Where Christmas Finds You (#18 BDB)

72.    Hunter Hunted - Keri Arthur (#3 Lizzie Grace)
73.    Demon's Dance - Keri Arthur (#4 Lizzie Grace)
74.    Unlit - Keri Author (#1 Kingdoms of Earth and Air)

75.    Diamond Fire - Illona Andrews (Hidden Legacy)
76.    Heat Stroke - Rachel Caine (#2 Weather Warden)
77.    Justice Calling - Annie Bellett 
78.    Linesman - S.K. Dunstall (#1 Linesman, Science Fiction)
79.    Night and Silence - Seanan McGuire (#12 October Daye)
80.    The Shape of Water - Guillermo Del Toro
81.    Storm Cursed - Patricia Briggs  (Fantasy, 368 p)
82.    Trail of Lightning - Rebecca Roanhorse (#1 Sixth World, dystopian sci fi, 304 p)
83.    Wild Country - Anne Bishop (#2 Others, Fantasy , 496 p)

Literary and Miscellaneous

84.    Lost Art of Letter Writing - Menna Van Praag (Literary - Cambridge England, 320 p) 
85.    Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (Japan, magical realism, 467 p) 
86.    Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Matthew Sullivan (Literary, 337 p)
87.    Nick of Time - Ted Bell (#1 Nick McIver Adventures, time travel 464 p)
88.    The Source - James Michener (Historical Fiction, Israel, 1104 p)

Rereads

1.    Death and Relaxation - Devon Monk (Ordinary Series)
2.    Psy Changeling series # 1 -18 -  Nalini Singh,
3.    Dirk and Steele series 1 -3  Marjorie M Lui
4.    Black Dagger Brotherhood - J.R. Ward
5.    Barefoot Bay series - Roxanne St Claire
6.    Night Stalker series - M.L Buchman 
7.    Soulwood Series - Faith Hunter
8.    Guild hunter series - Nalini Singh
9.    Northern Lights  - Nora Roberts 
10.    Born of Darkness - Lara Adrian (#1 Midnight Breed Hunter Legacy,)
11.    Death of the Red Heroine - Qui Xiaolong (China, 90's detective)

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Robin M

[Robin M]

19 hours ago, mumto2 said:

Completed Bingo Card Book List

 

 

[Junie]

I was just looking at the challenges/mini-challenges and realized that I accidentally met some of the challenges this year!!

I just spent a little bit of time (Robin and I must have been organizing our lists at the same time!), and here is what I came up with.

 

52 books in 52 weeks – goal met!  (List posted previously.)

Brit Trip Adventure – I’m not sure if all of these are correct, but I made an attempt to locate the books I read that were set in England.  I really need to find a better way to figure this out in 2020.

·                     London (Scotland Yard) – Poirot Investigates

·                     Northamptonshire and Rutland – Isabel: Taking Wing

·                     East and West Riding of Yorkshire – The Fairy Ring

·                     North Yorkshire – Wuthering Heights

·                     Devon – And Then There Were None

·                     Derbyshire – As You Wish

                     London – Oliver Twist

·                     Kent – Great Expectations

·                     Surrey – Home (Julie Andrews)

 

The Sound of Silence

                  Speak: the Graphic Novel – Laurie Halse Anderson

Well-Educated Mind

                Fiction:

                Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

                The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne

                Moby Dick – Herman Melville

                Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

                The Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane

                Drama:

                A Doll’s House – Henrik Ibsen

                Poetry:

                Inferno – Dante

                Selections by –

                                Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Longfellow, Tennyson, Whitman, Dickinson, Rossetti, Hopkins, Yeats, Dunbar, Sandburg, Williams, Pound, Eliot, Hughes, Auden

 Agatha Christie

                And Then There Were None

                Dead Man’s Mirror

                Poirot Investigates

                The Witness for the Prosecution

Dusty and Chunky

                Dusty:

                Wuthering Heights

                Notes from the Underground

                Emma

                The Red Badge of Courage

                Inferno

                The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

                Mansfield Park

                Frankenstein

                Moby Dick (audio)

                The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

 

                Chunky:

                The Man in the Iron Mask

                The Hunchback of Notre Dame

                Oliver Twist

                The Collected Works of Guy deMaupassant

                Great Expectations

 

Feed Your Muse – I met this challenge, but it was not done in the manner it was “supposed to” have been done.  I pre-read three poetry books (in a short period of time) so that I can do a poetry study with dd17 and dd15.

                Great Short Poems

                101 Great American Poems

                100 Best-Loved Poems

[Robin M]

@Penguin and @Junie Well done reading books in different languages. It's something I've never considered before and you are inspiring me to at least try to attempt it. But first I'd need a refresher course in Spanish and/or French.  Hubby wants us to do the German class on Great Courses Plus since that's the language he took in high school.  His memory is something else and when he's had a shot or two of Whiskey, he's quite fluent in the language.   

[Negin]

8 hours ago, aggieamy said:

@Negin- most days I want to stow away in your suitcase for your travels and adventures!

 

That would be such fun! 

[SKL]

Audiobook - I think we will abandon the JRR Tolkein letters from Santa book.  We didn't get quite halfway through it.  It's not what I expected.  Maybe the later part is better, but Christmas is over and nobody seems interested.  I think we will go back and finish Matthew (almost done) and move on to Mark.  (Never did receive the Agatha Christie book I ordered.  :/)

I am in the last section of Boundaries with Teens.  Should try to finish before year-end so I can say I accomplished that in 2019.

Read-aloud - I finished the last Spy School book we have.  I am thinking of starting a new series, Crime Travelers, that my kid(s) might like.  I bought one book in that series about a year ago, but they kept wanting to do more Spy School.

Did not get to the Christmas books or the Spanish reading I was hoping to do over this break.  Well, the break isn't over yet ....

Pretty sure I didn't approach 52 books this year.  But I'm OK with what I did read.

Edited December 29, 2019 by SKL

[Kareni]

Today only, a free book for Kindle readers ~

Pharos and Pharillon by E. M. Forster

 "The author of A Passage to India offers personal and historical reflections on the Egyptian city of Alexandria in these essays, articles, and poems.

As a noncombatant during the First World War, E. M. Forster was stationed with the British Red Cross in Alexandria, Egypt. He fell in love with the place, which had once been a cultural crossroads of the world, and with a young Egyptian man named Mohammed el Adl. Pharos and Pharillon collects Forster’s many reflections about the city, its history, and his experiences there.
 
Organized in two parts, the book begins with Pharos, the great Lighthouse of Alexandria, and seven stories that paint a poetic picture of the ancient city. The second half, Pharillon, consists of four stories set during the British-occupied Alexandria of the twentieth century. It includes Forster’s moving introduction of the Greek poet C. P. Cavafy to the English-speaking world. The division in the book is signaled by Cavafy’s now famous poem, “The God Abandons Antony.”
 
First published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf in 1923, Pharos and Pharillon remains an enlightening portrait both of the city and the author. Forster’s “spiritual unity with Alexandria is, perhaps, the most important aspect of the book. . . . E. M. Forster found himself in Alexandria and Alexandria is to be found in E. M. Forster” (The New York Times). "

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Afternoon, ladies.  I finished Kerry Greenwood's Cocaine Blues.  Interesting story but don't know whether I really like Phyrne or not enough to continue reading the series.  

In my internet meanderings today came across - Missing Virgin River? Read These 5 Small-Town Romances.  I need to revisit Virgin River and totally loved Cindy Gerard's The Way Home as well as Mariah Stewart's stories set in Chesapeake Bay. I enjoyed Joann Ross's Honeymoon Bay series so will have to check out Homeplace. Adding A.C. Arthur to my wish list. 

Gotta love brainpickings. Maria's posted her best of for 2019 

Off the Shelf has a variety of categories to check out:   5 Victorian Era Books for Historical Fiction Fans, 9 enchanting Books for readers of Magical Realism and 9 International Thrillers to Sink Your Teeth Into.

Check out Penguin's list of All Epic Fantasy Books which will keep you busy for a while.

And last but not least, Guardian's Fiction to look out for in 2020 

[Negin]

I read Life and Death in Shanghai - 4 Stars - During the Cultural Revolution in China, the author – an educated, upper-class woman, at the age of fifty, had to undergo six and a half years of solitary confinement. I really admire her and think that she was an incredible woman, particularly given all that she had to go through. Her perseverance, patience, and fortitude were amazing. Plus, she was smart as a tack and I loved her zest for living.

As far as the book goes, it was fascinating and certainly eye-opening, but after a certain point, it started to get repetitive and I was ready to lose my mind. I realize that her experience in the prison with the endless interrogations was repetitive and she was writing her story. It was just burdensome on me as the reader.

China is not exactly a walk in the park when it comes to human rights. No country with a totalitarian regime is. 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: in today’s world where every time someone doesn’t like a certain politician or someone disagreeing with them, they’re immediately called Hitler or a Nazi; I say, “Hey, why stop there? Why limit yourself to Hitler? Let’s carry it further!” Most people don’t realize that communist governments slaughtered an estimated 120 million people in the 20th century. They outdid Hitler 20-1! Let us stop throwing these labels around and cheapening them. In Communist China, 70 million were killed. Communism should be hated and feared far more than Nazism. How blessed I am, and how grateful we all should be, to live where we have democracy, human rights, and freedom.

I learned so much from this book, but again, I got bogged down with the writing style, repetition, and length of this book. I would give this 3.5 stars, but I’m feeling generous, so I’ll go with four.

Oh, and one final point to consider for Amazon – do not put spoilers in the Kindle book description! That was absolute idiocy on their part.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“It's always best to look ahead and not backwards. Possessions are not important. Think of those beautiful porcelain pieces I had. Before they came to me, they had all passed through the hands of many people, surviving wars and natural disasters. I got them only because someone else lost them. While I had them, I enjoyed them; now some other people will enjoy them. Life itself is transitory. Possessions are not important.”

“One of the most ugly aspects of life in Communist China during the Mao Zedong era was the Party’s demand that people inform on each other routinely and denounce each other during political campaigns. This practice had a profoundly destructive effect on human relationships. Husbands and wives became guarded with each other, and parents were alienated from their children. The practice inhibited all forms of human contact, so that people no longer wanted to have friends. It also encouraged secretiveness and hypocrisy. To protect himself, a man had to keep his thoughts to himself. When he was compelled to speak, often lying was the only way to protect himself and his family.”

“In fact, after living in Communist China for so many years, I realized that one of the advantages enjoyed by a democratic government that allows freedom of speech is that the government knows exactly who supports it and who is against it, while a totalitarian government knows nothing of what the people really think.”

Some pictures from our last day in Cordoba. 

 

[Violet Crown]

Still reading Either/Or by Søren Kierkegaard. I am through the "Either" section (aesthetics) and about to start the "Or" (Ethics). It was originally published in 2 volumes, and unsurprisingly many more people bought the first volume than the second, so complete first edition 2-volume sets are rare. Kierkegaard was annoyed and required his publisher to make the second edition one volume, but it was just too bulky, so unabridged editions are always two volumes.

Wee Girl stayed up late reading David Copperfield (abridged Puffin edition), which we're all supposed to be reading with her, and is 90 pages into it! So I'm already behind for the New Year.

[mumto2]

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

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by mumto2

[Violet Crown]

On 12/27/2019 at 8:28 PM, Robin M said:

you can also share your new year's resolutions,  bookish

Resolved: 50 pages a day minimum. More Texas reading. James, James, James.

[aggieamy]

On 12/28/2019 at 6:22 PM, Robin M said:

His memory is something else and when he's had a shot or two of Whiskey, he's quite fluent in the language.   

LOL. We're getting an exchange student in the fall from Germany so we're all frantically trying to pick up the odd phrase or two. We're certainly not up to your DH's level yet though.

18 hours ago, SKL said:

Read-aloud - I finished the last Spy School book we have.  I am thinking of starting a new series, Crime Travelers, that my kid(s) might like.  I bought one book in that series about a year ago, but they kept wanting to do more Spy School.

Did not get to the Christmas books or the Spanish reading I was hoping to do over this break.  Well, the break isn't over yet ....

Pretty sure I didn't approach 52 books this year.  But I'm OK with what I did read.

I'm so impressed that you and your girls have kept up with your read alouds. Eighth grade was about the time they fizzled out in my house. My DD would end up having too much homework or too many things going on in the evening and we didn't make time for it anymore. 

I didn't make 52 books either. Luckily we're still welcome here!

[Matryoshka]

I finished my last book for all the challenges I did, so I'm finally ready to report in.

Which book had the most original, most unique story?  The Bone Clocks and A Tale for the Time Being.  Other favorites were The Overstory, Milkman, A Memory of Empire, The Summer Book, The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Everyday Zen, Medea, Spark, and the two books in the answer to the next question. 🙂 

Which book made you laugh? All Creatures Great and Small, and quite unexpectedly, Moby-Dick.

Which book did you like the least and why?  As I Lay Dying.  Stupid people doing stupid things for stupid reasons. 😡

How’d the 10 x 10 categories work out?  Great!  I had a lot of fun with them, and completed them all with only 13 books overlapping within the first 10 books in each category (I overachieved and read more than 10 books in all but one of the categories...)  I am thinking of doing something similar next year with a couple more categories added (Native Americans and Rereads).  My categories have boring titles.  Suggestions for snappier ones welcome. 🤓 

Here's this year's wrap up.  Number in parentheses indicates an overlap with another top 10; books in italics are 'extras' and not counted for overlap. 

Books over 500 pages – 12 total

1. Moby-Dick
2. The Overstory
3. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
4. The Children of Time
5. Palace Walk
6. The Bone Clocks
7. The Warning Voice
8. Catherine the Great (1)
9. Patria (1)
10. The Old Drift (1)
11. La catedral del mar
12. Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee                                                 

Books in Spanish – 10

1. La comemadre
2. Primera memoria
3. Tirante el blanco
4. Los migrantes que no importan
5. La memoria del fuego
6. El poeta niño
7. La catedral del mar
8. Las intermitencias de la muerte
9. Patria (1)
10. La bastarda (1)

Books in German – 11        

1. Happy Birthday Türke!
2. Medea: Stimmen
3. Proxima Rising
4. Frostnacht
5. Kälteschlaf
6. Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee
7. Das Sommerbuch (1)
8. Irgendwo in Deutschland (1)
9. Die Wand (1)
10. Atemschaukel (1)
11. Und die Vögel werden singen

Science fiction – 16

1. Tomorrow’s Kin
2. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
3. Semiosis
4. Lagoon
5. Failure to Communicate
6. This Is How You Lose the Time War
7. The Memory of Empire
8. Artificial Condition (1)
9. Rogue Protocol (1)
10. Exit Strategy (1)
11. Barrayar
12. All These Worlds
13. Record of a Spaceborn Few
14. The Children of Time
15. The Three-Body Problem
16. Proxima Rising

Fantasy and Mythology – 19

1. Hogfather
2. The Song of Achilles
3. The Bird King
4. Good Omens
5. Midnight Riot
6. Slade House
7. Beloved
8. Dracul
9. Gods of Jade and Shadow
10. The Winter of the Witch (1)
11. Medea
12. Medea: Stimmen
13. Abounding Might
14. The Powers of Darkness
15. The Bone Clocks
16. The Argonautika
17. Las intermitencias de la muerte
18. Vita Nostra
19. Frankenstein in Baghdad

Translated – 24
From: Danish, Norwegian, Polish, Chinese (2), Hungarian, Greek (2), Icelandic (3), Catalan, French (2), Swedish, Arabic (3), Portuguese (2), Vietnamese, Russian, Turkish, Korean

1. Flights
2. My Name is Red
3. Your Republic is Calling You
4. A General Theory of Oblivion
5. The Three-Body Problem
6. The Powers of Darkness
7. Argonautika
8. Medea
9. Slave Old Man
10. The Cross (1)
11. The Door
12. Tirante el blanco
13. Celestial Bodies
14. Palace Walk
15. Dumb Luck
16. So Long a Letter
17. Frostnacht
18. Kälteschlaf
19. The Warning Voice
20. Das Sommerbuch
21. Las intermitencias de la muerte
22. Vita Nostra
23. Frankenstein in Baghdad
24. Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee

Non-fiction (not biography or memoir) – 15

1. God: A Human History
2. The Tangled Tree
3. The Riddle of the Labyrinth
4. Good and Mad
5. Patient H.M.
6. How to Change Your Mind
7. Griftopia
8. Underland
9. Other Minds
10. Spark
11. Why Read Moby-Dick
12. Queer: A Graphic History
13. Everyday Zen
14. Los migrantes que no importan
15. La memoria del fuego

Biography-or-memoir – 11

1. Belonging
2. I’m Still Here
3. The Girl Who Smiled Beads
4. The Monk of Mokha
5. The Lowells of Massachusetts
6. The Devil in the Grove
7. Dreaming in Color
8. Und die Vögel werden singen
9. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu
10. Catherine the Great (1)
11. El poeta niño

Books from countries not yet visited in Read-the-World Challenge – 14 + *3 regions

1. The Door
2. Celestial Bodies
3. Dumb Luck
4. So Long a Letter
5. Frankenstein in Baghdad
6. Die Wand (1)
7. La bastarda (1)
8. Atemschaukel (1)
9. Das Sommerbuch (1)
10. The Old Drift (1)
11. Vita Nostra
12. Und die Vögel werden singen
13. Argonautika
14. Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee
15. Milkman *
16. La catedral del mar *
17. Slave Old Man *

Books from series I started in a previous year – 13

1. Barrayar
2. All These Worlds
3. Record of a Spaceborn Few
4. Abounding Might
5. The Winter of the Witch (1)
6. The Cross (1)
7. Irgendwo in Deutschland (1)
8. Artificial Condition (1)
9. Rogue Protocol (1)
10. Exit Strategy (1)
11. Frostnacht
12. Kälteschlaf
13. The Warning Voice

Edited December 30, 2019 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

More stats!  My Goodreads target this year was 104 books, I ended the year with 115. 

A multi-year challenge I've been working on is the Read the World Challenge.  My criteria: author must be from that country and have grown to adulthood there; book must be about that country. 206 countries, have also added 16 regions*/territories so far that because of language/cultural identity and/or colonialism/conquest have a distinct identity from the country they are currently part of. 2019: (14 countries, 3 regions new, 11 countries, 1 region revisited)
New:
Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Equatorial Guinea, Greece (2), Romania, Finland, Oman, Vietnam, Ukraine, Senegal, Iraq, Syria, Zambia, *Northern Ireland, *Catalonia, *Martinique
Revisited:
Norway, China (2), Egypt, Mexico, Angola, South Africa, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Australia, Argentina, Mexico (2), *Basque Country

I also read a bunch of books set in other places/countries around the world where the author was not from that country or had emigrated as a child that didn't get counted for that challenge.  Haven't tallied the other places I 'visited'...

Some other posts that talked about how many books bought vs. read from shelves made me go look at my stats for that.  I seem to be very good with library usage! 😁  The vast majority of what I read came from the library, either hardcopy or Overdrive.  I only bought of the books I read this year, all of them because neither my library nor the neighboring consortium had them.  And I did manage to read from shelves - though I do have to 'fess up that I bought a bunch more books than just those I read this year, so my shelves still have a net gain.  Sigh.  Almost all in German/Spanish, though, so I am building a nice multilingual library, at least....?

• Library – 93 (90 English, 1 German, 2 Spanish)
• Bought – 12 (3 English, 5 German, 4 Spanish)
• From shelves – 10 (1 English, 5 German, 4 Spanish)

I also did A-Z Title and Author, and completed Bingo.  I did no monthly challenges, though.  A-Z is the extent of my spelling this year!

BaW Bingo: 

Row 1

1. Something old – El poeta niño
2. Alternative History – The Three-Body Problem
3. Sea Voyage - Argonautika
4. Classic – The Warning Voice (Story of the Stone vol. 3)
5. Something New – A Memory Called Empire

Row 2

1. Machiavellian - Barrayar
2. Amateur Sleuth - Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee
3. Flufferton – Abounding Might
4. Private Investigator – Happy Birthday, Türke!
5. Nature – The Tangled Tree

Row 3

1. Ice or Snow Bound – Snow Child
2. Bildungsroman – Black Swan Green
3. Time Travel – How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
4. Allegory – Frankenstein in Baghdad
5. Deep Space – Record of a Spaceborn Few

Row 4

1. Ancient – Medea (play)
2. Legal/Medical Thriller – Patient H.M.
3. Cryptography – The Riddle of the Labyrinth
4. Police Detective - Kälteschlaf
5. Modern – Milkman

Row 5

1. Something Borrowed – Queer: A Graphic History
2. Sacred – God: A Human History
3. Road Trip - Census
4. Fantasy - The Winter of the Witch
5. Something Blue – The Bone Clocks

 

A-Z Author and A-Z Title (no overlaps allowed)

A-Z Title

A   The Song of Achilles
B   Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home
C   La comemadre
D   The Door
E    Ellen Foster
F    Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee
G   Ghostwritten
H   Hogfather
I     I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
J    Underland: A Deep Time Journey
K   Tomorrow’s Kin
L    Lagoon
M  Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
N   Number9Dream
O   Orhan’s Inheritance
P   Patria
Q   The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code
R   Rogue Protocol (Murderbot #3)
S    Semiosis
T    The Three-Body Problem
U   Sing, Unburied, Sing
V   Vita Nostra
W The Winter of the Witch (Winternight #3)
X   Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu
Y   Your Republic is Calling You
Z    The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

A-Z Author

A   Reza Aslan, God: A Human History
B   Jesse Ball, Census
C   Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil, The Girl Who Smiled Beads
D   Luke Dittrich, Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness and Family Secrets
E    Euripedes, Medea
F    Kaffe Fasset, Dreaming in Color: An Autobiography
G   Eduardo Galeano, Memoria del fuego 1: Los nacimientos
H   Marlen Haushofer, Die Wand
I     Eowyn Ivey, The Snow Child
J    Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth
K   Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, The Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
L    Lois McMasters Bujold, Barrayar (Vorkogsian Saga #7)
M  Arkady Martine, A Memory Called Empire
N   Nathaniel Philbrick, Why Read Moby-Dick
O   Olga Tokarczuk, Flights
P   Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
Q   David Quammen, The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life
R   Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being
S    Ahmed Saadawi, Frankenstein in Baghdad
T    Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow
U   Sigrid Undset, The Cross (Kristin Lavransdatter #3)
V   Vu Trong Phung, Dumb Luck
W Josephine Wilson, Extinctions
X   Cao Xueqin, The Warning Voice (Story of the Stone #3)
Y   Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
Z    Stefanie Zweig, Irgendwo in Deutschland

Edited December 30, 2019 by Matryoshka

[Kareni]

On 12/28/2019 at 4:22 PM, Robin M said:

Hubby wants us to do the German class on Great Courses Plus since that's the language he took in high school.  His memory is something else and when he's had a shot or two of Whiskey, he's quite fluent in the language.   

 

1 hour ago, aggieamy said:

LOL. We're getting an exchange student in the fall from Germany so we're all frantically trying to pick up the odd phrase or two. We're certainly not up to your DH's level yet though.

You obviously need some whiskey for educational purposes!

Regards,

Kareni

[SKL]

I ordered some books by / about / for women & girls with autism.  Pretty sure that applies to at least 2 of the females here (diagnosis anticipated in 2020).  I hope they are interesting and helpful.

[mumto2]

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.

 

[Maus]

Better get my last two on here before the year is officially up, though I am in the middle of one that I might finish before midnight tomorrow.

63. "Lord Edgware Dies" by Agatha Christie.

62. "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" by Agatha Christie.

61. "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" by Agatha Christie.

60. "The Hollow" by Agatha Christie.

59.. "Taken at the Flood" by Agatha Christie."

58. "Easy to Kill" by Agatha Christie.

57.  "The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers" by Amy Hollingsworth. 

56.  "A Body in the Library" by Agatha Christie.  

55.  "Christopher Columbus: A Man among the Gentiles" by Clark B. Hinckley. (LDS)  

54.  "The Priesthood Power of Women" by Barbara Morgan Gardner.  (LDS)

53. "Rethinking School" by Susan Wise Bauer.  

52. "The Question of the Absentee Father" by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen.   

51. "The Question of the Felonious Friend" by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen.

50. "The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband" by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen.

49. "The Question of the Missing Head" by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen.

48. "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker.  

47.  "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. 

46.  "Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien.  

45.  "Math with Bad Drawings" by Ben Orlin. 

44.  "The Number Devil" by Hans Magnus Enzensberger.

43.  "Insights from a Prophet's Life: Russall M Nelson" by Sheri Dew (LDS).

42.  "Live Up to Our Privileges" by Wendy Ulrich (LDS).

41.  "The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System --  And How to Fix It" by Natalie Wexler.

40.  "Blood, Bullets, and Bones" by Bridget Heos.

39.  "World War I:  The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today" by Richard J. Maybury.

38.  "The Thousand Year War in the Mideast:  How It Affects You Today" by Richard J. Maybury.  

37.  "The Two Towers" by J.R.R. Tokien.

36.  "Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

35. "The Clipper Ship Strategy" by Richard J. Maybury.

34. "The Money Mystery" by Richard J. Maybury.

33. "Evaluating Books: What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This" by Richard J. Maybury.

32. "Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today" by Richard J. Maybury.

31. "Are You Liberal? Conservative? or Confusted?" by Richard J. Maybury.  Funny title, because I thought I knew what I was, but now I'm confused!

30.  "Whatever Happened to Justice?" by Richard J. Maybury.

29. " The Instant Economist: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works" by Timothy Taylor. 

28. "White Like Her: My Family's Story of Race and Racial Passing" by Gail Lukasik.

27. "Personal, Career, and Financial Security" by Richard J. Maybury.

26. "Rascal" by Sterling North.

25. "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" by Richard J. Maybury.

24.  "Joy in the Covenant" by Julie B. Beck.  (LDS)

23. "The Essential 55" by Ron Clark.

22. "How to Tutor Your Own Child" by Marina Koestler Ruben.

21. "Faith is Not Blind" by Bruce and Marie Hafen. (LDS)

20. "Silent Souls Weeping: Depression, Sharing Stories, Finding Hope" by Jane Clayson Johnson.  (LDS)

19. "Leap of Faith" by Bob Bennett. (LDS)

18.  "Covenant Keepers" by Wendy Watson Nelson. (LDS)

17. "Manga Classics: MacBeth" adapted by Crystal S. Chan.

16. "One Dead Spy" by Nathan Hale.

15. "Stellar Science Projects About Earth's Sky" and "Wild Science Projects About Earth's Weather" by Robert Gardner.  

14. "Stuff Matters" by Mark Miodownik.  

13. "Led by Divine Design" by Ronald A. Rasband. (LDS)

12. "Forensic Science Projects with a Crime Lab" by Robert Gardner. 

11. "Manga Classics: The Jungle Book" adapted by Crystal S. Chan

10. "Donner Dinner Party" by Nathan Hale. 

9. "Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" adapted by Stacy King. 

8. "Bodies We've Buried" by Jarrett Hallcox and Amy Welch.

7. "The Forensic Casebook" by N.E. Genge.

6. "Shaken Faith Syndrome" by MIchael R. Ash. (LDS)

5. "Fingerprints: Crime-Solving Science Experiments" by Kenneth G. Rainis.

4. "Forensic Investigations" (6) by Leela Burnscott. & ("Bones Speak" by Richard Spilsbury)

3. "A Reason for Faith" edited by Laura Harris Hales.  (LDS)

2. "Left Standing" by Mason Wells, et al. (LDS)

1.  "Camino Easy" by B. G. Preston. 

•  

Edited December 30, 2019 by Maus
misspelling

[Kareni]

Today only, free for Kindle readers ~

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

On 12/29/2019 at 4:34 PM, Robin M said:

Afternoon, ladies.  I finished Kerry Greenwood's Cocaine Blues.  Interesting story but don't know whether I really like Phyrne or not enough to continue reading the series.  

 

I read that one a few years ago and wasn't inspired to read any others in the series. I very much enjoyed the tv series (Acorn TV, though it's probably available elsewhere too). It's one of those rare tv series (or movie) is better than the books for me.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[mumto2]

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)

[mumto2]

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!

 

[Negin]

Kindle books on sale today. 

The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America

The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After

Daisy Jones & The Six

      

[aggieamy]

14 hours ago, mumto2 said:

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.  

That's a pity because I think we both rather liked The Coroner's Lunch.

And YAY! to you on killin' it on the challenges this year. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by aggieamy

[aggieamy]

A friend gave me this book for Christmas and I just started it but I think it would be of interest to a few of the other gals here that love to read about people being murdered in early 20th Century England ...

It's got short entries on 100 famous English mysteries and why they are classics. My reading list is growing exponentially ...

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, aggieamy said:

That's a pity because I think we both rather liked The Coroner's Lunch.

And YAY! to you on killin' it on the challenges this year. 

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.

Edited December 31, 2019 by mumto2

[Kareni]

Today only, a free book for Kindle readers ~

A. E. W. Mason's The Witness for the Defense

Regards,

Kareni