Show Us Your Books March 2024

I can’t believe it’s March already! (Maybe I say that every month. I don’t know.) Either way I’m grateful that I got in the habit of tracking my books on LibraryThing and Litsy so I can go back and see what I read in these months that seem to move at light speed.

February was a great month. I’m still keeping up with my challenges as you can see here- I’m reading about the environment, reading from the Tournament of Books Long List, and reading from across Oceania. All of this has led me to some great reads I wouldn’t have read otherwise, and to some stinkers which we won’t discuss here.

Five Star Reads

On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu - Wow, this book was a punch in the gut. I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about this book about refugees in Australia and Nauru.

Four Stars

The Girl In The Tower by Katherine Arden - I enjoyed this one- it was a lot more action packed than the first in the series. I also liked the changing relationships between the siblings and loved the horse. I’ll read the 3rd but I’m going to wait until November at least because these are definitely cold weather books.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger - The first 30 pages of this took me two days to read because it was so slow, and then I finished the last 400 or so in 24 hours. I’m glad I didn’t give up! The story of 4 orphans trying to make their way to St Louis by canoe was a good one.

Koala by Danille Clode - A natural history of the koala. I really enjoyed this. Who knew reading about the different types of eucalyptus trees could be so interesting?

The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols - This book was as depressing as it was interesting. Notably it was written before the pandemic so today’s reader is left feeling like there’s a lot missing from the discussion. However the points made still feel spot on as someone who works for a firm where thought leadership used to be a big part of our business.

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This post will be shared with Quick Lit on ModernMrsDarcy.com

On My Nightstand October 30, 2022

Thank you all for your well wishes last week. It was a long week of funerals and ceremonies, but I’m glad my friend had such a fitting send off.

This weekend is Confirmation for my son, and then early Thanksgiving since everyone will be together. We’re looking forward to that!

In between I plan on sneaking off to read. I need to re-charge somehow! Here’s what’s on my nightstand this week.

No Exit by Taylor Adams - I’m about halfway through this one, and I love the creepiness factor,

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan - I’ve enjoyed other books by Corrigan, and am looking forward to this one.

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This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

On My Nightstand October 23, 2022

This week didn’t turn out like I had planned. Very sadly, one of my best friends passed away last week. I am still reading, but soon I will need to stop and regroup. For now, here’s what’s on my nightstand this week.

What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J A Chancy - The #FoodandLit club on Litsy is reading and eating from Haiti this month. I’ll admit I picked this one based on the title and cover alone.

On the Slab Pie by P.D. Workman -- Another cozy mystery for my work book club. I hope after this we’re done with these for a while.

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny -- Slowly re-reading this series before the new one comes out in November!

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This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

On My Nightstand October 16, 2022

I way underestimated the available hours in my schedule last week, so I’m playing catch up this morning (and maybe working a little ahead?)

I was in the office four days, my son has homecoming plus two cross country races, and my daughter had soccer and extra dance classes. I guess we’re all trying to fit what we can in while there’s still some sunshine and daylight to be had!

Here’s what I have on my nightstand this week. A lot of it is leftovers from last week, which I never posted about because I lost track of time then too. That’s October!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Joanne Fluke - I’m about a chapter in on this one. So far it’s a typical cozy mystery involving baking and death. (This one is free for Amazon Prime members.)

What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J A Chancy - The #FoodandLit club on Litsy is reading and eating from Haiti this month. I’ll admit I picked this one based on the title and cover alone.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins - I finished Jane Eyre last week, so this was the natural next read. I have a hardcover version of this, but I noticed it’s also available on Kindle Unlimited.

Horseman by Christina Henry - Reading this for a book club, and it’s a little more yuck than I prefer, but it’s not terrible.

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This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

On My Nightstand October 2, 2022

October is here! I am so excited. I pulled all of my decorations and flannel PJs out of the attic last night. I had planned on reading for a good chunk of the time yesterday, but then I fell asleep. Now that I’m caught up on rest I’ll try again today!

A few of the challenges I’m participating in the month are:

• #Scarathlon on Litsy

• Fraterfest 2022

• Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

Who ever said reading wasn’t a team sport??

I also have my very own October Bucket List that I’m trying to complete.

Happy reading this week! Here’s what’s on my nightstand:

All the Queen's Men by SJ Bennett - I loved the first book in this series about Queen Elizabeth solving mysteries, and turned to the second after watching so much news coverage of her amazing life last month. You really can believe that she solved mysteries in her spare time.

Cooking The Books by Chelsea Thomas - I’ve read a few from this series featuring murders at an upstate New York apple orchard. They’re good for fun, easy reads.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - The latest chapter a day read with the Pemberlittens on Litsy. This is one of my favorite Austen books, and I’m really looking forward to it.

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This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

September Reading Plans

I just did a big clean out of my bookshelves and realized just how bad my unread books problem has gotten. So, my September reading plans include really trying to read some books I already own instead of getting more from the library. That said I really want to read the Three Pines series again, in order, before the next one comes out in November. I’m also running out of time on my 2022 challenges, and gearing up for Scarathalon reading next month.

So many books, so little time!

Litsy A to Z Challenge Results

It’s that time of the year when I either finish the millions of challenges I signed up for last December or realize I’m going to fail miserably. I’m happy to say for the second year in a row I finished the A to Z challenge on Litsy.

This is a fun and easy challenge because for the most part it works out when you read a lot of books. There are several tracks, but I simply aim to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet. At then end though I had to search for books beginning with ‘K’ and ‘X’ so I’m going to share my list here for anyone else in a similar predicament.

Note: I know these challenges aren’t for everyone, but I love them. This isn’t meant to make anyone feel like I think you should be doing more with your reading life. It’s just one of the ways I track my reading and try to get my TBR down to a manageable level.

A - The Awakened Kingdom by N.K. Jemisin

B - Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

C - The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

D - Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton

E- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

F- The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

G- Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia

H- The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

I - The Impossible First by Colin O’Brady

J- The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

K - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

L- Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam

M- Mollie Garfield in the White House by Ruth S. B. Geis

N- Naked and Marooned by Ed Stafford

O- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

P- The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi

Q- The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

R- The Resisters by Gish Jen

S- Sleeping Giants by Sylvian Neuvel

T- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

U- Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

V- Vietnamese Food Any Day by Andrea Nguyen

W- What Unites Us by Dan Rather

X- X by Sue Grafton

Y- The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg

Z- Z by Therese Fowler

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March Reading Stats

Mabry Mill

March was a great reading month. We had a few days that were perfect for reading outside, plenty of audiogardening, and a short road trip that supported my reading habits. I noticed I was quick to bail on books that didn’t grab me right away. I have mixed feelings about bailing on books, but overall I do think it allows me to read more books that I like.

Total Read: 17 books read - 6 audio and 11 print. As I mentioned I bailed on five others.

TBR: Started at 849 and ended at 852. Could I have really added 26 books to my TBR? I guess so. I really need a month off to read.

Challenges: Reading Asia -1 (Nepal), Food and Lit - 1 (Ethiopia), Bookspin Bingo - 5 Bingos!, Reading Canada - 1, Chunkster Challenge - 52% done with Les Miserables

April should mean warmer weather for gardening and reading outside, but it also means spring sports for the kids so we’ll see. I have some good books planned for the month, so that should keep me motivated!

January Stats

Finally gave in and set up a home office, and the cats wasted no time in taking it over.

Read: 18 books (11 audiobooks, 7 print)

Challenges:

Reading Asia: 1 Book

Reading Europe: 1 book

Food and Lit: January was Brazil. I bailed on the one book I tried, ate Brazi bites, and listened to some Brazilian music which I enjoyed.

Bookspin BINGO: 15 read, 2 bails, 2 BINGOs

Chunkster Challenge 2021: 30% through Les Miserables (Really love this book)

Beginning TBR: 843

Ending TBR: 839

Overall a prolific month, but I still feel distracted. I was hoping to leave that in 2020, but the year is young.

Show Us Your Books is next Tuesday, so I’ll share favorites then!

Year End Reading Stats And Goals For 2021

So, I don’t really care about my stats this year. I read 208 books, but for some of them I was so distracted and checking Twitter every 1.5 seconds. It’s a high number, but it doesn’t mean much. Still it is interesting to me to see what my reading year looked like so that next year I can compare.

I like to binge read certain authors

There were 8 authors that I read three or more books from this year. In 2020 these eight authors made up 18% of my reading: Stephen King (8), LM Montgomery (7), Louise Penny (7), Jane Austen (4), Frederik Backman (3), William Kent Krueger (3), Ann M Martin (3), Colson Whitehead (3)

Audiobooks Were My 2H2020 Coping Mechanism

I went crazy with the audiobooks this year, mainly in the 2nd half of the year. When I couldn’t sit still to read I could put my ear buds in and listen while I walked or puttered. In 2020 45% of my reading was via audiobook.

I Felt Like All I Did Was Re-Read, But It Wasn’t As Much As I Thought

My re-reading this year wasn’t as high as I thought it was- only 17%. I don’t take issue with re-reading like some people do, but I am glad to see that more than 80% of the books I read helped take some of the stress off my TBR.

Non-fiction Isn’t That Hard

Again, this stat surprised me. I didn’t think I would have had the patience to read much non-fiction this year, but it was actually 22% of my reading.

2020 Challenges

No I’m not talking about the challenges of a crazy year. I’m talking about the challenges I signed up for.

• I read books from 20 countries and 34 states

• I read and cooked from 9 different cookbooks (dropped this one when getting groceries got hard)

• I read books from 11/12 #AuthorAMonth authors from Litsy. I skipped Mary Roach. One of her books almost made me vomit on metro once. This was my favorite- it was challenging and fun at the same time.

• I read books that started with every single letter of the alphabet.

2021 Goals

I set my overall goal for 200 books again, but in 2021 I want to read more chunky books, be more intentional about reading from my TBR, take part in #AuthorAMonth again, and take part in various Litsy challenges like Litsy A to Z, Food and Lit, Reading Asia, and Reading Europe.

I’m looking forward to a better year in all sorts of ways for 2021!

The Trouble With Theme Reading

This month I’ve been taking part in a reading challenge on Litsy. The goal is to earn points for my team by reading as many books about Halloween and dark and twisty mysteries as I can. It’s been fun, and I’ve met some great people, but boy am I tired of unreliable narrators and psychopaths. There are still 8 days left in October, and I’m not sure I’m going to make it to the finish line.

This isn’t a job, and my team will win nothing but bragging rights, but also I live in fear of letting people down. That said, if I read any more about murder I might never read again. (My solution- re-read the Baby-Sitters’ Club. Not a super good use of my time.)

Does anyone else have these problems reading on theme? Right now I can’t wait for it to be November so I can curl up with something cozy.

2018 Litsy Classics Challenge

This year I joined the Litsy A to Z Classics Reading Challenge (#litsyclassics if you're on Litsy.) I'm excited to finally make a dent in the classic portion of my TBR.

Here are the books on my list.

Are you doing any challenges this year?

Halftime Reading Goals Progress

Can you believe it? 2016 is half over. Any resolutions I made to improve myself in January have been long abandoned, except for the ones related to reading. I'm still trying to meet my 2016 reading goals for non-fiction, reading out loud, and classics.

Goal #1:

Read 50 non-fiction books, at least 40 from a list I curated from my TBR.

Progress: I have read 28 non-fiction books so far this year, but only ten are from my list. I'm in the middle of a huge book from my list now, so progress will be made this summer.

Goal #2:

Read the 5 chapter books on this list out loud to my kids.

Progress: I have read three chapter books out loud to my kids (plus numerous story books), but none were from my list. Not to fear, we have started two books from the list, so this shouldn't be a total shut out.

Goal #3:

Read these 8 classics in 2016.

I've read 3/8, almost half of my list. I would have read Grapes of Wrath too, but for some reason I've been waiting for weeks for my library hold.

Reading Challenges:

Modern Mrs. Darcy's reading challenge:

I only have 2 books left for this one -- "A book chosen by your sibling, spouse, child, or BFF", and "A book that was banned at some point".

BookRiot's Read Harder Challenge:

I've read 10/24 books for this challenge. Time to step it up! I'm starting with my selection for 500+ pages - City on Fire.

Books on the Nightstand Summer Reading BINGO:

I am super excited for my BINGO card - this is my 3rd year doing this, and I think it's my best yet.  I usually try to read the whole square, and I usually get pretty close.

My TBR

I started the year with 400 books on my TBR, and am down to 383. Not bad, since I feel like I've added about a thousand books since summer reading lists started coming out.

Happy reading!

It would have never happened without a reading challenge

I can't resist a reading challenge. Every time I do one I read at least one amazing book that I would have never picked up on my own. Right now I am obsessed with The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, my entry for "The First Book In A Series By A Person of Color" in Book Riot's Read Harder challenge.

It makes my little bookworm heart anxious that I would have lived my life never reading this amazing book if not for the challenge.

Summer reading challenges should be coming out soon, and I can't wait. If I read just one book as amazing as The Fifth Season this summer, it will be a summer well spent.

What's your favorite reading challenge?

Other books I discovered during reading challenges:

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The Thorn Birds: 1970's drama just like Nana used to love

I decided to re-read The Thorn Birds because of the "read a book from the decade you were born" category in the Bookriot Read Harder Challenge. It came down to a choice between The Thorn Birds and John Le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I probably should have picked the book I hadn't read before, but the sure thing won out.

I love The Thorn Birds because it reminds me of the soaps that always used to be on at my Nana's house growing up. I highly suggest this (long, multigenerational, sweeping) book if you were born in the 70's and are feeling nostalgic. You can even watch the made for TV mini series which actually just may be a bit better than the book due to the awesome portrayal of Mary Carson.

If you like sweeping melodrama you may also enjoy this trilogy:

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2015 Reading Challenges Wrap Up

Cape Cod, a great place for reading

I love to take part in various reading challenges throughout the year. In 2015 I took part in two notable ones: Modern Mrs. Darcy's 2015 Reading Challenge, and the Books on the Nightstand Summer Book BINGO. I finished Mrs. Darcy's challenge, and came close to completing the square on BINGO. Here's how I filled the categories:

2015 Reading Challenge:

A book you're been meaning to read: Station Eleven

A book published this year: I Take You

A book in a genre you don't typically read: Can't we talk about something more pleasant?

A book from your childhood: Ramona Quimby Age 8

A book your mom loves: W is for Wasted

A book that was originally written in a different language: Heidi

A book that "everyone' has read but you: Me Before You

A book you chose because of the cover: Prospect Park West

A book by a favorite author: On Writing

A book recommended by someone with great taste: Game of Thrones

A book you should have read in High School: My Antonia

A book that's currently on the bestseller list: All the Light We Cannot See

Summer Reading BINGO:

Published before 1970: A Separate Peace

Cozy Mystery: The Nightingale Before Christmas (Meg Langslow Mysteries)

Set in a place you want to visit: Doctor Sleep

10 Short Stories: stories by O. Henry, Maeve Binchy, Truman Capote, and from the journal One Story

An audiobook: I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time

A presidential biography: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Nonfiction: Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space

A novella: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Borrowed from the library: Never Let Me Go

Free Square: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

With only words on the cover: W is for Wasted (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

With a red cover: How to Eat a Cupcake: A Novel

Travel writing: Life Is a Wheel: Memoirs of a Bike-Riding Obituarist

By an author of a different gender: Jurassic Park: A Novel 

Started but never finished: One Summer: America, 1927

Young adult novel: The Fever: A Novel

That you've pretended to have read: To Kill a Mockingbird

Currently on the bestseller list: The Girl on the Train

Found in a used bookstore: The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel

Fantasy: Wizard and Glass: (The Dark Tower #4)(Revised Edition)

Squares I missed:
A play
With a number in the title
By an author of a different culture
Recommended by a librarian or a bookseller
With a one-word title

What book challenges are you looking forward to in 2016?

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This post is linked to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Eight classics I want to read in 2016

I'm in the middle of a multi-year attempt to read all of the classics I missed (or didn't pay enough attention to) in high school. Here are the 8 I've assigned myself to read in 2016.

You can click on any of the images above to see a description on amazon.com.

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Forty Non-Fiction Books I Want To Read in 2016

My goal in 2016 is to read 50 non-fiction books, with 40 of them being "pre-assigned". This is in an effort to read more substantial non-fiction. These are in no particular order, and selected from my TBR list, my library holds list, and from books I already have at home.

You can click on any of the images above to see a description on amazon.com.

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