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What’s in a Name? 2021 wrap-up

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It’s only May and I’ve finished up another year of What’s in a Name? hosted by Carolina Book Nook. I’ve participated in this challenge for several years & it’s one of my favorites. As always, it was fun to find books that meet the challenge. Here are my reads for this year:

2020 Reading Statistics

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Another reading year has come to an end and here’s the tally for the year. I read way more than a normal year. Part of that was due to lots of audio books while sewing & kindle books while exercising, and part was an intentional scheduling of reading time.

Books read: 218
Pages read: 76,993
Of the books read:
Non-fiction: 31
New-to-me authors: 51
Continuing series books: 115
Re-reads: 27
Audio-books: 104
Various book club reads: 10
Challenges completed: 10 of 10
Ongoing tally of Newbery winners: 82 of 99

[Read more…] about 2020 Reading Statistics

Mount TBR 2020 wrap-up

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This is my favorite challenge and Thanks to Bev at My Reader’s Block for continuing to host. This was my ninth year of hiking up my mountains of books. My goal for the year was to read 48 books from my To Be Read pile and reach the top of Mt. Ararat. I blew that away by reaching El Toro for the first time ever with 75 books, and then going a little beyond! As I look over the list, there were a lot of really good reads in there and I’m happy about my progress. It happened because I was more intentional about my reading and scheduled time to do my favorite thing.

The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey
Murphy’s Law (Molly Murphy #1), Rhys Bowen
Justice Hall (Mary Russell #6), Laurie R. King
The Ghost Fields (Ruth Galloway #7), Elly Griffiths
Open Season (Joe Pickett #1), C.J. Box
An Early Wake (County Cork #3), Sheila Connolly
Much Ado About Magic (Enchanted, Inc. #5), Shanna Swendson
The Hen of the Baskervilles (Meg Langslow #15), Donna Andrews
Countdown (Sixties Trilogy #1), Deborah Wiles
The Other Einstein, Marie Benedict
The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton (Laurence Bartram #2), Elizabeth Speller
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, Kristina McMorris
12 for Pike’s Peak
Her Royal Spyness (Royal Spyness #1), Rhys Bowen
Pope Joan, Donna Woolfolk Cross
Milkweed, Jerry Spinelli
Lost Lake, Sarah Addison Allen
The House on Tradd Street (Tradd Street #1), Karen White
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet, Charlie N. Holmberg
The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia #2), Jacqueline Kelly
The Tale Teller (Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito #23), Anne Hillerman
The Witch’s Grave (Ophelia & Abby #6), Shirley Damsgaard
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak
The Seventh Witch (Ophelia & Abby #7), Shirley Damsgaard
The Girl on Legare Street (Tradd Street #2), Karen White
24 for Mount Blanc
Moriarty (Holmes #2), Anthony Horowitz
The Kennedy Debutante, Kerri Maher
Night Work (Kate Martinelli #4), Laurie R. King
Enchantress of Numbers, Jennifer Chiaverini
Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family, Yoshiko Uchida
Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture, Joshua Levine
I Was There, Hans Peter Richter
Daughters in My Kingdom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The Royal Nanny, Karen Harper
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin, Erik Larson
Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah
Saints: The Standard of Truth (Saints #1), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
36 for Mt. Vancouver
The Librarian of Auschwitz, Antonio Iturbe
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson
Daughters of the Night Sky, Aimie K. Runyan
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris
The Longest Day, Cornelius Ryan
Letters from Skye, Jessica Brockmole
The Guns of Navarone, Alistair MacLean
Alan Turing: the Enigma, Andrew Hodges
109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos, Jennet Conant
The Lost Girls of Paris, Pam Jenoff
The Paris Wife, Paula McLain
A Royal Pain (Royal Spyness #2), Rhys Bowen
48 for Mt. Ararat
Royal Flush (Royal Spyness #3), Rhys Bowen
Royal Blood (Royal Spyness #4), Rhys Bowen
The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Royal Spyness #6), Rhys Bowen
Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles #14), Susan Wittig Albert
Spanish Dagger (China Bayles #15), Susan Wittig Albert
Duck the Halls (Meg Langslow #16), Donna Andrews
The Strangers on Montagu Street (Tradd Street, #3), Karen White
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind, Ivan Doig
Fates and Traitors, Jennifer Chiaverini
The Girls of Atomic City, Denise Kiernan
The Eleventh Man, Ivan Doig
The Devil’s Puzzle (Someday Quilts #4), Clare O’Donohue
60 for Mt. Kilimanjaro
The Double Wedding Ring (Someday Quilts #5), Clare O’Donohue
Women of Faith in the Latter Days: Volume Three, 1846-1870, ed. Richard E. Turley Jr. & Brittany A. Chapman
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
Crowned and Dangerous (Royal Spyness #10), Rhys Bowen
China Dolls, Lisa See
Nightshade (China Bayles #16), Susan Wittig Albert
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus (Meg Langslow #17), Donna Andrews
The Guests on South Battery (Tradd Street, #5), Karen White
Adam of the Road, Elizabeth Janet Gray
The Quintland Sisters, Shelley Wood
Wormwood (China Bayles #17), Susan Wittig Albert
The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle (Dahlias #8), Susan Wittig Albert
The Game (Mary Russell #7), Laurie R. King
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
Locked Rooms (Mary Russell #8), Laurie R. King
75 for El Toro
76-The Nightingale before Christmas (Meg Langslow #18), Donna Andrews
77-The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry
78-Holly Blues (China Bayles #18), Susan Wittig Albert
79-The Christmas Boutique (Elm Creek Quilts #20), Jennifer Chiaverini

Additional challenge mountains not reached:
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

Monthly Motif 2020 wrap-up

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I did this challenge this year after giving it a break for a few years and it was fun to find books for the month. Here’s my reading list:

  • JANUARY-The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey
  • FEBRUARY-Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, Kristina McMorris
  • MARCH-The Witch’s Grave (Ophelia & Abby #6), Shirley Damsgaard
  • APRIL-The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, Erik Larson
  • MAY-Citizen 13660, Mine Okubo
  • JUNE-Travels with Charley: In Search of America, John Steinbeck
  • JULY-The German House, Annette Hess (country & author)
  • AUGUST-Duck the Halls (Meg Langslow #16), Donna Andrews
  • SEPTEMBER-American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
  • OCTOBER-The Guests on South Battery (Tradd Street, #5), Karen White
  • NOVEMBER-The Game (Mary Russell #7), Laurie R. King
  • DECEMBER-The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street (Tradd Street, #6, Karen White

2020 Literary Escapes Challenge wrap-up

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Hosted by Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book. I’ve done challenges similar to this in the past and almost had a nervous breakdown trying to finish at the end of the year. So this year I set a personal goal to get 25 of the 50 states in order to consciously get some variety in my locales without too much stress and I managed to exceed my goal with 30 states.

Alabama: The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle (Dahlias #8), Susan Wittig Albert
Alaska: The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey
Arizona:
Arkansas:
California: Frankly in Love, David Yoon
Colorado:
Connecticut: Death Overdue (Haunted Library #1), Allison Brook
Delaware: We Dream of Space, Erin Entrada Kelly
District of Columbia: Fates and Traitors, Jennifer Chiaverini
Florida: Squirm, Carl Hiaasen
Georgia: Lost Lake, Sarah Addison Allen
Hawaii: The Color of Air, Gal Tsukiyama
Idaho: The Blight Way (Sheriff Bo Tully #1), Patrick McManus
Illinois: Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Indiana:
Iowa: The Witch’s Grave (Ophelia & Abby #6), Shirley Damsgaard
Kansas:
Kentucky: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson
Louisiana:
Maine:
Maryland: Countdown (Sixties Trilogy #1), Deborah Wiles
Massachusetts:
Michigan: Betty Before X, Ilyasah Shabazz
Minnesota: This Tender Land, William Kent Krueger
Mississippi:
Missouri:
Montana: This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind, Ivan Doig
Nebraska:
Nevada:
New Hampshire:
New Jersey:
New Mexico: The Tale Teller (Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito #23), Anne Hillerman
New York: Murphy’s Law (Molly Murphy #1), Rhys Bowen
North Carolina: The Seventh Witch (Ophelia & Abby #7), Shirley Damsgaard
North Dakota:
Ohio:
Oklahoma: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
Oregon:
Pennsylvania: Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team, Steve Sheinkin
Rhode Island:
South Carolina: The House on Tradd Street, Karen White
South Dakota:
Tennessee: The Girls of Atomic City, Denise Kiernan
Texas: The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia #2), Jacqueline Kelly
Utah: Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family, Yoshiko Uchida
Vermont:
Virginia: The Hen of the Baskervilles (Meg Langslow #15), Donna Andrews
Washington: Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah
West Virginia:
Wisconsin: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, Amy E. Reichert
Wyoming: Open Season (Joe Pickett #1), C.J. Box