Annual Reading Challenge--2020

[Tiggerish]

Gluten-Free Murder by P.D. Workman - Murder mystery set in a gluten-free bakery. It was a free download and a quick read.

Beneath a Billion Stars by Julie Carobini. One of the Sea Glass Inn series. Christian romantic fiction with happy ending.

The Castle by the Loch by Hannah Ellis. Part of the Loch Lannick series set in Ireland. Romantic fiction with adult content.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler. The first book I read by this author was the Accidental Tourist. I have read several others. Her style is somewhat unique but this one I liked. A son who owns the restaurant is taking care of his elderly mother in her final days. The book tells her story and the story of their family in flashbacks.

97-100 of 80 and another year of reading has been completed. I am still debating in my head what I want to do for next year and will post on the 2021 thread when I get that figured out.

 

[tiggrbaby]

December:
#85/90: The Law of Innocence (Lincoln Lawyer #6) by Michael Connelly (4/5) (legal thriller)

On the way home from a legal win, Mickey Haller is pulled over by the police and a body is discovered in his trunk. Thrown into jail with an impossibly high bail, he works to try and represent himself and regain his reputation.

Bosch makes a few appearances in the story. This takes place in a recent timeline and Covid is mentioned.

#86/90: The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner (4/5) (historical fiction)

Elise is a typical Iowa teenager in 1943. Then her father, a legal US resident, is arrested and accused of being a Nazi symphathizer. The family ends up at an internment camp, where she develops a friendship with Mariko, a Japanese American teenager. But Elise’s life is torn apart again when the family is sent to Germany in a prisoner exchange.


#87/90: Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (4/5) (mystery)

Susan Ryland has been the editor for the author of a popular detective series for years. But the last book arrives without a final chapter and the author is found dead, possibly suicide. Now she needs to unravel the mystery of both the book and the author’s death.

This is a book within a book.

#88/90: Dead and Gone (Still Waters #3 ) by Dawn Lee McKenna and Axel Blackwell (4/5) (suspense)

Sheriff Caldwell was called to investigate missing trees, but did not expect to find a body. Additionally, the county ME is missing and a defense attorney is threatening blackmail.

#89/90: Nothing Ventured (Wm. Warwick #1) by Jeffrey Archer (4/5) (detective)

Against his father’s wishes, William joins the London Metropolitan Police after university. He eventually becomes a detective in the arts and antiquities division of Scotland Yard.

#89/90: Vanished ( Callahan and McLane #1 ) by Kendra Elliot (4/5) (suspense)

After a young girl is abducted on her way to school, the FBI sends agent Ava McLane to live with the family. A local detective is also living with the family to help with the search, but he is dealing with his own issues.

#90/90: Moonflower Murders (Magpie #2) by Anthony Horowitz (4/5) (mystery)

Susan has been living in Greece, but misses her involvement with books. A couple comes and asks for her help to solve the disappearance of their daughter, who declared that it occured after she found a clue in one of the Atticus Pund books.

#91/90: The Cactus by Sarah Haywood (4/5) (romantic fiction)

Susan lives a very focused life in London. After her mother dies, she finds out that her deadbeat brother has inherited the house. She decides to fight the will, as she has a big change coming up in her life.

This reminded me of the Elinor Oliphant book.

#92/90: The Exiles by Christine Baker Kline (5/5) (historical fiction)

This follows the lives of different women in the 1840s on an island off the coast of Australia.

 

[KevM]

Alright, it's the end of the month and the end of 2020. This month I read 9 books, bringing my total for the year to 78, meeting my revised extended goal (my original goal was 52, which I surpassed back in October. Without further ado, the books I read this month were:

70) Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis- Non-Fiction/Political. A collection of essays, interviews, & speeches that Davis has given that looks at the connection of struggles against state violence & oppression from around the world and throughout history. 4.5/5.

71) Legendborn by Tracy Deonn - Fantasy. YA Fantasy. A young woman learns that the Arthurian legend isn't as mythical as we think and her connection to them. 4.5/5.

72) The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark - Novella/Steampunk. Set in a Steampunk New Orleans where the Civil War has lasted about a decade and is currently at a stalemate, the heroine of the book learns of a plot to destroy the free city of New Orleans. 4/5.

73) Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - Historical Fiction. Follows a Korean family from the early 1900s to the Japaneses occupation up through the 1980s. 4.25/5

74) In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren - Romance. I haven't really read much romance, but have decided to expand out to that genre. It being December, a Christmas themed story, that also involved a time loop (a sci-fi theme that I enjoy) seemed like a good choice. 3.5/5.

75) All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson - Non-Fiction/Environmental. Over 50 essays from women at the forefront of the climate movement. 5/5

76) The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho - Novella/Fantasy. An enjoyable wuxia story (wuxia, if that's not a genre you're familar with, is a Chinese genre. Think of stories along the lines of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 4/5.

77) Passing the Baton: Black Women Track Stars and American Identity by Cat M. Ariail - Non-Fiction/Sports/Race. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s some of the most successful athletes n the world were African American women track stars. This book looks at how this bumped up against and challenged America's ideas about race, gender, sexuality, & national identity. 4.25/5.

78) The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories by Danielle Evans - Novella/Short Stories. A collection of a novella and six short stories dealing with race & American history, 4.25/5

 

[MGMmjl]

29/30 - The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
I am really enjoying Christie's mysteries, and look forward to reading more of her work.

30/30 - Postcard History Series: The Blue Ridge Parkway by Karen J. Hall and the FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway
This is a book containing various historical postcards for the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains regions, with brief paragraphs describing them. I enjoyed seeing the old postcards, but some of the text seemed lacking.

With that, I reached my goal of 30 books for the year!

 

[drwitz]

Well, it was a banner weekend. Three more books done! And all worthwhile. I can't believe how quickly these went by. Each are highly recommended.

70. Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us by Amanda Carpenter

In keeping with my practice, I will not review the book here. However, if you would like a candid review, feel free to message me.

71. The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman

This children's book is in the tradition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or the books of Roald Dahl. The author of The Magicians series (and if you haven't read that series, you need to... now), writes a book about a special birthday for Kate (she is turning 11), and the special gift given to her by her weird Uncle Herbert (a lifesize magical steam locomotive). Kate and her younger brother, Tom, begin a wondrous adventure that will educate, entertain and inspire you as a reader. This is a book I wanted to read aloud with a child (sadly, all of my kids are two old for it now), and one I cherished.

72. Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

Wow! What a great book to finish (?) the year. How to describe this genre-defying book? In part the story of a cult and a young girl escaping the clutches of the cult, in part a plague / sci-fi story, and in part a religious novel, this book is truly wonderful. The characters are well-drawn, the plot moves quickly, and the alternative POV chapters between Agnes and her sister, Beth, keeps the reader's interest. willowssn read and reviewed this above and I knew I had to read it. In addition, I started my year out with a plague series (by Alex Scarrow - see the review of the series in the first post of the year) and I figured it was a good way to bookmark the year by ending with another plague story. This one did not disappoint!

And one more before the year ends. Just snuck this one in...

73. Codex by Lev Grossman

This is one of Grossman's early books, before The Magicians series, and while it doesn't have the same magical underpinnings, it does have a great narrative pace and sense of story. Almost a story within a story, the books tells of Edward who is on a search for a codex (an early manuscript before printed books, but bound like a book) that may or may not exist. This while also playing a world-building game must like Myst. The story was entertaining and moved quickly. Recommended!

And with that, the year ends! Happy New Year!

 

[jen7233]

Finished out:
29/20: Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. Weird second book, few strange topics and characters, just not things I want to read about, some of these happenings in the book, no thanks. I liked Olive better in book one, and the situations better also in book one.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Finished the year with the last two books

"Squeeze me", Carl Hiassen, 3 stars Not as funny as his books usually are
"An Orphan's Wish", also 3 stars, Just OK

 

[mmouse37]

Just made my quota of 40 books.....

35/40 Meat - Joseph D’Lacey - You may never look at meat the same way again!
36/40 The Radium Girls - Kate Moore - Terrible what happened to them but the book went on too long
37/40 Ten Days in a Mad House - Nellie Bly - Interesting look at mental health treatments back in 1887
38/40 Demon King - Elizabeth Briggs - Good Fantasy about good and evil
39/40 The Book of Kells - R. A. McAvoy - did not like at all. Story was all over the place
40/40 The Boy in the Suitcase - Lene Kaaberol & Agnete Friis - Good thriller

MJ

 

[HiStitch626]

Will there be a new thread for 2021?

 

[Colleen27]

Last update of the old year. I fell short of my goal by about the same amount I did in 2019 - apparently the sweet spot for me is somewhere between 2 and 3 books a week, because 104 for the year was too easy but I haven't quite made it to 156 in either of the last two years.

#125 - Vagabonding With Kids by AK Turner

Part travelogue, part how-to guide to long-term travel with kids, this was a surprisingly funny read but not quite what I expected or was looking for. I'd read it as a chronicle of the family's adventures, and I think I am going to see if the library has her title about Alaska, but on the how-to end the advice was not especially practical, took a whole lot of advantages for granted, and kind of made the family seem a bit disingenuous in the author's refusal to acknowledge her own privilege and the ways in which her advice assumes the reader shares that same privilege.

#126 & 127 - Say No to the Duke and Say Yes to the Duke by Eloisa James

Light, fun regency romances in a series I've now read five titles in. Perfect winter vacation escapism.

#128 - Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

A historical novel set in a wagon train headed from Missouri to California during the height of westward expansion, this one came up as a romance suggestion but didn't read at all like a romance novel. The story was fascinating, with the hardships and experiences of the journey making up more of the focus than the romantic subplot, but at times it felt a bit mired in stereotypes and a bit too predictable in the way the conflict (with a tribe on the plains, of course) unfolded. In the end, it didn't quite satisfy as either historical fiction or as a romance, and was really just okay.

#129 - On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

I won't say too much about this one because it is extremely political in nature, a comparison between elements of recent American history and that of Germany in the first half of the 20th century authored by a history professor at Yale. It was a very good, though very quick, read for putting things in historical perspective, and I would highly recommend it.

#130 - The Bargain by Mary Jo Putney

Another light Regency I picked up as a late night read on Scribd, this one was enjoyable enough that I stayed up way too late to finish it. It was all very predictable, of course, as romance novels tend to be but the characters were unique and entertaining and the writing lively enough to keep me turning pages.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Will there be a new thread for 2021?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/reading-challenge-2021.3820733/#post-62540389

 

[willowsnn3]

Will there be a new thread for 2021?

Here is the link. Annual Reading List 2021.

See you there!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

13 The maze Runner by James Dashner
Another book borrowed/stolen from daughter's room. Did not like as much as other similar series. Neither of us plan to read more.

If anyone is interested in reading any of my works I would gladly send kindle gift versions of any of them: “Written for You”, “Three Twigs for the Campfire”, “Cemetery Girl” or “Reigning”.
You can see them all reviewed on Goodreads (click on link to view books). If you are interested in reading any of them please message me here or at Goodreads. I would greatly appreciate the effort.

 

[bobbiwoz]

16. Maude by Donna Mobry. Excellent account of the life of the author ‘s grandmother written in the first person. Read it based on recommendations on here. I totally agree with them.

I began reading this today, and I’m glad for the recommendations too!

 

[violina]

Edit: Post to wrong book thread, sorry!

 

[bobbiwoz]

...

Whispers From Yesterday by Robin Lee Hatcher. Christian romantic fiction with the happy ending.

20 and 21 of 80.

It’s a long time from when you read it, but I just finished it and enjoyed it!

 

[bobbiwoz]

#20/60
The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Everyone wants to be a Roanoke girl.

But you won't when you know the truth.

Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin at the Roanoke family's rural estate following the suicide of her mother. Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls.

But what she doesn't know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice...

Read the book because of your reference. What a choice to make.

 

[willowsnn3]

Read the book because of your reference. What a choice to make.

This was one I bought from the Dollar Tree while my library was closed.

 

[bobbiwoz]

This was one I bought from the Dollar Tree while my library was closed.

Good buy!