Soelo's 40 books in 2021

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Soelo's 40 books in 2021

1soelo
tammikuu 1, 2021, 10:35 am

This year I hope I don't have as much downtime as I did in 2020, which is a rare thing for me to hope for. Between work and volunteering, I am usually slower at the start of the year. Since I am not driving to either one, I won't have that time for audiobooks like I did for the first 2.5 months of 2020.

2lamplight
tammikuu 1, 2021, 11:48 am

Happy New Year, and I hope your life can resume to the version you like best.

3jwrudn
tammikuu 1, 2021, 1:18 pm

>1 soelo: I hear you. It was a slow year for me, too, but considering it was a pandemic year, it was not so bad for me, though not for reading. I hope 2021 is great for you in all respects (but keep up the volunteering - an admirable activity).

4soelo
Muokkaaja: tammikuu 13, 2021, 9:33 am

1. The Jane Austen Book Club
2. The 13 Story Treehouse

I guess I will be driving to my volunteer shifts - planning on doing 3 in person shifts every two weeks and then an hour or so per night from home on the days I don't go in. We have two new locations and they are both a longer drive than before, so I'll need to make sure I have audiobooks on my phone that I really want to hear. I've stopped reading two books already this year, too. I am loading my ebooks into Marvin (iOS app) and that is helping me add more reading time into my day since I always have my iPad with me.

5soelo
tammikuu 21, 2021, 7:11 pm

6soelo
helmikuu 5, 2021, 1:58 pm

4. Sins and Needles by Monica Ferris - my mother in law is a sculptor and is mentioned in this book!
5. Knitting Bones by Monica Ferris
6. The Fey and the Furious by Ben Aaronovitch

Reading the Needlecraft Mysteries series has gotten me back into doing cross stitch and now crochet and knitting (loom only).

8soelo
Muokkaaja: helmikuu 15, 2021, 4:10 pm

9soelo
maaliskuu 13, 2021, 7:43 pm

12 Drowned Country - Emily Tesh
13 Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
14 Last Things - Jacqueline West
15 Blackwork - Monica Ferris

Wow, Doomsday Book was a 5 star read!. I started a short story with at least 2 of the same characters and have the rest of the series. There is an epidemic in both timelines!

10soelo
maaliskuu 21, 2021, 1:48 pm

16 The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C M Waggoner
17 The Good Liar by Laura Caldwell
18 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Wizardry was a five star read as well. I enjoyed the film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezel and have had the book on my list for years.

11soelo
maaliskuu 28, 2021, 11:40 am

Half of the way to 40!
19 - Buttons and Bones - Monica Ferris
20 - The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

I have tried to read The Colour of Magic twice before and wasn't able to finish it. I listened to the audiobook this time, but there were a few spots where I got lost. I did enjoy the humor and will try some more Discworld. I have a graphic novel version and the tv show to watch, so I think that will help clear up the places I got lost. I read it now because I am working on a color challenge that is 18 goals mostly about the covers of the books you read, but #16 is a book with the word "color" in the title. I like challenges like this because they give me a push to read books that have been on my lists for years or sometimes get me to read books I'd never consider otherwise. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is one of those series that hooked me with the first book because it was a Group Read.

12soelo
huhtikuu 18, 2021, 11:02 am

21 Threadbare
22 And Then You Dye
23 The Drowning Spool
24 Darned if you do
All four of these are by Monica Ferris and there is just one left in the series.

13soelo
huhtikuu 22, 2021, 9:43 am

25 Abundance - Sena Jeter Naslund
26 Knit your own murder - Monica Ferris

Abundance was part of a Lost and Found challenge where you list the 10 oldest books on your TBR list and mine reached back to January 2012. I've now read 4 of them and decided not to finish two, so I have 4 left for the Lost part of the challenge. Once you are done with those ten books, you then read ten more that are Found, which means they were published in the six months before the date you finished your Lost list. If you get through that, there is a third part where you read 3 old books, 3 new books and then 4 that are either old, new, or from an author that you read in this year's Lost or Found lists.

The Monica Ferris books have helped me with my Serial challenge. You need to read books that are part of a series and check off each number from 1-21 (since this is 2021). You can add books together, like if you read 1-4, that can be counted as 10. This year I've read 10-19 of the Needlecraft Mysteries. For the whole list, I still have #20 and #21, plus 5, 7 and 9 to check off. I have the Fables graphic novels that can be used for #20 and #21, and for 5-9, I can use the Ursula Blanchard novels.

14soelo
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 1, 2021, 6:05 pm

27 Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 - Kathryn Lasky
28 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer

Elizabeth is part of the Royal Diaries series and was the last book I needed to complete my color challenge, since it has two color words in the title, Red and Rose

I have watched the netflix movie of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society twice and loved it, so I was prepared to love the book and I did. I did not find too much was changed and only a bit removed to make the movie. That is my seventh book from my Lost list. I replaced the two I stopped reading with other books that I added to one of my series TBR list in 2012 and read this year: The Constant Princess and The Grand Tour. This leaves me with 3 more to finish, but one of them is by an author I already stopped reading this year. There is a movie of that one and another one on my list. Maybe I'll watch those first to see if I really want to read the books. Some people consider this to be a sacrilege or something, but I stopped being ashamed of my reading habits a long time ago. Roger Ebert endorsed the practice of movie-then-book and it has saved me from starting several books I know I wouldn't finish, even if I did like the movie enough. If I read a book and don't hate it, I will generally make a point to see the movie.

15soelo
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 22, 2021, 11:21 pm

29 Apollo: The Brilliant One (Olympians #8) by George O'Connor
30 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

I really liked Snow Flower, though the foot binding parts were hard to get through. I will certainly watch the movie now. On the other hand, I had The Namesake on my Lost 2021 list and I just watched the movie last night. I love Kal Penn and I liked the movie enough, but I am not going to read the book. Like the first Jhumpa Lahiri book I tried to read, the tragedies make the entire story. I'll need to find a replacement for it, and luckily I have lots of options from 2011/2012.

16soelo
Muokkaaja: kesäkuu 23, 2021, 11:16 pm

31 Before We Disappear
I got this as an Advanced Review Copy from Netgalley. It's not read by an actual person but from a digital reading voice. It did well for the most part, except when someone was named at the end of a sentence, it did not pause with the comma or inflect the name properly.

I also finished a longer short story Firewatch by Connie Willis, which is not as good as Doomsday Book

17soelo
toukokuu 26, 2021, 6:26 pm

32 What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
33 The Library of the Dead by Tendai Huchu
34 The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

Abigail continues the Rivers of London series with a story where she is trapped in a house with supernatural powers while trying to find missing kids. Then a very similar scene happens in the next book that I read (from Netgalley), the Library of the Dead.

I've started listening to The Sisters Grimm series from the library and they are going quickly. I am more then half done with book 2 after just a day and a half. I put books one and three on my list back in 2012, so they will let me finish my LOST challenge. Then I can move on to the FOUND part of the challenge, where I read ten books that I've added in the last 6 months. For some reason, I did not add book 2 until 2015, so I'll have to wait until I finish book 3.

18soelo
kesäkuu 1, 2021, 11:37 pm

35 The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley
36 The Problem Child by Michael Buckley
37 Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
38 Once Upon a Crime by Michael Buckley

I won't have an issue getting to 40 this year. I'm now working on the FOUND challenge for books I added between November 29th, 2020 and May 29th, 2021.

19soelo
kesäkuu 6, 2021, 11:30 am

39 The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
40 Magic and Other Misdemeanors by Michael Buckley

Since I've made my goal of 40 books and the year is not yet half over, I've changed it to 80. My previous record for a single year is 102 books.
Rebecca Stead is the author of one of my all time favorite books When You Reach Me, so I always read her new books.

24soelo
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 4, 2021, 5:11 pm

51 Cream Buns and Crime by Robin Stevens
52 Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh
53 Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie
54 The Strange Case of Finley Jane by Kady Cross
55 Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens
56 Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens
57 A Crafter Hooks a Killer by Holly Quinn
58 Forget Me Knot by Mary Marks
59 Knot in my Backyard by Mary Marks

I'm really blasting through these cozy mysteries. I'd never read any Agatha Christie, but I do vaguely remember the tv movie of Sparkling Cyanide. I watched the tv adaptation of Died in the Wool right after finishing the book and am now looking for all of the Inspector Alleyn episodes. I am not sure I will read more of the Roderick Alleyn series immediately, but I likely will over time.

25soelo
heinäkuu 12, 2021, 9:08 pm

60 One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London
61 Notes on a Foreign Country by Suzy Hansen
62 Gone but Knot Forgotten by Mary Marks
63 Queen Victoria's Spell Book Short Story Collection

63 was my total for all of 2020, so I am gratified to reach that just 10 days after the halfway point of the year. I've now finished the second section of the Lost and Found Challenge. So now I move on to the last section, where you read 3 Lost, 3 Found and 4 of either. For this section, books by the same author from your original list can also count. My plan is to finish the 4 books left in Wells and Wong mystery series and 3 more books in A Quilting Mystery for the 3 Found and 4 of Either. Then for the Lost, I've got 3 books from the same authors that have also been on my TBR for a long time.

26soelo
heinäkuu 24, 2021, 4:47 pm

64 The Magic Thief
65 A Spoonful of Murder
66 Something's Knot Kosher
67 Hooked on Murder
68 The Second Mrs Gioconda
69 The Grandest Bookshop in the World

After a week of vacation, I am closing in on 70 books and have 3 in progress. I think I will need to increase my goal to 100 or more. I will be busy for the next 3 weekends, but it involves plenty of solo driving and that usually means I fit in a lot of audiobooks!

27soelo
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 26, 2021, 11:50 pm

70 Death in the Spotlight
71 The Starless Sea

Morgenstern's first book, The Night Circus, is one of my favorite books ever. I did not expect to enjoy The Starless Sea as much and though I was right, it was still an enjoyable read. There are parallel narratives and lots of symbolism (or is there?) that can get frustrating, but things are beautifully described and the story flows well. I should reread The Night Circus this year. I reread Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore last year. It is another of my favorites and I originally read it around the same time as The Night Circus. The Starless Sea reminded me of Penumbra in many ways.

28soelo
heinäkuu 29, 2021, 10:36 pm

29soelo
heinäkuu 31, 2021, 10:58 pm

74 Queen of Ambition - Fiona Buckley
75 Pride - Ibi Zoboi
76 Lost - Sarah Prineas

Day 1 of 7 over the next month of road trips. Each one is about 4 hours of driving, so there should be plenty of time to finish the Magic Thief series and one more!

30soelo
elokuu 8, 2021, 11:38 am

77 Death Sets Sail - Robin Stevens
78 Magic Thief: Found - Sarah Prineas
79 Magic Thief: Home - Sarah Prineas

So that's two series finished. Actually, Murder Most Unladylike has a new short story collection out, but I'll likely wait and get that from the library.

31soelo
elokuu 15, 2021, 10:09 pm

80 You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson
81 The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

I loved Colfer on Glee, so I've had this series on my list for a long time. I am glad I'm finally getting to them. I've made it to my second goal of 80 books, so now I need to decide if I go to 100 or 120.

33soelo
Muokkaaja: syyskuu 6, 2021, 11:57 pm

84 The Enchantress Returns - Chris Colfer
85 Pumpkinheads - Rainbow Rowell
86 The Case of the Missing Moonstone - Jordan Stratford
87 Once Upon a Crime - Robin Stevens

Pumpkinheads was very cute, and though it seems to be a bit early, the coffee places are pushing their fall drinks and we've had some chilly weather lately. I need some more fall themed reading, for sure.

34soelo
Muokkaaja: syyskuu 20, 2021, 7:09 pm

88 The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
89 A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
90 A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer
91 The Weirdies by Michael Buckley
92 The Case of the Girl in Grey by Jordan Stratford

I have finished 49 of the 50 tasks for the Popsugar challenge. I am stuck on "The longest book on your TBR". If you don't count versions that are more than one book collected together, then that is Les Miserables at over 1200 pages and 50 hours in audio. I started listening to it and was not feeling it. I am trying to decide what to do, like maybe move Les Mis to my DNF list, which I do revisit sometimes. However, I am not feeling any of the other really long books on my TBR right now. So, I am taking a break from that challenge. I did finish 25 books from the library for the 3rd quarter and started one that is just a list of all series you need to finish. For that, I've got 3 books completed of 65.

35soelo
lokakuu 2, 2021, 11:04 am

36soelo
lokakuu 24, 2021, 12:35 pm

97 Worlds Collide - Chris Colfer
98 Adventures from the Land of Stories - Chris Colfer

I am in the middle of 3 books right now, so I am not sure which one will end up being #100. I have a few books to check off on my oldest list and the same one from PopSugar. Work has been very busy the past few months and is only getting worse. I do think the last few weeks of the year will be quieter, but not really sure about that.

37soelo
Muokkaaja: joulukuu 31, 2021, 6:28 pm

99 A Winter's Promise - Christelle Dabos
100 The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory

A Winter's promise was a 5 star read. It is a bit slow moving at the start, but it certainly left me wanting to read more about the two main characters.

38soelo
Muokkaaja: marraskuu 6, 2021, 12:56 pm

40soelo
Muokkaaja: marraskuu 24, 2021, 4:53 pm

105 Lair of Dreams Libba Bray
106 Confessions of a Bookseller Shaun Bythell
107 Postcards from the Edge Carrie Fisher
108 100 Cupboards ND Wilson
109 Just One Damned Thing After Another Jodi Taylor

Just One Damned Thing is the start of a new series that I have had on my list for a long time: The Chronicles of St Mary's and I really enjoyed the first book. There is plenty of violence and some sexual assault, and this is basically a private military organization, but there is time travel, or technically historical observation. It reminds me of both Doomsday Book and Thursday Next, both of which I really liked, so I have high hopes for the series. There are 12 main books and a ton of short stories in the series as of now.

Lair of Dreams was the longest book on my Series-In-Progress TBR and so I am now done with the PopSugar Challenge for this year. Confessions of a Bookseller fulfills the last of my 5 personal goals for the year - this one being a memoir. I have started planning next year's challenges. I've got 4 different A-Z challenges (Locations, Author, Book Cover Object, and Title). I plan to do the PopSugar 50 again, Lost and Found, and the series challenge I did this year. I have some others I am thinking about because I really like how they push me to expand my reading in ways I might not otherwise do. Luckily I can overlap books on most of these and so if I get to 100 again, I should not have a problem completing them.

44soelo
Muokkaaja: joulukuu 23, 2021, 5:44 pm

122 - The Black Circle - Patrick Carman
123 - An Unkindness of Magicians - Kat Howard
124 - The Long Ride - Marina Budhos
125 - Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station - Dorothy Gilman

Continuing the 39 Clues series and jumping into the middle of Mrs. Pollifax by reading book #6 in order to check off a location starting with X for a challenge: Xi'an, China. I enjoyed it enough that I will certainly read the rest of the series. I had the first one on my TBR and my library seems to offer all of them on audio in the Libby app.

45soelo
joulukuu 28, 2021, 8:46 pm

46soelo
joulukuu 31, 2021, 6:28 pm

128 - Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha
129 - Murder at the Breakers - Alyssa Maxwell
130 - In Too Deep - Jude Watson

I am not sure I will ever read this many books in a single year again! I really enjoyed some of the cozy mystery series and I also liked the Sisters Grimm and Land of Stories but found them to be pretty similar.