2019 Reading Wrap Up

I finally put together my reading list. I lost track along the way and had to do a bit of hunting to put together my final list. 

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 original 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 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. 

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

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)

How'd your reading year turn out? 

Book Review: Killing Floor by Lee Child

My introduction to Jack Reacher was reading 61 hours after hearing Lee Child speak at Bouchercon in 2010.  After finishing  the book, I had to find out what happened to Reacher and continued reading forward in the series.  Once I reached the end, finally decided to go back to the beginning to read the book that started it all - Killing Floor.

Reacher finds himself in a big mess when he wanders in to a small town his brother had told him about, looking for history on a blind blues singer, Blind Blake.  Within minutes of sitting down to eat breakfast in the local dinner, he is arrested for murder and things snowball from there. Imagine small town politics, town tough guys masquerading as do gooders, horrific murders, as well as a blooming attraction with Roscoe, the only female police detective as Reacher attempts to prove himself innocent. Six months out of the military and he's tough and doesn't back down for anyone. There are plenty of twists and turns while he tries to help the good guys expose and stop the bad guys. He has no qualms about ambushing the bad guys and taking them out anyway he can.

Book Review: Circle of the Moon by Faith Hunter

Circle of the Moon

By

Faith Hunter 

Witches, vampires, bloodlust, Soulwood, love, pain, life, reading the land, vampire trees, and Occam...sigh! 

Faith Hunter hits it out of the park again with her fourth installment in the Soulwood series. I read it once, way too quickly because I just had to know what happened. Then read it again, savoring, absorbing, melting into the story and experiencing the action along with Nell, Occam and the PsyLed team. Man against man as well as man against nature. Soulwood and the vampire tree are characters in their own right, with major roles just as complex as Nell or Occam or Rick. Circle of the Moon takes you on a whirlwind adventure with unexpected twist and turns which will keeping you reading long into the night.  Totally enjoyed it and going back on the shelf for a series reread. 

If you haven't read anything by Faith Hunter yet, check out her website and the first book in her Jane Yellowrock, Soulwood, or Rogue Mage series. I've read and reread them all.  She creates engaging, strong characters and action packed story lines that capture you from the moment you start reading and make you want to stay in their worlds for as long as possible.