Reading Plans for February

 

Woot! Woot! J.D. Robb's 60th book in the In Death series - Bonded in Death - has arrived and I am fully immersed in the story, wondering how she is going to pick apart the clues and find the murderer. So good....

"His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…"

My bedtime read is John Scalzi's Starter Villain: 

"Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat."

I need to finish Naomi Novik's Black Powder War, #3 in the Temeraire series as well as the rest of All Star Superman because James wants me too. 

James Rollins newest release and #3 in his Moonfall series - Dragons of Blackglass arrives on February 18th so I'm looking forward to starting that one almost immediately.

I really want to dive into A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon which is a chunky one, so will how that goes. 

Les Misérables year long sip read  - I aim to read 5 pages a day which is a total of 95 pages for the month, plus complete journal notes. 

For Super Bowl Sunday, James and I are heading out for our traditionally mother-son shopping trip to Barnes and Noble as well as Game Stop and what ever else store we decide to wander in to.  Breaking my book buying ban for the day, then I promise I will go right back to being good. :)

BW8: Storytellers

 

It's book week 8 in our 52 Books quest and this week is all about Storytellers and all those lovely books they have created for our pleasure: narratives, myths, memoirs, drama, poetry as well as the world of fiction. From the classics to the contemporary writers of today there is a wide variety to choose from.

Growing up, my brother was the one who told the most magnificent stories, whether he was retelling a Monty Python skit, relating an event that happened, or telling us about a book he’d read. We would hang on his words, groaning or laughing as he told a tale, astonished by the details, even if he’d only read or heard something once. I was never great at oral storytelling, maybe because it was difficult to get an word in edgewise with my large talkative family.  Today, the role has been taken over by my husband and son, both who have Eidetic memories,  remembering everything that’s ever happened in their lives. Which can be great, unless it’s something stupid you wish they’d forget. LOL!    I prefer writing, taking my time to remember, exploring thoughts and phrases, seeing the words on the page.

I finished the non fiction historical arctic exploration thriller Against the Ice by Ejnar Mikkelsen. grit and determination it took for the two men to battle against the elements through hunger and strife as they persevered in their quest to recover the notes of prior explorers is amazing. Not something I would have ever chosen to do. (Book 18)

Finished Vicki Myron’s memoir about Dewey: The Library Cat which is so much more than just about the cat, but the town of Spencer and the people who live there. (Book 19)

And The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by new to me author, Shauna Robinson. Maggie has always been a non conformist, trying to find the fun in her jobs, planning special events and parties. She's between jobs again and offers to help her best friend who is about to have a baby by running her bookshop for her. Little does she know, the Bell River Literary Society has strict rules which means she has go underground and behind their backs to help the book store stay afloat. . She also enters into a budding romance with a guy who follows the rules, which makes it even more difficult. She enlists the aid of the local businesses and how they managed to keep it a secret so long is beyond me. (Book 20)

I’m currently in the midst of  James Rollin’s Fantasy novel The Cradle of Ice in which the characters have crash landed in a place where it’s virtually impossible to escape from. What will happen next?

Devon Monk’s book of 22 fantasy/sci fi short stories A Cup of Normal which are far from normal and very entertaining.

Haruki Murakami’s Novelist as a Vocation and the man seriously doesn’t think he is a good writer, but shares his stories, his process, and so much more.

BW7: Amari, Writers, and Eve

 

It's book week 7 in our 52 Books Quest and this week is all about Pablo Neruda. As I was meandering about the internet I came across Meanderings and Muses (Don’t you love that name) Odes to Common things. And wouldn’t you just know it, I fell down a rabbit hole.  Found The Examined Life’s article on Pablo Neruda’s Sublime Poetic Wonder at Meaning and Utility in Everyday Things.   Then stumbled upon Interludes where his poetry inspired  The Music of Poetry – Pablo Neruda: Odes to Common Things.   Yes, he even penned An Ode to a Book, but I liked his Common Things better.

I finished Amari and the Night Brothers which was a wonderful middle grade story in which I kept forgetting Amari was only 12 years old. She was mature for her age, continually bullied and not believed because of the type of magic she had. But she was bound and determined to find her brother who’d disappeared under mysterious circumstances.  (Book 15)

Also finished Writers and their Notebooks which has been sitting in my shelves for quite a while and would dip in from time to time. Finally read it from cover to cover, highlighting and annotating. Will be copying highlighted portions in my notebook at some point. So many writers, so many different ways to use a journal. I have discovered that one journal, a catchall for all my thoughts, ramblings, and stories works for me. Many thanks to Diana Raab and the many others for sharing their thoughts. Will be working on all the questions at the end of the book.  (Book 16)

Finished J.D. Robb’s Encore In Death, # 56 in the In death series. Don’t know why this series is comfort food for my soul but it is. Have read most of the series several times. Guess I enjoy diving into the lives of all the characters as well as the mystery of murder. Eve’s mind is fascinating. Her love for Roark is ever growing and it was interesting seeing how this particular murder made her appreciate their relationship even more. (Book 17) 

Diving into James Rollins The Cradle of Ice, the 2nd book in his Moon Fall series.

“To stop the coming apocalypse, a fellowship was formed.
A soldier, a thief, a lost prince, and a young girl bonded by fate and looming disaster.
Each step along this path has changed the party, forging deep alliances and greater
enmities. All the while, hostile forces have hunted them, fearing what they might
unleash. Armies wage war around them.

For each step has come with a cost—in blood, in loss, in heartbreak.

Now, they must split, traveling into a vast region of ice and to a sprawling capital of the world they’ve only known in stories. Time is running out and only the truth will save us all."

BW41: Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts! Oh My!

 

Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts! 

Oh My!

Our spooktacular reading month continues and it isn't all about horror.  Oh no! Especially since I'm not into blood and guts violence.  I like the type of books that get your adrenaline going, keeps you guessing, finger nail biting, keep you up all night reading suspense.  There are a number of ways to go with psychological thrillers, gothic, paranormal reads that run the gamut from the supernatural to urban fantasies. Books full of bad guys, ghosts, and scary as well as delicious vampires, and werewolves.  

Clearing my palate with a fluffy romance before I dive back into James Rollin's thriller Kingdom of Bones.  Also on the nightstand is the suspense novel The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison.  I like one author's writing and the other's not so much and I can tell the difference in their writing so expect I'll like only half of the book. LOL! 

"Galactus, France’s answer to SpaceX, has just launched a communications satellite into orbit, but the payload actually harbors a frightening weapon: a nuclear-triggered electromagnetic pulse.  When the satellite is in position, Galactus’s second-in-command, Dr. Nevaeh Patel, will have the power to lay waste to the world with an EMP. A former astronaut, Patel believes she is following the directions of the Numen, aliens who saved her life when she space-walked outside the International Space Station. She is convinced that with the Holy Grail, just discovered by the owner of Galactus—eccentric treasure hunter Jean-Pierre Broussard—she can be reunited with the Numen, change the world’s destiny, and become immortal with them.

The countdown has begun when Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine are thrown into the pending disaster. They must stop the EMP that would wreak havoc on communication and electronic systems on Earth, resulting in chaos and anarchy.

BW40: October Spooktacular and the Unreliable Narrator

October Spooktacular and the Unreliable Narrator

It's book week 40 in our 52 Books Quest and this month October's spooktacular is all about the unreliable narrator. 

This month is full of chills and thrills, spine tingling adventure stories, and unexpected, jump out and surprise you, don't turn the lights off reads. If you are anything like me, gruesome horror isn't your thing. However, psychological, mind bending, Hitchcock type thrillers full of suspense are my favorite type of reads, along with paranormal, ghosts, vampires, were wolves and the weird.

If you haven't read the classics, now would be a good time to read Frankenstein or Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Grey or Something Wicked This Way Comes to name a few. Put away your expectations because you may be surprised when they don't turn out how you suspect they will. 

And this month's crime spree category fits the bill with the Unreliable Narrator.

The first rule of reading books by an Unreliable Narrator is to not read anything more about it than a brief description. All the charm in this genre is surprise so you must be diligent in avoiding spoilers.

Currently reading James Rollins thriller Kingdom of Bones in his Sigma force series which fills the bill for a spooktacular read. 

"It begins in Africa . . .

A United Nations relief team in a small village in the Congo makes an alarming discovery. An unknown force is leveling the evolutionary playing field. Men, women, and children have been reduced to a dull, catatonic state. The environment surrounding them—plants and animals—has grown more cunning and predatory, evolving at an exponential pace. The insidious phenomenon is spreading from a cursed site in the jungle — known to locals as the Kingdom of Bones —and sweeping across Africa, threatening the rest of the world.

What has made the biosphere run amok? Is it a natural event? Or more terrifyingly, did someone engineer it?

Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are prepared for the extraordinary and have kept the world safe, vigilance for which they have paid a tragic personal price. Yet, even these brilliant and seasoned scientific warriors do not understand what is behind this frightening development—or know how to stop it. As they race to find answers, the members of Sigma quickly realize they have become the prey.

To head off global catastrophe, Sigma Force must risk their lives to uncover the shattering secret at the heart of the African continent—a truth that will illuminate who we are as a species and where we may be headed . . . sooner than we know.

Mother Nature—red in tooth and claw—is turning against humankind, propelling the entire world into the Kingdom of Bones."

BW18: April Reading Wrap Up

 

It's book week 18 in our 52 books quest and this month is all about historical mysteries.  

Since we're saying goodbye to April, it's time for a reading wrap up.  I finished eight books in April; all of which were dusty books except for The Bone Shard Daughter.  I cheated once, and broke my buying ban in February for Bone Shards Daughter, which was so worth it.  However, I've been good since then and haven't added any new books to my stacks. My wish list though is growing ever longer.  One more month.... maybe. 

Bone Shard Daughter - Andrea Stewart (Historical Fantasy)

Ice Hunt - James Rollins (Thriller, reread)

Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro (Dystopian Fiction)

Library of the Unwritten (#1 Hell's Library) - A.J.Hackwith (Fantasy, e)

A Cold Day for Murder (#1 Kate Shugak) - Dana Stabenow (Mystery, e)

The Round House - Louise Erdrich (Native American mystery)

City of Dark Magic  (#1 Dark Magic) - Magnus Flyte (Fantasy, Prague, e)

Reliquary (#2 Pendergast) - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Thriller, e)

Stats wise: 

4 physical books with 1782 pages and 4 ebooks with 1506 virtual pages for a total of 3288 pages.  I noticed that although it hasn't been my intention, I read the same number of ebooks as the number of the month. Interesting.  We'll see what next month brings.  Genre wise, three fantasies and one dystopian fiction, along with two thrillers, and two mysteries. I seem be to be sticking with fantasy, sci fi, and mystery genres. Six are new to me authors.  

I'm still sipping on George Eliot's Middlemarch, one chapter at a time in the mornings with breakfast. My current chunkster is Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings which is really good.  I'm currently on page 732 out of 1200+ pages but enjoying the heck out of it. 

I'm taking a mini break at the moment for our May historical mysteries reading month to read dusty book And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander which has been on my virtual shelves since 2014.  

BW14: Thrillers and mysteries take center stage this week

 

It's book week 14 in our 52 books quest and this week is all about classic children's mysteries. As always I have to be a little different and currently have Willo Davis Roberts science fiction story, The Girl with the Silver Eyes waiting in the wings.  

I’m currently in the middle of three books:  My I by title is James Rollins thriller, Ice Hunt.  My books about books read is A.J. Hackwith’s Library of the Unwritten, and my e by author Louise Erdrich’s Native American Mystery The Round House.

This month is National Poetry Month so I hope to fit in some poetry reading along the way and share my favorite poets.  

March Reading Wrap up

 

My reading slowed way down this month and I completed six books, sort of  finished one, and stopped halfway through another.  

1. Super Powereds Year Four - Drew Hayes (Science Fiction, 1019)
2. Daughter of Time (#5 Inspector Grant) - Josephine Tey (HF, 206)
3. Hidden Palace #2 Golem & the Jinni - Helene Wecker (H Fantasy, 472)
4. Leviathan Wakes - J.A. Corey (Science Fiction, e)  
5. Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin (Science fiction, dnf)
6. Bookshop at Water's End - Patti Callahan Henry (Literary Fiction, e)
7. Bookshop of Second Chances - Jackie Fraser (Contemporary Romance, e)
8. The Starless Crown (#1 Moon Fall) - James Rollins (Fantasy, 560)

Super Powered is a great series and however much I'd like to compare it to Harry Potter, there really is no comparison. These are college age kids, each with a special super power, no wands, who learn how to use their powers amidst the angst of college and real life battles.  It will be well worth reading again. 

Tey's Daughter of Time is a unique story involving history and how it can be perceived or easily wrong, depending on the book telling the tale.

The Hidden Palace is a wonderful tale interwoven with several different narrators and is full of history, drama, and magic. I loved escaping into their world and will definitely read it again at some point.

In The Bookshop at Water's End, everyone down to the children had baggage of some sort and it was an emotional story which I usually wouldn't enjoy but the writing was so well done, it pulled me into the characters lives, rooting for them all the way. 

The Bookshop of Second Chances was set in Scotland and  Edward, a curmudgeonly bookseller who is 40 ish and Thea, a 40 + woman on the verge of divorce, both with lots of baggage, who may or may  not like each other, lives become intertwined more than they imagine and makes for a beautiful story.

James Rollins has done it again and this time with Fantasy in which several characters come together over the course of the book to join together in a quest to save the world. An abandoned baby found in a swamp, bats, prophecies, darkness, a thief, a bronze statue, a fallen prince, wolves, a broken soldier, horrible villains who will do anything including burning entire towns to get what they want, sky ships and battles. Our poor characters are given no time to rest, hunted and chased, from peril to peril. A thrilling story I couldn't put down. Definitely a reread when the rest of the series comes out

How do you sort of finish a book?  I unfortunately didn't enjoy Corey's Leviathan Wakes as the characters rubbed me the wrong way and I read halfway, lost interest, skipped to the ending to see what happened.  I also didn't enjoy Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness, decided life is too short to keep reading when the writing isn't grabbing me and decided to shelve the book.  Happily, the rest of my reads were excellent. 

I'm still reading more science fiction and fantasy with a historical fiction thrown in. I seem to be getting more into emotional contemporary fiction so we'll see how long that lasts.  At least I cleared some dusty books from both my physical and eshelves. Looking forward to seeing what April brings as I'm in the midst of several books at the moment. 

BW13: Bookshops, Ice, and mysteries

 

It's book week 13 in our 52 Books Quest and this week and we're celebrating Dana Stabenow's Birthday. 

I'm dusting off Stabenow's  A Cold Day for Murder which has been on my eshelves since 2014 and will be reading it next. Not sure why I haven't read it yet but in the mood now.  

"Eighteen months ago, Aleut Kate Shugak quit her job investigating sex crimes for the Anchorage DA's office and retreated to her father's homestead in a national park in the interior of Alaska. But the world has a way of beating a path to her door, however remote. In the middle of one of the bitterest Decembers in recent memory ex-boss - and ex-lover - Jack Morgan shows up with an FBI agent in tow. A Park ranger with powerful relatives is missing, and now the investigator Jack sent in to look for him is missing, too.

Reluctantly, Kate, along with Mutt, her half-wolf, half-husky sidekick, leaves her wilderness refuge to follow a frozen trail through the Park, twenty thousand square miles of mountain and tundra sparsely populated with hunters, fishermen, trappers, mushers, pilots and homesteaders. Her formidable grandmother and Native chief, Ekaterina Shugak, is - for reasons of her own - against Kate's investigation; her cousin, Martin, may be Kate's prime suspect; and the local trooper, Jim Chopin, is more interested in Kate than in her investigation. In the end, the sanctuary she sought after five and a half years in the urban jungles may prove more lethal than anything she left behind in the city streets of Anchorage."

I'm currently continuing my book theme read and reading The Bookshop of Second Chances by new to me author Jackie Fraser which is quite good. 

"A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly handsome bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut." 

I just finished James Rollins The Starless Crown which put me in the mood to reread Ice Hunt for my I by title.  It may be cheating a bit to do a reread for A to Z by Title but that's what I'm in the mood for. 

"Carved into a moving island of ice twice the size of the United States, Ice Station Grendel has been abandoned for more than seventy years. The twisted brainchild of the finest minds of the former Soviet Union, it was designed to be inaccessible and virtually invisible.

But an American undersea research vessel has inadvertently pulled too close – and something has been sighted moving inside the allegedly deserted facility, something whose survival defies every natural law. And now, as scientists, soldiers, intelligence operatives, and unsuspecting civilians are drawn into Grendel’s lethal vortex, the most extreme measures possible will be undertaken to protect its dark mysteries – because the terrible truths locked behind submerged walls of ice and steel could end human life on Earth."

Book Review: A Starless Crown by James Rollins

 

I just finished James Rollins newest fantasy novel, The Starless Crown.  I love his writing.   As I was getting closer to the end and the characters were still in peril,  I told my hubby I hope this doesn't end in a cliffhanger. Happily it didn't. How to describe without giving anything away. They live in an alternative world in which several characters come together over the course of the book to join together in a quest to save the world. An abandoned baby found in a swamp, bats, prophecies, darkness, a thief, a bronze statue, a fallen prince, wolves, horrible villains who will do anything including burning entire towns to get what they want, sky ships and battles. Our poor characters given no time to rest, hunted and chased, from peril to peril. A thrilling story I couldn't put down. 

"A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death. Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts: 

A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home. A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother's shadow and claims a purpose of his own. An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact - one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe. On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation.

But with each passing moment, doom draws closer."

Definitely a reread when the rest of the series comes out.  

Fantasy, Alternative world, 560 

BW12: A bit of this, a bit of that

It's week 12 in our 52 Weeks book quest and Sunday is the March equinox which means Spring in our neck of the woods and the start of our Spring Reading Fling. 

I've filled my head with too much news and now I have the reading blahs.  I finished Helene Wecker's second book in her Golem and the Jinni duology - Hidden Palaces.  Chava, the Golem, and Admad, the Jinni are now living in New York and spend their nights walking the streets, filled with conversation and long silences. The story is interwoven with several different characters and is full of history, drama, and magic. I loved escaping into their world and will definitely read it again at some point.    

Have you ever had an author you really wanted to like but couldn't get into their stories. I unfortunately ran into two this week that I didn't enjoy.  S.A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes and Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. I had high hopes for both but ended up giving up halfway through both stories.  Corey's vomiting Zombies and Le Guin's writing both rubbed me the wrong way.  

Diving into James Rollins newest fantasy fiction - The Starless Crown as well as new to me author Patti Callan Henry's The Bookshop at Water's End. 

A Bookish Quest

Good Morning! 

Since I seem to be more in a sipping mood lately rather than feasting on one book, I came up with a bookish quest. Find the oldest or an older book, meaning purchased more than a couple years or so ago, whether it be physical or e form and read it or at least start reading it this week. For Kindle, the oldest books in my virtual stacks are Tent Life in Siberia, a nonfiction book of essays about Siberian travel adventures and survival and David Baldacci’s The Innocent. On my nook, is K.M. Weiland’s A Man Called Outlaw. 

I already started sipping Michael Chabon’s Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay last week which has been lounging on my physical shelves for quite a while.  Think I’ll look through my bookshelves and pull another oldie but goodie out as a secondary.   I checked Audible and discovered a few started but unfinished books, so going with the oldest which is James Rollin’s Devil Colony to listen to while meandering about this week.

I finished Amanda Lee's  Witchin USA in which the lead character just seemed so very young and immature and I couldn't figure out what the romantic lead saw in her but it was a fluffy, lighthearted read nonetheless.   I also finished the latest book in J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood, The Sinner.  I think I may have to read it again because the climax, the end of the war between the vampires and the lessors was very anticlimactic and maybe I missed something, but Goodreads reviews seem to agree with me.   

Besides sipping from the books above, I'm sipping from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird which is both amusing and giving me inspiration to write. 

When she gets all angsty about writing, "I finally notice the one-inch picture frame that I put on my to remind me of short assignments.  It reminds me that all I have to do is write down as much as I can see through a one-inch picture frame....   

E.L. Doctorow once said the 'writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.' You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you.  This is right up there with the best advice about writing, or life, I have ever heard."

Yes it does sound like good advice. I've been a bit angsty about rewriting WIP-RT so going to imagine parts in a one inch picture frame and take it scene by scene.  The universe hit me over the head the other day when I was mulling over the story and suggested I write the story in third person omniscient.  Hmm! 

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? 

52 Books: Blossom Bookology Challenge completed

I completed 52 Books Blossom Bookology spelling challenge and squeaked by with a couple with flowers mentioned in the stories as colors or characters.  I forgot to keep track of all the reference mentioned in my reads, but pretty sure there were more than a few mentions of a variety of flowers so I'm calling this challenge completed. 

January - Chrysanthemum

C: Genevieve Cogman - The Masked City (fantasy) 

H: Thor Heyerdahl - Kon Tiki  (NF)

R: Robyn Cadwallader - The Anchoress (historical)

Y: Rick Yancey -  The Infinite Sea (fantasy)

S: Sharon Kay Penman - The Sunne in Splendor (historical)

A: Anna Richland - His Road Home (military romance) 

N: Natalie Goldberg - Writing Down the Bones (NF)

T: Thomas Merton - Thoughts in Solitude (NF) 

H: Mark Helprin - A Soldier of the Great War (WWI historical)

E: Emma Hamm - Silver Blood (Paranormal)

M: Haruki Murakami - Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball (literary)

U: Lisa Unger - Beautiful Lies (Mystery)

M: Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase (literary)

February - Rose

R:  J.D. Robb - Dark in Death (Futuristic)

O:  Melissa Olson - Dead Spots (Paranormal)

S:  John Sandford- Secret Prey -  (Detective)

E:  Jennifer Estep - Bitter bite (Paranormal)

March - Clover 

C: Chosen - K.F. Breene (fantasy)

L:  Louise Penny - Glass Houses (mystery)

O: The Overlook - Michael Connolly (crime detective)

V: Carrie Vaughn - Discord's Apple (paranormal)

E: Elizabeth the First Wife - Lian Dolan (Literary fiction)

R: Rachel Caine - Ill Wind (paranormal)

April - Mountain Aven

A:  Atlantis Fallen - C.E.Murphy (Paranormal)

V:  Mud Vein - Tarryn Fisher (Suspense)

E:  Black Echo - Michael Connolly (Mystery) 

N: Nerd's Pocket Pets - D.R. Grady (Romance)

May - Lily 

L: Alan Alda – If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on my Face

I:  Innocence - Dean Koontz (Thriller) 

L: Lake Silence - Anne Bishop  (Paranormal)

Y: I Found You - Lisa Jewell  (Mystery)

June - Tulip

The Golden Tulip - Rosalind Laker

July - Edelweiss

E: Elephant Keepers Daughter - Julia Drosten

D: The Art of Deception - Nora Roberts (Romantic suspense)

E:  Jennifer Estep - Unraveled (Paranormal)

L:  Luke - Barbara Freethy (Romance)

W: Where Dreams are Born - M.L. Buchman (Romance)

E:  Jennifer Estep - Snared (Paranormal)

I:  Ice Hunt - James Rollins (Antarctic, thriller)

S:  Where There's Smoke-Susan May Warren (Romance)

S:  Spymaster's Lady - Joanna Bourne (Regency) 

August - Jasmine

J: James Rollins - Demon Crown 

A: Ash and Quill - Rachel Caine

S: Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch

M: Midnight Curse - Melissa Olson

I: Ink and Bone - Rachel Caine

N: Nora Roberts - Leverage in Death

E: Ellie Weisel - Night 

September- Lotus 

L:  Peter the Latvian - Georges Simenon (Detective)

O:  Nalini Singh -  Ocean Light, #2 Psy/Changling Trinity (e)

T:   Twyla Tharp - The Creative Habit

U:  Unfit - Keri Arthur (Paranormal)

S:  Shelter in Place - Nora Roberts (Suspense)

October - Marigold

Flowers from the Storm - Laura Kinsale: Marigold flower colored wall paper 

or Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch with Marigold gloves 

November - Daisy

The Cozy Tea Shop in the Castle - Caroline Roberts with a character named Daisy

December - Holly 

  Last Chance Christmas Ball - Word Wenches.  The Ball is being given by Lady Holly who is character in every story that makes up the whole book. 

2017 Completed Reads

2017 Completed Reads 

Fiction

1.       Aimee & David Turlo -  Turquoise Girl - (Ella Clah series, mystery, e)

2.       Alexandra Ivy - Kill Without Mercy - (#1 Ares Security, TX, Romantic suspense, e)

3.       Alister McGrath - Aedyn Chronicles: Chosen One - (YA fantasy, 208)

4.       Anne Bishop - Etched in Bone - (#5 Others, Urban fantasy, 416)

5.       B N Toler -  Where One Goes - (paranormal, e)

6.       Ben Kane - Spartacus: The Gladiator -  (74bc Italy, historical, 480)

7.       Benedict Jacka-  Fated - (#1 Alex Verus, paranormal, e)

8.       Charlaine Harris -  Midnight Crossroad - (#1 Midnight series, Texas, paranormal, 384 pg)

9.       Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - The Mistress of Spices - (India, magical realism, e)

10.   Daniel O'Malley - The Rook - (#1 Rook, paranormal, 504) 

11.   Daphne Kalotay -  Russian Winter - (historical U.S./Russia, 484 pg)

12.   Dean Koontz -  Ashley Bell - (Psychological thriller, 768)

13.   Dean Koontz -  From the Corner of His Eye - (thriller, 729)

14.   Della Jacobs -  Fire Dance - (historical romance,  e) 

15.   Devon Monk -   Dead Iron - (#1 Age of Steam, steampunk,  e)

16.   Devon Monk -  Gods and Ends - (#3 Ordinary Magic, paranormal, e)

17.   Dorothy Dunnett -   Niccolo Rising - (#1 House of Niccolo, historical fiction, 496)

18.   Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child -  Relics  (#1 Pendergast, thriller e)

19.   Emily Gee - Thief with No Shadow - (Paranormal, e)

20.   Emily Larkin -  Unmasking Miss Appleby - (#1 Baleful Godmother,  historical romance, e)

21.   Emily Larkin -  Resisting Miss Merryweather - (#2 Baleful Godmother, e)

22.   Faith Hunter -  Cold Reign - (#11 Jane Yellowrock, paranormal, 371)

23.   Faith Hunter – Jane Yellowrock reread  #1 – 10)

24.   Faith Hunter -  Blood of the Earth (#1 Soulwood,  Paranormal, 384)

25.   Faith Hunter - Curse on the Land - (#2 Soulwood, 341)

26.   Genevieve Cogman-  The Invisible Library - (#1 Invisible library, fantasy, 352)

27.   Halldor Laxness - Great Weaver of Kashmir - (1920's, Iceland, translated literary, 450)

28.   Hannah and Barb Taub - One Way Fare - (#1 Null, fantasy, 279)

29.   Ilona Andrews -  Clean Sweep (# 1 Innkeeper Chronicles, e)

30.   Ilona Andrews -  Sweep in Peace - (#2 Innkeeper Chronicles, e)

31.   Ilona Andrews - One Fell Sweep (#3 Innkeeper Chronicles, e)

32.   Ilona Andrews - Burn for Me - (#1 Hidden Legacy, urban fantasy, e)

33.   Ilona Andrews - White Hot - (#2 Hidden Legacy,  e)

34.   Ilona Andrews - Wild Fire - (#3 Hidden Legacy, e)

35.   Iris Johansen - Body of Lies - (#4 Eve Duncan, mystery,  400)

36.   J.D. Robb-   Reunion in Death - (#14 In Death, futuristic police procedural, 371)

37.   J.D. Robb -  Purity in Death (# 15 In Death, 355)

38.   J.D. Robb -  Portrait in Death - (#16 In Death, 347)

39.   J.D. Robb -  Imitation in Death - (#17 In Death, 342)

40.   J.D. Robb -  Origin in Death - (#21 In Death 384

41.   J.D. Robb -  Echoes in Death - (#44 In Death  341 pg)

42.   J.D. Robb -  Secrets in Death  - (#45 In Death, 384)

43.   J.R. Rain - Winter Wind - (paranormal, e)

44.   James Rollins  -  6th Extinction - (#10 Sigma Force, Suspense, Antarctica/Brazil, e)

45.   James Rollins -  Seventh Plague - (Sigma Force, Middle East and Arctic, 444)

46.   Jamie Beck - Worth the Wait - (#1 St James, NY, Romance, e)

47.   Jayne Ann Krentz - Light in Shadow (psychological mystery, e)

48.   Jeff VanderMeer -  Area X: Southern Reach Trilogy -  (dystopian/horror, 593)

49.   Jim Butcher  - Summer Knight - (#4 Dresden files, paranormal, 371)

50.   Jodi Taylor-Just One Damned Thing After Another (#1 Chronicles of St. Mary, time travel, 348)

51.   John Crowley -  The Translator - - (U.S. 60's, 295)

52.   John DeChancie - Starrigger - (Sci fi,  e)

53.   Karen Marie Moning -  Feversong- (#9 Fever Series, Paranormal, e)

54.   Kathrine Kurtz/Deborah Harris -  The Adept - (#1 Adept, Scotland, 323)

55.   Katie Meyer -   Do You Take This Daddy - (#3 Paradise Animal Clinic, Romance, e)

56.   Keri Arthur - Blood Kissed - (#1 Lizzie Grace, Paranormal, e)

57.   Keri Arthur - The Black Tide - (#3 Outcast, paranormal   e)

58.   Keri Arthur – Circle of Fire – (#1 Damask Circle, paranormal romance)

59.   Kij Johnson -  Dream Quest of Vellit Boe - (Paranormal, e)

60.   Kristin Hannah -  The Nightingale - (historical France, 1940's, e)

61.   Lilith Saintcrow -  Dark Watcher (#1 Watchers, Urban Fantasy, e)

62.   Lilith St. Crow - Storm Watcher (#2 Watchers, Urban Fantasy,  e)

63.   Louise Penny -  A Fatal Grace - (#2 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, e)

64.   Louise Penny -  Bury Your Dead - (#6, e)

65.   Louise Penny -  A Trick of the Light (#7, e)

66.   Louise Penny - The Beautiful Mystery - (#8 e)

67.   Louise Penny - How the Light Gets In (#9 e)

68.   Louise Penny - The Long Way Home (#10)

69.   Louise Penny -  The Nature of the Beast - (#11  e)

70.   Louise Penny -  A Great Reckoning - (#12 e)

71.   Maria Alexander - Snowed - (Ya paranormal, e)

72.   Marie Brennan -  Natural History of Dragons - (#1 Lady Trent, fantasy, 359)

73.   Michael Ridpath -  Where the Shadows Lie - (#1 Fire and Ice, Iceland,  police procedural, e)

74.   Michael Scott -  The Necromancer - (#4 Nicholas Flamel, YA fantasy, 418)

75.   Michelle Gagnon -  Don't Turn Around - (#1 Don't Turn Around, YA thriller,  e)

76.   Nalini Singh -  Archangels Viper - (#10 Guild Hunter, paranormal, e)

77.   Nalini Singh - Silver Silence - (#1 Psy Changling Trinity, e)

78.   Nevada Barr - Ill Wind - (#3 Anna Pidgeon, mystery, 309)

79.   Nora Roberts -  Year One - (# 1 Chronicles of the One, apocalyptic,  419)

80.   Nora Roberts - Come Sundown - (Suspense, Montana, 474)

81.   Octavia Butler - Dawn - (#1 Xenogenesis, paranormal,  e)

82.   Patricia Briggs -  Silence Fallen - (#10 Mercedes Thompson, Europe, Paranormal, 379)

83.   Rachel Grant -  Tinderbox - (#1 Flashpoint, Africa, Military suspense, e)

84.   Rick Yancey - The 5th Wave - (#1 5th wave series YA dystopian, 480)

85.   Robert Charles Wilson   -  Axis  - (Space, e)

86.   Robert Jordan -  Spring - (Prequel to WOT, fantasy,  e)

87.   Robert Jordan- Lord of Chaos - (#6 WOT, e)

88.   Robert Jordan-  A Crown of Swords - (#7 WOT, e)

89.   Robert Jordan -  The Path of Daggers - (#8 WOT  e)

90.   Robert Jordan -  Winter's Heart - (#9 WOT e)

91.   Roberta Rich - Midwife of Venice - (16th Century Italy, historical, 335)

92.   Robyn Carr - What We Find - (#1 Sullivan's Crossing, contemporary romance, 347)

93.   Ronlyn Dominguez -  Mapmakers War - (Utopian, 226)

94.   Roxanne St. Claire-  New Leash on Life - (#2 Dogfather, romance,  e)

95.   Roxanne St. Claire - Sit, Stay, Beg - (#1 Dogfather, romance, e)

96.   Scarlett Braden  -  Harvesting the Hummingbird (Ecuador, mystery, e)

97.   Seanan Mcquire – Rosemary and Rue (#1 October Daye, urban fantasy, e)

98.   Seanan Mcguire -  A Local Habitation- (#2 e)

99.   Seanan McGuire -  An Artificial Night - (#3 e)

100.  Seanan McGuire -  Late Eclipses - (#4  e) 

101. Seanan McGuire -   One Salt Sea - (#5 e)

102. Seanan McGuire - Ashes of Honor - (#6 e)

103. Seanan McGuire - Chimes at Midnight - (#7 e)

104. Seanan McGuire -  The Winter Long - (#8 e)

105. Seanan McGuire -  A Red Rose Chained - (#9 e)

106. Seanan McGuire -  Once Broken Faith - (#10 e)

107.  Seanan Mcguire - Discount Armageddon - (#1 Incryptid, urban fantasy,  e)

108.  Steve Berry -  Alexandria Link - (present Copenhagen/Middle East, 494)

109.  Stieg Larson  -  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - (#1 Millennium, Scotland, Mystery,590)

110. Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played with Fire - (#2 Millenium, Sweden, 724)

111.  Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - (#3 Millenium, Sweden, 672)

112. Susan Wiggs -  Apple Orchard - (contemporary,  e)

113. Tracie Peterson -  Ice Cutters Daughter - (1900,  #1 Land of shining water, historical,  e)

114.Vicki Pettersson -  Signs of the Zodiac: The Scent of Shadows - (#1 zodiac, UF, e) 

115.  Vicki Pettersson -  The Taste of Night - (#2 Zodiac, UF,  e )

116.  Will Hill - Department 19 - (#1 Dept 19, YA Paranormal, e)

117.  Zoe Fishman -  Inheriting Edith - (NY, literary, 290)

Non Fiction

1.                   Benjamin Hoff -  The Tao of Pooh - (nf, 158)

2.                   Joe Bunting - Let's Write a Short Story - (nonfiction,  e)

3.                   Molly Totoro -  Journaling Towards Wholeness - (nonfiction, e)

4.                   Sage Cohen - Fierce on the Page - (nf writing, 229)

5.                   Shonda Rimes -  The Year of Yes - (nonfiction, 336)

6.                   Susan Reynolds -  Fire Up Your Writing Brain - (nf writing, 266)

7.                   Temple Grandin -   Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum  - (NF e) 

8.                   Tyler Henry - Between Two Worlds - (nf, e)