staci426 reads in 2024

Welcome! Looking forward to another great reading year in the challenge! I have been here now for quiet a while but have never been as active as I would like, maybe this will be the year to change that. I am Staci, living in New Jersey with my ex and two cats, Cinnamon & Pepper. I am closer to 50 now than I would like to admit but still enjoy hobbies outside of reading that include building Lego and playing Dungeons & Dragons. I also have been spending way too much time watching BookTube videos.

In the reading department, my comfort genres are fantasy and mystery, but I read a little bit of everything (except romance, I just can’t get into it as much as my sister tries to convince me). My goals for this year are to focus on reading my own books, make some more progress on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list (I’m up to 316), and make more progress on the over 60 series that I have going right now. I am legally blind, so 99% of my reading is done through audio, whether it be actual audiobooks or using text to speech to read an e-book. I do a little e-reading on my phone, mostly just with short stories since it does take me quite a while to make it through just one page when reading with my eyes.

2023 was my highest number of books read ever, 201. I’m still not sure how I managed to do that, might be because I didn’t really watch much TV or movies. I might try to slow down a bit I think for this year and watch some of the shows I’ve been wanting to get to.

For my categories, I brought back some from last year and added a few new ones. I also want to keep track of some things that aren’t necessarily my categories but want to have an easy place to find the info, such as the 52 Books Club challenge and a few BookTube challenges I’ll be working on this year.

All Books Read

JANUARY

1. The Magus by John Fowles, fiction 4*
2. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff, fantasy 4*
3. Foe by Iain Reid, thriller 4*
4. The Black Company by Glen Cook, fantasy 3.5*
5. Chouette by Claire Oshetsky, fiction 4.5*
6. The Best American Noir of the Century ed by James Ellroy, mystery 3*
7. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, speculative fiction 3.5*
8. As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic, fiction 4*
9. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie, mystery 4*
10. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie, mystery 4*
11. I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist, horror 3.5*
12. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb, fantasy 4*
13. A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark, fantasy 4.5*
14. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, fantasy 4.5*
FEBRUARY
15. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, drama 3*
16. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, thriller 3*
17. Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu by Junji Ito, manga 4*
18. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire, fantasy, 4*
19. Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, horror, 3.5*
20. Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander, mystery 3.5*
21. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri, mystery, 3.5*
22. Orlando People by Alexander C. Kane, sci fi, 3.5*
23. The Masquerading Magician by Gigi Pandian, mystery 3.5*
24. R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton, mystery 3.5*
25. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, mystery 4.5*
26. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, noir 2*
27. The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni, memoir 3*
28. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, thriller 4*
29. The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri, mystery 3.5*
30. Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri, mystery 4*
31. Retinitis Pigmentosa: The Lighter Side by Patti Taylor, non-fiction 3.5*
32. The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, fantasy 3*
33. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, non-fiction 3.5*
34. Book Lovers by Emily Henry, romance 3*
35. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman, mystery 3.5*
36. Neuromancer by William Gibson, sci fi 3*
37. The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin, fiction 3.5*
38. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, fantasy 3.5*
39. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, mystery 3*
40. H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker, fiction 1*
41. Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, thriller 4*
42. Lois the Witch, and Other Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, gothic 4*
MARCH
43. The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon, mystery 4*
44. The Once and Future King by T. H. White, Arthurian 2.5*
45. Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn, fantasy 3*
46. The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux, fantasy 3.5*
47. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander, fiction 4*
48. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, non-fiction 4.5*
49. Cape May Court House by Lawrence Schiller, non-fiction 3.5*
50. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, mystery 4.5*
51. The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, mystery 3.5*
52. An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters, mystery 3.5*
53. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older, sci fi 3.5*
54. The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire, fantasy 3.5*
55. The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi, thriller 3.5*
56. The Hours by Michael Cunningham, fiction 4*
57. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, drama 4*
APRIL
58. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, sci fi 3.5*
59. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton, mystery 3.25*
60. From Time to Time by Jack Finney, sci fi 3*
61. A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw, mystery 3.5*
62. In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan, historical fantasy 3*
63. 10:04 by Ben Lerner, fiction 3*
64. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, classics 5*
65. Daisy Miller and Washington Square by Henry James, classics 3.5*
66. The Jumbie God's Revenge by Tracey Baptiste, horror
67. Guapa by Saleem Haddad, fiction 4.25*
68. The Fury by Alex Michaelides, thriller 3*
69. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, fiction 4.5*
70. The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, sci fi 3.5*
71. A Season in Hell and the Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud, poetry 3.5*
72. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, fantasy 3.5*
73. Blind Goddess by Anne Holt, mystery, 3.5*
74. Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, mystery 3.5*
75. The Outlaw's Tale by Margaret Frazer, mystery 3.5*
76. The Wonderful O by James Thurber, humor 3.5*
77. The Elusive Elixir by Gigi Pandian, mystery 3.5*
MAY
78. Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith, horror 3*
79. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey, mystery 4*
80. The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan, fantasy 4*
81. Last Day by Luanne Rice, mystery 3*
82. Probability Moon by Nancy Kress, sci fi 3.5*
83. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, fiction 4.5*
84. In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu, horror 3*
85. The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters, mystery 3.25*
86. Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs, mystery 4*

1. People:
Books with a person in the title, whether it be an actual person’s name or just a type of person such as father or teacher. Or this could also be specifically about a person such as a biography/memoir.

1. Foe by Iain Reid, 4*
2. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, 3*
3. Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, 3.5*
4. Orlando People by Alexander C. Kane, 3.5*
5. The Masquerading Magician by Gigi Pandian, 3.5*
6. The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri, 3.5*
7. Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri, 4*
8. The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, 3*
9. Book Lovers by Emily Henry, 3*
10. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman, 3.5*
11. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, 3*
12. Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, 3.5*
13. Lois the Witch, and Other Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, 3.75*
14. Daisy Miller & Washington Square by Henry Miller, 3.5*
15. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, 4.5*
16. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey, 4*

2. Date & Time:
Has a date or time related word in the title or picture on the cover. This could also be a holiday themed read.

1. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, 4.5*
2. The Once and Future King by T. H. White, 2.5*
3. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, 4.5*
4. The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire (October Daye series}, 3.5*
5. The Hours by Michael Cunningham, 4*
6. From Time to Time by Jack Finney, 3*
7. 10:04 by Ben Lerner, 3*
8. Last Day by Luanne Rice, 3*
9. Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs, 4*

3. Colors:
A book with a color in the title or author’s name.

1. The Black Company by Glen Cook, 3.5*
2. The Best American Noir of the Century ed. by James Ellroy, 3*
3. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, 2*

4. Religion, Mythology & Folklore:
Can be specifically about religion, featuring a religious or mythological character, a mythology retelling, etc.

1. The Magus by John Fowles, 3*
2. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, 3.5*
3. An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters, 3.5*
4. The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi, 3.5*
5. The Jumbie God's Revenge by Tracey Baptiste, 3.5*
6. The Outlaw's Tale by Margaret Frazer, 3.5*
7. The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters, 3.25*

5. Animals:
A book with an animal (real or fantastical) in the title, author’s name or on the cover. Or can be about an animal or have an animal as a significant part of the story.

1. Chouette by Claire Oshetsky, 4.5*
2. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, 3.5*
3. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb, 4*
4. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, 3*
5. Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu by Junji Ito, 4*
6. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, 3.5*
7. The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin, 3.5*
8. Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn, 3*
9. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, 4.5*
10. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, 3.5*
11. Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith, 3*
12. The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan, 4*

6. Vision & Blindness:
Books about blind or visually impaired characters, by blind or VI authors or with some type of eye related word or picture in the title or cover.

1. Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander, 3.5*
2. The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni, 3*
3. Retinitis Pigmentosa: The Lighter Side by Patti Taylor, 3.5*
4. The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux, 3.5*
5. The Blind Goddess b Anne Holt, 3.5*

7. History & Classics:
Can be historical fiction or nonfiction history related works. Also adding classics here.

1. The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon, 4*, 18th century
2. The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, 3.5*, 1920s
3. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, 4*, Ancient Rome
4. A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw, 3.5*, 1946
5. In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan, 3*, 17th century
6. In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu, 3*

8. Around the World:
Books set outside of US or UK or by non-US/UK authors.

1. As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic, 4*, Bosnia
2. I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist, 3.5*, Sweden
3. A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark, 4.5*, Egypt
4. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri, 3.5*, Italy
5. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, 4.5*, Australia
6. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, 4*, France
7. Guapa by Saleem Haddad, 4.25*, Middle East
8. The Fury by Alex Michaelides, 3*, Greece
9. The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, 3.5*, China
10. A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud, 3.5*, French
11. Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, 3.5*, Japan

9. Speculative fiction:
Since this is one of my most widely read genres, will put anything that doesn’t fit in one of the other categories here.

1. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff, 4*
2. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire, 4*
3. Neuromancer by William Gibson, 3*
4. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older, 3.5*
5. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, 3.5*
6. Probability Moon by Nancy Kress, 3.5*

10. Mystery:
See explanation in speculative fiction above.

1. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie, 4*
2. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie, 4*
3. R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton, 3.5*
4. Cape May Court House by Lawrence Schiller, 3.5*
5. S if for Silence by Sue Grafton, 3.25*
6. The Elusive Elixir by Gigi Pandian, 3.5*

11. Everything Else:

1. H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker, 1*
2. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander, 4*
3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 5*
4. The Wonderful O by James Thurber, 3.5*
5. The Stone Diariers by Carol Shields, 4.5*

DNF
1. Airman by Eion Colfer
2. The March by E. L. Doctorow
3. Bone Rattler by Eliot Pattison
4. Accessing the Future by various
5. Ratner's Star by Don Delillo
6. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die:
I just want to have a place here to be able to see my list at a glance.

317. The Magus by John Fowles, 4*
318. As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic, 4*
319. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, 2*
320. Neuromancer by William Gibson, 3*
321. The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin, 3.5*
322. H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker, 1*
323. The Once and Future King by T. H. White, 2.5*
324. The Hours by Michael Cunningham, 4*
325. 10:04 by Ben Lerner, 3*
326. The Wonderful O by James Thurber, 3.5*
327. Ratner's Star by Don Delillo, DNF
328. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, DNF
329. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, 4.5*
330. In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu, 3*

Buzzwordathon:
From BookTube, a yearly challenge created by Kayla from the channel BooksandLala. She picks a word or theme for each month to find a book with that word or theme in the title. I would like to use books I physically own for this, but I know I don’t have any to fit some months, so will also be looking at the 1001 List for these options.

January: word: their, there or they’re: As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic, 4*
February: a happy joyful word: H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker, 1*
March: Character’s name in title: The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux, 3.5*
April: Nature theme: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 5*
May: word: Every:
June: the same word repeated twice:
July: Any word relating to measurement:
August: word: Like:
September: something related to your senses:
October: About relationships:
November: word: Only:
December: Holiday words:

TBR Tackle Spin:
This is another BookTube challenge hosted by Jill from TheBookBully & Sarah from FreshlyReadBooks. The object is to pick out 12 books from your TBR and each month they will spin a wheel with random prompts. You have to find a book in your stack to fit that prompt. If you don’t have one, you can pick another one from your shelf and take one off your list (which is what I already had to do for January). I went with all audiobooks that I own for this one.

My 12 Books:
1. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander: March
2. Brother Wind by Sue Harrison
3. Prince of the Skies by Antonio Iturbe
3. Foe by Iain Reid: January
4. Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman
5. House Gone Quiet by Kelsey Norris
6. Stolen by Ann-Helen Laestadius
7. The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
8. Starless by Jacqueline Carey
9. Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence
10. The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee
10. Orlando People by Alexander C. Kane: February
11. Guapa by Saleem Haddad: April
12. Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

January: Read a Canadian book, can be setting or author. I had none, so added, Foe by Iain Reid and took out Prince of the Skies.

February: A book that makes you feel like you are outside in the sun: So for the second time, I didn't feel like any of my original choices fit this prompt. I decided to cross off The Forgetting Moon since it's the opposite of the sun and added Orlando People since Florida always makes me think of sunshine.

March: A book to heal you: I think I'm going to use The Littlest Library. This sounds like it will be a happy feel good book, which is something I can always use to help me to feel good.

April: A book that a friend is bullying you to read. I don't really have one of these, so I will bully myself to finally read Guapa which is I think the book that I have owned the longest on this list

May: Have ChatGPT choose your book. It picked Valley of Amazement.

BookTube Spin:
This is the last BookTube challenge and is hosted by Rick at Why You Should Read. In this one, you create a list of 20 books from your TBR that you want to read and I believe it’s every quarter, he spins a wheel with number 1-20 two times and you have that quarter to read the two books. For this list, I used a lot of my Kindle books, a few physical books and 1 audiobook.

1. Resurrection by Arwen Dayton
2. The Scribe by Antonio Garrido
3. Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hemon
4. The Flatey Enigma by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson
5. The Magus by John Fowles
6. Free Falling by Susan Kiernan-Lewis
7. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J. R. R. Tolkien
8. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
9. Ratner’s Star by Don DeLillo
10. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
11. The Cowboy and His Elephant by Malcolm MacPherson
12. Ticker by Lisa Mantchev
13. The Great Passage by Shion Miura
14. Occupied Earth by Richard Brewer
15. I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith
16. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
17. Last Day by Luanne Rice
18. In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu
19. La-bas by J. K. Huysmanns
20. Language Families of the World by John McWhorter

Spin number one was 5 & 9

He hasn't done any more spins as of 5/2, so I did my own two spins and got 17 & 18.

Read:
5. The Magus, read in January
9. Ratner's Star, attempted in April, but ended up a DNF
17. Last Day read in May
18. In a Glass Darkly read in May

BingoDog


1. Featuring twins: The Magus by John Fowles
2. Epistolary or diary: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
3. Features water: Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkinis
4. Written in another cultural tradition:
5. Current/recent best seller: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
6. Topic you have experience with: Retinitis Pigmentosa: The Lighter Side by Patti Taylor
7. Person’s name in title: Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman
8. Ugly cover: Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
9. Less than 100 copies on LT: Orlando People by Alexander C. Kane, 14
10. Big or Little in title: The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander
11. Paper item in plot: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
12. Food or cooking:
13. Read a CAT:
14. Author 65+: The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri
15. Short story collection: The Best American Noir of the Century ed. by James Ellroy
16. POC author: A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
17. 3-word title: In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan
18. Book from LT similar library: Probability Moon by Nancy Kress (majkia)
19. Set in a city: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
20. Warriors or mercenaries: The Black Company by Glen Cook
21. Reread a favorite:
22. About friendship: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
23. Set in multiple countries: The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi
24. Only lists title & author on cover: The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni
25. Published in year ending with 24: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire, 2024

52 Books Club Challenge:
Couldn’t resist giving this a try when I saw it mentioned by someone else here. Would like to try to pick as many of my own books as possible to fill the prompts, but I know that is not going to be possible for some of these.

1. Locked Room Mystery
2. Bibliosmia (smelly book)
3. More than 40 Chapters: The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon
4. Lowercase letters on spine
5. Magical Realism: Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
6. Women in STEM: The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
7. 4+ POVs: I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist
8. Features the ocean: The Jumbie God's Revenge by Tracey Baptiste
9. Character-driven novel
10. Told in non-chronological order: A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw
11. Starts with K
12. Starts with L: Last Day by Luanne Rice
13. Academic Thriller
14. Grieving character: The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander
15. Part of a duology: From Time to Time by Jack Finney
16. Omniscient narrator: The Once and Future King by T. H. White
17. Nominated for the Booker:
18. Apostrophe in the title: The Outlaw's Tale by Margaret Frazer
19. A Buddy read: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
20. A Revenge story: The Fury by Alex Michaelides
21. Written by a ghostwriter
22. Plot similar to another book: The Magus by John Fowles
23. The other book
24. A cover with no people: The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni
25. Everyone has read the author but me: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
26. Hybrid genre: A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
27. By a neurodivergent author: The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire
28. Yellow spine
29. Published in a year of the dragon: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie 1940
30. Picked without reading the blurb: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
31. Includes a personal phobia
32. Time frame spans a week or less: Guapa by Saleem Haddad
33. An abrupt ending: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
34. Set in landlocked country
35. Title has song lyrics: Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
36. Futuristic technology: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
37. Palindrome on the cover
38. Published by Hachette: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
39. Non-fiction rec from a friend
40. Set during holiday you don't celebrate
41. Sticker on the cover: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
42. Author debut in second half of 2024
43. About finding identity
44. Includes a wedding
45. Chapter headings have dates: As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic
46. Features indigenous culture
47. Self-insert by author
48. Has "Secret" in the title: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
49. Set in city starting with M: Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs (Montreal)
50. Musical instrument on cover: Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff
51. Related to the word Wild: Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
52. Published in 2024: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

I will keep track of my CAT/KIT reading here:

JANUARY:
Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff: Calendar (start of a new series)
Foe by Iain Reid: Scardy (psychological thriller)
Chouette by Claire Oshetsky: Calendar (owls), Random (birds)
The Best American Noir of the Century ed by James Ellroy & Otto Penzler: Mystery (short stories), Alpha (A)
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders: Random (birds), Alpha (A)
As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic: Alpha (A)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie: Alpha (A)
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie: Alpha (A)
I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist: Alpha (A & Y)
City of Dragons by Robin Hobb: Calendar (dragon day), SFF (epic)
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow: Calendar (January/doors), Alpha (A)
FEBRUARY
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire: SFF (creatures)
Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander: History (Georgian)
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay: Calendar (2/14)
The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni: Alpha (F)
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley: Alpha (F)
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, Alpha (E & F)
Book Lovers by Emily Henry: Calendar (romance), Alpha (E)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, Alpha (F)
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill: Calendar (National Library Lovers Month)
MARCH
The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon, Mystery (historical), Alpha (R)
The Once and Future King by T. H. White, Allpha (H)
Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn, Random (wildlife), Alpha (H)
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery: Random (wildlife), Calendar (wildlife)
Cape May Court House by Lawrence Schiller: Scardy (true crime), Alpha (H)
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: Alpha (R)
The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey: Calendar (author born 3/4 & National Jewel Day 3/14), Prize (Bruce Alexander Memorial Award & finalist for Sue Grafton Memorial Award & Harper Lee Legal Fiction Prize), Mystery (historical)
APRIL
S is for Silence by Sue Grafton: Mystery (series), Calendar (author's birthday)
A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw: Mystery (series)
In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan: Random (garden visitors-fairies), History (English Civil War/London Fire)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Calendar (Gardening Day 4/14), Random (garden visitors)
The Jumbie God's Revenge by Tracey Baptiste: Scardy (evil spirits)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: Prize (women's)
A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud: Calendar (poetry month)
MAY
The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey: Mystery (golden age)
The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan:SFF (archaeology)
Last Day by Luanne Rice: Random (art)
Probability Moon by Nancy Kress: SFF (archaeology), Alpha (N & P)
In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu: Scardy (short stories)
The Stone Diaries by carol Shields: Prize (more than one)
The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters: History (middle ages) & Alpha (P)

Off the Shelf:
A place to keep track of my own books that I’ve read or taken off the shelf, either as a DNF or something I’ve realized I’m never going to read. I have a spreadsheet where I list all of my unread physical books (136), audiobooks (146) and Kindle books (113) as of the end of 2023. Last year, I knocked off 94, but I bought 124, so not a great ratio. I am hoping to cut back on buying a lot of new books this year. I won't list books that are rereads here.

1. The Magus by John Fowles purchased paperback 8/20/11
2. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff, purchased on Kindle 11/14/15
3. Foe by Iain Reid, purchased on libro.fm 11/9/23
4. Chouette by Claire Oshetsky purchased on libro.fm 1/21/23
5. Airman by Eoin Colfer, purchased paperback 11/6/10
6. The Best American Noir of the Century ed. by James Ellroy, purchased on Kindle 1/31/12
7. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders purchased on Audible 10/8/22
8. The March by E. L. Doctorow, purchased hard cover 11/6/10
9. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie, included in the omnibus Five Complete Novels of Murder and Detection purchased 6/25/11
10. I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist, purchased on Audible 10/25/23
11. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow purchased on Audible 1/25/23
12. Bone Rattler by Eliot Pattison, purchased paperback 1/7/11
13. Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu by Junji Ito, purchased paperback 8/23/21
14. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri, purchased on Audible 11/28/23
15. Orlando People by Alexander C. Kane, purchased on Audible 1/25/23
16. The Masquerading Magician by Gigi Pandian, purchased on Audible 11/28/23
17. Accessing the Future by various, purchased on Kindle 3/6/22
18. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, purchased on Audible 10/7/23
19. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, purchased paperback 8/20/11
20. The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni, purchased on libro.fm 11/18/22
21. The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri, purchased on Audible 11/28/23
22. Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri, purchased on Audible 11/28/23
23. Retinitis Pigmentosa: The Lighter Side by Patti Taylor, purchased on Kindle 12/8/23
24. Neuromancer by William Gibson, purchased paperback 8/20/11
25. Lois the Witch, and Other Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, purchased on Audible 10/7/23
26. The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon, purchased on Audible 4/24/23
27. The Once and Future King by T. H. White, purchased hardcover 4/8/06
28. The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux, purchased on Audible 8/25/23
29. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander, purchased on libro.fm 10/1/23
30. Cape May Court House by Lawrence Schiller, purchased paperback 11/6/10
31. The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire, purchased on Audible 11/28/23
32. The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi, purchased on Audible 4/23/23
33. The Hours by Michael Cunningham, purchased paperback 1/26/09
34. From Time to Time by Jack Finney, purchased on libro.fm 7/28/22
35. In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan, purchased on Audible 6/6/23
36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, received hard cover as a gift as a kid
37. Daisy Miller & Washington square by Henry James, purchased hard cover 6/25/11
38. Guapa by Saleem Haddad, purchased on Audible 12/26/16
39. A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud, purchased on Kindle & Audible 5/1/22
40. Newcomer by Keigo Higashino purchased on Audible 10/25/23
41. The Elusive Elixir by Gigi Pandian, purchased on Audible 11/28/23
42. Last Day by Luanne Rice, purchased on Kindle 01/2/20
43. Probability Moon by Nancy Kress, purchased paperback 8/20/11
44. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, purchased paperback 12/27/11
45. In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu purchased on Kindle 3/17/16

Enjoy your reading and challenges this year. You are well organized!

Great categories! I think you will have fun with the challenges that you are going to tackle as well.

Welcome back, Staci! I like using those sort of lists with randomly drawn numbers to help pick what to read next. Have fun with your lists!

Interesting setup! Enjoy your reading year!

Good luck with your 2024 reading!

Good luck with your reading in 2024.

Happy reading in 2024! The BookTube spin sounds fun!

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Off to a bit of a slow start this year with my thread and visiting all of the other threads, but I'm hoping to get caught up with all of that.

>22 Ann_R: I actually felt quite unorganized while setting this up. I must have changed around my categories five times before settling on this final result.

>23 DeltaQueen50: I really enjoy all of the different challenges. That's why I also enjoy this group so much. There were a few more that I thought about adding, but I think it might have been a bit too much.

>24 rabbitprincess: i've been using a lot of random generating to figure out what I'm going to be reading next over the past year of so, so I especially liket he challenges wtih the random numbers & topics.

>28 MissBrangwen: I like the idea of the BookTube spin, I've intestinally put books on my list that I have been hesitant to get to for one reason or another, so this will give me that push to finally get around to some of them.

My first reads of the year. I was hoping to post sooner than this so I didn’t have as many to write about at once, but here we go. So far, every book that I’ve read this year has been one that I owned.

1. The Magus by John Fowles, postmodern fiction, 3*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Bingo: feature twins; BookTube Spin: book 5; 52 Books Challenge: A plot similar to another book, 1001 books: 317

This was an interesting start to the year. This book is about Nicholas Urfe, a young man bored with his life in England (I think it’s the 1950s), who decides to take a teaching job on a Greek Island. Before he leaves, he has a fling with Alison. Once he gets to Greece, he is just a bored there, but then discovers an eccentric reclusive man Maurice Conchis, and some type of psychological game ensues. This was a bit of a confusing book. You never know who to believe, you’re not sure what’s really going on. And I still don’t think I really understand it. But I was fascinated to keep going and stayed up way to late the night I finished it because I just had to know how it all ended.
I put this book into my religion/mytholody categoary because there is a lot of talk of mythology once we get to Greece. This one did not fit any of the CATS or KITS, but it does work for Bingo square featuring twins. It’s also a book on the 1001 list, which is why I purchased it in the first place. And I am using it for the 52 Book Challenge for the prompt a plot similar to another book. There was an introduction to the edition that I listened to by the author where he mentions that he was inspired by Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier which is a book that I remember having read in college and have been wanting to reread, so I will hopefully be getting to that book sometime soon as well.

2. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff, fantasy 4*
CAT/KITS/Challenges: Calendar: start of a new series; 52 Books Challenge: musical instrument on the cover

This is book one in the Quarters series. The bards can use their voices to harness the powers of the elemental spirits and travel the land bringing news and gathering information. Annice has given up her life as a princess in order to pursue the life of a bard. She is happy to stay out of court drama until there is talk of treason and she ends up on the run. I really enjoyed this one and will definitely be continuing on with this series. Very different from the other series of Huff’s which I have read, the Blood Books which is an urban fantasy featuring vampires. I really enjoyed the character of Annice and the other bards in the story. It looks like book 2 will be focusing on a different set of characters, so I will be interested in seeing what happens next.
I put this book into my speculative fiction category, since I couldn’t fit it into any of the others. It will fit for the January Calendar CAT since it is the start of a new series for me. And I used it for the 52 Books Challenge prompt of musical instrument on the cover, I think it’s a lute on the cover of my Kindle edition.

3. Foe by Iain Reid, fiction 4*
CATS/KITS/Categories: Scardy, psychological thriller; TBR Tackle Spin: Canadian book

Hen and Junior are a couple living on a remote farm sometime in the near distant future. Their lives get turned upside down when a mysterious visitor, Terrence, shows up to tell them that Junior has been selected for a special project and will have to be away for awhile, but Hen won’t be left alone while he is gone. This was an interesting read. I really enjoyed Reid’s writing. The narration by Jacques Roy of the audio was done really well. But after reading a summary on Wikipedia about the book, it looks like there may have been something done with the text in the print version that would makes things more clear, so I might recommend reading rather than listening.
I put this one into my People category since a foe is a type of person. I picked this for the Scardy KIT for psychological thriller, but I’m not really sure I’d call this a thriller. I don’t read a lot of thrillers, so not really sure, but it does have that as a tag and the Amazon description calls it one, so I guess it fits. For this moth’s TBR Tackle spin, with the prompt of a Canadian book, I ended up having to cross one of my prior picks off that list because none of my choices had any Canada connection, so I ended up adding this one in, as Reid is a Canadian author. It’s actually a little funny int hat I had this on my original list, but then replaced it with something else for the final cut, should have just kept it on.

4. The Black Company by Glen Cook, fantasy 3.5*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Bingo square: mercenaries/warriors

This is book 1 in the Chronicles of the Black Company dark fantasy series. This is about a band of mercenaries hired by a mysterious person known as The Lady and told from the point of view of the medic, Croaker. This was a reread for me, but I really did not remember much of anything, I hink it was over ten years ago that I had originally read this. It felt a little disjointed. But overall I enjoyed it. I had wanted to continue with the series back when I had first read it, but never did. I own book 2, so will hopefully get to it soon. I think I remember hearing that the series gets better as you go.
This one goes in my Colors category. I used it for the Bingo square featuring warriors or mercenaries. It didn’t fit any of my other challenges. I do own this on Audible, but did not list it in my Off The Shelf post because it was a reread.

5. Chouette by Claire Oshetsky, fiction 4.5*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Random: birds; Calendar: owls; 52 Books Challenge: Magical realism

This is about a woman called Tiny who gives birth to an owl-baby that she calls Chouette. Tiny’s husband wants to do everything they can to “cure” their daughter, but Tiny thinks she is a perfect owl-baby. This is a beautifully written story about motherhood, being different, not having to fix someone just because they don’t fit what your definition of perfect is. I don’t think I grasped everything that the author was trying to say here, but I was drawn into the life of this woman and her baby and was just captivated by the writing. This is one of the few books that I’ve purchased because of the cover. I was drawn into the picture of the owl and also the title and then after reading the description, thought I would give it a try and am glad that I did.
This one goes into my Animals category because of the owl connections. I decided to read this now for both the RandomKIT, bird theme and on CalendarCAT, someone mentioned that the owl was the January bird. I also used this one for the 52 Books prompt for magical realism.

6. The Best American Noir of the Century ed. By James Ellroy & Otto Penzler, crime 3*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Mystery: short stories; Bingo square: short story collection

This is a collection I have been dipping in and out of since 2018 and finally decided to finish it up this month for the MysteryKIT short story theme. It has stories from a lot of well-known authors and many that I have never heard of and they go in order from oldest to newest. This was a mediocre collection. I had several stories that I didn’t finish, and most were just ok. My favories were by Harlan Ellison, Patricia Highsmith, Evan Hunter & Lawrence Block. Just glad to have finally gotten this one finished.
I put this is my colors category since noir is black in French. And like I mentioned read it for the MysteryKIT this month. It also fit for the short story Bingo square.

7. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, speculative fiction 3.5*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Random: birds; Alpha: A
Even after finishing this, I’m not really sure how to describe it. There was an interesting blend of sci fi with AI and Doomsday machines and fantasy with witches and magic and a bit of a love story thrown in for good measure. Overall, I did enjoy it and am glad to have finally gotten around to reading it since it’s been on my wish list since right around when it first came out.
This one goes into the animals category because of the birds, which are also an important part of the story and not just part of the title. I picked this to read now for the RandomKIT bird theme and I think it also first for the long-running PrizeCAT theme for this month as it was shortlisted for the Hugo. (It did win the Nebula, but not sure if that’s been around long enough to be considered long running). It also fits for AlphaKIT A this month with both the title & author.

I have had one DNF already this year, Airman by Eion Colfer. This is a YA steampunk that I bought back in 2010. I think I’m in the minority with a DNF of this one, it’s got a rating over 4* here on LT, but it did something that I really don’t like and just didn’t want to keep going. I don’t read as much YA these days and am very picky about the ones I do read. I might have enjoyed it more if I had read it when I first bought it. But it is one more book off the shelf.

I have started The March by E. L. Doctorow for the History & Calendar CATS
I have also been working on The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare as an e-book on my phone. I’ve realized that a play is the perfect format for me to read with my eyes since it is told in small snippets of dialogue. And listening to audio versions of plays can be a bit confusing.

I want to have something else going, but I'm not sure what yet. I would like to pick something for the SFFKIT epic/sword & sorcery theme, but I have so many different options for this one, I’m not sure which one I want to read. Might have to bring out the random generator.

>30 staci426: Taking a BB for Chouette

I ended up hitting a bit of an LT slump end of January up to now. I was still reading, but not in the mood to be on the computer, so wasn’t doing much over here. I’m feeling motivated to start participating again over here so wanted to post about what I’ve been reading. I can’t believe I’m at 37 books already. Maybe less reading LT leads to more reading books lol. Things have been slow at work also, so I’m able to get more reading down there as well. I will break this up into a few posts. I think I’ll just list the books and any CATS/KITS/other challenges they fit. And maybe if there’s anything particularly interesting I want to mention about it.
Starting off with the rest of January’s reads:

8. As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulic, fiction 4*
This was number 318 off the 1001 list and also chosed for the Buzzword challenge of a book with there/their or they’re in the title. I am also using this one for the 52 books challenge for the dates in the chapter titles prompt. It also fit for Alph A.

9. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie, mystery 4*
This one fit for 52 books prompt of a book published in the year of the dragon, 1940 and Alpha A.

10. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie, mystery 4*
This one was also Alpha A and a book off my shelf.

11. I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist, horror 3.5*
I put this one into the 4+ points of view prompt for the 52 Books Challenge (one of the POVs was a dog, which was interesting). This was also another Alpha for A & Y. And it’s also one that I own so comes off the shelf.

12. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb, fantasy 4*
It was fun being back in the world again. I picked this one for the SFF epic theme and it also fit for January, Appreciate a Dragon Day.

13. A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark, fantasy 4.5*
This was a pleasant surprise. Really enjoyed this one. I used it for Bingo prompt: POC author and on the 52 Books challenge for hybrid genre (this was a blend of fantasy/mystery/historical).

14. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, fantasy 4.5*
This was another enjoyable historical fantasy. I picked this one for the Calendar CAT for January (the audio narrator’s name was also January). It also fit for the 52 book challenge prompt published by Hachette. And it was another Alpha A for the month. This was also a book off my shelf

Now onto February. I have just been plowing through books this month. I did end up throwing my entire TBR out the window and have been doing mostly mood reads. Each month, I usually compile a list of possible reads based on using random number generators to pick books from various lists & categories. Nothing from the list was grabbing my attention when it came time to pick.

15. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, drama 3*
I started this in January, reading with my eyes on my phone, so it took awhile to finish, but I think doing plays this way is a good option for me since trying to listen to an audio version of a play can be confusing.

16. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, thriller 3*
I decided to read this because my sister loved it. We don’t have similar tastes in reading, she mostly reads romance, which I don’t like at all, and hse is starting to branch out into suspense/thrillers which can be hit or miss for me, but I am more willing to try a thriller than a romance. This was Ok. I almost figured it out from the start. It did work for the 52 Book Challenge prompt of picked without reading the blurb.

17. Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu by Junji Ito, manga 4*
This one I started over a year ago reading an actual physical book with my digital magnifier. This was a lot of fun, but slow going because I was lazy about setting up the magnifier to read it. It does count for a book off my shelf.

18. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire, fantasy, 4*
I’m still really enjoying this series. This one fits for the SFF creatures theme (there’s dinosaurs and talking magpies). And I used it for the year ending in 24 square for Bingo and published in 2024 prompt for the 52 Books Challenge.

19. Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, horror, 3.5*
This was one of the books on my random TBR list that I did actually want to read. It’s book 2 in the series and I felt it wasn’t quite as good as book one. I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to the conclusion of the series. I used this one for the 52 Books Challenge prompt of song lyrics in the title. And it fits for Alpha F.

20. Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander, mystery 3.5*
I picked this one for the History regency/Georgian theme. It is book 3 in the Sir John Fielding mystery series.

21. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri, mystery, 3.5*
This one didn’t fit any categories or challenges, just something I wanted to read. Book 26 in the Inspector Montalbano series. It is one that I own, so counts for off the shelf.

22. Orlando People by Alexander C. Kane, sci fi, 3.5*
This ended up being my choice for the February TBR Tackle spin theme of a book that makes you feel like you are out in the sun. I had to swap out a book because none of the books in my original list fit. I think of sunshine when I think of Florida, so thought this would be a good fit. It was a fun quick read and another one off the shelf. It did also fit the Bingo square less than 100 copies on LT. My copy brought the total up to 14.

23. The Masquerading Magician by Gigi Pandian, mystery 3.5*
This was another pick just for the fun of it. This is book 2 in the Accidental Alchemist series. And it’s another one off the shelf.
24. R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton, mystery 3.5*
And another mood read. I am determined to finish this series this year.

Last batch:

25. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, mystery 4.5*
This one I picked for the Calendar CAT since the picnic takes place on Valentine’s Day. I really enjoyed this. The writing was excellent and really evoked a sense of the time and place. Highly recommend. I do own this so counts for off the shelf.

26. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, noir 2*
I picked this as a quick 1001 Book read. This was my last of his from the list and least favorite. This is one that I’ve owned for a long time now, so glad that at least it’s off the shelf now.

27. The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni, memoir 3*
This was a slightly disappointing memoir about a journalist losing his vision. Felt like he did more name dropping of the celebrities and politicians he’s interviewed than talking about his own situation. It did fit for Alpha F and I used it for similar prompts on the Bingo, only lists title & author on the cover and the 52 Books Challenge, no people on the cover. And this is another one off the shelf.

28. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, thriller 4*
This time my sister and I did a buddy read of this, a first for both of us. (I needed a buddy read for the 52 Books Challenge) It was a lot of fun. We would read a bunch of chapteres than talk about it on the phone and compare notes on what we thought was happening. It definitely got me to take my time and really think about what was happening, usually I just want to keep reading to get to the end. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did if I had just read it on my own. I used this for the Bingo square set in the city and it also fits Alpha F.

29. The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri, mystery 3.5*
30. Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri, mystery 4*
I decided to finish the last two Montalbano books. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with him in this series and am sad to see it come to an end. I do still have a short story collection that I will need to get to at some point. The last book was very interesting with the way he ended things. Both of them fit for the author over 65 Bingo square, I used The Cook of the Halcyon. And both of them also come off the shelf for me.

31. Retinitis Pigmentosa: The Lighter Side by Patti Taylor, non-fiction 3.5*
This was a short collection of anecdotes about living with retinitis pismentosa (RP), which the author collected. Most of them embarrassing at the time, but in looking back, you just have to laugh. This one fits for Calendar CAT since February is RP awareness month and I used it for the Bingo square a topic I have experience with since I have RP.

32. The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, fantasy 3*
I thought this would be a fun quick read. But I felt a bit disconnected from this one for some reason.

33. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, non-fiction 3.5*
This is one of the most awkward book titles that I have seen but was quite an interesting read. It actually would have been great to save for March since it dealt with a lot of different forms of wildlife. It really is amazing what animals are capable of. This one fits for Alpha E & F.

34. Book Lovers by Emily Henry, romance 3*
Since it was February, I decided to try a romance. I’ve seen that a lot of non-romance readers tend to enjoy Emily Henry, so thought she would be a good place to start. I just really don’t like romance. I was more interested in what was going on with the sister than the love interest. At least it does fit a bunch of challenges: Bingo square, recent/current best seller; Calendar; romance for Valentine’s Day; Alpha, E; 52 Books Challenge Prompt, everyone has read this author except me.

35. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman, mystery 3.5*
I needed something light and fun, so went on another adventure with Mrs. Pollifax. I used this one for Bingo square, person’s name in the title.

36. Neuromancer by William Gibson, sci fi 3*
This is number 320 off the 1001 Books list. I picked this as a random list book that I own. Glad to have read what is considered the start of the cyberpunk genre, but I wasn’t that crazy about it. Glad to finally get it off the shelf at least.

I did also have two DNFs:
Bone Rattler by Eliot Pattison, an historical mystery set in colonial America which I was finding boring and too long.
Accessing the Future by various, a collection of science fiction stories by disabled writers. I wanted to enjoy this, but did not care for the writing or premise of most of the stories.

Now I am working on:
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, this is another buddy read with my sister. We are up to chapter 15 so far and finding it confusing.
The Once and Future King by T. H. White, a 1001 Book that I’ve owned for way too long.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, interesting YA fantasy that I am about half way through.
H(A)PPY by Nicole Barker, picked this one off the 1001 list for the February Buzzword theme of happy/joyful words. Not sure if I will finish it by the end of the month.

>34 staci426: Although not on LT a lot, you sure are reading a lot and a wide variety. I just read a book that mentioned T.H. White frequently as to his falconry skills.

Here is the rest of my February reads:

37. Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin, fiction 3.5*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: 321 off the 1001 list

This was an odd book which I picked up since it was the February group read for the 1001 Books to read group here on LT. I found Pelevin’s writing interesting and would like to check out more of his work.

38. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, YA fantasy 3.5*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Alpha (F)

This book has been on my TBR for years and I’m glad I finally decided to read it. YA can be hit or miss with me, sometimes I have no patience for dealing with teenagesrs, but I really enjoyed the main character in this book, the second daughter of the King who has been chosen by her God to fulfill a prophecy and save her people. I look forward to continuing in this series.

39. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, thriller 3*
CAT/KITS/Challenges: Calendar (Library Lovers Month), Bingo (epistolary/diary)

This was another buddy read with my sister. Four strangers in a room at the Boston Public Library hear a woman scream, become friends and try to figure out what happened. This book was quite confusing, and my sister and I found it funny in places where I don’t think it was supposed to be funny. I found a lot of what was going on very improbable and we only kept reading because we needed to know what was going on. I think it was helpful doing this as a buddy read, otherwise I think we would have been really lost here.

40. H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker, fiction 1*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Buzzword (happy/joyful word), 321 from the 1001 list

I think this is my first 1* book ever. The premise sounded interesting. It’s a post-post-apocalyptic world that is almost a Utopian situation. Everyone is young, there’s nothing to worry about anymore. Our main character starts to question things which is not acceptable. The problem with this was in the execution and format. This book is not accessible at all (IMO) for someone who is visually impaired. I found an ebook version of this which I had read out loud by the computer, but because of the strange formatting choices the author uses, it was difficult to get through. I’ve heard from reviews that there were different colors of text in parts, I think there was backwards text and even a castle made of words. Some parts were just garbled nonsense in the reading and there was also a lot of repetition which got frustrating and towards the end, it was complete nonsense, so I have no idea how the book ended. I don’t know if it’s fair of me to rate it so low because I could not actually read the book, but that was my experience with this.

42. Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, thriller 3.5*
CATS/KITS/Challenges: Bingo (features water), 52 Books (related to the word Wild)

My sister and I jumped into another buddy read. This one was better. A group of people end up on a deserted island and shenanigans ensue. This was a fast paced read. I didn’t guess the twists or figure out what was going to happen at the end. My sister really enjoyed this one, I think she gave it a 5*. I did find the characters a little annoying at times, but overall, a fun read.

42. Lois the Witch, and Other Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, classics 4*
CAT/KITS/Challenges: Mystery (Gothic), Alpha (E)

This was a collection of 4 short stories and three that were more novella length that I decided to give a go for the Gothic MysteryKIT theme this month. My two favorite stores were Lois the Witch which takes place right at the start of the Salem Witch Trials, and The Grey Woman about a woman who ends up married to the head of a notorious gang. I don’t think all of the stories would be considered gothic, but I did enjoy almost all of them and am glad to have gotten around to reading this. I really like Gaskell’s writing in short form and will look for more of her short stories. I own this on Audible, so it counts for off the shelf.

I am currently working on several different things:
The Once and Future King by T. H. White which I had started in February and am finding myself not wanting to go back to
Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein: The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Wow, that's a very impressive February round-up! I hope your March reading was just as productive.

I'm glad to hear you liked Mislaid in Parts Half-Known. I've not read this latest book in the Wayward Children series yet.

>37 mathgirl40: Thanks! March was actually a bit of a slumpy month for me. I must have started four books that I ended up not being in the mood for. I did manage to finish 15 books which was more than I had expected. I will hopefully be posting those reads shortly.

I've enjoyed all of the books in the Wayward Children series so far. I hope you enjoy this one too when you get to it! I'm currenlty working on a short story in the series that I just discovered, In Mercy, Rain.

My reading definitely slowed down in March. I did finish more than I expected, but had a period where I started and stopped four different books before I could find one that I felt like reading. I’m not counting any of those as DNFs because I do plan on reading all of them, just wasn’t in the mood at the time.

43. The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon, mystery 4*
Book two in the Matthew Corbett historical mystery series set in colonial New York City. I enjoyed this one even more than the first. I used this one for the 52 Books Challenge more than 40 chapters. It also fit for MysteryKIT (historical) & Alpha KIT (R).

44. The Once and Future King by T. H. White, Arthurian 2.5*
This was a book off the 1001 list that I have been looking forward to getting to but ended up being quite a disappointment. I did not care for White’s writing style at all here. I especially disliked his intentional use of anachronisms. At least it is off the list now and is also a book I owned, so is off the shelf. I used this one for 52 Books prompt: omniscient narrator and AlphaKIT: H.

45. Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn, fantasy 3*
Book 4 in the Tales of the Otori, a fantasy series based on feudal Japan. I found this book the weakest in the series so far. It felt too long. This one fits for RandomKIT: wildlife and AlphaKIT: H.

46. The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux, fantasy 3.5*
This was a quick fantasy based on the Critical Role D&D campaign, The Mighty Nein which tells the back story of the character of Lucien. This would probably not be of interest to anyone who wasn’t familiar with the show. I used this one for the Buzz word for March, character’s name in the title and AlphaKIT, R.

47. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander, fiction 4*
This was a cute little story about a woman who buys a house in the country with an old phone box on the property that she turns into a library with the books left to her by her grandmother. This was a book with a romance that I actually enjoyed. I used this one for the TBR Tackle spin prompt of a book to heal you. I don’t know if it really healed me in any way, but it was an overall good pick me up kind of read which I thought would work for the prompt. It also fit for the 52 Book prompt of featuring a grieving character and Bingo square big or little in the title.

48. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, non-fiction 4.5*
I read this for the RandomKIT wildlife theme and found it fascinating. The author spends time getting to know the octopus at the New England Aquarium and takes us along for the ride. I didn’t really know anything about octopuses and they are quite remarkable. Highly recommended.

49. Cape May Court House by Lawrence Schiller, non-fiction 3.5*
This was a true crime about a dentist who sues Ford for faulty airbags after his wife dies in a car accident. But then Ford counters that she did not die from the crash, but was strangled. I had picked this up years ago because it is semi-local to me and decided to finally give it a read for the ScardyKIT. It also fit for the AlphaKIT, H.

50. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, mystery 4.5*
This was going to be a buddy read with my sister, but she gave up on it. I kept going and am so glad I did. This was so good. A group of residents at a senior community get together to try to solve cold cases, but then a murder involving their community occurs so now they have an actual case to try to solve. Highly recommended if you are a mystery fan. This one fits for AlphaKIT, R.

51. The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, mystery 3.5*
This is book two in the Perveen Mistry historical mystery series taking place in 1920s India where Perveen is a female lawyer. I’m enjoying this series. I read it now for the MysteryKIT, historical theme and it also works for CalendarCAT as Jewel day was in March.

52. An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters, mystery 3.5*
Another one for MysteryKIT, book 11 in the Brother Cadfael series. This one was good, but not my favorite in the series. I figured things out pretty early on which is unusual for me.

53. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older, sci fi 3.5*
This was a sci fi mystery novella taking place on Jupiter which had a bit of a steampunk feel to it. I really enjoyed the setting, but found the mystery a bit lacking. Will read on if there are more to see what else she does in this world.

54. The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire, fantasy 3.5*
Book 18 in the October Day urban fantasy series. This one took me by surprise, I never read the descriptions of these when a new one comes out so did not realize it would be from Tybalt’s rather than October’s perspective. It took some time for me to adjust to that and the new narrator, but I did end up enjoying it. I used this one for the 52 book prompt for a neurodivergent author.

55. The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi, thriller 3.5*
Sister Ottavia Salina is a paleographer working in Vatican City with valuable religious artifacts. She gets pulled into a case investigating missing relics related to the True Cross which sends her on an adventure around the world. This was a random book I had picked up on an Audible sale because it sounded interesting. I had never heard of it or the author. I’m glad to have given it a try. This was a fast-paced mystery/adventure. It did have some issues with some of the unbelievable (in my opinion) plot points, but overall, it was entertaining. I used this one for Bingo square set in multiple countries.

56. The Hours by Michael Cunningham, fiction 4*
This is a 1001 book inspired by Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I’m glad to have finally gotten around to this one. I bought a copy of it back in 2009. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I used it for 52 book prompt an abrupt ending and AlphaKIT H.

57. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, drama 4*
This was a slow read on my Kindle. I wanted a Shakespeare for March CalendarCAT since 3/27 was World Theatre Day and I thought this one would fit doubly with it’s March connection. I ended up enjoying this one much more than I expected.
First read of April:

58. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, sci fi 3.5*
Book 3 in the Wayfarers somewhat cozy sci fi series of books that I think would work as stand-alones. This was a look into the lives of some of the residents and visitors of a ship which left Earth centuries ago in search of a new home. I did not enjoy this one as much as the first two, but it was still entertaining. I had started it in March for the SFFKIT space opera theme, didn’t finish it in March and don’t think it counts as a space opera despite the numerous tags. I did use this one for the 52 books prompt featuring futuristic technology.

I am currently reading:
In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan for the RandomKIT, garden visitors, features the fae
From Time to Time by Jack Finney for the SFFKIT time travel theme
In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire, short story in the Wayward Children series, reading on Kindle with my eyes.

>39 staci426: Taking BBs for The Littlest Library and The Soul of an Octopus

I have The Littlest Library already so I will just give it a gentle nudge.

I read The Littlest Library last year and really enjoyed it.

>40 lowelibrary: >41 DeltaQueen50: & >42 dudes22: Glad to see interest and enjoyment for The Littlest Library. It's not the type of book that I usually read but am glad that I discovered it.

Definitely going to take a BB for 47 & 48.

My April reads so far. Things started out pretty slow for the month then started to pick up towards the middle. Finally had my first 5* read of the year.

59. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton, mystery 3.25*
This is next up for me in the Kinsey Milhone series. She is hired by the daughter of a woman who has been missing for 30 years to find out what happened to her. This one flashes back a lot to the time of the incident. I think too much time was spent on the flashbacks. Not my favorite in the series. It worked for two CAT/KITS this month, Mystery for series and Calendar, Grafton is born in April.

60. From Time to Time by Jack Finney, sci fi 3*
This is a follow up to Time and Again. It’s been a long time since I read the first one, but I remembered enough to not be lost. Can’t say much about this one without spoiling the first. I did not enjoy this one as much as the first. There were some scenes that I don’t feel as though added anything to the story. It was one I purchased on libro.fm, so glad to get it off the shelf now. I picked it now for the SFFKIT time travel theme. I also used this for the 52 Book prompt, part of a duology.

61. A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw, mystery 3.5*
This is book 1 in the Lane Winslow historical mystery series which takes place in British Columbia, 1946. Lane is a former British spy during the war who moved to Canada to make a new life for herself and ends up getting drawn into a murder investigation in her new town. This was an enjoyable read. I haven’t read a lot of books set in Canada, so that was a plus. I picked this one as a random pick from my list of BBs. This one came from VivienneR, not sure when. Glad to have read it. Will probably continue on with the series. This one fit for MysteryKIT, series and the 52 Book prompt, told in non-chronological order.

62. In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan, historical fantasy 3*
This is book 2 in the Onyx Court historical fantasy series. This one jumps ahead in time to 1640s London during the time of the English Civil War up to the time of the Great London Fire of 1666. There is a fairy court that lives under London that is tied to the mortal world. I did not enjoy this one as much as the first. The story switches back & forth between the fairy & mortal points of view. I found the mortal parts, dry & boring. And it was all a little confusing. Not sure if I will keep going with the series. This is one off the shelf, purchased this on Audible last year. It fits for HisoryCAT: riots, revolution & mayhem; RandomKIT: garden visitors; Bingo square: 3-word title.

63. 10:04 by Ben Lerner, fiction 3*
This is a book off the 1001 list which was picked as the group read for the 1001 group here on LT for this month. I did not care for this. I found the main character annoying and didn’t really care about him or anything going on in his life. At least it’s one more book off the list, this is number 325 for me now.

64. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, classics 5*
This was such a pleasant surprise. I recently found a copy of this book that I did not remember owning. It’s a beautiful, hard cover edition which I think was gifted to me and my siblings back when we were kids, but I don’t remember reading back then. Such a charming little story. So glad to have finally read it. I picked it up now for my Buzzword pick for this month, nature themed. It also fits for the RandomKIT, garden visitors, the 52 Books prompt for secret in the title, and Bingo square about friendship.

65. Daisy Miller and Washington Square by Henry James, classics 3.5*
This was an omnibus edition I owned of these two shorter stories. I think I picked it up because I thought one of the stories was on the 1001 list, but neither is. I’m still glad to have read it. I enjoyed James’ writing style. It’s interesting his portrayal of women during this time period in both of the stories. Not sure how accurate it is. I look forward to reading more of his work. This one fit for CalendarCAT James was born in April.

66. The Jumbie God's Revenge by Tracey Baptiste, horror
This is book 3 in a middle grade horror based on Caribbean folklore. I think the first book is the strongest in the series. This was still enjoyable. The main character is a likable and I really like the Caribbean influences. I picked this one for the ScardyKIT, evil spirits, Jumbies are evil (usually) spirits in Caribbean folklore). It also fit for the 52 books prompt, features the ocean.

67. Guapa by Saleem Haddad, fiction 4.25*
This is about a young gay Arab man, who looks back over the course of one day in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. I really enjoyed Haddad’s writing here. I don’t have anything in common with the main character here, but something with this work clicked for me. I picked this one now as my TBR Tackle spin book. This month’s theme was a book your friend is bullying you to read. I don’t have anyone bullying me to read anything, so I decided to bully myself into reading this one since it is the oldest unread audio book I own, I believe. It also fits for 52 Book prompt, spans one week or less.

68. The Fury by Alex Michaelides, thriller 3*
A group of friends gather on a Greek Island and murder ensues. I don’t think I will be reading more from this author. This is my second book of his and I don’t care for his writing style. This one felt very similar to his other book, The Silent Patient. I hated the main character and the way he told the story. This one did not fit any challenges, CATS or KITS for this month.

69. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, fiction 4.5*
Late to the party on this one, but so glad to have read it. Don’t want to say much about the plot to give anything away. I really enjoyed Clarke’s writing here, more so than with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell which I read last year. Picked it up for the PrizeCAT as this was the winner of the Women’s Prize 2021.

Currently reading:
The Museum of Unconditional Surrender by Dubravka Ugresic, this is a slow going pick from the 1001 list that I chose for AlphaKIT U
A Season in Hell and the Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud, this is a slow gong Kindle read that I picked for CalendarCAT, April is poetry month
Blind Goddess by Anne Holt this was a random book picked as one of the first books added to my library wish list which fits for MysteryKIT as it is first in a Norwegian mystery series.
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, watched the first two episodes of the new show and decided I wanted to do a reread of this to refresh my memory of things, read it back in 2016 and didn’t remember anything about it.

>45 staci426: The Secret Garden was a 5 star read for me as well in 2019. Glad you also enjoyed it.

The rest of my April reads. Managed to fit in more than I expected at the end of the month. Last weekend was my birthday, so I took a few days off work and spent it working on a new Lego set and listening to books.

70. The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, sci fi 3.5*
This is book 1 in a Chinese sci fi series about scientists and first contact with aliens. This was a reread and I actually enjoyed it a bit more this second time around. I had watched the first two episodes of the Netflix show and wanted to refresh my memory on the story, so I had no recollection of it from my first read. It also fit a few CATS this month, Calendar for First Contact Day, even though this is a Star Trek related event, I think any book featuring first contact would work and History for revolutions since the Chinese Cultural revolution plays a part in the story.

71. A Season in Hell and the Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud, poetry 3.5*
I decided to give this a go for poetry month in April. I am not a fan of poetry, but I did study Rimbaud in college and did my senior final project on his work. I had picked up this edition on Kindle which had the French version, followed by an English translation which was helpful since my French is very rusty. I also had an Audible edition, but I didn’t realize it was just the English, no French. I think I appreciated this more when I was younger, but still glad to have given it a reread.

72. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, fantasy 3.5*
This was a fun Discworld installment featuring Maurice, a talking cat who is the leader of a bad of talking rodents. This was a quick enjoyable listen, although the audio narrator did some horrible German-ish accents. This one first for Calendar CAT since Pratchett was born in April.

73. Blind Goddess by Anne Holt, mystery, 3.5*
This is book 1 in the Hanne Wilhelmsen Norwegian mystery series. She is a detective inspector investigating the murder of a drug dealer and then lawyer which seem to be connected. This was a traditional Scandinavian mystery, in my opinion. Nothing that really stood out to me here. It was enjoyable, but I am not rushing out to continue with the series. This one fit for MysteryKIT-series.

74. Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, mystery 3.5*
This is the second book translated into English in the Inspector Kaga Japanese mystery series. I think it’s actually number 6 in the series, though. A woman is found murdered in her apartment and Kaga visits a lot of the local shops to try to solve the crime. The writing style here was interesting, not sure if it’s the translation or original style, but I enjoyed it and will continue on in the series. This one fit for MysteryKit-series and it is a book off my shelf, I owned an Audible edition.
75. The Outlaw's Tale by Margaret Frazer, mystery 3.5*
This is book 3 in the Sister Frevisse medieval mystery series. In this one a group of outlaws contact Sister Frevisse to get her to help them get a pardon, but someone ends up dead and one of them is the suspect. This was an enjoyable quick listen. Another one for MysteryKIT, I also used it for the 52 Books prompt-apostrophe in the title.

76. The Wonderful O by James Thurber, humor 3.5*
This was a quck entertaining story about a town that is no longer able to use words containing the letter O. I really enjoy Thurber’s play with language in his writing. This was a quick book knocked off the 1001 list.

77. The Elusive Elixir by Gigi Pandian, mystery 3.5*
Book 3 in the Accidental Alchemist series. In this one, Zoe heads to Paris in search of answers to help her Dorian, the gargoyle. This is a fun series which is not my usual type of read, but I’m glad to have discovered it. Looking forward to seeing where things go from here. Another MysteryKIT fit and another book off my Audible shelf. I might end up counting this one for Bingo square food or cooking related since Dorian does a lot of cooking and that was a big part of this story, but I want to try to find something that more specifically fits.

I have one DNF, Ratner's Star by Don DeLillo. This was a pick from my BookTube Spin list, see post 17 for details about that. I normally enjoy DeLillo's writing even though what he is writing is usually way over my head. In this one, I just couldn't get into it. I am counting it as read for 1001 Books to read list purposes, so that brings my total up to 327 now. And it's also a book I've owned for quite some time, so comes off the shelf now.

For May, I have done a lot of random number generating to pick some books and I have already finished my first pick which was a random book off my Kindle shelf:

78. Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith, horror 3*
This was a cheesy horror story about a dinosaur in Crater Lake told from the point of view of one of the park rangers. The writing was not the greatest and there were some issues with story consistency, but it was entertaining enough to keep me reading and finish in one day. I will not be continuing on with the series. But it's good to get something off my Kindle that's been there since 2016.

I am currently working on The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan, book 3 in the Lady Trent Memoirs series, this was a random pick from my ongoing serries list.
I will soon be starting The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey for the golden age MysteryKIT theme.

Starting this month, I am modifying one of my YouTube challenges, the BookTube spin mentioned in post 17. I created a list of 20 books to read and he was supposed to be spinning a wheel to get the number from your list to read. I thought he was going to be spinning every two months, but so far, he's only spun once. So, I've spun my own wheel now. I got 17 & 18.

17 is Last Day by Luanne Rice which I think will also fit for this month's RandomKIT relating to art & architecture.
18 is In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan LeFanu which will also work for the ScardyKIT short story theme this month.
I ended up with two pretty good choices for this month, both of which I've had on Kindle for quite a while, so will hopefully get to them soon.

Here are some of my other random picks I hope to get to this month, as well as finding books for all of the CATS & KITS and other challenges I am working on:
Physical book that I own: Survival by Julie E. Czerneda
Audiobook that I own: The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
52 Books Prompt- 49 set in a city starting with M, Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs, this is next up for me in this series and I think is one of the ones that is set in Montreal.
1001 Book that I own: Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
Random pick from the BB list: Bliss Montage by Ling Ma, I didn't mark where I got this rec from, but it's an early one on the list.