Here are my results for reading in 2021.
Friday, December 31, 2021
My Year in Reading
The Nerd Daily’s 2022 Reading Challenge
Decided to do this one again. Last year was my first time.
- Book with a red spine: Kamala's Way--Dan Morain
- Debut author: The Cactus--Sarah Haywood
- Bookstore recommendation: Salt to the Sea--Ruta Sepetys
- Title starts with F or S:
- Mystery or middle grade:
- NY Times bestseller: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil--John Berendt
- Set in summer: The Summer of Jordi Perez--Amy Spalding
- Bought based on cover: Smoke and Mirrors--K.D. Halbrook
- Anthology: Meet Cute--Jennifer L. Armentrout & others
- Recommended by family/friend: Dragonfly in Amber--Diana Gabaldon
- Part of a series: The Rivals--Daisy Whitney
- 2022 movie adaptation:
- Reviewed by Nerd Daily in 2022:
- Author starting with R:
- A retelling: Cinderella is Dead--Kalynn Bayron
- YA or sci-fi: Never Always Sometimes--Adi Alsaid
- Released in February 2022: This Woven Kingdom--Tahereh Mafi
- Under 350 pages: When You Trap a Tiger--Tae Keller
- Four-word title: Out of My Mind--Sharon M. Draper
- Fantasy or romance: Listen to Your Heart--Kasie West
- A book you never finished:
- Purple on the cover: Kamala: Feminist Folktales From Around the World--Ethel Johnston Phelps
- Reread: By the Shores of Silver Lake--Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Recommended on social media:
- Protagonist starts with B: Here to Stay--Sara Farizan
- Standalone: Eight Hundred Grapes--Laura Dave
- 2022 TV adaptation: Station Eleven--Emily St. John Mandel
- An author new to you: A Curse So Dark and Lonely--Brigid Kemmerer
- Released in July 2022:
- #ownvoices author: Angel of Greenwood--Randi Pink
- A questionable cover: The Coldest Winter Ever--Sister Souljah
- Author starting with G: Call Us What We Carry--Amanda Gorman
- A book gifted to you:
- Protagonist starting with T: Twice in a Blue Moon--Christina Lauren
- In your TBR pile: Sleeping With Anemone--Kate Collins
- Non-fiction or audiobook: Kitchen Confidential--Anthony Bourdain
- #booktok recommendation: The Guncle--Steven Rowley
- Bought based on cover:
- Setting: where you'd rather be:
- Written by a fave author:
- Features a journey:
- Start a new series: The Mockingbirds--Daisy Whitney
- Number in the title: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore--Robin Sloan
- Released before you were born: Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio--Pu Songling
- Picked at random: Miss Herbert (The Suburban Wife)--Christina Stead
- Quoted by an author you like:
- Illustrated cover: Silverworld--Diana Abu-Jaber
- One-word title: Moloka'i--Alan Brennert
- Bought on holidays:
- Book with blue spine: Easy Crafts for the Insane--Kelly Williams Brown
- Multiple perspectives: Life's Too Short--Abby Jimenez
- BIPOC author: Black Buck--Mateo Askaripour
Thursday, December 30, 2021
The 2022 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge
This is my third time doing this challenge. In 2020, I picked Baker's Dozen as my goal, but upgraded to Fortnightly. I chose Fortnightly again in 2021, then just kept going to see much farther I could get with the list (I ended up covering all the categories, including all the Wildcards). This is how I will approach the challenge for 2022. (Click the link above to see a larger image of the categories graphic).
Book about women's issues:
Reread a childhood favorite: By the Shores of Silver Lake--Laura Ingalls Wilder
Book about a pandemic: Station Eleven--Emily St. John Mandel
Happy Stay Home for New Year's Eve
With new cases of the virus occurring, people are now being advised to avoid large gatherings on New Year's Eve. Just like last year, I'm prepared to stay home. Even before COVID hit, I had pretty much given up on going out for New Year's Eve. So I was somewhat prepared.
I don't think I'll be missing much by staying home. But I do hope it will be safer to go out to celebrations next year. I really did miss being out for Halloween this year. That's one I want to be out for. I have been hesitant this past year about such celebrations since I will not know who has been vaccinated or not, and may encounter people without masks. Like everyone else int the world, I'm awaiting the day this will no longer have to be true.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Fairytale Reading Challenge 2022
Here is a new one to me.
Each month there is a fairytale prompt. You can read a retelling or the original fairytale. For 2021, several people also watched a movie for each prompt as well.
January: Die, Snow White! Die, You D*** Fool!--Yuri Rasovsky
February: A Curse So Dark and Lonely, A Heart So Fierce and Broken, A Vow So Bold and Deadly--Brigid Kemmerer
March: Mulan: The Legend of the Woman Warrior--Faye-Lyn Wu
April: Cinderella is Dead--Kalynn Bayron
May: Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel: The One With all the Hair--Wendy Mass
June: Poor Unfortunate Soul--Serena Valentino
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
Monday, December 27, 2021
2022 PBN Reading Challenge
Doing this one again, at Professional Book Nerds.
My books:
- "Classic" You Weren't Assigned in High School: Castle Rackrent and The Absentee--Maria Edgeworth
- Author Indigenous to Your Country: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me--Sherman Alexie
- 2021 Debut You Didn't Read in 2021: Black Buck--Mateo Askaripour
- Nonfiction Book by a Woman in Tech: Lean In--Sheryl Sandberg
- Deals With Mental Health Issues: Out of My Mind--Sharon M. Draper
- a) A historical fiction novel about a person: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald--Therese Anne Fowler and b) a biography about the same person: Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald--Linda Wagner-Martin
- Book by a trans author: It Never Goes Away--Dr. Anne L. Koch
- A musician's memoir or autobiography: River of Time--Naomi Judd
- Romance: The Wyndham Legacy--Catherine Coulter
- Recommended by #Booktok: The Guncle--Steven Rowley
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Friday, December 24, 2021
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Last Christmas
It's now Christmas Eve and the world is facing nearly the same thing as last Christmas. The virus is still looming, with the new variant. Even though we now have vaccines, which we didn't have a year ago, there are still people refusing to get them. And now hospital workers are preparing once again to treat COVID patients.
I have been hesitant to get out, worrying over the size of the crowds and not knowing who has been fully vaccinated, and possibly seeing others without masks on. As much as I would have liked to see the the local production of Beauty and the Beast Jr., (which had been postponed from March of 2020 following the initial COVID shutdown), I was hesitant to do so. And I skipped going to the bar celebrations for Halloween since I had only received my booster less than two weeks prior. I don't count on going out for New Year's Eve, though, since I have not done so in years, even before the coronavirus hit. And I have nothing big planned for Christmas tomorrow, something that has been true for several years now, again even before COVID.
Now it seems we're heading into a two-year pandemic. Who knows how much longer this will go on.
Whatever you are celebrating, have a happy holiday, whatever you plan to do.
Thursday, December 23, 2021
2022 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE
I'm doing this one again, getting as many books as possible.
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City.
Participants can read as many books as they want and are encouraged to visit as many European countries as possible. The Jet Setter Prize will go to the person who reads (and reviews) books from the greatest number of different countries (see below).
Not everyone wants to compete for a prize, review books, or read a lot of books. You can "complete" the challenge by reading one to five books from different countries. If you want to do more, read more books and compete for the prize.
To participate in the challenge, sign up at the levels below. If you want to go on to compete for the Prize, keep reading!
- FIVE STAR (DELUXE ENTOURAGE): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.
- FOUR STAR (HONEYMOONER): Read four qualifying books.
- THREE STAR (BUSINESS TRAVELER): Read three qualifying books.
- TWO STAR (ADVENTURER): Read two qualifying books.
- ONE STAR (PENSIONE WEEKENDER): Read just one qualifying book.
My Books:
- The Red Queen--Philippa Gregory (UK)
- Salt to the Sea--Ruta Sepetys (Lithuania)
- Dragonfly in Amber--Diana Gabaldon (Scotland)
- Dogs in the Dead of Night--Mary Pope Osborne (Switzerland)
- Hour of the Olympics--Mary Pope Osborne (Greece)
- The Little Paris Bookshop--Nina George (France)
- Vacation Under the Volcano--Mary Pope Osborne (Italy)
The Feminist Reading Challenge 2022
I was sad to learn that the Reading Women podcast is ending this year and as such, so is the Reading Women challenge. As such, I was glad to find this new one, by this Instagram user:
My Books:
- Short-story collection: When It Happens to You--Molly Ringwald
- Historical Fiction by an African Writer: The Red Queen--Philippa Gregory
- Graphic Novel: Dancing at the Pity Party--Tyler Feder
- Audiobook: Martina the Beautiful Cockroach--Carmen Agra Deedy
- Middle grade by a black writer: Out of My Mind--Sharon M. Draper
- Poetry by a Black Writer: Call Us What We Carry--Amanda Gorman
- Feminist Nonfiction by a Writer of Color: Ace--Angela Chen
- Feminist Lit Beyond UK/USA: Kamala: Feminist Folktales From Around the World--Ethel Johnston Phelps
- Memoir in translation: My Invented Country--Isabel Allende
- About immigration/written by a refugee: The Wind in My Hair--Masih Alinejad
- Memoir by a Muslim writer: Daring to Drive--Manal Al-Sharif
- Asian writer in translation: The Island of Sea Women--Lisa See
- A book by bell hooks: All About Love
- About queer joy: The Summer of Jordi Perez--Amy Spalding
- Published by an indie press: The Girl Who Drank the Moon--Kelly Barnhill
- East African Writer: Half a Yellow Sun--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Mythology retelling set outside of Ancient Greece: Poor Unfortunate Soul--Serena Valentino
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
2022 Southern Literature Reading Challenge
Another I am doing again next year, at Introverted Reader.
Definition of “The South”
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
2022 Books in Translation Reading Challenge
Doing this one again, getting as many books as possible.
- You can read a book that’s been translated from any language into the language of your choosing. The challenge is not limited to translations to or from English.
- You can read any genre
- You can read books meant for any age group
- Crossovers with other challenges are fine
- Any format that you choose is also acceptable
Monday, December 20, 2021
Romance Throughout the Year Challenge for 2022
I missed there being a general challenge for reading romance last year. Now there are several offered for 2022, and it was hard deciding on one, but this is the one I chose.
January: Time Travel Romance: The Time Traveler's Wife--Audrey Niffenegger
February: Regency Romance: The Masqueraders--Georgette Heyer
March: Discover a New Culture! – For this month, we recommend finding a romance that centers a culture that’s not your own: Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating--Adiba Jaigirdar
April: Historical fiction other than Regency – For this month, we recommend finding a romance from a historical period you’d like to learn more about!: Dragonfly in Amber--Diana Gabaldon
May: Celebrity Romance: I'll Be the One--Lyla Lee
June: LGBTQIA+ Romance: The Summer of Jordi Perez--Amy Spalding
July: Shared Hobby Romance – A romance where the love interests share a hobby like reading, baking, etc.
August: Fantasy Romance
September: Retelling a Romance
October: Science Fiction Romance
November: 2022 Release
December: Winter Holiday Romance