Saturday, December 31, 2022

My Year in Reading

 Here are my Goodreads reading stats for 2022:

My Year in Books
80,461
pages read
Jamie Ghione
278
books read
Jamie Ghione

You're My Little Pumpkin Pie by Natalie Marshal
Shortest Book
18
pages
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Longest Book
1,059
pages

Can't wait to begin again tomorrow! I'm still waiting for some challenges to post so I can sign up. I decided to skip a few I had done for the last few years. There was one I had been doing whose blog has been down for a while now.
I was only two books short of tying my 2021 total. 
My least popular book of 2022 was this one, by someone from my hometown. Another I read that also had no other reviews was this, also by someone in my home town, who was originally from New Jersey.

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Staying Home for New Year's Eve

 Even before the pandemic hit, I had pretty much given up on going out on New Year's Eve. And once again, I will be staying home this year. Fear of getting sick (This happened the last time I was out at a bar on New Year's Eve; though I have since gotten flu shots) and fear of excessively large crowds are just two factors in my decision. And it has been raining in my neck of the woods. That certainly puts a damper on going out. It's hard for me just to get to the store in the rain! 

I don't feel I'm missing much by staying home. I don't even plan on watching the ball drop.

And here is some NYE humor.  Have a good one, everyone, whatever you are doing.







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Friday, December 30, 2022

Feminist Reading Challenge 2023

 Doing this one again, at Instagram.




1. Read a book for #JanuaryinJapan: Tokyo Dreaming--Emiko Jean
2. A book by Jamaica Kincaid: Annie John
3. A graphic nonfiction work: Almost American Girl--Robin Ha
4. A book by a writer from Oceania: Stories--Katherine Mansfield
5. Poetry by a woman of color: Black Girl, Call Home--Jasmine Mans
6. A feminist essay collection: White Women--Regina Jackson
7. About sex work: Bad Fat Black Girl--Sesali Bowen
8. A book inspired by a fairytale from a country that is not your own: Oh My Gods!--Stephanie Cooke
9. Historical fiction from a South-East Asian writer: Tomb of Sand--Geetanjali Shree 
10. About mental health: How to Murder Your Life--Cat Marnell
11. A queer love story: I Kissed Shara Wheeler--Casey McQuiston 
12. Fantasy by a woman of color: Parable of the Talents--Octavia E. Butler
13. A memoir by an African writer: The House at Sugar Beach--Helene Cooper
14. By an Arab writer: A Woman is No Man--Etaf Rum
15. Feminist work in translation: Whereabouts--Jhumpa Lahiri
16. A multi-generational family saga: Three Sisters, Three Queens--Philippa Gregory 
17. A book under 150 pages: Katherine Johnson--Tamra B. Orr 
18. A short story collection: Her Body and Other Parties--Carmen Maria Machado
19. By a disabled writer: The Pretty One--Keah Brown
20. By a Black British writer: Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems--Warsan Shire
21. About nature: The Girls of Atomic City--Denise Kiernan 
22. Published by a Black female writer before 1980: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry--Mildred D. Taylor
23. By a trans author / with trans rep: Meet Cute Dairy--Emery Lee


Challenge completed on December 4

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2023 Book to Movie (and TV) Reading Challenge

 

Doing this one again.

My books:
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The Nerd Daily’s 2023 Reading Challenge

 Doing this one again.

  1. Recommended by the Nerd Daily: Carrie Soto is Back--Taylor Jenkins Reid
  2. 2023 adaptation: Dear Edward--Ann Napolitano
  3. A sequel: Tokyo Dreaming--Emiko Jean
  4. Illustrated cover: Jackie & Me--Louis Bayard
  5. Debut author: The Astonishing Color of After--Emily X.R. Pan
  6. Title starts with K or N: Kiss & Tell--Adib Khorram
  7. Translated book: Tomb of Sand--Geetanjali Shree 
  8. Romance or Horror: 50 Harbor Street--Debbie Macomber
  9. Quoted by an author you like: The City We Became--N.K. Jeminsin
  10. Coming-of-age story: Homegoing--Yaa Gyasi
  11. Protagonist starts with S: Yerba Buena--Nina LaCour
  12. Surname could be a first name: Three Sisters, Three Queens--Philippa Gregory
  13. Standalone: Verity--Colleen Hoover
  14. Book you know nothing about: A Long Way Gone--Ishmael Beah
  15. Thrifted or gifted: The Undertaker's Assistant--Amanda Skenandore
  16. Award-winning book: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry--Mildred D. Taylor
  17. Orange spine: The Gift of Asher Lev--Chaim Potok
  18. Guilty pleasure: Tell Me Lies--Jennifer Crusie
  19. Set in a small town: Tending Roses--Lisa Wingate
  20. Author you love: Beach House Reunion--Mary Alice Monroe
  21. Between 380-430 pages: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs--Steve Brusatte
  22. Released in August 2023: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six--Lisa Unger
  23. 2022 release you neglected: The Hotel Nantucket--Elin Hilderbrand
  24. Opposite side of the world: Lost Roses--Martha Hall Kelly
  25. Sun, moon or stars on the cover: The Magic in Changing Your Stars--Leah Henderson
  26. Recommended by bookstore: The Midnight Club--Christopher Pike
  27. Book with illustrations inside: The Green Ember--S.D. Smith
  28. Told from three perspectives: The Reunion--Meghan Quinn
  29. Sports or space: Aurora Burning--Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
  30. Two-word title: Queerly Beloved--Susie Dumond
  31. Silver on cover: Eyes of Wynter--Emmy R. Bennett
  32. A bilingual character: The House of Broken Angels--Luis Alberto Urrea
  33. Set in the summer: Summer on the Bluffs--Sunny Hostin
  34. From our #readwithpride series: All Boys Aren't Blue--George M. Johnson
  35. Indie author: The Deal--Elle Kennedy
  36. Chapters have titles: Seven Days in June--Tia Williams
  37. Selected by family or friend: Dune--Frank Herbert
  38. Romantic interest starts with M: 1022 Evergreen Place--Debbie Macomber
  39. Author new to you: The Ex Talk--Rachel Lynn Solomon
  40. Dual timelines: Lost Autumn--Mary-Rose MacColl
  41. Author starting with L: Meet Cute Dairy--Emery Lee
  42. Title without "The": On Ocean Boulevard--Mary Alice Monroe
  43. Middle grade or nonfiction: So-Called Normal--Mark Henick
  44. Flora on cover: This is Where We Live--Janelle Brown
  45. Released in March 2023: The London Seance Society--Sarah Penner
  46. #ownvoices author: The Black Kids--Christina Hammonds Reed
  47. Holiday that isn't Christmas: Calypso, Corpses and Cooking--Raquel V. Reyes
  48. #booktok recommendation: I Kissed Shara Wheeler--Casey McQuiston
  49. Anthology: Matchup--Lee Child (ed.)
  50. Historical or fantasy: The Personal Librarian--Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
  51. Book more than 15 years older than you: Dombey and Son--Charles Dickens
  52. Features an animal: Claws For Alarm--Cate Conte

Challenge completed on December 12

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Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Fairytale Reading Challenge

Doing this one again at Charity Rau.

This is a laid back challenge – you can read a retelling or the original fairytale. Some people also like to do the added challenge of watching a movie or tv show based on each fairytale. 



JAN: Snow White and the Seven Robots--Stewart Ross

FEB:  The Twelve Dancing Princesses--Jane Werner Watson

MARCH: Six Crimson Cranes--Elizabeth Lim

APRIL:  Abby in Wonderland--Sarah Mlynowski

MAY: Diamonds and Toads (from Fairy Tales, Volume 1, at Project Gutenberg)

JUNE: Pinocchio--Margaret Hillert

JULY:  Tales From the Arabian Nights--Anonymous

AUG: Transformed: The Perils of the Frog Prince--Megan Morrison

SEPT: Bad Hair Day--Sarah Mlynowski

OCT:  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow--Washington Irving

NOV: Sleeping Beauty--Mahlon F. Craft

DEC: Cold As Ice--Sarah Mlynowski


Challenge completed on December 2
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Sunday, December 25, 2022

Happy Holidays

 Hope you have a happy holiday season. Only one week till the new year!






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Reading Challenge: #ReadQueerly2023

Doing this one again at Enthralled Bookworm. Will read as many book and fill as many of the squares as possible.

#ReadQueerly2023 Reading Challenge Book Bingo


My Books:
  1. They Both Die at the End--Adam Silvera (Bi MC)
  2. The Ex Talk--Rachel Lynn Solomon
  3. White Women--Regina Jackson
  4. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems--Warsan Shire (Poetry)
  5. Meet Cute Dairy--Emery Lee (Trans MC)
  6. Kiss & Tell--Adib Khorram (Gay MC)
  7. Her Body and Other Parties--Carmen Maria Machado (Sci Fi)
  8. I Kissed Shara Wheeler--Casey McQuiston (Lesbian MC)
  9. Lust & Wonder--Augusten Burroughs (Nonfiction)
  10. Blood Like Magic--Liselle Sambury (Witches)
  11. Queerly Beloved--Susie Dumond (Romance or RomCom)
  12. Yerba Buena--Nina LaCour (Free)
  13. Tomb of Sand--Geetanjali Shree (Fantasy)
  14. The Best Man--Richard Peck (Middle Grade)
  15. What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day--Pearl Cleage (Black MC)
  16. Cool For the Summer--Dahlia Adler (Jewish MC)
  17. The Astonishing Color of After--Emily X. R. Pan (POC Lead)
  18. The Black Kids--Christina Hammonds Reed
  19. Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World--Benjamin Alire Saenz 
  20. The Other Side--Juan Pablo Villalobos
  21. Summer on the Bluffs--Sunny Hostin
  22. The Best At It--Maulik Pancholy
  23. The Deep--Rivers Solomon (Mermaid)
  24. All Boys Aren't Blue--George M. Johnson
  25. Gender Queer--Maia Kababe (Gender Queer MC)
  26. Aurora Burning--Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
  27. Black Girl, Call Home--Jasmine Mans
  28. Odd One Out--Nic Stone
  29. Lumberjanes Vol 3: A Terrible Plan--Noelle Stevenson
  30. Maame--Jessica George
  31. One of Us is Lying--Karen M. McManus
  32. When They Call You a Terrorist--Patrisse Kahn-Cullors
  33. All American Boys--Jason Reynolds
  34. In Deeper Waters--F.T. Lukens (Pirates)
  35. One of Us is Next--Karen M. McManus
  36. A Queer History of the United States for Young People--Michael Bronski
  37. Elatsoe--Darcy Little Badger (Indigenous MC)
  38. Dead Dead Girls-Nekesa Afia (Mystery)
  39. The Midnight Club--Christopher Pike
  40. The City We Became--N.K. Jeminsin
  41. Bite Me--Christopher Moore (Vampire)
  42. The Cruel Prince--Holly Black
  43. An Unkindness of Ghosts--Rivers Solomon (Neurodivergent MC)
  44. The London Seance Society--Sarah Penner
  45. Wow, No Thank You--Samantha Irby
  46. Olga Dies Dreaming--Xochitl Gonzalez
  47. Annie John--Jamaica Kincaid
  48. Aurora's End--Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
  49. Carrie Soto is Back--Taylor Jenkins Reid
  50. Bad Fat Black Girl--Sesali Bowen
  51. Sherlock: The Great Game--Mark Gatiss
  52. A Song for a New Day--Sarah Pinsker
  53. Gingerbread--Helen Oyeyemi

Calling challenge complete on December 29
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Saturday, December 24, 2022

Christmas Eve--Still More Humor

 





Seinfeld Festivus










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Friday, December 23, 2022

The 2023 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

Once again doing this one, and setting my level at Fortnightly. I will then see how much further I get with the list. Click above to see  larger image of the graphic below.



Standards
A Historical Fiction Book: The Gift of Asher Lev--Chaim Potok

Lost and Found
About a missing person: Annie John--Jamaica Kincaid
About a civilization that no longer exists: Dune--Frank Herbert
About self-discovery: Dear Edward--Ann Napolitano
Book you find on your TBR list: State of Wonder--Ann Patchett

Hobbies
About a hobby you do or would like to do (cooking): Taste: My Life Through Food--Stanley Tucci
Cozy mystery with a hobby-related pun title
Memoir or biography about someone with an unusual hobby: So-Called Normal--Mark Henick
A book from your "collection": Ellen Foster--Kaye Gibbons

Who Wrote That
Twofer: two books by the same author using different names (counts as
two books)
An author you have always wanted to read: The Adventures of Augie March--Saul Bellow

Series or Not
Read (or re-read so you remember it) the first book in a series: Lilac Girls--Martha Hall Kelly
The second book in a series: Lost Roses--Martha Hall Kelly
Any book from a series: Sunflower Sisters--Martha Hall Kelly

Cuddly and Cute
Book by an author you'd like to hug: The Pretty One--Keah Brown
Book that makes you think of warm fires and cozy beds: 50 Harbor Street--Debbie Macomber
Pair of slippers on the cover: The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square--Rosina Lippi

Regarding the Moon
A word in the title that rhymes with "moon" or "moony": Seven Days in June--Tia Williams

The Number Four
Book published in a year that contains a 4 (2014): Cold As Ice--Sarah Mlynowski
Author whose first or last name is only four letters: Memoirs of an Addicted Brain--Marc Lewis

Preparing for the Robot Uprising
"Machine" or "mechanic" in the title: T. Rex Time Machine--Jared Chapman
About rocket science: Rocket to the Moon!--Don Brown
Book with a cyborg, robot or AI character: Snow White and the Seven Robots--Stewart Ross
Steampunk book: Changeling--Molly Harper

Road Trips
Name of a street or highway in the title: On Ocean Boulevard--Mary Alice Monroe
Luggage on the front cover
Car, truck or bus on the cover: Race Forever--R.A. Montgomery

Initial Impressions
Go ahead--choose a book because of its cover: The Reunion--Meghan Quinn
Author with initials in their name: The Green Ember--S.D. Smith
A book your initial reaction to is "I know I'll love this": Dead Dead Girls-Nekesa Afia
Book you expect will expand your initial knowledge of a subject: Citizen Coke--Bartow J. Elmore

Weather or Not
Picture of a foggy street on the cover: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six--Lisa Unger
"Chill" in the title
Nonfiction book about a natural disaster or weather event: Midnight in Chernobyl--Adam Higginbotham
Book set in winter: The Long Winter--Laura Ingalls Wilder [re-read]

Not As It Seems
Fiction with a real person as the protagonist: Jackie & Me--Louis Bayard
Book with an animal on the cover that is not about that animal: Eyes of Wynter--Emmy R. Bennett
Book title that begins with "how to" that is not a "how to" book: How to Murder Your Life--Cat Marnell
Book written by an author using a pseudonym of the opposite gender: Tragic Toppings--Jessica Beck

Taking a Flying Leap
Person jumping on the cover: Stuntboy, In the Meantime--Jason Reynolds
Book you want to dive into: The Deep--Rivers Solomon
Memoir or biography of a "daredevil": Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life--William Finnegan

Sparkles and Glitter
Gem in the title: Diamonds and Toads (from Fairy Tales, Volume 1, at Project Gutenberg)
Book whose cover makes you think of a middle school girl: Blood Like Magic--Liselle Sambury
Memoir by someone who might use glitter regularly: Wow, No Thank You--Samantha Irby
Gold writing on the cover: Irish Gold--Andrew M. Greeley

Matching
Book with a color that matches your shirt (on the day you start it): Odd One Out--Nic Stone
With something on the cover that can be lit by a match: Blueprints--Barbara Delinsky

Love Them Critters
Author who has a pet listed in their bio: The Garden of Small Beginnings--Abbi Waxman [re-read]
"Lion," "elephant," or "mouse" in the title: The Lions of Little Rock--Kristin Levine
Book you would wrestle from the jaws of a tiger to read: Child of the Wolves--Elizabeth Hall

Shakespeare-Inspired
Romeo and Juliet--Balcony on the cover: Pineapple Street--Jenny Jackson
Midsummer's Night's Dream--About fairies: The Cruel Prince--Holly Black
Sonnets--Book of poetry: Romantic Visionary--W.B. Yeats

Bucket List
Elderly protagonist: Tomb of Sand--Geetanjali Shree 
Book you definitely want to read before you die: Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York--Gail Parent
About a place you want to visit: The Villa--Rachel Hawkins

Spirits
A book you hope will soothe your soul: Dirty Thirty--Janet Evanovich
Super cheerful person on the cover: Anna and Elsa's Hygge Life--Heather Knowles

Museums
Natural History--Book with dinosaurs in it: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs--Steve Brusatte
Art--Well-known painting on the cover: The Da Vinci Code--Dan Brown
Children's--Protagonist 12 or younger: Abby in Wonderland--Sarah Mlynowski
Maritime--About ships or sailing: Love, Lists & Fancy Ships--Sarah Grunder Ruiz 

Dinner Time!
Restaurant on the cover: Death of an Italian Chef--Lee Hollis
Book you'd skip a dinner date for: Carrie Soto is Back--Taylor Jenkins Reid
Book off a "Sizzling Summer Reads" list: The Hotel Nantucket--Elin Hilderbrand
Book you've been waiting to gobble up: A Summer Affair--Elin Hilderbrand

Roots 
About going home: Homegoing--Yaa Gyasi
"Teeth" in the title: Alan's Big, Scary Teeth--Jarvis
About our ancestors

The Darkness Around Us
Book that employs dark humor: One of Us is Lying--Karen M. McManus 
A "noir" book: Macbeth--Jo Nesbo
Set someplace that has a "long night" during winter: The London Seance Society--Sarah Penner 
About finding hope when life is challenging: A Long Way Gone--Ishmael Beah 

Ain't That Sweet
Nonfiction book about sugar
With an adorable cover: Once More With Feeling--Elissa Sussman
"Ain't" or "sweet" in the title: Santa's Sweetheart--Janet Dailey
Set in a bakery or sweet shop: Queerly Beloved--Susie Dumond

Music
Instrument in the title: Drums of Autumn--Diana Gabaldon
Title that is a song name: Back in Black--Lori Foster
Memoir by a singer or musician: Open Book--Jessica Simpson

Wildcards
Book you can read in a day: Almost American Girl--Robin Ha
Book you wish you had written: Love on the Brain--Ali Hazelwood
Chess piece on the cover: How to Play Chess--D.K. Publishing
Translated from a different language: The House of Broken Angels--Luis Alberto Urrea 


Calling challenge complete on December 29. 
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