Sunday, December 31, 2023

My Year In Reading 2023

 My Year in Books

76,363
pages read
Jamie Ghione
261
books read

Updated about 1 hour ago. 
Newly completed books appear after a delay.

You're My Little Christmas Cookie by Nicola Edwards
Shortest Book
18
pages
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
Longest Book
1,070
pages
Average book length in 2023
 
292
pages

Verity by Colleen Hoover
Most Shelved
4,018,111
people also shelved
Golden Honey by Erica Varela
Least Shelved
0
people also shelved


The highlights from my Goodreads page. My last book of the year was Cherry Ames, Student Nurse, finished this afternoon. Can't wait to begin again for next year! 

New Year's Eve Humor

 











Friday, December 29, 2023

The Nerd Daily’s 2024 Reading Challenge

 Another I have been doing for years now.


  1. 2024 adaptation:
  2. Recommended by the Nerd Daily:
  3. Features your favorite trope:
  4. Cover without people: If You're Out There--Katy Loutzenhiser
  5. An author you love:
  6. Title stars with C or M: The Cat Who Saved Books--Sosuke Natsukawa
  7. Co-authored or anthology:
  8. Four-word title: It Ends With Us--Colleen Hoover
  9. Judge a book by its cover:
  10. Set in a city: Behold the Dreamers--Imbolo Mbue
  11. Gifted to you: Sourdough Sagas--Herbert L. Heller
  12. Between 395-435 pages:
  13. Set in the past or future:
  14. By an indie author or from an indie bookstore: This Wound is a World--Billy-Ray Belcourt
  15. Bought whilst on holiday:
  16. Author starting with S: Leap of Faith--Danielle Steel
  17. Title is silver:
  18. Standalone:
  19. Retelling: Never Cry Werewolf--Heather Davis
  20. Started but never finished:
  21. Debut author: Red Queen--Victoria Aveyard
  22. Has a map: Songs of Willow Frost--Jamie Ford
  23. Purple on cover: XOXO--Axie Oh
  24. Relevant topics:
  25. Set in spring:
  26. Final installment in a series: It Starts With Us--Colleen Hoover
  27. Author new to you: The Spanish Love Deception--Elena Armas
  28. Won an award in 2022: The Paris Apartment--Lucy Foley
  29. Historical or non-fiction: Into the Wild--Jon Krakauer
  30. Features royalty:
  31. Recommended by a bookstore:
  32. Don't judge a book by its cover:
  33. Blue spine: Summer Secrets--Jane Green
  34. Hybrid genre:
  35. From our #readwithpride series:
  36. Different culture: Killers of the Flower Moon--David Grann
  37. Quoted by an author you like:
  38. Released in January 2024:
  39. About an author or artist:
  40. Author surname starts with T:
  41. Picked by a loved one:
  42. Looks spooky:
  43. Fantasy or romance:
  44. A 2023 release you neglected:
  45. Book you nothing about:
  46. Less than 300 pages: Winter Stroll--Elin Hilderbrand
  47. Protagonist starting with B:
  48. Feature a special event:
  49. Released in July 2024:
  50. A sequel:
  51. Features two perspectives: She's Too Pretty to Burn--Wendy Heard
  52. Cover with three people:

Thursday, December 28, 2023

What’s in a Name? 2024

 Another favorite is now up. 




  1. Double letters: Fatally Frosted--Jessica Beck
  2. An NFL team
  3. A natural disaster
  4. A virtue: Leap of Faith--Danielle Steel
  5. A shape: Branded by the Pink Triangle--Ken Setterington
  6. Footwear

Four Moon Reading Challenge 2024

 Doing this one again, posted on the host's Instagram.


  1. More than one face on the cover:
  2. Indie book: This Wound is a World--Billy-Ray Belcourt
  3. Write a review for any one (or more if you wish) of the books you've read for this challenge:
  4. Memoir or biography of someone who interests you:
  5. Cartoon cover: Happy Place--Emily Henry
  6. Book that has been or will be made into a movie: It Ends With Us--Colleen Hoover
  7. Book you hope becomes a movie:
  8. The letters, R, S, T, L, N and E on the cover: Winter Stroll--Elin Hilderbrand
  9. Reread a childhood favorite:
  10. Read a book you wish you'd had as a child/teen/young adult:
  11. Grey cover:
  12. Heard about on social media:
  13. Been on your TBR 5+ years:
  14. Book from the Rory Gilmore Reading list:
  15. A thrifted or gifted book:
  16. Chest on the cover:
  17. Odd number in the title:
  18. Between 350-375 pages: Red Queen--Victoria Aveyard
  19. Graphic novel: With a Dog AND Cat, Every Day is Fun, Volume 1--Hidekichi Matsumoto
  20. Wordless book:
  21. Free Space:
  22. Most recently purchased book (or the last book you borrowed):
  23. Book that had made others cry, or laugh out loud if you don't want to cry: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry--Rachel Joyce
  24. Beverage on the cover:
  25. 4-star rating or higher on Goodreads:
  26. On Four Moon Reviews Top Books of 2023 list:
  27. Book based on its 1-star reviews:
  28. Book about a family:
  29. Published the year you were born:
  30. Randomize your TBR (use a TBR jar, dice or any other method and choose a random book):
  31. Book involving a mythical creature: Bo's Magical New Friend--Rebecca Elliott
  32. Sci-fi or fantasy:
  33. Published in 2004:
  34. Published in 2014: Greenglass House--Kate Milford
  35. Published in 2024:
  36. Book involving an animal: The Cat Who Saved Books--Sosuke Natsukawa
  37. Book recommended for your zodiac sign:
  38. Thought-provoking book: Into the Wild--Jon Krakauer
  39. Book with dual timelines: The Address--Fiona Davis
  40. With a main character over 50 years old:

Her Grace's Library Reading Challenge

 This is a new one being offered for the first time at Her Grace's Library.


  1. Title longer than 6 words: With a Dog AND Cat, Every Day is Fun, Volume 1--Hidekichi Matsumoto
  2. Author with your initials: Summer Secrets--Jane Green
  3. MC is an animal:
  4. Takes place underwater:
  5. Doesn't have the letter "E" in the title: Songs of Willow Frost--Jamie Ford
  6. By or about being a refugee: Love is an Ex-Country--Randa Jarrar
  7. In translation: Persian Letters--Montesquieu
  8. Cover featuring neon colors:
  9. MC is a non-human entity (robot, alien, etc): Never Cry Werewolf--Heather Davis
  10. Set in space:
  11. By Indigenous/Native American/First Nations author:
  12. Anthology:
  13. Released in your birth month:
  14. Title is a question:
  15. MC or author is transgendered: The Fabulous Zed Watson!--Basil Sylvester
  16. The weather plays a significant role: The Snow Child--Eowyn Ivey
  17. An unusal format:
  18. Protagonist is a plant:
  19. 2024 adaptation:
  20. You have no idea where you got this book:
  21. MC has a phobia:
  22. Set during your favorite holiday or event:
  23. One-word title: Bluebeard--Kurt Vonnegut
  24. MC is a time traveller:
  25. By or about a person who is asexual:
  26. Color in the title: Red Queen--Victoria Aveyard
  27. Published in the year of a big historical event in your lifetime:
  28. MC has a weird job (taxidermist, etc):
  29. MC who collects something unusual:
  30. Won an LGBTQ+ literary award: Branded by the Pink Triangle--Ken Setterington
  31. Over 400 pages: Watership Down--Richard Adams
  32. Novella: Home--Toni Morrison
  33. By an author with your zodiac sign:
  34. Features 24 (a 24-year-old MC, was published 24 years ago, etc): Into the Wild--Jon Krakauer
  35. Women in STEM/Girl coders, etc:
  36. Attention-grabbing title:
  37. Author or MC is HIV positive:
  38. Takes place in a haunted house:
  39. Title starts with "G": Greenglass House--Kate Milford
  40. Book of poetry:
  41. Microhistory:
  42. By or about a neurodivergent person:
  43. Debut book by an author over 60:
  44. Has a pretty cover:
  45. MC has a stange hobby:
  46. Set in a city you've never visited:
  47. By or about a person with a mental illness:
  48. A title that rhymes:
  49. Set in a parallel universe:
  50. Published in your birth year:
  51. Indie or small-press published:
  52. By or about a person on the autism spectrum:

2024 Book to Movie (and TV) Reading Challenge

 Yet another favorite now posted. 


My Books:

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Feminist Reading Challenge 2024

 Doing this one again, hosted at this Instagram account.




1. A book by a Palestinian author: Love is an Ex-Country--Randa Jarrar
2. About nature by a writer of colour
3. Memoir by an Indigenous / First Nation Australian writer
4. Translated short story collection
5. By Toni Morrison: Home
6. Translated fiction by a woman published prior to 1980
7. Fantasy with queer rep/queer author
8. Essay collection by author of colour
9. By a neurodivergent author
10. A mythology retelling
11. Translated fiction from an indie press
12. Fiction by a Caribbean writer
13. Non-fiction by disabled writer
14. By a non-binary writer: The Fabulous Zed Watson!--Basil Sylvester
15. Historical fiction with queer rep/by a queer author: Last Night at the Telegraph Club--Malinda Lo
16. Fiction by a writer from North Africa
17. Horror-esque fiction by a woman/non-binary writer: Weyward--Emilia Hart
18. By a Latinx author
19. Graphic novel with queer rep/by a queer author
20. Fantasy by an Asian American writer
21. Poetry by a Black British writer
22. A mythology retelling
23. Non-fiction less than 150 pages: The Art of Costuming--Ruth E. Carter 
24. By a Muslim writer
25. By a Southern African writer

Boxing Day Humor

The actual meaning of Boxing Day can be found here












Monday, December 25, 2023

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

Another favorite I have been doing for several years now. There are always a lot of interesting categories in this one.  Click above to see the graphic with the categories. As in the past, I will try to complete the Fortnightly level (one category from each topic), then see how much father I can go with the list.



The Standards

Thriller: The Paris Apartment--Lucy Foley

Classic

Mystery: Fatally Frosted--Jessica Beck

Fantasy

To Coin A Phrase

Coins on the cover

By an author known for coining a phrase

Title based on a well-known phrase: Leap of Faith--Danielle Steel

Book about language


Our Amazing World

Book about the ocean

Memoir about someone living with nature: Into the Wild--Jon Krakauer

Book about an explorer

Book about a lost species


Classic Computer Games

Oregon Trail--book where the characters might die of dysentery

Legend of Zelda--book where the protagonist is not the title character 

Pacman--A maze on the cover

Space Invaders--book with aliens


Roadkill

About something you might find dead on the road

Mystery set during a vacation 

Hotel on the cover

Something flat on the cover


How Does Your Garden Grow

Author with flower/plant name

Coming-of-age story 

About three main characters: Weyward--Emilia Hart

"Silver" or "shell" in the title


Bright and Shiny

Book released in 2024

Memoir about someone with a Hollywood Star

Gold or silver cover

Picture of the sun on the cover


Things That Are Good for Us

Vegetable in the title

About walking away

Lots of fresh air on the cover

About positive changes


Shhh...

"Secret" in the title: Summer Secrets--Jane Green

Someone sleeping on the cover

About a secret society

Book you hope will calm your mind


Reasons a Book Might Be Banned 

About gender identity: Women Who Dared--Linda Skeers

Written by a POC: Behold the Dreamers--Imbolo Mbue

With offensive language 

With talking animals: The Cat Who Saved Books--Sosuke Natsukawa


Reflections

Mirror on the cover

About looking back

Book you know will make you think

Antonyms in the title


Book Cliches

The butler did it--Book with a butler

It was a dark and stormy night--Book with a great first line

Once upon a time--Fairy tale retelling: Never Cry Werewolf--Heather Davis

There can only be one--Pits characters against each other: Red Queen--Victoria Aveyard


Swashbuckling

Book with pirates

Sword on the cover

Daring adventure graphic novel

About a stowaway


New Year's Resolutions

Read anything--your goal is to read more: She's Too Pretty to Burn--Wendy Heard

Title that sounds like exercise

About cleaning home or getting organized

About getting away from it all


How Do You Want Your Eggs?

A hard-boiled crime

About finding the sunny side of life

With a poacher 

Book where someone is likely to be "baked"


Doing It "Old School"

Stamp or rotary phone on the cover

Author old enough to be a grandparent

About someone traveling by foot: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry--Rachel Joyce

Set before you were born


Generational

Written by someone the same generation as you

Multi-generational story

Set when boomers were in their prime

Book that generates hope


Food Groups

Dairy--A cheesy book

Meat--Book you can sink your teeth into 

Fruit--Fruit in the title: Death by Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake--Sarah Graves

Grain--Set in a farming community: Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous--Suzanne Park


Love Them Pockets!

Key or pocket watch on the cover

"Pocket Guide"

Purse on the cover (because of course your clothes don't have pockets)

Book that might have been carried in a soldier's pocket


Just Desserts

About revenge

Something sweet on the cover: Sugar and Spice--Sarah Mlynowski

Book you'd like to settle in with an after-dinner drink

By an author who has a good reputation with fans


Color Me Up!

Color word in the title: Greenglass House--Kate Milford

Favorite color on the cover

Author with a color name: 

Book that looks like someone went crazy with crayons


Seems Sketchy

An illustrated book: The Fabulous Zed Watson!--Basil Sylvester

With an unreliable narrator

Sketchbook or notebook on the cover

"Fake" in the title


TBR Busters

Book you meant to read last year

Any book on your TBR: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek--Kim Michele Richardson

Book someone gave you that you haven't read yet

Book in your house with a dusty cover


Fakes

About a monster no one believes exists

By an author who uses a pseudonym

Fiction book based on a true story

About something counterfeit


Spice It Up

Nonfiction book about a controversial person: Paris: The Memoir--Paris Hilton 

Spice in the title

Spicy cover

Set somewhere known for its cuisine


The Long and Short of It

Over 500 pages: The Forgotten Garden--Kate Morton

Under 150 pages: Home--Toni Morrison

Title at least 7 words long: With a Dog AND Cat, Every Day is Fun, Volume 1--Hidekichi Matsumoto

Author whose last name is no more than 5 letters


Wildcards

Gothic novel 

With a geeky character

About prophecies

Book someone says "changed their life"

About someone with a disability

Saturday, December 23, 2023

2024 Linz The Bookworm/Logophile Reading Challenge

 Been waiting for this one. Another favorite.




Level 1: Book of the Month Club

1 Read a book you got for free: Sourdough Sagas--Herbert L. Heller

2 Read a book by an author you've previously read

3 Read a book that is under 400 pages: Leap of Faith--Danielle Steel

4 Read a book published in 2014 (10 years ago): Greenglass House--Kate Milford

5 Reread a book you have recommended to someone else

6 Read a retelling of a fairy tale or a classic novel: Sugar and Spice--Sarah Mlynowski

7 Read a book that is a comedy or satire: Bluebeard--Kurt Vonnegut

8 Read a book that's been on your "shelf" for over a year: Fatally Frosted--Jessica Beck

9 Read a book with a color in the title: Red Queen--Victoria Aveyard

10 Read a book from the Los Angeles Public Library's staff recommendationsThe Cat Who Saved Books--Sosuke Natsukawa

11 Read a caper story (heist, thievery, etc.)

12 Free Space! Pick any book: Happy Place--Emily Henry


Level 2: Casual Reader Club

13 Read book 1 of a Duology: It Ends With Us--Colleen Hoover

14 Read book 2 of a Duology: It Starts With Us--Colleen Hoover

15 Read a book about faeries

16 Read a book you meant to read for last year's challenge

17 Read a book with three or more colors on the cover: The Fabulous Zed Watson!--Basil Sylvester

18 Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with a family member: The Paris Apartment--Lucy Foley

19 Read a book published by Simon & Schuster or one of its imprints: The Forgotten Garden--Kate Morton

20 Read a book with the word "Dark" in the title

21 Read a book published in 2004 (20 years ago)

22 Read a book with a Gothic theme: Weyward--Emilia Hart

23 Read a book on a banned book list

24 Free Space! Pick any book


Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club

25 Read an Enemies to Lovers story: The Spanish Love Deception--Elena Armas

26 Read a Lovers to Enemies (or Friends to Enemies) story

27 Read a book that starts with the letter "S": She's Too Pretty to Burn--Wendy Heard

28 Read a book from Refinery29's "The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time"

29 Read a book with a grey cover

30 Read a book by an author you think has an interesting name

31 Read a Historical Fiction novel

32 Read a book with the name of a place in the title

33 Read a book about a veterinarian (or someone who works with animals)

34 Read the first book in a series you've wanted to start

35 Read a book that was published before you were born

36 Free Space! Pick any book


Level 4: Speed Reader Club

37 A book by Eleanor Hibbert under any of her pseudonyms

38 Read a Memoir: Paris: The Memoir--Paris Hilton

39 Read a book that is referenced in a film or TV show

40 Read a book with a skull on the cover

41 Read a book with the word "Truth" in the title

42 Read a book that involves gamer/fandom/geek culture

43 Read a book with a Scientist as the main character

44 Read a book that takes place in a cold climate: The Snow Child--Eowyn Ivey

45 Read a book that has double letters in the title: The Address--Fiona Davis

46 Read a book by two or more authors

47 Read a book involving or inspired by Egyptian mythology

48 Free Space! Pick any book


Level 5: Overachiever Club

49 Read a book with a Unicorn in it: Bo's Magical New Friend--Rebecca Elliott

50 Read a book that takes place during the 18th century (1701-1800): Persian Letters--Montesquieu

51 Read a book by Jonathan Coe

52 Read a book with over 700 pages

53 A book with a title that has 5 words: Branded by the Pink Triangle--Ken Setterington

54 Read a non-fiction book: Lifting as We Climb--Evette Dionne

55 Read a book with a picture of food or drink on the cover

56 Read a book by an author with Fred in their name

57 Read a book that takes place in South America

58 Read a book you previously started but left unfinished

59 Rickrolled! Read a book with one (or more) of the following words in the title: Never Going To Give You Up: Never Cry Werewolf--Heather Davis

60 Free Space! Pick any book