You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

For 2021 I have 3 goals:
1) I won't be so "challenge" driven when selecting books to read for the year and focus on what I want to read - if it fits a challenge awesome, if it doesn't awesome too. I do love a challenge, but I want the book I read for a challenge to be one that I've wanted to read, or looks interesting - I discovered this year that if I read a book just to meet a challenge criteria (example - a book with a girl in a blue dress on the cover) and that was the ONLY reason I read it I became easily disappointed in the book which isn't fair to the author. I still love a good gophering though which leads me to goal 2
2) To read from the books that I own first
3) To relax and enjoy what I read - I am actually going to give myself a limit of how many books to read. This is the year that I savor and reflect on my reading choices.

2021 Challenges:
2022 YLTO Yearly Challenge
Winter Century Challenge
2021 YLTO Yearly Challenge
Goodreads December Challenge

SERIES TO CONTUINUE/FINISH

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series 9/16
10. The Long Way Home 11. The Nature of the Beast 12. A Great Reckoning 13. Glass Houses 14. Kingdom of the Blind 15. A Better Man 16. All the Devils Are Here 17. The Madness of Crowds

Mercy Thompson 3/12
4. Bone Crossed 5. Silver Borne 6. River Marked 7. Frost Burned 8. Night Broken 9. Fire Touched 10. Silence Fallen 11. Storm Cursed 12. Smoke Bitten

Gethsemane Brown Mysteries 3/5
4. Fatality in F 5. Execution in E

Miss Fortune Mystery: Louisiana Longshot 1/17
2. Lethal Bayou Beauty 3. Swamp Sniper 4. Swamp Team 3 5. Gator Bait 6. Soldiers of Fortune 7. Hurricane Force 8. Fortune Hunter 9. Later Gator 10. Hook, Line and Blinker 11. Change of Fortune 12. Reel of Fortune 13. Swamp Spook 14. Fortune Furlough 15. Cajun Fried Felony 16. Swamp Santa 17. Bullets and Beads

Secret, Book, & Scone Society 2/4
3. The Book of Candlelight 4. Ink and Shadows

The Great Library 1/5
2. Paper and Fire 3. Ash and Quill 4. Smoke and Iron 5. Sword and Pen

Muse Chronicles 2/7
3. Breath of Passion 4. Light of the Spirit 5. Devoted to Destiny 6. Dance of the Heart 7. Song of the Soul

The Haunting of Danielle 1/26

SERIES TO START

Wishing for a Hero 0/4
1. If I Didn't Care 2. Watch Over Me 3. Can't Take My Eyes Off You 4. Burn For You

All Souls Trilogy
1. A Discovery of Witches 2. Shadow of Night 3. The Book of Life

The Pillars of the Earth
1. The Pillars of the Earth 2. World Without End 3. A Column of Fire

December 2021 Possibilities

PROGRESSIVE WOMEN'S BOOK CLUB
(No read this month)

GRCA MONTHLY CHALLENGE
✔Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔The Lost Apothecary ⭐⭐⭐
✔The Things We Wish Were True ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔Gift of Diamonds ⭐⭐
✔The Holiday Swap ⭐⭐⭐⭐

HISTORICAL FISCTIONISTAS
✔The Rose Code ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NONFICTION NERDS

YLTO GROUP READ
✔ Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day ⭐⭐⭐

YLTO MONTHLY CHALLENGE
✔Outlawed ⭐⭐

YLTO TOPPLER
✔Window Shopping ⭐⭐⭐⭐

YLTO YEARLY CHALLENGE
(completed)

JUST BECAUSE
The Santa Suit

December 2021 Stats: 8 Fiction/ 1 Nonfiction Read
1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2 - ⭐⭐⭐
2 - ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -

Year Total: 110 Fiction/ 13 Nonfiction

I like your goals Jayme :)

Possible image for February's Challenge - Bernie Meme

Library of Brooklyn College


or Bernie goes to China
Public Chinese chess tables in China.


or Cats!!!

January 2021 Reads




Well 2021 has still found me needing to read gardening, cozy mysteries, nature and mediation books to get through this pandemic winter. I've been focusing on reading what will make me happy whether or not it fits a challenge. There will probably be less reading in February as the work begins in the Trial Gardens and propagation shed and we start planning the virtual Garden workshops for the public. Happy Reading.

January 2021 Stats: 12 Fiction/ 3 Nonfiction Read
4 - ★★★★★ - Good Morning, I Love You: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Practices to Rewire Your Brain for Calm, Clarity, and Joy, Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants
5 - ★★★★
3 - ★★★
- ★★
1 - ★
1 - DNF - Salvage the Bones to intense to read right now

Year Total: 12 Fiction/ 3 Nonfiction

February 2021 Reads




February was a good reading month thanks to the week long Toppler. March will be busy, so not sure how much I will get read.

February 2021 Stats: 13 Fiction/ 1 Nonfiction Read
1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 - ⭐⭐⭐
2 - ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -

Year Total: 25 Fiction/ 5 Nonfiction

April Monthly Challenge info

Border Collies are generally considered to be one of the smartest, if not the smartest, of all dog breeds. Indeed, this year marked the passing of a Border Collie often described as the smartest of all time — a pooch named Chaser who knew the names of more than 1,000 dog toys.

Energetic in nature, the Border Collie is a herding dog from the Scottish farmland. These canines like to work and if they don't, their pent-up energy has to get out in other ways. This is why you'll often find them doing tricks and jumping for Frisbees at festivals and fairs.

3 countries - Belgium, Czech Republic, Australia

Book choice: I Am the Messenger Australian author

March 2021 Reads



March was a good reading month even though I didn't read as many books as usual - my garden was calling :)

March 2021 Stats: 8 Fiction/ 2 Nonfiction Read
1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The House in the Cerulean Sea
5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2 - ⭐⭐⭐
2 - ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 33 Fiction/ 7 Nonfiction

April Toppler Possiblities:

Favorite author; Marilynne Robinson book ,
Favorite hobby; gardening - or
Favorite color (blue) with either or .

Jayme, I love your monthly updates that highlight your reads for the previous month. What a great idea.

I hope you enjoy the Mark Zusak book for your April challenge.
I really loved it.

Islands for May's monthly challenge:

Montebello Island - collection of 174 small islands - Australia- wildlife conservation site - nuclear testing in the 1950s by the British
Fuerteventura Island - one of the Canary Islands part of North Africa - strong winds - 100,000 people - declared a biosphere reserve in 2009
Bass Rock - coast of Scotland - uninhabited - Christian hermit - castle which later became a prison - volcanic The Cafe by the Sea or Meet Me in Paradise
Calamian Group - Philippines - leper colony on Culion Island - diving spots - Coron Island the cleanest body of water in the Philippines Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir
Norfolk Island - located between New Zealand and Australia - penal settlement between 6 March 1788 until 5 May 1855 - resort for whaling vessels until 1907 - key air force base during WWII
Cayman Island - British territory - a major world offshore financial haven for international businesses and wealthy individuals - island were originally called Las Tortugas (turtle)by Christopher Columbus 1503, but was switched to Cayman (lizard) after turtles hunted to near extinction. No archaeological evidence for an indigenous presence. 1st settlers: pirates, shipwrecked sailors, deserters from Cromwell's army - tourism major industry - more hurricanes or tropical systems have affected the Cayman Islands than any other region in the Atlantic basin; it has been brushed or directly hit, on average, every 2.23 years.

April 2021 Reads



April was a great reading month. I ended up reading several books that have been on my TBR list for well years, and all of the books that I read were pretty good.

April 2021 Stats: 11 Fiction/ 1 Nonfiction Read
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 - ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 44 Fiction/ 8 Nonfiction

Toppler Possibilities:

Male author:

Female MC:


Brothers as MCs:

Female representation: Daughter, Wife, Mother, Sister, Girl, etc in title:


Male(s) on cover:

May 2021 Reads




May was an extremely busy month, but I managed to read several books that have been on my TBR shelf for years. June is looking to be just as crazy. Crossing my fingers that I can read a few books next month.

May 2021 Stats: 8 Fiction/ 0 Nonfiction Read
1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ In an Instant
2 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 - ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 52 Fiction/ 8 Nonfiction

Jayme - I saw your post for the June Monthly challenge about the dinosaur book. I read it last year or the year before and felt the same way about it and the author. It was so well done. I am glad that your brother had it "on hand" for you to pick up and read. I hope your family "digs" dinosaurs too. ;o)

Books read for the June Toppler:

June 2021 Reads




I read a nice variety of reading genres this month - a little nonfiction - a little romance - and some comedy. The June Toppler really helped me get closer to badge 2 for the yearly challenge.

June 2021 Stats: 9 Fiction/ 3 Nonfiction Read
1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
6 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 - ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 61 Fiction/ 11 Nonfiction

I have added your 5 star read to my TBR list. ;o)

Cherie wrote: "I have added your 5 star read to my TBR list. ;o)"

This book was so compelling. I read Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America a few years ago (which was also a 5 star read for me) which talks about the Sacklers, but Empire of Pain goes into great detail about the family and their aggressive campaign to sell OxyContin. Unbelievable.

July 2021 Reads



A good reading month overall. I read more books for pleasure than for specific challenges (darn library holds). :)

July 2021 Stats: 10 Fiction/ Nonfiction Read
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
6 - ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 71 Fiction/ 11 Nonfiction

August 2021 Reads




August was a great reading month because I mostly read for pleasure and if it fit a challenge great. I read a wide variety of genres and had 2 five star reads:The Last Thing He Told Me and The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear.
September will be and iffy month since I'm going on a family vacation for two weeks and probably won't read that much - will be hiking in Utah's National Parks.

August 2021 Stats: 10 Fiction/ 1 Nonfiction Read
2- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3 - ⭐⭐⭐
1 - ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 71 Fiction/ 11 Nonfiction

September 2021 Reads



Not a bad reading month overall considering I was on vacation for two weeks, but did manage to read two books on the plane.

September 2021 Stats: 6 Fiction/ Nonfiction Read
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3- ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -
Year Total: 87 Fiction/ 12 Nonfiction

October 2021 Reads



October was a great reading month. I finished the YLTO annual challenge. Looking forward to easing up on the challenges the last 2 months in 2021. I also read some really great books.

October 2021 Stats: 11 Fiction/ 1 Nonfiction Read
1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Raft of Stars
6 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 - ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
1 - ⭐
1 - DNF - Lost Children Archive

Series Killed: The Bromance Book Club 10/1

Year Total: 98 Fiction/ 13 Nonfiction

November 2021 Reads



November was a great reading month. I finished the YLTO yearly challenge and just focused on reading what I wanted. I did notice that I read only mysteries, humor and fantasy and didn't "challenge" myself to read any heavy books which is OK. I think that is how I'm going to end the year from now on the last 2 months strictly pleasure reading.

November 2021 Stats: 12 Fiction/ Nonfiction Read
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 - ⭐⭐⭐
1 - ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -

Year Total: 110 Fiction/ 13 Nonfiction

JANUARY 2022 Possibilities

1001 Books To Read Before You Die
King Solomon's Mines

CENTURY CHALLENGE
The Pillars of the Earth

GRCA MONTHLY CHALLENGE
Bewilderment

HISTORICAL FISCTIONISTAS

NONFICTION NERDS

YLTO GROUP READ

YLTO MONTHLY CHALLENGE

YLTO TOPPLER

YLTO YEARLY CHALLENGE


JUST BECAUSE
January 2022 Stats: Fiction/ Nonfiction Read
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐⭐
- ⭐⭐
- ⭐
- DNF -

Year Total: Fiction/ Nonfiction