Thursday, November 17, 2022

Please join us for our 15th annual Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks reading adventure

 



Join us for our 15th annual Read 52 books in 52 weeks reading adventure

The goal is easy - Read 52 Books.  We don't any set reading lists so how you get there is up to you. However, we do have a variety of challenges including weekly, monthly mini challenges, annual and perpetual challenges to entice your reading taste buds   If you aren't up to 52 but want to join in, you can set your own goal.  

2023 52 Books Bingo - 25 new categories which will take us on a exploration around the world. 

2023 Bookish Bookology - Our author of the month in which you can read one or more books by the author, or spell out their first or last name. 

2023 A to Z and Back Again - All the way from A to Z and back again as we play with words.  

Participate in one or more of our perpetual challenges:  

Agatha Christie  -- Read her books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. Read at least three per year.

Brit Tripping --- A year long mystery read traveling the Roman Roads through England reading reading a book from each of the 45 counties with a few extra trips to London. 

Mind Voyages - A science fiction / fantasy challenge through the decades, exploring the Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Heinlein. 

Well Educated Mind --  Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. 

Plus Dusty and ChunkyFeed Your MuseInspirationNobel Prize Winners and Sounds of Silence.

There is a little bit of something for everyone. Follow your muse and read widely or wildly, follow rabbit trails, read outside your comfort zone or stick with the tried and true. Choose whatever path is right for you. 

The mini and perpetual challenges are all optional, Mix them up anyway you like and follow your own path in the quest to read.  


  • The challenge runs January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023
  • Our book weeks begin on Sunday.
  • Participants may join at any time. 
  • All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc. 
  • Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2023
  • Books may overlap other challenges. 
  • Create an entry post linking to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks and sign up in the link below.  
  • If you don't have a blog or social media account, post about your reads in the comments section of each weekly post. 
  • The link widget will be added to the bottom of each weekly post to link to your book reviews, and closes at the end of each book week. 

Sunday, November 13, 2022

BW46: A bit of this, a bit of that!


 

Happy Sunday! I'm leaping down rabbit holes today on the internet, exploring this, that, and the other.  Kind of like my sleep lately.  Ever since the time change, I've been waking up around 4, unable to get back to sleep for a while. Ideas bounce through my head for the story I'm working on as well as book ideas and book bingo, too tired to write them down and hope I'll remember them in the morning.  Some ideas remain when I wake, others are still floating around in my mind, on the tip of my tongue but not quite there. Oh well. What was I saying. Oh yes. *grin*  I've been exploring, letting my fingers do the walking through the web.   A sample of today's finds. Enjoy! 

In Search of Marcel Proust

Where to Start with Nora Ephron

Entangled Publishing Launches Red Tower Books, Focused on Romantic SFF

On writing a New Take on the Thin Man, set in Space

Hungarian Speculative Fiction: Forceful, Vicious, Viscous

Murder in the Moors: Crime Fiction Books Set in the English Moors

True Life: I was a Dragon Book Kid

Antarctica Reading List.

25 Best Steampunk Books (2022)


Our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are G and Grateful.

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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, November 6, 2022

BW45: 52 Books Bingo - Different Culture

 

Courtesy of Smarter Travel 

Happy Sunday. Our next 52 Books Bingo category is a Different Culture which links up quite well with our Crime Spree Around the world for this month. 

Why Diverse Books Matter: Mirrors and Windows

20 Fascinating Cultural Traditions Around the World

What Colors Mean in Other Cultures

Experience New Things with These 21 Books About Cultures That May Not Be Your Own

10 Cross-Cultural Novels that Illuminate the World We Live In

27 Books About Different Cultures & Faraway Places: Travel Writers’ Recommendations

RD's best books by Native American, BlackHispanic, and Asian Authors.

GQ's Best Modern Middle Eastern Literature to read right now.

Europa Editions World Noir: International Mysteries and Crime Fiction. 

12 classic European novels to add to your reading list


Our A to Z and Back Again Letter and Word of the Week are H and Hubris.

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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, October 30, 2022

BW44: November Crime Spree - Around the World

 


Happy Sunday, dear hearts. November is upon us and our newest crime spree category brought to us by Sandy and Amy is all about translated books.  

Crime isn’t limited to the US (or England for us Anglophiles). Some of the most interesting, translated works are mysteries from the Around the World, including the tortured protagonists and bleak settings of Scandinavia to the creepiness of Japanese mysteries to the sunshine noir of African authors.

Places to explore:

·         Africa: The Missing American by Kwei Quartey

·        Nordic: Jussi Alder-Olsen and Arnaldur Indriưason

·         Japan: Seishi Yokomizo’s Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series and The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

·         Australia: Jane Harper

·         Spanish: Carlos Ruiz Zafron


Challenge: Dust off your forged passport and get on Interpol’s most wanted list by reading a translated mystery.

Our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are I and Inspect.


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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, October 23, 2022

BW43: 52 Books Bingo - Myths, Monsters, and Imagination

 



Happy Sunday! We are continuing our October Spooktacular with the next 52 books category - Myths, Monsters, and Imagination. 

Monsters in Entertainment: Obsession or Projection?

Eight creepiest mythical creatures from around the world

Terrifying monsters in literature

Samhain Reading List: 13 Frightening Works of Fiction for Celebrating Halloween’s Celtic Roots

Caspar Henderson: rereading The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges

"The Book of Imaginary Beings tosses stone after stone into the subterranean caverns of the reader's mind. It takes us along passageways and turns corners to reveal strange shapes and images, some of which may precede and outlast anything conceived by man. If we are attentive, the reverberations can help us trace the dimensions of those spaces. We glimpse chinks of light and are then engulfed in sudden dazzling floods of it." Casper Henderson, The Guardian. 

Getty's An Introduction to the Bestiary, Book of Beasts in the Medieval World

Let's not forget my son's favorite - Godzilla and all the monsters he's fought over the years from Mothra to King Kong. Toho's Kingdom of the Monsterverse and all things Godzilla. 

And our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are J and Juggernaut. 

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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, October 16, 2022

BW42: Noah Webster

Noah Webster: Portrait by James Herring, 1833

Happy Sunday! Today is Noah Webster's birthday, the father of the American Dictionary. October 16 is named Dictionary Day in honor of Webster.  We have the second edition unabridged Webster's dictionary which is humongous at 3194 pages, and a slightly smaller fifth edition collegiate edition at 1274.  It's interesting to compare them to the modern 2022 edition of the Merriam Webster dictionary, a mere 960 pages.  I prefer the older versions which are much more fun to peruse. I really need to get my hands on an Oxford English Dictionary one of these days.  When I'm writing, I always have Dictionary.com or Thesaurus.com tabs open in my computer, exploring different words. I prefer the online versions over the current Merriam Webster edition which has definitely been dumbed down.  






This week's A to Z and back again letter and word of the week are K and Kin.

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, October 9, 2022

BW41: Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts! Oh My!

 


Happy Sunday! Our spooktacular reading month continues and it isn't all about horror.  Oh no! Especially since I'm not into blood and guts violence.  I like the type of books that get your adrenaline going, keeps you guessing, finger nail biting, keep you up all night reading suspense.  There are a number of ways to go with psychological thrillers, gothic, paranormal reads that run the gamut from the supernatural to urban fantasies. Books full of bad guys, ghosts, and scary as well as delicious vampires, and werewolves.  

Authors whose books I've enjoyed:

Stephen King's World of the Dark Tower or his psychological thriller Duma Key.  

Dean Koontz's series: version of Frankenstein or take a trip with Odd Thomas who communicates with the dead. 

Christian writers that will scare the pants off you: Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. I've read all their books which are chilling and thrilling.

Take a tour through stories about haunted houses.

Psychological thrillers that will play with your head. 

The Best Gothic Horror Books Of All-Time.

30 Best Vampire Romances to sink your teeth into. 

17 Werewolf Romance Books That Will Have You Howling for More.

Need something a little lighter? Check out Cozy Mystery's Halloween Mystery Book list

This week's A to Z and back again letter and word of the week are L and Looming.


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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.







Sunday, October 2, 2022

BW40: October Spooktacular and the Unreliable Narrator




Happy Sunday and welcome to our Spooktacular October full of chills and thrills, spine tingling adventure stories, and unexpected, jump out and surprise you, don't turn the lights off reads? If you are anything like me, gruesome horror isn't your thing. However, psychological, mind bending, Hitchcock type thrillers full of suspense are my favorite type of reads, along with paranormal, ghosts, vampires, were wolves and the weird.

If you haven't read the classics, now would be your chance with Frankenstein or Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Grey or Something Wicked This Way Comes to name a few. Put away your expectations because you may be surprised when they don't turn out how you suspect they will.

And this month's crime spree category fits the bill with the Unreliable Narrator.

The first rule of reading books by an Unreliable Narrator is to not read anything more about it than a brief description. All the charm in this genre is surprise so you must be diligent in avoiding spoilers.


The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
We Were Liars by E. Lochart
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson

Challenge: Who can you trust? Really? Watch your back and pick up a book by an Unreliable Narrator.


And our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are M and Mayhem.


Cheers to a spooktacular reading month.


Sunday, September 25, 2022

BW39: Bookish News and Author Birthdays

 


Happy Sunday dear hearts!  It’s time for another round of bookish news and author birthdays.

2022 Hugo award’s winner for best novel is A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

Hilary Mantel, celebrated author of Wolf Hall, dies aged 70

Romance author Nora Roberts helps save Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books

Chances Are, Your Favorite Book Is On This List Of Books That Have Been Banned For Absolutely Absurd Reasons

How independent bookstores help in the fight against book banning and why it matters

100 Years of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha

And in anticipation of our October Spooktacular, check out

Goodread’s picks for Space Horror, and psychological thrillers.

75 Facts about Stephen King who just turned 75 last week.

 

Author Birthdays this week: 

9/24:  Horace Wadpole, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and John Brunner.

9/25: William Faulkner, Bell Hooks, and Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

9/26: Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, T.S. Eliot, and Jane Smiley.

9/27: Grazia Deledda, Louis Auchincloss, Josef Skvorecky, and Mark Vinz.

9/28: Kate Douglas Wiggin, Francis Turner Palgrave, James Edwin Campbell, and Elmer Rice.

9/29: Miguel de Cervantes, William Beckford, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

9/30: Michael Innes, Truman Capote, and Shamsur Rahman Faruqi.

And our A to Z and Back Again Letter and Word of the week are N and nouveau

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

BW38: September Equinox

 



Happy Sunday dear hearts!  The changing of the seasons is upon us with Fall in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Colorful seasons in which the palette for both fall and spring fall (no pun intended) on the warm side.  Imagine my surprise years ago when I had my colors done and found out I was a spring.  Opened up my world to all kinds of color.  Which brings us to this season's challenge.  Read a book with Fall, Autumn, Spring, or with seasons, weather, a body of water in the title or with colors, leaves, flowers, or trees on the cover. 

Curl up with a good book from:

The Uncorked Librarians with 33 Vibrant Books with Colors in the Title




Keep Inspiring Me's Books to Read in Spring.

Or challenge yourself to spell out Equinox, Autumn, Fall, or Spring, using one book for each letter from the title. 

Our A to Z and Back Again Letter and Word of the week are O and Observant.

~Cheers! 

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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.



Sunday, September 11, 2022

BW37: Time for a Mini Challenge

 

Happy Sunday!  Did you know September is Self Improvement month, National Piano Month, Classical Music Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, National Sewing Month, Fall Hat Month, and Happy Cat Month. Lots to read and learn about. Today we remember 911 and all those who died, and everyone who came together to help. And take a moment to think about or pray for peace and strength for the family of Queen Elizabeth as they mourn the death of their mother. 

It's been a while since we've had a Judge a Book by the Cover or Pick a Random Book mini challenge and I'm in the mood for a book store adventure.  How about you? 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:  

Judge a book based on its cover:  The hardest part will be not reading the synopsis on the back or the inside flap. Yeah, I know. It’s really hard.  When you see the cover, keep in mind what captured your attention and tell us about it. What you thought the book was going to be about? When you read it, let us know if you were you close or no cigar? 

Or

Pick a Random Book: Choose a random book based on its position on the shelf.  To choose a book: decide in advance which genre you are going to choose. Or leave it up to chance - pick a direction, pick an aisle.  Choose a number between 1 and 7 as there are about seven sections in each aisle. Decide which shelf you are going to choose from - top, 2nd, 3rd, fourth, or bottom shelf. Pick one number between 1 and 30 as I'm assuming there are about 30 books to a shelf. Use these numbers and count over a certain number of sections in the aisle, pick a shelf, and count to the chosen number and that's the book you'll get.

That's how I discovered Anne Bishop's Written in Red a few years back. I chose the science fiction/fantasy aisle, counted over 3 sections, then down 2 shelves and looked for the 15th book on the shelf.

Take a trip to the book store or the library in search of a new book. Or if you are short on fund, play along utilizing your home shelves. You can even play along online.  

Have fun exploring!

Our A to Z and Back Again Letter and Word of the week are P and Procedural. 

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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, September 4, 2022

BW36: 52 Books Bingo - Secret Agent Man


Happy Sunday! I had an ear worm in my head this morning, which led me down a few musical rabbit trails this morning while thinking about our 52 Books Bingo theme this week.   We're having a Heat Wave, a magical heat wave, because we're expecting temps in the triple digits for the next two weeks. 

Which then segued to Secret Agent Man:  

"There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes
Another chance he takes

Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number
And taken away your name."

Then Peter Gunn popped up.  But he was more of a private eye, than a secret agent. Right? Now the theme music written by Henry Mancini is cueing up.  

Enjoy! I did! 

Okay back to books: 

Five Books Presents the best five books about post soviet spy thrillers; spies; secret service; covert action: spies, lies, and foreign correspondents; espionage, et al.  





Have fun following rabbit trails! 

Our A to Z and Back Again Letter and Word of the week are Q and Quarry 

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Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.