Showing posts with label book lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book lists. Show all posts

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Best New Mysteries of 2023 . . . So Far

Several social media sites that I follow have made lists of the best new books of 2023. I am jumping on the bandwagon with my own list of the best new mystery novels. Here are my picks:

Hide by Tracy Clark was published on January 1, 2023.

The Blue Bar by Dimyanti Biswas was also published on January 1, 2023.

Someone Else's Life by Lyn Liao Butler was published on February 1, 2023.

Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs was published on March 7, 2023.

Red Queen by Juan Gomez-Jurado was published on March 14, 2023.

Two of my favorite authors have books coming out later this month and I am looking forward to reading them. They are Dan Silva, and Brad Thor. James Rollins and Laura Childs have books coming out next month. It's going to be a great summer for reading!

Friday, December 30, 2022

My Life in Books


Here is another great book title meme.  This one is from Booker Talk blog.  Just pick a title from the books you read in 2022:

Links in the titles below will take you to my reviews where they exist.

In high school I was: Among the Innocent by Mary Alford

People might be surprised by: The Sugarcreek Surprise by Wanda Brunstetter

I will never be: The American Adventuress by C. W. Gortner

My life post-lockdown was: I'm Still Alive by Roberto Saviano

My fantasy Job is: Royal Heir by P. K. Adams

At the end of a long day I need: Thanksgiving by Janet Ivanovich

I hate being: The Thorn by Beverly Lewis

I wish I had: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

My family reunions are: Iced in Paradise by Naomi Hirahara

At a party you’d find me Double Blind by Sara Winokur

I’ve never been to Paris by Edward Rutherford

A happy day includes: The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah

Motto I live by: Always Never by Jordi Lifetree

On my bucket list is: London by Edward Rutherford

In my next life, I want to have: A Billion Years by Mike Rinder

Thursday, December 29, 2022

In 2022 . . .

 

Shellyrae at the Book'd Out blog came up with this cool meme. Complete the prompts using titles from the books you have read in 2022


2022 was the year of: Fear Thy Neighbor by Fern Michaels (don't ask why)

In 2022 I wanted to be: In a Kingdom by the Sea by Sara McDonald

In 2022 I was: The American Adventuress by C. W. Gortner

In 2022 I gained: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

In 2022 I lost: Trust by Sharon Mitchell

In 2022 I loved: The Orange Lilies by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

In 2022 I hated: that Royal Heir by P. K. Adams

In 2022 I learned: My Wife is Missing by D. J. Palmer

In 2022 I was surprised by: The Sugarcreek Surprise by Wanda Brunstetter

In 2022 I went to: London by Edward Rutherford

In 2022 I missed out on: A Billion Years by Mike Rinder

In 2022 my family were: Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

In 2023 I hope (for a): The Perfect Home by Kevin Lynch

Friday, July 29, 2022

Book of the Month: July

I have a four way tie for book of the month.  I could not choose just one book from among Kaikeyi, Beasts of a Little Land, My Wife is Missing and The Good Wife of Bath. All of these novels are rated way over 5 out of 5 stars. With the exception of My Wife is Missing, all of the books are historical fiction. 

The story of Kaikeyi expands on the character's life that is mentioned in the Hindu script Ramayana. Likewise, The Good Wife of Bath expands on the story in the The Canterbury Tales. Beasts of a Little Land is different in that it gives the history of Korea in the entire 20th century through the eyes of 4 main characters. My Wife is Missing is a gripping suspense novel that had me guessing throughout the story.

Instead of repeating what I wrote in the reviews, check out the review links above if you haven't read them yet.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Mid-year Status of Challenges

I have done pretty well on my reading challenges this year. There are three challenges that I have not started yet: Vintage Scattergories, Six Shooter Challenge and the Creativity Challenge. I may forego them however. There are three challenges that I have completed and they are the Finishing the Series, What's in a Name Challenge and Cruisin' Through the Cozies Challenge.  There are at least two more cozies that I want to read next month though. For all of the others here are my stats.

Calendar of Crime:  7 out of 12 books read

Chunkster:  11 books read, no limits

Cloak and Dagger:  33 out of 35 books read

Color Coded:  7 out of 9 books read

Comics and Graphic Novels:  25 out of 52 books read

Historical Fiction:  19 out of 25 books read

Library Love:  13 out of 24 books read

Monthly Key Word:  7 out of 12 books read

New Release:  28 out of 30 books read

Nonfiction Reader: 1 book read, no limits

As you can see I am close to completing all of my challenges!

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Top Ten Books I Want in 2022


Several of my favorite authors will be publishing their latest novels in 2022.  We readers wait all year for new books from our favorite authors and then they are read in a day or two. The waiting begins again.  It's an awful affliction to have.



Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Top Ten Book Covers 2021


My top ten book covers for 2021 are all from graphic novels. I am surprised that the fiction books I read did not have covers as phenomenal as these.  In past years I did not have any comic covers on the list so this is a first for my blog.


Primer is my best book cover for the year. I love its colorfulness and the girl known as Primer has a curious look on her face that's appealing. As an artist, I am always drawn to these colorful covers.

Monday, December 20, 2021

Top Ten Books of 2021


I read 154 books in 2021!  99 of the authors were new to me.  I primarily read historical fiction, mysteries and graphic novels but also read a few science and political books.  My top ten list combines my favorites from all genres.  Here they are:

10. Twisted Tea Christmas (cozy mystery)

9.  Primer (comic)

8.  Hemlock (cozy mystery)


6.   Peril (politics)

5.  Dominus (historical fiction)


3.  Tunnels (graphic novel)

2.  Defending Britta Stein (historical fiction)

And my number 1 book is:  China (historical fiction)

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I signed up to read 50 books for the 2021 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I read 43 books by 21 new to me authors. The time periods that I read about covered 5 BC to the 1970s. The settings covered European and Asian cities. Here.is a list of the books that I read:

A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin
The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams
Vendetta by C. DeMelo
Now and Then Stab by Anna Castle
The Binding by Bridget Collins
America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray
The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
The Art Collector's Daughter by Derville Murphy
The Tea Planter's Daughter by Janet Macleod Trotter
The Lantern Boats by Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Murder in Venice by Maria Luisa Minarelli
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Midnight Fire by P. K. Adams
Apricots by Sally Christie
Portrait of Peril by Laura Joh Rowland
Beneath an Indian Sky by Renita D'Silva
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray
China by Edward Rutherford
The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey
Dominus by Steven Taylor
The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan
The First Actress by C. W. Gortner
The French House by  Helen Fripp
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali
The Stolen Lady by Laura Morelli
A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy
The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska
The Good Death by S. D. Sykes
White Ivy by Susie Yang
Defending Britta Stein by Ronald Balson
The Flower Boat Girl by Larry Feign
Prayers of the Dead by Priscilla Royal
Berlin and Betrayal by Susan Finley
Anticipation by Melodie Winawer
The Samurai's Daughter by John Healey
Brigid of Kildare by Heather Terrell

Favorite Book:  China    
2nd Favorite Book:  Defending Britta Stein
Least Favorite Book:  The Flower Boat Girl

Monday, December 6, 2021

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

12 books were required for the challenge, one for each month of the year.  I read 15 books however and 11 of the authors were new to me.  They are as follows:

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams
The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
The Lost Ancestor by Nathan Dylan Goodwin
The Night Away by Jess Ryder
Beneath an Indian Sky by Renita D'Silva
Gone by Sharon A. Mitchell
Top Producer by Laura Wolfe
Sweet Tooth Compendium by Jeff Lemire
The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs
One Night in Tehran by Luana Ehrlich
Thin Air by Ann Cleeves


Favorite Book:  The Midnight Library

2nd Favorite Book:  Sweet Tooth Compendium

Least Favorite Book:  Thin Air

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Wrap-Up of the 2021 New Release Reading Challenge


I signed up to read 30 books for this challenge and I more then met the challenge by reading 55 books.  23 of them were mysteries, 13 were historical fiction, 10 were graphic novels and the rest were about politics, science, and Amish fiction.  28 of the authors were new (to me.) Here is what I read:

Now and Then Stab by Anna Castle
Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs
Twisted Tea Christmas by Laura Childs
Deliberate Duplicity by David Rohlfing
The French Paradox by Ellen Crosby
The Wedding by Ruth Heald
The Grand Odalisque by Ruppert and Mullet
Women Discoverers by Marie Monard
One Perfect Grave by Stacy Green
Freiheit by Andrea Grosso Ciponte
The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
The Cartiers by Francesca Cartier Brickell
Portrait of Peril by Laura Joh Rowland
The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion
Play Dead by Ted Dekker
The Night Gate by Peter May
The Perfect Daughter by Daniel Palmer
China by Edward Rutherford
The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey
The Fourth of July by Cami Checkouts
Gone by Sharon Mitchell
Return to the Big Valley by Wanda Brunstetter
The Cellist by Daniel Silva
Dominus by Steven Saylor
Factory Summers by Guy DeLisle
Rebecca & Lucie by Pascal Girard
Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan Erskine
The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan
Hemlock by Susan Wittig Albert
The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs
An Untidy Death by Simon Brett
Peril by Bob Woodward
The Good Death by S. D. Sykes
The Tenant by Keith Ververka
Berlin and Betrayal by Susan Finley
COVID Chronicles by Ethan Sacks
Home by Julio Anta
The Beginning by Beverly Lewis
A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy
The French House by Helen Fripp
Menorca Sketchbook by Graham Byfield
The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska
Defending Britta Stein by  Ronald Balson
The Waiting by Keum Suk Gentry-Kim
The Flower Boat Girl by Larry Feign
Prayers of the Dead by Priscilla Royal
Tunnels by Rutu Modan
The All Nighter by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo
Anticipation by Melodie Winawer

Favorite Book:  China

2nd Favorite Book:  Defending Britta Stein

Least Favorite Book:  The Flower Boat Girl (a vulgar historical fiction novel. Yuck!)

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge

I signed up to read between 36 and 55 books in 2021 and I met the challenge by reading 50 mysteries.  18 of the authors were new to me. 
Here is what I read:

Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin
Plaid & Plagiarism by Molly MacRae
The Girls in the Snow by Stacy Green
Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs
The French Paradox by Ellen Crosby
Piece of my Heart by Mary Higgins Clark
With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George
Followed by Helen Macie Osterman
One by One by Ruth Ware
Now and Then Stab by Anna Castle
Deliberate Duplicity by David Rohlfing
In the Blood by Steve Robinson
The Wedding by Ruth Heald
One Perfect Grave by Stacy Green
Raven Black by Ann Sleeves
The Lost Ancestor by Gill Paul
My Sister's Grave by Robert Durian
The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion
Play Dead by Ted Dekker
The Night Gate by Peter May
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Perfect Daughter by D. J. Palmer
Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan
Ice Blue by Emma Jameson
One Night in Tehran by Luana Ehrlich
The Fire Thief by Debra Bokur
The Fourth of July by Cami Checketts
Gone by Sharon Mitchell
Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard
The Cellist by Daniel Silva
The September Society by Charles Finch
Viral by Robin Cook
Top Producer by Leslie Wolfe
Hemlock by Susan Wittig Albert
The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs
An Untidy Death by Simon Brett
Murder on the Metro by Margaret Truman
The Last Odyssey by James Rollins
The End of October by Lawrence Wright
The Good Death by S. D. Sykes
Twisted Tea Christmas by Laura Childs
Thin Air by Ann Cleeves
The Tenant by Keith Veverka
Prayers of the Dead by Priscilla Royal
Roses Are Red by Miranda Rijks

Favorite Book:  The September Society

2nd Favorite Book:  Hemlock

Least Favorite Book:  Thin Air

Friday, December 3, 2021

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge

12 books were required for the challenge, one for each month of the year.  I read 14 and 5 of the authors were new to me.

The Girls in the Snow by Stacy Green
Piece of My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Murder in Venice by Maria Luisa Minarelli
The Marriage Clock by Zara Raheem
The Fourth of July by Cami Checketts
Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard
The September Society by Charles Finch
The End of October by Lawrence Wright
Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier
My Sister's Grave by Robert Deign

Favorite Book:  The September Society
Second Favorite Book:  Murder in Venice
Least Favorite Book:  The Fourth of July

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Cruisin' Through the Cozies Challenge

I signed up to read 10 books for this challenge.  I met the challenge with 18 books! Here they are:

The Hawaiian Discovery by Wanda Brunstetter
Plaid and Plagiarism by Molly MacRae
Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs
The French Paradox by Ellen Crosby
Followed by Helen Macie Oysterman
Killer Deadline by Lauren Carr
The Blended Quilt by Wanda Brunstetter
Persian Perpetrator by Katherine Hay-don
Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard
Return to the Big Valley by Wanda Brunstetter
Ice Blue by Emma Jameson
Loch Down Abbey by  Beth Cowan-Erskine
Hemlock by Susan Wittig Albert
Twisted Tea Christmas by Laura Childs
The Beginning by Beverly Lewis
Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier

Favorite Book:  Hemlock
Second Favorite Book:  Twisted Tea Christmas 
Least Favorite Book:  Plaid and Plagiarism

7 of the authors were new to me. It's interesting that 5 of the books are Amish fiction and that 3 of them were written by Wanda Brustetter. I didn't start out expecting to read Amish fiction but it worked out that way.  I have lost some of my enthusiasm for cozies but still read favorite authors Susan Wittig Albert, Laura Childs, Cleo Coyle and Ellen Crosby.  I began reading some new authors but couldn't become interested in them and gave up. I have always enjoyed Amish fiction and, frankly, could not complete the challenge without them.

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Color Coded Reading Challenge


The Color Coded Reading Challenge requires a participant to read 9 books with either the book title or book cover being blue, red, yellow, green, brown, black, white, any other color, or an image that implies color, such as polka dot.  I had the challenge completed early in the year but waited until December to read my last entry.  Here is what I read:

Plaid & Plagiarism by Molly MacRae

A Yellow House by Karien Van Ditzhuizen

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

White Ivy by Susie Yang

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson

The Murder of Emma Brown by Rod Kackley

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper

Roses are Red by Miranda Rijks


Favorite Book:  White Ivy

2nd Favorite Book:  Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Least Favorite Book:  Plaid and Plagiarism

All of these authors were new to me, which is rather cool. It's not every reading challenge that forces you to look for something new.  I believe that is the brilliance of the color coded challenge.