Wrap-Up of the 2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

I had every intention of completing the challenge but missed books beginning with Q, X and Z. My month long vacation in October put me behind in my reading and it was hard to catch up with all of my reading challenges. There’s always hope for a full finish next year. Follow the below links to reviews of the books that I read for this challenge.

A:  The Amish Wife by Gregg Olson

B:  The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Biswas

C:  Cool Japan Guide by Abby Denton

D:  Darling by Rachel Edwards

E:  Enlighten Me by Minh Le

F:  Four Steps Missed by Luana Ehrlich

G:  A Geek in Japan by Hector Garcia

H:  Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

I:  The Importance of Sons by Kiera Morgan

J:  Japanese Dolls by Alan Scott Pate

K:  The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

L:   Letters of Wisdom by Wanda Brunstetter

M:  Manner of Death by Robin Cook

N:  A Nest of Vipers by Harindi Nagendra

O:  Oath and Honor by Elizabeth Cheney

P:  Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 

Q:  Quarry Girls by  Jess Lourey ( DNF)

R:  Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr

S:  Salt House Place by Jamie Lee Sogn

T:  Two Days in Caracas by Luana Ehrlich

U:  Uniquely Japan by Abby Denson

V:  Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh

W:  Where the Body Was by Ed Brubacker

X: 

Y:  You Only Call When You're in Trouble by Steve McCauley

Z:  

Favorite Book:  The Blue Monsoon

Second Favorite Book:  Manner of Death

Least Favorite Book:  Salt House Place

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Color Coded Reading Challenge

I have enjoyed participating in the Color Coded Reading Challenge over the years. It's getting harder to find books with a color in the title. At this point I need to be selecting new releases. Fortunately, the 2025 challenge allows books with covers that have a majority of a color. That makes it easier! 

The challenge requires participants to read books with these colors in the title:  blue, red, green, yellow, brown, white, black, and any other color. Below are links to the books that I read in 2024.

Blue:  The Blue Monsoon - Dimyanti Biswas

Yellow:  Yellowface - R. F. Huang

Red:  Red Sky Mourning - Jack Carr

Red:  Pink Lemonade Cake Murder - Joanne Fluke

Any other color:  Peach Tea Smash - Laura Childs

Green:  Key Lime Pie Murder - Joanne Fluke

Brown:  The Cinnamon Roll Murder - Joanne Fluke

Black:  The Black Ghost - Alex Segura

White:  White Mulberry - Rosa Kwon Easton

Favorite Book:  Peach Tea Smash

Second Favorite Book: Blue Monsoon

Least Favorite Book: Pink Lemonade Cake Murder 

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

One year ago I joined the challenge at the Nonfiction Nibbler level. Nonfiction Nibbler requires that 6 books should be read. I completed the challenge with 11 books. However, most of the books I read, with the exception of the Japanese art books, were so-so.  Perhaps I should reduce the number of them that I read but make sure the topics I select are exciting to me.  Links to my 2024 reads are below:

The Amish Wife by Gregg Olson

And There Was Light - Jon Meacham

Oath and Honor - Elizabeth Cheney

Ancestry Standards for Data Integrity - John Elcik

A History of Japan in Manga - Shunichiro Kanaya

The Psychology of Secrets - Andrew Gold

Meghan and Harry - Lady Colin Campbell

The Real Watergate Scandal - Geoff Shepard

Japanese Kokeshi Dolls - Alan Scott Pate

The History of the Japanese Fan - Julia Hutt

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Favorite Book:  Japanese Kokeshi Dolls 

Second Favorite Book:  The History of the Japanese Fan 

Least Favorite Book:  The Psychology of Secrets 

Wrap Up of then 2024 What's In a Name Challenge

Six Books are all that participants are required to read for this challenge. You get to choose books from the following categories. 

double letters:  The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Bissau

an  NFL team: The Raven's Widow by Adrienne Dillard

a virtue:  Oath and Honor by Elizabeth Cheney

a shape:  The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

footwear:  The Body in the Boot:  Patrick Walsh

a natural disaster:  The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Favorite Book:  The Body in the Boot 

Second Favorite Book:  The Blue Monsoon

Least Favorite Book:  The Johnstown Flood 

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is one of my top two reading challenges. In most years I read many more historical fiction stories than mysteries. Mystery novels were always second place.  In 2024 I predominantly read mysteries.  It was surprising to me when I realized this. I managed to fail miserably with this challenge because I joined the challenge at the Prehistoric level which required me to read 50 books. I only got around to reading 23 novels. Links to my reviews of these books are below:

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton

The Baku Inheritance by Anne Kennedy

The Importance of Sons by Keira Morgan

The Raven's Widow by Adrienne Dillard

The Map Colorist by Rebecca D'Harlingue

South of Sepharad by Eric Weintraub

The Spice Maker's Secret by Renita D'Silva

The President's Wife by Tracey Wood

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

The Merchant's Tale by PK Adams

The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel

Under Water by Rachel Callaghan

A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra

The Champaign Letters by Kate MacIntosh

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson

The Sins of Our Fathers by Jody Varro

The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana Chambers

The Sound of a Thousand Stars by Rachel Robbins

An Age of Winters by Gemma Livierno 

Agony of the Amethyst by A. M. Stuart

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Safari

Favorite Book:  The Champaign Letters

Second Favorite Book: Agony of the Amethyst

Least Favorite Book:  The Sins of Our Fathers

2025 Library Love Reading Challenge

It's time to sign up for the ninth annual Library Love Challenge hosted by Angel’s Book Nook & Books of My Heart.  Joining the challenge is a way for readers to save money from purchasing books. I have not taken too many books out of the library since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I feel much better now about returning to my local library.

Getting a library card in most places is free.  So, if you love to read and/or listen to books then grab your library card and join the challenge.

THE RULES

1.  The challenge will be in three semesters.  What this means is more giveaway’s along with the Mini-Challenges throughout the year and the End-of-Year Check In.  You can join 1 or more semesters and participate in as many Mini-Challenges as you like.  I will be joining all three semesters.  For instance, the Audiobook Challenge will be June 1 – July 31.  The Library Bingo (with our COYER friends) will run September  1 – October 31. It’s up to you how much you participate and you can join anytime!  The SIGN-UP will remain open until December 2, 2025.  

➜ Winter Semester: Jan. 1st, 2025 – April 30th, 2025
➜ Summer Semester: May 1st, 2025 – Aug. 31st, 2025
➜ Autumn Semester: Sept. 1st, 2025 – Dec. 31st, 2025

2.  The goal is to find your love of your local library and to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more.  While twelve is the minimum; there is no maximum limit.

3.  Any format will work for this challenge (prints, eBook’s, or audios) as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.

4.  Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).

5.  Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads.  The goal is to support your local library and save money.

6. Optional Reviews:  Write a review to enter the giveaway – 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences.  Not sure what to write? How about something like; “The plot was a delight, but the characters didn’t capture me.” “I enjoyed the story and really liked the characters.”

7. Please use #LibraryLoveChallenge when sharing your reviews, library pictures, etc…

8.  If you are interested, we also have a Goodreads Group for the Library Love Challenge, where we talk, share, and discuss the books we snagged/read during the Library Love Challenge – Click Here

9.  If you are interested, we are offering up a Library Love Email.  This email will go out 4x’s during the year.  Everyone who signs up will get a confirmation email, you can unsubscribe at any time, including after signing-up.  This email will only feature the posts for the library love challenge – Click Here   http://eepurl.com/iAR7q6 

10.  You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc…

11.  Grab the button above and write  a post saying which semesters (Spring, Summer, &/or Winter) you plan to participate in.  List your goal on how many books you plan to read for each semester.

12.  If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Social Media about the challenge.  Please link back to both hosts: Angel’s Book Nook & Books of My Heart.

 13.  In order to sign up for the challenge click here.

The Johnstown Flood

The Johnstown Flood was published in 1987. While I love anything David McCullough has written, I skipped this one at the time of publication because it sounded too serious. I wasn't sure that I would enjoy a book on the history of a flood. The What's in a Name Challenge convinced me to read it. I needed to read a book for the category of a natural disaster. The Johnstown Flood is a story of one of America’s great disasters, a preventable tragedy of Gilded Age America.

The publisher's summary:

At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation’s burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.

Graced by David McCullough’s remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.

OMG this book was boring. As I mentioned above I was not sure if I would like a book about a flood. However, every review that I read gave glowing remarks. I skipped many pages in the first third of the book. All I read here was descriptions of buildings and nature. There was no human story. As the flood began to happen the book became much more interesting. 

The City of Johnstown received funds from all over the country in order to rebuild. Private citizens as well as businesses mailed money. Just as people today donate monies to aid natural disaster victims, the citizens of the U. S. acted similarly in 1889. It must be part of the human spirit to provide assistance when it is necessary. Likewise, there was a fair amount of travelers to Johnstown to see what was left of the town and reporters published false reports about the disaster just as they do today. Preachers can't help themselves from preaching hellfire. Gossip prevails as people never change. 

There are photos at the back of the book of Johnstown both before and after the flood. It is easy to see how the coastline changed following the disaster but also that the construction of homes close to the water was a bad idea. Similarly, in the 1990s the Mississippi River flooded coastal Illinois and homes built in the flood zone were destroyed. I never understood why people bought these homes in the first place. They disregarded the physicality of the area just to have a waterfront home for a few years. 

I had to skip alot of pages to finish this book. I am rating it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Wrap Up of the 2024 Library Love Reading Challenge

When I signed up for this challenge a year ago I was not certain whether I would be taking many books out of the library.  I was still skittish about the pandemic and was afraid of catching something either at the library or from the books. The Chicago Public Library is my local library and way before the pandemic began the books that I withdrew smelled. My tally for the year is 12 books.

My Reads:

Oath and Honor - Elizabeth Cheney

And There Was Light - Jon Meacham

Happiness Falls - Angie Kim

Peach Tea Smash - Laura Childs

Shadow of Doubt - Brad Thor

A Death in Cornwall - Daniel Silva 

The Secret War of Julia Child - Diana Chambers

Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich

Seven Up - Janet Evanovich

Pink Lemonade Murder - Joanne Fluke

Key Lime Pie Murder - Joanne Fluke

Cinnamon Roll Murder - Joanne Fluke

Favorite Book:  Happiness Falls

Second Favorite Book:  Peach Tea Smash

Least Favorite Book:  Hard Eight

2025 Craving the Cozies Reading Challenge

I am participating in another Cozy book challenge and wasn't aware that there was a similar challenge hosted at the Escape with Dollycas Blog. I am planning on participating in this challenge too along with Cruisin' Through the Cozies Challenge. The Peckish level of participation is the level I am choosing for myself.  It requires that I read 1 through 25 cozies. I am impressed that there are levels for reading 200 books and wonder how many readers are signing up for those levels.

Challenge Rules

1.  The challenge runs from January 1, 2025, and ends on December 31, 2025.

2.  Choose the level at which you would like to participate:

Levels

Peckish – 1 – 25 Cozy Mysteries (my personal challenge)

Famished – 26 – 51 Cozy Mysteries

Yearning – 51 – 75 Cozy Mysteries

Starving – 76 – 100 Cozy Mysteries

Ravenous – 101 – 125 Cozy Mysteries

Voracious – 126 – 150 Cozy Mysteries 

Overindulged – 151 – 200 Cozy Mysteries

Pigged Out – 201 or more Cozy Mysteries

You can always go up a level but you can’t go down. 

3.  You can Feed Your Need To Read with print, digital, or audiobooks.

4. You do not have to post a review but the authors would appreciate it if you did.

5. You do not need to have a blog to participate. If you do have a blog, take the button above, put it on your blog, and post about the challenge. 

6. Join the Craving for Cozies Facebook Group and share your progress with everyone. 

7.  Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book (right sidebar) for cozy giveaways and reviews.  

8. You can keep track any way you wish. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads.com to help you keep track! It is super easy, Just click the MY BOOKS tab at the top of the Goodreads page. When that page opens just click – ADD A SHELF in the left-hand sidebar. Title it Craving for Cozies Challenge and you are all set. 

9. SIGN UP HERE!

The form has a spot to request a copy of your responses so you can save it and be able to refresh your memory as to which level you signed up for.

10.  If you post about your books on Social Media, please use the hashtag #CravingCozies.

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Calendar of Crime Challenge

I LOVE this challenge!  Over the years I have found new authors that have become favorites. Last year wasn't great but most of the time this challenge is a huge success. See the links below for my 2024 reads.

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

The Amish Wife by Gregg Olsen

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs

An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly

A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear

Knee High on the Fourth of July by Jess Lourey

The Sins of Our Fathers by Jody Vorra

Shadow of Doubt by Brad Thor

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs

Capture or Kill by Vince Flynn

The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak

Pike Island by Tony Wirt

Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly

Favorite Book:   The Silent Patient

Second Favorite Book:  Her Every Fear

Least Favorite Book:  Capture or Kill

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Build Your Own Library Challenge

The focus of the 2024 Build Your Own Library was history.  There were no required number of books to read and I read six history books for the challenge. As you can see below my focus for the challenge was Japan. 

A History of Modern Manga by Insight Editions

And There Was Light by Jon Meacham

A History of Japan in Manga by Shunichiro Kanaya

The Real Watergate Scandal by Geoff Shepard

Okinawa by Susumu

Ogi:  A History of the Japanese Fan by Julia Hutt

My favorite book is A History of Modern Manga. It has more information about manga than a reader can possibly digest in any one or two or three sittings. It's a book that one will always have to refer to from time to time and it also is a great coffee table book. My least favorite book was Okinawa. This graphic novel was written for the Japanese people about the Battle of Okinawa in WWII and I took offense at the anti-American feel of the book. I probably should not have read it. Had I used my brain I would have realized the author’s perspective beforehand.

2025 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

It's time again to sign up for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge for 2025! The Intrepid Reader Blog is hosting this challenge again. This is probably my favorite challenge of all time and I learn something about history too. I am joining at the Prehistoric level of participation. It requires that I read 50+ books. Most years this has not been a problem. 2024 was an anomaly though because I only read about 12 books. 

Reading Challenge details

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created where you can add the links for the books you have read. 

The Rules

1)  Everyone can participate! If you don't have a blog you can post a link to your review if it's posted on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram or Amazon, or you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish.

2)  Add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky that will be added to the host's monthly post (please use the direct URL that will guide us directly to your review)

Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, History/Non-Fiction, etc.)

3)  During the following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:

20th Century Reader - 2 books

Victorian Reader - 5 books

Renaissance Reader - 10 books

Medieval - 15 books

Ancient History - 25 books

Prehistoric - 50+ books (my challenge)

4)  To join the challenge you only need to make a post about it, add your link in Mr. Linky of the challenge post or just leave a link to your blog if you are not yet ready to post about it yet. If you don't have a blog you can just leave a comment for this post saying that you are joining, and link to your Facebook, Goodreads or other social media page where you will be sharing your reviews.

5)  Don't forget to use the challenge hashtag #histficreadingchallenge, join in on the Facebook page, and grab your challenge badge.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle

I have wanted to read The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle for awhile now. The What's in a Name Challenge gave me the impetus to get a copy. The book meets the challenge requirements for the shape category and it was fantastic. The story concerns three women who lift the spirits of home-front brides in wartime Britain. Cloth rationing had left the brides with zero opportunity for getting a wedding dress so this group of friends begin asking for old gowns that they could mend for new brides. This story is based on a true event.

The publisher's summary:

After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. Praying that her niece and nephew will be more hospitable than her brother had been, she arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business while staying in a quaint country village.

Her niece, Violet Westcott, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay—the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. But just as Cressida arrives, so does Violet’s conscription letter. It couldn’t have come at a worse time; how will she ever find a suitably aristocratic husband if she has to spend her days wearing a frumpy uniform and doing war work?

Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help—but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.

Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanizes the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves.

I loved this novel! It is a heartwarming WWII story about how the women left behind coped with shortages and rationing. The focus of the story is the challenging shortages of clothes during the war. The story had an alternating point of view. There are chapters told from Grace, Cresdida and Violet’s perspective. Each woman grew exponentially during the war with Cressida’s encouragement that they find their own path. At that time in the world women did what they were told by their fathers. Their happiness wasn't considered in choosing a husband.

Grace, Violet and Cressida each had romantic interests. While it may have been predictable who they ultimately ended up with, I wondered about the thought process each character would have to go through in order to ascertain what they really wanted in life. As a seamstress myself, I love that as they grew in sewing skills they grew in confidence to make changes in their lives. Actually making those changes was difficult. Their predicament was whether to choose a different path than the men in their life dictated. It was exciting to read how Grace, Violet and Cressida grew in confidence to demand the life of their choosing.

5 out of 5 stars.