Cecil’s Comments (group member since Jan 07, 2020)

Cecil’s comments from the Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) group.

Chose Library of Souls, third in the "Miss Peregrine's Home..." series. Have to read them fairly close together, so I don't forget the overarching plot line!

I’m going to be finally getting around to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Always wanted to see the movie, but will read the book instead.

Challenge complete! Just finished by Wendy Webb. Not quite what I expected, but was a pleasant surprise!

Challenge complete! Finished The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien, a short book of mostly pictures. What a wonderful tradition he did for his children! And such creativity! It was a fun change.

Here’s what I have for 2021 so far, with 2 - 5 alternates for each category. Don’t know which books we will read for our book club till each month.
JANUARY
+ Monthly Motif - Read a book from the Fantasy, Fairytale, Mythology, or Folklore Sub Genres. - Fire by Kristin Cashore
+ Monthly Key Word - End, Princess, Dance, Midnight, Court, Why, Winter, Story. - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
+ Book Club book - City of Thieves by David Benioff

FEBRUARY
+ Monthly Motif - Read a relationship story, romance, comedy, or feel good contemporary. - Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
+ Monthly Key Word - Over, Edge, Rain, Blade, Red, Come, None, Glass. - Rain Will Come by Thomas Holgate
+ Book Club Book - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

MARCH
+ Monthly Motif - Read something about Countries or Culture -
A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming
+ Monthly Key Word – Dear, Ink, Mercy, Fly, Lost, Never, Match, True. - The Lost Man by Jane Harper
+ Book Club Book - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

APRIL
+ Monthly Motif - Read a book that features food, restaurants, cafes, cooking, or baking, on the cover or in the story - One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon
+ Monthly Key Word– Last, Watch, Save, Girl, Sun, Tell, Garden, Tomorrow. - The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne
+ Book Club book - The Authenticity Project by Claire Pooley

MAY
+ Monthly Motif - Read a Middle Grade book - The Goldfish Boyby Lisa Thompson
+ Monthly Key Word– Away, Wait, Book, Raven, Lake, Angel, Nine, Island. - The Boy and the Lake by Adam Pelzman
+ Book Club book - The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

JUNE
+ Monthly Motif - Read a book featuring a garden, nature, country, or harvest setting or plot. - The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
+ Monthly Key Word – Beneath, Crown, Sing, Rule, Earth, Find, Happen, Cruel. - The World Beneath by Rebecca Cantrell
+ Book Club book - Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

JULY
+ Monthly Motif - Read a novella, comic, graphic novel, manga, or short book of poetry. - I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider (Graphic Novel)
+ Monthly Key Word – Ever, Shine, Gone, Search, Wood, Under, Road, Like. - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
+ Book Club book - Recursion by Blake Crouch

AUGUST
+ Monthly Motif - Read a book featuring any kind of magic, illusion, super powers, or enchantments. - Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris
+ Monthly Key Word– One, Secret, Will, Tree, Blue, You, Flame, Thousand. - Trust No One by Debra Webb
+ Book Club book - The Night Watchmanby Louise Erdrich

SEPTEMBER
+ Monthly Motif - Read a book with a school setting, featuring a student or educator OR read a book to educate yourself on a topic you’re interested in learning more about. - The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
+ Monthly Key Word– Country, House, Top, Man, Wild, Sweet, Once, Wake. - The Chestnut Man by Søren Sviestrup
+ Book Club book - T/C

OCTOBER
+ Monthly Motif - Read a book that has a gray, black, and/or white cover OR a book that shows a shadow on the cover. - Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
+ Monthly Key Word– Fear, Night, Silent, Wicked, Hidden, Bones, Lied, Ghost. - A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark
+ Book Club book - T/C

NOVEMBER
+ Monthly Motif - Read a mystery- cozy, detective, spies, true crime, whodunnit, or the like. - Alone by Lisa Gardner
+ Monthly Key Word– Again, Loud, Star, Stay, Air, When, Since, Race. - Since We Fell by Dennis LeHane
+ Book Club book - T/C

DECEMBER
+ Monthly Motif - Read a historical fiction book or a book about a true historical event. - The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham
+ Monthly Key Word– Cold, Room, Life, Bell, Kiss, Dream, Until, Drink. - Cold Waters by Debbie Herbert
+ Book Club book - T/C

TJ wrote: "Loved this challenge and look forward to doing it again next year. One thing I might do differently is choose all the books at the beginning of the year - and change it if I feel like when the mont..."
I am doing the same thing! I started a notebook with a page for each challenge criteria that I’m following (Motif and Keyword), with title options I’m pulling (ideally) from my “already have” list. As you mentioned, I have the option of changing my mind when we get to those months, depending on what I feel like reading at the time. AND the bonus is at recap time, I’ll remember what I read for each challenge. ;) This is so fun, like an extended book club!

That might be an interesting idea - a virtual book club! Everyone reads the same book (chosen by the moderator) and we add to the discussion of the book after a specified date, in a specified discussion feed. I realize reviews are kind of like that, but more back and forth like a real book club would be fun. I know that those interactions help me see the story from different perspectives, and better enhance my understanding of the book for having participated.

*Yes, covered all months! Some were a challenge, doing two different challenges and a book club read each month. But when you're retired, it helps. ;)
*September and December. Wish I'd thought of a graphic novel for Sept., and since my usual genre is suspense/mystery/crime novel, finding something fun and light was a challenge, but I did eventually find something.
* My favorite motif is always October, so many good creepy and great horror books out there! Full Throttle by Joe Hill was a great book of short horror stories.
*The least favorite is December, as much as lightness is needed. Good to force me out of my rut though. Least favorite book was the Beekeeper for August, not that engaging.
*Suggestions - As mentioned in the Keyword wrap up, would like to see a brief rating or review for books read by everyone, so we can see what's good (or what's not). Otherwise love the challenges and feedback!
(One note, the wrap-up discussions didn't pop up on my notification feed, not sure why. Just came across them by accident.)

* Read one every month! Tried VERY hard to find books I own either as physical books or ebooks, to thin out my library. (Either that or I build a bigger house!)
* Don't remember which ones I had the most trouble with, but December was hard, used "Of" for the title.
*I honestly can't remember which books I read for which challenge anymore, but one of my favorites was 1st to Die, The Women's Murder Club series.
* Probably my least favorite was "Connections in Death" by JD Robb. Reasons explained in my review.
My only suggestion is that folks include at least a short review or rating of what they read, so we can see what's worth putting on our TBR list.

TJ wrote: "Cecil wrote: "Okay, this is a real challenge for me. I tried looking over cozy mysteries and other Christmas stories, and just can’t get into sappy and silly for a genre. Great for some, not my cup..."
Thanks for the tips! Coincidentally, Spinning Silver is by the author of Uprooted, a book my daughter talked me into reading a few years ago. I've added both to my TBR pile, for future use. I'm going to wait for the one I mentioned to come off hold at my library, since I've already requested it. Merry Christmas!

Okay, this is a real challenge for me. I tried looking over cozy mysteries and other Christmas stories, and just can’t get into sappy and silly for a genre. Great for some, not my cup of tea. (Will take suggestions, but please, good writing is a must!) Until I find something better, currently planning on reading by J.R.R. Tolkien. Just have to wait for it to come back into the library, put on hold.

Challenge complete! Read “Without Mercy” by Lisa Jackson

Challenge complete!
Took a bit to keep up with what was going on, more than a few red herrings. The pair was Adler and Dwyer. Dwyer didn’t play a large roll, but felt I would have gotten more out of it if I’d read the preceding books, even though this was listed as first in a series featuring these two. Will have to check out the others.

Going to try , since I have it already! (Have to wear down my TBR pile somehow!)

Planning on reading , blending
"out" and "with". (Trying to use books from my TBR - already have pile.)

Simone wrote: "This one was an absolute slow burner, but that made it super creepy! I will never look at mushrooms the same way. I'm glad this was a buddy read for me and I had someone to discuss the book with.

..."

Looking forward to reading this, but may be awhile, I'm way down on the hold list at the library. Sounds good!

Challenge complete! Read by Tami Hoag. On to my book club book!
Review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

TJ wrote: "Cecil wrote: "Challenge Complete! I've read two books on this so far:
, by Stephen King, for which I had to go back and read "The Shining" first (last month). Saw t..."

Me neither! I wonder if it follows the movie plot line or the book from the Shining?

Challenge Complete! I've read two books on this so far:
, by Stephen King, for which I had to go back and read "The Shining" first (last month). Saw the movie, but till now had never read the book. Realized after the first page of Dr. Sleep that I needed to actually read the first book, different than the movie.
Second book was by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son. This book of short stories was a fun ride!
My review is at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Going to read by Tami Hoag.

Challenge compete! It was longer than I planned on, but made it in time to squeeze in my book club book too. I’ve read a few of Dean Koontz books before, one very creepy one and all of the Odd Thomas series, which I loved. That said, I was familiar with his tendency to be somewhat wordy, but this one did drag on a bit. Still enjoyed the story, with shifting perspectives. The supernatural aspect was a bit of a stretch, but fit the story pretty well. Not my favorite of his books, but more than willing to try another.