Ann’s Comments (group member since Dec 20, 2013)

Ann’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

I am currently reading Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (my childhood classic for the reading challenge), I will also be starting While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams for Online Book Club, and then find a book with an orange cover and a graphic novel to read. And reread Death on the Nile, to see what changes were made to the movie.

There are several series that deal with codes and puzzles: Laurie R. King's Russel and Holmes series, Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock series, and the Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn to name just a few.

I am currently reading Miss Moriarty, I Presume by Sherry Thomas, Treacherous is the Night by Anna Lee Huber on Hoopla, as well as Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Next up is While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams.

My favorite genres are Fantasy and Mystery (big surprise), I tend to go for high fantasy and historical mysteries. I'll also read YA fantasy or mystery.
I don't read a lot of horror, but I will read suspense. Not much literary fiction, but like you I will read if the book looks interesting or is a recommendation.

I'm reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates on Libby, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo on my Nook, and I just checked out Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn and Treacherous is the Night by Anna Lee Huber. I'm now prepared for a rainy weekend.

I actually did a lot of rearranging of my dining room (aka office/pantry). Both are coming along nicely.
I did manage to finish 2 books: An Offer from a Gentleman (Bridgeton #3), and A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock #2).

I've finished The Duke and I, as well as The Viscount Who Loved Me (book 2 of the Bridgertons), I also reread A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas. Another new to me book was This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber. Next will be to continue these three series, as well as to read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. And maybe So Many Beginnings.

I just finished reading Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane, and am now reading Prologue to Murder by Lauren Elliott (on Hoopla), and The Conductors by Nicole Glover (on Libby). Next up is The Hollywood Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal.
My goal for this year is going to be 120 books again. It's a good number.

I had a good reading year. I found some good books, and some really good books. Here are some of the books that stuck out:

-State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny- I checked it out yesterday, finished it this morning. Stayed up waaay too late reading. It was quite literally unputdownable (if that's not a word- it should be). Now all I need is book 2. Please.

- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Set at Bletchley Park during World War 2, set in a time when everyone pitched in to keep the Germans from invading England. The three main characters spent the war years working at Bletchley breaking codes, solving puzzles... and unable to tell anyone anything about what they did.

-The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, is based on a real person, Belle de Costa Green, who spent most of her life working for J. P. Morgan. Working with him, assisting with purchases and negotiating with collectors and merchants, to create a world class collection. All while playing a role, a role that would ruin everything should it fail, should NY society become aware that she was passing as white. Indeed, her whole family was.

-Circe by Madeline Miller. This book made me rethink my opinions of the “villains” of the Iliad and the Odyssey, definitely made me more sympathetic to Circe. Even the women who were not heroes or villains in Greek myth were shown as more than two-dimensional women.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett- the story of twin sisters, who run away from home to find their destinies. Years later, one sister has returned to her hometown with her black daughter, while the other has lived her life passing as white.

And then there were the guides:
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (as well as the Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy)
The Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins (I haven’t read the 2nd yet)
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (and the next 3 in the series).
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite.

Then last but definitely not least…

Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village.

You’re welcome.

I'd love a snow day or two.
I am currently reading The Rose Code by Kate Quinn in paperback, and Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott on Hoopla. I've also just checked out 3 holiday books from the library: How the Finch Stole Christmas and Lark! The Herald Angels Sing, both by Donna Andrews, as well as The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie. Next up, more of the books multiplying on my coffee table.

Thanksgiving was quiet and restful. I got my booster shot this morning. So far so good.
I finished Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (for the second time), for book club. I am currently reading The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth. After this, I will be reading down the books on my coffee table.

I try to decorate for Christmas, and will probably start putting stuff up next week. First, it's getting the kitchen/dinning room/living room organized (especially the books which are starting to take over... again).
I would love to have a book nook, and a library. Libraries in homes are nice, but you still need a nice cozy space, with a comfy place to stretch out and read a good book. Hopefully with a dog or cat or two.

I recently finished reading Moving is Murder by Sara Rosett (Hoopla), and have The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller checked out on Hoopla. I'm currently reading A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn (Overdrive), with A Perilous Undertaking next up.

Six years ago (was it really that long ago?) I moved into my new apartment. I had been in this apartment for 15 years, which meant I had accumulated quite a bit of stuff, including books. Lots of books. What helped me was renting a storage unit, and then using a cube for the actual move. I will be weeding a lot of stuff before I make another move, probably not many books though.

I currently have three books checked out on Libby (I have 3 days before I can raid Hoopla again): Enola Holmes and the Black Barouch (which I am reading now), Enola Holmes and the Boy in Buttons, and Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert.
I have 12 items checked out on my library card, only 2 have I read so far (too many to list).

I have a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of the mystery series that I read. The series that I read are a wide assortment of styles, genres, time periods. The sequels I look forward to are: J.D. Robb's Abandoned in Death, Susan Elia Macneal's The Hollywood Spy, and Rhys Bowen's God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen.

Now I need to create a spreadsheet for everything else.

I want to read those remixes. I've already read several retellings of Little Women, and have seen Treasure Planet more than once. I'm currently reading Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens, by Andrea Penrose, and after that I'll start The Vanishing Half. And then read some of the library books stacked on my coffee table (the mountain keeps growing).

I recently finished reading The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg and Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose, and am now reading Murder at Half Moon Gate also by Andrea Penrose. Next up on Libby, I have Love in the Time of Cholera and The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis. Also up is this month's Book Club Book, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet.

I finished In Deeper Waters over the weekend, it was very enjoyable. Currently working my way through Circe, I might have to read her book The Song of Achilles. I'm also reading The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy as my SciFi book for the challenge (my first time reading it- although I have watched most of the movie, I think).

I'm also working on a spreadsheet to help me keep track of the mystery series I read. It turns out I fell behind in quite a few series last year, just by not going to B&N when the new books came out.

The last series I've binge read was J.D. Robb's In Death series. I started rereading it in 2018, and finished in 2020 (with the newest one at the time- #51). At some point or other, I've binge read other series (mostly mysteries). I also reread Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books.

I've been reading a bunch of graphic novels for the online book club: Guerilla Green; Displacement; Abolitionists, Amazons, and Activists; and A Brief History of Feminism. I also found some cozies on Hoopla (I am currently shut out, and my last Hoopla check out expired): A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder, A Fiancee's Guide to First Wives and Murder, and Murder at Archly Manor.

No sure what to read next. I've got several graphic novels and other books checked out from the library, plus the ever growing pile from B&N.

I've got 3 books checked out from Hoopla (and that's it for my monthly checkout): A Fiancee's Guide to First Wives and Murder by Dianne Freeman, Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett, and Hercule Poirot's Christmas (I took a break from Poirot for a while). I also have all of the books that I bought (and was given) in Savannah that I still have to unpack.