Cindy/LibraryCin's 2021 Challenges

[LibraryCin]

12x12 ARCs, GenreCAT, ScaredyKIT

Such a Pretty Smile / Kristi DeMeester
4 stars

Young girls are disappearing and turning up dead and mutilated, as if from an animal. Lila is 13-years old and didn’t have many friends at school, until Macie took her under her wing. Unfortunately, Lila begins to hear things that don’t seem to be there. Lila’s mother Caroline, an artist, has been hiding her past from her daughter. A past that involved something in New Orleans where Caroline had lived with Lila’s father, Daniel.

The story is told from the points of view of both Lila (in 2019) and Caroline (2019 and 2004), but the chapter names tell us whose POV and when, so easy to follow. I really liked this. There were definitely some heart-thumping moments, though at the same time, it was a bit tricky to picture some things. I do need to add a warning that this is horror - there are some violent and gruesome scenes.

[LibraryCin]

2021 Favourites:

My top 10 (4.25+ stars):
Good Neighbours / Sarah Langan
The Drowning Kind / Jennifer McMahon
Buses Are a Comin’ / Charles Person
Local Woman Missing / Mary Kubica
The Meat Racket / Christopher Leonard
The Lost Dogs / Jim Gorant
The Guest List / Lucy Foley
Woman in the Mists / Farley Mowat
The Overnight Guest / Heather Gudenkauf
Women in White Coats / Olivia Campbell

Honourable mentions (the rest of the 4.25 stars):
The Escape Room / Megan Golden
The Invited / Jennifer McMahon
The Other Side of the Night / Daniel Allen Butler
The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England / Ian Mortimer

Dishonourable mentions (2 stars):
The Richest Woman in America / Janet Wallach
Late Nights on Air / Elizabeth Hay
No One Goes Alone / Erik Larson
The Last Star / Rick Yancey
Murder at Monticello / Rita May Brown

[LibraryCin]

Stats:
170 books
56,221 pages
= 330.7 pages / book (average)

Canadian authors: 23 out of 170 = 13.5%

Some genres (some of these will overlap, and I probably missed some, too):

Nonfiction (not including Biography/Memoir): 28 out of 170 = 16.5%
YA + Children’s: 15 out of 170 = 8.8%
Biography/Memoir: 28 out of 170 = 16.5%
Graphic novels: 6 out of 170 = 3.5%
Mystery/Thriller: 26 out of 170 = 15.3%
Historical Fiction: 30 out of 170 = 17.6%
Horror: 6 out of 170 = 3.5%

Nonfiction + Biography/Memoir: 56 out of 170 = 32.9%

[LibraryCin]

Haven't compared to previous years, but I feel like I didn't read as many Canadian authors this year as previous, nor as many as I'd like.

Even though thrillers are more likely to land on my favourites lists the past few years, I see that I still read more historical fiction, overall.

I am actually not surprised to see my nonfiction (including biographies and memoirs) being about 1/2 of my overall reading.