Joan's 2024 Challenge of Not Planning-Maybe Some Will Fit

[Joan]

My plan in 2024 is not to plan. I've been putting off long books because they will take too long to read. I've also been putting off series books because they won't fit. I also want to be able to read a bunch of one author's books in a row if I want to. I love the challenges though but this year I want to go rogue and see how it all fits in. I'm not sure if I'm going to update monthly or quarterly. I'm afraid if I update monthly then I might fall back into wanting to get all of the prompts completed. I promised myself I'd figure it out as I go in 2024. Hopefully my competitive side won't take over.


✅1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y - Holly
✅2. A book connected to something you read in 2023 - Gwendy's Magic Feather
✅3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list - After I Do - A book that has at least 247 pages
✅4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong - Fairy Tale
✅5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world - High Fidelity
✅6. A book with wings on the cover - Iron Flame
✅7. A book with a pronoun in the title - Things We Never Got Over
✅8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand - Cut and Thirst
✅9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads - Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation
✅10. A history or historical fiction book - Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever
✅11. A book with an X connection - The Exchange: After The Firm
✅12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year - The Historian
✅13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list - The Mars Room
✅14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color - Somebody's Daughter
✅15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX) - Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
✅16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" - Cujo
✅17. A book involving intelligence - The Institute
✅18. A book with a botanical cover - Gwendy's Final Task
✅19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream - The Great Alone - Baked Alaska flavor
✅20. A book with a single word title - Elevation
✅21. A book with a title containing 6+ words - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
✅22. A book by an author from an African country - My Sister, the Serial Killer
✅23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett - Remarkably Bright Creatures
✅24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple) - The Dead Romantics
✅25. A book involving a crime other than a murder - From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir
✅26. A book by an author known by their initials - Yellowface
✅27. A book related to land - The Four Winds
✅28. A book related to sea - Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea
✅29. A book related to air - In the Likely Event
✅30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea - Circe
✅31. A book related to “Going for the Gold” - Carrie Soto Is Back
✅32. A book with a number in the title - 11.22.63
✅33. A book involving travel - The Road
✅34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs - Happy Place
✅35. A science or science fiction book - Jurassic Park
✅36. A book featuring a character in education - The Secret History
✅37. A book that is part of a series - The Last Devil to Die
✅38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1 - Delicates
✅39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2 - Lights
✅40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover - The Penelopiad
✅41. A book with a chilling atmosphere - The Gunslinger
✅42. A book with a sound-related word in the title - The Song of Achilles
✅43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
✅44. A book with a touch of magic - The Tales of Beedle the Bard
✅45. A book that is not a novel - The Woman in Me
✅46. A book related to night - The Night Circus
✅47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE - The Mist
✅48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt - In Five Years
✅49. A book with a senior citizen character - The Bullet That Missed
✅50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024 - Small Things Like These
✅51. A book published in 2024 = You Like It Darker
✅52. A cozy mystery - The Man Who Died Twice



52/52

[Joan]

Ha! I'm already looking to see where some books I want to read will fit but I promised myself I'd go rogue this year. Maybe if I just make the expectation early that I don't have to complete the challenge......

[Joan]

Winter Challenge

- WINTER WONDERLAND (16)
- DREAMING OF SNOW (14)
- HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS (18)

You can fulfill these letters by using the first letter of the title, the first letter of the author's first or last name, or the first letter of the main genre of the book.

✅D - Fourth Wing - genre dragons
✅R - After I Do - by Taylor Jenins Reid
✅E - Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
✅A - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
✅M - The Mist
✅I - In the Likely Event
✅N - Mother-Daughter Murder Night - by Nina Simone
✅G - Paper Girls, Volume 1 - graphic novel

✅O - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
✅F - And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

✅S - Small Things Like These
✅N - Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever - Non-fiction
✅O - Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation
✅W - The Woman in Me

Possible Books:
✅Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros F for Fourth Wing or D for Dragons(genre)
20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne T for Title or S for Science Fiction(genre)
✅Brave New World by Aldous Huxley A for Aldous
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James S for Sun
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager S for Sager or R for Riley
✅Fangirl, Vol. 2: The Manga M for Manga/Maggs or S for Sam
✅Fangirl, Vol. 3: The Manga by Rainbow Rowell M for Manga or R for Rainbow
✅Through the Woods by Emily Carroll E for Emily or G for Graphic Novel
✅Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
✅After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid - A for Title
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare -
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
The Institute by Stephen King I for Title
11/22/63 by Stephen King E for title
Gwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar or Stephen King G for Title
Gwendy's Final Task by Richard Chizmar or Stephen King
✅Mother-Daughter Murder Night - N for author first name - Nina Simon
✅And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
✅In the Likely Event - I for title
✅The Woman in Me - W - for title
✅The Mist - M for title
✅On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - O for title
✅Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation - O for Bill O'Reilly
✅Paper Girls, Volume 1 - G for graphic novel
✅Small Things Like These

]

[Joan]

Books I want to read in 2024:

✅Iron Flame
✅After I Do
✅In the Likely Event
✅Carrie Soto Is Back
City of Lost Souls
City of Heavenly Fire
✅11.22.63
✅Fairy Tale
✅The Institute
Home Before Dark
Final Girls
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
✅The Night Circus
Glass Sword
King's Cage
Joyland
Iron Gold
Dark Age
✅The Great Alone
✅The Four Winds
✅The Historian
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
The Red Tent
Firestarter
Anna Karenina
The Breakdown
Pieces of Her
Beach Read
Everyone Here Is Lying
The Grace Year
You've Reached Sam
Confess
Without Merit
Girl in the Blue Coat
The Last Letter from Your Lover
The Giver of Stars
Love the One You're With
✅Gwendy's Magic Feather
✅Gwendy's Final Task
Crazy Rich Asians
✅The Tales of Beedle the Bard
The Club
✅In Five Years
Our Chemical Hearts
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Into the Water
✅Things We Never Got Over
✅Fangirl, Vol. 3: The Manga
✅The Woman in Me
✅The Mist
✅Small Things Like These

[Joan]

SPRING RAINBOW CHALLENGE


✅RED: - 11/22/63
✅ORANGE: - The Dead Romantics
✅YELLOW: - Happy Place
✅GREEN: - My Sister, the Serial Killer
✅BLUE: - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
✅PURPLE: - The Gunslinger
✅WHITE: - The Man Who Died Twice
✅BLACK: - The Night Circus
✅BROWN: - The Tales of Beedle the Bard
✅GOLD: - The Four Winds
✅GRAY: - Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea
✅5+ COLORS: - Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

And if you want a bit of a bonus challenge, try to find titles that start with a letter in these words:

✅RAINBOW - The Road
✅SHOWER - The Exchange: After The Firm
✅SPRING - Somebody's Daughter
✅COLORFUL - Fairy Tale
✅GROWTH - The Great Alone

[Joan]

Stephen King Books

✅1. Carrie (1974)
✅2. ‘Salem’s Lot (1975)
✅3. The Shining (1977)
4. Rage (1977)
5. The Stand (1978)
6. The Long Walk (1979)
7. The Dead Zone (1979)
8. Firestarter (1980)
9. Roadwork (1981)
✅10. Cujo (1981)
11. The Running Man (1982)
✅12. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
✅13. Christine (1983)
✅14. Pet Sematary (1983)
✅15. Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)
16. The Talisman (1984)
17. Thinner (1984)
18. It (1986)
✅19. The Eyes of the Dragon (1987)
20. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
✅21. Misery (1987)
22. The Tommyknockers (1987)
23. The Dark Half (1989)
24. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
25. Needful Things (1991)
26. Gerald’s Game (1992)
27. Dolores Claiborne (1992)
28. Insomnia (1994)
29. Rose Madder (1995)
✅30. The Green Mile (1996)
31. Desperation (1996)
32. The Regulators (1996)
33. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)
34. Bag of Bones (1998)
35. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)
36. Dreamcatcher (2001)
37. Black House (2001)
38. From a Buick 8 (2002)
39. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
40. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)
41. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)
42. The Colorado Kid (2005)
✅43. Cell (2006)
44. Lisey’s Story (2006)
45. Blaze (2007)
46. Duma Key (2008)
47. Under the Dome (2009)
✅48. 11/22/63 (2011)
49. The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
50. Joyland (2013)
51. Doctor Sleep (2013)
52. Mr. Mercedes (2014)
53. Revival (2014)
54. Finders Keepers (2015)
55. End of Watch (2016)
✅56. Gwendy’s Button Box (2017)
57. Sleeping Beauties (2017)
✅58. The Outsider (2018)
✅59. Elevation (2018)
✅60. The Institute (2019)
✅61. Later (2021)
62. Billy Summers (2021)
✅63. Gwendy's Final Task (2022)
✅64. Fairy Tale (2022)
✅65. Holly (2023)

I got this list off of the internet. I've read some short stories of his that I noticed weren't on this list. I think they were originally included in other books. Which yes I just did the research and figured out what short story collections they were in. I'll have to come back to this later and put the short story collections in order. I think I'm missing some. It really is amazing all he has written when you look back at it. Also, all of the movies that were generated from his books. Just completed the short story collection research finally.

Short Story Collections
Night Shift - 1978
Skeleton Crew - 1985
Different Seasons - 1982 includes:
✅The Body
✅Apt Pupil
Skeleton Crew - 1985 includes:
✅The Mist
Four Past Midnight - 1990 includes:
The Sun Dog
Nightmares and Dreamscapes - 1993
Hearts in Atlantis - 1999
Everything's Eventual - 2002
Just After Sunset - 2008
Stephen King Goes to the Movies - 2009
Full Dark, No Stars - 2010 includes:
✅1922
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams - 2015
✅If It Bleeds - 2020
✅You Like It Darker - 2024

✅On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft isn't on his list of novels I noticed. I read that this year.

This year I'm planning on reading:

✅11.22.63
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
✅Fairy Tale
Billy Summers
Joyland
✅The Institute
Firestarter
The Sun Dog
Rose Madder

I'm kind of tempted to throw The Stand in and It but we'll see how far I get with the ones that I own first. Some of the old ones I read so long ago it's tempting me to re-read them. Especially The Shining because of the sequels. I'm trying to stay away from the series for now and get through the stand alones.

[Joan]

Group and Buddy Reads 2024

March
✅The Four Winds
✅The Night Circus

April
✅The Great Alone
✅The Man Who Died Twice
✅The Road
✅The Gunslinger

May
✅Fairy Tale
The Drawing of the Three

June
✅The Institute
The Waste Lands

July
Wizard and Glass
Holly

August
Wolves of the Calla

September
Song of Susannah

October
The Dark Tower

November
The Wind Through the Keyhole

[Joan]

The Summer Challenge

June
1. National Ballpoint Pen Day
June 10th, the anniversary of the patent filing. Fun fact: the world's most popular ball point is the Bic Crystal, which sells on average 57 pens per second.
a. A book with a writing utensil on the cover
b. An author who has a pen name
✅c. A book about a writer, bookseller, or librarian - Yellowface

2. National Prune Day
June 15th. Fun fact: prunes, the dried version of plums, were originally from China.
✅a. A book written by someone over the age of 60 - Holly
b. A book with more than 400 pages
c. A book with purple on the cover

3. Let's Catch a Movie
The term 'blockbuster' was originally used to describe especially destructive bombs, and then came to mean shocking news stories. It's current use as a movie with huge box office returns is often attributed to producer Max Youngstein
✅a. Author's initials can be found in BLOCKBUSTER FILM - The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
b. A book that has been adapted into a movie or series -
c. A book published in the last two years

4. Happy Birthday Paul Gauguin
Born on June 7th 1848 Gauguin was a French artist most known for his contributions to the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He lived in France, Peru, Martinique, Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands.
✅a. A book with at least 4 colors on the cover - The Institute
b. A translated book
c. A book with a seven in the page count


July
1. Happy Birthday Satchel Paige
Baseball pitcher Leroy R. (Satchel) Paige (1906-1982) was the first African American pitcher in the American League. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
✅a. A book whose author's initials appear in CURVEBALL - Gwendy's Magic Feather
b. A book featuring a sport
c. A book with a black main character

2. The Apollo Moon Landing
Apollo 11, the first manned landing on Earth's moon, touched down on the surface on July 20, 1969.
✅a. A book set in space - All Systems Red
b. A book with the moon on the cover
c. A book published in the 1960s

3. Let's Go on a Hike
Fun fact: Yellowstone National Park averages 1 bear attack per year, and there have only been 8 bear-caused fatalities in park history. For perspective that is 1 bear attack per 26.2 million park visits.
a. A book with a cover of a nature scene without people
b. A book set in a rural area
✅c. A book with an element of survival - The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

4. Dog Days of Summer
Fun fact: this phrase refers to the time when Sirius the dog star is visible in the sky.
✅a. A book with a dog on the cover - Cujo
b. A book with a hot setting
c. An author's first book


August
1. The Destruction of Pompeii
Pompeii was a Roman city that was buried under volcanic ash and pumice during the eruption of Mt Vesuvius on August 24, 79 CE. Because of the particular method of its destruction it is extremely well preserved and offers a unique look at life in the ancient Roman Empire.
a. A book featuring an ancient civilization
b. A book with red on the cover
✅c. A book set in a city - High Fidelity

2. Vacation Time
Fun fact: 60% of the Earth's lakes are located in Canada. Something to think about next time you're by a lake.
a. A book you've been meaning to read
b. A book by a favorite author
✅c. A book set somewhere you would like to visit - Circe

3. Let's Play a Game
Fun fact: In Chile the Clue character Mr. Green is named Chef Lettuce.
a. A book with multiple points of view
✅b. A book by an author whose initials appear in SCRABBLE - Things We Never Got Over
c. A book in a series

4. Back to School Sales
Fun fact: in 2023 the average American household spent $890 on back to school shopping, according to an online survey. Ok, that one's not actually that fun.
✅a. A book borrowed from the library - Jurassic Park
b. A nonfiction book
c. A book with a character in an educational setting

[Joan]

Fall Challenge

For this challenge, you will be trying to fulfill the letters in ONE of three phrases:
- PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE (17)
- FAMILY GATHERING (15)
- HOT APPLE CIDER (13)

You can fulfill these letters by using the first letter of the title, the first letter of the author's first or last name, or the first letter of the main genre of the book.



✅H - Horror - You Like It Darker
✅O - Richard Osman - The Bullet That Missed
✅T - Donna Tartt - The Secret History

✅A - Audiobook - The Mars Room
✅P - The Penelopiad
✅P - Paper Girls, Volume 6
✅L - LGBT - The Song of Achilles
✅E - Elevation

✅C - Cycle of the Werewolf
✅I - In Five Years
✅D -Dark - The Last House on Needless Street
E - Elizabeth Kostova - The Historian
✅R - Richard Osman - The Last Devil to Die

[Joan]

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[Joan]

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[Joan]

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[Joan]

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[Joan]

I made a list of books I'm planning on reading and instead of looking up the prompt and see what I can read, I'm slotting the books I want to read in prompts. I'm only looking up the prompt suggestions for clarification. It looks like there will be some prompts I'm stuck on. I'm determined to read what I'm going to read and not worry about completing the challenge. It looks like I may not complete 2023. I have 3 prompts left and probably at least one or two won't get completed.

[Joan]

I completed my first book of the year and I'm not slotting it yet. I read After I Do. It made me laugh and cry at the same moment. I really enjoyed it. It nailed a lot of things about relationships. It was pretty honest. I loved the characters and the family. Taylor Jenkins Reid is definitely my favorite author lately. I only have one book left of hers to read. I rated this book 5 stars.

1/52

[Joan]

I completed The Woman in Me. I listened to it on audio. I'm probably going to use it for not a novel prompt. I enjoyed listening to her story. It was quite riveting. I rated in 5 stars.

I guess this year is more about reading what I want and slotting it in a spot later. As I pick up a book I mostly have it figured out what prompt I'm going to use it for. Of course as the year goes on this plan of mine will get harder.

I also read Fangirl, Vol. 3: The Manga. I'm not sure if I'm going to use it in the challenge or not. It's been fun reliving this book in graphic novel form.

2/52

[Joan]

I read In the Likely Event which was an ok book. It wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. I rated it 3 stars. I don't think it will be all that memorable. I'm probably going to count it for prompt 29 because it has an airplane on the cover and in the beginning of the book there is a plane crash. Not a spoiler. It says it on the jacket cover.

I also read The Mist which I'll probably count towards prompt 47. As with all Stephen King it was creepy and well done. The characters are always well developed. I rated it 4 stars.

I'm planning on reading 11.22.63 next and also Small Things Like These. I might count 11.22.63 for a book on my bookshelf for over a year. Not sure. I'm trying to just read what I want and not worry where it goes.

I guess I could count Fangirl, Vol. 3: The Manga towards not a novel. I am trying to complete the winter challenge so I have added some books to audible to complete that. Planning on listening to On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and The Last Days of Kennedy.

4/52

[Joan]

I shouldn't have any problem completing the winter challenge. I'm planning on listening to On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and then also listening to another Bill O'Reilly non-fiction book on the last days of Lincoln maybe.

I read Small Things Like These and I guess everyone had it too hyped up for me. I did think it was pretty and I ended up rating it 4 stars. It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be I guess. I do plan on reading her other books.

I'm going to start Carrie Soto Is Back then I plan to read Iron Flame and then 11.22.63. I joined some buddy reads for February and March. I've been missing those I think. It's fun to discuss when you're reading the books.

I kind of have an idea where the first 20 or so books are going to fit into my plan. But my plan is not to plan. Some of the prompts I'm not sure I'll be able to fill. But sometimes when you're not planning a challenge you run into the books accidentally and that's what I'm hoping happens this year. I'm debating on filling in the books on my plan that I've read so far but I was thinking about waiting until the end of the first quarter.

5/52

[Joan]

I went ahead and updated my challenge for the books I've read. I also put in what I'm reading now. I am finding that not filling out all of the prompts helps me not to stress over if I'm going to complete the challenge. I'm really concentrating on what I want to read and not what I have to read to complete a challenge. The quarterly challenges are kind of my exceptions but I do use graphic books for those so it doesn't make it hard for me to complete them.

I just finished Carrie Soto Is Back. I really enjoyed it. I rated it four stars. That was the last book of hers I had to read and I'm sad I don't have anymore. I was a big tennis fan in the 90's so it brought back a lot of memories of the players I watched back then. I loved how the character didn't care what people thought of her. I loved the relationship with her father. It was easy to read.

I'm currently reading Iron Flame and it has definitely sucked me back into that world. I'm only three chapters in.

6/52

[Joan]

I just happened to notice that Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation was under 2,024 goodreads ratings so I slotted that in prompt 9. I listened to it on audio. I completed it at the beginning of February. I enjoy Bill O'Reilly's books on those kinds of things. I'm planning on listening to a few more this year.

I should be completing two other books this week that will go towards the challenge. I'm planning on reading what I want this year and I'm planning on reading a lot of longer books so I'm not expecting to complete the challenge this year.

7/52

[Pam]

Joan - Your introductory paragraph sounds exactly like my situation, especially wrt reading longer books and not letting my competitive side take over. Have fun with the challenge and going rogue, at the same time!

[Joan]

Pam wrote: "Joan - Your introductory paragraph sounds exactly like my situation, especially wrt reading longer books and not letting my competitive side take over. Have fun with the challenge and going rogue, ..."

I don't read fast. Books over 500 pages take me at least two weeks. I'm reading Iron Flame now and I started it 2/9/2024 and still have 200 pages to go. It's one of those books where it feels like there is a ton on the page and not many blank page breaks. I wanted to fit in 11.22.63 by the end of the month but I don't see that happening. I'm signed up for a couple of buddy reads in March.

That's the other nice thing about not planning out the challenge. If someone suggests a book I have for a buddy read then I can just dive in with them instead of thinking - oh that one isn't on my list this year. I have a lot of 400 paged books and over to read. When the book page number starts with 400 or over I would put it off. I also have a goal to read all of the Stephen King books so obviously I have to get over the page numbers. I've read a lot of his books that aren't long.

[Joan]

I completed the winter challenge.

I listened to On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft which was awesome. Stephen King narrated and I learned a lot about his life and how he writes. I rated it 4 stars. I probably should have rated it 5 but there were a couple of parts that didn't have my attention.

I just completed Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever that I used for the winter challenge and my annual challenge. I enjoyed listening to it. I listened to Killing Lincoln years ago and this was a good refresher. I love odd American facts. And so much more happened that day besides killing Lincoln. I'm not sure how many people realize that they were trying to also kill Grant, the Secretary of State and the Vice President.

I'm almost done Iron Flame. I am enjoying reading it but it sure is long for me. I don't read that fast. Audio books definitely help my reading count.

Next I'm planning on reading The Four Winds, The Night Circus, The Dead Romantics and 11.22.63.

9/52

[Joan]

I completed Iron Flame. I rated it 4 stars. The last half of the book or so a lot of other characters were introduced and I did have a hard time keeping up with the names. I had forgotten previous dragon names for characters and had to look them up on google. Luckily these books have a big fan base already. It was when all of the fliers were added that I started getting confused. I do get bored in a lot of battle scenes but for the most part she kept me interested on those. You would think that would interest me but I like quick scenes on that stuff. It's book 2 of the series and apparently there are supposed to be 5 books. I will be reading them. It's a fun world to read about and of course this book ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger.

I want to start all four of the books that I'm planning next. I'm getting so indecisive about which one to pick up first that I haven't picked any of them up yet - decision paralysis.

I mostly decided to put the books in as I go along this year but I'm not letting the challenge dictate my reads though. I have been looking at certain prompts deciding what i could read for it. Prompt 22 I'm excited that I decided to finally read My Sister, the Serial Killer. I put a hold on it at the library. Other than that though I'm really trying to concentrate on the books I have but of course my favorite bookstagram person is suggesting a bunch of books that is also kind of deterring me. The The Dead Romantics is one of the ones he suggested and I got that from the library as well.

10/52

[Joan]

I'm excited about the rainbow challenge. I haven't done a colored book cover challenge yet. I did go ahead and plan those out. It was mostly everything I had planned to read soon anyway.

[Joan]

I read my first Kristin Hannah book. I've been wanting to try one of her books for awhile. I read The Four Winds which was perfect for a book relating to the land prompt. I didn't realize it was about the dust bowl. My Mom was born in 1933 in Missouri and I remember her and my Grandmother talking about dust storms. I learned a lot from the book. The last quarter or so slowed down for me so I rated it a 4 star for that reason. I loved the characters though. She really made me fall in love with them.

Next book is going to be The Night Circus. I've been meaning to read this one for a long time. I'm excited to finally read it.

So the books are taking me longer because I've been reading over 400 paged books that I've been putting off. I'm so glad I'm finally getting to them. I have a stack of graphic novels from the library that I just seem uninterested in reading. I'm not sure if I'm going to return them or not.

11/52

[Joan]

I think I found my mojo in planning. I'm just planning my next few books out that I'm planning to read in the month. That way I can flow with my mood. Slotting for the year I think was too stressful for me by the end of the year if my mood changed for the books that were left.

[Kathy]

That's what I've been doing too, Joan. My reading mood can change from one day to the next! I make a plan (because I like planning!) but I don't follow it.

[Pam]

I haven’t read any Kristin Hannah books either but I have The Four Winds and was thinking about reading it for either the Number prompt or the Air prompt. Glad to hear that you liked it!

[Joan]

I made a whole other section on my Stephen King books that I need to read. I'm hoping to knock out a dozen more this year.

[Joan]

I completed The Night Circus. I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. I thought the characters weren't developed enough but I loved the world of the circus. I rated it 3 stars.

I'm going to read The Dead Romantics. I need something fun and a little quicker. Planning on also starting 11.22.63 soon which is why I wanted a shorter book in the middle.

12/52

[Joan]

Completed Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. I loved Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster but this book I did not like. I rated it 2 stars. I did learn some stuff but I felt like the order was all over the place. I listened to it on audio so maybe that was the problem. I got the book out of the library and that didn't really help me either.

13/52

[Joan]

I completed The Dead Romantics tonight. It was a cute story but I felt like sometimes it went on a little too long. I ended up rating it only 3 stars because of that. I loved the characters and the quirkiness of the book. It just seemed like some things could have been summed up quicker.

Not sure what I'm going to start next. Books seem to be taking me longer to read lately - even the ones that aren't so long.

14/52

[Joan]

Ok - I just finished My Sister, the Serial Killer which I read for the challenge. I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for the challenge. I loved the book. It was kind of a dark humor kind of book but not slapstick. It had wonderful short chapters and it got to the point. It wasn't too long. Ending was also pretty good. It's everything I ask for in a book so I had to give it a five star rating.

I have kind of gone off rails with reading what I want to read. I get all excited about researching books to read for a prompt that I'm not fond of. My goal this year to to read more Stephen King and complete some series that I have started. Also to read some books that I have acquired over the years in my thrifting and bargaining hunts. Time to get back on track with that. Next book I'm going to read is The Great Alone which I found at the Goodwill for $1 - perfect condition. I'm also going to read 11.22.63 and the 5th Mortal Instruments book. That is my plan for April. We will see how it goes.

15/52

[Joan]

I'm totally going through a falling back in love with reading stage. I'm currently reading 5 books and love them all. I found Books Are Sick on Instagram and it's fun watching him. He has just fallen in love with reading within the past two years. He loves Stephen King and I'm going through a King obsession as well. But he's also reading the classics and some other books. His reading style is eclectic and it makes it fun for me because I also have an eclectic reading style. Now he has started group reads so of course I HAVE to read the group books. I'm currently re-reading The Road with the group. The group has also decided on reading The Dark Tower Series which I told myself I wasn't going to read until next year but alas.......I was planning on not reading any Stephen King series until next year but here I am going to start The Gunslinger later this month.

I've also found Libby and there are so many copies of current books in The Too Hot To Hold section. Happy Place is in there so I'm reading that on Kindle before I go to bed. They also had Somebody's Daughter on audio so listening to that as well. So currently I'm reading:

11/22/63
The Great Alone
The Road
Happy Place
Somebody's Daughter

This is new for me. At the most I would have one physical book going, one audio and one ebook. But all great and different books. They should all count for the challenge at least!

[Joan]

I completed Somebody's Daughter on audio. It was really good and an unexpected book read this year. I found it on Libby for free and it fit a prompt. I rated the book 4 stars. The author bared all in the book and she narrated it so it made it that much better. I'd recommend reading it.

I found a purple copy of The Gunslinger to read so that will fill my purple spot for the spring challenge.

I'm reading 5 books at one time right now which isn't like me. I usually read around 3 at a tiime (one physical book, one audio and one ebook). Right now I'm reading three physical copies of books and one audio and one ebook. I should complete The Great Alone today. What a wild ride that book is. A lot of trigger warnings in that book.

16/52

[Joan]

Wow - finally finished The Great Alone. I haven't cried that much reading a book in awhile. I thought it was a great story and the ending didn't disappoint for me. I could kind of see some of it coming but it was the ending I wanted. It made it even better when I realized the author grew up that way and went out to the Pacific Northwest in a VW bug. That solidified the five star rating for me. I thought it was beautifully told. It's probably a book I will hold on to and characters I won't forget.

17/52

[Joan]

I don't know why but I'm really glad to have the dwarf prompt done. When it's open to interpretation like that I prefer to find it in the title name. I don't know why. I didn't want to have to interpret it off of a character I was reading about. I might have done A Man Called Ove for Grumpy but I already read that book years ago. For this prompt I went with Happy Place. I wanted to read this for my Goodreads Awards challenge anyway and it fit in this prompt. I read the ebook. I happened to come across it on the Libby app for my library and was surprised to see that it was available. They had it in "too hot to hold". The book was kind of what I thought it would be. I like her writing but I wasn't a complete fan of this ending. I don't know. It was sort of a 3.5 star that I rounded up to 4 stars. It was what I wanted for this type of book.

I'm still reading 11/22/63. Such a good book but does take awhile to read. I also found The Exchange: After The Firm on the Libby app for audio. I'm almost done that one. I'm using that for the X connection prompt. I'm really happy with the Libby app. I'm considering canceling Audible but there are a few books that the Libby app doesn't have that Audible does. I don't know if my library is just behind on those or what.

18/52

[Joan]

I completed listening to The Exchange: After The Firm. I found it entertaining enough but it wasn't the story I wanted for the return of Mitch and Abby McDeere. I rated it three stars for that reason and it's rounded up from 2.5 stars.

I just completed a re-read of The Road that I did with a book club. I think I enjoyed it more the second time around. I don't really do re-reads but I couldn't remember parts of the book and I thought I didn't appreciate it the first time I read it. I did like it better than the first time. I rated it 4 stars.

20/52

[Joan]

I completed Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea. It was an unexpected read I found available at the library on audio. I listened to most of it but then I found the character annoying on audio and switched to the physical book for the end of it. I didn't find her annoying reading it. It's an amazing story. I felt bad being annoyed by her listening to it. I'm glad I switched over. I ended up rating it 3 stars and I'm glad I found it for the sea prompt.

The Man Who Died Twice - I just completed this for a buddy read. I love the characters and plan to continue with the series sooner than I thought. I'm not sure how the others will fit in with my plan. I know I can slot them in the same cover prompts but I was hoping to finish the Mortal Instruments with those prompts. Best plans go awry I guess. I do like The Thursday Murder Club series but I felt this book may have gone on just a bit too long. The other books are both 60 pages longer so I'm hoping that doesn't annoy me. I got the third book on hold at the library. I'm on the fence about reading it in May. I guess we'll see. I did rate this book 4 stars but really rounded up from 3.5.

22/52

[Joan]

I completed 11/22/63. I'm kind of sad I'm done. I really liked it. I rated it 4 stars. I took awhile to read it because I wanted to savor it. One part where the book took kind of a turn I did not like but felt he brought it back where it should be in the end I guess. That was the only reason for the 4 star rating.

I've kind of got off track with the books I thought I was going to read but I started following a bookstagrammer who is also a King fan but he also likes a ton of genres that I like as well and I've been reading his recommendations. Even though I'm not reading exactly what I thought I would I'm still on track with most of the books that I want to read. I also completely fell back in love with reading and I'm ahead of where I was at this time of year last year. I guess we'll see where the wind takes me. I have three more King books slated to read this month as well as The Secret History and some other fun ones. I guess we'll see how far I get with it all this month but there are two read-a-thons for me with two different book groups and I'm not planning on going anywhere until June so May should be filled up with a lot of reading.

23/52

[Joan]

I wanted to read a fun quick one after 11/22/63 so I read The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I used it for the magic prompt. I found it used last year and have been meaning to read it. It's fun to revisit Harry Potter's world whenever I can! It didn't disappoint. Some fun short stories in there. I also needed it for a brown book for the spring challenge!

I'm so happy I've found my reading mojo again! I'm currently reading Fairy Tale and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I'm planning on reading also this month The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Club and The Secret History. We'll see how far I get!

24/52

[Joan]

I completed The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches which was an unplanned read this year. It was a lot of fun and I rated it 4 stars. It fit the prompt with 6+ words in a title.

I'm hoping to also complete Fairy Tale for the read-a-thon but I don't know if I'll be able to get another 400 pages in before the end of tomorrow.

25/52

[Joan]

I finally completed Fairy Tale. It was a good read. Parts of it could be shorter. I rated it 4 stars rounded up from a 3.5. I loved the main character with his faults and also the good in his heart. It was an imaginative world and that's why I used it for prompt 4. Trying to fit in Mr. King where ever I can!!

Starting The Gunslinger now so that I can finish my spring challenge with the purple cover. At least it's a short King book. I've heard it's not a favorite but the rest of the series I heard is amazing.

After that I need to read a romance or something. Although for group read this month I have Jurassic Park and The Institute.

I'm amazed I'm halfway through the challenge! I read another book that could count towards the challenge and I'll use it later if I start falling behind. Some of the non-fiction I read I don't count towards the challenge.

26/52

[Joan]

I completed The Gunslinger last weekend. I rated it 3 stars. I've heard it wasn't that great and it makes more sense after you've read the whole series. The first part I found more interesting than the last half of it. I'm planning on reading The Drawing of the Three this month. I've heard it is much better.

I'm currently reading The Institute which I'm finding really good. Great character development as always. I'm close to a third of the way through. I'm hoping to complete it this weekend but don't know if I'll be able to.

I'm going to the beach for a couple of days this week and plan to take Beach Read to break up all of my Stephen King reading. I'm planning to throw some other fun books in as well.

Not really reading the King books I thought I'd be reading this year so far but I'm on a journey. I've also read about the extended reading of the Dark Tower series which I'm considering. If I do that, I might as well give up my hopes of completing the challenge this year. But then again I wasn't supposed to care about the challenge and just read what I want. There are still some books on my list I wanted to knock out this year but haven't touched. I'll probably get back to doing that in July. I've joined a fun reading group on Patreon and they have me reading all kinds of stuff I'm trying to fit into my reading challenge. I think the point was to get back to having fun reading and I feel that I'm accomplishing that part of it. I've found the joy again.

27/52

[Joan]

Well, The Institute took me 3 weeks to read. I was busy with work. I was on vacation for a week and I thought I would get a lot of reading done but unfortunately I had to work on my downtimes. Work got a little too busy. I rated the book 4 stars. It wasn't my favorite Stephen King but it was still pretty good. I thought it lacked a little action and I thought he would have developed more in one section of the book. Of course the character development was awesome. One part in particular in the book just went on a little too long for me.

I'm now only 3 books ahead in the challenge. I am currently catching up on some graphic books and then I'll get back to reading some novels. I wanted to re-read Cujo and count it for the dog/cat prompt. I was planning on reading Stephen King's new short story compilation and one of the stories is a part 2 of Cujo. I haven't read Cujo since the 80's so I figured I would re-read. His short story book will count for a 2024 book.

I started The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War for the 2024 prompt. I was listening to it and it was too slow. I stopped 1/4 of the way through. I wasn't even listening to it at that point and had no idea what was going on. Erik Larson can be a bit of a hit or miss for me. That seemed like it was a big miss.

28/52

[Joan]

Man - I seem to be in a reading slump. Although Jurassic Park is really good. I should complete it tomorrow. I did so well in May and just fell apart in June. It's early yet in July so I guess we'll see how it goes!

[Joan]

I completed Jurassic Park which was an unplanned read for me. I joined a book club this year and that was their pick. It was pretty good and different from the movie. I haven't watched it in awhile and I plan to watch it soon to compare. The little girl in it I found annoying and some parts went on a little too long for me. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.

I'm going to read another unplanned book for the book club which is High Fidelity. It can fit prompt 1 or 5. I haven't figured out which one I'm going to slide it into. Or at least I think it fits prompt 5. I have to double check.

29/52

[Joan]

Just completed High Fidelity. It was an unplanned read. A new book club I joined was reading it this year. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. So much so that I rated it 5 stars. The main character was deplorable yet lovable at the same time. I need to watch the movie now. I never saw it.

I'm supposed to read Holly for a buddy read but I feel like reading something easier. Maybe a romance or something. I'm not sure. I kind of want to knock out #1 and #2 on the list. It's annoying me that some of the top prompts aren't completed yet.

I'm only 3 ahead. I wasn't supposed to pay attention to the prompts this year but yet here I am. I feel like it's a good reading year even though I just fell behind some. I've been tackling some longer books that I've been meaning to read.

30/52

[Joan]

I read Yellowface and it was an unplanned read. The character was horrible but she was supposed to be. it was like watching a train wreck. I rated it 4 stars. I would more of this author's work.

I'm almost done Holly. It was more riveting than I thought it would be.

I should end the week being 3 ahead of the challenge.

31/52