Theresa's TBR Purge

[Theresa]

A new year, a new set of reading challenges to track.

PBT Tracking Links

GR Challenge - 160 books - DONE 11/12

Links

13 Moons - Mess. #17 - DONE
Agatha Christie
ATY DONE
Buddy Reads
BWF DONE
Dragon Next Trim DONE
Feminerdy DONE
Flurries DONE
Popsugar DONE
RCC
Steeplechase DONE
Unofficial Trim

June - Reading Europe

Fall Into Smut

[Theresa]

PBT Monthly Tag

January - Historical Mystery-India Black and the Widow of Windsor, The Case of the Canterfell Codicil, The Thirteenth Tale, Death on the Nile, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Even Though I Knew the End, Galatea, A Conspiracy in Belgravia, Intrigue in Istanbul, Miss Aldridge Regrets, The Secret Adversary
February - Authors of Color - The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters, The Red Threads of Fortune, All the Sinners Bleed, Trade Me, Shutter, While Justice Sleeps, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder, Tokyo Ever After, XOXO
March - Coming of Age - Water for Elephants, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, Iron Widow, Gingerbread, The Alchemist, Crooked Kingdom
April - fantasy romance - Dragon Actually, Clean Sweep, Ruby Fever, Soulless, The Winter of the Witch
May - crime - Murder at Queen's Landing, Murder by Degrees. Murder in Postscript, Dumb Witness, Murder in Tuscany, The Handler, The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, The A.B.C. Murders, Murder Uncorked, Death by Bubble Tea, The Forgotten Garden, The Inugami Curse
June - Europe - Visitation, The Face of a Stranger, The Reading List, The Tiger's Wife, The Princess Diarist, Borrower of the Night, Morality Play, The Rabbit Factor, Killers of a Certain Age, The Man Who Died Twice, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
July - debut - My Sister, the Serial Killer, Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, Uncommon Type
August - 5 Stars- The Hobbit, Stoner, And Then There Were None, The Spare Man, The Housekeeper and the Professor, Mr. Mercedes, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, A Family of His Own, Murder at the Vicarage, Rescue Instinct, No, We Can't Be Friends
September - Sad - Witchmark, Dark End of the Street, Sorrow and Bliss, Divergent, The Bad Beginning, The Girl Who Played with Fire
October - Travel - James
November - Steampunk - Everland, A Perilous Undertaking, Umberland, Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1, The Miserable Mill, The Vile Village, Throne of Jade, The Ersatz Elevator, Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 2, Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 3, The Wide Window, The Carnivorous Carnival, The Hostile Hospital, The Slippery Slope
December - mystery-suspense - Embassytown, Murder in the Sentier, Fossil: An African Wildlife Mystery, The Lost Summers of Newport, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

[Theresa]

Popsugar - finished 12/17/24

(view spoiler)[
🎉1 A book with the word "leap" in the title. Dead Man's Leap
🎉2 A bildungsroman book The Lying Game
🎉3 A book about a 24-year-old. Of Manners and Murder
🎉4 A book about a writer The Thirteenth Tale
🎉5 A book about K-pop XOXO
🎉6 A book about pirates Crooked Kingdom
🎉7 A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete - The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World. - one of 3 runs marathons
🎉8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
🎉9 A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author Mr. Mercedes - King is deaf in one ear
🎉10 A book by a self-published author - Trade Me
🎉11 A book from a genre you typically avoid - YA - A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
🎉12 A book from an animal's POV - Grumpy Monkey Don't Be Scared
🎉13 A book originally published under a pen name Killer Librarian
🎉14 A book recommended by a bookseller. The Hobbit, recommended by staff at Astoria Book Shop
🎉15 A book recommended by a librarian - The Silence of the Girls - Dublin Literary Prize 2020 by both Christchurch NZ library and Nottingham Library
🎉16 A book set 24 years before you were born - set in 1931 - The Night Tiger
🎉17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list - Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia - the Silk Road.
🎉18 A book set in space - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
🎉19 A book set in the future. The Mimicking of Known Successes
🎉20 A book set in the snow How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
🎉21 A book that came out in a year that ends with "24" First Lie Wins 2024
🎉22 A book that centers on video games - Iron Widow
🎉23 A book that features dragons. Dragon Actually
🎉24 A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours. Embroideries
🎉25 A book that was published 24 years ago (2000) - The Beryllium Murder
🎉26 A book that was turned into a musical The Alchemist - Singapore 2006
🎉27 A book where someone dies in the first chapter The Case of the Canterfell Codicil
🎉28 A book with a main character who's 42 years old Murder Uncorked - CeCe Barton is 42.
🎉29 A book with a neurodivergent main character All the Sinners Bleed - Latrell
🎉30 A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary. Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London
🎉31 A book with a title that is a complete sentence Murder Casts a Shadow
🎉32 A book with an enemies to lovers plot Tokyo Ever After
🎉33 A book with an unreliable narrator The Peacock and the Sparrow
🎉34 A book with at least 3 POVs - A Visit from the Goon Squad
🎉35 A book with magical realism - Gingerbread
🎉36 A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person - The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry
🎉37 A book written during NaNoWriMo Water for Elephants
🎉38 A cozy fantasy book The Cybernetic Tea Shop
🎉39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author The Red Threads of Fortune - nonbinary
🎉40 A horror book by a BIPOC author. Shutter - Indigenous
🎉41 A memoir that explores queerness - Black Boy Out of Time
🎉42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people - Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
🎉43 A second-chance romance Ollie & Julia in Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
🎉44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones
🎉45 An LGBTQ+ romance novel Bookshops & Bonedust
🎉46 A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours The Mask of Mirrors - Ren
🎉47 A book with 24 letters in the title - My Sister, the Serial Killer
🎉48 A collection of at least 24 poems - The Selected Poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay
🎉49 The 24th book of an author. Dumb Witness
🎉50 A book that starts with the letter "X" Xmas Carole

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

ATY - DONE 6/16/24

(view spoiler)[
🎉1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y A Conspiracy in Belgravia
🎉2. A book connected to something you read in 2023 - Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia - 2nd in trilogy - read first in 2023
🎉3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list - Trade Me - bilingual character - Tina - Mandarin Chinese
🎉4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong - The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World. - all of them
🎉5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world. Intrigue in Istanbul

🎉6. A book with wings on the cover. The Silence of the Girls
🎉7. A book with a pronoun in the title All the Sinners Bleed - 'all'
🎉8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand - Even Though I Knew the End by Canadian C.L. Polk
🎉9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads The Case of the Canterfell Codicil

🎉10. A history or historical fiction book Water for Elephants - HF
🎉11. A book with an X connection. XOXO
🎉12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year A Visit from the Goon Squad
🎉13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list. The Peacock and the Sparrow espionage thriller list
🎉14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color - Clara in The Cybernetic Tea Shop
🎉15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX) Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
🎉16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow - set in England - rain features
🎉17. A book involving intelligence The Secret Adversary - on 2 levels, both espionage and master criminal

🎉18. A book with a botanical cover Grumpy Monkey Spring Fever
🎉19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream - Grumpy Monkey Don't Be Scared - to Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
🎉20. A book with a single word title Galatea
🎉21. A book with a title containing 6+ words Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
🎉22. A book by an author from an African country. Last Seen in Lapazby Kwei Quartey - Ghanian

🎉23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett. Crooked Kingdom boats and bars
🎉24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple) orange purple
🎉25. A book involving a crime other than a murder -While Justice Sleeps - treason
🎉26. A book by an author known by their initials - Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

🎉27. A book related to land Only a Viscount Will Do - saving an estate
🎉28. A book related to sea Miss Aldridge Regrets set on Queen Mary
🎉29. A book related to air Dragon Actually - flying dragons and air battles in a war
🎉30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London- France & Italy
🎉31. A book related to “Going for the Gold” The Mask of Mirrors - gold on cover, mask of gold and other pattern cards, Ren and Vargo seeking money.

🎉32. A book with a number in the title The Thirteenth Tale
🎉33. A book involving travel. Death on the Nile
🎉34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs. The Hound of the Baskervilles - has 2 Docs.
🎉35. A science or science fiction book The Mimicking of Known Successes SciFi

🎉36. A book featuring a character in education The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters - eldest sister is a principal.
🎉37. A book that is part of a series An Offer From a Gentleman - middle of series
🎉38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1 - Murder at Queen's Landing
🎉39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2 - Murder by Degrees

🎉40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover Grumpy Monkey Valentine Gross-Out - content, title and cover
🎉41. A book with a chilling atmosphere. Shutter
🎉42. A book with a sound-related word in the title - The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - 'ripper'
🎉43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author Dumb Witness - Agatha Christie 1st Grand Master and also for play The Witness for the Prosecution.
🎉44. book with a touch of magic The Red Threads of Fortune

🎉45. A book that is not a novel. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! children's picture book
🎉46. A book related to night - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - in space where always night with stars
🎉47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE. The Alchemist
🎉48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt - #12. relating to something read in 2023 - same author - The Lying Game

🎉49. A book with a senior citizen character - Murder Casts a Shadow
🎉50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024 - Iron Widow - 2023 list
🎉51. A book published in 2024. First Lie Wins
🎉52. A cozy mystery Killer Librarian
(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

BWF - Individual - DONE 11/30

Team Shadow & Flame - books read each month
(view spoiler)[
January - HISTORICAL MYSTERY
India Black and the Widow of Windsor
A Trace of Deceit - Karen Odden

Extra:
Sleeping Murder
Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia Bernard Ollivier
The Case of the Canterfell Codicil
The Mask of Mirrors M.A. Carrick
The Thirteenth Tale
Death on the Nile
The Hound of the Baskervilles
A Conspiracy in Belgravia
Intrigue in Istanbul
Miss Aldridge Regrets
The Secret Adversary
The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World.

February - AUTHORS OF COLOR

Letter
U - The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters

Extra
The Mimicking of Known Successes
The Red Threads of Fortune
All the Sinners Bleed
Trade Me
Shutter
While Justice Sleeps
Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder
Tokyo Ever After
XOXO

March - COMING OF AGE

Letter:
G - Sara Gruen Water for Elephants

Extra:
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
An Offer From a Gentleman
Only a Viscount Will Do
Glory Be
The Lithium Murder
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
Iron Widow
Gingerbread
The Alchemist
Crooked Kingdom

April - FANTASY ROMANCE

Letters:
A - G.A. Aiken Dragon Actually
A - Ilona Andrews Clean Sweep

Extras:
F - Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London
S - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Jesse Q. Sutanto
A - Ruby Fever Ilona Andrews
S - Soulless Gail Carriger
S - The Silence of the Girls
A.- The Winter of the Witch Katherine Arden

May - CRIME
LETTER
M - Murder at Queen's Landing

EXTRA
M - Murder by Degrees
M - Murder in Postscript
C - Dumb Witness Agatha Christie
M - Murder in Tuscany
R - L.T. Ryan The Handler
R - Hallie Rubenhold The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
C - The A.B.C. Murders Agatha Christie
M - Murder Uncorked Maddie Day
C - Death by Bubble Tea Jennifer J. Chow
M - The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton
I - The Inugami Curse

June - EUROPE
Spell
E - Visitation
Extra
P - Anne Perry The Face of a Stranger
R - The Reading List
O -Téa Obreht The Tiger's Wife
E - Ashley Elston First Lie Wins
P - The Princess Diarist
P - Elizabeth Peters Borrower of the Night
U - Barry Unsworth Morality Play
R - The Rabbit Factor
R - Killers of a Certain Age
O - Richard Osman The Man Who Died Twice
E - Chris Ewan The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam
O - One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
O - Bernard Ollivier Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China

July - DEBUT
Sitting out Spelling
Extra
D - Dear Old Dead
B - Xmas Carole
B - Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
T - Thread and Gone
D - Desert Getaway
D - Dead Man's Leap
B - Oyinkan Braithwaite My Sister, the Serial Killer
T - Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
B - The Beryllium Murder
U - Uncommon Type
B - Black Boy Out of Time

August - 5 Stars - spell STARS
Spell
A - And Then There Were None
Extra
T - J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit
S - Stoner
S - The Spare Man
S - Sonia Singh Bollywood Confidential
A - Aunty Lee's Delights
T - Taken at the Flood
S - Dorothy L. Sayers Whose Body?
R - J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
R - Rescue Instinct
R - Sophie Ranald No, We Can't Be Friends

September - SAD
Spelling
S - Sorrow and Bliss

Extras
A - Ace Atkins Dark End of the Street
D - A Dress of Violet Taffeta
S - Silent as the Hunter
D - Divergent
S - John Scalzi Lock In
S - Lemony Snicket The Bad Beginning
A - Angel in a Devil's Arms
D - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

October - TRAVEL

Spelling
E - Percival Everett James

Extra
A - Undead Girl Gang - Lily Anderson
R - Ruth Rendell An Unkindness of Ravens
A - All I Want for Halloween

November - STEAMPUNK

Spelling:
T - Throne of Jade

U - Umberland

Extras:
Four Leaf Felony
Eleven Pipers Piping
Magic Burns
Sweep in Peace
Women Talking
Elephants Can Remember
Everland
A Perilous Undertaking
Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1
The Miserable Mill
The Vile Village
The Ersatz Elevator
Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 2
Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 3
The Wide Window
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Hostile Hospital
Around the World: A Graphic Novel
The Slippery Slope

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Idiot Dragons

Finished! 10/15/24
Start was 1/1/21

[Theresa]

Unofficial Trim

1. Dear Money
2. Buried in a Book
3. One Summer in Paris September
4. Dreamland
🎉5. Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table * with BnB July - finished July 18
6. The Bastard of Istanbul * with BnB, Amy
7. Nothing - May
🎉8. Women Talking *with LindaC. October - finished 11/7
9. The Lady in the Attic
10. The Day of the Owl
11. A Strangeness in My Mind - August
12. The Ghosts of Belfast
🎉13. The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World. - January finished 31 Jan
🎉14. Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London - February - Finished Apr 15
15. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
16. Night Boat to Tangier
17. George Sand June
🎉18. The Silence of the Girls* with Heather March - finished Apr 28
19. Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed with Time
20. The Secrets We Kept - November
🎉21. Stoner April - finished 8/2
22. A Scream in Soho
🎉23. Killed by Clutter - December - finished 1/18/25
24. Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.

All books on nightstand.
* = buddy read

February 2024 picker

[Theresa]

RRC Challenges - links to each post

Winter Reading Challenge DONE

RCC 2024 Quarterly Swaps -Dropped

2024 Mystery etc. Buddy Reads DONE

Spring Tea Party DONE

Women's History Month Bingo DONE

Summer 2024 Scrabble DONE

4th Q Mystery Bingo DONE

[Theresa]

Feminerdy

January - The Mask of Mirrors - finished 1/13/24
February - The Mimicking of Known Successes finished 2/7/24 and The Cybernetic Tea Shop finished 2/3/24
March - Paladin's Grace - finished 3/5
April - Iron Widow - finished 3/24
May - Bookshops & Bonedust - finished 5/6
June - Even Though I Knew the End - already read
July - The Liar’s Knot finished 7/7
August - The Spare Man finished 7 August 2024
September - Witchmark finished 9/1
October - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau finished 9/30
November - Space Opera - skipping
December/January - Labyrinth's Heart

[Theresa]

Reading the Edgars
(view spoiler)[
Best Novel
All the Sinners Bleed - Finished Feb. 11👯‍♂️

Best First Novel American
The Last Russian Doll
The Peacock and the Sparrow - Finished Mar 13👯‍♂️
Murder by Degrees - Finished May 4

👯‍♂️= Buddy Reads

Lillian Jackson Braun Award
Glory Be - finished Mar 14

Mary Higgins Clark
Of Manners and Murder - finished Apr 1
Murder in Postscript - finished May 9

Best Paperback Original
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - finished April 16

From 2023
Shutter finished feb 16 2024
Desert Getaway finished 7/8/24

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Buddy Reads

Remaining as of 10/1/2024 + New
1. Grumpy Monkey series - with Lyn
2. The Bastard of Istanbul - Trim
3. Women Talking- Trim
7. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754 - 1766 - 2023 carryover
9. The Men Who Lost America - British Command during the Revolutionary War and the Preservation of the Empire - 2023
10. Anansi Boys - JD PT carryover
16. The Last Russian Doll - Edgars
18. On the Come Up
24. The Golden Gate Edgars
25. The Lost Summers of Newport RCC
26. The Ministry of Time debut BWF
28. Jacqueline in Paris - PBT and RCC
29. Naked in Death - PBT - Isabella
30. Fall Into Smut!
31. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau


(view spoiler)[
1. Grumpy Monkey series - with Lyn
2. The Bastard of Istanbul - Trim
3. Women Talking- Trim
4. The Silence of the Girls - Trim
5. Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table - Trim
7. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754 - 1766 - 2023 carryover
8. Sorrow and Bliss - 2023
9. The Men Who Lost America - British Command during the Revolutionary War and the Preservation of the Empire - 2023
10. Anansi Boys - JD PT carryover
11. Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia
12. Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China - BnB, Joy
13. All the Sinners Bleed Edgars
14. Killer Librarian
15. The Peacock and the Sparrow - Edgars RCC
16. The Last Russian Doll - Edgars
17. The Forgotten Garden - RCC
18. On the Come Up
19. The Alchemist
20. May the Fourth
21. Dragon Actually - BWF JD
22. Clean Sweep - BWF
23. Whose Body? RCC
24. The Golden Gate Edgars
25. The Lost Summers of Newport RCC
26. The Ministry of Time debut BWF
27. A Dress of Violet Taffeta PBT
28. Jacqueline in Paris - PBT and RCC
29. Naked in Death - PBT - Isabella
30. Fall Into Smut
31. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau - RCC -Feminerdy (hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

DONE - Winter Reading Challenge - December 21, 2023 - March 19, 2024

(view spoiler)[

Directions
1. Sign up to participate.
2. Earn 100 points to complete the challenge using the prompts below. You may use a prompt more than once.
3. Complete your template as you finish the books from your selected prompts
4. Let us know when you're finished with your books by indicating on your thread.

Prompts

📘5 pts Favorite book from your childhood
📘5 pts A picture book
📘5 pts Book with a color word in the title
📘10 pts Book by an author whose last name starts with 'w'
📘10 pts Book in a series
📘10 pts Book that became a movie
📘10 pts Book with a recipe
📘10 pts Multicultural book
📘20 pts Award winning book
📘20 pts Book about loving, caring, or sharing
📘20 pts Book with a song in the title
📘20 pts Nonfiction book about winter
📘20 pts Book about a winter sport

Total points: 110

Book: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Challenge prompt: book about loving, caring, or sharing
Points earned: 20
Date read: 12/25/23
Rating: 3*

Book: Bruno, Chief of Police
Challenge prompt: series
Points earned: 10
Date read: 12/22/23
Rating: 5*

Book: Murder on the Horizon
Challenge prompt: series
Points earned: 10
Date read: 12/26/23
Rating: 4*

Book: India Black and the Widow of Windsor
Challenge prompt: color in title
Points earned: 5
Date read: 12/27/23
Rating: 3,5 rounded to 4

Book: Sleeping Murder
Challenge prompt: series
Points earned: 10
Date read: 12/29/23
Rating: 5*

Book: A Trace of Deceit
Challenge prompt: series
Points earned: 10
Date read: 12/30/23
Rating: 5*

Book: Endless Night
Challenge prompt: made into a movie - 1972 with Hayley Mills
Points earned: 10
Date read: 12/31/23
Rating: 4*

Book: Grumpy Monkey Don't Be Scared
Challenge Prompt: picture book
Points earned: 5
Date Read: Jan 1, 2024
Rating: 5*

Book: Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia
Challenge prompt: Multicultural
Points earned: 10
Date read: 1/3/24
Rating: 5*

Book: A Visit from the Goon Squad
Challenge prompt: Award Winner - Pulitzer
Points earned: 20 points
Date read: 1/6/24
Rating: 4*

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

DRAGON NEXT TRIM LIST 2024 - DONE 12/11!
(view spoiler)[
🦄1. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware February 2/19/24
🦄2. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi - last - April 4/6/24
3. If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O by Sharyn McCrumb - last?
4. Next Marlow by Robert Thorogood
🦄5. The Lithium Murder by Camille Minichino March 3/18
🦄6. A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman November 11/4
🦄7. 🐲Dragon🐲 - July - The Hobbit - 7/21, The Highland Dragon's Lady - July 28
8. Next Captain Lacey by Ashley Gardner
🦄9. Dark End of the Street by Ace Atkins - September 9/5/24
🦄10. Silent as the Hunter by Christopher Lane - August 9/13
11. Next by Robert Galbraith
🦄12. A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas January 1/23/24
13. Next by Victoria Thompson
🦄14. Murder at Queen's Landing by Andrea Penrose May 5/2/24
15. Next St. Cyr by C.S. Harris
16. Fatal Series by Marie Force
🦄17. Murder in the Sentier by Cara Black October 12/8/24
🦄18. Fossil: An African Wildlife Mystery by Karin McQuillan - last - December 12/11
19. Next by Sujata Massey
🦄20. The Girl Who Played with Fire- June 9/24/24
(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Steeplechase Racetrack
Theresa and Bessie the Flower Crowned Cow

Level 1 Grand Pardubice Steeplechase
(view spoiler)[
8. Time - A Visit from the Goon Squad
15. Short Stories - #39 Raven's Roost Hurdle Completion
18. Quirky - The Thirteenth Tale
26. Criminal - Death on the Nile
29. Animals - The Hound of the Baskervilles
31. Short (can be less than 150 pp.) - Even Though I Knew the End - 137 pages.
39. Raven’s Roost Red Rose Hedge Galatea
44. Southern Fiction (Holly) - All the Sinners Bleed
45. Coming of age - Shutter
47. secrets - The Lying Game
52. retellings - Tokyo Ever After
55. artificial intelligence (Joy D) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
65. Pirates. Crooked Kingdom
76. Puddle Jumper Hurdle - used 5 spin + 6 Mam Mon - gives + 2 spaces
78. Hoopla - Of Manners and Murder
82. Cities (Robin P) - Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London
87. Strong women - Soulless
97. Sisters - The Winter of the Witch
110. Historical fiction - Murder at Queen's Landing

Total read: 18 Books - finished MAY 2.

Level 1 Grand Pardubice full track (hide spoiler)]

Level 2 - Ocean of Fire Steeplechase - started May 3, 2024
(view spoiler)[
#2 - Nonfiction - The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
#17 - Highly Recommend - The Forgotten Garden
#29 - slice of life - The Reading List
#46 - Women Writers - The Tiger's Wife
#56 - Hollywood - The Princess Diarist
#70 - Medieval - Morality Play
#72 - New Orleans - Killers of a Certain Age
#82 - comedy - The Man Who Died Twice
#95 - Geography - Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
(hide spoiler)]

Level 3 - Sedona Red Rocks Steeplechase - started July 4, 2024
(view spoiler)[

#7 - Aging - Stoner
#11 - Tortoise Hare Box Wood Hedge & Topiary +5 = #16 Asian Literature - The Housekeeper and the Professor
#24 - Fav - Mr. Mercedes
#45 - Detective - Murder at the Vicarage
49 - Double Jump Hurdle - read book with MEMOIR tag - Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones
#56 - Fixed Barrier Swing Set Hurdle - read childrens book tagged #58 Farm - Interrupting Chicken extras no points The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night and The Cow Who Fell in the Canal (Cow Who Fell into the Canal, The) by Phyllis Krasilovsky
#74 - Marriage - Sorrow and Bliss
#78. Hardenbergia Trellis - read book tagged #74. Marriage and post plant quote - A Dress of Violet Taffeta - quote p. 22
#81 - Dystopia - Divergent
#90 - Medical -Lock In
(hide spoiler)]

Level 4 - Mongolian Ironman Steeplechase - started Sep 16, 2024
(view spoiler)[
#20 - debut - Lemony Snicket The Bad Beginning
#25 - Malaysia - The Night Tiger
#30 - translated - The Girl Who Played with Fire
#42 - dark - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
#44 - Zombie - Undead Girl Gang
#66 - abandoned - James
#73 - fun -Magic Burns
#76 - regency - A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder
#82 - Canada - Women Talking
#85 - whodunit - Elephants Can Remember
(hide spoiler)]

Level 5 - Pony Express Steeplechase Started Nov. 11th
(view spoiler)[
#13 - victorian - A Perilous Undertaking
#28 - graphic novels - Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1
#31 - adventure - Throne of Jade
#42 - Manga - Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 2
#47 - alternate history - Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 3
#59 - linguistics - Embassytown
#77 - Paris- Murder in the Sentier
(hide spoiler)]


Total books read: = 52.

[Theresa]

Steeplechase Hurdles

Level 1 Grand Pardubice
#39 Raven's Roost Red Rose Hedge - read a short story tagged
SHORT - cross out this hurdle and SHORT STORIES, earn move 2 spots whenever. Galatea 56 pages 68 tags 1/21
#76 Puddle Jumper - move 2 spaces

Level 2 Ocean of Fire
None

Level 3 Sedona Red Rocks
Tortoise & Hare Box Wood Hedge & Topiary
Double Jump Hurdle - read tag MEMOIR
Fixed Barrier Swing Set Hurdle - read children's book tagged #58 Farm
Hardenbergia Trellis - read #74. Marriage + plant quote

Level 4 Mongolian Ironman
Pogo Stick Hurdle - +3 to next spin

Level 5 - Pony Express Steeplechase
None

🐘🐐🐏🐄🦄🫎🐲🐎🐢🐅🦍🦛🐻‍❄️

(view spoiler)[
Amy riding Sparkles the Unicorn
Apple in chariot pulled by Terrible Kitties, Topaz, Trevor, and Dudley
Book Concierge riding Elsa the Elephant
Cheryl riding Gladwyn the Gorilla
Cora riding her ostrich, Savannah
Diana riding Tortila the Turtle
Ellen riding Purrito the Siberian Tiger
Hayjay riding Gusto the Reindeer
Hilde riding her bike with Tinka the cat running beside her.
Holly R W riding Perestroika the Thoroughbred
Jen K riding Maple the Moose
Jennifer riding her snail, Sheldon
Joanne riding Ennaoj the Dragon –
Joy D riding Hippopotamus Hippocrates.
LibraryCin is running with Angel cat Io wearing Canadian maple leaf scarf.
Linda C riding her Gazelle
Linda N jumping with Kanga the kangaroo and her joey Roo
Lyn running with Buck a Nigerian Dwarf Goat
Nancy J riding Darwin, a giant Galapagos Tortoise
Olivermagnus riding Domino a white and black Arabian
Pam riding Ruby the Dragon
Rachel N riding Astra the Polar Bear
Robin P riding Rambo the Rambouillet Ram
Sabrina riding Asajj the giant sleek black cat
Shelly riding her gravel bike named Snow White the Princess of Gravel
Sue riding Mija the Border Collie
Theresa riding Bessie the Cow
Tien riding Pokemon best buddy, Solgaleo
(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Steeplechase Misc.
(view spoiler)[
Monumental Monday – 2-12-24

Dragon/dragons - Trade Me by Courtney Milan - p. 255 - 256, Tina invents a constellation story while looking at the lights of San Francisco involving a chinese dragon named Ling-ling falling in love. I take a deep breath and then I point, far out over the water, to the lights of the Dumbarton Bridge. "There," I say. "That's Ling-ling. She's a dragon. Many years ago, she made a bargain with the residents of the land." and it continues.

San Francisco - Trade Me - p, 315 - From up here, we can see the lights of two bridges, the shimmering skyline of San Francisco against the dark night sky."

Hearts or love - Trade Me - it's a contempoary romance with hearts and love throughout. But also there are 2 heart attacks - one off stage and this one on-stage: p.265 - Dad shakes his head. "It's not what you think." "What," I ask him, "you're not having a heart attack?"

Trade Me - tagged AOC 10x. Finished Feb 12.

Score:
completed - 3 - 6 points + 6 spaces USED 6 SPACES to move to Puddle Jumper Hurdle
AOC match - 1 point
AOC 10x tag - 2 points

No Steeplecase tag matches

Leap Day - did not do

Mammoth March - 3/7 to 3/21
Women’s History Month/Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (the theme for this year’s WHM) or DEI.

The Lithium Murder by Camille Minichino - 3/18 - 3 stars - character is preparing a speech on 18th Century female teen mathematician throughout and is encouraging women in STEM. Set and written in 1990s so was quite progressive.

4 points and 4 spaces. No tag matches. USED 4 spaces to move to #97.

APRIL SPECIALS
I. Renaming Level 2 & Level 3
Ocean of Fire idea - 2 points + 2 spaces
Win - Level 2 name - 10 Points + 10 spaces
Total: 12 points + 12 Spaces

II. Earth Day 2024 Challenge
1. Ruby Fever
Plastic in text + FR tag match
Totals: 3 points + 2 spaces

2. Ice Planet Barbarians
The title contains word planet + FR tag match
Total: 4 points + 3 spacesUSED SPACES 4/30

3. Books meeting the 5-person limit for the following tags: recycle(recycling), earth, earth-day. Read 2 children's books for each:
A. Earth Day
To Change a Planet 6x
Touch the Earth 5x
Earned: 2 points + 2 spaces
Planet earth on cover To Change a Planet
Earned: 2 points + 2 spaces
Total earned: 4 points + 4 spaces
B. Recycling
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia 28x
I Had a Favorite Dress: A Picture Book 5x
Earned: 2 points + 2 spaces
'Pastic' in title & on cover - One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
Earned 5 points + 5 spaces
Totals: 7 points = 7 spaces
C. Earth
Heal the Earth 6x
The Lorax 5x
Earned: 2 points + 2 spaces

Earth Day Mini totals: 32 points + 30 spaces
4/30 Used 3 spaces
(hide spoiler)]

Summer Celebration - July 5 ended - read full 5 books allowed DONE
(view spoiler)[

Christmas - Xmas Carole - finished 7/3
Fathers Day Dear Old Dead - finished 6/30
4th of July. Thread and Gone - finished 7/4
Wedding - One Good Earl Deserves a Lover - finished 6/26
Picnic and camping - Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants - finished 7/4
(hide spoiler)]

Olympic Summer Challenge July 26 through August 11. DONE
(view spoiler)[

1st - US - Stoner
2nd - Great Britain - And Then There Were None
3rd - Japan - The Housekeeper and the Professor
4th - India - Bollywood Confidential
5th - Singapore - Aunty Lee's Delights

Total for Challenge:

Points: 25
Spaces: 25 - use as wish, any combo
Move one participant 15 spaces. Moved Rachel (hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Christmas in July

Xmas Carole - finished 7/3
The Good Thief's Guide to Christmas - finished 7/24

[Theresa]

Fall Flurries

October
⚰️All I Want for Halloween finished 10/19
⚰️Undead Girl Gang Lily Anderson - finished 10/13

November
🦃Sweep in Peace - set at beginning of autumn - has a festival like Day of the Day - honoring the dead - on the 3rd Day of Autumn. Finished 11/6
🦃Apples Should Be Red - Finished 12/13 - Thanksgiving

December
🎄The Twelve Days of Snowball - finished 12/19
🎄The 12 Kittens of Christmas - finished 12/16
🎄The Duke Who Despised Christmas - finished 12/13
🎄Four Weddings and A White Christmas - finished 12/14

[Theresa]

Agatha Christie Challenge and Buddy Reads - RCC - Brina

Challenge - Decades
1920s
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - January - already reread
The Secret Adversary - February - finished 30 Jan
The Mystery of the Blue Train - March - already reread
1930s
Murder at the Vicarage - April - finished 29 August
The A.B.C. Murders - May - finished 18 June
And Then There Were None - June - finished 5 August
1940s/1950s
Taken at the Flood - July - finished Aug 14
A Murder Is Announced - August - finished Sept 8
Ordeal by Innocence - September
1960s/1970s
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side - October - finished 12/29/24
Third Girl - November
Elephants Can Remember - December - finished 11/9

Extra:
1937 - Death on the Nile - January
1937 - Dumb Witness - May

Miss Marple with Inspector Dermot Craddock Appearances:
A Murder is Announced (1950) - read 2024
Sanctuary (short story) (1954)
4.50 from Paddington (1957)
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1962) - read late 2024 - Chief Inspector by then

[Theresa]

DROPPED RCC 2024 Quarterly Swaps

1st Q Swap - Brina

No idea. ETA Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table possibly March

[Theresa]

Theresa Flies to the 13 Moons - 104 books - Done 12/16/24
An RCC Annual Challenge - Mess #17
(view spoiler)[
Wolf Moon

🎉A Stand Alone novel The Forgotten Garden
🎉A furry creature on the cover Grumpy Monkey Valentine Gross-Out
🎉Hair on the cover Intrigue in Istanbul
🎉The words Straight, Waves or Curly in the title - Waves of Passion
🎉Hair color in the title - black - Black Boy Out of Time
🎉A book about found family - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - the misfit crew
🎉A book about adoption. The Handler dog adoption
🎉A book with a hierarchy All the Sinners Bleed

Snow Moon

🎉The word White in the title. Four Weddings and A White Christmas
🎉Blanket on the cover - - Angel in a Devil's Arms
🎉Read a book while drinking a hot beverage - The 12 Kittens of Christmas - drank a Rooibos
🎉Read a book while burning a candle Borrower of the Night
🎉Hat/Cap on the cover A Conspiracy in Belgravia
🎉A book about mountains Ice Planet Barbarians
🎉A book about a fresh start or a new beginning Of Manners and Murder
🎉A book with necromancy themes - Even Though I Knew the End - summonings

Worm Moon

🎉Read a book in a series with more than 5 books - Murder at Queen's Landing - 7 or 8 total in series
🎉A book about rebirth or reincarnation - The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry MC recovers from 100% amnesia
🎉A cozy book. The A.B.C. Murders
🎉Book about insects Glory Be - bees feature prominently and are on the cover
🎉Continue a series. Last Seen in Lapaz - 3rd
🎉A book that gives you the creeps The Thirteenth Tale
🎉A book you’re not sure about The Mimicking of Known Successes
🎉A book you’re thinking of unhauling/getting rid of - The Tiger's Wife

Pink Moon

🎉A book with a princess Tokyo Ever After
🎉Book about women empowerment Iron Widow
🎉A pink object on the cover Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London pink skirt
🎉Book recommended by a celebrity First Lie Wins - Reese Witherspoon
🎉Book that tickles you pink The Secret Adversary
🎉A coming of age book Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
🎉A celebrity memoir - The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
🎉Start a book on a new moon Murder in Postscript - started June 8

Flower Moon

🎉Book by a BIPOC author The Red Threads of Fortune
🎉Book about friendship The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World.
🎉A book club pick Bookshops & Bonedust for Feminerdy
🎉Book with an animated/cartoony cover. XOXO
🎉Book with a character named after a flower - The Lithium Murder - secondary character Rose and best friend of MC.
🎉A speculative fiction - The Spare Man
🎉A book set in spring Trade Me - set in May
🎉Read a book at any time of the day Only a Viscount Will Do - Sunday afternoon

Strawberry Moon

🎉Read a book from your backlist An Offer From a Gentleman
🎉Read a book with Bubbles on the cover - Death by Bubble Tea
🎉A book with less than 400 pages The Reading List - 356 pages
🎉Book you see trending on social media Killers of a Certain Age
🎉Read a book from an author which is new to you The Case of the Canterfell Codicil by P.J. Fitzsimmons
🎉A debut novel - Shutter
🎉Book with the word Leaf in the title - Four Leaf Felony
🎉Book about swimming - Visitation Jenny Erpenbeck - swimming key in several chapters

Buck Moon

🎉A book that has multiple editions Death on the Nile
🎉A Paperback. Killer Librarian
🎉A book recommended by a friend. Morality Play - recommended by JoyD
🎉A biography Around the World: A Graphic Novel
🎉A book you’re seeing everywhere. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
🎉A 2024 release - A Family of His Own
🎉A 5 star prediction - The Man Who Died Twice gave 4.5 stars
🎉Book with a Man on the cover. Ruby Fever

Sturgeon Moon

🎉Book with a map. Crooked Kingdom
🎉Book that people have been forcing you to read - Whose Body?
🎉Book with a title that starts with the first letter of your name. To Change a Planet
🎉Book you hauled/acquired recently Xmas Carole
🎉Book with a Tree on the cover. The Lorax
🎉Book with the word Can’t in the title No, We Can't Be Friends
🎉Book with a dark cover The Mask of Mirrors
🎉A novella - The Cybernetic Tea Shop

Harvest Moon

🎉An anthology - Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
🎉A book you had to read for an assignment How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Dr. Seuss challenge
🎉A book with a movie adaptation. The Hound of the Baskervilles
🎉Book you’d recommend to somebody else Water for Elephants
🎉A book chosen by somebody else Grumpy Monkey Don't Be Scared
🎉Book with a Fish on the cover One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
🎉A fruit in the title Apples Should Be Red
🎉Book about a celebration - One Good Earl Deserves a Lover - double wedding

Hunter’s Moon

🎉Book about food. Green Eggs and Ham
🎉Book set in Europe Murder in Tuscany
🎉Book with an Umbrella on the cover Soulless
🎉Book about a topic you’re curious about.
🎉An award winning book A Visit from the Goon Squad Pulitzer among others
🎉Read the 7th book on your shelf - Stoner
🎉book divided into parts Miss Aldridge Regrets

Beaver Moon

🎉Book about a psychological phenomenon Clean Sweep - magical and supernatural abilities of all kinds including healing
🎉Book with the word Five in the title - The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
🎉Book with a Street on the cover - Murder by Degrees
🎉Start a book in the evening Murder Casts a Shadow
🎉A book about a specific country The Peacock and the Sparrow - Bahrain
🎉A book from your monthly TBR The Rabbit Factor
🎉Book with a cover you don’t like Dumb Witness
🎉Book about a single parent - Gingerbread

Cold Moon

🎉Book set in the medieval times The Winter of the Witch - medieval russia
🎉Book with a Spider on the cover. The Liar’s Knot
🎉Read a book while wearing a pair of socks - While Justice Sleeps Cherry blossom ones
🎉A memoir Embroideries
🎉Book about a historical event The Silence of the Girls Trojan War
🎉Book with a character’s name in the title Galatea
🎉Book you think you will love Grumpy Monkey Spring Fever
🎉Book from a Goodreads shelf Dragon Actually - fantasy romance shelf

Blue Moon

🎉Book with a unique format Yertle the Turtle - Dr. Seuss
🎉Read a classic. The Alchemist
🎉Book with 3 or more people on the cover The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters
🎉Book recommended by your favorite social media influencer - The Lying Game - Reese Witherspoon (sticker on book!)
🎉Book with a dramatic title The Inugami Curse - a curse in the title = automatically dramatic
🎉Book with a Dagger in the story - Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder - p. 33/34 Cell phone in one hand and samurai dagger in the other, I crept around the corner.
🎉Book set in high school. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
🎉Book about a spy - Paladin's Grace - spy is Marguerite

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

RCC Mystery and NF Buddy Reads 2024

Jan
Mornings on Horseback - already read

Feb
The Secret of the Old Clock - already read
Killer Librarian - finished 2/17/24
Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love from a Year in Paris - already read

March
The Peacock and the Sparrow - finished 3/13

April
The Forgotten Garden - finished 5/29/24

May
Whose Body? - finished 8/18/24

July
The Lost Summers of Newport - finished 12/27/24

September
Jacqueline in Paris

October
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau - finished 9/30

[Theresa]

RCC Global Tea Party - March 19 - June 19 - DONE - I won prize!

mess. 13

(view spoiler)[

Read a book set in a country or city which is historically associated with tea such as:
China, Japan, England (Commonwealth countries, too), Boston, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Turkey, Iran, Chile, Russia, Ireland, Egypt, Poland, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, Malaysia, Indonesia, Switzerland, Hong Kong
Plus Ceylon/Sri Lanka
Cities: https://tching.com/2016/06/top-10-tea...

Tea Party Levels
Spot of Tea: read 1 - 3 books
Cup of Tea: read 4 - 6 books
Pot of Tea: read 7 - 9 books
Teatotaler: read 10 + books

Book/Country

Spot of Tea
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow/England
Iron Widow/China
Gingerbread/London

Cup of Tea
The Alchemist/Morocco & Egypt
Of Manners and Murder/England
Embroideries/Iran

Pot of Tea
Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London/Japan-Tokyo & England-London
Soulless/London
The Silence of the Girls/Turkey

Teatotaler
The Winter of the Witch/Russia
Murder at Queen's Landing/England-London
Murder in Postscript/London
Dumb Witness/England
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper/England
The A.B.C. Murders/England
Death by Bubble Tea/San Francisco
The Forgotten Garden/Australia & England
The Inugami Curse/Japan
Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck/Germany
The Face of a Stranger Anne Perry/London
The Reading List/London

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Women's History Month Bingo - read 5 between 3/1 - 31 - Authors must be women. DONE

(view spoiler)[

Young Adult - Iron Widow
Crime/Detective - Glory Be
Over 50 character - The Lithium Murder
ShortStory Collection - Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
Fantasy - Paladin’s Grace

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

May the Fourth Star Wars Buddy Read - DONE

(view spoiler)[

The Han Solo Adventures: Star Wars Legends by Brian Daley:
Han Solo at Stars' End

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

RCC Scrabble 2024 - June 20 - Sept 22 - FINISHED!
(view spoiler)[

RCC post

Q Fiona Quinn Rescue Instinct
M The Man Who Died Twice
D Deanna Raybourn Killers of a Certain Age
N No, We Can't Be Friends
F A Family of His Own
Z Hari Ziyad - Black Boy Out of Time
Y Yōko Ogawa The Housekeeper and the Professor

Word - MY
My Sister, the Serial Killer

(hide spoiler)]

[Theresa]

Fall Into Smut

Buddy Read for Trashy Romances

Angel in a Devil's Arms
All I Want for Halloween
A Perilous Undertaking
Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1

[Theresa]

RCC MYSTERY BINGO - 9/22 - 12/20 DONE! 10/27

RCC Mystery Bingo

BINGO Card

How to win

BINGO Pattern: Next in Series - #2
Book: The Girl Who Played with Fire
Date Read: 9/24
Rating: 4 stars

BINGO Pattern: Latina Author - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Book: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
Date Read: /30
Rating: 4 stars

FREE SPACE

BINGO Pattern: Holiday
Book: Four Leaf Felony
Date Read: 10/27
Rating: 2 stars

BINGO Pattern: Canadian Author - C.C. Benison
Book: Eleven Pipers Piping
Date Read: 10/27
Rating: 4 stars

🎈🎈🎈🎈BINGO!🎈🎈🎈🎈

[Theresa]

PBT Tracking Links

2024 Theresa Purges her TBR

2023 Tumbling TBR Towers

2022 Tumbles Through Her TBR

2021 Tilts at her TBR

2020 Theresa Attacks her TBR Towers

2019 Theresa's Challenges

Journey Through Proust 2019

Journey Through Proust, Part Deux - 2020

2020 Theresa Reads Master & Margarita

[Theresa]

Snow Queen

Kelly

Kelly's Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[Theresa]

Death on the Nile - a reread

Book published 1937. Aswan High Dam - 1960s - some cataracts flooded, temples moved. First Aswan Dam - 1902. Cataracts not buried and temples not moved though Philae would have been flooded much of each year. The area cruised by the Karnak between Aswan/Shellal and back is now under lake Nasser, with sites moved.

Chapter 1 - Mena House, Giza, Cairo
https://thirdeyetraveller.com/mena-ho...
Chapter 2 - Cataract Hotel - https://thirdeyetraveller.com/old-cat...
Chapter 2 - tours of old Aswan quarry = unfinished obelisk https://hannahpethen.com/2016/06/01/t...
Chapter 6 - Philae - https://www.journeytoegypt.com/en/dis...
Chapter 6 - Shellal - https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Shellal
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1244469...
Chapter 8 - Nile Cataracts pre and post New Aswan Dam - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catarac...
Chapter 9 - Ez-zebua, Sudan - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templ...
Post-Flooding and New Aswan Dam - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_W...
Aswan Dam - 1902 - https://exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich....
Chapter 10 - Abu Simbel - in Sudan.
Chapter 11 - Wadi Halfa - Sudan - includes seeing Second Cataract, now under Lake Nasser. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi_...
Chapter 11 - Sumna - Sudan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semna...

[Theresa]

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Neolithic stone hut circles
https://visitdartmoor.co.uk/explore/a...

The 'real' Grimpen Mire
https://dartmoorwalker.co.uk/2018/07/...
https://www.richkni.co.uk/dartmoor/fo...

The Yew Alley

[Theresa]

Gardening Mysteries

The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield - garden and gardening key plot pointt
The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton - unexpected inheritence, family secrets

Arsenic in the Azaleas

The Body in the Back Garden - queer edgar nominee 2024 - lilian jackson braun award

The Azalea Assault

[Theresa]

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

Edgar nominee 2023 - best first novel

Shutter - camera - on windows - open close let light in or block.

Also sound close to shudder. Chill from cold from fear.

Narrator Rita sees ghosts = light

All meanings apply.

[Theresa]

The Lying Game


Proust - bedroom at Musée Carnavalet
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en/ex...

https://www.odysseyofaheart.com/europ...

Kipling preserved study and home
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visi...

Setting - https://ruthware.com/the-setting-for-...

Romeny Marsh https://www.telegraph.co.uk/multimedi...

St. Suliac- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint...

[Theresa]

Gingerbread

Perdita's dolls and their plant features
Lollipop - beehive hair https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachy....

Prim - chest - pink & white primroses


Bonnie - hands fingers Bonsai Elm

Sago - hair feathery palm leaves

[Theresa]

Book to Screen - series or film

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris- contemporary - series

Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B. Hughes - classic both book and film from 40s

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer - film series on Netflix

Night Passage by Robert B. Parker - feature Jessie Stone - film series on TV

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Gone, Baby, Gone

[Theresa]

Dr. Seuss' Birthday - March

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - family fave


Yertle the Turtle - youngest sister's fave


Green Eggs and Ham - younger sister's fave

[Theresa]

Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin

Tokyo Chapter about halfway point. No other writer/artist really but for author. More memoir. Definitely a unique book and hard to pidgeon hole: memoir, literary criticism, biography, art review, history, travel essay, women's history, feminism. Format is original I think, using a concept - here the idea of a female Flaneur (single man of means who walks, lounges, - a man about town - noticed yet not noticed - concept created in 18th Century) or Flaneuse as author feminizes the word flaneur - as a theme or path that leads to both memoir and looking at great women writers and artists who found inspiration in become a female version, or attempting to do so, of a flaneur, and the hurdles -social mostly - that prevented or rather impeded it but against which they persisted and created -- Writers George Sand, Virginia Woolf, & Jean Rhys; artist Sophie Calle; photographer/filmmaker Agnés Varda, and Joutnalist/wrier Martha Gelhorn.

Something really original here.

Feel real connection to the author and the story told - in part because we actually share much - same college and time/program studying in Paris though author was 20 years later - my senior thesis was on George Sand and her political involvement in the revolutions of 1832 and 1848 - Elkin dedicates full chapters to Sand and these. So much of what she describes as feeling and thinking I have also felt. I think I'm going to end up writing a fan letter to Elkin when I've finished this book.

Tokyo impressions - how fit in other reading - next comment

Agnés Varda, film maker and her films and fondness for postcards and cards of all kinds is center of last Paris chapter. Started as a photographer.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnès...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C3%A9... - Ye-Ye

Ponyo film - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponyo

[Theresa]

TOKYO

During/Since WWII - contrast. Allied destruction WWII - I seem to have dropped into a rabbit hole these last few years reading books that have me looking at Japan and Tokyo in particular and how WWII destroyed/remade it - what led to that (internal in Japan - not just Pearl Harbor triggering US to enter the war and set out to defeat Japan) - what it all did to the Japanese citizen.
Books

The Honjin Murders - relocations out of Tokyo WWII
An Artist of the Floating World - immediately post war - changes/loss
The Bells of Old Tokyo: Meditations on Time and a City - allied bombing
Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London - Tokyo Chapter - 21st century sterile industrial architecture and urban landscape of Tokyo - bathroom tile and highways.

[Theresa]

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker.

p. 271 - His [Achilles'] life rests like a dandelion clock on the palm of his open hand, a thing so light the merest breath of wind can carry it away.

Dandelion Clock = children's game where time could be told from amount of breaths it took to blow the filamentous achenes from a dandelion.

[Theresa]

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

https://youtu.be/UVxbX0E7VJY?si=L8LYA...

Little Man You Have Had A Busy Day - sung by Bing Crosby

Hummed by Hastings while he and Poirot drive away after their day sleuthing in Market Basing. Considered a lullaby.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littl...

Published 1937. Set in 1936? Easter was April 12 1936. Timing works out for events in plot. In fact, confirmed by text p. 148 “And you all left on the Wednesday morning?” “That’s right.” “That was Wednesday, the fifteenth.

One of characters shares my first name - and she constantly refers to Poirot as 'Little Man.'

Dog biscuits in honor of Bob - https://www.retrofoodformoderntimes.c...
Also mentions other Poirot case references, food mentioned, and discisses covers.

[Theresa]

Ripper Rabbit Hole

It started so innocently. Doesn't it always?

I read The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, gifted to me by my sister one Christmas.

I pick up a cozy Agatha Christie to read after, as a palate cleanser. Old Jack pops up in ABC Murders more than once.

Now reading The Forgotten Garden. Damned if Ripper doesn't make appearance at beginning of Chapter 14

[Theresa]

Another rabbit hole or two

1. inappropriate thoughts/actions against one's siblings, and
2. twins

WARNING: BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD

Earlier this year I read The Thirteenth Tale which of course has sibling incest and family madness at its core, both a large part of its mystery plot. It also features twins in one of the family generations.

Now I'm reading The Forgotten Garden and damn if both aren't present. Definitely the twins. But also for a while now I've definitely picked up more than a sense that Linus' love for his sister Georgiana was anything but pure. I have another suspiciion as well -- one that with 200 pages left to read, could be a wrong assumption so shall be unvoiced at this point.

While the two books are quite different from each other, they are also quite similar:

alternating time periods mostly revolving around the MC or their ancestors
a core theme of storytelling
family secrets
lost ancestry/lost child/lost childhoods
tragic climactic destryctive events involving fire
books and writing play an important role.

That's a start.

They are different - one has as the primary narrator a member of the family the other is an outsider brought in to write the true story by a member of the family. style of writing is different. But it got me to wondering who was inspired by which - as I believe both books were very successful when first published.

Turns out The Thirteenth Tale was first published in US in 2006 by Atria Books, a publishing group of Simon & Schuster.

The Forgotten Garden was also published by Atria in 2009 in US.

Setterfield is British so the UK edition would have been the first.
Morton is Australian and it was first published there in 2008.

Thus The Forgotten Garden followed The Thirteenth Tale, though no doubt it was being edited at time The Thirteenth Tale was getting its initial success. Has me wondering if some of the similarities weren't emphasized or even added at that time to Morton's book to ride the wave of popularity generated after Setterfields.

Reminds me of all the unreliable narrator crime fiction we had following Gone Girl. Wonder how many more books I have lurking in the TBR Towers from that particular time period - even up through 2012 - that bear a similarity.

Trends in publishing tend to pop up of course in hindsight, especially when you read the books themselves many years later after the hype has died. It suggests that not only are books written with a specific theme, topic, or setting at an editor's suggestion, or edited to ride the tail of a trend, both of which both author and literary agent friends have discussed with me, but books that may be sitting in a reject pile or a 'not sure about' pile may see the light of day because of a sudden bestseller.

Time to get back to reading the Morton and see if my guess on one major mystery is right.

[Theresa]

The Forgotten Garden

Of course the nod to The Secret Garden by having Frances Hodgson Burnett visit Montrachet in 1908 or thereabouts was inevitable.

Brambles in UK are blackberry bushes. So a bramble hedge is one of blackberry bushes run wild - like this


Or this one



Ouch! Basically impenetrable. I do remember some impenetrable 'walls' of wild blackberry bushes on the farm - the juciest berries were always deep into the brambles.

When Cassie finds the garden, much is covered by bracken and she is described as clearing it from flower beds and it was slow going. I was thinking some kind of creeper but decided to google. Well, it is an invasive broadleaf fern!



Looks like you would need a machete!

[Theresa]

Another Rabbit Hole - awful families

Not just totally unredeemable awful families, but inheritance murder mysteries.

I decided to read The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo as my last crime read for May - and it revolves around surprise will, inheritance, missing heirs. Favorite themes of mine. The family was almost completely despicable and awful - there were one or two saving graces. It's from the Golden Age of Japanese Detective fiction - written around 1951, I think. One of the marvelous things about these books, now being translated, is that they show us Japan after WWII and also reveal Japan during the war as well.

I then decided on a whim to do a quick skim/re-read of a favorite by Stephanie Laurens, the The Masterful Mr. Montague which is mostly tagged a historical romance but is in truth historical mystery-- there's a murder or two, a truly awful family, and financial chicanery with an estate. Totally non-redeemable family!

I think I've had my fill of awful families for a while.

[Theresa]

June - Reading Europe

June PBT tag is Europe - which means it is the tag for BWF. I really want to read more than just Paris/France and England settings. So I'm making an effort to read books for both that are set in different countries. Those set in England or France have to provide new information - location or era - and have to have been on my TBR for a long time.

Visitation by German author, Jenny Erpenbeck - set near Berlin so primarily in what was East Germany between WWII and Unification. Covers 100 years and centers on the land. Reminded me of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather which also centers on the durability of the land.

England - The Face of a Stranger - 1856 London - post- Crimean War & The Reading List - contemporary Wembly, England

Balkans - The Tiger's Wife

Amsterdam - The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam

Belgium/England - The Man Who Died Twice

Nice, Rome, Paris, England, Switzerland, a veritable Grand Tour - Killers of a Certain Age

Finland - The Rabbit Factor

England - The Man Who Died Twice

Amsterdam - The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam

England - One Good Earl Deserves a Lover - regency period.

[Theresa]

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Pigeon Family Black As Baskets. - documentary
https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2015/...

Black Ash Baskets. https://youtu.be/sBM5BcUxeXM?si=yabs2...

[Theresa]

SPOILER ALERT

My Sister, the Serial Killer

The legacy of the father and his abuse and the mother and her submission and acceptance not only explain the sisters and their actions on every level, but A is basically attacking her father over and over and K whitewashing hiding it all.

[Theresa]

Nigeria/West Africa Rabbit Hole

Funny how this happens . I seem to be exploring Nigeria in some way or other this year.

Started with reading Last Seen in Lapaz - though series set in Ghana and written by a Ghanian, this particular book spends a great deal of plot time in or dealing with Nigeria.

I then read My Sister, the Serial Killer - Nigerian author, set in Lagos, very much critical to plot.

Now in August I'm reading Americanah and Wahala has been recommended. I think there's another Kwei Quartey lurking in the wings.

Oh I just found Nigeria in the Grab Bag in Steeplechase. May have to use my first swap next month for Americanah.