Monday, 4 January 2021

2020 Book Reading TRIUMPH!


of only one (1) book read, 
blogging buddy Old Lurker 
challenged me to up my ante 
to at least my pathetic 2018 level 
of seven (7) books.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

IN FACT, IN 2020 I READ
ELEVEN (11) BOOKS!

I'M BACK, BABY!


So here's the list of books I read in 2020 --

1. Andrew Shaffer, Hope Never Dies: An Obama/Biden Mystery

2. Andrew Shaffer, Hope Rides Again: An Obama/Biden Mystery

3. Liz Hinds, This Time Next Year

4. Rick Riordan, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead

5. Teemu Selanne with Ari Mennander, Teemus Selanne: My Life

6. Ross Matthews, Name Drop: The Really Good Celebrity Stories I Usually Only Tell at Happy Hour

7. Hiro Arikawa, The Travelling Cat Chronicles

8. Catherine Gildiner, Good Morning, Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Recovery

9. Jane Routley, Shadow in the Empire of Light

10. Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

11. Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes

BONUS LIST
OF BLOGGING BUDDY
PUBLICATIONS
I READ THIS YEAR!

My book list already mentions 
Liz Hinds' book, This Time Next Year
Liz blogs at Finding life hard? 

I also read two short stories
penned by blogging buddies, 
both of which were published in 
2020 anthologies.

All are highly recommended!

1. Louise MacBeath Barbour, "Dare, Double Dare" in Insecure Writer's Support Group Anthology, Voyagers: The Third Ghosts. Louise blogs at Standing Into Danger.

2. Sue Bursztynski, "Red Sky at Morning" in Phyllis Irene Radford (ed.), OZ is Burning. Sue blogs at The Great Raven.


56 comments:

  1. Nice list of books, one a month this year? I keep a running list of books I have read, and do an annual blog post.

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  2. Way to go! And quite an interesting list of books, too. I've done a lot of reading this year and I've also gotten rid of a lot of books. If I start a book and can't get into it, I donate it. No more wasting time on books that I can't relate to!

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  3. Oh the books I didn’t read this year! You did well.

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  4. Good job! What did you think of #10? I've been wanting to read it but ...

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  5. @ mshatch -- "Where the Crawdads Sing" is well written and interesting. It kept me involved right until the end! I recommend it!

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  6. i have where the crawdads sing right next to me and still haven't cracked it open. but soon i will!

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  7. I'm envious...I have some kind of book Narcolepsy...tend to nod off after three pages...but I can read blogs and the internet for hours!

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  8. #7 - was that a recommendation by HRH the cat?

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  9. @ anne marie in philly -- Yes, "The Travelling Cat Chroniclas" was indeed MY recommendation! It is a WONDERFUL book and my human recommends it HIGHLY too. In fact, it was her FAVOURITE book of the ENTIRE YEAR.

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  10. Good job! Looks like you read some good ones. At the beginning of the year we do not speak of I had planned to do the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. I was actually 20 books in already when the pandemic came along. I just couldn't concentrate on books anymore and became a news junkie the rest of the year instead!

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  11. Congratulation on reading. in this age reading takes an extra determination. I brought reading back into my life for my mental health. Surfing as a reading source makes me depressed, it turns out. (That's why I turn to your Happy -and interesting- place.) Congrats especially on Seamus Heaney. I teared up when Biden quoted Heaney in his nomination acceptance speech. Nothin' like feeling a little hope.

    I'm having a good time with the Complete Chronicles of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert Howard. Howard suffered a bit, like many of his time period, from the occasional reference to "pure blood". Dang! It sure is a fun read though.

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  12. Thank you for the list. The only ones I read are Crawdads and the Heaney (bits)!
    I do read a lot, thanks to my Kindle, large font for everything, same weight no matter how long the book. But I did make an effort before the pandemic, to read more and scroll less.

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  13. @ Dunstan Skinner -- Thanks for the kind words about my blog! And yes, it's was Biden quoting Heaney in his acceptance speech that made me want to read the original work. I was not previously familiar with the myth of Philoctetes so I was glad to learn it.

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  14. @ Boud -- Yes, I'm increasingly reading books on Kindle too, for exactly the same reason. Why do print books have to have such small fonts, LOL?

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  15. I have also read Where the Crawdad Sings ... loved it!

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  16. A few years ago I took a hard look at my book shelf and then had a yard sale and got rid of 97% of my books. 3% still gives me quite a few books that I still don't look at. Your reading list sounds very good. Enjoy this years reading.

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  17. Well done Debra! A worthy endeavor.

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  18. Yay! Good for you. My son is a huge Rick Riordan fan.

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  19. Ohhh so jelly!
    I promised myself I would read the Sleeping Beauty Quartet and 2020 decided it was a no. I have yet to find them, too, because they're in some box in the basement.
    I'd love to read Andrew Shaffer's book, though...

    And that first meme is just too good. Too god. Down the the Spice World on DVD LOL

    XOXO

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  20. I shan't say how many books I read this year, since no one likes a show off (Hermione Granger told me that). My favorite read this year was a short story, The Weirdies, written by Michael Buckley and narrated by Kate Winslet. I highly recommend it. And I can't wait to read Hope Rides Again!

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  21. Yeah! Read 12! (plus 2 classic books started and abandoned as drivel).

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  22. That short horror story scared the bejeesus outta me!

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  23. I'm not sure you want advice from someone who read the whole TWILIGHT series, about the Mormon vampire virgins (a bad case of the flu affected my mind and I became a fanatical Team Edward grandma)--but above all, read what you enjoy. Our lives are short and we might as well make them sweet.

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  24. @ Margaret Benbow -- Oh, I'm in no position to point the Judgy McJudge Finger of Disapproval at anyone. I read an absolutely INORDINATE amount of Captain America/Winter Soldier gay fanfiction on the internet and I am not ashamed.

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  25. Congratulations on repaying your debt to society. How does it feel to be a free woman? Hopefully your consumption of Steve/Bucky fanfic did not suffer too much.

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  26. @ Old Lurker -- Actually, yes it did. Reading all these legitimate books SERIOUSLY CUT INTO my smut-reading time, but it was a sacrifice that HAD to be made to maintain my PERSONAL CREDIBILITY as a sort of well-read person.

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  27. I've read 27 last year. I intend to read around 30 this year.

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  28. Great lists. It's an extra bonus when you can gloat about blog friends' books. Nicely done.

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  29. @ EVERYONE -- My sister wants it known that SHE is the one who discovered and gave me "The Travelling Cat Chronicles" to read. She says HRH the Cat is getting TOO BIG FOR HER BRITCHES by claiming that glory. Run, HRH, I think she has a spray bottle too!

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  30. Thank goodness for books. Once I learned how to read, there was no stopping me. (Also, thank goodness for libraries!) I won't list them all but here are a couple outstanding ones:

    The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon. A high fantasy tale (long!) with actual lesbian characters. Yay!

    Hamnet, by Maggie O'Farrell. A story about a fascinating woman who happened to marry an impecunious tutor and penner of tales. Gorgeous writing.

    (Uh oh! Not the spray bottle! Run, HRH, run!)

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  31. Hi Debra, Welcome back to the reading world! Covid left me unprepared without a lot of fresh books to read, so I have been doling out my supply of unread books, and been doing more and more rereading. If I can't get back this year, I might have to do something desperate, like try an electronic reader.
    --Jim

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  32. OMG!
    I think I read 17 books in total last year and all while I was sick since September. I have so far read and finished one book and I'm 2/3 thru on the second since 2021 started. I'm guessing I'll be reading about 20 to 30 books this year. Without being sick, mind you.

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  33. I used to read 8 to 10 books a month at least ..now I'm lucky to read 3..fucking internet, facebook and ydg. going to try and read a couple on your list..sigh*

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  34. @ My Human's Sister -- You think a SPRAY BOTTLE can scare ME? I know you have CAT ALLERGIES and I know WHERE YOU LIVE, so don't threaten me. I can TAKE YOU DOWN.

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  35. Good job! You read... 11 more books than I did last year. I bought a few books. Does that count?

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  36. Good reading. Obama/Biden mysteries - I had never heard of those.

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  37. Congrats on your reading achievement, Debra!

    I also read about a dozen books last year, including "The Travelling Cat Chronicles" which was very good but the ending made me bawl! My favourite book from last year was "Circe" by Madeline Miller -- it was so beautifully written that I read it cover to cover twice. My 2021 book pile includes another novel by Madeline Miller entitled "The Song Of Achilles" which I hope will be as good or better than Circe.

    @HRH: It's a brand new year, so don't get off on the wrong paw. KARMA'S A BITCH and you're being a BIG ONE towards Debra's sister right now! Don't forget that she's a biologist who knows more than one way to skin a cat and where you live too!

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  38. @ Tundra Bunny -- I don't know WHO THE HELL you are, but HOW DARE YOU threaten to SKIN the QUEEN? If you come within 100 metres of me, I will CHEW THE TAIL right off your FLEA-BITTEN RABBITY ASS! The nerve of some people.

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  39. @ Her Royal Highness, My Sister and Tundra Bunny -- Okay, okay, let's ALL just COOL DOWN before we end up with a BLOG RUMBLE in the Comments section involving BRASS KNUCKLES and SWITCHBLADES! Sheesh.

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  40. @ Tundra Bunny -- I'm glad you enjoyed "Circe." I read it a couple of years ago and enjoyed it too. I recently read on the internet that someone or another is making a mini-series out of it for (probably) a streaming service. I know you will enjoy "The Song of Achilles" too. It is one of my most favourite books of all time -- so, so beautifully and subtly written. There is not one explicit sex scene between Achilles and Patroclus, yet the book drips with sensuality -- it is THAT well written.

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  41. I love the bookshelf giff.

    When it comes yo reading, it is quality that counts not quantity.

    Happy 2021!

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  42. I read fifty or more books last year. All I have are the ISO numbers; they are stacked up to be shipped after I list them for sale.

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  43. I subscribe to The New Yorker so read a short story along with a lot of great articles once a week. I read a book that's actually an entire interview with Truman Capote. And I re-read Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, about a fascist overthrow of the country (can't remember what made me want to read that again.) In fact, I've re-read quite a few books during the lockdown, especially when I was off-line for a while.

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  44. Back in the day (2018 I think) I kept a list of books that I decided to read. Got up to about 40 by about May I think, then kind of petered out when I got a smartphone and discovered podcasts.

    Sadly my book reading dropped by 85% as I got hooked into podcasts and only read the occasional non-fiction. Last year, I think I had read just one book before Covid struck. Pretty sure that when the library reopens for a smattering of the general public again, I have an overdue book fine to pay.

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  45. No way I can recall all the books, I handled, started, finished, and fell in love with. I still have some from grade school, I love them so much:) c.

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  46. The Meme could be my bookshelf minus books from exes. You certainly beat me and your past years, so good for you!!

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  47. My reading took a hit this year, as I spent a great deal of time rereading three or four of the classics. Now I'm getting that rare itch to take down every book, clean, and cull my book collection. Time to get honest with myself about what's useful and what's just waiting to be donated.

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  48. Look at you read, chickie baby!

    Love,
    Janie

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  49. I'm in a bit of a lull with reading at the moment. I took ages reading the last one - Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby. It was my village book club choice, interesting and tedious in equal amounts. I'm hoping my other book club one will be more enthralling. Happy New Year Debra.

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  50. I never read anymore..I spend too much time on my tablet or laptop..When I read, it has to be uninterrupted time and if I don't get in to the book in the first chapter..It's done...If I do get into it nothing else gets done..

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  51. I can barely read comic books anymore. Just a time management thing. I don't have time to read anymore when I have so many good shows to watch on TV.

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  52. I sent a comment but google said there was a problem. Sooo I love these so much. The detail is amazing. Have a nice day.

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  53. Congratulations on your reading success this year, Debra! I'm proud of you! And thank you for giving a shout out to my short story. I'm thrilled you read it and very touched. What a happy surprise and ending to a terrible day in the US!

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  54. My first book of 2021 was Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. I really liked it!

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  55. I am honoured! Thank you so much again, Debra.

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