Thoughts on The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano

This was a difficult book to read right now. The terrible injustice of it. We say to ourselves, "This could not possibly happen again..." but I no longer believe that. Witnessing what is currently going on in our country. An innocent woman was shot and killed for doing absolutely nothing. Murdered because a man in power with a gun got angry. History repeats itself unfortunately and all the horrors of our history are being played out before our eyes. So yes, it could happen again and that truly is heartbreaking and terrifying. This IS a really good book, but I would advise waiting to read it if you're also sad and terrified by the current state of things.

Some quotes of note...

"You see, I figured out by a very young age something about men. The lot of them are not to be trusted. Indeed, I had learned in a most brutal manner, one that returned to me as a palpable nightmare each night I spent in the jail cell. Men are governed by their whims and passion far more than us women, yet ascribe such traits to us. It is the purest form of hypocrisy there is. It has existed since the dawn of our time. Think of Adam and Eve. Oh aye, the Devil tempted Eve with knowledge, and she thought to better herself. And so she took the bait, and then Adam grew curious and envious and wanted a piece of it all. Just like a selfish child. But go ahead and tell me again how man is governed by his mind and woman by her heart. They have lied to us from the beginning."

"The sky was ominously both light and dark. A tempest brewed over this land. Of course it did, for this land, this place at the edge of the world, was about to execute a woman for the sin of being a woman."

"...Lord help you all, all of you, this day. For you are about to execute an innocent woman. You are about to execute an innocent woman for the crime of being a woman, a woman who lived fully, spoke plainly, listened intently, observed acutely, intuited wisely, loved passionately. I am too much for this world of yours...I am a force that makes you quake!" 

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2026...First Book of the Year and Reading Challenges

Another year that went WAY too fast and here we are already over two weeks into 2026. What a year 2025 was, and while I'm trying to stay hopeful, I won't lie and say I'm not deeply distressed and downright scared about what is happening in our country. Who will save us, and at this point, are we even savable? As we approach the 250th birthday of our nation, I wonder what the Founding Fathers would make of all this. I have a feeling many of them are currently rolling in their graves (especially John Adams). But I digress...enough gloom and doom for now. 

My first book of 2026, which I'm currently reading, is The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano. Sheila at Book Journey was my bookish secret Santa this year and it was part of my wonderful gifts she sent me. It's really good so far, but a difficult read because of the subject matter. When you're a witch yourself, reading about what happened to women in the past accused of being one is very hard indeed. I'm also reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann for my book group on Goodreads, True Book Talk, and I'm starting The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. We're reading Darwin for my 1000 Books Project this year. More on that below.

As I mentioned in my last post, I beat last year's goal by 10 books...I met my 2025 goal of 60 books read! I'm upping the ante again this year, but only by five. So my 2026 goal is 65 books. I can do it!

The new year for me always comes with a fresh start at reading challenges. This year I'll once again be doing Book Challenge by Erin (which is twice a year), in addition to the four challenges I host. I'm also going to do Horror Aficionados' (Goodreads) A to Z Challenge.

Challenges listed below:
Book Challenge by Erin 24.0

2026 A to Z Challenge, Horror Aficionados on Goodreads
2026 I Read Horror Year-Round

1000 Books Project 2026: Charles Darwin
2026 Book to Movie (and TV) Challenge
2026 Read Your Shelf Challenge

First up...the twice a year challenge - Book Challenge by Erin 24.0 

(Facebook group)

The first round of the year runs Jan 1 - April 30.

Freebie : A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin

Book title beginning with A, B or C: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Epistolary: A People's History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

Book with clock on the cover: The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

Strong father figure: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

Radio National Pick: Circe by Madeline Miller

Occupation in the book title: The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell

School or Academic setting: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Reader's pick: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Biography/Memoirs/Historical fiction: Chronicle of the Pharaohs by Peter A. Clayton

This is a private Facebook group. You can check it out and join here. You can join in at any time during the four months. Second challenge of the year starts July 1st. Categories announced in June.

Horror Challenges

2026 A to Z Challenge - Horror Aficionados on Goodreads

Look for book titles or author's last names that start with each letter of the alphabet but now we're including a fun change:

The A to Z can be all BOOK TITLES, all AUTHOR'S LAST NAMES or A COMBINATION OF BOTH.

That's right. You chose what you would like to include in your personal A to Z Challenge.

Some letters, such as Q, X, and Z, are a bit more difficult to find, so any title or author's name that includes those letters is acceptable.

I host this challenge at my sister blog, the horror blog, Castle Macabre.

I have some ideas on what I'll be reading, but not sure on all of them yet. I'm going for the Chilling level again this year. I completed the level in 2024 so I'll stick with it for now.

Here are the categories and levels...

• Winter - set in winter or snow on the cover or winter in the title
• Epistolary horror - found footage, told in letters and/or diaries
• Cult and/or ritual
• Haunted house
• Full moon and/or woods on the cover
• Indigenous, Asian, or Latino author
• Pumpkins/Jack O' Lanterns on the cover
• Black author
• Book published in the 60's, 70's, or 80's
• Social justice horror
• Yule/Christmas holiday themed
• Whatever scares you the most
  

Levels:

Spooky: Read 6 books from 6 categories
Chilling: Read 12 Books from all 12 categories
Frightful: Read 2 books from each category for a total of 24 books
Horrifying: Read 3 books from each category for a total of 36 books

This year I added an optional bonus challenge - Complete the Word

Read a book with a title that starts with each letter of your chosen word. Complete as many as you want. One of your main challenge books can count for one of the letters.

The words
DREAD
FEAR
FRIGHT
HORROR
SCARED
TERROR

I'm not sure what word (or words) I'm going to choose yet. TBD. 

Full details and sign up here.

The next three challenges are hosted by me at Gather Together and Read, my reading community site.

Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle

Reading is Political - Follow the Science

We have already started reading. The reading schedules are posted here, along with all of the information about this year's project.

My main level...
The Enthusiast: read 1-3 books being made into movies/series for release in 2026
Also, additional levels...
Not Ready to Let Go: read at least one (1) book made into a movie or series in 2025
vc iving in the Past: read at least one (1) book made into a movie in previous years
The Movie Was Better (What?!): watch the movie(s) for the book(s) you read.

Potential books (including some I didn't get to last year):

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, George R.R. Martin (2026)

The Book of Magic (Practical Magic 2) by Alice Hoffman (2026)

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin - House of the Dragon streaming series (2022, 2024, 2026)

Klara And The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (2026)

Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger (2026)

Remain, Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shymalan (I don't usually read Sparks, but I'll make an exception when Shymalan is involved.)

The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (2026)
Wicked, Gregory Maguire (2024, 2025))

The Witching Hour, Anne Rice (reread) Second season of streaming series (1/5/25)

The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (2023)
Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann (2023) Currently reading
My Lady Jane, Cynthia Hand - streaming series (2024)

Klara And The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (2025)
The Running Man, Stephen King (2025)

The Long Walk, Stephen King (2025)

Full details and sign up here.

Pretend your house is a library: A strategy for actually reading the books you own.

My "holds shelf"...

My full list of books on my holds shelf are listed on my 2026 Reading Challenges page located in the blog menu above.

Full details on how this challenge works (you can adapt it to fit your needs too!) and sign up here.

Last, but not least, my independent project called Backlist Challenge. I'm keeping track on a separate page which you can see up in the blog menu. As always, there are also links in the menu to my long term challenges like the Classics Club, etc.

That's it! What is (was) your first book of the year? What are your reading plans? Doing any challenges, or perhaps thinking of joining one (or more) of mine?
Whatever your plans are, I'm wishing you a Happy New Year of escaping the world into reading.❤

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2025...Reading Challenges, First Book of the Year, and my Word for the Year

I honestly cannot believe how fast 2024 went by! While it wasn't a terrible year, some things happened that made it less than ideal for me. Not going into details, but I'm sure many can relate. But let's put 2024 in the past where it belongs and get down to a new year of optimism and reading plans. I mentioned in my 2024 reading year post that I reached my goal of reading 50 books in 2024. I'm setting my 2025 goal at 60. We shall see if I can surpass last year. I'm certainly going to try.

First book of the year - Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry

Of course I'm starting off the year with a horror novel. I have always loved the legend of Sleepy Hollow ever since watching The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad as a kid. So far, this one is really good!

I'm also reading Winter King: Henry VII and The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn for my book group on Goodreads, True Book Talk. 

My word for the year

Last year, my word was Release and I think I did a pretty good job of doing just that. In 2023, I was struggling with empty nest syndrome so Brave was my word and then I chose Release last year to help me accept and release what I could not change. This year I chose Courage to help me cope with what is going on in our country and the world, and also to have the courage to keep going with my weight loss (I've lost 80 lbs since April 2024), and writing, and finishing, my novel. 

The new year for me always comes with a fresh start at reading challenges. This year I'll once again be doing Book Challenge by Erin (which is twice a year), in addition to the four challenges I host.

Challenges listed below:
Book Challenge by Erin 22.0
2025 I Read Horror Year-Round
1000 Books Project 2025: Sigrid Undset's Krisin Lavransdatter
2025 Book to Movie (and TV) Challenge
2025 Read Your Shelf Challenge

First up...the twice a year challenge - Book Challenge by Erin 22.0 (Facebook group)

First round of the year runs Jan - April.

Freebie: Horseman, Christina Henry

Added to 2024 TBA - The Hacienda, Isabel Canas

Artist (writer) as main character - The Writing Retreat, Julia Bartz

Sunset on cover - Holly, Stephen King

Jenna Bush Book Club rec - Camp Zero, Michelle Min Sterling

Title starts with I - Incidents Around the House, Josh Malerman

City/Town in title - The Last Witch of Langenburg, Thomas Robisheaux

Female villain - Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin

Author w/ first name of Erin - Lake of Sorrows, Erin Hart

Climate change fiction - Portent, James Herbert

This is a private Facebook group. You can check it out and join here. You can join in at any time during the four months. Second challenge of the year starts July 1st. Categories announced in June.

Now on to the challenges I'm hosting...

I host this challenge at my sister blog, the horror blog, Castle Macabre. 

I have some ideas on what I'll be reading, but not sure on all of them yet. I'm going for the Chilling level again this year. I completed the level in 2024 so I'll stick with it for now.

Here are the prompts and levels...

• Vampires
• Witches
• Folk Horror 
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story
• Written by a female author
• Cosmic Horror
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!)

Levels:

Spooky: Read 6 books from 6 categories
Chilling: Read 12 Books from all 12 categories
Frightful: Read 2 books from each category for a total of 24 books
Horrifying: Read 3 books from each category for a total of 36 books

I'm sure you noticed that last prompt up there. That's right...I've added an optional BINGO challenge with a Cryptid theme. Fun, right?! Check out the BINGO card!

Full details and sign up here.

The next three challenges are hosted by me at Gather Together and Read, my reading community site.

Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter - January through August

Honoring women: A woman's life saga.

We have already started reading. The reading schedule is posted here.

Full details and sign-up here.

My main level...

The Enthusiast: read 1-3 books
Also, additional levels...
Not Ready to Let Go: read at least one (1) book made into a movie or series in 2023
Living in the Past: read at least one (1) book made into a movie in previous years
The Movie Was Better (What?!): watch the movie(s) for the book(s) you read.

Potential books:

Wicked, Gregory Maguire (2024)
The Witching Hour, Anne Rice (reread) Second season of streaming series (1/5/25)
The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard (2022)
The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (2023)
Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann (2023)

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin - House of the Dragon streaming series (2022, 2024)

The Keep, F. Paul Wilson (1983)

My Lady Jane, Cynthia Hand - streaming series (2024)

Dune, Frank Herbert (2021 and 2024) streaming series Prophecy (2024)

Klara And The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (2025)

The Running Man, Stephen King (2025)

Full details and sign up here.

Pretend your house is a library: A strategy for actually reading the books you own.

My "holds shelf"...

My full list of books on my holds shelf are listed on my 2025 Reading Challenges page located in the blog menu above.

Full details on how this challenge works (you can adapt it to fit your needs too!) and sign up here.

Last, but not least, my independent project called Backlist Challenge. I'm keeping track on a separate page which you can see up in the blog menu. As always, there are also links in the menu to my long term challenges like the Classics Club, etc.

That's it! What is (was) your first book of the year? Do you have a word for 2025? What are your reading plans? Doing any challenges, or perhaps thinking of joining one (or more) of mine?
Whatever your plans are, I wish you a Happy New Year of peace and prosperity, and great reading of course!

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2024...Reading Challenges, First Book of the Year, and my One Little Word

Another new year! My, but how time flies. Time for a new year of plans and reading. I fell only five books shy of my goal of 50 books last year so I have set this year's goal for 50 again. Hopefully, I will reach it, or perhaps even surpass it. You can read about my 2023 reading year here.

First Book of the Year - They Lurk by Ronald Malfi

If you know me, then you will know that Malfi is one of my favorite horror authors. I'm already over halfway finished with it (I started on January 2) and it is a 'cannot put down' for sure.

My word for the year and my vision board

Last year, my word was Brave and let me tell you, I had to be just that. I experienced empty nest syndrome in a major way. I know many parents can relate. I had a very hard time and it still hits home even now. I wrote an essay as a kind of catharsis (read it here), but still struggled. I'm a dweller and an overthinker. I tend to grab hold of things I can't change, and mull them over again and again. Therapy helps, but I want to learn to work things through myself too. I decided my word for 2024 is Release. Learning to let go of things I can't change and move on. It will be hard, but I know I can do it.

My main goal for 2024, and for my life in general, is to make writing my top priority. With my boys no longer at home, and no significant other to deal with (😂), I have a lot of time to devote to doing just that (besides working, that is). 

The new year for me always comes with a fresh start at reading challenges. This year I'll once again be doing Book Challenge by Erin (which is twice a year), in addition to the four challenges I host. 

Challenges listed below:
Book Challenge by Erin 20.0
2024 I Read Horror Year-Round
1000 Books Project 2024: Collins/Dickens
2024 Book to Movie (and TV) Challenge
2024 Read Your Shelf Challenge

First up...the twice a year challenge - Book Challenge by Erin 20.0 (Facebook group)
First round of the year runs Jan - April.

Freebie - The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Book that was made into a movie - I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Book by a favorite author (not a reread) - They Lurk by Ronald Malfi

Book originally published over 100 years ago - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Book with winter in the title - A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons

Book of short stories - Out There Screaming - Jordan Peele, Editor

Animal on the cover - Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Picture of a Building (House) - The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Name of a character in its title - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Set in your state (Michigan) - Inspection by Josh Malerman

This is a private Facebook group. You can check it out and join here. You can join in at any time during the four months. Second challenge of the year starts July 1st. Categories announced in June.

Now on to the challenges I'm hosting...

I host this challenge at my sister (horror) blog, Castle Macabre. This is year four!

I have some ideas on what I'll be reading, but not sure on all of them yet. I'm going for the Chilling level again this year. I didn't quite complete the level last year...only three books shy...so I'm going to try again.

Here are the prompts and levels...

• Witch, dark, blood, bone, or body in title
• Nature gone wild (when plants or animals attack)
• Creepy character/object (House, doll, child, etc.)
• Holiday horror (Christmas, yule, etc.)
• Short story anthology or collection
  Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele, editor
• Takes place during Halloween season
• Winter theme, or winter on cover
  A Winter Haunting, Dan Simmons
• A book that is also a movie
• By BIPOC author
  Lone Women, Victor LaValle
• Classic horror novel
• Dark Academia novel (here's a list on Goodreads)
  Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo
• Gothic novel

Levels:

Spooky: Read 6 books from 6 categories
Chilling: Read 12 Books from all 12 categories
Frightful: Read 2 books from each category for a total of 24 books
Horrifying: Read 3 books from each category for a total of 36 books

Full details and sign up here.

The next three challenges are hosted by me at Gather Together and Read, my reading community site.

Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone - January through April 

In honor of his birthday on January 8.

We have already started reading. The reading schedule is posted here.

Charles Dickens' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby - June through September

In honor of his friendship with Collins.

Full details and sign-up here.

My main level...

The Enthusiast: read 1-3 books

Also, additional levels...
Not Ready to Let Go: read at least one (1) book made into a movie or series in 2023
Living in the Past: read at least one (1) book made into a movie in previous years
The Movie Was Better (What?!): watch the movie(s) for the book(s) you read.

Potential books:

The Watchers, A.M. Shine

Wicked, Gregory Maguire

Uglies, Scott Westerfeld

The Witching Hour, Anne Rice (reread)

The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard

The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay

Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin

Full details and sign up here.

Pretend your house is a library: A strategy for actually reading the books you own. 

My "holds shelf" (which has grown exponentially since last year)...

My full list of books on my holds shelf will be listed on my 2024 Reading Challenges page located in the blog menu above.

Full details on how this challenge works (you can adapt it to fit your needs too!) and sign up here.

Finally, last year I started sort of an independent project called Backlist Challenge. I'm keeping track on a separate page which you can see up in the blog menu. As always, there are also links in the menu to my long term challenges like the Classics Club, etc.

That's it! What is (was) your first book of the year? Do you have One Little Word this year? What are your reading plans? Doing any challenges, or perhaps thinking of joining one (or more) of mine?
Whatever your plans are, I wish you a Happy New Year of peace and prosperity, and great reading of course!

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2023...Reading Challenges, First Book of the Year, and my One Little Word

Boy, I thought I was running late this year, only to discover I didn't do this post last year until January 18! This is going to be the same as last year. No best of lists or anything like that. However, this year I am including my One Little Word, along with my vision board, which pretty much illustrates what I want to focus on the most this year. 

First Book of the Year - My Heart is A Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (Modeled here with Merida)

I read The Only Good Indians last year, and it was one of my favorites in 2022. Jones writes really good, subtle horror with Native American characters. He has definitely jumped into my top ten horror authors list. Chainsaw started off with a bang for sure!

My word for the year and my vision board

My sister bought me a necklace set for Christmas. It has a large pendant that says "Still I Rise" and a small, charm pendant that says "Brave." That's when it hit me. Brave. I want to be Brave to overcome the social anxiety I've developed since the pandemic, and I want to be Brave to overcome the Imposter Syndrome that is stalling my novel writing. My life word is Onward so I think Brave fits perfectly with that. 

It wouldn't be a new year without a fresh start at reading challenges. This year I'll be doing Book Challenge by Erin (which is twice a year) and The TBR Pile Challenge (10th year!), in addition to the four challenges I host. 

Challenges listed below:
Book Challenge by Erin 18.0
2023 TBR Pile Challenge
2023 I Read Horror Year-Round
1000 Books Project: Banned Books 2023
2023 Book to Movie (and TV) Challenge
2023 Read Your Shelf Challenge

First up...the twice a year challenge - Book Challenge by Erin 18.0 (Facebook group)

First round of the year runs Jan - April.

Freebie - The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir

Book by an Australian author -

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Book whose author goes by three names -

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

Book with "black" or "white" in the title -

Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

GoodReads award winner from any year -

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (2015, Best Goodreads Debut Author)

Book set in a small town or rural area -

The Green Man by Kingsley Amis

Book with "heart" or "love" in the title -

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Book that starts with the first letter of your first name -

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Book with an unusual narrator -

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Book with a prime number under 1000 in the title -

Five Mile House by Karen Novak

This is a private Facebook group. You can check it out and join here. You can join in at any time during the four months. Second challenge of the year starts July 1st. Categories announced in June.

Read 12 books (2 alternates allowed) which have been on your shelves for at least one year.

1. The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley (2015)
   
   
2. The Maidens, Alex Michaelides (2021)
   
   
3. The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (2004)
   
   
4. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot (1964)
   
   
5. Red Queen, Victoria Aveyard (2015)
   
   
6. The Orphan Witch, Paige Crutcher (2021)
   
   
7. Dracul, Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker (2018)
   
   
8. The Penguin Book of Witches, Katherine Howe, Editor (2014)
   
   
9. Subhuman, Michael McBride (2005)
   
   
10. The Green Man, Kingsley Amis (1969)
    
    
11. The Princes in the Tower, Alison Weir (1994)
    
    
12. The Last Duel, Eric Jager (2004)

Alternates:

1. The North Water, Ian McGuire (2016)
   
   
2. I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid (2016)
   
   

Full details and sign-up here (Deadline: January 15)

Now on to the challenges I'm hosting...

I host this challenge at my sister (horror) blog, Castle Macabre. Year Three!
Here are the prompts and levels.
I have a couple of ideas on what I'll be reading, but not sure on all of them yet. I'm going for the Chilling level again this year. I didn't quite complete the level last year (3 or 4 books shy), but I'm going to try again.

• Fairy Tale Retelling
• Zombies, Witches, Vampires, or Werewolves
  Dracul, Dacre Stoker
• Book by BIPOC author
  My Heart is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones
• Title with Dead, Blood, or Bone
• Something by Poe
• Set in the past
• Horrific cover
• Folk horror (Ideas: https://tinyurl.com/yy8jj56a or https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/folk-horror?page=1
  The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley
• Winter theme or cover
  Snow, Ronald Malfi
• Black, red, or white cover
• Written by a woman
  The Twisted Ones, T. Kingfisher
• Debut horror
  The Collector, John Fowles

Levels:

Spooky: Read 6 books from 6 categories
Chilling: Read 12 Books from all 12 categories
Frightful: Read 2 books from each category for a total of 24 books
Horrifying: Read 3 books from each category for a total of 36 books

Full details and sign-up here.

The next three challenges are hosted by me on Gather Together and Read, my reading community site.

January, February, March - in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27

The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, The Accident (The Night Trilogy #1-3)
by Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel (Translator)

April, May, June - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

July, August, September - in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month in September

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

October, November, December
Beloved by Toni Morrison

Full details and sign-up here

Reading schedule for The Night Trilogy here

My main level...
First One to the Theater - Read 4+ books (2023 releases only)
Also, additional levels...
Not Ready to Let Go: read at least one (1) book made into a movie or series in 2022

Living in the Past: read at least one (1) book made into a movie in previous years
The Movie Was Better (What?!): watch the movie(s) for the book(s) you read.

Potential books:

(Reread) The Witching Hour, Anne Rice (series, Mayfair Witches, currently streaming on AMC/AMC+)
The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard (movie currently streaming on Netflix)

The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (Knock at the Cabin, Feb 3)

(Maybe I'll actually finish it this time) Dune, Frank Herbert (Dune: Part 2, Nov 3)

The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe (tbd, 2023)

Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann (estimated May 2023)

Uglies, Scott Westerfeld (Netflix 2023 - expected)

2022

Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie 
Kindred, Octavia E. Butler

2021
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
The Last Duel, Eric Jager 

The Woman in the Window, A. J. Finn 
The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan 

Full details and sign-up here.

Pretend your house is a library: A strategy for actually reading the books you own. 

I know you're intrigued! Click here to read all about the new version of the Read Your Shelf Reading Challenge. 

My "holds shelf"...

Full details and sign-up here.

That's it! What is (was) your first book of the year? Do you have One Little Word this year? What are your reading plans? Doing any challenges, or perhaps thinking of joining one (or more) of mine? 

Whatever your plans are, I wish you a Happy New Year!

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Hello #2021 - First Book of the year, #OneWord, one resolution, and best #books of 2020

My friend, Sheila at Book Journey does this wonderful new year thing every year....First Book of the Year. She gets pictures from all of us with our first book and creates some great collages. Check it out here. Mine is above...Ronald Malfi's The Ascent (if you haven't read his books, you simply must. One of my favorite horror authors). My cats always do the honors. This year, it's Merida. 

One Word

I haven't done a One Word (or word for the year) since 2019. That year, I chose Onward and actually adopted the word as my Life Word. I have a slender cuff bracelet with the word engraved on it and I wear it all the time. I didn't think I needed a one word each year after that, but after 2020, I've changed my mind. We all have been through a lot with the pandemic, but I also had a lot of life changes in 2020. We moved house from Tennessee back to my home state of Michigan. It was a very stressful move, notwithstanding the thousands of books my mother and I have, combined. I only just recently started feeling settled and I still have a lot of decor placement/settling to do after the Christmas decor comes down (plus, getting my writing space ready in my HUGE walk-in closet). My older son graduated high school, and was supposed to move with us to attend college here in Michigan, only to change his mind the last minute (he has since changed his mind again and will be attending college here starting next week). On top of all that, my grandfather passed in September. Yeah, quite a year. So, the word I have chosen is ADAPT. Because I simply must focus on adapting to the changes happening around me. This is mainly focused on having a 19 year old son and another son who will be 18 in nine days. They have been my entire life, but I know I have to learn to let go. It's not easy. Anyone who is a parent will understand this. I also need to learn to adapt to things not going quite as planned which seems to be the flavor these days. 

ADAPT I will! No fancy jewelry this year. I will make something to hang over my desk in my writing space (or maybe print the image below). I'm ready!

My One Resolution...

Best Books Read in 2020

I usually do that long end-of-year survey, but as you can see in the image below, I only read 19 books (see my rough year story above). I'm just going to list my top six this year. Since I hardly write reviews anymore, I'll link to my rating/short review on Goodreads.

1. The Outsider, Stephen King

2. The Secret History, Donna Tartt

3. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead

4. The Bone People, Keri Hulme

5. The Descent, Jeff Long

6. The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins

I'll post about 2021 reading challenges in a few days. Still haven't decided which, if any, I will join besides the few I host myself. More later...

How was your (reading) 2020?

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