The Bibliophile Files - 7/6/21

Hello and welcome to this month's reading list! We are past the half way mark on both the calendar and my challenge to finish 90 books for the year. Woot!! Thank god for free books from the library - I would go broke buying all these books.   

FINISHED

      The Bookwoman of Trouble Creek - Inspired by the blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Library Service

      The Lost Apothecary - An aspiring historian finds and researches an antique apothecary bottle found at low tide in the Thames River while on what was supposed to be her tenth anniversary trip to London.

      What Makes Us - this is a nature versus nurture story of why we are the way we are.

      Trell - Based on true events, it's the story of a has-been reporter, along with the help of a neighborhood kid, who solves a murder after the wrong person has been jailed the teen's lifetime.

      Extinction - a multimillionaire tycoon wants to sponsor an endangered species management program while also pushing his (harmful) mining project.

      Lilac Girls - Inspired by the true story of a NY socialite during WWII, this book looks at the intersection of 3 women: the socialite, a polish teenager helping the resistance and a German female doctor at an internment camp. I can't wait to read the next 2 books in this series.

      The Survivors - Going home always brings up the past and The Survivors, statues over a shipwreck, have witnessed a lot of things...

      This is What I Know About Art - from a series of "pocket change" books meant to share knowledge in a quick format. Unfortunately, this was not the topic to glance over, I didn't learn anything or become invested in the author or her career evolution.

      The Music Of What Happens - 2 teenagers revamp a food truck to pay the mortgage before the house is in foreclosure but find each other in the process.

      Sasha Masha - written by a transgender author about a teenager deciding if he is trans himself.

      Crescendo - the story takes place during the Depression. He's a music genius by age 3 but his poor family pushes him away from his talents - which he eventually returns to.

      Poemsia - While I expected a lot more poetry, this book evolved into a lesson on how fast you can rise in social media and how quickly you can also fall.

      Mexican Whiteboy - the half Mexican teen is too Mexican for his White friends and too White for his Mexican friends. He visits his relatives for a summer and learns to fit in between both worlds.

      The Disappearing Act - I thought I had this solved in the first few pages, thinking it was the same "formula" as several other recent books but boy was I wrong. I'm not saying anything else :)

      Dust - Not only should there be a rule about no music in audiobook recordings but there should be a rule about no huge cliffhangars. This book is a followup to Peter Pan but it ends as soon as the characters find out how to get back to Neverland. The problem is, they don't arrive until the next book in the series, which my library system doesn't carry. Grr.

IN PROGRESS

      Salty, Bitter, Sweet

And now it's your turn! What have you read recently? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 6/1/21

Welcome to my monthly reading list. It was an exceptional month of reading, only to be rivaled by most summer camping trips. Can you believe I am already 10 books ahead of schedule for the year? Woot!! Most of the (audio) reading takes place during my daily walks. I had a little set back over the weekend thanks to the rain but I'm back on track and hoping to have another successful month in June.

FINISHED
     The Whistler - a mysterious whistle blower files a misconduct charge against a judge and The Florida Board of Judicial Review must determine if the judge is actually involved with the mafia and their monetary scams. 

     The Turn of the Key - A little bit psycho-thriller, a little bit Big Brother and a little bit family drama.

     The Last Juror - The new/young owner revives the failing small town newspaper after writing many articles about the 1970 murder trial of a young white man who raped and murdered a young black woman. While the man is given life in prison, he is released after just a couple of years and begins hunting down the jurors who convicted him.

     They Went Left - The story of a young woman looking for her little brother after being liberated from WWII Polish prison camps.

     Hello Sunshine - a good summer read about food, betrayal and frienemies.

     Into White - a young black teenager prays for Jesus to turn her into a white teenager. The story is partially about who still sees her as black while others see her as white. I never figured out why some only saw her as black after she was white.

     Easy Prey - Told from the point of view of 3 high school students. It's essentially a warning about being careful with technology: sexting, the internet, etc.

     Circling the Sun - raised in Kenya, this is the story of her "wild" upbringing and her disastrous family and romantic relationships.

     Cold Mourning - a new-to-me series of a First Nations police recruit who must solve a mystery by herself over the Christmas holidays when her peers don't quite believe in her.

     Behind Closed Doors - If ever I wanted to hate a character, then this book is about him. I kept reading solely to see if he got his comeuppance.

     Kindred - the sci fi part of this story was hard for me to like but I did appreciate the historical story of a (black) woman who saves a (white) child in order to assure the blood line continues, despite the slave-owner dynamics.

     The Magic Barrel - this was a free YA book from the SYNC summer series. Each year they include a LA Theater Works production that I really look forward to for the multiple actors, sound effects including applause, theater atmosphere, etc. This year's offering was so short, it's almost like it wasn't a LATW. The short story about finding a wife for a young Jewish man was good but predictable.

     Of Beetles & Angels: a boy's remarkable journey from refugee camp to Harvard - I kinda thought that Harvard was a small part of the story given the mention in the title. It was an interesting take on the refugee journey to making good in the USA.

     Alive - this was another free YA book. It's also a graphic audio novel or a "movie in your mind" meaning there are lots of annoying sound effects. I've not yet decided if I want to finish the trilogy..

IN PROGRESS

     The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek

And now it's your turn - what have you been reading? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 5/4/21

It makes a body feel old when they start a blog post, Chrome is accidentally closed and the post is totally forgotten until after 9pm when there is no way to finish it at home. Me. Yes. I'm feeling old and forgetful. Or maybe I can just blame it on a busy work day. Sure. That sounds good! 

At least I haven't forgotten to read books. I think I had a pretty good month, especially given that some of these books were much longer than my usual. I'm actually ahead of schedule for my annual goal - something I haven't been able to say in many years until after I go camping.

The dotted line indicates when I finished my Spell that Place challenge. In case you are unfamiliar with my challenges: first I pick a place with a long name (This year I chose Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta, which is a train station in India) from this website list and then I read (28) books where the first letter of a book title word corresponds with a letter in the place name. It's much easier to do than to explain. 

FINISHED

     The Want-Ad Killer - A true crime novel. Gruesome and interesting at the same time but I really expected more about the want-ad aspect given it's in the title. It wasn't his main method of kidnapping women but he eventually was caught/convicted and is still in prison (if we believe Wiki) at the age of 93.

     Trace of Evil - oh look another book with Evil in the title. LOL. Finishing my annual challenge always brings out the weird titles at the end when I need to find 8 books that are A or E books. 

     The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes -- prequal to the Hungar Games series - it explains a lot!

     Just Watch Me - written by the same author who wrote the Dexter TV series. This is book #1 in the series and I almost immediately read the second book. I'm really hoping there will be a third book this year.

     Through the Evil Days - great book from a great series. The book takes place from 2 perspectives, really 2 ends, of the same investigation.

------

     Fool Me Twice - this is book #2 to Just Watch Me.

     The Brontë Plot - a leftover from last year's SYNC season. It's definitely a YA book with young love and a predictable ending but a nice, easy read.

     Come On In - 15 short stories on immigration - the first book from the new SYNC season. It was a nice reminder that immigration isn't always sneaking across a dessert or ocean to get into another country.

IN PROGRESS

     The Whistler

And now it's your turn? What are you reading? What should I read?

Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 4/6/21

Hello and welcome to another monthly book report. I think I've read some good books and some so/so books this month. I was totally confused on 2 of them and I think it's probably cuz I'm trying to multitask while listening and it just didn't work out this time. The Redbreast is actually part of a series and I'll give those other books a try to see if I like the rest of the series.

FINISHED

     Me Talk Pretty One Day - great comedic skits/essays, read by the author.

     Wrong Alibi

     All This Could be Yours - The story of a dysfunctional family who tries to learn who the father really is while he's on his deathbed. 

     Things You Save in a Fire - another story about a dysfunctional family but with a much better and happier ending :)

     Pickard County Atlas - 

     House of Correction - Accused of murder, a woman is forced to clear her own name from prison when the justice system fails her.

     Number the Stars - a quick little YA read of a Copenhagen family protecting their Jewish friends in 1943.

     One of Us is Next - the follow up book to one I read last year. If you like gossipy high school dramas then you might like this one. I've had enough HS drama for a while tho...

     The Redbreast 

IN PROGRESS

     The Want-Ad Killer - I'll be starting this true crime novel tonight.

And now it's your turn - what have you read recently?  

Anything counts -- novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 3/2/21

I'm still just ahead of schedule for my annual reading goal!

FINISHED
     The Affair
     A Time to Kill
     Two Can Keep a Secret
     The 20th Victim
     The Night Fire
     The Alibi 

IN PROGRESS
     Me Talk Pretty One Day

Sadly, while I enjoyed each book as I was reading it I can't seem to come up with anything good or bad to say about them today. What does that say about me? That I have an awful memory or that they just weren't outstanding/awful books? Probably some of both!

And now it's your turn! What have you read recently? 

Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 1/5/21

Hello and Welcome to a new year of The Bibliophile Files - my monthly list of the books I've read. I'm proud to say that I finished 101 book last year!! It was kinda dicey in the first half of the year but I pulled through in the end and went well above my goal.

goodreads.com says that my 101 books was 32,641 pages - which is hilarious because I listen to almost all my books. My shortest book was 60 pages and the longest was 512. The most popular book I read was Educated and the least popular was A Christmas Carol (the female version - I get why it was un-popular).

I've set my 2021 reading goal for my usual 90 books. If you are also interested in a goal I suggest you get a free goodreads account (and the phone app) as it will not only track your books but make suggestions for your next book. It's also great when you get to the library and can't remember if you already read a book that looks interesting. Be sure to let me know you have an account so we can be "friends".

FINISHED
     The Midnight Line
     Fortune and Glory - this is newest book in the long standing Stefanie Plum series - they've just changed the way they name the books.
     The Laws of Innocence - #6 in the Mickey Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) series - it was a nice twist of a jailed lawyer defending himself.
     The Christmas Box - a quick little Christmas story.
     The Christmas Pearl - a supernatural Christmas story - I'm not so sure I like a mix of the two genres.
     Murder with Macaroni & Cheese - a new to me series that involves murder and cooking. I *do* like this mix of two genres!
     The Last to Die


IN PROGRESS
     To Tell You the Truth - a psychological mystery. I keep trying to guess what's happening - is it real or imagined? - but I keep getting it wrong.

And now it's your turn - what have you read recently? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box.

The Bibliophile Files - 12/8/20

Hello and welcome to the last Bibliophile Files of the year. It's been a good reading year as I've now finished 95 books when my goal was only 90. With 3 more weeks in the year I'm hoping to get several more finished too. How have all y'all come on your reading goals for the year? If you don't have one yet, I encourage you to open a free goodreads.com account to track your books and get suggestions for new ones. I have the app on my iPhone and use it several times a week.

FINISHED
     After Anna
     Blue on Black
     The Poachers Son
     Chile Death
     Nightwoods
     A Cold & Lonely Place
     A Better Man
     Bring Me Back
     The Bitterroots
     When No One is Watching
     The Fallen

IN PROGRESS
     The Midnight Line

And now it's your turn to share what you've been reading. Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box.

The Bibliophile Files - 11/3/20

 It was another good month of reading here at Casa Grande.

I'm now 9 books ahead of schedule for my annual reading goal and should probably finish my current book tonight. Well, I hope I finish it as I'm dying to know who dunnit and why. 

FINISHED
     Firestorm - I found this old book while looking for another book with a similar title. I wasn't keen on the unexpected paranormal angles but as the daughter and sister of firemen I enjoyed the arson investigator part of the story even if it was a little thin.
     Something in the Water - When the book description says their choice (about what's in the water) will trigger a devastating chain of events, it's never a good thing. There were plenty of "well duh" moments and twists. Good but not a favorite.
     The Operator - watch out for this nosy operators, they don't let rumors die - especially when it is about their own family.
     Weather - meh. Keep looking - this isn't the book for you.
     The 17th Suspect - another good book in this series.
     The Sacrament - I enjoyed another Icelandic book by this author but the mixed up timelines could be a little confusing if you didn't pay enough attention. The constant notes on the nun not being up to date with technology were superfluous to the story.
     I let You Go - Oh hello!? A happy little story bookended with a terrible story which has ... wait for it... a twist! LOL. 
     I Can Only Imagine - I ordered the (short) book and the DVD from the library at the same time. I'm so glad I read the book first as a lot of the details were left out of the movie to fit the typical movie length. The book has more of a religious undertone than the movie but it's not preachy or pushed down your throat - it's just the story of his life and how religion helped him cope with an abusive dad.

     The Hunting Party - the story of these affluent, snobby, old-time friends and one of them being murdered, is told out of order, leaving the middle until the end. I think the epilogue was superfluous but I really liked the book as a whole.

IN PROGRESS

     After Anna - the story is not told chronologically and each chapter is from a different character's viewpoint. It's a fantastic way to tell a story that would probably be boring if told in the proper order - I'll find out when I get it finished.

And now it's your turn to share - what have you read recently? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 9/1/20

Hello and welcome to my monthly reading list. It was a good month with 8 finishes! I've now finished 72% of my goal of 90 books for the year. Woot! And that puts me 5 books ahead of schedule. Double Woot!

Job #2 started last week - on one hand that cuts into my lunch hours and evenings for stitching over the next 2 months but, on the other hand, it does give me some dedicated reading/listening time while I'm in robot mode entering data. I'm hoping for another good reading month!

FINISHED 

     The Lost Man

     Deadfall
     The Silence Between Us  - a good story about deaf culture and young love. I found it educational as learning ASL has been on my bucket list for eons. 

     Fresh Ink - a series of short stories - stories that aren't finished yet. That's what the book jacket says any way. I liked the stories but the book jacket description didn't do them any good or help me relate one story to another. I'm not even sure if they were supposed to be related.

     The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane - Ever read a good book but it doesn't end the way you think it should and that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth? This ain't that book!! Haha. I really enjoyed this book and it ended just the way I thought it should. It was particularly hard to find the next book to read after such a high from this book.

     Little Deaths - Based on a true story. Of course the story was modified to fit into a book but it was also interesting to look up the author's article on what she had to change to please her editors. I wish that had been included as an addendum to the book.

     The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning - I like the concept of death cleaning (culling your own "stuff" before you die and leave it all for the family to do) but the book was a waste of time. I won't even bore you with the details: let's just say it could have been 3 hours culling instead of listening.

     The Bookshop on the Corner - another cute love story.

IN PROGRESS

     Let Me Lie - a great psych thriller (so far!)

And now it's your turn - what are you reading? Anything counts - novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 8/4/20

Welcome to my monthly book report!!

Can you tell I went camping this month? 18 books in 4 weeks might be my personal best. Camping always provides a good boost to my reading list (I'm now 4 books ahead of schedule to finish 90 this year) but I've also been a good girl and cutback on my TV/DVD watching so I could do more reading/listening. The original plan was just through the end of July but here we are into August and I haven't watched but maybe one DVD a week since vacation.

FINISHED
     The 57 Bus - The true story of a cross dressing teen burned by another teen on the bus to school. One white, one black, one poor, one not.
     Twisted Tree - Written from the differing perspectives of various people who knew a murdered girl. Seemed a little disjointed with all the viewpoints that were not necessarily brought back to the center of the story but maybe that's just cuz I was multitasking while listening to the book.
     Three Cups of Tea - I found the book an interesting read about the culture of a part of the world I know little about, but could imagine all the events happening as described, while a man tried to build schools for girls. In reviewing goodreads.com comments, there are a lot that refer to fraud and exaggerations in the book. I guess I'll take the book as it was intended but be forewarned if anyone else wants to read it. I especially liked where the title came from and found it true no matter what the backstory of the book is.
     Sisters Maatsumoto
     A Christmas Carol: What if Scrooge were a Woman? - Once again, I was multitasking but I didn't notice enough differences from the original book to make this really worth one's time. Thankfully it was on the short side.
     Picture Us in the Light - A great YA story about family secrets and how they shape our future.
     Twelfth Night
     The Hundred Foot Journey
     Secret Soldiers - Interesting history of soldiers trained to deceive the Nazi's with inflatable tanks and recorded troop movements. I don't think I've ever even heard of these soldiers before.
     Judge & Jury - mob boss versus juror #11. Several nice twists at the end.
     Fake - a dramatization when I was looking for more details
     Gideon's Corpse
     The Murderer's Daughter
     Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mts - This needs to be my last Appalachian book for a long time. The 'woah is me' story has gotten old after several similar stories. It was probably a good book if I wasn't already tired of the theme.
     The Dry - Book 1 in the Aaron Falk series. I read #2 last month. The series takes place in Australia and this one is about a man accused of murder years ago who returns home for the funeral of his friend who supposedly killed his wife and son before himself. I've started the third book today and while the investigator is the same, the books appear independent.
     Bullseye
     The Deep
     A Land More Kind Than Home - The topic is hard to listen to (snakes in church worship, death, etc) but it's well written in that each chapter is written from a different character's viewpoint, pulling in a story from their past that guides their current lives.

IN PROGRESS
     on my iPhone: The Lost Man

And now it's your turn...What have you been reading? Anything counts, whether it's a novel, magazine, cookbook, quilt pattern or cereal box.

The Bibliophile Files - 7/7/20

Hello and welcome to a twofer since I bailed on posting my monthly reading list, or anything else, for the entire month of June.

A lot of this was accomplished while working at home periodically during lockdown - no phone or customers requiring me to start/stop the audiobook just hours of listening while I got a lot done. I have to tell you, as a periodic treat, working at home ain't so bad!

I have just 5 books left to finish my reading challenge** for the year. I enjoy a good challenge but now I'm looking forward to reading whatever I come across.


FINISHED
     Force of Nature
     Wolf Pack
     The Rising Sea
     Escape Clause
     'O' is for Outlaw
     Out of the Deep I Cry
     Exposed
     The Sentence is Death
     Everland - a different spin on Peter Pan and there are a few more in the series to check out.
     Death Qualified
     On Borrowed Time
     Orange is the New Black - it's surprising how close the tv show was to the book
     Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
     All We Ever Wanted
     Oona Out of Order - Oona is living her life out of order so not everything makes sense at the time. It's a neat idea for explaining how actions affect the rest of our life no matter how much we try to change them.
     The Escape - this is getting a little weird...by happenstance this is the second book I've read during lockdown that ends up dealing with some kind of virus similar to current real life.

IN PROGRESS
   The 57 Bus


**For my challenge I read 44 books that had a word in the title that started with one of the letters in the following South African city: Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein. I've now started looking for another long-named city for next year (hopefully not a city with so many E's!!) but I'm open for suggestions!

And now it's your turn to share the books you have read in the past 2 months. Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 5/5/20

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Welcome to my monthly book report!!

One would think that working from home some days (meaning less commute time, etc) and no evening meetings would mean that I am getting more reading done. Sadly, this is not the case. I seem to be more content to just work (sewing, cleaning or work work) amongst the house noises than I ever have before. It's strange since before lock down I always had to have a radio or audiobook playing.

FINISHED
     The Word is Murder - an author is to shadow a police investigator to write a book. They both solve the murder but in different ways.
     Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers - I'm not very "up" on famous artists so Vincent's life story was sad but interesting. I had no idea that he was still relatively unknown when he took his own life and it was really his sister in law who pushed his artwork into what we know it is today.
     The Name of the Star - I'll give this book a thumbs up for the super-surprise twist 2/3 through but it's not enough to read the sequel.
     Hillbilly Elegy - I'll be honest - I started this book a year ago and didn't care for it enough to get past the first half hour of the audiobook. I needed an "E" book for a challenge and this was still on my phone so I gave it another whirl. It was more tolerable this year, maybe because I have read some other similar books in the past year. The book still came across as a whiny, whoa as me book that could have taken place anywhere in the country, not just to Kentucky hilbillies, but it was interesting to hear about his rise from poverty to lawyer.
     This is Where I leave You - not my usual genre but I needed "a book made into a movie" for a challenge and this turned out to be pretty good.

IN PROGRESS   
     on my iPhone - Force of Nature
     on my home stereo - Wolf Pack

And now it's your turn - what have you been reading lately? Anything counts - novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box.

The Bibliophile Files - 4/7/20

Woo Hoo! It's that time of the month when we get to share the books we've read and maybe find some new ones.

I know I didn't read a ton this month - partly because it's been hard to concentrate on anything since lockdown started, partly because one book was quite long (18 CDs) and mostly because my tukus has spent many evenings on the couch watching DVDs during lockdown. We can't win them all, can we?

FINISHED
     Magpie Murders
     Silver Linings
     Boar Island
     All the Crooked Saints
     The Kept Woman

IN PROGRESS
     on my iPhone - The Word is Murder
     on my home stereo - This is Where I Leave You

And now it's your turn - what have you read recently? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!

The Bibliophile Files - 3/3/20

It was another good reading month. 13 books in 2 months is pretty much par for me. I am trying to get back into my morning walks so that might increase my reading some. Woot!

One of the titles is a little out of character but when you are trying to accomplish a reading challenge, you just kind of run with it and are sometimes quite surprised with the book. I needed a K book and this one just kinda showed up when I needed it.

I've made a bibliophile tab for the people who have asked for more info on my reading challenges. I can also add the books I've read for the challenges if anyone is interested.

FINISHED
     The Fifth Witness -
     Liar Liar - I was hoping this series was more of a police procedural but it's more about one cops life as she deals with the psycho that got her brother killed. I'm hoping the next book in the series will get back on to the track **I** want the series to take. LOL.
     The Trial
     Murder Beyond the Grave - 2 real life crimes that were later turned into a tv show. Yes, truth is stranger than fiction.
     Case of the Sin City Sister - a sister who works with her PI father and takes care of cats. A lighter look t police procedurals
     Big Cherry Holler - I enjoyed this 2nd book of the trilogy. I even enjoyed that the author read the book but I did think the details of their marriage "problems" were a little thin. They had some real big issues but they could have been fleshed out better.
     Becoming Kareem -Thankfully not so much about basketball as finding the good or bad "coaches" where ever we are in life.

IN PROGRESS
     On my iPhone - Magpie Murders
     On my home stereo - Silver Linings - I like this book but the CDs are so scratched I can only listen to it via the DVD player which means I need to be in the living room instead of where ever I can plug in my CD player/stereo. And that means it's been slowing going...


And now it's your turn - what have you read in the last month? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box. I am particularly interested if you have read any 'O' or 'E' books that will help me with my reading challenge...

The Bibliophile Files - 2/4/20

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I forgot to do a book report back in January. I'm happy to report that I surpassed my 2019 reading goal by reading 4 extra books for a total of 94!! Unfortunately I had already tossed the sticky note with my December book list on it and I'm just too darn lazy to figure it out from my Goodreads account. #sorrynotsorry.

This year I have again set a goal of 90 books by the end of the year. To help me accomplish that, I have 2 subgoals that help me pick books. Not that I don't have an excellent library system to pick books from but sometimes it's just nice to have a nudge in one direction or the other.

My first goal is what I'm calling "Spell that Place." I stole the idea from a website but the gist is that I have this place in South Africa that has 44 letters in it's name. I am going to read books where one of the words in the title starts with one of those letters. For instance, below, The One Man is being used as an O and The Never Game is an N. I am happy to create a separate tab with the place name spelled out and my chosen books if anyone is interested.

My other goal is based on a list my librarian/friend sent me with just one theme a month. January was to have a color in the title (book chosen but not finished yet) and February is a book that's also a movie.

FINISHED
     The One Man
     The Never Game - A good story but the title didn't seem to have anything to do with the game being played by the characters. I'm sorry but a bum title can throw off my enjoyment of a book as I am trying to figure out a title the whole time.
     Educated - once a year a social group I belong to reads a book together. I'm expecting this to be a hot discussion as there were many things in this memoir that angered me.
     The Guardians - about a group of innocence lawyers working cases to free men on death row
     The Escape Artist
     Dust - Once again, a good (but snarky) book in this series but I have no idea where the title came from.

IN PROGRESS
     on my iPhone - Liar Liar
     on my home stereo - The Fifth Witness

So - what have you read lately? Don't forget almost anything counts - novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box. Have you set any reading goals? Do you follow any challenges?

The Bibliophile Files - 12/3/19

First I'm pleased to say that I finished my first challenge of the year on 11/22/19 by reading 74 books where one word in the title is also one of the words that spell the months of the year.

The next challenge to complete is to finish a total of 90 books for the year and I have just 6 books to go. Woohoo! Goodreads claims I am actually 2 books ahead of scheduled, which is hard to believe after a year of being several books behind schedule every month.


FINISHED
      Private Down Under - this is a new to me series that open private detective offices in various cities around the world - a fun way to learn about different countries
      Notes from a Young Black Chef - I enjoyed the book other than the constant "woe is me" stories. To learn about someone learning to be a chef and try to run a business and then look up videos of the chef online was educational for me as someone who has done catering and just plain likes to cook.
      The Golden Day - eh.. just eh. Sorry.
      Spill - I'm generally not for sound effects in my audiobooks but this was different. This was a LA Theater recording and I just happened to be in my car when the oil rig exploded in surround sound. I white knuckled the rest of my drive home that night...
      Erotic Stories for Punjabi Women - this book is hilarious but I don't recommend listening to it in public for obvious reasons.
      Firefly Lane - A memoir of 2 girls who grow into women as friends but who don't always treat each other fairly. I can't wait to read the next book.
      Murder in the Reading Room - A good book, a little hoitey toitey, but the murder referred to in the title was such a small part of the book, it was misleading.
      Mean Streak - a fantastic book that I had not expected the twisted ending.
      Chocolate Fever - Yipp, a quick kids book to up my numbers. I admit it but I had fun doing it too. It was encouraging to know I'm not the world's worst chocoholic.
      The Wright 3 - another kids book. They referred to some kids toy a lot. They were apparently 3D and had letters on them to build words or shapes. It was a little distracting to the rest of the story, especially since I had never heard of the toy before
      Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library - a fun educational book about libraries and there are several more in the series!

IN PROGRESS
     on my iPhone - Beartown
     on my home stereo - Lousiana's Way Home

I've got another challenge lined up for the new year... I call it Spell that Place. It's a very long name of a "farm" in South Africa so I'll be looking for books that have a word in their title that starts with any of those 40some letters. If anyone wants to play along I am happy to share my Place.

Let us know below what you've been reading! Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box.

The Bibliophile Files - 11/5/19

There are 2 things I'm going to tell you right off about this month's book report because they are not obvious to anyone who's not sitting here next to me. I thank my vacation (hmm...didn't post any pics yet) for getting me through 4 or 5 books making the list twice as long as it could have been. I'm also nearing the end of a personal challenge for the year and that means it's been slim pickings to meet the requirements. I can't believe some of the books I've read but desperate times call for desperate measures. Why do we do these things to ourselves? Motivation and so we can conquer it!!!! Woot! Woot!

Challenge #1 for the year was to spell out the months and read books where one of the title words began with the same letter. Ex: J in January was Johnny get your Gun. Of 74 books, I need to finish just 3 more. Woot!! Two are relatively short or close to finishing but I think there will be another substitution on my "U" book as the one I have been avoiding is long and I would like to finish the challenge sooner rather than later. I'm open to suggestions! No worries, I found one already - and it's a new-to-me series as well.

Challenge #2 - this is the same challenge I do every year: read 90 or more books for the year. So far I have finished 73 books this year which only makes me 3 books behind schedule. Maybe once I can chose a book cuz it sounds good or is available today instead of needing an impossible letter I can make some headway.

FINISHED
     Unbound
     My Year of Rest & Relaxation - Please! Can I just slap the main character? Please?!
     The Job
     Ella Enchanted - Cinderella re-imagined
     The Art of English Murder
     The Mars Room - thumbs up
     The Last Romantics
     Us Against You - looking forward to reading the rest of the series
     Every 15 Minutes - loves me some good suspense
     The Witch Elm - it was suspenseful waiting for the suspense. LOL

IN PROGRESS
     on my iPhone - Private Down Under (I admit to finding 3 different names for this book on 3 different websites but I'm going with the one I need. Wink)
     on my home stereo - Firefly Lane

And now it's your turn! What have you read lately? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box.

The Bibliophile Files - 10/1/19

Hello! Hello! And welcome to not only the first day of October but my monthly book list. It's hard to tell it's October here in WNY given that we hit a high of 85. In October?! 85?! Unbelievable.

Goodreads.com says that I am still 4 books behind to finish 90 for the year. I'm not worried as this week and next are the busiest time for school taxes so I will hopefully get in a lot of listening time. I also have a 4 day trip to the Adirondacks coming up so that should be good for another 3 or 4 books. The weather is expected to be wet and downright cold at night. I am hoping to get in some hikes and peep some leaves but otherwise I'll hunker down with hexies. I know - you're shocked, my 2 favorite things. Well 3, if you count the books...

FINISHED
     All Lined up - so not my kind of book (romance and football) but I needed a "u" book and this fit the bill well enough.
     Accused - part of an excellent series
     The Big Exit
     Bad Monkey - I so love reading books about places where I've lived or visited. This book takes place in Key West/Miami and I just found out there is a second book in the "series" (There appears to only be 2 books - it takes 3 objects to be a collection but how many books to be a series?)
     Dear Bob & Sue: Season 2 - I so love this series about travelling to the various national parks and monuments. It's filled with humor and real details for a girl that loves the outdoors and has a bucket list for hitting all 50 states. I just heard that Season 3 was released this year so I've already got my name on the waiting list for the audiobook.
     Extraordinary Means - definitely one of my left over young adult books as it's about young love won and lost amongst teenagers sequestered in a rural hospital for drug resistant TB. Not a cheery book.

IN PROGRESS
     Unbound

I'm happy to say that I've found all the books I'll need to finish my reading challenge! This is not to say that I won't change out a book if something isn't available when I need it. I've done it before and I'll do it again. Teehee.

What are you reading? Feel free to write about it in the comments below or link to a post on your blog. I'm sure we can all appreciate a good book recommendation.

The Bibliophile Files - 9/3/19

I had another good reading month and feel really confident in finishing my 74 book reading challenge for the year (spell out the months of the year and read a book that has those letters in the title somewhere). When I logged into goodreads.com to update my booklist I was especially pleased to see that I'm actually only 3 books behind on my 90 book challenge for the year. DoubleWoot!

I'm having a "Monday" on a Tuesday so a very late post and no insight on the books..I'll just tell you that my favorite was either Reversal or Elevation and I don't have a least favorite, per say, but the hardest to get into was Keeper of Lost Things and Endless Beach, both of which I enjoyed in the end.

FINISHED
     The Reversal
     Monstrous Beauty
     Openly Straight
     An Enemy of the People
     The Cat Who Went up the Creek
     Elevation
     The Keeper of Lost Things
     Sister Eve, Private Eye
     Night & Day
     Home Sweet Murder
     The Endless Beach
     The Jungle

IN PROGRESS
     on my iPhone - All Lined Up
     on my home stereo - Firefly Lane, a novel

I'm looking for suggestions for 4 more books with R, U or Y in the title. Even if you've suggested a book before I might have missed it the first time so I would love to hear it again.

Don't forget to link up a book/reading post in the comments or just leave a comment with the titles of your recent reads. We are always looking for suggestions. Heck, I already have the next reading challenged all lined up and she's a doozy!

The bibliophile Files - 8/6/19

You can always tell when I've been on vacation(s) as my finished book list is nice and long :)

FINISHED:
     Cemetery Road
     Olivia Twist
     Along Came a Spider
     Astray - a fun collection of short stories about various people who have crossed a line.
     Destroyer Angel
     Only Us
     Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
     Othello - maybe not the best choice for mountain climbing in the heat...I spent much of the hike saying "WTF just happened?" I don't think I'm a Shakespeare aficionado.
     The Silent Patient - excellent twist at the end!
     A Night Divided - a story about a family split by the Berlin Wall. I had never read about the wall from this perspective so it was interesting.
     Tear Down This Wall: A City, A President, and the Speech that ended the Cold War - I expected this to be solely about President Reagan's speech but it gave a lot of the background before he gave his famous speech.
     Heretics Anonymous
     Roses are Red
     The Brass Verdict - from the series that inspired The Lincoln Lawyer movie. Can't wait to re-watch the movie and see how it fits the books.
     My Name is Not Friday - the story of a 12 year old free black orphan sold into slavery and his fight to get back to his only brother
     Urge to Kill - funny there is no indication on the box that this is book 3 in a series. Guess I better add the rest of the series to my to read list...
     Look Alive 25

IN PROGRESS:
     on my iPhone: The Reversal
     on my home stereo: The Endless Beach

And now it's your turn - please let us know in a (linked) post on your blog or in the comments below, what you have been reading. Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!