Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Remainder of prompts for 2022 challenges

 At the half way point in the year I thought I would write a post that lists all the remaining prompts I have on any of the challenges I am participating in.  Some of the challenges do not require me to complete all prompts based upon my goals but I listed each of them nonetheless.  

Updated as of Dec 4, 2022

  1. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes
    • States remaining:  AL/DE/DC/HI/KS/LA/NE/NV/ND/SD/WY
  2. AtoZ   #2022AtoZReadingChallenge  #AlphabetSoupChallenge
    • Letters remaining  X/Y/Z
  3. Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  
    • Letters remaining  I/O/Q/U/X/Y
  4. Non Fiction Reader  #ReadNonFicChal   Book #
  5. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub  #
  6. Around the Year in 52 Books #  completed 12/12/22
    • # 38. A book by a Latin American author  Violeta/City of the Beasts (Eagle and Jaguar, #1)
  7. Bookworm #
  8. BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenreadingchallenge2022  #
  9. Beat the Backlist #BTB2022  # CHALLENGE COMPLETED  12/18/22
    • # 28 'wolf' or 'star' in the title  
    • # 30 translated to your native language   City of the Beasts/Violeta/Beartown
  10. Nancy Drew #
  11. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2022 #
  12. OWLS 22  #  COMPLETED 12/12/22
  13. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #
    • # 4. A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title 
    • # 10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner A Brief History of Seven Killings
    • # 18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1)/   Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Crushed
    • # 43. A book with a palindromic title  Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)/ One by One
    • # 44. A duology (1) Warcross
    • 45. . A duology  (2) Wildcard
  14. Pick your Poison #

  15. While I was Reading  #
  16. Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2022 
  17. Unruly Reader Bingo  #x
  18. Six Shooter Authors to read for 2022
    • Lucy Burdette/Roberta Isleib
    • Chris Cavender
    • Erika Chase/Linda Wiken
    • Donna Amis Davis
    • Kaitlyn Dunnett
    • Sally Goldenbaum
    • JM Griffin
    • Cheryl Hollon
    • Lizzie Josephson
    • Jennifer Joy
    • CA Larmer
    • Karen McManus
    • Colleen Mooney
    • Chris Niles
    • Sara Paretsky
    • Lisa Unger
    • Ruth Ware

Comic Sans Murder

 Comic Sans Murder is the 3rd Dangerous Type mystery by Paige Shelton.  It is set in a mountain resort town near Salt Lake City.  This book played off more of the location in its storyline than some of the previous books.  The mystery was quite involved and kept me guessing until the very end.   Really liking the series and how it focuses on a rather obscure subject vs a typical bakery/restaurant etc.   The printing/typesetting business is a unique and interesting topic that is enjoyable to read and learn about.  Perhaps this enjoyment comes from my scrapbooking interests which has a design and layout aspect to it for sure.  Plus lots of different fonts are used when doing digital scrapbooking for sure.  


Comic Sans MurderComic Sans Murder by Paige Shelton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

enjoyable cozy set in the mountains of Utah. The family dynamics are a pleasant addition to the storyline and not just the MC and her family but also her BFF and her brother's relationship. It's both personal and professional amongst them. There is a unique side topic of typesetting and printing in this series which makes it different from most other cozy mysteries. I look forward to reading more of the series.

View all my reviews



Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

  1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book # 88
  2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  UT
  3. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2022  Series: 44 Book #1
  4. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #108
  5. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #79
  6. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #74
  7. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #101
  8. Craving for Cozies  Book #92
  9. Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
  10. Beachcomber Challenge  
    • Crime Scene- factory; ski slope
    • Weapon- strangled; shot
    • Detectives- Fred
    • Victims- Donte Serot; Lloyd Gavin
  11. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 36 Shot #3
  12. Book Voyage  #bookvoyagechallenge  N America

Monday, November 21, 2022

Windsor Knot

 I discovered the Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett right when Queen Elizabeth passed.  I read some blog posts that referenced different books that might be of interest that pertained to her.  I have previously read the Gown which is about her wedding dress and really enjoyed it but had not read a cozy based on her as a character.  Unlike the Rhys Bowen series, this series, Her Majesty the Queen Investigates,  is set in a more modern timeframe.  This particular book is set in 2016 and references many modern politicians and celebrities.   

I found the story to be quite interesting and enjoyed the setting at Balmoral.  There is an underlying espionage component that is different and unique as compared to many cozy mysteries.  Obviously the detective is not your typical single female of a youngish age either.  All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more in the series.   

Coincidentally, when reading the next Her Royal Spyness that installment was also set near Balmoral so it was quite an interesting Nov of reading about the British residence and its setting for a crime.  


The Windsor KnotThe Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

unique cozy that is so intriguing

This book is so unique in multiple fronts. First the Queen as the protagonist leads to so many different aspects than a traditional cozy- a famous detective, one working behind the scenes and taking no credit. It’s hard not to hope the real Royal wasn’t just as charming and personable as she’s depicted here. Another fun aspect to this book was it had some features of espionage thriller that made it that much more fun. Looking forward to reading more in the series


View all my reviews


Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

  1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book # 89
  2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Scotland
  3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #109
  4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #80
  5. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #75
  6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #102
  7. Craving for Cozies  Book #93
  8. Medical Examiner Challenge 3 Toe Tags
  9. Beachcomber Challenge  
    • Crime Scene- castle; apartment; apt
    • Weapon- strangled; hung; poison
    • Detectives- 
    • Victims- Maksim Brodsky; Anita Moodie; Rachel Stiles 
  10. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub  #47 Read during the month of November  
  11. Nerdy Bookworm  #NerdyBookwormChallengeXO #6 Read a book that was recommended to you

Murder on the Poet's Walk

 As a book lover, it is hard not to love the Book Retreat series. Murder on the Poet's Walk is the 8th book in the series that has a mysterious book repository and a family-run resort that hosts book themed events.  The characters and creativity are the stars of the series.   I enjoy watching the character relationships grow and change through the different books.  The twin boys are great sources of humor and surprise.  It is enjoyable watching them mature in the storylines as well.  The book deals with many aspects of life that affect much of our lives and I believe that makes it that much more enjoyable.  Fortunately I don't think most readers have to deal with the number of murders in their lives as Jayne and her family have had to deal with.  



Murder on the Poet's WalkMurder on the Poet's Walk by Ellery Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this might have been the best in the series. Really liked the depth of relationships among the characters. The suspense over who was the criminal was well written and definitely caught me by surprise. I look forward to reading more about these characters

View all my reviews



Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

  1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book # 87
  2. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2022  Series: 41 Book #1
  3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #107
  4. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #73
  5. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #100
  6. Craving for Cozies  Book #91
  7. Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
  8. Beachcomber Challenge  
    • Crime Scene-Lake; puddle
    • Weapon- poison
    • Detectives- Jane
    • Victims- Gretchen West; Connor Jensen
  9. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 41 Shot # 4
  10. Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO  OCTOBER- Murder or Magic

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Readying for 2023

 Now that it is nearly Thanksgiving, many of the challenges are starting to kick off their announcements for the 2023 editions.  I have decided to be a bit more selective in what I try to achieve in '23.  I found myself drudging through lists to find things to meet a prompt this year on many occasions.  I often end up pushing off "needed" books to select cozies and historical fiction.   So, while still wanting to challenge myself to read books I might not otherwise select I don't think I want to create a situation where I have 50+ books to complete prompts.  I think instead my approach is going to be to pick a list of books that meets a set of challenge prompts and then see how many fit into other challenges and if it is a manageable addition to expand to multiple challenges.   

That being said I will definitely be doing my alphabet and literary escapes challenges.  I will continue to update this page with the challenges I plan to participate in for 2023 as I decide.  I will post links on this page even if I won't be doing a challenge in case others are interested


2023 Challenges I will Participate In




2023 Challenges Found



Traitorous Toys

 Traitorous Toys is the 2nd Cozy Corgi mystery by Mildred Abbott.  It is an enjoyable read and anyone who loves dogs, especially corgis, will enjoy reading this book,   Watson is a real charmer.   

Overall I am enjoying the characters in the series, and the scenery around Estes Park, CO is well described.


Traitorous ToysTraitorous Toys by Mildred Abbott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

great characters and mystery

Love the character development in this second book in series. The friendships and family relationships add some fun to the story for sure. Watson is the star in this book There was a great ending even if it did feel a bit rushed in its introduction. All in all a great book and I look forward to reading more in the series

View all my reviews



Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

  1. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  CO
  2. What an Animal Book #52
  3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #106
  4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #78
  5. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #72
  6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #99
  7. Craving for Cozies  Book #90
  8. Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
  9. Beachcomber Challenge  
    • Crime Scene- store
    • Weapon- air bubble
    • Detectives- Fred/Branson
    • Victims- Declan Diamond
  10. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 63 Shot #2
  11. Beat the Backlist #BTB2022  #10 set in the mountains
  12. Pick your Poison #33 a book by an author who sounds like a geek

Friday, November 18, 2022

Alphabet Fun

  






A to Z Tracking 


Once again I plan to participate in 2 A-Z tracking challenges for Titles and the one for Authors as well.  I will track them both on this combined tracking page.  The tracking for the challenge can be done on the facebook page.  


The title and author based challenges are hosted by Dolly at EscapewithDollyCas   These are Alphabet Soup and Author Alphabet Soup.  




Read books starting with A to Z.  For the tougher letters (Q, X and Z)  you can count if they fall anywhere in the title. Exclude "the", "a" or "an" from beginning of title when assigning letters


  
  • Books can be from any Genre. 
  • Use #AlphabetSoupChallenge or #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge on social media
  • All formats of books acceptable
  • Cross overs with other challenges permissible
  • Runs Jan 1- Dec 31
  • Authors-  First, Middle or Last name counts  


A fun twist I found at the Challenge Factory on Goodreads is an A to Z from main characters.  I am going to add that to this tracking as well.  Sounds like a great way to keep better track of my characters names