Beat the Backlist 2021

  

#BTB2021

 I am going to do this prompt based challenge again in 2021. It is hosted by Austine and Katie on Novelknight blog.   You don't have to own the book and can borrow etc.   There is a 24 or 52 prompt list.  They have created a bingo card or a regular checklist for whichever format you prefer to track using.  

Status:   48/52 books completed

1. √ more than one author
• READ Murder in Red by Jessica Fletcher
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/29/21
2. √ dragons OR lizards 
• One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
•  Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/20/21
3. √ it’s on a ship! 
• READ Peril Through the Panama Canal by Lizzie Josephson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/12/21
4. √ purple cover 
• READ To Fudge or Not to Fudge by Nancy Coco
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/28/21
5. √ set in a major city 
• READ  Shakeup by Stuart Woods
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/24/21
6. √ book you forgot you had 
• READ Oh Say Can You Fudge by Nancy Coco
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/29/21
7. √ caused a major book hangover
• READ Laughing at my Nightmare by Shane Burcaw
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/30/21
8. √  multiple points of view  
• READ The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/25/21
9. book you’re giving another chance 
• 
  
10. √  quest to find lost/hidden object 
• READ Deserts, Driving, & Derelicts by Tonya Kappes
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/26/21
11. √  chapter title page has art 
• READ In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/7/21
12. √ kept you up late reading 
• READ 21st Birthday by James Patterson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/18/21
13. picked by a friend/trusted reviewer IDEA:  In the Woods
14. √ non-human character
• READ No Good Tea Goes Unpunished by Bree Baker
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/10/21
15. √ first line is less than 10 words 
• READ Forests, Fishing & Forgery by Tonya Kappes
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/2/21
16. √ banned book 
• READ  The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 10/21/21
17. √  cover features your favorite color prominently 
• READ Dry by Augusten Burroughs
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/23/21
18. √ all about music 
• READ Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review  4/7/21
19. √  character lets out a breath they didn’t realize they were holding
• READ The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie  
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/5/21
20. √ genre you never/rarely read 
• READ Icebound by Andrea Pitzer
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 7/21/21
21. √ standalone 
• READ Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/20/21
22. √ lost royalty 
1. READ Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review  11/23/21
23. √ cover with your country’s flag colors 
• READ Choppy Water by Stuart Woods
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/21/21
24. √ written in letters or diary entries 
• READ The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/13/21
25. √ book centered around politics 
• READ A Burning by Megha Majumdar
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/16/21
26. √  features a carnival or circus IDEA:  The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus
• Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/19/21
27. snake on the cover IDEA:  City of the Beasts/Serpent & Dove
28. √ on the Indie Bestseller list in 2020 or earlier 
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/21/21
29. √ historical with a twist
• A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/17/21
30. √ character has a dream scene 
• READ The Sinister Superyacht by Ana T. Drew  
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review  1/4/21
31. √  set in autumn 
• READ Misalignment and Murder by Cathy Tully 
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review  1/26/21
32. based on non-Greek/Roman mythology IDEA:  The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #1)
33. √ non-binary protagonist 
• READ Chorus Lines, Caviar and Corpses by Mary McHugh
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/12/21
34. √ a book with illustrations 
• READ  Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks by Rebecca Cline
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 12/16/21
35. √ WTF plot twist  
• READ Theater Nights are Murder by Libby Klein
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/22/21
36. √ second book in a duology 
• One of Us is Next by Karen McManus 
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 9/5/21
37. √non-fairytale re-telling 
• READ The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/27/21
38. √ from your 2020 backlist 
• READ Where'd you Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/26/21
39. √ book where the woods/forest are important 
• READ The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 4/10/21
40.  √ black and white 
• READ Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/6/21
41.  √ novella 
• READ Felicia's Food Truck Bite Size Cozies by Celia Kinsey
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/20/21
42. √  person on the cover 
• READ The Answer Is by Alex Trebek
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/10/21
43. √  anthology 
• READ A Flock of an Alibi  anthology Verena DeLuca 
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 10/5/21
44. √ has a map 
• READ South Pole Station by Ashley Shelby
•  Blog Post and GoodReads Review 1/18/21
45.  √ book about bones OR “bone” in the title 
• READ Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/15/21
46.  √ good book, bad cover 
• READ Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/2/21
47.  √ brings out the geek in you
• READ The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/23/21
48. √ bought it for the cover 
• READ The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/26/21  
49. √ book written in verse 
• READ Steampunk Poe by Edgar Allen Poe  DNF
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 10/5/21
50. √ includes a 2nd person point of view
• READ There There by Tommy Orange
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 7/7/21
51.  √ author has a book releasing in 2021
• READ Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/14/21
52. √ mentions a pineapple
• READ Frontier Follies by Ree Drummond
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/12/21

Clearing the TBR Pile

 Once again I am doing several challenges to help clear the ever growing TBR pile.  Some refer to physical books I own and others have to do with clearing the list of Want to Read and Library borrows that I am always seeming to add to as well.  

First up are 2 hosted by Bev on her MyReadersBlock blog.  

Mount TBR-   #MountTBR2021  books you already own before 1/1/21

 Challenge Levels:

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s-  <== Trying this
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro*: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s (*aka Cerro El Toro in South America)
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

The Rules:
*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. You are welcome to voyage further and conquer taller mountains after your commitment is met. 

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2021

*Audiobooks and E-books may count provided they are yours prior to January 1. ARCs are also fine.

Virtual Mount TBR-  #VirtualMountTBR2021 Clear your want to read list

 Challenge levels:

Mount Rum Doodle: Read 12 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Crumpit: Read 24 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Munch: Read 36 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library  <== Trying this
White Plume Mountain: Read 48 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Stormness Head: Read 60 books from you Virtual TBR/Wish List Library
Mount Mindolluin: Read 75 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Seleya: Read 100 books 
Mount Olympus: Read 150+ books 

~Once you choose your challenge level you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find you are on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are welcome to upgrade. All books counted for lower mountains carry over towards the new peak.

This challenge is only for books you do not own. They may be borrowed from the library, a friend, found on a free e-book site (like Project Gutenberg), or anywhere else that allows you to temporarily "checkout" the book. Also--unlike Mount TBR--there is no date limit on your wish list. If you see a book that strikes your fancy after January 1 and want to grab it from the library, etc. then go for it.

  This is a straightforward challenge to just track books that are on your to read list- whether or not you actually own them.  Only requirement is that it must be published before 2020 and be on your list at the beginning of the challenge.   

Let's Laugh a Little

 I found a new challenge hosted by a blogger that I did another challenge for in 2020.   It is the humor books challenge hosted by Jamie at Whatever I Think Of.   It's pretty straightforward, track books that are humorous.

I am planning to start with Cartoonist which is 1-5 books since I am not sure how many books I read are actually labelled humor.   

Choose a level from below.  You may go up a level, but not down.

Cartoonist: 1-5 books  <=  My Goal

Humor Columnist: 6-10 books 

Comedy Writer:  11-15 books

Stand Up Comedian: More than 15 books 

Full details of the challenge are listed below.   Signup on Jamie's site here.

Guidelines for the Challenge:

• Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2021. Books must be started on or after January 1 to count. Re-reads are allowed as long as they are read during the specified time frame.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.
• Any book (fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, graphic novels, poetry collections, plays, picture books) labeled as humor counts. As such, all book formats (paper, audio, electronic) may be read.
• There will be no checkins, nor do you need to post reviews.

Need some reading ideas? Here are some links to help you get started:
Goodreads Humor Book Lists
Popular Humor Books--Goodreads
Humor Books Best Sellers--New York Times
Amazon Best Sellers--Best Humor

Books I've read for this challenge:

1.  Laughing at my Nightmare by Shane Burcaw
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/30/21
2.  Frontier Follies by Ree Drummond
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/12/21
3.  Theater Nights are Murder by Libby Klein
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/22/21
4. I Feel Bad about My Neck by Nora Ephron
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 4/20/21
5. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/23/21
6. Where'd you Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/26/21
7. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review  11/18/21

The (Unofficial) Magnus Archives

 The (Unofficial) Magnus Archives Reading Challenge

   #TMARC21 and #tmaReadingChallenge2021.

The Rules:

• there are no rules! 
• adhere to these prompts as rigidly or as loosely as you’d like.
• If you find a book that you think would fit a Fear or a character, but it’s not their assigned prompt, go ahead and fill that one in, anyway. 
• If you want to use one book for more than one prompt, go ahead.
• If you want to just pick and choose your favorite Fears and characters and read books from their prompts, go ahead.
• If you’re bringing over books you started in 2020 but didn’t finish, and want to include them in the challenge, even though you only read the last three pages in 2021, go ahead.
  
• I’m just really honored if you try doing this in the first place.
• the current tags I’m using for this challenge is #TMARC21 and #tmaReadingChallenge2021. If you’re planning on joining in on these shenanigans, I’d love to see it! You’re welcome to post TBRs, bookstacks, Excel spreadsheets, whatever.

 the prompts come in 2 categories:

• 30 prompts that riff on the Fears (2 prompts per Entity), and
• 22 prompts based on Avatars or other characters in TMA.

Completed:  47 /52 prompts

1. √ The Eye: Nonfic about an unfamiliar subject  

• READ The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/20/21


2. √ The Buried: a Bottle Episode (set in a single room/place)

• READ The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 4/10/21
3. √ The Dark: about/set in space 

• READ Binti by Nnedi Okorafor 
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 9/3/21
4. √ The Flesh: MC/author works in food service

• READ No Good Tea Goes Unpunished by Bree Baker 
• Blog Post  and Good Reads Review 2/10/21
5. √ The Desolation: about a Chosen One
• READ Carry On Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review  11/16/21
6. The Slaughter: set during/about a war before 1800 IDEA: Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution's Women

7. √ The Spiral: by an ND person/with an ND MC 
• READ  The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/23/21

8. √ The Hunt: a murder mystery 

• READ  Shakeup by Stuart Woods
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/24/21

9. √ The Stranger: MC/author is a performer 

• READ  Chorus Lines, Caviar and Corpses by Mary McHugh
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/12/21

10. The End: biography of a deceased person IDEA: Fire on the Track: Betty Robinson and the Triumph of the Early Olympic Women 

11. √ The Vast: set on a plane/boat  

• READ Peril Through the Panama Canal by Lizzie Josephson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/12/21

12. √ The Corruption: about a family  

• READ  Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/15/21
13. √  The Lonely: about/set in the Arctic  
• READ  South Pole Station by Ashley Shelby
• Blog Post and GoodReads Review 1/18/21

14. √  The Web: with a puppeteer figure (literal or figurative)  

• READ One of Us is Next by Karen McManus
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 9/5/21

15. The Extinction: post-apocalyptic fiction IDEA: Divergent (Divergent, #1)

16. √  Beholding: with a found footage element  

• READ   Midnight Library by Matt Haig 
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/20/21

17. √ Too Close: a novella 

• READ  Botched Butterscotch by Amanda Flower
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/13/21

18. √ Mr. Pitch: with an immortal character 

• READ  The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/27/21
19. √ Meat: with an animal companion/character
• READ   Forests, Fishing & Forgery by Tonya Kappes
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/2/21

20. √ Flame: involves elemental powers 

• READ Death of an Irish Diva by Mollie Cox Bryan
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/18/21

21. √ Piper: music is a plot element 

• READ  Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review  4/7/21
22. √ Es Mentiras: with a door on the cover 

• READ Cold Case Crumble by Jennifer Joy
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/18/21

23. √ Hunter: involves a MacGuffin  

• READ  The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie  
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/5/21

24. √  I Do Not Know You: by an author you’ve never read

• READ Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/6/21

25. √ Terminus: the last book in a series 

• READ  Felicia's Food Truck Bite Size Cozies by Celia Kinsey
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/20/21

26. √ Titan: a graphic novel 

• READ  Ms. Marvel, Vol 2   Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson
• Blog Post and Good  Reads Review 2/12/21 

27. √ Filth: with fruit on the cover  

• READ Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/15/21
28. √ Forsaken: involves a crew/squad of some kind   
• READ  Misalignment and Murder by Cathy Tully 
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review  1/26/21

29. √ Spider: a childhood favorite  READ Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein  Blog Post and Goodreads Review  11/18/2

30. √ Change: about/involving dinosaurs 

• READ  Z Rex by Steve Cole
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 8/1/21

31. √ Jon: MC/author is ace

• READ   Choppy Water by Stuart Woods
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/21/21
32. √ Sasha: with a female detective 
• READ The Murder Mystery Cruise by Lizzie Josephson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/13/21

33. √ Tim: with fire on the cover 

• READ A Burning by Megha Majumdar
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/16/21

34. √ Martin: by/about a poet OR includes poetry 

• READ A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/17/21

35. √ Melanie: by/about a social media personality 

• READ Laughing at my Nightmare by Shane Burcaw
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/30/21

36. √ Basira: MC is a bookworm 

• READ Raspberry Chocolate Murder by Leena Clover 
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 4/18/21

37. Daisy: involves werewolves IDEA: City of Bones

38. √ Gerry: about ghosts/MC is a ghost 

• READ  Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/17/21
39. √ Oliver: involves dreams 
• READ  The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/13/21
40. Michael: an old favorite IDEA: The Secret Garden

41. √ Annabelle: with an unreliable narrator 

• READ The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/25/21
42. √ Benoît Maçon: with an unexpected partnership/romance
• READ  Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/14/21
43. √ Jane Prentiss: with a found family 
• READ  In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/7/21
44. √ Simon Fairchild: MC is elderly 
• READ Tide and Punishment by Bree Baker
• Blog Post  and Good Reads Review 2/11/21
45. √ Jonah Magnus: an epistolary novel OR includes letters 

• READ Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliot
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/6/21
46. √ Breekon & Hope: with an established partnership/romance 
• READ  Deserts, Driving, & Derelicts by Tonya Kappes
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/26/21
47. √ Nikola: with a fictionalized historical figure 
• READ  Lost Palm by Chris Niles
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 2/17/21
48. √ Adelard Dekker: MC is religious 

• READ  Frontier Follies by Ree Drummond
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/12/21
49. √ Grifter’s Bone: about/featuring an urban legend
• READ  The Sinister Superyacht by Ana T. Drew 1/4/21 
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 
50. √ Gertrude: author/MC has a cat 
• READ Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review  2/9/21
51. √ Mikaele: involves pirates 
• READ Topped Chef by Lucy Burdette
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/13/21
52. √ Manuela Dominguez: author/MC works in the sciences 
• READ  The Three Mrs. Wrights by Linda Keir
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/29/21