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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


33 / 30 bookish books. 110% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (9)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (2)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (3)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (22)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 50 books. 100% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


36 / 40 books. 90% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


26 / 25 cozies. 104% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


23 / 26.2 miles (3rd lap). 88% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


42 / 100 books. 42% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


97 / 109 books. 89% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


136 / 165 books. 82% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


83 / 100 names. 83% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


14 / 80 skills. 18% done!
Tuesday, August 23, 2016

TTT: And Still They Languish ...


Believe it or not (not!), I started this blog ten years ago this month.  Crazy.  It's evolved a lot since then, as have I.  Weirdly enough, in all those years, my enthusiasm for book blogging has not waned.  I still think it's a grand old time.  Will I still be doing this ten years from now?  Probably.  Here's to another decade of BBB!

I've been inhaling books for a lot longer than ten years so you'd think that I'd have read every book on my TBR list mountain mountain chain by now.  Yeah, not quite.  It's still crammed full of titles I'm hoping to get to someday.  Plenty of them have been on my radar for more than ten years, which makes this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic a cinch.  I could make several TTT lists of Books That Have Been On My TBR List Since Before I Started Blogging.  I'm guessing you could, too, so why don't you join in the fun?  Cruise on over to The Broke and the Bookish for the rules of the game, then make your own TTT list, and share it with the book blogosphere.  It's fun!

Top Ten Books That have Been On My TBR List Since Before I Started Blogging:



1.  Atonement by Ian McEwan (2003)—This Booker Prize-nominated novel seems to be about many things: writing, a crime that changes people's lives, war, and I'm not sure what else.  Lots of people love it and I've yet to read it or anything by McEwan for that matter.


2.  Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (2006)—I bought this book at Borders back in the day.  I've been meaning to read it ever since.  My Bailey (Bayley) ancestors did not come to America on the Mayflower, but they arrived in Plymouth soon after the famous ship docked.  Mayflower is supposed to be a fascinating account of the Pilgrims and their journey to the New World.  Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea has also been on my TBR list for some time.


3.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2004)—This story about an autistic teen investigating the death of a neighborhood dog sounds quirky and interesting.  I've seen lots of praise for it over the years.  And yet, still it languishes on Ye Olde TBR ...


4.  Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2006)—A sweeping multi-generational tale about fathers and sons, this novel came out the year I started blogging.  Still haven't gotten around to it.


5.  The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst (2004)—This tale about a man who tries to make sense of his wife's death by performing experiments to teach his dog to speak sounds ... unusual.  Also heartbreaking.  I'm still curious about it.  One of these days I'll finally get to it.  Maybe.


6.  Eragon by Christopher Paolini (2001)—Admittedly, I'm not a huge dragon/fantasy fan.  Still, so many people love the Inheritance Cycle series that I need to at least give it a go.  The fact that Paolini wrote the first book when he was just 15 is another reason to check it out.


7.  I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (2002)—Like many people, I've only read one book by Zusak—The Book Thief.  Some of my most trusted book blogging friends (I'm looking at you, Suey and Jenny) think he's written more than one great novel.  I need to see for myself.  This particular Zusak has been on my TBR list for far too long.  It's about time I just read I Am the Messenger already!


8.  The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1998)—I love post-apocalyptic books, but for some reason I just can't ever get very far in this one.  Not because it's not intriguing, just because I always get distracted by newer, shinier books.


9.  Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (2004)—I've heard so many great things about Roach's books, this one in particular, that it's a wonder I still haven't read her.  I need to remedy that right away.


10.  Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (1992)—I was completely swept away by Outlander when I read it way back when.  Why I didn't grab this sequel immediately I'm not sure.  I'll have to read Outlander again before I can continue on with this series, so who knows if it will ever actually happen?  I like big books (and I cannot lie), but re-reading has never been my favorite thing.

So, there you have it.  What do you think?  Have you read any of these?  Do you consider any of them must-reads or can they linger on the TBR list?  I'd love to have a look at your list.  Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!  

(All book images from Barnes & Noble)

Dark, Twisty Thriller as Surprise-Filled as the Thames Itself

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for A Dark and Twisted Tide, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Lacey Flint mysteries.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.  Actually, in the case of this author, I recommend reading her books in order of publication to avoid spoilers about secondary, but recurring characters.)

After investigating several harrowing cases with a London homicide team, Detective Constable Lacey Flint has had enough.  She now works for the city's Marine Unit.  As if patrolling the water all day isn't enough, she's also moved into a houseboat on the Thames.  Much to her surprise, the intensely private Lacey actually enjoys being part of the floating community with its laidback lifestyle and quirky residents.  She's even taken to wild-swimming in the Thames, a dangerous hobby that appeals to Lacey's reckless side.  Add in a satisfying relationship with DI Mark Joesbury and the former homicide detective is about as happy as she's ever been.  

Then Lacey makes a gruesome discovery.  Considering the Thames is infamous for producing at least a corpse a week, Lacey shouldn't be shocked to bump into a dead body during one of her clandestine swims.  Still, it's a surprise to find the shrouded remains of a young Middle Eastern woman bobbing in the water.  And that's only the first one.  After several similar finds, it becomes obvious that someone is trying to get Lacey's attention.  Drawn once more into a puzzling murder mystery, she scrambles for answers while a sinister presence stalks her every move.  Already paranoid, Lacey's also hearing disturbing rumors about Joesbury.  With both her personal and professional lives in turmoil, she's got to figure out what's going on.  And fast.  Before her own corpse becomes the next to surface out of the murky depths of the River Thames.

Fresh is not an adjective normally associated with the Thames, but in this case it fits.  That's because the unique riverboat community setting in A Dark and Twisted Tide breathes fresh, new life into Sharon Bolton's already-excellent Lacey Flint series.  It adds an extra element of color and intrigue that makes this, the fourth installment, stand out.  Like its predecessors, A Dark and Twisted Tide also features interesting characters, vivid storytelling, and enough plot twists to make your head spin.  My only complaint is that Joesbury is more off-scene than on in this one.  Otherwise, I really enjoyed this riveting thriller.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Lacey Flint series, including Now You See Me; If Snow Hadn't Fallen [novella]; Dead Scared; Lost; and Here Be Dragons [novella])

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for language, violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find
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Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth



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