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2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


27 / 30 books. 90% done!

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


39 / 50 books. 78% done!

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska (1)
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International:

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My Progress:


34 / 51 states. 67% done!

2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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24 / 25 books. 96% done!

2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

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29 / 50 books. 58% done!

Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge

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38 / 52 books. 73% done!

2026 52 Club Reading Challenge

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34 / 52 books. 65% done!

2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

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22 / 40 books. 55% done!

2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

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24 / 51 books. 47% done!

2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge

2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

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19 / 25 books. 76% done!

2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


44 / 52 books. 85% done!

Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)

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54 / 65 books. 83% done!

2026 Countdown Reading Challenge

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55 / 55 books. 100% done!

2026 Series Reading Challenge


23 / 36 books. 64% done!

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

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70 / 125 books. 56% done!

2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge

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9 / 9 books. 100% done!

2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)

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36 / 60 books. 60% done!

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

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10 / 40 books. 25% done!

European Reading Challenge 2026

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7 / 50 books. 14% done!

2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)

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67 / 125 books. 54% done!

2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge

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4 / 5 challenges. 80% done!

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

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98 / 100 names. 98% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

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76 / 80 skills. 95% done!
Showing posts with label Terry Lynn Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terry Lynn Johnson. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 21, 2020

A Borrow, Not Buy Top Ten Tuesday List


It's Tuesday, so that can only mean one thing: it's time for my favorite bookish meme.  Since I already did a version of this week's topic (Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf) not long ago, I'm going to change it up a little and talk instead about the My Top Ten Most Recent Library Acquisitions.  I've always utilized my local libraries (both city and county), but after spending a pretty penny on new books in 2019, I'm going to try to borrow more and buy less in 2020. We'll see how that goes ...

First, won't you join the TTT fun?  It's easy and enjoyable, I promise!  All you have to do is head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few quick instructions, make your own list, and then spend some happy hours surfing through the book blogosphere.  It's a great way to find reading recommendations, discover new blogs, and spread the love throughout our wonderful blogging community.

Alright, here we go with My Top Ten Most Recent Library Acquisitions:


1.  The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer (audiobook)—Ever since I found that I don't actually hate audiobooks, I've tried to have one on deck at all times.  I borrowed this one, the eighth installment in one of my favorite YA series, because of a recommendation from an anonymous blog commenter.  I always enjoy the Bloody Jack books and this one is no exception.  I'm especially taken with the narrator, the late Katherine Kellgren, who does an excellent job giving voice to the irrepressible Jacky Faber.  The books are hefty, so the audiobook is over eleven hours long.  Still, it's a fun one.


2.  A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths—I'm behind on the Ruth Galloway mystery series, but it's another one I've enjoyed immensely.  This installment, the fourth, concerns the murder of a museum curator, then the museum's owner.  Naturally, Ruth and D.I. Nelson are called in to investigate.  I can't wait to catch up with Ruth and Co.


3.  Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu—I've heard good things about this mystery series starring a feisty Singaporean widow who runs a restaurant and solves mysteries in her spare time.  The opening installment involves a murder and the disappearance of one of Aunty Lee's guests, two puzzling events that must be related.


4.  What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr—In this standalone from Barr, a woman in her 60's wakes up in the Alzheimer's unit of a nursing home.  Although she can't remember how she got there, Rose is convinced she's still in her right mind.  When another shocking event occurs, she becomes sure of it—someone is trying to eliminate her.  But why?


5.  Second Sight by Aoife Clifford—I always like a good going-home-to-confront-secrets-of-the-past type books, so this one sounds appealing.  It's about a lawyer who returns to her Australian hometown after a devastating wildfire, only to witness an old friend commit a crime that propels her on a journey to uncover the secrets others would like to remain buried forever.


6.  Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson—I enjoyed Johnson's newest MG novel, Dog Driven, so I wanted to try another one by her.  Ice Dogs is a survival story about a girl who gets lost in the Alaskan wilderness during a dogsled race.  Sounds exciting!


7.  The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan—I've only read a couple of Colgan's novels, but I loved them both, so I want to read more from her.  The Café by the Sea is the first book in her Mure series.  It stars Flora, who returns to her hometown to lick her wounds, only to find herself caught up in the dramas of island and family life.  Fun!


8.  Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner—Graphic novels aren't really my thing, but this one jumped out at me while my 11-year-old daughter was perusing the shelves for Pokémon books.  The story centers on a half-white, half-Japanese boy who is sent to a California internment camp during World War II.  Should be a quick, interesting read.


9.  A Sky Full of Stars by Linda Williams Jackson—This is another book I noticed while browsing the children's section with my daughter.  Set in 1955, the story is about a 13-year-old girl who's frightened of growing racial tension in her Mississippi town.  Trying to decide if she should leave the state altogether or attempt to stay and push for change, she learns some valuable lessons about racism, community, and taking action.


10.  The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers—I've never read anything by Meyers, but the title of this 2013 novel caught my attention.  It's about a woman whose extramarital affair leaves her pregnant and alone.  Five years after she places the child for adoption, her lover's wife finds out what happened.  Told from the perspectives of three women caught in the drama, it's a novel about the consequences of infidelity, the journey toward forgiveness, and the power of family, even in the most unlikely of situations.

There you go, ten books I recently grabbed off the library shelves.  Have you read any of them?  What have you checked out lately from the library or acquired from a bookstore?  I'd love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!
Sunday, December 29, 2019

Exciting Dogsled Race Novel Perfect for MG Readers Who Dig Outdoor Adventures

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

McKenna Barney loves mushing.  Always has.  Under normal circumstances, she—and her eight sled dogs—would be chomping at the bit to enter an upcoming, 200-mile dogsled race commemorating the brave work of early Canadian mail carriers.  But these aren't normal times.  The 14-year-old is showing signs of Stargardt disease, the same degenerative vision condition that has been stealing her younger sister's sight.  McKenna doesn't want to admit her symptoms to her parents.  That would only cause more tension, more fighting, and more stress over money.  They're dealing with enough of that with one affected child.  How much worse would it be with two?

When 8-year-old Emma realizes what McKenna's hiding, she makes her sister a deal.  McKenna will run the race, carrying a letter from Emma to Foundation Fighting Blindness, asking the organization to help spread awareness about Stargardt disease.  If she wins, Emma will say nothing to their parents about McKenna's condition.  If she loses, Emma spills the beans.  McKenna's not ready for that, so she must win.  Even if it means navigating rough terrain, ice storms, animal attacks, and dogsled maintenance with low vision that's getting worse by the day.  And it will.  Can McKenna finish the race, let alone win?

Terry Lynn Johnson is an outdoor enthusiast with extensive dogsledding experience.  It shows in her newest MG novel, Dog Driven, which rings with authority.  The story includes lots of interesting information about mushing that's shared in a way that doesn't talk down to the reader or slow the plot's forward action.  It also stars a strong, but vulnerable heroine who has to learn to have confidence in her abilities, accept her limitations, and ask for help when needed.  Although the story stars several likable characters, the focus is really on the action-packed plot.  There are plenty of exciting twists and turns in McKenna's path (literally and figuratively) to keep the tale exciting.  Hand this one to kids who love the outdoors and are always up for a thrilling adventure.

(Readalikes:  This is the first book I've read by Johnson, but I know she's written others about dogsledding and other outdoor adventures.  Dog Driven also reminds me a bit of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and The Wild Lands by Paul Greci)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Dog Driven on Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019

TTT: A Book-Filled Winter


I love it when the Top Ten Tuesday topic du jour is a seasonal TBR list!  It's always fun to think about what I want to read in the coming months (even if I never get around to actually reading my picks).  For the next couple of weeks, I'll still be reading frantically for the Cybils.  After that, I've got a variety of books I'm hoping to get to this winter/early spring.  We'll see how it goes.

If you're not playing along with TTT this week, what's wrong with you?  Seriously, it's a good time!  All you have to do is click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, scan a few quick instructions, make your own list, and then spend some happy hours wandering around the book blogosphere.  Sure, there's Christmas shopping to do, gifts to wrap, goodies to bake, and bills to pay, but those things will wait while you visit favorite blogs, discover new ones, add books to your TBR mountain chain, and spread the love around this wonderful book blogging community.  It's an entertaining diversion, trust me!

Top Ten(ish) Books on My Winter TBR List:   


1.  Dog Driven by Terry Lynn Johnson—I just bought myself a copy of this middle-grade novel about a girl who's trying to hide the devastating fact that she's rapidly losing her eyesight.  When her sister begs her to enter a dog sled race in the Canadian wilderness, she can't refuse—even if she's not sure she can see well enough to race, let alone win.  Sounds like an exciting adventure novel!


2.  A Conspiracy of Bones by Kathy Reichs (coming March 17, 2020)—I've been waiting for this newest installment in Reichs' Temperance Brennan series to come out for several years.  The author had to take a break from writing due to health problems and I'm so glad she (and her fictional counterpart) are back in business.


3.  The Sea of Lost Girls by Carol Goodman (coming March 3, 2020)—I'm a fan of Goodman's Gothic thrillers, so I'm excited about her newest.  It concerns a teacher at a posh boarding school whose teen son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.  The crime brings attacks on the family and threats of revealing secrets from the woman's hidden past.  


4.  From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks (coming January 14, 2020)—I love me a good middle-grade mystery and this debut sounds intriguing.  When the titular character receives a letter from her father—a man she's never met who is in prison for a heinous crime—proclaiming his innocence, she launches a secret investigation to figure out if he's telling the truth.  


5.  How to Walk Away by Katherine CenterThings You Save in a Fire was one of my favorite reads this year.  This one, Center's 2018 offering, sounds just as good.  It's about a woman whose life changes in an instant.  As she figures out how to deal with her new normal, she must reexamine her entire life and everyone in it.  

I just realized Center has a new novel coming out in July 2020, so I'll be keeping an eye out for that one as well.  


6.  A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn (coming March 10, 2020)—An ARC of this one, the newest installment in Raybourn's always-entertaining Veronica Speedwell mystery series, is winging its way to my doorstep as we speak.  I can't wait to see what the delightful, intrepid Veronica gets herself up to next! 


7.  The Lost Castle and Castle on the Rise by Kristy Cambron—I really enjoyed reading The Painted Castle this year.  Since I didn't realize it's actually the third book in a trilogy of connected novels, I need to go back and read the first two.  



8.  What Stars Are Made of by Sarah Allen (coming March 31, 2020)—This debut middle-grade novel concerns a girl with Turner Syndrome who makes a deal with the universe—if she wins the grand prize in a contest she wants to enter and she gives all the money to her sister, her sister's baby will be born perfectly healthy.  Sounds like a sweet story!



9.  The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley (coming February 4, 2020)—When a lonely old man writes the stark truth about his life in a green journal he purposely leaves in a cafe, it inspires others to write—and own—their own truths.  


10.  We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry (coming March 3, 2020)—This YA novel is about a group of high school field hockey players living in the town that 300 years ago was known as Salem Village who find a spellbook that just might reverse their losing streak and change their lives forever.  Fun!

There you have it, ten(ish) books I'm looking forward to reading this winter/early spring.  Have you read any of them?  What's on your Winter TBR?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.  

Happy TTT!
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