One thing I'm not behind in is meeting my goals for the 2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge. I vowed to read 30+ bookish books and I'm currently at 42. Huzzah! How are you doing with your challenge goals?

November was an especially bookish books-y month for me. I managed to read ten of them. My favorites were the Benjamin Stevenson ones. His books are clever and funny. They make me laugh every time. 

Here are my bookish November reads in the order I read them:

Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales by Wendy S. Swore—This middle-grade novel is about two kids, one with narcolepsy and one with Type 1 diabetes. It's not really about books, but the diabetic main character loves to read. She's especially fond of fairy tales and fantasy novels.

The Legend of the Last Library by Frank L. Cole—Another MG story, this one takes place in a future where paper is a scarce and very valuable commodity. When Juni, who scavenges for any kind of scraps that will earn her money to help pay for her grandfather's medical care, discovers a real book—the first one she's ever seen—she can't wait to sell it for profit. That is until she realizes the priceless secret it contains...

The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander—In this series debut, Annie Murray cooks up the idea of hosting a mystery-themed book festival to bring in funds to save the struggling bookshop where she works. She's stunned when a group of her college classmates randomly shows up for the event and shocked when one of them winds up dead. Using all the know-how she's gained from reading mystery novels, she sets out to solve the murder.

The Bard and the Book: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion by Ann Bausum—This picture book, aimed at MG readers, is about exactly what it says it's about. Ha! Imagine that.

A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander—The second installment in the Annie Murray series, this one has the bookseller co-hosting a film festival complete with a movie premiere. With a host of dramatic, egotistical Hollywood types in town, it's not really that much of a surprise when a murder occurs. Once again, Annie is on the case.

The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase—This mystery is about two kids who are never quite the same after their mother leaves home one day and never returns. As they deal with the fallout of their only parent's secret life, they find themselves in even more trouble. Decades later, when a new owner buys their childhood home and starts digging up the basement, one of the kids—now a romance novelist—panics, knowing that their shocking family secrets are about to be unearthed...

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson—After Ernest Cunningham unmasked a serial killer and wrote a popular book about it (titled Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, naturally), he is invited to attend a mystery writers' retreat aboard a luxury train. With a variety of personalities aboard, it's not long before tempers start to simmer and boil over. When an author is found dead, it's up to Ernie to investigate. Well, technically, it's the police's job, but Ernie can't resist using his vast wisdom and experience to assist the authorities, whether they want his aid or not. (They don't.)

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson—Ernie Cunningham doesn't go seeking murders to write about, but they somehow keep finding him. In this short novel (long novella?), his ex-wife calls him after she's accused of murdering her wealthy, famous boyfriend. As Ernie pokes around in the dead man's business, he discovers that (thankfully) his ex wasn't the only one with motive, means, and opportunity.

Booked For Murder by P.J. Nelson—When her beloved aunt passes away, actress Madeline Brimley finds herself the new owner of The Old Juniper Bookstore. Although she, herself, isn't sure what to think about her inheritance, it becomes obvious that someone in town isn't happy about it. First, someone sets fire to her gazebo. Then, there are threatening phone calls. Now, there's been a murder. To clear her name, Madeline must find out whodunit. 

As for December, the only bookish book I plan to read is A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd. It's a murder mystery featuring one of Romeo and Juliet's daughters as an amateur detective. It sounds like a super fun read. 

I hope you've had a good time with the Bookish Books Reading Challenge this year. I sure have! I will be hosting it again next year and I certainly hope you'll sign up to participate again. I'll make an official sign-up post soon.

If you are participating in the 2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your December reviews. 

Side note: I only watched the first ten minutes or so of the Netflix version of My Plain Jane, but that's all it took to show me that the television show is much raunchier than the book, which is PG-rated (at least as far as I remember).

2. Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce—This installment is the latest in another of my favorite children's series. It stars Myrtle Hardcastle, a brilliant young woman in Victorian England who has an "unnatural" obsession with murder and forensics. She solves crimes with the help of her governess and assorted others. This particular book is set on a Scottish island, where Myrtle's governess has just inherited a crumbling castle. It doesn't take long for our heroine to find herself on the hunt for a missing brooch and a murderer.

3. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson—Even though I like Sanderson, I likely wouldn't have read this YA fantasy if it hadn't been for book club. That would have been a shame, too, because this novel is a gem. It's an action/adventure/pirate story about a young woman who sets sail in search of her missing best friend and finds herself along the way.

4. The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly—This YA novel stars Michael, a 12-year-old boy with severe anxiety, especially with the threat of Y2K looming before him. When he meets Ridge, a confident teen who seems to have no worries at all, Michael is fascinated—and that's before Ridge announces that he's the world's first time traveler. Ridge even has a special book all about the future, a book that could assuage all of Michael's worries, if only he could get his hands on it. 

The plot sounds kind of weird, I know, but this book features some warm, wonderful characters and imparts important lessons about being present in the now instead of obsessing over what the future might bring.

5. Artifice by Sharon Cameron—Isa de Smit was raised in her father's Amsterdam art gallery, a home filled with life, color, and vibrancy. Now that the Nazis have taken over the city, everything has changed. Isa's struggling to hold on to her beloved gallery while her best friend is risking his life by working with the Dutch resistance to smuggle Jewish babies out of the city. He needs money for his important work and Isa has a way to get it. By selling the Nazis the forgeries her father made of famous paintings, she can help the resistance and save her gallery. If she gets caught? She will lose everything, including her life. 

If you like historical fiction, I also highly recommend Cameron's Bluebird. I liked it even better than Artifice.  

6. One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome—This middle grade verse novel takes on a unique subject: the Black homesteader movement. It features three women pioneers headed for an unknown future in the Nebraska wilderness. The story is poignant and powerful. 

7. Dust by Dusti Bowling—Another MG read, this one is about a girl with severe asthma who becomes obsessed with the mysterious new boy at her school. Adam is sullen and angry, with no desire to interact with anyone. Considering that dust devils seem to swarm around the kid, Avalyn really should stay away from him. But she can't. She's determined to get to the bottom of Adam's heavy emotions, whether he likes it or not—and whether it's safe for her or not.

8. The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier—When I volunteered at my daughter's elementary school library a few years back, this graphic novel series was wildly popular. I finally picked up this series opener and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a quick read that's chock full of action, humor, and heart. I can't wait to read the sequels.

9. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett—I don't remember if I read this classic as a child or not, but I loved it as an adult. It's a sweet, wholesome riches-to-rags story about the importance of kindness, humility, and fortitude.

10. Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine—Even though it deals with the still-raw subject of COVID, I enjoyed this hopeful MG novel about working together to get through hard times. The author grew up in Wuhan, so the setting feels especially authentic. 

There you go, ten of my favorite children's books that I read in 2024. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What are you grateful for today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!