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The start of a new year of reading Cozies!! 21+, here I come!

Good luck. Happy Reading.

I have been a GoodReads "lurker" for the past few months--okay, from the beginning of the year--reading but not posting. It's not that I haven't been finishing books (over 300 items--books, novellas, and short stories--to date); I just haven't been posting. And, it's not like I don't have the time, though I do spend a lot of free time reading; I've just been lazy. I kept promising myself I'd update at least monthly, then quarterly, then bi-annually... I decided this weekend I'd catch up at least here. Yay, me. I'm actually doing it.

I'm still hooked on those stupid romances (mild through too hot to admit to on my public lists)--don't judge, they're just so easy to read quickly then on to the next. ;o)

But, I have read cozies (all of which I admit to). I'm assuming that romances involving crime-solving between sex scenes don't really count, so... The start of my challenge list for the year.
1. Cleo Coyle - A Brew to a Kill 160228 (Yes, it took to February!)
2. Cleo Coyle - Holiday Buzz 160315
3. Cleo Coyle - Billionaire Blend 160317
4. Cleo Coyle - Once Upon a Grind 160330
5. Cleo Coyle - Dead to the Last Drop 160408
Thus catching up the Coffeehouse Mysteries, at least until December! I know I say this all the time, but this is one of my favorite series. I love how Coyle crafts her stories to include news of all our favorite characters, even when they're not front and center to the story. I wasn't sure if I'd like the move to Washington D.C. in Dead to the Last Drop, but I loved the political intrigue mixed with the usual murder-mixed-with-coffee-and-coffeehouse and the Clare-Mike love story. Toss in a bit of US history, too. I love the new characters and hope that we get more of them as the series continues.

6. Joanne Fluke - Wedding Cake Murder 160414
Yay, Hannah gets married. Boo... I hate the way Mike and Norman reacted. How would you like people you consider friends (okay, sort of boyfriends) to support you with words to the effect of "I'll be here to pick up the pieces when your husband disappoints you"? I hope this is not foreshadowing to Ross doing something criminal, etc. in the future. That would just annoy me.

Though I still like this series, I am beginning to dislike Hannah. In this installment, she allowed her mother and sister to take over the planning of her entire wedding, as if she couldn't be bothered. True, the backdrop of the murder mystery had Hannah and Michelle competing in a cooking show that took up a lot of her time, but it seems odd that she didn't want to have a say in any of the choices. Maybe she and Ross should have just eloped.

Aside from that... the mystery was interesting and was more in the forefront than others as of late. There are two more books on schedule, September 2016 and February 2017, at this point. I'm still enjoying it overall and look forward to the next entries. (Please, Ms. Fluke, keep Hannah and Ross together and happy!)

7. Victoria Laurie - A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder 160415
Sadly, this is the last book in this great series. MJ, Heath, and Gilley are home in Boston. MJ and Heath are hiding some news from Gilley who is busy planning his wedding to Michael and has turned into the worst kind of ghoul...a bridezilla! (I don't think MJ and Heath can tame that ghoul!) But that takes a back seat to the murder and ghoul hunting.

The film about the gang's ghost hunting adventures is finally seeing light and a local museum is hosting an exhibit of supernatural and show artifacts. While MJ and Heath are away, Gilley, in his usual air-heady way, loans the museum one of the most dangerous and evil of artifacts MJ and Heath secured and hid away, the dagger holding evil Oruc's entity (last seen in Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun). Though Gilley took a serious number of precautions, the dagger is stolen and the entity released. Not only that, Oruc has figured out a way to allow demons up from the lower realms where they've been trapped. Now, not only are MJ, Heath, and Gilley working to find the murderer and, thus, the dagger and once again contain Oruc, they find themselves battling old nemeses, including the Widow from What a Ghoul Wants, who nearly killed Heath and MJ. Add to that a skeptical detective who thinks this is all just a publicity stunt. Ex SFPD detective Ayden MacDonald, who worked with MJ and Heath when they first dealt with Oruc, also makes an appearance.

Though I'm sad to see this series end, this stroll down (evil!) memory lane was a great way to bring things full circle. It ends on a high, optimistic note. Since MJ and Psychic Eye star Abby Cooper are friends, I'm hoping to see the Ghost Hunter characters in cameos or that we at least get updates about the crew now and then.

8. Jenn McKinlay - Vanilla Beaned 160423
Another favorite series (really, aren't they all!). I enjoyed the change of venue to this entry. Mel, Angie, and Tate are in Las Vegas to facilitate the start-up of the first Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery franchise. Mel is against the idea and is more so when she first meets potential franchisee Holly Hartzmark, a former showgirl. After Holly's first-choice location is bombed and the second vandalized, Mel and the gang, along with Holly, work to find out who has it in for Holly and why. As with the past few books, this ends on a personal cliffhanger. I'm looking forward to the next entry, April 2017.

9. Heather Blake - Ghost of a Potion 160425
Another good entry to this fun series. I am loving the characters more and more. It's Halloween, a day Carly spends locked in her house avoiding ghosts seeking help to move on and crowds of people with their overwhelming emotions. Too bad there's a costume ball being hosted by boyfriend Dylan's mother and her historical society. Worse, cousin Delia has a dream about Dylan's mother and a dead body. Though she and Dylan's mother do not get along at all, Carly attends with Dylan in an effort to waylay any murderous mishaps. Not only does Delia's premonition come true, but Carly runs into the ghost, Haywood Dodd, who needs her help. While doing that, she happens upon a mystery surrounding another death--an old hit and run--that seems to be related to the current events. She sets out to find the truth with the help of her family, Delia, and Dylan. Both the mysteries and the personal stories kept me interested throughout. Old secrets, which affect Dylan, come out. What will this mean for Carly and Dylan's future? I can't wait for the next entry!

Reading this had me asking questions/thinking about the earlier books, especially the relationships between the characters, so I went back and reread them...
10. Heather Blake - A Potion to Die For 160425
11. Heather Blake - One Potion in the Grave 160425 (Yes, I finished them all on the same day! Whew!)
I was glad I went back to the previous books. There was a lot in the different relationships I had forgotten--not the big things, but enough. And, reading the second book I came across one of the most romantic things... To Carly's equal happiness, leeriness, and chagrin, Dylan has taken it upon himself to help her renovate her house. As she works to solve the mystery, while keeping her romantic distance from Dylan, he's pushing her romantic buttons. Carly's Aunt Marjie is staying with her while recovering from an injury and observes the goings on. Finally she tells Carly, “Every day that man’s here, he’s fixing a piece of you. Patching together your broken heart as surely as he patches a hole in the wall. Open your eyes, girl. Open your heart. You’ll see it’s working just fine again.� How sweet and romantic is that!

Anyway, I am so looking forward to the next book. (In the meantime, I need to catch up Blake's Wishcraft Mysteries.)

12. Kaitlyn Dunnett - Ho-Ho-Homicide 160506
Okay... a not-so-favorite series. Yes, I'm still reading it. You wonder why since this is book 8 in the series and I haven't particularly liked any of the previous entries. I've just invested too much (hoping they'd get better) to stop. And, I have to admit--hold your hats!--I actually liked this one! Liss was not as annoying as in previous books; neither was her husband, Dan. The mystery was interesting. It was a cold case--and not because it was winter. Add in secretive and shady people and small town intrigue... Enjoyable.

13. Kaitlyn Dunnett - The Scottie Barked At Midnight 160521
I hope I'm not getting soft... I liked this one, too. Dan was more annoying in this one than the last, but not to the point of aggravation. This entry allowed Liss to dance--with dogs--on a televised reality contest. The dogs in question belong to the murder victim. At the beginning of the book, Liss rescues one of the dogs, a Scottie, and meets the owner when she returns him. The woman winds up dead within a few days and her daughter asks Liss to fill in on the show.

As with the last book the main characters weren't annoying and the mystery was interesting and involving. I can't see this ever being a favorite series, but I'm hopeful for the next book, which I have on my TBR (at the bottom, of course). Thankfully, the books are quick reads so even if I dislike them, all I've lost is a few hours.

14. Leslie Caine - Poisoned by Gilt 160527
15. Leslie Caine - Holly and Homicide 160606
16. Leslie Caine - Two Funerals and a Wedding 160612
Sensing a theme here? I'm catching up on series. My alternate reading has really put me behind. (I need to have better discipline!)

This is a nice series. Not great, not bad. I like the main characters Erin Gilbert, Steve Sullivan, and Audrey Monroe--though Steve makes me angry at times, especially when he acts like a jerk, then basically blames Erin. The mysteries are always interesting. I enjoy the included decorating tips. I'm hoping there are more entries to the series.

WOW... only 16 at this point [5+ to go!]. I'll recheck my READ list, but I DO need to get back to my mysteries!! I have several series to catch up and new books are coming each month!

My current cozy is Kari Lee Townsend's Trouble in the Tarot. After that, if I can find it, is her short story Shenanigans in the Shadows, then her Perish in the Palm to catch up that series. Or, I have books by Lorna Barrett (Title Wave); Juliet Blackwell (A Toxic Trousseau); Kate Carlisle (Books of a Feather); Mary Daheim (Here Comes the Bribe); Sue Ann Jaffarian (The Ghost of Mistletoe Mary); Victoria Laurie (A Grave Prediction); and even Kaitlyn Dunnett (Kilt at the Highland Games). I'll add any new additions to my usual series as they come.

Well... I'll sign off saying I'm headed to update my GoodReads READ list with these books and those romances I'm willing to admit to reading. ;o) But will I? Maybe tomorrow...

Dagny wrote: "I read some of Joanne Fluke's books years ago and have recently returned to them."

Hi, Dagny.
I came to the series a few years after it started and binge-read most of it until I caught up to the publication schedule. There are some things that started getting to me as the series continued, but are not annoying enough to make me quit reading it. (For crying out loud, I still read Kaitlyn Dunnett!) Not every book can be a winner; there are some entries I've liked more than others. Overall, however, I still really enjoy the characters (most of them, anyway!), the recipes, and the storytelling.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!! I just lost my entire posting and have to recreate it! Maybe this will be better, but, dang it, I was just in the editing phase. :o(::::::

Here goes...
Trying to at least keep up to date with posting here, below are the very few cozies I've read since my last posting (okay, not my last, but my last that wasn't deleted when whatever I did caused my "last" posting to go bye-bye and "undo" wouldn't bring it back).

Sticking with the catch-up-the-series thing I have going...
17. Kari Lee Townsend - Trouble in the Tarot 160818
17a. Kari Lee Townsend - Shenanigans in the Shadows 160818
This fun short story bridges the action between Trouble in the Tarot and Perish in the Palm. It's a means of furthering Sunny and Mitch's romantic relationship without a murder muddying things. There's a mystery to solve, but it involves missing rings. At 50 pages, it's a very quick read. I enjoyed it, but if you don't purchase/read it, you're not missing anything major to the series. It's just a short, fun read.
18. Kari Lee Townsend - Perish in the Palm 160826
This catches me up with Townsend's Fortune Teller/Sunny Meadows series. There was a fifth book, Hazard in the Horoscope, referenced in the "coming soon" lists at the end of the previous stories, but I haven't been able to find the book or much information about it. It was supposed to be published in September 2015. Do any of you know anything about it? I enjoy this series and characters and would love to see it continued.

19. Kari Lee Townsend - Kicking The Habit 160826
This was originally published as a "Kindle Serial,*" something I hadn't heard of until I read this book. It was published in 2013, so I was able to get the complete story at one time.

Cecelia (Cece) Monroe is an ex postulate. She's leaving the convent because she's having erotic dreams about a mystery man (Townsend is never explicit) and because she feels she can better service her community and the people therein outside the convent. (She's a non-licensed counselor of sorts.) Cece mistakenly hears the confession of a man who is later assassinated. She refuses to divulge the contents of that "confession" to Detective Alistair (Ace) Jackson -- who turns out to be the man of her dreams, literally and figuratively. Cece sets out to solve the murder while trying to ignore her growing feelings for Ace.

Cece's sister, Charity (Candy, a stripper), her wily (or crazy) grandmother, and Ace's partner Rocco Antonelli round out the main cast.

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! Townsend combines her romance writing (as Kari Lee Harmon) with her mystery writing and comes up with a suspenseful mystery that was fun and romantic. I would love to see this series continue (but without a book since 2013, I'm not holding my breath). I would love to see where Cece and Ace's relationship (and Candy and Rocco's!) goes as this series continues. PLEASE, Ms Townsend!

20. Kari Lee Townsend - Peril for Your Thoughts 160903
This, too, started life as a "Kindle Serial," also from 2013.

Kalliope (Kalli) Ballas is a talented lingerie designer who lives and works with her best friend Jazlyn (Jaz) Alveraz in a small Connecticut town. Kalli's extended Greek family also lives in town. Kalli's mother is constantly on her daughter to settle down with a nice Greek man and start producing grandbabies, but Kalli is slightly OCD about cleanliness (germs) and touching and doesn't see that happening. Enter Detective Nikos (Nik) Stevens, who is half Greek and is getting the same nagging from his mother.

After a disastrous blind date, Kalli and Nik are thrown together when Jaz becomes a murder suspect. To Nik's annoyance, Cece, who after an accident suddenly finds she can read the minds of people she touches (or who touch her), decides to clear her friend's name. On top of that, the mamas have gotten together -- and that can't be good. And, Nik can be a pain, but his thoughts when he touches (and kisses!) Kalli silence her OCD. Could they have a future once this murder is solved?

Rounding out the main cast is Nik's partner Boomer Matheson, an ex of Jaz's.

I loved the humor and romance as much as the whodunit. Kalli and Nik have the beginnings of a great couple. I would love to see where these and the other characters go as the series progresses. PLEASE, Ms Townsend, may we have some more?

I will say the only negative I had for this book was a disjointed feeling I got now and then. It wasn't something I experienced with Kicking the Habit. There wasn't an issue with continuity, but every once in a while the story would jump, or stagger, or something -- I really can't explain it -- taking me out of the story for a minute. I don't know if it had to do with this being an episodic offering; I can't even tell you that when the whatever happened it was at episode breaks. It wasn't enough to ruin the story for me, but it was something.

*Kindle Serials are books published in episodes. When you buy a Kindle Serial, you will receive all existing episodes on your Kindle immediately, followed by future episodes as they are published. Enjoy reading as the author creates the story, and discuss episodes with other readers in the Kindle forums.

I don't know that I'd avail myself to this type of serial reading. I really hate not having full, complete stories. (Some of the romances I read are issued as serials. After being fooled a couple of times, I stopped purchasing/reading these types of stories until full series were issued.) The advantage to "Kindle Serials" is that I'd pay one price for a story or book rather than X for each part of a story.

I loved these two "Kindle Serials" and would love to see more from Townsend, but I'd await the full book before buying.

Dagny wrote: "I'm not familiar with any of Townsend's work."

I saw her first cozy Tempest in the Tea Leaves in Barnes & Noble (is it weird I can remember where I purchase the books I read?) the year it came out (2011). I picked it up because I like paranormal cozies (and, to be honest, it was a new series). Sunny is a fortune teller. I was hooked from book one. I liked Sunny and all the characters around her -- even the quirky ones -- and her little town. Book two introduces her Granny Gert, the new resident wing-ding, who has a cookie for anything that ails you. I even like her cat Morty, and I don't like cats. (Sunny is more Morty's human than Morty is her pet. He sort of came with the house she purchased and "allows" her to live with him.) The romance with her detective runs the predictable gamut, but it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the series.

As you can see from above, she's added two new mysteries to her repertoire, which I hope become series. I like the mysteries and the humor, friendships, and romances she interweaves.

Townsend also has a young adult series, Digital Diva/Samantha Granger Experiment, about a girl who somehow interfaces with her smart-phone. I haven't read that, but it looks interesting and I have that on my TBRWIGAC (to be read when I get a chance) list.

I don't know when I found out she wrote romances under Kari Lee Harmon, but I have a few of those in my romance TBR files. Since I've been distracted with romances the past couple of years, chances are I'll read these before I read the YA books.

Like I have all the time in the world... I just finished re-reading the first two books in Kari Lee Townsend's Fortune Teller/Sunny Meadows series. This wasn't a full read like I did with Heather Blake's Magic Potions series. This was more of a skim-read. I won't count them toward my total, but will list them as having been read.

20a. Kari Lee Townsend - Tempest in the Tea Leaves 160905
20b. Kari Lee Townsend - Corpse in the Crystal Ball 160909

I skim-read the first, Tempest in the Tea Leaves mainly paying attention to the relationship between Sunny and Mitch. Trouble in the Tarot starts two months after the events in Corpse in the Crystal Ball. It starts with Mitch's return to Divinity after spending two months recovering from the events that took place in that book. There were also a couple of off-book events that happened in that two months to further the action in Trouble in the Tarot. I didn't remember Mitch leaving town, so I skim-read the book the second book, again paying more attention to the main relationships in the book. I hadn't missed anything. I even reread the beginning of Trouble in the Tarot to get the timing and reasoning down.

Yes, I realize I could have read one or two books in the time it took me to skim these, but I got a bug in my head and couldn't let it go. Oh well... I'll be prepared if the next book ever shows up.

September update...
Still reading more romance than mysteries, but have hit and exceeded the minimum goal (yay me!).
21. Joyce & Jim Lavene - A Finder's Fee 160924
22. Joyce & Jim Lavene - Dae's Christmas Past 160927
23. Joyce & Jim Lavene - A Watery Death 160929

This catches up the Missing Pieces series. Sadly, this husband and wife writing team passed away this year (both within months of one another). This saddens me because I enjoyed their books and would have loved to have read more in this specific seires. I have several of their others still TBR, including one about retired witches that has a new entry issued this month.

That being said, I wasn't as happy with these three books as I was with the previous entries in the series. The series stars Dae O'Donnell, the mayor of Duck, NC. She lives with her grandfather, a retired police chief. (Her mother died when Dae was in high school.) Dae has a gift for finding lost things and for being able to tell you the history of an object by touching it. She sort of started hoarding what she found and her grandfather suggested she open a shop to sell her treasures. The town is populated with the usual cranks, kooks, friends, etc.

In the first few books, Dae's gift leads her to finding bodies as she finds and/or tries to return things she finds. Though the current police chief and county sheriff don't believe "mumbo-sumbo," Dae's gift helps her (and her band of mates) solve the crimes. Book 4, A Haunting Dream saw the series take a turn when Dae almost got "psychically" lost while finding a kidnapped girl and solving the book's murder. These last three kept up that weird vibe...

In A Finder's Fee, Dae shared her consciousness with the ghost of a flirty 1600's barmaid whose bones she was trying to unite with her lost fiance. While searching for the bones, she uncovers a car with a dead body in it. The car belongs to her rival in the current mayoral race and it has been missing for 40+ years. Dae is out to prove her rival innocent and find the real killer while searching for the barmaids bones and later for the grave of the barmaids fiance. The book also starts the story to the next-in-series' mystery. The psychic possession was more than I expected from this series, though it was a bit funny as the barmaid made herself known at inopportune times. The book ends with a foreshadowing cliffhanger of a type that leads to the next book in the series.

Dae's Christmas Past has Dae and gang working to clear her friend Jake of murder while dealing with wild *demon* horses -- yes, demon horses. They can be heard and the vibrations of their angry hoof beats can be felt and their destruction seen, but the horses themselves cannot be seen. This all started with the discovery of a cache of horse figurines carved and buried by ancient peoples. Though the murder is committed by a human and via modern means, dealing with the demon horses and the ghost shaman who tries to help Dae, again, took the series to a place I didn't expect.

Finally, A Watery Death has Dae solving the murder of the captain of the new casino ship that docks in Duck. (ha!) The unbelievable element of this one was Dae's involvement with mer-people. YES, you read correctly, mermen and mermaids. Again, not something I expect from a cozy series. Dae also finds she can go back in time to visit her grandmother who was missing and declared dead over 30 years ago. Her grandfather finally confesses that Grandma found she could go into the past and one day got lost here. Dae wants to find a way to bring her back and also to find a way to warn her mother to keep her from dying.

I like the series and am sad there won't be any more entries. And, I'm left wondering where things would have gone. Would Dae change the timeline? Would she start interacting the faerie folk? I like the characters, the setting, and, for the most part, the stories, but the left turn the authors took made the series less enjoyable.

Oh well... on to other things. I'd list what's in the pipeline, but these books weren't on my last "upcoming" reads. Better just to read and list. :o)

Karen wrote: "September update...
Still reading more romance than mysteries, but have hit and exceeded the minimum goal (yay me!).
21. Joyce & Jim Lavene - [book:A Finder's Fee|..."

I did hear from their daughter, Jeni, that there are additional books in varying stages of completion that may still be published at some point. There is, however, no time frame for that.

I just finished PUTTING ON A WITCH. I would like to give 4 1/2 stars.

Shannon wrote: "Karen wrote: "I did hear from their daughter, Jeni, that there are additional books in varying stages of completion that may still be published at some point. There is, however, no time frame for that."

Thanks. That's good to hear! I hope the finishing/new author is as good as Joyce and Jim. I'd love to see where the characters go.

Betty wrote: "I just finished PUTTING ON A WITCH. I would like to give 4 1/2 stars."

That's the next J&J L series I'm set to read. I like paranormal mysteries with witches. Since there are only three (right now), I can finish off another series. Of course, I don't know when I'll get to them, but... :o)

Karen wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Karen wrote: "I did hear from their daughter, Jeni, that there are additional books in varying stages of completion that may still be published at some point. There is, however, no ..."

I hope so, too! The first in the Retired Witches series was one of my all time favorites!

Karen wrote: "September update...
Still reading more romance than mysteries, but have hit and exceeded the minimum goal (yay me!).
21. Joyce & Jim Lavene - [book:A Finder's Fee|..."

I have never read any of their books but I have heard goods things about their series'.

Closing out my 2016 challenge list! I thought I'd finish the mystery I'm reading on December 31, but I got sidetracked with non-reading things. (Don't you hate that!)

23a. Sue Ann Jaffarian - The Silent Ghost 161028
I don't know how to count these novellas. Do they count as books or as partial books? Anyway... This was only 75 pages, so I won't count it as a full book, This novella starred Kelly Whitecastle (along with the ghost Granny Apples). Kelly is the daughter of the main series' protagonist, Emma Whitecastle. Like her mother, Kelly can see and talk to ghosts. This has her helping a woman being haunted by a ghost living in the woman's loft. Though not a full novel, the story has a good mystery.

24. Joanne FlukeChristmas Caramel Murder 161113
Yay, Hannah and Ross are still married. Boo... The story is done as a flashback. That is, Ross and Hannah are discussing Christmases past and and she tells him the story of a Christmas murder she solved. The technique is not a bad one, but with Ms. Fluke issuing a Christmas mystery every year since Hannah came home and opened her bakery, it's hard to place this story in time. That is, though there are 20 books in the series (to date), only a few years have passed in "Lake Eden" time. Since there's a Christmas mystery each year, Hannah recalling a mystery that happened sometime in the past couple of Lake Eden years (since Hannah and Lisa own the bakery, Lisa is married, Mike's in town, etc.) begs the question, what exactly is the timing of this story? Were there two murders one Christmas??

However, other than that, this entry to the series is enjoyable. Lisa's husband is playing Santa to his ex-girlfriend's Mrs. Claus. He's also disappearing at all hours. Lisa is jealous. Mrs. Claus turns up dead. It's up to Hannah to solve the mystery. (And, Hannah's dead father makes an appearance as a ghost a la Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, giving Hannah past, present, and future clues and some advice about love and life. Not the best in the series, but not the worst.

25. Deb Baker - Murder Passes the Buck 161213
This is the first entry in the Gertie Johnson series. There are three novels and three novellas, to date, in this series. Gertie is a 60-something widow who decides to investigate when a neighbor is murdered. This is to the chagrin of her son Blaze, the sheriff of their small town, who ruled the death accidental. He thinks his mother has gone bonkers and wants her declared incompetent. As Gertie looks into things, her home is ransacked and she get shot at. Blaze doesn't like that. So as she and her associates, Kitty -- who sets herself up as Gerie's bodyguard, and the man-hungry Cora Mae, search for a killer, Gertie has to fend off Blaze doing what he thinks is best for her.

I liked this book, but had a hard time getting through it and don't really know why. I like the protagonist and her "posse" -- who are a hoot! -- and the mystery was involving. I have others in the series and will read them to see if I have the same reaction. Maybe it was the way Blaze reacted to his mother, assuming she'd lost her marbles because she talked to her dead husband, because she didn't live like he did (he and his wife live on one side of her land; one of Gertie's daughters lives on the other side, with Gertie in the middle), because she was working to solve a murder, or what...

So, that does it for 2016. The 2017 challenge is a GREAT challenge. I'll see how my reading goes before deciding to join or not. Either way... Hello 2017!

Shannon wrote: "Yvonne, I have a quick question for you. Does a book have to be a certain number of pages before it counts as a single book for the challenge?"
~and~
Yvonne wrote: "Mmmm...I'm thinking they should each count as a book if they have their own ISBN."

Saw this on the 2017 Challenge conversation. Dang! Wish I'd known this (or thought to ask!) the past few years. I've always listed the shorter stories for challenges as letters. For example, see 17 and 17a above, one (17) is a full book, the other (17a) is a short story. Both have ISBNs -- and, as Yvonne pointed out in her posting, are counted separately by GoodReads when entering them as read. Oh well... It didn't affect my completing challenges, so no harm done.

Maybe there's hope for my 2017 challenge. We'll see.