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2024 Independent Challenge
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Lea's 2024 Filling in the Gaps Individual Challenge
I love your percentage of completion; you go girl!!!
Hopefully, you finish Suttree before the end of the year. I mean, you have a full month left in the year.??
Good luck and Happy reading, Lea :)
Hopefully, you finish Suttree before the end of the year. I mean, you have a full month left in the year.??
Good luck and Happy reading, Lea :)

Hopefully, you finish Suttree before the end of the year. I mean, you have a full month left in the year.??
Good luck and Happy reading, Lea :)"
Yes, I was tempted to take Suttree off the list, because I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to finish that book, but then I was afraid I'd be tempting fate, because I really thought I would have finished this book this month and I'm still a bit less than halfway through. I have the paperback version, so I don't listen in the car to it. And I don't know about you though, but for me, the first 1/3 of the book takes the most time - like maybe 3/4 of the time spent reading is on the first 1/3 of the book. After I'm invested in the book, the rest just flies by and I can't put it down. So, hopefully, I can remove that one and add more books to my list?
Lea wrote: "Yes, I was tempted to take Suttree off the list, because I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to finish that book, but then I was afraid I'd be tempting fate, because I really thought I would have finished this book this month .."
Yeah; it takes me a while to get into a book now; but mostly it's just staying engaged in the middle part. I seem to get restless. I think, I THINK; I am getting past that. I recently started back reading during lunch. I haven't done that in 2 years; consistently.
If I can get back to old reading habits; I can beat up my list/tbr.
Yeah; it takes me a while to get into a book now; but mostly it's just staying engaged in the middle part. I seem to get restless. I think, I THINK; I am getting past that. I recently started back reading during lunch. I haven't done that in 2 years; consistently.
If I can get back to old reading habits; I can beat up my list/tbr.

If I can get back to old reading habits; I can beat up my list/tbr."
I need to get back to my old reading habits too. I need to go back to reading at least a couple pages per day of each book that I have on the go. Lately, I have been just focusing on the books that interest me, and not making any progress on the others. :-)

Yes! We will get to them eventually. I love our buddy read list!

Thanks, Bill. Alissa and I are going to do it as a buddy read sometime. We haven't picked a date yet, maybe towards the end of next year or the beginning of 2025. Feel free to join us, if it works into your schedule.

Thanks, Bill. Alissa and I are going to do it as a buddy read sometime. We haven't picked a date yet, maybe towards ..."
I'm interested too, but intimidated at the same time. We'll see if I'll have the courage to join you...

I hope you will be able to join us. I find that it is more fun to read intimidating books with a group of nice supportive people.
Lea wrote: "Bill wrote: "I hope to read Alias Grace as well.. You've been very successful."
Thanks, Bill. Alissa and I are going to do it as a buddy read sometime. We haven't picked a date yet, maybe towards ..."
Thanks. I'll keep it in mind.
Thanks, Bill. Alissa and I are going to do it as a buddy read sometime. We haven't picked a date yet, maybe towards ..."
Thanks. I'll keep it in mind.

Let me know if/when you plan on reading it. I might do it with "a group of nice supportive people" 😉
Lea wrote: "I need to get back to my old reading habits too. I need to go back to reading at least a couple pages per day of each book that I have on the go. .."
Exactly. Hoping 2024 is the year of consistency and good mojo!! 💪🏽💫💫💫
Exactly. Hoping 2024 is the year of consistency and good mojo!! 💪🏽💫💫💫

I try to find such people. :-) :-) :-)

Yes! Let's do this, 2024!!

Thanks, Jackie! I hope I picked some good ones this year. Here's to 2024! :-)


I want to read that book also, thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. I had hoped to read the Bonhoeffer book last month, but I didn't, and with it being December, it doesn't look likely that I'll be able to squeeze it in. It's a thick and serious book and I want to be able to take my time with it.


If interested in a buddy read for any of these, let me know:
Stepsister - in June, right?
Ring Shout
Poverty, by America
Small Mercies
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
Weyward
Holly (after I get If It Bleeds from the library) - Aug/Sept?
In the Lives of Puppets
Yellowface
Small Mercies
The Passengers
Crossing to Safety
Happy reading!

If interested in a buddy read for any of these, let me know:
Stepsister - in June, right?
Ring Shout
Poverty, by America
Small Mercies
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
Weyward
Holly (after I get If It Bleeds from the library) - Aug/Sept?
In the Lives of Puppets
Yellowface
Small Mercies
The Passengers
Crossing to Safety
Happy reading!"
It doesn't surprise me that you read and loved a lot of different books on my list, because I usually stalk all of your lists. :-)
Stepsister - June with Alissa
Small Mercies - January with Alissa
Poverty, by America - I'm thinking February?
The Wager - shall we say March?
Holly - August/September
In the Lives of Puppets - June or July?
Yellowface - I was going to do February
Ring Shout, The Passengers and Crossing to Safety are all on our Buddy Read list and have not been selected, so maybe the later half of the year?
Let me know what you're thinking. We can always move these around. :-)

Poverty, by America - early Feb for me
The Wager - late March for me
In the Lives of Puppets - let's say July
Yellowface - I might do late Jan, because Poverty above
Nice plan :-)

Poverty, by America - early Feb for me
The Wager - late March for me
In the Lives of Puppets - let's say July
Yellowface - I might do late Jan, because Poverty above
Nice plan :-)"
Why don't we switch up Poverty and Yellowface? I have 3 weeks wait on Poverty and 8 weeks wait on Yellowface.
July is perfect for In the Lives of Puppets and late May is looking good for The Wager.
Of course, if either of us is not in the mood to read the books at the designated time, we will be flexible.


That would work, I have Yellowface and there is no waiting list for Poverty.

That would work, I have Yellowface and there is no waiting list for Poverty."
Perfect. Now I have to get in the right frame of mind to read all these books when we say we are going to. :-) It's now all on my spreadsheet, so I will work on my mood.

I don't know how you do that, but let me know, I'm interested. I just abandon the book if I'm not in the mood, and rarely go back to it. Although, sometimes when I do I end up giving it 5 stars, so I know, it was just me.

Sometimes it helps me to hype up a book, read some good reviews about it and get interested in the topic. But not always. Sometimes, there is no helping it...I need to read a really good book, but I'm not in the mood for it. It's what's going on with poor Suttree right now. I've been reading it for two months straight right now, and I'm finally coming around to being in the mood. It's a good book and it is just me.



I'm excited about all of our buddy reads too. We will definitely let you know when we tackle The Pecan Man and you can join us. If you want to re read If I Stay, I was tentatively thinking to read that in February and then read Where She Went in March. I want to read them close together. :-)

Thanks, Carolien. I was feeling there was more 2009 paranormal books than usual, but I am trying to catch up on the GRC Awards. I hope I don't have too much of the same type of book, and the other books on my list will give me enough variety. :-)

Well, I do give myself 5 years to read the books I pick each year, so that helps. I find that I do better if the "rules" aren't too strict. When I feel too constrained, I get a bit rebellious. It's in my nature. And I think you're the rockstar, Michelle. I cannot believe how many good books you get through each year. :-)


I just messaged Lindsey, and if it works for her, we can change. I picked a far off date because my library didn't have many copies, but they added a bunch, and now I should get it in time for March. If it doesn't work for Lindsey, we'll stick with the original date, and hopefully you still remember the book in a good way by the time we get to reading it, so we can keep discussing. Stay tuned, we will let you know. :-)

Books Read: 9 books so far this month and year. 3,222 pages.
Books from Filling in the Gaps: 7/100; 2022 Books 0/4, 2023 Books 0/12, 2024 Books, 7/84
Books from 12+4 Challenge: 4/16
Recently finished:
Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts - This is another book in the Bill O'Reilly Killing series. I feel that some books in the series are better than others, and this one wasn't the best one. He was done talking about the witches about 40% of the way through the book and then he pivoted to the Revolutionary War, which I felt had already been covered in Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence. I also was wondering if this was his way to garner a little sympathy for his personal situation, since he was comparing the pile on tactics from the witch trials to the way we destroy people in the press today based upon what they say. His example was Roseanne Barr, but I don't think it was too far of a leap to suggest that he wrote this book in order to make his point analogous to his own situation. I do agree that we should extend grace to people who say stupid things after they apologize, and offer forgiveness for apologies, but I also believe that people need to offer heartfelt apologies in both word and action in order to emphasize how sorry they are for the things said and done. It's hard to gauge sincerity without such things. Anyway, we are off topic. The book wasn't my favorite. 2 stars. But, I did also discover that I never read another book in this series, Killing the Legends: The Lethal Danger of Celebrity, and I am planning to read that one in hopes that it is much better.
The Alice Network - I don't know. I think this book may have been overhyped to me. I was disappointed in the ending. There were aspects to the book that were fascinating to me - female spies in WW1, etc. However, I didn't care as much about the WW2 storyline and I also didn't love the ending. (view spoiler) 2 stars
Fourth Wing - I was going to wait to read this series, because there is so much hype about it, but since it won GRC Award for the Romantasy category, I decided to start reading it last year. The book kept me interested, I didn't like to put it down, but ultimately, I am not sure it lived up to its hype entirely. It feels very derivative of a lot of different fantasy stories, and I'm not sure the writing is great. But I loved the dragons. 3 stars
Small Mercies - This was a buddy read this month and wow. It's about the 1970's in Boston when high schools began to be desegregated and also about poverty, family and hope. It really made me think. The ending is intense and still sits with me. It's a tough book, but quite worth it. 4 stars
The Housemaid's Secret - OK, so I hated The Housemaid, it is one of the books I one-starred last year. Plenty of people recommended that I read this one, and I finally did, primarily because it won a GRC Award in the Mystery & Thriller category. I did end up enjoying this book much more than the first in the series, but I'm not too sure why it won the award. This book was good, but I'm not sure I would call it award-winning. 3 stars
Poverty, by America - This was a buddy read with Ioana, and I'm not sure how to rate something that brings to life such a serious and important topic. I agree with the author on some of the causes of poverty and the fact that many times, those living in poverty are extremely hard working. And the odds are stacked so far against the poor in many ways, making it almost impossible to obtain the tools needed to dig out of the cycle. I appreciate his acknowledgment that there are not unlimited resources, and in order to provide something to the poor, you have to take something away from the others. And I loved the last chapter, which hopefully was sincere, about the need to reach across political ideologies to work on viable solutions to this problem. I wholeheartedly subscribe to the idea that you need a diverse group of friends and acquaintances to be able to get into the shoes of others and understand the problems. However, I do not agree with all of his proposed solutions to the problem of poverty. In fact, I think his understanding of economics and accounting was a bit sketchy. His explanation of the progressive tax system was either wrong or very misleading. His assertion that the pandemic subsidies did nothing to the the US economy is not accurate, we are still living with the inflation caused by some of those policies. Since every comment where I have a background in seemed full of generalizations and cherry picked statistics, I feel as though the rest of the book must suffer from the same problem. It won the GRC Award for Nonfiction and I think there must be better books. I'm glad I read it, but I don't see it for the great manifesto that it has been hyped to be. 3 stars
Warrior Girl Unearthed - This isn't really a sequel to Firekeeper's Daughter, but because they have so many of the same characters I'm counting it as such. To compare it to Firekeeper's Daughter, I'll say that as a character, I preferred Daunis to Perry. And Firekeeper's Daughter was such a wild ride straight from the beginning. Warrior Girl Unearthed has a much slower start, but that did not bother me. As a novel, I thought Warrior Girl Unearthed was a lot more nuanced and well constructed than Firekeeper's Daughter. I thought the book was as good as Firekeeper's Daughter and I'm really eager to read the next one in the series that I hope will be set in present day with Daunis's children and Shense's daughter. Please make it happen. 4 stars.
Darkfever - Um. This is the first book in an 11 book series. The fifth book won a GRC Award in 2011 that I never read, so I'm trying to get to that book. I think the Fever series is in place of Sookie Stackhouse last year. It's paranormal, about the fae. This book was published in 2006, and it shows it's age. On the other hand, it is easy to read and reasonably interesting. I think it kind of ended on a cliffhanger, which I do find a bit annoying. Overall, it hasn't scared me off reading the next in the series, I hope the writing style gets a bit more compact. 2 stars
Fractal Noise - In 2020, Christopher Paolini's book, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars won the GRC Award for Science Fiction. I read it, and I rated it 3 stars. I remember thinking it was good, but not as good as I had heard Paolini was supposed to be. I moved The Inheritance Cycle further down my TBR. However, I heard Fractal Noise came out, and I always do try to read sequels as soon as possible because I forget so many things, so I read this book and I liked it. I rated it the same as To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, but my overall impression as I finished the book was more impatience to read more of his work. I'm not sure if it is because I had super high expectations when I read the first book, or if it is because this book is shorter and tries to do a lot less, but I did come away feeling satisfied and not disappointed. 3 stars
Currently reading:
End Game - I just started the last book in the Will Robie series.
The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West - I'm about to get serious on this one.
Progress on the Whack-a-Mole Series Situation �
Series Completed this year (for the moment...):
1. The Housemaid (1)
2. Firekeeper's Daughter (1)
3. Fractalverse (1)
Series Started This Year with Books Remaining:
1. Fever (10)
Series Started Last Year with Books Remaining:
1. Will Robie (1)
2. The Empyrean (1)
Series That Added Books This Year with number of books I still need to read in that series:
NONE
Series That Added Books Next Year with number of books I still need to read in that series:
1. Xanth (41)
2. You (2)
3. Camp Half-Blood Chronicles (1)
4. Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez (10)
5. Holly Gibney (1)
6. Thursday Murder Club (1)
7. Comoran Strike (4)
8. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1)
9. The Firm (1)
10. Stephanie Plum (9)
11. Heartstopper (1)
Abandoned series:
1. Crescent City


I read The Alice Network some years ago, and I don't remember anything about it. I thought it was ok at the time, but I'm not sure what I would think about it now, my patience for WW2 themed HF books is very limited.
I'm glad for our buddy reads this month, good choices.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was ok, but not a favorite, I don't think I'll go back to the Fractalverse.

Thanks, Michelle. Your comment made me think more about the romance aspect to Fourth Wing, which I hadn't previously given much thought. Romance is never my favorite element to a good fantasy story so I kind of skimmed right past it. The trope where one of the couple is in a position of authority over the other has been so overdone, I think that gives people poor ideas as well. I hope to read more about what you thought about Poverty. There is a lot to think about there for sure. And I get why you preferred Firekeeper over Warrior. I love reading your reviews too! Happy reading to you as well! :-)

I read The Alice Network some years ago, and I don't remember anything about it. I thought it was ok at the time, but I'm not sure what I would think about it now, my patience for WW2 themed HF books is very limited.
I'm glad for our buddy reads this month, good choices.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was ok, but not a favorite, I don't think I'll go back to the Fractalverse."
It's so true that there have been so many WW2 books, I'm trying to read one or two a year, but not over indulge.
I was glad for our buddy reads this month too and look forward to our upcoming ones.
I don't think you need to read Fractal Noise. Have you read any of the Inheritance Cycle books? (i.e. Eragon) I think those are the books Paolini is more known for, so I might give them a try sometime in the future. :-)
Kudos on your progress, and sorry for all the books that were not 5 stars. You did have a 4-Star though!!
I expect nothing less from Dennis Lehane; but like I commented to Alissa. I will not be reading any Lehane books due to having my heart shredded with Mystic River. *cries again*
I expect nothing less from Dennis Lehane; but like I commented to Alissa. I will not be reading any Lehane books due to having my heart shredded with Mystic River. *cries again*

I keep changing my mind about it! I do like fantasy, but have so many open fantasy series, I really should do something about that too. :-)
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I've read all the books selected 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
2022 is officially finished as I picked 82 books and there are 4 left. 2023 is also officially finished as I picked 88 books and have read over 75% of them already. I have abandoned one book, so right now, there are 12 remaining books that I'm still interested in reading that I'll have to get to in the next four years.
For 2024, I selected 84 books, to get to an even 100 books. I need to read 63 of my 2024 selection within five years, and have 21 or less books remaining.
So essentially, I've read 75% of every year, but I'm still interested in these books, so I'm keeping them on the list for the moment.
4 2022 The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
5 2023 Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
7 2023 Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
8 2023 Six Years by Harlan Coben
9 2023 American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
11 2023 The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
22 2024 Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown
23 2024 Daughters of Lancaster County by Wanda E. Brunstetter
26 2024 The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
32 2024 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
45 2024 The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
46 2024 The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
47 2024 Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez
49 2024 The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
60 2024 Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David McCullough
84 2024 The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
90 2024 The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
91 2024 The Truth About Grace by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
93 2024 The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
94 2024 Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
1 2022 He Started It by Samantha DowningREAD 9/10/20242 2022 You Love Me by Caroline KepnesREAD 10/17/20243 2022 The Unhoneymooners by Christina LaurenREAD 4/3/20246 2023 Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan BrennertREAD 2/7/202410 2023 Stepsister by Jennifer DonnellyREAD 6/17/202412 2023 Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric MetaxasREAD 11/19/202413 2023 No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark OwenREAD 4/27/202414 2023 The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver SacksREAD 10/4/202415 2023 The God of All Comfort by Hannah Whitall SmithREAD 7/18/202416 2023 The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy WaxREAD 5/16/202417 2024 Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews EdwardsREAD 9/18/202418 2024 Paths of Glory by Jeffrey ArcherREAD 5/20/202419 2024 End Game by David BaldacciREAD 1/17/202420 2024 Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline BoulleyREAD 1/11/202421 2024 Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints by Sam BrowerREAD 11/13/2424 2024 Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. ButlerREAD 3/12/202425 2024 Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. ButlerREAD 4/15/202427 2024 Ring Shout by P. Djèlí ClarkREAD 12/11/202428 2024 Poverty, by America by Matthew DesmondREAD 1/10/202429 2024 Bleak House by Charles DickensREAD 8/27/202430 2024 If I Stay by Gayle FormanREAD 2/2/202431 2024 Where She Went by Gayle FormanREAD 3/13/202433 2024 The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David GrannREAD 4/1/202434 2024 Feed by Mira GrantREAD 4/24/202435 2024 Deadline by Mira GrantREAD 5/24/202436 2024 Blackout by Mira GrantREAD 6/13/202437 2024 Feedback by Mira GrantREAD 7/19/202438 2024 Ford County by John GrishamREAD 7/2/202439 2024 The Exchange: After The Firm by John GrishamREAD 1/26/202440 2024 The Book of Lost Names by Kristin HarmelREAD 1/25/202441 2024 Weyward by Emilia HartREAD 3/6/202442 2024 Check & Mate by Ali HazelwoodREAD 6/4/202443 2024 Happy Place by Emily HenryREAD 7/29/202444 2024 The Island by Elin HilderbrandREAD 7/12/202448 2024 The Eye of the World by Robert JordanREAD 12/10/202450 2024 For You and Only You by Caroline KepnesREAD 11/21/202451 2024 Holly by Stephen KingREAD 4/27/202452 2024 The Green Mile by Stephen KingREAD 2/12/202453 2024 In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. KluneREAD 7/9/202454 2024 Yellowface by R.F. KuangREAD 1/31/202455 2024 The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina LaurenREAD 4/5/202356 2024 Small Mercies by Dennis LehaneREAD 1/5/202457 2024 A Grief Observed by C.S. LewisREAD 8/16/202458 2024 Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael LewisREAD 10/24/202459 2024 The Passengers by John MarrsREAD 8/7/202461 2024 The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFaddenREAD 1/6/202462 2024 Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric MetaxasREAD 9/25/202463 2024 The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. MilneREAD 7/3/202464 2024 When We Were Very Young by A.A. MilneREAD 7/5/202465 2024 Now We Are Six by A.A. MilneREAD 7/6/202466 2024 Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David BenedictusREAD 8/14/202467 2024 Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. MontgomeryREAD 2/1/202468 2024 Darkfever by Karen Marie MoningREAD 1/12/202469 2024 Bloodfever by Karen Marie MoningREAD 2/25/202470 2024 Faefever by Karen Marie MoningREAD 3/16/202471 2024 Dreamfever by Karen Marie MoningREAD 4/6/202472 2024 Shadowfever by Karen Marie MoningREAD 5/9/202473 2024 Iced by Karen Marie MoningREAD 6/5/202474 2024 Burned by Karen Marie MoningREAD 7/26/202475 2024 Feverborn by Karen Marie MoningREAD 8/18/202476 2024 Feversong by Karen Marie MoningREAD 9/28/202477 2024 High Voltage by Karen Marie MoningREAD 10/13/202478 2024 Kingdom of Shadow and Light by Karen Marie MoningREAD 11/29/202479 2024 Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher MooreREAD 4/17/202480 2024 You Suck by Christopher MooreREAD 5/14/202481 2024 Bite Me by Christopher MooreREAD 6/6/202482 2024 Paradise by Toni MorrisonREAD 10/31/202483 2024 Flawless Execution: Use the Techniques and Systems of America's Fighter Pilots to Perform at Your Peak and Win the Battles of the Business World by James D. MurphyREAD 7/4/202485 2024 The Last Devil to Die by Richard OsmanREAD 5/8/202486 2024 Fractal Noise by Christopher PaoliniREAD 1/12/202487 2024 The Chalice of the Gods by Rick RiordanREAD 5/28/202488 2024 Divine Rivals by Rebecca RossREAD 10/11/202489 2024 Ruthless Vows by Rebecca RossREAD 11/18/202492 2024 The Woman in Me by Britney SpearsREAD 2/5/202495 2024 Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas TalebREAD 11/11/2496 2024 Leviathan by Scott WesterfeldREAD 6/22/202497 2024 Behemoth by Scott WesterfeldREAD 8/2/202498 2024 Goliath by Scott WesterfeldREAD 9/11/202499 2024 Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond by Henry WinklerREAD 5/27/2024100 2024 Fourth Wing by Rebecca YarrosREAD 1/5/2024