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What do these books have in common? These are all titles that I got really excited about when they first came out and either purchased or checked out from the library, and then...got distracted and never got around to reading them. There's even one book on here that I've bought twice. The first copy vanished, and after a fruitless search, I acquired copy #2...and then didn't read that one either. But I am determined to fix that in 2024.

1. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 2/21/2024
2. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
3. Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
4. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
5. Bunny by Mona Awad
6. The Appeal by Janice Hallett 3/6/2024
7. The Cloisters by Katy Hays
8. Zero Days by Ruth Ware 1/2/2024
9. Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
10. The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
11. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
12. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Alternates:

1. [book:The Hunting Party|46258982] by Lucy Foley 1/5/2024
2. The Drifter by Nick Petrie
3. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
4. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple

Haha, I love the theme. I have a very similar problem. I have read The Midnight Library and The House in the Cerulean Sea and I'm currently reading The Alice Network. :-) I like them all - The House in the Cerulean Sea is a special favorite.

Lea wrote: "Haha, I love the theme. I have a very similar problem. I have read The Midnight Library and The House in the Cerulean Sea and I'm currently reading The Alice Network. :-) I like them all - The Hous..."

I'm looking forward to all three of those, but especially The House in the Cerulean Sea. Several people I know have raved about it, and I expect that I'll really enjoy it. And I'll be interested to see what you think of The Alice Network.

I've been sitting on The Midnight Library for a minute. I need to read that book!

I feel the same about my tbr. So many books that I am stoked to read, and then I forget about them.

I hope you have better luck with clearing these off your list! Good luck and happy reading! 📚

Alondra wrote: "I've been sitting on The Midnight Library for a minute. I need to read that book!

I feel the same about my tbr. So many books that I am stoked to read, and then I forget about them.

I hope you h..."

Thanks, Alondra! I've struggled a lot in 2023 with reading anything new, and most of the novels I read this year were rereads. Hoping that 2024 will be a more adventurous reading year for me.

I've only read The Midnight Library which I found very interesting and thought provoking. Perhaps due to what was going on in my life when I read it.

Good luck with your challenge

Interesting mix. I hope to try a TJ Klune this year and Ann Cleeves is always interesting. I haven't tried Two Rivers yet. Enjoy!

Butterflycager wrote: "AI've struggled a lot in 2023 with reading anything new, and most of the novels I read this year were rereads. ..."

Rereads are just so comforting. We know what to expect; we know its well written, engaging and has pacing that we tolerate. What's not to love?

The House in the Cerulean Sea was great, looking forward to the sequel coming out in 2024. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires was also a good one. A few of your other selections are on my TBR list. Good luck with your challenge.

Vikki wrote: "I've only read The Midnight Library which I found very interesting and thought provoking. Perhaps due to what was going on in my life when I read it.

Good luck with your challenge"

Thank you, Vikki! I'm looking forward to it. Happy new year to you!

Bill wrote: "Interesting mix. I hope to try a TJ Klune this year and Ann Cleeves is always interesting. I haven't tried Two Rivers yet. Enjoy!"

Thanks, Bill! I've read a couple of other books by Ann Cleeves and enjoyed the Shetland TV series, so I'm interested to see how The Long Call will compare. Happy new year to you!

Denise wrote: "The House in the Cerulean Sea was great, looking forward to the sequel coming out in 2024. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires was also a good one. A few of your other selections are..."

Thanks, Denise! I'd listened to a few chapters of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires on audio during a long flight last year, but never managed to complete it. Hoping that I'll finish the whole thing this time around. Happy new year to you!

They all look good! I've The Cloisters on my list too. Best of luck 😊🤞

Ruth wrote: "They all look good! I've The Cloisters on my list too. Best of luck 😊🤞"

Thanks, Ruth! I got The Cloisters for Christmas, so I have no more excuses not to read it. Happy new year to you!

Butterflycager wrote: "Ruth wrote: "They all look good! I've The Cloisters on my list too. Best of luck 😊🤞"

Thanks, Ruth! I got The Cloisters for Christmas, so I have no more excuses not to read it. Happy new year to you!"

Happy New Year and happy reading to you 😊

1 down. I happened to have Zero Days checked out from the library and it's due soon, so I picked it first. I gave it four stars because it was a fun wild ride that reminded me of the Robert Redford film Sneakers, but the identity of the bad guy was a little too obvious. I had read the author before and I liked this book a little better than The Death of Mrs. Westaway, but not quite as much as One By One. Luckily there is still plenty of Ruth Ware to choose from, and I will definitely read her again.

Kudos on finishing that first book!!

I loved Sneakers!!

The House in the Cerulean Sea was so great. The way he writes is just so endearing. I too have this problem of getting excited and then sitting on the shelf. I have The Alice Network and Midnight Library on the shelf

Good luck with your list.

Alondra wrote: "Kudos on finishing that first book!!

I loved Sneakers!!"

Thanks, Alondra! Working on book number two right now. And Sneakers is an old favorite - I've probably seen it twenty times.

Cecilia wrote: "The House in the Cerulean Sea was so great. The way he writes is just so endearing. I too have this problem of getting excited and then sitting on the shelf. I have The Alice Network and Midnight L..."

I did a sneak preview of The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I see what you mean about the writing style. I'm in a twisty thriller mood at the moment, but once I get that out of my system, I can move on to something more upbeat.

Jackie wrote: "Good luck with your list."

Thanks, Jackie! So far, it's going pretty well.

2 down. I finished The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley today, and while there wasn't a single character in this book that I liked, I did enjoy the atmosphere. Group of people with secrets and grudges plus snowy remote setting plus a murderer running around loose = exactly what I was looking for.

Butterflycager wrote: "2 down. I finished The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley today, and while there wasn't a single character in this book that I liked, I did enjoy the atmosphere. Group of people with secrets and grudges p..."

Making good progress! I've enjoyed several of Foley's books including The Hunting Party. They are very atmospheric.

Thanks, Patricia. I've got a couple more of Foley's books on my TBR, and I hope to get to them soon. Reading them on a snow day would be even better.

I know The Hunting Party got 3 stars, but I am adding it.

Thanks a lot!! *cries in TBR*

Alondra wrote: "I know The Hunting Party got 3 stars, but I am adding it.

Thanks a lot!! *cries in TBR*"

Glad I could help. :) Hope you enjoy it. If you're in the mood for that kind of atmosphere, you will probably like The Hunting Party. I read another one over the weekend that had a similar feel to it - The Wilderness Retreat by Jennifer Moore, and I liked it even better. At some point, I'm going to snap out of this cold remote location + murderer mood and return to something lighter, but it seems to be taking a while.

But why? Cold remote location and murderer go togetherl ike coffee and cream. :)
What a great list! I've read about half and enjoyed them, but really loved The Appeal, and The Alice Network. I hope you do too!

Thanks, Linette! I'm looking forward to The Appeal - I picked up Janice Hallett's The Christmas Appeal back in December and was eagerly tearing into it when I realized: wait a second, this is a sequel. I should probably go back and read the first - nope. Already too invested in it, keep going. So I did, and I really liked it. And after I finish The Appeal, I might read The Twyford Code.

The Appeal was the first of hers that I read - loved all the different mediums used - texts, emails, etc. So fun. Just finished The Twyford code which was quite different but also good - and have The Christmas Appeal waiting, glad you say it's good :)

Linette wrote: "The Appeal was the first of hers that I read - loved all the different mediums used - texts, emails, etc. So fun. Just finished The Twyford code which was quite different but also good - and have T..."

My library just notified me that there is a copy of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels waiting for me...I'd completely forgotten that I'd put it on hold. I have the feeling that I'll be reading a lot of Janice Hallett this weekend.

Butterflycager wrote: "Linette wrote: "The Appeal was the first of hers that I read - loved all the different mediums used - texts, emails, etc. So fun. Just finished The Twyford code which was quite different but also g..."

Haha, can't complain about that!

Butterflycager wrote: "Alondra wrote: "I know The Hunting Party got 3 stars, but I am adding it.

Thanks a lot!! *cries in TBR*"

Glad I could help. :) Hope you enjoy it. If you're in the mood for that kind of atmospher..."

Those cold, remote places are just perfect for murder and mayhem. Reminds me of all the Nordic-Noir mystery/thrillers that are out. They're always so good.

I really like your choices. Enjoy reading them. I laughed about re-buying a book. I did the same thing. I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Southern The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I have The Alice Network on my list. I hear this is Kate Quinn’s best book.

Kristine wrote: "I really like your choices. Enjoy reading them. I laughed about re-buying a book. I did the same thing. I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Southern [book:The Southern Boo..."

Thanks, Kristine! I made my list and then promptly got distracted by lots of shiny books that were not on there. But I'm back and ready to give my 12+4 another shot. The only Kate Quinn book I've ever read was Mistress of Rome, which was very good, and I'm looking forward to reading The Alice Network.

3 down. I tore through The Midnight Library today, and...wow. Just - WOW. I loved it, I really did, but this is one of those books that has so much stuff in it that you kind of want to go back and read it all over again just to pick up what you missed. It reminded me of the way I felt after I read Where'd You Go, Bernadette the first time - overwhelmed and a bit dazed, but really glad I'd read it.

Knocked off The Appeal, and...huh. Did not like it nearly as much as its sequel The Christmas Appeal, and I think that was because I was having trouble keeping track of the characters. I don't usually mind a big cast, but with this story, it was difficult to tell who I should pay attention to, and while there are reference materials that explain all the relationships, I still got confused.

Next up from my list is probably going to be Bunny by Mona Awad because I'm suffering from book envy at the moment. One of my teenagers stole chose Bunny from my shelf and has been buried in it this week. I hope it's as good as they say it is.

Butterflycager wrote: "3 down. I tore through The Midnight Library today, and...wow. Just - WOW. I loved it, I really did, but this is one of those books that has so much stuff in it that you kind of want..."

I have GOT to read this book. I have it on my kindle and its just lingering. So glad you enjoyed it.