nomadreader

One of my favorite things has become the Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge . From June through December 2019, we nominated and voted on the prompts for this challenge, and each week (or so), we each read a book for that week's prompt. In 2019, I participated in the challenge, but I didn't read the prompts in order. I'm having more fun reading in order this year. In May, there are four prompts, and I welcome your suggestions for ideas of what to read. I'm limited by books on my own shelves or books I can get from the library digitally, as our public libraries and the academic library I work at are both closed until further notice. 19. A fantasy book I don't read fantasy very often, but I do have a few Book of the Month options on my shelf: These Witches Don't Burn  by Isabel Sterling and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. Both are the first in a series and sound entertaining. Have you read either of them? 20. The 20th book (eg. on your TBR, in

March continued my fantastic reading of 2020. As I did in February, I read twelve books, which brought my yearly total to 35. In 2019, I didn't hit 35 books until July. Comics Everything Is Teeth  by Evie Wyld  I've read one of Evie Wyld's novels before, and I've had this graphic memoir checked out from the the library for years (art by Joe Sumner.) I finally read it, and like All the Birds, Singing  ( my review ), it left me wanting more. The prose is sparse and focused on Wyld's fascination with sharks. It's an interesting, quick read. (3 stars) The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg I didn't know what to expect from this graphic novel, and after reading it, it's both hard to describe and better if you go in with no expectations, so I'll simply say: it's a delightful, fascinating fictional history and mythology. (4 stars) Mysteries & Thrillers Blessed are the Peacemakers  and Blessed are the Merciful  by Kris

February, despite being the shortest month of the year, was an even better reading month than January . I read twelve books in February, including four 5-star reads. The Ones I Didn't Love The Scent Keeper  by Erica Bauermeister I admit: this book did not appeal to me at all, but I picked it up when Reese Witherspoon picked it as the February book club pick . I have a very poor sense of smell, so it's not terribly surprising that a book all about smells might not be for me. I also found the story problematic in many ways. I enjoyed the second half more, but I'm not the right reader for this book. (2 stars) Island of the Lost  by Joan Druett This exploration of a crew shipwrecked on the Auckland Islands had all the makings of gripping nonfiction. While the story is fascinating, the execution was underwhelming. I listened to the audio, so it's hard to know if it was the writing or narration (or maybe both) that made it hard to engage with this book. It was intere