It was a stellar year for reading. All the quarantining gave me ample time to read and read and read. I had a total of 165 books, including finishing eight series (some I read in toto during 2020).
- Here’s a link to my original plan for the PopSugar challenge. One hundred choices, and I had to pick fifty.
- Here’s what I actually read for the challenge, some the same, some not.
- And here’s my list for 2020—well, until Dec. 18. I still have three audios, one paper, and a digital started. LOL
- Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw—A Medical Thriller. This novel has a paranormal doctor caring for vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and the like. Great story, and very fun, but the medicine didn’t save the day. I opted to read another for the blog.
- The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett—From a Series of more than Twenty Books. This is a Disc World title and not one of Mr. Pratchett’s best. It took me a long time to read it, and then I had little to say when I finished.
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin—Book with a Made-up language. Old sci-fi can either be fun or tedious. I enjoyed this novel very much. All the philosophical debates about government, free will, interplanetary relations was an excellent choice for 2020. But I didn’t feel the language added to the story enough to count for this category. A Clockwork Orange was a better choice.
- Fright or Flight Anthology by Stephen King, et al.—Anthology. I’m a horror fan who started reading Mr. King at eleven years old. I saved up all my horror choices for October and then realized I had way too many horror books on the list. Instead, I added a romance anthology. This anthology was interesting, containing new and old stories. I especially liked Nightmare at 20,000 Feet that ended up being a Twilight Zone tale.
- The Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie—Book Pubbed in the 20th Century. This year I finished all the books written under the name Agatha Christie. Such a feather in my cap! But when I read this one, I liked it but didn’t think it had enough meat for the blog. Instead, I choose a romance by Marion Chesney (AKA MC Beaton). One of my highest viewed posts!
- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater—Favorite Past Prompt: Audio. I am a huge fan of Ms. Stiefvater from her Raven Boys series. But Shiver didn’t speak to me. I liked it, enjoyed all the teenage angsty and such, but in the end, I had little to say. So I added Nora Roberts to the list again, trying to infuse some more romance.
- The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan—Book Pubbed in 2020. As this was the last in the series, I opted not to include it. Also, the new Hunger Games was published first, and I wanted to check that item off. I loved the Magnus Chase series for so many reasons. Go read it!
- Astrophysics for Busy People by Neil deGrasse Tyson—A Subject I Know Nothing About. Loved it, very short though, and the Bill Bryson fit better with the Libba Bray novel.
- Y by Sue Grafton—Book with only Text on the Cover. The last in the series and the last by Ms. Grafton.
- The Wild Robot by Peter Brown—Book with a Robot. Loved this story, but it’s a kid story, and seriously, Martha Wells’ Murderbot stories are the BEST things I’ve read in a while.
- Legend by Marie Lu—4 Stars or Higher Rating. An excellent book, but Speak was so amazing it needed to be in the blog. Plus, Legend hints at a pandemic. I already hit that with The Host.
There were tons of books I almost read for the challenge but choose not to. These titles you can see on the first link, but I added a few including White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson, The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (which I had to put down because of all the fat-shaming. I won’t ever read her again.), Call of the Wild by Jack London, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. (I actually read those last two, but this post is long enough.)
Next week, let’s talk about the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge! (I’ve already started making lists…)
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