Reading Challenge Wrap-Up: 2019 Cloak and Dagger Challenge

Well, the New Year is right around the corner, and I really don't think I'll be doing much more reading before January arrives. So it's time to start wrapping up some of the reading challenges I signed up for in 2019. First up --

Hosted by: Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and Barb @ Booker T's Farm

Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2019

For the 2019 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge I signed up for 16-25 books ("Detective" level), and though I was trying for 25, I only managed to read 16. Which means I did barely make it to Detective. Technically though, I really didn't complete the challenge because I only reviewed two of the books I read. Here's the list:

1. The Quiche of Death (Agatha Raisin #1). M.C. Beaton (1992; cozy mystery) 
2. The Janus Stone (Ruth Galloway #2). Elly Griffiths (2010; mystery / cold case, forensics) 
3. Murder Theory (The Naturalist #3). Andrew Mayne (2019; thriller) 
4. The Stranger Diaries. Elly Griffiths (2018/2019; psychological suspense) 
5. Run Away. Harlan Coben (2019; thriller)
6. The Appleton Case (Markham Sisters #1). Diana Xarissa (2015; cozy mystery)
7. The Vicious Vet (Agatha Raisin #2). M.C. Beaton (1993; cozy mystery)
8. Little Darlings. Melanie Golding (2019; thriller) 
9. The Lady in the Lake. Laura Lippman (2019; historical mystery)
10. The Potted Gardener (Agatha Raisin #3). M.C. Beaton (1994; cozy mystery)
11. The Man in the White Linen Suit (Stewart Hoag #11). David Handler (2019; mystery)
12. Fake Like Me. Barbara Bourland (2019; mystery)
13. The Shape of Night. Tess Gerritsen (2019; romantic suspense)
14. We Were Killers Once (Brigid Quinn #4). Becky Masterman (2019; thriller) 
15. Sorry for the Dead (Josephine Tey #8). Nicola Upson (2019; historical mystery)
16. The Walkers of Dembley (Agatha Raisin #4). M.C. Beaton (1995; cozy mystery)

But even though I had mixed results, this was still one of my favorite challenges. Thanks so much to the hosts for organizing and keeping the challenge going all year.

2019 European Reading Challenge: Wrap-Up Post

Well, there's still almost a week of 2019 left, but I really don't think I'll be reading much of anything that would qualify for this challenge, so I'm wrapping things up.

The idea of the challenge was to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). I signed up to read four books, but only managed one: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, by M.C. Beaton (set in the UK).

Obviously, I was not much of a world traveler in 2019. A bit embarrassing, but I'm hoping to do much better in 2020, and I've already signed up for next year's challenge (you can do likewise here). Thanks so much to Gilion at Rose City Reader for hosting this one.

What's In a Name 2020 Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Andrea @ Carolina Book Nook

Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2020

Click HERE for guidelines and sign-ups.

It's been a couple of years since I last participated in the What's in a Name Challenge. But I always enjoyed it, even though I didn't always manage to complete all the categories. (I think I enjoy making the lists of possible reads almost as much as doing the actual reading.)

So I'm signing up for the 2020 challenge. Basically, participants read books with titles that fit the requirements of six categories. I haven't made any firm decisions about what I'll read for each category, but I've got a few ideas:

Category 1: An ampersand – & (ex. Blanca & Roja, Rot & Ruin)

Arthur & George. Julian Barnes
Bellman & Black. Diane Setterfield
Daisy Jones & The Six. Taylor Jenkins Reid  

Category 2: An antonym (ex. Big Little Lies, Wicked Saints)

The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft. Claire Tomalin
Night and Day. Virginia Woolf
Old New York (Four Novellas). Edith Wharton
Short Letter, Long Farewell. Peter Handke  

Category 3: 4 letters or less (ex. Feed, Vox)

Dust (Richard Jury #21). Martha Grimes
Hoot. Carl Hiaasen
Ubik. Philip K. Dick
Utz. Bruce Chatwin 

Category 4: A given/first name (ex. Tess of the Road, Flowers for Algernon)

Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë
Queen Lucia. E.F. Benson
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (Inspector Morse #3). Colin Dexter
What Maisie Knew. Henry James 

Category 5: Reference to children (ex. Baby Proof, Children of Blood and Bone)

The Children. Edith Wharton
The Children’s Book. A.S. Byatt
Wise Children. Angela Carter 

Category 6: One of the 4 natural elements – water, air, fire, earth (ex. The River at Night, The Name of the Wind)

The Book of Air and Shadows. Michael Gruber
Wide Sargasso Sea. Jean Rhys
The Wind in the Willows. Kenneth Grahame
Wolf Lake (Dave Gurney #5). John Verdon 

These are just possibilities, and it'll be interesting to see if I actually end up reading any of them. During the year I'll be tracking my progress and keeping all my lists over on my challenge blog (HERE).

2020 European Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Gilion Dumas @ Rose City Reader
Dates: January 1, 2020 - January 31, 2021 (this is a 13-month challenge)

Click HERE for all the guidelines and sign-ups.

Gilion's annual European Reading Challenge is always one of my favorite challenges, even though I really didn't do well with it this year – only read one book instead of the four I was hoping for. Hard to believe that I didn't read any books not set in the US or UK, but that does seem to be the case. Not much of a world traveler, am I?

So I'm giving it another try in 2020, but this time I'll be signing up at the Three Star "Business Traveler" Level, and committing to just three books. Surely I can manage three quick trips outside the English-speaking world?

During the year, I'll be tracking my progress and keeping all my book lists over on my challenge blog (HERE).

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020

Hosted by: Bev @ My Reader's Block
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2020

Click here for guidelines and sign-ups.

I'm still hoping to do a bit more reading for the 2019 Mount TBR Challenge, though I probably won't make my original 12-book goal. But in 2020 I'm planning to really concentrate on reading books I've had on the shelves for a long time. And since I'll need all the help I can get, I'm signing up for next year's Mount TBR Challenge, hoping it'll keep me on target.

Once again, I'm signing up at the Pike's Peak level (12 books), and during the year I'll be tracking my progress on my challenge blog (HERE).

Calendar of Crime 2020 Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Bev @ My Reader's Block
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2020

Click here for guidelines and sign-ups.

I signed up for the 2019 edition of this challenge and had a lot of fun with it, even though I didn't manage to review many of the books I read. (Maybe none of the books I read? Didn't really do much reviewing at all during this past year. Must do better in 2020.) I loved tracking down books for all the various categories and reading lots of reviews by other (more diligent) participants. So I'm signing up again for next year's challenge.

During the year, I'll be tracking my progress and keeping all my lists over on my challenge blog (HERE).

NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2020

Hosted by: Tina @ Reading Between the Pages
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2020

Click here for guidelines and sign-ups.

It's been a couple of years since I last participated in the NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge. But I'm thoroughly embarrassed by all the unread ARCs I've allowed to pile up this year, and I think I really need something like this to help me get back on track. So even though I've made up my mind to cut way down on reading challenges next year, I'm signing up for this one.

I'm going for the Bronze Level (read 10 books), but hoping to do much better than that. During the year, I'll be tracking my progress and keeping all my lists over on my challenge blog (HERE).

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

So another week begins. And another month. And (amazingly) it's December!!! Don't know how that happened, but my calendar tells me it's true. Not a lot of time left in the year to finish up those TBR books on my list for 2019.

I'm not sure what, or how much I'll be reading this week. I've got oral surgery scheduled for Monday morning, and that most likely will put me out of commission for a couple of days. But I'm a little more than halfway through this one...

Sorry for the Dead (Josephine Tey #8), by Nicola Upson

and hope to finish it up pretty soon.

If that happens, I might get back to one of the ARCs I really should have read a couple months ago...

Olive, Again, by Elizabeth Strout

Or maybe something just for fun:

Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley, by M.C. Beaton

I've read the first three books in this series of very quirky mysteries, and this is next in line.

So, here comes a brand new month of bookish adventures.

Happy reading, everyone!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. If you want to let the world know what you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.