2020 Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge: The Wrap-Up

The Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge -- hosted by Bev Hankins at her MY READER'S BLOCK blog -- is one of the funnest challenges around, if you're a mystery fanatic like I am. Of course, I always hope I'll be able to read much more than I actually do; and in that, 2020 was no exception. But I did manage to read at least one qualifying book per month, even though I didn't get any reviews posted. 

Here's the category check-off sheet, and a list of what I read for each month:

JANUARY:
• In the Last Analysis (Kate Fansler #1). Amanda Cross (Category #2: Author's birth month)

FEBRUARY:
• A Fragment of Fear. John Bingham (Category #7: Book title has word starting with "F")

MARCH:
• The Silent Speaker (Nero Wolfe #11). Rex Stout (Category #3: Primary action takes place during this month)

APRIL:
• And Be a Villain (Nero Wolfe #13). Rex Stout (Category #7: Book title has word starting with "A")

MAY:
• Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Agatha Raisin #5). M.C. Beaton (Category #7: Book title has word starting with "M")

JUNE:
• The Haunted Lady (Hilda Adams/"Miss Pinkerton" Mystery). Mary Roberts Rinehart (Category #3: Primary action takes place during this month)

JULY:
• Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe #8). Rex Stout (Category #3: Primary action takes place during this month)

AUGUST:
• A Death Long Overdue (Lighthouse Library Mystery #7). Eva Gates (Category #9: Summer holiday setting - Nags Head NC)

SEPTEMBER:
• The Suicide House. Charlie Donlea (Category #7: Book title has word beginning with "S")

OCTOBER:
• Still Life (Inspector Gamache #1). Louise Penny (Category #3: Primary action takes place in this month)

NOVEMBER:
• Knot of This World (Quilting Mystery #8). Mary Marks (Category #9: Family relationships play major role)

DECEMBER:
• Snow (St. John Strafford #1). John Banville (Category #3: Primary action takes place in this month) 

Bev has announced the 2021 edition of the challenge, and you can see the rules and find the sign-up form HERE.

2020 European Reading Challenge: Wrap-Up Post

Now that December's here, I guess it's time to start wrapping up some reading challenges. I didn't join many challenges in 2020, so there's not all that much wrapping up to do.

First on the list is Rose City Reader's European Reading Challenge: always one of my favorite challenges, though I don't always do a great job with it. For 2020, I joined up at the "Business Traveler" level and committed to read just three books. And I was only half successful -- I did manage to read my three, but didn't get any reviews posted. (Sorry about that. Didn't really post many reviews to the blog this year. Must do a better job in 2021!) Here's what I read (links are to descriptions at GoodReads):

The Circus, by Jonas Karlsson (set in Stockholm, Sweden) 

Murder She Wrote: Gin & Daggers (Murder, She Wrote #1), by "Jessica Fletcher" and Donald Bain (set in UK, mostly London)

Snow (St. John Strafford #1), by John Banville (set in Ireland) 

Of those three, Snow was my favorite, although I enjoyed them all. I was just a bit disappointed in The Circus, only because I thought it didn't really come up to the quality of Karlsson's earlier two novels, The Room (which I loved) and The Invoice. But that's a high standard, and it was still a fun read. And I can't believe it took me so long to read my first Murder She Wrote mystery, since I loved the TV series so much. I can see a lot more Jessica in my future.

As I said, I do love this challenge -- it helps me discover new authors and read books I might otherwise ignore. Thanks so much to Gilion for doing the hosting. I'll definitely be joining up for 2021, if she keeps it going.

 

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XV

Now that September's here (amazing, but true!), it's time for the annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (RIP) reading challenge/event. This is the fifteenth year for RIP, and I've participated in eleven of those years. I always look forward to it.

It's very informal this year — there's no sign-up, and you can read as much as you want from any of the mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, Gothic, or other "dark lit" genres. Then if you're into Instagram or Twitter, you can join in the discussions there (tags are @PerilReaders and #ripxv). I'm not a huge social media fan, but I might pay an occasional visit. Or maybe not. Either way, I'm still looking forward to doing some spooky reading for the event.

Don't have a specific list of reading to do, but I've got a few things in mind:

• The Lost Village, by Camilla Sten (English edition to be published early in 2021. This one has been called "relentlessly creepy" — which sounds perfect for me and for RIP!) 
• Plain Bad Heroines, by Emily M. Danforth (To be published in October. This one is getting lots of advance hype and sounds really intriguing, but it's much longer than the books I generally choose.)
• Snow, by John Banville (Also coming in October. This will be my introduction to Banville, but I've got tons of his works on my TBR list.)
• The Suicide House, by Charlie Donlea (I'm reading an ARC of this, and I really should have finished by now, since the book came out in July!)

I'll also be watching lots of mystery/horror movies and TV shows, of course. And I'll be keeping track of all my reading and viewing over on my challenge blog (HERE).

So, Happy Fall! And Happy Reading, everyone.

2020 Newbery Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Julie @ Smiling Shelves
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2020

Click HERE for guidelines and sign-ups.

Children's lit is one of my "guilty pleasures." Actually, some of my favorite reads over the last few years have been Newbery or Caldecott Medal winners or nominees. And since there are many more I want to read, this challenge is perfect for me.

I'm signing up for the "L'Engle" level, 15-29 points. You can read all about the point system and the various levels, as well as all the other guidelines, on the challenge announcement page HERE. During the year, I'll be tracking my progress and keeping all my lists over on my challenge blog (HERE).

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).