rabbitprincess is reading fully and completely in 2020 - Part 4

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Diskutera2020 Category Challenge

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rabbitprincess is reading fully and completely in 2020 - Part 4

1rabbitprincess
Redigerat: nov 29, 2020, 6:41 pm

This year, my category challenge will feature the music of The Tragically Hip, a Canadian band from Kingston, Ontario.

I'll have all of my usual categories, plus a couple of bonus categories that are intended to let me indulge in some of my favourite topics... we'll see how that ACTUALLY plays out :)

The titles of each category contain a hyperlink to a YouTube video with the song.

General fiction – "If New Orleans is Beat"
General non-fiction – "Wheat Kings"
Mysteries – "Locked in the Trunk of a Car"
SFF – "The Depression Suite"
Plays, poetry, graphic novels, other miscellaneous books – "Poets"
Audio – "Thompson Girl"
French – "38 Years Old"
Rereads – "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)"
Group reads and CATs – "We'll Go, Too"
History (fiction and non-fiction) - "Looking for a Place to Happen"
Aviation-related books: "700 Ft. Ceiling"
Nautical books: "Nautical Disaster"

ROOTs ticker:




Going Through the Stacks ticker:




2-for-1 TBR ticker:




Bingo:



✔ Book that's in a Legacy Library – Ape and Essence (in Aldous Huxley's library)
✔ Book written by an LT author – Here Be Dragons (Sharon Kay Penman)
✔ Book published in 1820 or 1920 – Main Street (get through Serial Reader)
✔ Book published in the year of your birth – Using Tragically Hip drummer Johnny Fay's birth year (1966): Shooting Script, by Gavin Lyall
✔ Book published under a pen name or anonymously - Witch Hunt, by Jack Harvey
✔ Book set in Asia – North Korea Journal
✔ Mystery or true crime – The Bellamy Trial
✔ Book involving a real historical event (fiction or nonfiction) – The Plotters
✔ Book about books, bookstores, or libraries – The Book of Forgotten Authors
✔ Book with at least 3 letters of BINGO consecutively in order in the title – Hollow Kingdom
✔ Red cover (or red is prominent on the cover) – Now We Are Six Hundred
✔ Title contains a pun – ATA Girl
✔ Book about birth or death - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
✔ Book with a proper name in the title – Gold for Prince Charlie
✔ Book published by a small press or self-published - When Days Are Long (published by Caitlin Press)
✔ Book published in 2020 - Successful Aging
✔ Epistolary novel or collection of letters - Microserfs (told through diary entries)
✔ Book by a journalist or about journalism - Verdict of Twelve (Raymond Postgate was a journalist)
✔ Book not set on Earth – Diary of River Song Series 4
✔ Mythology or folklore – The Mabinogion
✔ Weird book title – The Detective Wore Silk Drawers
✔ Book with "library" or "thing" in title or subtitle – Things Ain’t What They Used to Be
✔ Book with a periodic table element in the title – Gold from Crete
✔ Book by a woman from a country other than the US/UK – Ridgerunner, by Gil Adamson
✔ Read a CAT - Solomon Gursky Was Here

2rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 27, 2020, 11:15 am

General fiction - If New Orleans is Beat

“The river takes, takes, takes and takes / It doesn’t change, it only changes”

This category was hard to choose a song for. This song is one of my favourite Hip songs at the moment, so that ended up being why I picked it.

1. Solomon Gursky Was Here, by Mordecai Richler
2. The Mystery of Orcival, by Emile Gaboriau (Serial Reader)
3. The Eejits, by Roald Dahl, translated by Matthew Fitt
4. Millions, by Frank Cottrell Boyce
5. In Her Wake, by Amanda Jennings
6. Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Serial Reader)
7. The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot (Serial Reader)
8. The Travelling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel (Overdrive)
9. The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence
10. French Exit, by Patrick deWitt
11. Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis (Serial Reader)
12. The Coral Island, by R. M. Ballantyne (Serial Reader)
13. Ridgerunner, by Gil Adamson
14. Witch Hunt, by Jack Harvey / Ian Rankin
15. Five Little Indians, by Michelle Good
16. The Scheme for Full Employment, by Magnus Mills
17. Parting Shot, by Linwood Barclay
18. Mary Barton, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Serial Reader and Project Gutenberg)
19. The Less Dead, by Denise Mina
20. Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice (CloudLibrary)

3rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 29, 2020, 11:59 am

General non-fiction - Wheat Kings

"Twenty years for nothing, well that's nothing new / Besides, nobody's interested in things you didn't do"

This song is based on the story of David Milgaard, who was wrongly convicted for murder and spent 20 years in prison before being exonerated.

1. North Korea Journal, by Michael Palin
2. Gender and Our Brains: How New Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and Female Brain, by Gina Rippon
3. The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing, by Merve Emre
4. Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime, by Val McDermid
5. Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives, by Daniel J. Levitin
6. Is It All in Your Head?: True Stories of Imaginary Illnesses, by Suzanne O'Sullivan
7. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard, by Nora Ellen Groce
8. Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada, by Anna Brownell Jameson
9. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker
10. Effective Data Storytelling, by Brent Dykes
11. Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death and Hard Truths in a Northern City, by Tanya Talaga
12. The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error', by Sidney Dekker
13. Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, by Dan Heath
14. The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain As Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery, by Sam Kean (Overdrive)
15. Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants, by Ann Hui (Overdrive)
16. Brewed in the North: The History of Labatt's, by Matthew J. Bellamy
17. Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them, by Adrienne Raphel
18. Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home, by Tom Wilson (Overdrive)
19. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass (Serial Reader)
20. Any Night of the Week: A D.I.Y. History of Toronto Music, 1957–2001, by Jonny Dovercourt
21. Toe Blake: Winning is Everything, by Paul Logothetis
22. Say Nothing: A Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, by Patrick Radden Keefe (Overdrive)
23. This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin
24. How Music Works, by David Byrne
25. Twenty Years at Hull House, by Jane Addams (Serial Reader)
26. Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina, by Chris Frantz
27. Bloody Murder, by Julian Symons
28. All Things Consoled: A Daughter's Memoir, by Elizabeth Hay (Overdrive)
29. Sixty Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home, by Malachy Tallack
30. Livewired: The Inside Story of Our Ever-Changing Brain, by David Eagleman
31. The Big Life of Little Richard, by Mark Ribowsky
32. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee
33. The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), by Katie Mack
34. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Modern Pop from Bill Haley to Beyoncé, by Bob Stanley
35. When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error, by Danielle Ofri
36. The Role I Played: Canada's Greatest Olympic Hockey Team, by Sami Jo Small
37. Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!, by Claire McNear
38. Relax, Dammit!: A User's Guide to the Age of Anxiety, by Timothy Caulfield
39. Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World, by Meredith Broussard

4rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 29, 2020, 11:59 am

Mystery - Locked in the Trunk of a Car

"I found a place, it’s dark and it’s rotten / It’s a cool, sweet kind of place where the coppers won’t spot it / I destroyed the map, I even thought I’d forgot it / However, every day I’m dumping the body..."

Chilling, like the best thrillers.

1. The Bellamy Trial, by Frances Noyes Hart (Faded Page)
2. The Mystery of the Chinese Junk, by Franklin W. Dixon
3. The Crooked Hinge, by John Dickson Carr
4. Verdict of Twelve, by Raymond Postgate
5. Dread Journey, by Dorothy B. Hughes
6. A Taste for Honey, by H. F. Heard
7. What You Pay For, by Claire Askew
8. Death from a Top Hat, by Clayton Rawson
9. Murder in Mesopotamia, by Agatha Christie
10. The Tiger in the Smoke, by Margery Allingham
11. Gun Before Butter, by Nicolas Freeling
12. Cop Killer, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, translated by Thomas Teal
13. Beware of the Trains, by Edmund Crispin
14. A Matter of Malice, by Thomas King (Overdrive)
15. Family Matters, by Anthony Rolls (Overdrive)
16. Murder by Matchlight, by E.C.R. Lorac (Overdrive)
17. The Colour of Murder, by Julian Symons (Overdrive)
18. Murder Unprompted, by Simon Brett
19. The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories, ed. Martin Edwards (Overdrive)
20. Surfeit of Suspects, by George Bellairs (Overdrive)
21. Murder in the Mill-Race, by E. C. R. Lorac (Overdrive)
22. Death in Captivity, by Michael Gilbert (Overdrive)
23. The Detective Wore Silk Drawers, by Peter Lovesey
24. A Darker Domain, by Val McDermid
25. Shroud for a Nightingale, by P. D. James
26. Deep Waters: Murder on the Waves, ed. Martin Edwards (Overdrive)
27. Blue Lightning, by Ann Cleeves (Overdrive)
28. In a House of Lies, by Ian Rankin
29. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
30. Gideon's Night, by J. J. Marric
31. Dead Water, by Ann Cleeves (Overdrive)
32. The Mark on the Door, by Franklin W. Dixon
33. The Honjin Murders, by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
34. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
35. The Inugami Curse, by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Yumiko Yamakazi
36. Still Life, by Val McDermid
37. Murder in the Crooked House, by Soji Shimada, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
38. The Glass Room, by Ann Cleeves
39. Man Overboard!, by Freeman Wills Crofts
40. Thin Air, by Ann Cleeves (Overdrive)

5rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 27, 2020, 11:16 am

SFF and SpecFic-- “The Depression Suite”

“Bring on the requisite strangeness / It always has to get a little weird”

I agree, SFF should always be a little weird. That's part of its charm!

1. Doctor Who: Twelfth Doctor Vol. 1: Terrorformer, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Dave Taylor with Mariano Laclaustra (ebook)
2. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 2: Fractures, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Brian Williamson and Mariano Laclaustra (ebook)
3. Hollow Kingdom, by Kira Jane Buxton
4. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 3: Hyperion, written by Robbie Morrison and George Mann; illustrated by Daniel Indro and Mariano Laclaustra (ebook)
5. Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse, written by James Goss and illustrated by Russell T. Davies
6. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol. 4: The School of Death, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Rachael Stott and Simon Fraser (ebook)
7. Doctor Who: Shroud of Sorrow, by Tommy Donbavand (CloudLibrary)
8. Doctor Who: The Plotters, by Gareth Roberts
9. Twelve Angels Weeping, by Dave Rudden
10. The Day She Saved the Doctor, by Jacqueline Rayner, Jenny T. Colgan, Susan Calman, and Dorothy Koomson
11. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 5: The Twist, written by George Mann and illustrated by Mariano Laclaustra and Rachael Stott (ebook)
12. Doctor Who: Darkstar Academy and Day of the Cockroach, by Mark Morris and Steve Lyons (audio, read by Alexander Armstrong and Arthur Darvill)
13. Doctor Who and the War Games, by Malcolm Hulke
14. Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen, by Gerry Davis (audio, read by Michael Kilgarriff and Nicholas Briggs)
15. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 1: Hunters of Earth, by Nigel Robinson (audio, read by Carole Ann Ford and Tam Williams)
16. Doctor Who: Lords of the Storm, by David A. McIntee
17. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North
18. False Value, by Ben Aaronovitch
19. Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures, Volume 1 (Big Finish audio drama)
20. Doctor Who: Plague City, by Jonathan Morris
21. Dalek Empire 2.1: Dalek War, Chapter 1, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
22. Dalek Empire 2.2: Dalek War, Chapter 2, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
23. Dalek Empire 2.3: Dalek War, Chapter 3, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
24. Dalek Empire 2.4: Dalek War, Chapter 4, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
25. Jago and Litefoot and Strax: The Haunting, by Justin Richards (Big Finish audio drama)
26. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 11: The Time Machine, by Matt Fitton (audio, read by Jenna Coleman, Michael Cochrane, and Nicholas Briggs)
27. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 6: Sonic Boom, by Robbie Morrison, illustrated by Mariano Lacaustra and Rachael Stott (ebook)
28. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 2: Shadow of Death, by Simon Guerrier (audio, read by Frazer Hines and Evie Dawnay)
29. Amorality Tale, by David Bishop
30. The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Overdrive)
31. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 7: Shockwave, by James Swallow (audio, read by Sophie Aldred and Ian Brooker)

6rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 29, 2020, 12:00 pm

Plays, poetry, essays, short story collections etc. -- "Poets"

"Don't tell me what the poets are doing / Don't tell me that they're talking tough / Don't tell me that they're antisocial / Somehow not antisocial enough"

This choice should be self-evident.

Plays
1. 887, by Robert Lepage (translated by Louisa Blair)
2. King Lear, by William Shakespeare
3. Les Belles-Soeurs, by Michel Tremblay

Comics and graphic novels
1. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 1: Terrorformer, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Dave Taylor with Mariano Laclaustra (ebook)
2. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 2: Fractures, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Brian Williamson and Mariano Laclaustra (ebook)
3. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 3: Hyperion, written by Robbie Morrison and George Mann; illustrated by Daniel Indro and Mariano Laclaustra (ebook)
4. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 4: The School of Death, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Rachael Stott and Simon Fraser (ebook)
5. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 5: The Twist, written by George Mann and illustrated by Mariano Laclaustra and Rachael Stott (ebook)
6. The Little Book of Big Feelings, by Maureen "Marzi" Wilson
7. Kind of Coping: An Illustrated Look at Life with Anxiety, by Maureen "Marzi" Wilson
8. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Vol. 6: Sonic Boom, by Robbie Morrison, illustrated by Mariano Lacaustra and Rachael Stott (ebook)

Everything else
1. Tall Tales and Wee Stories, by Billy Connolly
2. Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse, written by James Goss and illustrated by Russell T. Davies
3. The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour, by Peter Asher
4. Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, ed. National Gallery of Canada
5. The Book of Forgotten Authors, by Christopher Fowler
6. The Doctors: Time and Space Collection, by Adam Hargreaves
7. Doctor Third, by Adam Hargreaves
8. Doctor Fifth, by Adam Hargreaves
9. The Merry Heart: Selections 1980–1995, by Robertson Davies
10. Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, by Neil deGrasse Tyson
11. The Mabinogion, translated by Sioned Davies
12. Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, by Margaret Atwood (Overdrive)
13. The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois (Serial Reader)
14. Trans-Canada Rail Guide, by Melissa Graham
15. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, by Philip Glenister
16. This is the World: A Global Treasury, by Miroslav Sasek
17. Helen McNicoll: Life & Work, by Samantha Burton
18. The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction, by Eric R. Scerri
19. Confessions of a Bookseller, by Shaun Bythell
20. Sex Power Money, by Sara Pascoe
21. The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards
22. The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer (Overdrive)
23. Warriors and Witches and Damn Rebel Bitches: Scottish Women to Live Your Life By, by Mairi Kidd
24. The Traveller and Other Stories, by Stuart Neville
25. More Than a Woman, by Caitlin Moran
26. Personal Recollections of Mary Somerville, by Mary Somerville (Project Gutenberg)

Possibilities
King Lear, by William Shakespeare
The Odyssey, trans. Emily Wilson

7rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 27, 2020, 11:17 am

Audiobooks -- Thompson Girl

"Thompson girl / Walkin' from Churchill"

You'd need a lot of audiobooks for a walk from Churchill to Thompson. It's such a long walk, Google Maps can't even calculate walking directions.

1. Watership Down, by Richard Adams (read by Peter Capaldi)
2. Moone Boy: The Blunder Years, by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy (read by the authors)
3. Doctor Who: Darkstar Academy and Day of the Cockroach, by Mark Morris and Steve Lyons (read by Alexander Armstrong and Arthur Darvill)
4. ATA Girl, by Gemma Page, Victoria Saxton, Helen Goldwyn, and Jane Slavin (Big Finish audio drama)
5. The Diary of River Song, Series 4 (Big Finish audio drama)
6. Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen, by Gerry Davis (read by Michael Kilgarriff and Nicholas Briggs)
7. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 1: Hunters of Earth, by Nigel Robinson (read by Carole Ann Ford and Tam Williams)
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams (read by Stephen Fry)
9. Paths of Glory, by Jeffrey Archer (read by Roger Allam)
10. Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures, Volume 1 (Big Finish audio drama)
11. Partners in Crime, by Agatha Christie (read by Hugh Fraser)
12. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams (read by Martin Freeman)
13. Dalek Empire 2.1: Dalek War, Chapter 1, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
14. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie (read by Dan Stevens)
15. Dalek Empire 2.2: Dalek War, Chapter 2, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
16. Dalek Empire 2.3: Dalek War, Chapter 3, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
17. Dalek Empire 2.4: Dalek War, Chapter 4, by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish audio drama)
18. Jago and Litefoot and Strax: The Haunting, by Justin Richards (Big Finish audio drama)
19. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 11: The Time Machine, by Matt Fitton (read by Jenna Coleman, Michael Cochrane, and Nicholas Briggs)
20. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 2: Shadow of Death, by Simon Guerrier (read by Frazer Hines and Evie Dawnay)
21. The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek (read by Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings)
22. Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor 7: Shockwave, by James Swallow (read by Sophie Aldred and Ian Brooker)

Possibilities:
The Diary of River Song, Series 4 (Big Finish audio drama)
ATA Girl (Big Finish audio drama)
Paths of Glory, by Jeffrey Archer (read by Roger Allam)

8rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 30, 2020, 5:08 pm

French - “38 Years Old”

“They mostly came from towns with long French names…”

That line is the only reason I chose this song for this category. Another solid choice would be "Born in the Water".

1. 1967, le Québec entre deux mondes, by Jean Rey
2. Le Roi de fer, by Maurice Druon
3. La Reine étranglée, by Maurice Druon
4. Les Belles-Soeurs, by Michel Tremblay
5. Le Lotus bleu, by Hergé

Rereads -- Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)

"Courage, my word / It didn't come, it doesn't matter"

Hugh MacLennan is one of my favourite authors, and The Watch That Ends the Night is one of my favourite books -- that book inspired this song.

1. Ape and Essence, by Aldous Huxley
2. Our Man in Havana, by Graham Greene
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy
4. Vampires of Ottawa, by Eric Wilson
5. The Thick of It: The Missing DoSAC Files, by Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche and Ian Martin
6. Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland
7. Sense and Sensibiity, by Jane Austen
8. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
9. jPod, by Douglas Coupland
10. The Green Gables Detectives, by Eric Wilson
11. An Overdose of Death, by Agatha Christie
12. Myths of the Norsemen, by Roger Lancelyn Green

Possibilities
L'Armée furieuse, by Fred Vargas
Our Man in Havana, by Graham Greene

9rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 11, 2020, 9:06 pm

Group reads/CATs -- "We'll Go, Too"

"What can you do / They've all gone / We'll go too"

You want to take a trip down this reading path? We'll go too.

Group reads

La Reine Margot
Wolf Hall

CATs

2020 GeoCAT
✔ January: Paths of Glory, by Jeffrey Archer (set in the Himalayas) -- I have the audio narrated by Roger Allam!
✔ February: Cop Killer, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (Sweden)
✔ March: Africa I / Middle East: Murder in Mesopotamia
April: Oz/NZ/Oceania: A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute
✔ May: Any place you would like to visit!: Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman (Wales -- I've visited there but want to go back)
June: Space: The Final Frontier: A Doctor Who novel, most probably
✔ July: Our Man in Havana (Cuba) -- this will be a re-read
✔ August: Asia II: North Korea Journal, by Michael Palin
✔ September: Polar & Tundra Regions Isvik, by Hammond Innes
✔ October: Gold for Prince Charlie, by Nigel Tranter (Scotland, Rob Roy MacGregor trilogy #3)
November: Africa II All countries excluding those from March: nothing yet
December: Catch up month or read another one from your favorite CATegory!: I'll fill this with whatever I read in December.

2020 Non-fiction CAT
January - Journalism and News -
✔ February - Travel - Winter Studies and Summer Rambles, by Anna Brownell Jameson
March - Biography - Mike
✔ April - Law and Order - 18 Tiny Deaths, by Bruce Goldfarb
✔ May - Science - Space Chronicles, by Neil deGrasse Tyson
✔ June - Society - The Inconvenient Indian, by Thomas King
✔ July - Human Science - The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain As Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery, by Sam Kean
August - History - Blitzkrieg: The Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk, by Len Deighton
September - Religion and philosophy -
✔ October - The Arts - Any Night of the Week: A DIY History of Toronto Music, 1957-2001, by Jonny Dovercourt
✔ November - Food, Home and Recreation - Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants, by Ann Hui
✔ December - Adventures by Land, Sea or Air - Cruising Attitude

2020 RandomCAT
✔ January - New Year's resolution - something that challenges or intimidates you - Solomon Gursky Was Here, by Mordecai Richler
✔ February - Leap into a new year - book published in a leap year - The Tiger in the Smoke, by Margery Allingham (published 1952)
✔ March - Seasons of Love - season in the title - Winter Studies and Summer Rambles, by Anna Brownell Jameson
✔ April - Showers and Flowers - title has to do with rainshowers or flowers - The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy
✔ May - Believe in your shelf - one of the oldest books on your shelf - Beware of the Trains, by Edmund Crispin
✔ June - Take to the Sea! - a book with a sea-related title or plot - Deep Waters: Mysteries on the Waves, ed. Martin Edwards
✔ July - Picture This! - a book with illustrations or pictures as its primary focus - This is the World, by Miroslav Sasek
✔ August - Get your groove on - a book about music - Any Night of the Week, by Jonny Dovercourt
✔ September - Reccies - a recommendation from LT (automatic or from a user) - Confessions of a Bookseller, by Shaun Bythell (automatic rec)
✔ October - Healthcare Heroes - Soap and Water and Common Sense, by Dr. Bonnie Henry
✔ November - Lest We Forget - Stalking Point, by Duncan Kyle
December - Goodbye 2020 (pick 6) - rolled a 4, a book you've been planning to read all year so will read The Ringed Castle for this

BookSpin (Litsy challenge)
✔ March - BookSpin Moone Boy: The Blunder Years (audio), by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy (didn't do DoubleSpin that month)
✔ April - BookSpin Cop Killer, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö | DoubleSpin Our Man in Havana, by Graham Greene | TripleSpin Isvik, by Hammond Innes
✔ May - BookSpin Space Chronicles, by Neil deGrasse Tyson | DoubleSpin When Days Are Long, by Amy V. Wilson
BookSpinBonanza: 7 of 20 (6 in order, 1 not in order)
✔ June - BookSpin The Captain, by Jan de Hartog | DoubleSpin Doctor Who: Lords of the Storm, by David A. McIntee
July - BookSpin King Lear, by William Shakespeare | DoubleSpin Quand sort la recluse, by Fred Vargas
BookSpinBingo: 6/25, no bingos
✔ August - BookSpin Witch Hunt, by Jack Harvey | DoubleSpin A Darker Domain, by Val McDermid
BookSpinBingo: 10/25, no bingos
✔ September - BookSpin Bloody Murder, by Julian Symons | DoubleSpin Sixty Degrees North, by Malachy Tallack
BookSpinBingo: 17/25, 1 bingo
✔ October - BookSpin Death Under Sail, by C. P. Snow | DoubleSpin Jago & Litefoot & Strax, by Big Finish
BookSpinBingo: 16/25, 1 bingo
✔ November - BookSpin The Traveller and Other Stories, by Stuart Neville | DoubleSpin The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria, by Greg King and Penny Wilson
BookSpinBingo: 19/25, 3 bingos
✔ December - BookSpin a non-fiction about safety: When We Do Harm, by Danielle Ofri | DoubleSpin The Less Dead, by Denise Mina

10rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 8, 2020, 9:36 pm

History - "Looking for a Place to Happen"

"Jacques Cartier, right this way / Put your coat up on the bed / Hey man you got a real bum's eye for clothes"

An imagined scene in which Jacques Cartier, coming to a land he thinks is uninhabited and seeks to conquer, is greeted as a guest by the Indigenous inhabitants.

Historical fiction
1. Gold for Prince Charlie, by Nigel Tranter
2. Le Roi de fer, by Maurice Druon
3. Ships in the Bay!, by D. K. Broster
4. Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman
5. The End of the Line, by Stephen Legault
6. A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee
7. La Reine étranglée, by Maurice Druon
8. The Women of the Copper Country, by Mary Doria Russell

Historical non-fiction
1. A Short History of Progress, by Ronald Wright
2. Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute, by Matthew Williams
3. The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb, by Sam Kean
4. Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe, by Nancy Goldstone
5. When Days Are Long: Nurse in the North, by Amy Wilson
6. The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, by Thomas King
7. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of Edward Longshanks, by Kelcey Wilson-Lee
8. Uncrowned Queen: The Life of Margaret Beaufort, Mother of the Tudors, by Nicola Tallis
9. Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy, by Ben Macintyre
10. Railway Nation: Tales of Canadian Pacific, the World's Greatest Travel System, by David Laurence Jones

11rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 11, 2020, 9:07 pm

Aviation — “700 Ft. Ceiling”

“And I hate that for, for the things I'm thinking / When the clouds are low, 700 and sinking”

I hadn't intended to have an aviation category, but when this song came up on my iPod recently, it clinched my decision to go with this theme over another I'd been considering.

1. The Last Nine Minutes: The Story of Flight 391, by Moira Johnston
2. Flying Beyond: The Canadian Commercial Pilot Textbook, by Chris Hobbs
3. Airline Maps: A Century of Art and Design, by Mark Ovenden and Maxwell Roberts
4. Airport, by Arthur Hailey
5. Jet Age: The Comet, the 707, and the Race to Shrink the World, by Sam Howe Verhovek
6. ATA Girl, by Gemma Page, Victoria Saxton, Helen Goldwyn, and Jane Slavin (Big Finish audio drama)
7. Piece of Cake, by Derek Robinson (Overdrive)
8. The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, by Katherine Sharp Landdeck (Overdrive)
9. Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet, by Heather Poole
10. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock, by Franklin W. Dixon (Overdrive)
11. Shooting Script, by Gavin Lyall
12. Lancaster: The Forging of a Very British Legend, by John Nichol
13. Stalking Point, by Duncan Kyle

Possibilities
ATA Girl (Big Finish audio drama)
Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet, by Heather Poole

Ted Scott Flying Stories
Airport, by Arthur Hailey

12rabbitprincess
Redigerat: nov 29, 2020, 6:41 pm

Nautical books -- "Nautical Disaster"

"Now I was in a lifeboat designed for ten, and ten only…”

This song was inspired by the sinking of the Bismarck during WW2.

1. Gold from Crete, by C. S. Forester
2. Strike North, by William Howard Baker
3. Isvik, by Hammond Innes
4. The Grand Scuttle: The Sinking of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919, by Dan Van der Vat
5. The Captain, by Jan de Hartog
6. Death Under Sail, by C. P. Snow
7. The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria: The Sinking of the World's Most Glamorous Ship, by Greg King and Penny Wilson
8. The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton

Possibilities
Strike North, by William Howard Baker
Gold from Crete, by C.S. Forester

13rabbitprincess
nov 29, 2020, 6:44 pm

Managed to finish a book today!

The Informer, by Liam O’Flaherty
Category: If New Orleans is Beat
Source: Book Bazaar
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/138119679

This certainly kept me turning the pages, but there weren't many women around and the protagonist and others were described in rather patronizing language. Maybe the movie is better?

14leslie.98
nov 29, 2020, 11:06 pm

Happy new thread!

15MissWatson
nov 30, 2020, 3:33 am

Happy new thread!

16Jackie_K
nov 30, 2020, 4:51 am

Happy new thread from me too!

17mstrust
nov 30, 2020, 1:30 pm

Happy new thread. We're looking at the back end of 2020- hooray!

18Helenliz
nov 30, 2020, 3:00 pm

Happy new thread!

19rabbitprincess
nov 30, 2020, 5:31 pm

>14 leslie.98: >15 MissWatson: >16 Jackie_K: >17 mstrust:>18 Thank you all! And yes, very happy to be looking at the back end of 2020! It has been a long decade this year.

20rabbitprincess
nov 30, 2020, 6:38 pm

November recap

Crime fiction was my jam this month, in which I read 19 books.

The Inugami Curse, by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Yumiko Yamakazi
Shooting Script, by Gavin Lyall
The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria: The Sinking of the World’s Most Glamorous Ship, by Greg King and Penny Wilson
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards
The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), by Katie Mack
The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer (Overdrive)
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Modern Pop from Bill Haley to Beyoncé, by Bob Stanley
Doctor Who: Shadow of Death (Destiny of the Doctor, #2), by Simon Guerrier (audio, read by Frazer Hines and Evie Dawnay)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams (reread)
Still Life, by Val McDermid
Murder in the Crooked House, by Soji Shimada (translated by Louise Heal Kawai)
The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton
Warriors and Witches and Damn Rebel Bitches: Scottish Women to Live Your Life By, by Mairi Kidd
Dementia: A Very Short Introduction, by Kathleen Taylor
Le Lotus bleu, by Hergé
The Hog’s Back Mystery, by Freeman Wills Crofts
Lancaster: The Forging of a Very British Legend, by John Nichol
The Green Gables Detectives, by Eric Wilson (reread)
The Informer, by Liam O’Flaherty

The best book of the month was The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria. I read this in an afternoon.

My least favourite book of the month was probably The Informer. I am less likely to read more by O’Flaherty; I also rated Le Lotus bleu 2.5 stars, but I have borrowed another Tintin from the library.

Currently reading

Safety Differently: Human Factors for a New Era, by Sidney Dekker — I’ve marked this as my December KITastrophe pick, so maybe THIS month is the time I will finally get back to it?
Bleeding Hearts, by Ian Rankin — Still haven’t started this.
Quand sort la recluse, by Fred Vargas — I removed this from my purse and have made some headway, but I’ve stalled again.
The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek (audio, read by Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings) — This is so good, and I have definitely cried a whole lot at it.
Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville: With Selections from Her Correspondence, by Mary Somerville (Project Gutenberg) — I got this off Project Gutenberg after reading about Mary Somerville in Warriors and Witches and Damn Rebel Bitches. Chipping away at it.
Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World, by Meredith Broussard — I originally borrowed this but ran out of time with it. My mum then borrowed it from her library, then my dad read it when she was done. So now I have to read it in order to discuss it with them!
The Traveller and Other Stories, by Stuart Neville — Just started this today and dang is it ever good. Very noir.

December plans

In November my plans were:

✔ read a boat book (The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria)
✔ read a historical fiction book (The Devil and the Dark Water — not the one I was thinking of reading for this plan, but I’ll take it)
✔ read a Very Short Introduction (I read the Dementia VSI)

I’m not going to make specific plans this month. I do have a December TBR list to draw from; that will be enough of a plan to be going on.

21DeltaQueen50
dec 1, 2020, 1:09 pm

Happy new (and last) thread, RP. Wow, with all your reading laid out here, it is obvious you have had a very successful reading year!

22rabbitprincess
dec 1, 2020, 5:08 pm

>21 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy! I'm glad to have been able to keep up my reading despite everything that's happened.

23rabbitprincess
dec 3, 2020, 8:23 pm

December is off to a good start, if a dark one, reading-wise.

The Traveller and Other Stories, by Stuart Neville
Category: Poets
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/191199588

This was a great collection of noir stories. I'm going to have to go back and read Neville's other works!

Amorality Tale, by David Bishop
Category: The Depression Suite
Source: BMV
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/133956566

A rather dark Doctor Who novel, lots of violence and bleakness.

24mathgirl40
dec 3, 2020, 10:50 pm

Happy new thread!

>23 rabbitprincess: I'm quite fond of noir stories but haven't read any Stuart Neville yet. I'll have to keep his works in mind.

25DeltaQueen50
dec 4, 2020, 11:40 am

>23 rabbitprincess: I can highly recommend Stuart Neville's Belfast series. I have read the first two and they are riveting. This is one of the many series I hope to read more of next year.

26rabbitprincess
dec 4, 2020, 8:05 pm

>24 mathgirl40: Thanks! This book was blurbed by Dennis Lehane and the foreword is by John Connolly, so if you like either of those authors, Neville might be your fellow too.

>25 DeltaQueen50: I read The Ghosts of Belfast back in 2017 but have neglected to continue the series! I'll have to join you on the rest next year.

27rabbitprincess
dec 5, 2020, 6:08 pm

Continuing my crime-fiction spree:

The Glass Room, by Ann Cleeves
Category: Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Source: library
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192294798

My reading records tell me I devoured the first four books in the Vera series last year. This is the first of the books I've read this year! I liked it a fair bit. I do like Vera just a little bit more than Jimmy Perez. I've already requested the next book, Harbour Street.

28threadnsong
dec 5, 2020, 7:16 pm

Hello RabbitPrincess and Happy New Thread! Congrats on all your book reading this year (that is finally, thank the Goddess, about to end!).

29rabbitprincess
dec 6, 2020, 10:32 am

>28 threadnsong: Thanks for stopping by! In the first half of the year I could see my numbers going down month after month and was a bit concerned, but thankfully I got my groove back. Hope this last month of the decade-long year is treating you OK :)

****

Gotta love those books you can zip through in an evening.

The Less Dead, by Denise Mina
Category: If New Orleans is Beat
Source: library, via Overdrive
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192294732

I put this in my general fiction category because it's more of a suspense/thriller than a "mystery", and under my categorization rules, I put thrillers in general fiction, if only to ease the burden on the mystery category! I liked this well enough but I think I'd recommend newcomers to Mina try one of her series, either Alex Morrow or Paddy Meehan.

30Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: dec 9, 2020, 6:27 pm

>29 rabbitprincess: I tracked my numbers in a rather desultory way through most of 2020– which was the first clue that something was off with my reading brain! I usually am rather obsessive about my reading lists and spreadsheets. I finally sat down over the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend and ran the numbers: My reading is down by about a third. I broke the 100-book mark but I won’t get near my average of 150. Disappointing, but not surprising. Unfortunately, it appears that my recovery is slow so I decided to take it rather easy for my 2021 Challenge :-)

31DeltaQueen50
dec 7, 2020, 2:23 pm

I thought that I would be reading more books this year than in the past but according to Goodreads I am reading pretty much at the same rate. Currently I am two books short of where I was last year, but I have a number of shorter books planned for this month so expect I will catch up.

32Helenliz
dec 7, 2020, 3:53 pm

I'm behind last year and will probably fall 10 or so short. But as I've not been commuting, that's probably the majority of the shortfall.

33rabbitprincess
dec 8, 2020, 9:35 pm

>30 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Good idea to take it easy in 2021! I've felt a bit meh about writing reviews, myself.

>31 DeltaQueen50: I just looked at my reading log from 2019 and apparently I've already read 14 books MORE than I read last year! So I guess I should stop complaining about feeling like my reading is down :)

>32 Helenliz: I feel the loss of a commute in my reading day as well. I miss the fun of trying to gauge which books would make good bus books. But my purse is probably happier now that I'm not hauling three books around in it all the time.

****

Railway Nation: Tales of Canadian Pacific, the World’s Greatest Travel System, by David Laurence Jones
Category: Looking for a Place to Happen
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192294825

I impulse-requested this entirely because of the vintage travel poster cover (and the fact that it was about trains). It was a good book, constructed for flipping through and reading a bit at a time. It fit my rather short attention span.

34DeltaQueen50
dec 9, 2020, 9:28 pm

>33 rabbitprincess: Good for you. :)

35rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 13, 2020, 11:39 am

>34 DeltaQueen50: It is very strange how my perception totally did not match reality. Oh well! Onward and upward.

****

When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error, by Danielle Ofri
Category: Wheat Kings
Source: library
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192491447

I'm annoyed that I hadn't read Danielle Ofri sooner, but glad that I have more books of hers to look forward to. This was devastating and fascinating in equal measure, and Ofri makes her points eloquently.

Stalking Point, by Duncan Kyle
Category: 700 Ft. Ceiling, We’ll Go Too (November RandomCAT)
Source: Rockcliffe Park Public School book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/174965454

Hurray for cheesy airplane-related thrillers! Bonus: this one was at least half set in Canada! I was not expecting that at all.

36rabbitprincess
dec 13, 2020, 11:55 am

My friend and I have been sort of buddy-reading the Inspector French series by Freeman Wills Crofts. The Collins Crime Club reprinted six novels in the series this year, and the library ordered all of them. My friend has been trying to read the series in order, but the library hasn't made that easy for her, haha. Meanwhile, I am cheerfully reading them out of order. This is #15 in the series:

Man Overboard, by Freeman Wills Crofts
Category: Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Source: library
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192681204

This book rattled along quite nicely. It had high personal stakes for the characters, which I think helped me keep turning the pages. It was more engaging than The Hog's Back Mystery.

37rabbitprincess
dec 17, 2020, 7:25 pm

Haven't had much motivation to write reviews this week. Counting the days until Christmas, more for the break than anything else.

More Than a Woman, by Caitlin Moran
Category: Poets
Source: library
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192681389

This is a book that I can see becoming more relatable in the years to come, so I'll probably pick up a copy to have on hand when that time comes.

An Overdose of Death, by Agatha Christie
Category: Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)
Source: pilfered from grandparents
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139917270

A re-read of a Poirot that I have not read often. Not one of my favourites.

38NinieB
dec 17, 2020, 8:49 pm

>37 rabbitprincess: I like An Overdose of Death, I think because it was one of the earlier ones I read.

39rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 17, 2020, 10:09 pm

>38 NinieB: I first read this as a preteen and was afraid of dentists at the time, so I think having the story begin with Poirot visiting the dentist put me off a bit ;)

40mathgirl40
dec 17, 2020, 11:04 pm

>37 rabbitprincess: This isn't among my favourite Poirots either, and maybe the dental office setting had something to do with it, for me as well. :)

41rabbitprincess
dec 18, 2020, 8:31 pm

>40 mathgirl40: Especially the mechanism of death! It was doubly terrifying because it involved dentistry AND needles.

****

The Role I Played: Canada’s Greatest Olympic Hockey Team, by Sami Jo Small
Category: Wheat Kings
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192778232

Sami Jo Small tells the story of her role on the Canadian women's Olympic hockey team, from Nagano to Vancouver. Lots of memories of their championships. I'd love to read more stories of women's hockey.

42mathgirl40
dec 18, 2020, 11:13 pm

>41 rabbitprincess: Good point! No one would want a death like that! :)

43rabbitprincess
dec 20, 2020, 1:57 pm

>42 mathgirl40: That said, the scariest Christie death for me is still Mrs. Inglethorp in The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Harrowing!

****

I've been making good progress on reading in the last couple of days.

Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!, by Claire McNear
Category: Wheat Kings
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192852830

This overlaps somewhat with Alex Trebek's memoir, but it is good that they are consistent in their stories ;) Well done, very much recommended.

The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Overdrive)
Category: The Depression Suite
Source: library, via Overdrive
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192906024

Finally got to this after running out of time with the hardback in the summer, when the library first reopened after lockdown. I loved it! This is such a neat series.

44mstrust
dec 22, 2020, 3:21 pm

Wishing you a great holiday!

45rabbitprincess
dec 22, 2020, 6:39 pm

>44 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! I LOVE that polkadot skirt, although I am not grownup enough to own a predominantly white skirt. Would definitely spill chocolate on it :D

46rabbitprincess
dec 23, 2020, 8:13 pm

The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek (audio, read by Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings)
Category: Thompson Girl
Source: Libro.fm
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/190416364

When I heard that Alex Trebek read (at least part of) his memoir, I knew I had to buy the audio edition. Ken Jennings is a capable reader for sharing the load, but he would likely be the first to admit that he's no Alex. The content is interesting, and there's a lot of emotion. I was weeping at the end. I miss Alex.

47rabbitprincess
dec 27, 2020, 11:19 am

Had a Boxing Day reading spree.

Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice
Category: If New Orleans is Beat
Source: library, via CloudLibrary
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/194008810

This is a good post-apocalyptic novel for people who aren't wild about the usual gore and devastation brought about by fictional apocalypses. It's more about the aftermath.

Doctor Who: Shockwave (Destiny of the Doctor, #7), by James Swallow (audio, read by Sophie Aldred and Ian Brooker)
Category: Thompson Girl, The Depression Suite
Source: Big Finish
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/139864992

Another little Doctor Who audio snack.

48threadnsong
dec 27, 2020, 7:50 pm

Hello and Happy long, extended Holiday season, RabbitPrincess! I thought I would get a lot of reading done this past week but alas, the last-minute gift-giving bug, along with the cooking bug, ate into my reading time. Then there was the view of the Grand Conjunction on Monday night (complete with husband's telescope), so that. It was totally worth seeing.

Have you gotten to where you want to be with your reading this year? Your lists are looking very happily full!

49rabbitprincess
dec 27, 2020, 10:26 pm

>48 threadnsong: Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you were able to see the Grand Conjunction. We don't have a good place for stargazing so didn't even think about going out to watch it. The pictures we saw online looked good though!

I think I am in a good place, reading-wise. I actually ended up reading more than last year, which was not what I expected given pandemic brain. My historical fiction game was not very good, but I had a lot of really interesting reads, particularly about music. And I discovered Talking Heads, which is frankly the highlight of my 2020 :D

I hope you had a great reading year and that 2021 brings even more biblio-goodness.

50rabbitprincess
dec 29, 2020, 12:08 pm

Tidying up the "currently reading" shelves in preparation for the year-end stats. I finished two books yesterday and will be DNFing two others today. Here are the books I've actually finished:

Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety, by Timothy Caulfield
Category: Wheat Kings
Source: library
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/193277989

I whipped through this in a couple of hours. It's the sort of popular science or health writing I like. If you like Ben Goldacre, you might like this.

Thin Air, by Ann Cleeves
Category: Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Source: library, via Overdrive
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192491482

Continuing my Shetland adventures. Only two more books in the series (and yes, I've already requested the next in line). Part of the fun of reading this series is looking at maps to figure out where everything is.

51rabbitprincess
dec 29, 2020, 12:35 pm

And now the DNFs. It is safe to say that they are largely DNFed because of a shortage of attention span and concentration on my part.

Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World, by Meredith Broussard
Category: Wheat Kings
Source: library
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/191910654

How ironic that I DNFd this after prompting both my parents to read it. They liked it better than I did. I just couldn't find the head space for it.

Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville, by Mary Somerville
Category: Poets (it’s a mix of straight biography and epistolary)
Source: Project Gutenberg
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/192588158

I got this off Project Gutenberg after reading about Mary Somerville in Warriors and Witches and Damn Rebel Bitches. I've been picking at it off and on for over a month and am nowhere near finished, so I'm stopping.

52rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 30, 2020, 5:11 pm

This might be my last completed book of 2020. I have a lot of half-finished books on the go.

Myths of the Norsemen, by Roger Lancelyn Green
Category: Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)
Going Through the Stacks book 100
Source: it has existed in my collection for about 25 years, no idea who bought it
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70476135

Normally I start off the year with some mythology. This year I'm ending the year with mythology. I picked this up after my other half watched Thor Ragnarok for the third time. It's one of my favourite Marvel movies (along with Doctor Strange, which should not surprise anyone who remembers my Cumberbatch Challenge from several years ago). The mythology here is obviously somewhat different from Marvel, but it was fun to insert the Marvel characters into the retellings, particularly Idris Elba as Heimdall.

53VivienneR
dec 30, 2020, 8:40 pm

>37 rabbitprincess: I'm going to re-read One, Two, Buckle my Shoe aka An Overdose of Death. I am to get an dental implant early in the new year so this will fit right in. My first appointment is for 3 hours !!! The main problem with being in a dentist's chair is that it's not possible to read.

>45 rabbitprincess: I laughed out loud at your reasoning. :D

>46 rabbitprincess: I have a hold on the audiobook. After what seems like a lifetime of watching/playing Jeopardy, I miss Alex too.

54lsh63
dec 31, 2020, 9:34 am



Happy New Year! I will also miss Alex Trebek greatly, I don't think watching Jeoprary will be the same for me. I hope you have a great reading year as well as a happy and healthy one!

55rabbitprincess
Redigerat: dec 31, 2020, 10:34 am

>53 VivienneR: Oof, good luck with the dental implant! Three hours! And there's more than one appointment?! I guess in theory one could listen to audiobooks, but that would depend on whether the procedure requires sedation. No point in listening to an audiobook if you're not going to remember what happened :-/

>54 lsh63: Happy New Year to you as well! I actually hadn't been watching Jeopardy for the longest time, but I liked knowing that Alex was out there doing his thing. A new host will certainly bring a new spin to the show, but if they don't mess with the underlying format it should be able to keep going.

56rabbitprincess
dec 31, 2020, 11:18 am

I'm probably not going to complete any more books today (New Year's Eve is traditionally about movies and TV in our house), so here is the December recap.

A more varied reading diet this month: sci-fi, crime, and non-fiction. Ended the year with 21 books read.

The Traveller and Other Stories, by Stuart Neville
Amorality Tale, by David Bishop
The Glass Room, by Ann Cleeves
The Less Dead, by Denise Mina
Railway Nation: Tales of Canadian Pacific, the World’s Greatest Travel System, by David Laurence Jones
When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error, by Danielle Ofri
Stalking Point, by Duncan Kyle
Man Overboard!, by Freeman Wills Crofts
More Than a Woman, by Caitlin Moran
An Overdose of Death, by Agatha Christie (re-read)
The Role I Played: Canada’s Greatest Olympic Hockey Team, by Sami Jo Small
Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!, by Claire McNear
The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Overdrive)
The Answer Is… Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek (audio, read by Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings)
Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice (CloudLibrary)
Doctor Who: Shockwave (Destiny of the Doctor, #7), by James Swallow (audio, read by Sophie Aldred and Ian Brooker)
Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety, by Timothy Caulfield
Thin Air, by Ann Cleeves (Overdrive)
Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World, by Meredith Broussard
Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville, by Mary Somerville (Project Gutenberg)
Myths of the Norsemen, by Roger Lancelyn Green (re-read)

The best book of the month was The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life. Alex Trebek’s narration is unbeatable and his authorial voice strong. Loved learning about his life even as I mourned his passing.

My least favourite book of the month was Artificial Unintelligence, because I had hoped to really like it and didn’t.

Currently reading

Safety Differently: Human Factors for a New Era, by Sidney Dekker — STILL haven’t got to it, but haven’t had the heart to DNF.
Bleeding Hearts, by Ian Rankin — I did start this and it is good so far, better than Witch Hunt I think.
Quand sort la recluse, by Fred Vargas — Still stalled.
A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carré — This is the audio edition read by Tom Hollander. Looking forward to starting this!
The Matter of Wales: Epic Views of a Small Country, by Jan Morris — Because I can’t travel to Wales for real, might as well travel there via books. This was written in 1984 so a bit dated (the Senedd didn’t exist yet), but the historical stuff is probably going to be OK.
The Gambler, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (translated by J.C. Hogarth) — I’m trying to get back into my Serial Reader reading, which suffered greatly in the past few months. This is what the random number generator gave me when I ran it on my list of “saved for later” serials.
The Story of a Hare, by J.C. Tregarthan — A public-domain ebook from Faded Page. I’m trying to get into reading more books from the site, because I write Featured Text blurbs for the homepage and it contains a lot of interesting stuff!

January plans

In December, I did not make specific plans, other than working off my December TBR. I did really well with that list.

In January, I’m going to follow what seems to be my instinct and have lots of big books on the go and chip away gradually at each of them, haha.

57rabbitprincess
dec 31, 2020, 11:24 am

And now for 2020 in stats

Total books read: 236

Category totals (these will add up to more than the total because I posted a few in multiple categories)

General fiction – "If New Orleans is Beat" — 20
General non-fiction – "Wheat Kings" — 39
Mysteries – "Locked in the Trunk of a Car" — 40
SFF – "The Depression Suite" — 31
Plays, poetry, graphic novels, other miscellaneous books – "Poets" — 37
Audio – "Thompson Girl" — 22
French – "38 Years Old" — 5
Rereads – "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)" — 12
Group reads and CATs – "We'll Go, Too" — 27
History (fiction and non-fiction) - "Looking for a Place to Happen" — 18
Aviation-related books: "700 Ft. Ceiling" — 13
Nautical books: "Nautical Disaster" — 8

I smashed last year’s total of 206 books, and the year before’s total of 233. This is because I spent the year indoors—even before the pandemic, I was acting manager, so I was too exhausted to do anything fun outside work. I did find it hard to focus in the spring, but audiobooks saved the day.

Breakdown of my usual categories and comparison against last year:
- I read about the same number of general books (fiction and non-fiction) as last year.
- My historical reading (both fiction and non) continued to decline, so I’ve kept it as a single category in the 2021 challenge. At the beginning of the pandemic I thought being at home all the time would motivate me to read my big fat historical fiction books, but that didn’t really end up happening.
- I read more mysteries than last year: 36 in 2019, and 40 in 2020. I read a LOT of British Library Crime Classics thanks to the library’s ebook holdings, then branched out into some Japanese crime fiction toward the end of the year.
- I read the same amount of sci-fi and fantasy as last year. Three of the 31 books were *not* Doctor Who—related :)
- I either read way more “miscellaneous” books (plays, poetry, essays, short story collections, graphic novels) than last year or was more flexible in my definition of a miscellaneous book: I read 26 last year and 37 this year.
- I met my goal for plays reading (3 books).
- I more than doubled last year’s audiobook total, with 22 audios read in 2020. There was a point in the spring where it was hard for me to focus on print, so audiobooks helped me get reading in.
- I read slightly more French books than last year. My ultra-low goal of 2 was more than doubled, with 5 French books read. Granted, one of them was a Tintin comic, but it still counts ;)
- I re-read slightly more books than last year (10 in 2019, 12 in 2020). It felt like I was re-reading more, which I suppose is true, although not by much.
- My participation in CATs and group reads went way down in 2020: from 43 books in 2019 to 27 books in 2020. This was mainly because I was using books from my own shelves for most of the challenges, and my shelves are not very geographically diverse :-/ Also, I was mood-reading more.
- I had two new categories related to travel: an aviation category and a nautical category. I read 13 books about planes and 8 about boats. Historically I have been more of a boat person, but now I am more of a plane person, and my reading reflected this. Next year I have combined boats and planes into a single category, along with trains, to inspire me to find more books on that subject.

I ended up totally ignoring the Pool in the last bit of 2020, so the year ends with 23/30 books read. I wasn’t going to complete the Pool anyway because one of the books was at my parents’ place and I didn’t pick it up last time I was there.



Top books of the year (five from each quarter):

Picks of Q1 (Jan/Feb/Mar)
The Last Nine Minutes: The Story of Flight 981, by Moira Johnston
Airport, by Arthur Hailey
Watership Down, by Richard Adams (audio, read by Peter Capaldi)
Le Roi de fer, by Maurice Druon
Solomon Gursky Was Here, by Mordecai Richler

Picks of Q2 (Apr/May/Jun)
Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City, by Tanya Talaga
The Field Guide to Understanding ‘Human Error’, by Sidney Dekker
Murder by Matchlight, by E.C.R. Lorac (Overdrive)
ATA Girl, by Gemma Page, Victoria Saxton, Helen Goldwyn, and Jane Slavin (Big Finish audio drama)
Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman

Picks of Q3 (Jul/Aug/Sep)
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, by Thomas King
Ridgerunner, by Gil Adamson
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton (Overdrive)
Partners in Crime, by Agatha Christie (audio, read by Hugh Fraser)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North

Picks of Q4 (Oct/Nov/Dec)
The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria: The Sinking of the World’s Most Glamorous Ship, by Greg King and Penny Wilson
The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek (audio, read by Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings)
When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error, by Danielle Ofri
The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal

58christina_reads
dec 31, 2020, 12:48 pm

>57 rabbitprincess: Very impressive statistics! I'm glad you enjoyed Here Be Dragons -- I love Sharon Kay Penman, and especially her Welsh trilogy!

59rabbitprincess
dec 31, 2020, 2:39 pm

>58 christina_reads: I'm looking forward to continuing the trilogy next year! Falls the Shadow is on my stack of books to read sooner rather than later :)

60leslie.98
dec 31, 2020, 5:34 pm

Love the stats! Just stopping by to say Happy New Year's eve & see you in 2021 with those great Talking Heads songs :)

61mathgirl40
jan 1, 2021, 5:03 pm

>52 rabbitprincess: This book has also been sitting on my shelves for about 25 years! I should make it a priority for 2021.

>57 rabbitprincess: Wow, impressive statistics -- a great year of reading! I'm also taking some BBs from your best-of-the-year list. One of them is Ridgerunner. I'd really liked The Outlander when I'd read it several years ago.

62rabbitprincess
jan 1, 2021, 6:23 pm

>60 leslie.98: Happy new year, Leslie!

>61 mathgirl40: Ridgerunner was great! If you're wondering, I don't think you need to re-read The Outlander beforehand; the story is pretty self-contained, and Ridgerunner picks up about 15 years after the events of The Outlander.

63pammab
jan 1, 2021, 7:18 pm

Happy new year! (And a bunch of your best reads are on my list for 2021 so I'm quite looking forward to the quiet time I get to sit and read. :))