Category: Books-Fiction

November Reads – Part One – Providence Rag

  By

After reading five books in October I only read three books in December. Reading fewer books over the last three months of the year has typical for most years since I began keeping track of what I read in the late 1980s.

I think it’s a result of all four sports being played during those months. So I’m watching more sports instead of reading. Over the last few weeks my wife and I have been babysitting our grandchildren Zoe and Logan more often. Consequently, that cuts down on the free time I have to read. Anyway, the three books that I did manage to finish this month, brought the total number of books I’ve read this year to 50! While that total is way below the number I challenged myself to read, I think it’s still a respectable total.

Here are the three books I read in November, in reverse order….

Providence Rag - Bruce Desilva50.Providence Rag – Bruce DeSilva

Providence Rag is the third book in the Liam Mulligan series by Bruce DeSilva.  I discovered this great series earlier this year. I found The Dread Line at the Dollar Tree took a chance on it and loved it. The Dread Line is the fifth book in the series and after finishing it I immediately went and found book one Rogue Island.  I followed that up with Book two Cliff Walk. So now I only have A Scourge  of Vipers left and I’ll be eagerly awaiting book six in the series.                 .

One of the reasons that I like this series is Mulligan is neither a cop or a PI. He is a newspaper reporter working for the struggling  (aren’t all newspapers?) Providence Dispatch. As a solid investigative reporter he knows the good the bad and the ugly sides of Rhode Island.

About Providence Rag

The events presented in this story are those that set him on his course to be an investigative reporter. From Goodreads….

Inspired by a true story, Providence Rag finds Mulligan, his pal Mason, and the newspaper they both work for at an ethical crossroad. The youngest serial killer in history butchered five of his neighbors before he was old enough to drive. When he was caught eighteen years ago, Rhode Island’s antiquated criminal statutes—never intended for someone like him—required that all juveniles, no matter their crimes, be released at age twenty-one. The killer is still behind bars, serving time for crimes supposedly committed on the inside. That these charges were fabricated is an open secret; but nearly everyone is fine with it—if the monster ever gets out more people will surely die. But Mason is not fine with it. If officials can get away with framing this killer they could do it to anybody. As Mason sets out to prove officials are perverting the justice system, Mulligan searches frantically for some legal way to keep the monster behind bars. The dueling investigations pit the friends against each other in a high-stakes race against time—and snares them in an ethical dilemma that has no right answer.

Bottom Line:

The book didn’t have the suspense and less of the caustic wit of Mulligan, rather it tackles some series questions.

The first is how far should you go to keep an evil person in prison, when the law is on their side? An the second should the press print a story when that story will lead to the release of that prisoner? Especially if you know the story will lead to a struggling paper lose readers!

So while Providence Rag was not your typical mystery or Mulligan book it was still a terrific read. So check it out! As for me I’m going to see if I can get Mulligan four from the library!

When I found The Dread Line I read this on the cover. Since Steve Hamilton is one of my favorite authors, I thought I’d take a chance and hoped he was right! He was….

The best yet in one of my favorite series ever — fast and funny, yet it packs a serious punch. This is hardboiled crime fiction at its best.”

Ok this post ran longer than I anticipated. Therefore, I will write about the other two books I read in November in another post!.

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Bruce DeSilva

Author’s Website
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon

 

 

 

How I Ended Up Reading Five Books this Week!!

  By
How I Ended Up Reading Five Books this Week 

Last week my wife and I had a discussion about how many books you can read at one time. The discussion arose because I had said that one of my co-workers had joked the other day,  he was reading two books at the same time. He of course knows I read more than one book at a time regularly. Anyway, he said he was reading Michael Crichton’s The Lost World and a nonfiction book about World War. The following day, he commented that Black Jack Pershing was fighting a losing battle in The Lost World!

Anyway, my wife says she can only read one book at a time. The reason is she gets caught up in a book and does little else until she finishes the book!  As he result, while she reads faster than I do, she doesn’t read many books. The reason is, if she read as much as I do, she’d literally get nothing else done.

My Path to Reading Five Books at One Time

So here is how I ended up reading five books at once. As this week unfolded, I thought I was was reading a couple of books. Actually though, as I was straightening up last night I realized I am I fact at least 26% through five books!! So how did that happen

Book One – The Absent One 


The first book I started reading among those five books was The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen.  It is the second book in the Departmebt Q series from Adler-Olsen. And while I zipped through the first book The Keeper of Lost Causes and loved it, this one just hasn’t hooked me yet.

So I put it down and stared at my bookshelves. There I spied Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason.  I thought “you know I love his books and I haven’t read one in a long while”. So I took it down and read it.Use of Force Becomes Book Two

After finishing it I was tempted to pick up The Absent One again. However, I looked at my shelves,again, and saw Use of Force  by Brad Thor.  Now I read many of the early Scott Hovarth series from Thor but I haven’t read any in years. Anyway, I picked it up and started reading. Now I was reading two books.

Elevator Pitch is Book Three and Why Cities Lose Book Four

Then I saw Linwood Barclay’s latest book Elevator Pitch was released last month. So I went to the library website and requested it. Surprisingly there was not a lot of requests for the book ahead of me and it came in within days. Of course once I picked it up, I had to start it, consequently, I was now reading three books!!

While I was at the library picking up Elevator Potch, I checked to see if another book I had been reading Why Cities Lose was checked in. Sure enough it was. I was a little over halfway finished it when I had to return it. Since I have read just a little of it since I have rechecked it out, I am reading it now. So that makes four books.

 

Resurrection Pass one of the five books I'm readingResurrection Pass Becomes Book Five

 

Finally, the other day I was in Dollar General and I checked their sale paperbacks. They had gotten some new books in so I checked them out. I bought two: Dick Wolf’s The Execution A Jeremy Fisk novel and Resurrection Pass by Kurt Anderson. Wolf is an author I’ve heard of but never read and Kurt Anderson I don’t know. Both books had over a three star rating on Goodreads. The Execution’s rating was 3.86 and Resurrection Pass’s was 3.46.

Anyway, the other day I started Resurrection Pass and while it’s not great, it has hooked me and the pages are flying by pretty quickly!

So there you have it and while I have t finished any of the five yet I hope to get through them before the end of the month!

I guess the question is -Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me???

P.S. There are also six more books I have checked out of the library sitting on my bookshelves!! So good bye I need to get cracking those books!!

 

 

 

Desperate Creed Another Winner from Alex Kava

  By

 

Desperate Creed – Ryder Creed #5 – Alex Kava

Today, in addition to running this morning, I also finished my 40th book of the year: Desperate Creed by Alex Kava, the fifth installment in her Ryder Creed series.

I became a fan of Kava’s writing back in June 2003 when I picked up her debut, A Perfect Evil. By September of that year, I’d read all the Maggie O’Dell novels available at the time. Since then, I’ve read all but one of the twelve books in the Maggie O’Dell series.

In 2015, Kava introduced Ryder Creed in Breaking Creed. Ryder is a former Marine who now trains and handles K9 search-and-rescue dogs. That book chronicled his first meeting with Maggie O’Dell, and Desperate Creed marks the fifth time the two have appeared together.

A Different Kind of Threat

In her Author’s Notes, Kava says:

“With every new book, I try to cover something different — human trafficking, the bird flu, contamination of our foods, or the everyday struggles of our veterans. For the Ryder series, I’m always looking for new ways to show off the numerous talents of scent detection dogs. For Desperate Creed, I wanted to concentrate on how amazing scent detection dogs are in finding victims after natural disasters when every moment counts.”

That’s exactly what makes Desperate Creed stand out — it’s not just about the human danger, but also the life-saving work these dogs perform in the aftermath of disaster.

About Desperate Creed

In this installment, Ryder and his dogs are in Alabama, assisting in the search for bodies after a deadly tornado.

Meanwhile, Frankie — a lifelong friend of Ryder’s partner Hannah — witnesses the murder of a coworker via a cell phone video. The coworker and a friend had hacked into the computers of a major U.S. cereal manufacturer and uncovered information that could threaten a major international deal.

As a favor to Hannah, Maggie agrees to meet Frankie at a restaurant in Alabama. But soon, both a tornado and a hitman are heading directly toward Maggie, Frankie, and Ryder. Which one will cause the most damage? And can they survive the wrath of both man and nature?

The Bottom Line

I read both the Ryder Creed and Maggie O’Dell series not only for the strong, suspense-driven plots but also for the way Kava has developed her characters over time. Both Ryder and Maggie have endured personal tragedies that have shaped them and made them stronger.

For Ryder, it’s the disappearance of his younger sister from a Florida rest stop — a loss that drove him to create his K9 search-and-rescue business. This thread runs throughout the series and adds depth to his character.

While Desperate Creed works as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the earlier books first to fully appreciate the relationships and backstories.

So check out Desperate Creed — and as for me, I’m on to book #6, Hidden Creed, to see what Ryder and Maggie face next.

Explore More About Alex Kava:
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Wikipedia

A Beautiful Corpse – Christi Daugherty

  By
A Beautiful Corpse – Christi Daugherty (Book #2 – Harper McClain)

 

A Beautiful Corpse is the second book in Christi Daugherty’s series featuring newspaper crime reporter Harper McClain. I read the first book in the series The Echo Killing earlier this year. Both were really, really good. In both books the murders that form the core of the book have a connection to Harper. In The Echo Killing the murder eerily resembles her mother’s unsolved murder. While in A Beautiful Corpse the victim Naomi Scott a law student tends bar in an establishment that Harper frequents and where her best friend works.

When Naomi is murdered in a part of town away from her home. She had left her shift late and appeared to be upset. The first suspect is Naomi’s current boyfriend, but soon two other suspects emerge. First the owner of the bar who had stalked a previous female employee and Naomi’s ex-boyfriend the son of the city’s powerful former District Attorney. Can Harper unravel the mystery, while she deals with her own mystery?

Harper’s mystery had its origins in The Echo Killing when her was broken into and ransacked A message RUN was left for Harper. Now a year later someone has been breaking into Harper’s house! What’s happening??

Give Me a Sleuth That is Not a Policeman or PI

I always like mysteries where the main sleuth is not a private detective or policeman. Two of my favorite series featured Brady Coyne a lawyer and then the Doc Adams books. Doc was a dentist!! A reporter who covers murders is perfect for me! Christi Daugherty has done a great job of creating a believable character in Harper McClain. A well she should because she began covering murders when she was twenty-two years old. She even worked in Savannah the settinh for the Harper McClain books!

Like most books Harper is not alone she has a supporting cast of likable characters The cast includes her photographer Myles, her boss Emma Baxter the newspaper editor Dells. And finally her best friend Bonnie and love interest Detective Luke Walker. It’s a great mix of characters.

Bottom Line – Rating 4 Stars (Really Liked It)

The bottom line is that A Beautiful Corpse was a page-turning great read. And like book 1 left me waiting for book 2. I’m reay for Book 3! Issues still need resolving!!

Book 25 or 2019

Links for Further Exploration

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 

The Current – Tim Johnston -Book 19 of 2019

  By

The Current by Tim Johnston

The Current by Tim Johnston begins with a tragedy. Audrey Sutter is coming home from college to visit her dying father. Her friend Caroline Price offers to give her a ride. Tragedy strikes on a snowy night. The girls stop for gas and to use the rest room. Leaving the rest room they  are attacked by two men. They fight them off and escape only to end up off the road at the edge of the.   River. After a stranger asks if they are ok .Soon another vehicle hits their car sending it into the frozen river!

Audrey is rescued  but not Caroline. And the thoughts of the town turn toward the time ten years earlier when 19-year-old Holly Burke perished in the same river.

Now three families must relive that time. Gordon Burke grapples with the death of his daughter. While he relives the pain he felt when her murdered Danny Young was set free. Danny and his family must deal with the fact that everyone thinks you are the murderer. While you really can’t remember what helped. On the night of her death. And Audrey Sutter must face the case that her father the town Sheriff couldn’t solve! Can Audrey, Gordon and Danny unravel the mystery that intertwines their lives. Not only for themselves but for the girls in the river.

The Current is the second book I have read by Tim Johnston  . The first one was Descent. I liked Descent a little better than The Current. I thought it was a little more suspenseful and had more action. While I enjoyed The Current there were times when I thought about giving up on the book. Things just didn’t unravel the way I thought they would. I kept thinking that there would be a greater connection beyond just the river.

A Revised Rating?

When I rated The Current on Goodreads I gave it 4 stars out of 5. However, the more I think about the book I think I’d rather give it about a 3.25 or 3.5. For me the book just lacked something and I’m really not sure what it was

Final Thoughts About The Current

I think The Current would appeal more to those readers who prefer analyzing the hows and why of character actions above the final resolutions of any mystery. I’m still wondering what really happened moments before Charlotte’s car went into the river. But then again like life there are many unanswered questions which haunt all our lives. Some of them are even connected. Hmm??

I found this quote about The Current when I was reading about it at IndieBound.org. The highligthed portion echoes my sentiments from above

“Tim Johnston’s brand of storytelling is a curious hybrid of conventional crime fiction and observation of human nature that demands attention. In The Current, Johnston goes beyond the sensational and asks relevant questions when tragedy strikes, addressing real topics that come with the loss of a loved one and the questions that follow a horrific crime. As with Johnston’s previous novel, Descent, his latest concludes with a wallop you will not see coming.”
— Javier Ramirez, The Book Table, Oak Park, IL

See and Read More at  IndieBound.org

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Tim Johnston

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 

 

 

 

The Disappearing – Lori Roy – Edgar Worthy!

  By
The Disappearing – Lori Roy

Lori Roy’s first novel Bent Road was published in 2011. In 2012 it won an Edgar Award for best first novel. Lori’s third book Let Me Die in His Footsteps was published in 2015. It won an Edgar for Best Novel in 2016. That win made Lori thee first woman to win An Edgar Allen Poe Award for both  Best First Novel and Best Novel. She’s only the third person to do it overall!

Her latest release The Disappearing was released last year to rave reviews. After finishing the book the other day I’m ready to join that group who have  raved about the book. While it’s not the type of book I usually read I truly enjoyed the book.

About The Disappearing

The Disappearing tells the story of Lane Fielding ,who after twenty years away, has returned to her hometown in Florida. Lane had fled her hometown partially to escape from her father’s sins as the former director of an infamous boys school. The sins included.severely beating and maybe killing boys who were sent there. Lane also fled to escape her own past!

The story opens with the disappearance of a Florida State  coed who had been working at the Fielding Plantation. This disappearance is eerily similar to Lane’s own disappearance. And when Lane’s daughter Annalee disappears the Fielding family’s lives are turned upside down. Could it be revenge for all their pasts sins?

Praise for The Disappearing 

Ok so I can tell you how much I liked the book, but authors Lisa Unger and Michael Koryta. can tell you better than I can.

As dark  and as atmospheric as a northern Florida summer night The Disappearing is Lori Roy at the top of her game. Her shimmering tale is at the heart a compelling mystery. But it is also a deep meditation on family and the secrets and lies that can twist through our lives like a strangler fig. The powerful sense of place and a haunting cast of characters linger long after the book is closed. If you haven’t read Lori Roy,  now is the time – Lisa Unger

From:Michael Koryta

Lori Roy has been on my must-read list since her debut. There’s a reason she’s already won two Edgar awards-exemplary plotting, clever twist, and compelling characters-but for me it is her voice that holds the most power she writes with an ingenius whispering menace and a masterful understanding of the way the past works on the present, and on the human heart. The Disappearing is her finest work to date.

The bottom line is The Disappearing is a great read . So Check It Out! As for me I can’t wait until June when Lori’s new book Gone Too Long will be released!

Links for Further Exploration of the Books of Lori Roy

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Amazon

 

Eighteen Below – Stefan Ahnhem – A Cut Above!

  By

Well I didn’t do badly in writing in January,  it over the last week I have been slipping behind. Here’s a short post to try to catch up a little.

Eighteen Below – Stefan Ahnhem (Fabian Risk #3)

Yesterday, I finished my second read for February. It was Eighteen Below by Stefan Ahnhem. It is the third book in the Fabian Risk series. I read books one and two Victim without a Face and The Ninth Grave In 2018. The series has quickly become one of my favorites.

In this install Fabian a member of the Helsingborg crime squad……..

A Pause for some Geography – Where is Helsingborg?

Time out. It, time to learn a little geography’

In the first map I can see Helsingborg in relationship to Denmark. So Helsingborg is at the southern tip of Sweden and is just a bit northwest of Copenhagen. In the second map I see that Helsingor Denmark is just a little southeast of Helsingborg. You’ll see in a minute how that is important.

Back to Eighteen Below

But back to the plot of Eighteen Below. Fabian and his squad mates are chasing a diabolical criminal who has assumed the identity of a Swedish billionaire and liquidated all his wealth. And may be moving on to new victims!

While in the aforementioned Danish city of Helsingor, Dunja Hougaard now a street police officer is in the midst of her own investigation. Dunja is now a street cop because of what happened in a previous book in the series.

Dunja has uncovered  a series of murders which have been committed and filmed by a group of people, filmed and put online.  As the story develops the murders get more heinous, and the story lines start to intertwine.And the nearness of the two cities make that possible.

Eighteen  Below has two great main storylines but it also has a nimber of wonderful subplots. As Fabian and his wife Sonja deal with marital problems. Fabian’s boss deals with her problem with alcohol. While Dunja struggles with her problems with her bosses.

Final Thoughts About Eighteen Below

All in all I think Eighteen Below is a terrific book. It has two great storylines developing at the same time. And it has some twists that kept me guessing. Best of all it has a cast of great characters headed by Fabian and Dunja. Characters who not only have to deal with diabolical murderers, but also the reality of everyday life – a wife, kids and sometimes a boss that’s a real jerk!

So Check Out al three of the Fabian Risk Books by Stefan Ahnhem. As for me the last few pages of Eighteen Below left me wishing I could move right into book four!

Six Great Books Start 2019 with a Bang!!

  By

Here are the book I read in January of 2019. They certainly have gotten my reading year off to a great start!

 

  1. 1. She Rides Shotgun – Jordan Harper

The she that is riding shotgun is young Polly McCluskey .And she’s riding shotgun with her father Nate McCluskey. Nate is just getting out of prison when he runs afoul of the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. The leader put out a green light on his murder . That puts everyone he cares for including his ex-wife and daughter Polly in danger.

Soon Nate and Polly are riding for their lives and freedom. This is a great book with great characters. It’s one of those books that works on multiple levels to teach us about love, life and family. So Check It Out! Here’s a great review

Read LJ’s 5-star review of She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper

 

 

2. Beyond the Messy Truth – Van Jones

Van Jones discusses the political divide in the United States. In letters to both sides he provides areas of common ground we can all can meet. You can read more about Beyond the Messy Truth at Goodreads

3. The Other Wife – Michael Robotham

Michael Robotham series featuring Joe O’Loughlin is one of my favorites.. In this installment of the series Joe gets a call from a distraught woman who tells him he must come to London. His father has been attacked and is fighting for his life. She claims to be his father’s “other wife” and has been that for the last twenty years! Talk about your life being turned upside down!

Anyway, Joe is left to discover the truth about the attack and “the other wife”. Once again Joe and his friend former Police inspector Vincent Cruz set out to discover what’s going on!!

Read LJ’s 5-star review of The Other Wife by Michael Robotham

Been So Long
4. Been So Long – Jorma Kaukonen


Been So Long is, as the subtitle says, the tale of the Life and Music of Jorma Kaukonen. For those of you who weren’t around for the birth of psychedelic rock, Jorma was the lead guitarist for Jefferson Airplane.

Jorma’s career from those early days in San Francisco. Although, I admit I really didn’t follow the music of Hot Tuna beyond the first two albums That is until Jorma and Jack Casady went back in the studio and recorded Steady As She Goes. At the time of the album’s release it was the first Hot Tuna album in  35 years!

I did though follow Jorma’s solo career that started with his dream bluegrass album Blue Country Heart

I learned a lot about the life of Jorma from Been So Long. Jorma does not tell his story by looking through 60s rose colored glass. He tells it like it is and at times it wasn’t pretty.  Several times while reading the section of the book covering Hot Tuna I went to Spotify and listened and enjoyed albums I never listened to before! Anyway, it’s a great read for any music fan! So Check It Out!

5. Valhalla Rising – Clive Cussler

Ok so looking at my Goodreads I see that the last Dirk Pitt novel I read was Treasure. It’s book 10 in the series. I finished Treasure on June  24, 1990!! Yikes!! That’s five months before my daughter Elizabeth was born.

Anyway, the next book in the series is Sahara which along with several other novels is on my bookshelf. But for some reason Valhalla Rising (#16) caught my eye. I thought I haven’t read a book in this series for a while! Not remembering the true length of time it’s been!

Valhalla Rising is another action packed Dirk Pitt adventure. As Dirk battles a ruthless corporate executive  who will stop at nothing and that includes killing innocent people to get what he wants!

I always enjoy books where I learn something along the way. Valhalla Rising I learned something’s about Norse settlements in the Hudson River Valley as well as the model for Jules Vernes’ Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame. So Check It Out! As for me the next book I the series Trojan Odyssey is on my book shelf????

Noise 

 

6. A Noise Downstairs – Linwood Barclay

Over the last few years, Linwood  Barclay has been one of my favorite authors. His Promise Falls books have solidified him as one of the best. At least in my humble opinion.

Characters often appear in more than one of his standalone books. In A Noise Downstairs the setting of Mitford, Connecticut is a familiar locale.

The story begins when College Professor Paul Davis spots a colleagues car traveling with a broken taillight. Paul follows his friend. When the friend stops, so does Paul. When Paul gets near the car he sees that his friend is holding a shovel and there are two dead women are in the back seat of the car.

By the time Paul realizes what’s happening the shovel is flying towards Paul’s head.

Paul survives, his friend goes to jail. Eight months later Paul is still battling demons and wondering why his friend did what he did. He decides to write about it. His wife is supportive and one day brings home an old typewriter fo him to use. Soon Paul hears the typewriter clicking in the middle of the night! Notes appear a seemingly written by the dead women. What’s going on? Can he discover the truth before he goes mad??

Once again Barclay creates an ordinary man caught in an extraordinary situation. A situation that will take survival skills to the limit!

A.J. Finn writes….

“Linwood Barclay’s novels -as intelligent as Michael Connelly’s, as compelling as Harlan Coben’s – never fail to astonish. A Noise Downstairs, his best work yet, is a cobra of a story. Smooth,slippery , unnerving …. and likely to strike when you least expect it. I devoured this book”

Me, too. You should, too!

 

 

The Other Wife – Michael Robotham

  By
3. The Other Wife – Michael Robotham

Michael Robotham series featuring Joe O’Loughlin is one of my favorites.. In this installment of the series Joe gets a call from a distraught woman who tells him he must come to London. His father has been attacked and is fighting for his life. She claims to be his father’s “other wife” and has been that for the last twenty years! Talk about your life being turned upside down!

Anyway, Joe is left to discover the truth about the attack and “the other wife”. Once again Joe and his friend former Police inspector Vincent Cruz set out to discover what’s going on!!

The EK’s Life Safari’s 2019 Reading Challenge

  By
The EK’s Life Safari’s 2019 Reading Challenge

So since we are now into month two of 2019, I think it is time to final commit to my 2019 Reading Challenge. I have written earlier that my overall goal is to read 72 books in 2019. That’s seven books over my 2018 Challenge Goal. And  while I thought that goal of 65 books was unreachable I made it.So this ea I thought I’d  added some more!

Though the years I have read mostly mysteries and thrillers. Occasionally I read history and political books. and maybe even a few self-help books. A four years ago when I started creating my Reading Challenges my goal was to expand the genres of the books I read. I created challenges to read more science fiction, more general fiction  as well as a variety of non-fiction books.

Thoughts About Last  Year’s Challenge

Last year I added the challenge of reading more books that line my various bookshelves and are parked on my Kindle. That resulted in me reading books by some of my favorite authors like Bill Pronzini, William G Tapply, and Tony Hillerman.. whose books I haven’t read for years.

Ultimately though last year’s reads were primarily mysteries or thrillers. A total of thirty-eight (38) of the books I read were Mysteries or Thrillers. Of those thirty-eight (38)books , twenty-two (22) were written by mystery authors whose books I currently read. Sixteen (16) books are part of a series I am current on.  Sixteen (16) of the books read were “ new to me” mystery authors.Of those books eight (8) of them are part of a series. Several of those were the first book in a new series!

Within the next few days, I will create a page with  a list of the books I read in 2019.

The 2019 Reading Challenge

Now to construct the 2019 Challenge. Let’s begin b assuming that I probably will read one new book from each of the series mentioned above in 2019. That’s  twenty-four (24) books out of my 72!

That leaves forty-eight (48) books to be divide among the other genres. First, I want to read one science fiction book per month, as well as  one general fiction (no serial killers or plots to blow up the world).

That leaves twenty-four books. I’ll make those nonfiction and divide the nonfiction  books between: history or politics, biographies, science and self-help. Dividing twenty-four by four results six books for each category.

Ok so all of the above sounds pretty good for a start. However, each year I set out to read general literature and/or current fiction and each year I never reach my goal. So this year I’m lowering the goal to 6. And I’ll add the other six book to mystery and thrillers With that change made My 2019 Reading Challenge looks like this…….

2019  Reading Challenge
 Mystery and Thrillers 30
 Science Fiction  12
 General Fiction   6
 Nonfiction
     History/Political  6
      Biographies  6
      Science  6
      Self-Help        6___
Total Books to be Read 72
Maybe Some Mini-Challenges to Change Things Up??

Sometimes in a reading challenge you do things like read a book with blue on the cover. Or read a book whose author’s name starts with A. Maybe what I’ll do mini-challenges some months concerning the six books I will be reading. Maybe, but probably not. Anyway, there you have it my 2019 Reading Challenge. So wish me luck!

In the next post I’ll write about the books I’ve already read in 2019. So far I’m on track. I’ve read six books! Oh, and we’ll see where they fit among my challenges!