Karen's List for THE OFFICIAL TBR PILE CHALLENGE

I was intrigued to discover that there is a fun, do-able challenge out there to encourage reading from your TBR pile. Like you need that kind of encouragement, right? Well, yeah, I do. And apparently I am not the only one because Roof Beam Reader’s official TBR Pile Challenge is back for its NINTH YEAR! This challenge started when they realized they had some MAJOR issues with buying books but never reading them (not because they don’t read – but because they have such a book buying problem!) Year after year, books would sit on their shelves untouched, and they would end up reading newer ones first. Just like me, they realized they was missing out on a lot of great books because they let them sit there gathering dust instead of reading them as when they were purchased.

The Goal: To finally read 12 books from my “to be read” pile (within 12 months).

Specifics:

1. Identify 12 books from your TBR pile/shelf, or in my case, storage unit. (I picked a random box.)

2. Each of the selected 12 books (from my box) must have been on your bookshelf/box or “To Be Read” list/box for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2021 or later (any book published in the year 2020 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile).

3. Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books ends up in the “did not finish (DNF)” pile.

So, on to the random pile of 14 (in no particular order) that I grabbed from the box that met the above criteria:

1. A Grave Issue by Lillian Bell

2. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

3. On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis

4. The Burn by Kathleen Kent

5. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

6. The Apocalypse Troll by David Weber

7. Across the Void by S.K. Vaughn

8. Dogstar Rising (Makana, #2) by Parker Bilal

9. Betrayal at Iga (Shinobi Mystery, #5) by Susan Spann

10. Y.T. by Alexey Nikitin

11. The Ghost Runner (Makana, #3) by Parker Bilal

12. Rot & Ruin (Rot & Ruin, #1) by Jonathan Maberry

13. Trespasser (Mike Bowditch, #2) by Paul Doiron

14. Duel to the Death (Ali Reynolds, #13) by J.A. Jance

#TBR2022RBR

The Japanese Literature Challenge 15: January through March, 2022

Uemura Shōen, Fragrance of Spring.

This year I plan on participating in the Dolce Bellezza ~for literary and translated literature~ blog's Japanese Literature Challenge which is in its 15th year. It is a reading challenge that occurs over the first quarter of 2022 only, and the idea is pretty straightforward. Read as many books as you like from January through March. (Even if that is ”only” one.) Make sure the work was originally written in Japanese. Choose from classic to contemporary works, whatever appeals to you.

Since it is my first time, I'm going to try for one book a month.

January - Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Completed 1/30/22)

February - Tales from the Café (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Completed 2/7/22) See my review here.

March - Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami (Completed 3/27/22) See my review here.

Karen's 2022 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

Never. Say. Die!

This year I'm going to participate in the 2022 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge hosted by Celebrity Readers AGAIN. I'm all over the place with reading series so this is OBVIOUSLY a true challenge for me to be more disciplined in my reading choices. As last year, i'm going to go for the "B-LIST" and hope for the best.

I'm going to opt in on the A-LIST SERIES FINISHER ⇒ COMPLETE 9+ SERIES.

These are my target series this year.

(1) Jimm Juree series - Colin Cotterill (3 books) - 0 completed

(2) Shinobi Mystery series - Susan Spann (3 books) - 0 completed

(3) Bernie Rhodenbarr series - Lawrence Block (3 books) - 0 completed

(4) Kitty Pangborn series - Linda L. Richards (1 book) - 0 completed

(5) Lunar Chronicles series - Marissa Meyer (2 books) - 2 completed

(6) Ali Reynolds series - J.A. Jance (4 books) - 0 completed

(7) Thistle & Twigg series - Mary Saums (1 book) - 0 completed

(8) Stonehaven Mysteries - Linn Chapel (1 books) - 1 completed

(9) Melkor & Purity - Kim Faulks (1 book) - 0 completed

This is a total of 19 books. As of August 6, 2022, I have completed 3 of the 19.

#FinishingTheSeries2022

2021 A-to-Z Reading Challenge

What is the A-to-Z Reading Challenge?

Now in its fourth year, the A-to-Z Reading Challenge is a laid-back, year-long reading challenge hosted by Bookstacks & Golden Moms. Readers choose and complete a book starting with each letter of the alphabet.

26 books with optional mini-challenges for each month (12/12)

JANUARY – A book you purchased in 2020 but didn’t read - The Golden Scales (Makana, #1) by Parker Bilal

FEBRUARY – A book with non-romantic love (siblings, parent-child, friendships) - The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

MARCH – A book written by a person of a different race than you - A Rising Man (Sam Wyndham, #1) by Abir Mukherjee

APRIL – A book with an Autistic main character (April is Autism Awareness) - Engage at Dawn: Seize and Destroy (Engage at Dawn, #2) by Edward M. Hochsmann

MAY – A book about a nurse (Nat. Nurses Week 2021 is May 6-12) - The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1) by Richard Osman

JUNE – A co-written book (2 authors) - The Little Book of Capital Cities: A Quiz by Peter Keyne and Rudolf Amsel

JULY – A Christmas book (Christmas in July!) - Not A Creature Was Stirring (Gregor Demarkian, #1) by Jane Haddam

AUGUST – A book by an Indie author (self-published or independent) - Skid Kids by Michael Franz

SEPTEMBER – A memoir/biography - The Church of Tango: A Memoir by Cherie Magnus

OCTOBER – A book written by a new-to-you author - Wreckers: A Denver Boyd Novel by George Ellis

NOVEMBER – A book outside your normal genre - The Me Monster by Timothy L. Carver

DECEMBER – A backlist title (published BEFORE Jan 1, 2021) - Zone One by Colson Whitehead

A – Aeverless 3.2 by Jones Harwell (See my review on Reedsy Discovery!)

B – Beneath the Waves (A Kira Hunter Novella, #1) by Nora Cabot (See my review here!)

C – Chelsea Girls, The by Fiona Davis (See my review on Fresh Fiction!)

D – Deadland by Sawyer Hall (See my review!)

E – Elephant Cage, The by Greg Powell (See my review!)

F – Fools Rush In (Lady Vigilante, #19) by Hayley Camille (See my review!)

G – Golden Scales, The (Makana, #1) by Parker Bilal (See my review!)

H – Hope, Faith, and a Corpse (A Faith Chapel Mystery, #1) by Laura Jensen Walker (See my review!)

I – Incomplete Artist, The (Ashley Westgard, #2) by Philip Wyeth (See my review!)

J – Jar of Pickles, A (Lady Vigilante, #18) by Hayley Camille (See my review!)

K – Kicker One (Frankie Scarmazino, #1) by Cy Young (See my review!)

L – Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hebuterne by Linda Lappin (See my review!)

M – Murder Off Broadway: A Pet Portraits Cozy Mystery by Sandi Scott (See my review!)

N – Nuclear Midnight (Savage Dawn, #1) by Robert Cole (See my review!)

O – Old Buzzard Had It Coming, The (Alafair Tucker, #1) by Donis Casey

P – Pint of No Return (Shake Shop Mystery, #1) by Dana Mentink (See my review!)

Q – Quench by Xondra Day (See my short review)

R – Rhino Charge (A Kenya Kanga Mystery, #3) by Victoria Tait (See my review!)

S – Shifting Sides (A Shift in Space, #0.5) by Danielle Forrest (See my review!)

T – The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1) by Richard Osman (See my review!)

U – Undead Annihilation (Undead, #1) by Matthew Doggett (See my review!)

V – Vengeance is Mine (Red River Mystery, #4) by Reavis Z. Wortham

W – Wreckers: A Denver Boyd Novel by George Ellis (See my review!)

X – The Xyania Project (The Xyania Project, #1) - J.V. Nolan (See my review!)

Y – Yellow Wall-Paper, The by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (See my review!)

Z – Zone One - Colson Whitehead

As of 12/12/2021, I've read 26 of 26 and 12 of 12.

#AtoZReadingChallenge

Spacetime Reading Challenge 2021 #spacetimereads

Spacetimereads is the short name for the Spacetime Reading Challenge. This reading challenge is being hosted by Jemima Pett at

http://jemimapett.com/blog/2020/12/01/sign-up-spacetimereads-challenge-2021/

Spacetimereads

The Spacetimereads Challenge is to read fiction books set in space or time… How far you want to go is up to you.

There are four levels:

5 books: Planet hopper

10 books: Interstellar explorer

20 books: Galactic navigator

40 books: To Infinity and Beyond

This is my first try on this challenge and I am going to commit to the 1st level - 5 books - Planet Hopper.

Completed on 4/13/2021 - 5/5

The Reckoning (Calliope, #3) - Scott Mari (space) - See my review at Reedsy Discovery

Assurity: A Supernatural Space Thriller - Anthony Barbera (space) - See my review on Goodreads

Shifting Sides (A Shift in Space, #0.5) - Danielle Forrest (space) - See my review at Guatemala Paula Lives to Read

2240: Return to Planet Earth - Daniela Rincon Morassutti (space) - See my review at Guatemala Paula Lives to Read

Wreckers: A Denver Boyd Novel - George Ellis (space) - See my review at Guatemala Paula Lives to Read

Engage at Dawn: Seize and Destroy (Engage at Dawn, #2) - Edward M. Hochsmann (space) - See my review on Goodreads

Karen's 2021 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

So again, this year, I'm going to participate in the Finishing the Series Reading Challenge hosted by Celebrity Readers (see https://celebrityreaders.com/2020/11/27/2021-finishing-the-series-reading-challenge/). But this time around I'm going to play it a little more realistically considering my other reading responsibilities.

Update: Even with cutting back, other things took precedence over reading this year. Since I don't think this will repeat this year, I am going to move my plan into 2022. I did read a couple of books from this year's list but that's all.

I'm going to opt in on the B-LIST SERIES FINISHER ⇒ COMPLETE 5-8 SERIES. (Good luck, Me!)

These are my target series this year.

(1) Jimm Juree series - Colin Cotterill (3 books) - 0 completed

(2) Shinobi Mystery series - Susan Spann (4 books) - 1 completed

The Ninja's Daughter (Shinobi, #4)

(3) Bernie Rhodenbarr series - Lawrence Block (3 books) - 0 completed

(4) Kitty Pangborn series - Linda L. Richards (1 book) - 0 completed

(5) Lunar Chronicles series - Marissa Meyer (1 book) - 0 completed

(6) Agatha Raisin series - M.C. Beaton (1 book) - 0 completed

Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin, #32)

(7) Thistle & Twigg series - Mary Saums (1 book) - 0 completed

This is a total of 14 books. As of December 16, 2021, I have completed 2 of the 14.

#FinishingTheSeries2021

Flask of the Drunken Master (Shinobi Mystery, #3) by Susan Spann

Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is August of 1565, and the capital city of Kyoto is in the temporary “protection” of the feared samurai, Matsunaga Hisehide, since the seppuku of Ashikaga, the last official shogun. The city is under a veritable lockdown and everyone entering is viewed as a possible spy including Hattori Hiro and his charge, Jesuit priest, Father Mateo Ávila de Santos.

One morning in the city while purchasing noodles for breakfast, Hiro and Father Mateo see their friend, Ginjiro the brewer, being arrested and hauled off by the yoriki, for the murder of Chikao, a brewer from a poorer part of the city. The two had been heard arguing the night before, and the victim’s body was found outside Ginjiro’s home and place of business with the remnants of one of Ginjiro’s custom saké bottles at hand. The victim’s son apparently owed the accused a considerable amount of money and Ginjiro had refused to advance Chikao any further credit. Ginjiro asserts his innocence and his daughter, Tomiko, begs Hiro and Father Mateo to find the real killer and save her father from certain death at the hand of the executioner.

Author Susan Spann has again crafted a compelling murder mystery against the complex background of 16th century Kyoto, Japan. It is a very robust historical tale as, along with the murder investigation, there is the continuing story of the fall of the Ashikaga clan, the impending approach of the fierce warlord, Oda Nobunaga, and the arrival of the Portuguese and Jesuits in Japan. The relationship between Hiro and Father Mateo is great fun to observe as their two cultures and basic natures try to work together and get along as is the side story of Akechi Yoshiko, the female samurai who may have her eye on Hiro for romantic reasons. Additionally, another fun and interesting side story involves Hiro’s pet cat, Gato. The story explains that cats were not considered pets by the Japanese at this time in the past so having a cat in the house is a new experience for the tough, manly Hiro.

This is the third entry in the Shinobi Mystery series which currently numbers at seven total. Flask of the Drunken Master could be read alone but I highly recommend starting at the first in the series because they are just that good and worth looking for. I recommend this series to historical mystery fans especially those with an affinity for stories set in old Japan.

View all my reviews

#FinishingTheSeries2020