archerygirl scales Mount TBR in 2018 (2)

Hello! I'm Kathy and I'm returning for my seventh year (possibly, I lost count - edited to add: EIGHTH, WOW) in the 75 books group! I'm still attempting to get Mount TBR to shrink, but it seems to be a losing battle. Despite smashing the 75 books goal last year, Mount TBR grew. This is probably because even though my acquired list was shorter than my books read list, a lot of the books I read came from the library. I really must make a better effort at reading from my own shelves!

This year it's been tough because I did a major move from Canada to England in the summer, so my books spent a fair bit of time in boats and storage units, but I'm catching up slowly. I'll try to keep my thread here up to date, but if I suddenly disappear, I tweet a lot. On @stompydragons, I sporadically talk about IT, writing and books. On selenay I'm much more chatty and likely to talk about what I'm actually up to (among all the memes, political RTs, IT, and book chat). If you're a tweeter, say hello on whichever account is your speed :-)

I primarily read SFF and romance, with more fantasy appearing in my SFF reading and more historicals in my romance. I try to keep up with current SFF as well as reading older books, because I'm a Hugo voter, but there still tends to be a mad dash in the middle of the year to read that list as thoroughly as possible.

My romance tastes tend more towards historicals, although I'm also a bit of a Jenny Colgan fan, too. I read all flavours - het, f/f, and m/m - and all heat levels.

When I'm not reading, I watch TV (OMG, the Thirteenth Doctor is coming), write novels that will hopefully be published one day, and work as a computer programmer. My reading is regularly hindered by the Reading Prevention Team: Annie and Kate, my ridiculous cats who love to sit on any book I'm trying to read.

And now to finish setting up the new thread. I leave you with a kitty photo. It's Annie, because Kate never sits still long enough for photos :-)

Drat, a double post.

So I'll replace it with my favourite 2017 reads:

In no particular order (I gave up on restricting it to five):

Brilliant Bread - James Morton
A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers
Down Among the Sticks and Bones - Seanan McGuire
The Stone Sky - NK Jemisin
The Ruin of a Rake - Cat Sebastian
All Systems Red - Martha Wells
Romancing the Werewolf - Gail Carriger

Books read 2018:

January
1. Among the Mad - Jacqueline Winspear
2. An Extraordinary Union - Alyssa Cole
3. The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
4. Beneath the Sugar Sky - Seanan McGuire

February
5. Provenance - Ann Leckie
6. Jade City - Fonda Lee
7. Sparks Fly - Llinos Cathryn Thomas
8. Knit One, Girl Two - Shira Glassman
9. Mr Churchill's Secretary - Susan Ella MacNeal
10. The Masked City - Genevieve Cogman

March
11. The Rogue Not Taken - Sarah MacLean
12. Git Pocket Guide - Richard E. Silverman
13. Once Upon a Haunted Moor - Harper Fox
14. Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
15. Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb

April
16. The Night Masquerade - Nnedi Okorafor
17. Stone Mad - Elizabeth Bear
18. Spectred Isle - KJ Charles
19. The Covert Captain - Jeanelle M. Ferreira
20. Illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - JK Rowling
21. Tinsel Fish - Harper Fox
22. New York 2140 - Kim Stanley Robinson
23. Just Henry - Michelle Magorian
24. Final Girls - Mira Grant

May
25. After the Wedding - Courtney Milan
26. Tempests and Slaughter - Tamora Pierce
27. Doctor Who: The day she saved the Doctor: four stories from the Tardis - Jenny T Colgan
28. Waistcoats and Weaponry - Gail Carriger

June
29. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Balli Kaur Jaswal
30. Space Opera - Catherynne M Valente
31. Manners and Mutiny - Gail Carriger
32. Death of a Gossip - M. C. Beaton
33. Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Abertalli
34. Leah on the Off Beat - Becky Abertalli

July
35. In Other Lands - Sarah Rees Brennan
36. Unmasked by the Marquess - Cat Sebastian
37. The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal
38. That Could be Enough - Alyssa Cole
39. The Pursuit Of... - Courtney Milan
40. The Widows of Malabar Hill - Sujata Massey
42. Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan
43. A Gentleman Never Keeps Score - Cat Sebastian

August

44. The Cafe by the Sea - Jenny Colgan
45. The Women of Baker Street - Michelle Birkby
46. The Tethered Mage - Melissa Caruso
47. Princess Elizabeth's Spy - Susan Ella MacNeal

September

48. The Mangle Street Murders - MRC Kasasian
49. The Gravity Between Us - Kristen Zimmer
50. Company Town - Madeline Ashby
51. Caliban's War - James SA Corey
52. A Scot in the Dark - Sarah MacLean

October

53. One Corpse Too Many - Ellis Peters
54. Playing for Keeps - Francine Pascal
55. The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal - KJ Charles
56. The Fated Sky - Mary Robinette Kowal
57. The Henchmen of Zenda - KJ Charles

November

58. His Majesty's Hope - Susan Ella MacNeal
59. At Bertram's Hotel - Agatha Christie
60. The Prime Minister's Secret Agent - Susan Ella MacNeal
61. Penhallow Amid Passing Things - Iona Datt Sharma
62. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet - M. C. Beaton
63. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
64. Doctor Who: Dr. First - Adam Hargreaves
65. Spandex and the City - Jenny T. Colgan
66. Doctor Who: Dr. Second - Adam Hargreaves

December
67. The Crimson Rooms - Katharine McMahon
68. Prudence - Gail Carriger
69. Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night - Iona Datt Sharma and Katherine Fabian
70. How to Marry a Werewolf - Gail Carriger
71. Doctor Who: Dr. Tenth: Christmas Surprise! - Adam Hargreaves
72. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
73. Romancing the Werewolf - Gail Carriger
74. The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Dimensional Modeling - Ralph Kimball
75. Doctor Who: Dr. Third - Adam Hargreaves

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I'm on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8605160-katherine

And my GR challenge for the year is here: https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/7501-2018-reading-challenge

Books acquired 2018:

January
1. Beneath the Sugar Sky - Seanan McGuire
2. Binti: The Night Masquerade - Nnedi Okorafor

February
3. Sparks Fly - Llinos Cathryn Thomas
4. Knit One, Girl Two - Shira Glassman
5. The Rogue Not Taken - Sarah MacLean
6. The Paper Magician - Charlie N. Holmbery
7. Princess Elizabeth's Spy - Susan Ella MacNeal
8. Git Pocket Guide: A Working Introduction - Richard E. Silverman
9. Saint Peter's Fair - Ellis Peters

March
10. Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb
11. Stone Mad - Elizabeth Bear
12. Tinsel Fish - Harper Fox
13. The Covert Captain: Or, A Marriage of Equals - Jeanelle M. Ferreira

April
14. Space Opera - Catherynne M. Valente
15. Tempests and Slaughter - Tamora Pierce
16. Unmasked by the Marquess - Cat Sebastian
17. After the Wedding - Courtney Milan

May
18. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
19. Lean on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli
20. The Henchmen of Zenda - KJ Charles
21. Doctor Who: The Day She Saved the Doctor - Jenny T Colgan

June
22. Soulless - Gail Carriger
23. Prudence - Gail Carriger
24. That Could Be Enough - Alyssa Cole

July
25. * The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
26. The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal
27. * 365 Devotions for Hope - Karen Whiting
28. * Hand Drawn Halifax - Emma Fitzgerald
29. Cinnamon Blade - Shira Glassman
30. The Pursuit Of... - Courtney Milan
31. The Virgin in the Ice - Ellis Peters
32. The Pilgrim of Hate - Ellis Peters
33. A Gentleman Never Keeps Score Cat Sebastian
34. The Cafe By The Sea - Jenny Colgan
35. A Scot in the Dark - Sarah MacLean
36. The Endless Beach - Jenny Colgan

August

37. Elfrida: The First Crowned Queen of England - Elizabeth Norton

September

38. The Fated Sky - Mary Robinette Kowal
39. His Majesty's Hope - Susan Ella MacNeal

October

40. Penhallow Amid Passing Things - Iona Datt Sharma

November

41. The Prime Minister's Secret Agent - Susan Ella MacNeal
42. The Hanging Tree - Ben Aaronovitch
43. Death at Wentwater Court - Carola Dunn
44. * Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day - Clemency Burton-Hill
45. * Dr. First - Adam Hargreaves
46. * Dr. Second - Adam Hargreaves
47. * Dr. Third - Adam Hargreaves
48. * Dr. Tenth - Adam Hargreaves
49. * Dr. Eleventh - Adam Hargreaves
50. * Dr. Twelfth - Adam Hargreaves
51. * Dr. Thirteenth - Adam Hargreaves

italics denotes dead tree books
* denotes books that were gifts or free sales

Totals:

34 Kindle books
17 dead tree books
11 free/gift book

That's all the new thread setting up done. Time for some books!

61. Penhallow Amid Passing Things - Iona Datt Sharma
62. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet - M. C. Beaton
63. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
64. Doctor Who: Dr. First - Adam Hargreaves
65. Spandex and the City - Jenny T. Colgan

Penhallow was beautiful. Haunting and gorgeous and just lovely. Fully disclosure, Iona is a friend, but I would be praising it even if I didn't know the author!

Finally getting to The Ocean at the End of the Lane is because I wanted to retain the haunting fairy tale tone of Penhallow for a while. It's definitely a book that I needed to be in the right mood for and I was. It's fantastic and it made me think about memory and reality and magic in new ways.

Agatha Raisin was ridiculous and over the top and I enjoyed it far more than I ever expected to. It was the right kind of Saturday afternoon brain break that I needed.

I wanted to like Spandex and the City more than I actually did, because I love Colgan's works usually but this just didn't grab me.

And Dr. First was so great. He's so grumpy! And he can outrun Cybermen because Cybermen can't run! So much fun.

You know, I probably can hit 75 books this year after all if I read all my Mister Men Doctor Who books...

Happy new thread, Kathy!

Good luck on your way to 75 :-)

>6 FAMeulstee: Thank you! It feels a little like cheating to read a bunch of short childrens' books to get there, but...

I'll see how I feel about cheating in mid-December. Right now I'm trying to savour and enjoy my silly Doctor Who books :-D

Happy new thread Kathy!

I read the Doctor Who books but I’m still only on 57. :0/

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Happy New thread!

Happy New Thread, Kathy!

>8 humouress: We're all children at heart :-D

>9 figsfromthistle: >10 drneutron: >11 quondame: >12 ronincats: Thank you!

Books are books and it's definitely not cheating. I know there was a year I read a bunch of graphic novels in December to get myself to the magic number. You won't get any judgement from me.

Also, happy new thread!

>14 MickyFine: I have done the graphic novels to get myself to the magic number thing, too, so I feel much better now!

And speaking of...

66. Doctor Who: Dr Second - Adam Hargreaves
This was utterly adorable. Really, these books are just delightful, and they make me so happy. Mr-Men-Jamie was particularly adorable :-)

And really, really late in the game, I have finally started Assassin's Quest, the final book in the Farseer trilogy. I'm so far behind the readalong.

>13 archerygirl: >14 MickyFine: >15 archerygirl: Do you suppose, if I read the Dr. Who’s again, I can count them twice in the same year. It’d get me up to 69 ....

>16 humouress: Absolutely. Re-reads definitely count too!

>7 archerygirl: A book is a book, Kathy, if it is short or long, a comic or picture book...
I do read a lot and a large part of them are childrens and YA books.

>1 archerygirl: Kitty posts are the best! Happy new thread!

>17 MickyFine: You give the best advice :-D

>18 FAMeulstee: I feel so much better about counting these now :-D

>19 thornton37814: All the kitty posts!

>20 archerygirl: I'm a librarian. Good reading advice is in the job description. ;)

Happy new thread and belated happy birthday!

Penhallow Amid Passing Things has gone on the wishlist - description on Amazon sounds intriguing.

I say count what you want - I definitely turn to short fiction or graphic novels if I feel like my reading speed has slowed.

>22 souloftherose: I hope you enjoy Penhallow! Iona has just co-written another novella, Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night, which I'm also loving.

After all the advice here, I'm counting anything that includes some words :-D Not quite cereal boxes, but I'm certainly not discounting children's books! I have usually counted graphic novels in the past, so on reflection, how different are those really in terms of "I read a book"?

>23 archerygirl: Do it! I have been counting short stories for couple years and it's great! This year I'm even going to count a podcast. Shh!

Happy holidays, Kathy.

Seasons Greetings from Singapore! Wishing you and your family joy, peace, good fortune and good health now and in the coming year.

Stopping by to say happy Christmas to you and your family Kathy!

>24 norabelle414: Heh, I have counted short stories before, so really, counting picture books isn't much different in terms of the amount of time taken to read :-) A podcast? That's radical!

>25 PaulCranswick:, >26 humouress:, >27 souloftherose:, >28 thornton37814: Thanks for all the lovely wishes everyone!

I need to corral the last reads of the year, but I did make it to 75 books on the last day, so yay! The holidays were absolutely lovely. Loads of family time, which was a big part of why I moved back to England, so it was everything I asked for. Even a raging cold (which my parents also had) couldn't spoil it!

I don't see your thread in the 2019 group yet, so I'll wish you Happy New Year over here for now, Kathy.

Last pile of books for 2018! These were all December reads:

67. The Crimson Rooms - Katharine McMahon
68. Prudence - Gail Carriger
69. Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night - Iona Datt Sharma and Katherine Fabian
70. How to Marry a Werewolf - Gail Carriger
71. Doctor Who: Dr. Tenth: Christmas Surprise! - Adam Hargreaves
72. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
73. Romancing the Werewolf - Gail Carriger
74. The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Dimensional Modeling - Ralph Kimball
75. Doctor Who: Dr. Third - Adam Hargreaves

There were a couple of themes here, as can be seen. Most of the Carrigers were re-reads, but How to Marry a Werewolf was new and I loved it. She managed to make me like Channing without actually changing him, which was quite a feat!

All the Doctor Who Mister Men books are adorable. I'm trying to read them in order (and save them for special occasions), but the Christmas one had to be read on Christmas Day.

The Bear and the Nightingale wasn't an easy read, but it was a good one. Lots of Russian folktales and Russian history, a heroine I loved, and plenty of characters operating in the grey zone, which I always like. Having a clear divide between good and evil is often too simple. There was one definite evil, but many others who fell somewhere in between. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

The Crimson Rooms was leant to me by someone in my choir. I enjoyed it more than I expected to, probably because a lot of it was set in the area I live in and it's always interesting to see your home drawn by someone else. I also appreciated that it delved a little into how the first women lawyers were treated and viewed, something I'd never really thought about before. The only problem was that I didn't feel much for the main character. I didn't dislike her, but I didn't like her hugely either, and I found myself wanting to shake her at times. But the story was compelling and I needed to finish it, so it wasn't a bad book by any means. Probably just not for me, and something many others would really enjoy.

And that's it! I made it to 75 books in 2018! I'll post my top reads of 2018 in my 2019 thread when I get that set up :-) It was a big year with an incredible amount happening but overall it's been a good year, both for books and personally.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kathy!

Congrats on 75! Especially impressive with everything else you had going on this year :-)

>32 FAMeulstee: Thank you!

>33 norabelle414: Thank you! At the beginning of the year I foolishly thought that moving would give me lots of reading time. Still not sure what I was thinking there. It turned out that I read less (shocking!) so the 75 books feels like a big accomplishment.

>34 archerygirl: Big change always means either way more reading or way less reading, but you can never tell which one it's going to be!

Woo hoo on hitting the 75 book mark, Kathy!

>36 ronincats: Thank you! It actually feels like more of an achievement than 2017's 100 books.

I have finally set up my 2019 thread. Wander over there because I've already actually read some books: https://www.librarything.com/topic/302032

Congratulations on 75 Kathy!