Friday Fives - January TBR

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. Since this is the first Friday in January I'm listing the books I want to read this month.

1.  Spirits and Sourdough by Bailey Cates - I have read a few books in this series and enjoyed them so I was excited to pick this one up for review.

2.  The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor - This is an author I've really enjoyed and this book is on my TBR Bingo list.

3.  The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell - This book came up on my Library List and was on my future series list so this is really working on two projects at the same time.  As well it's the first book in a series I've really enjoyed but never read the early books from.

4.  The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King - This is one from my Series project and the next book up in a series I really enjoy.

5.  Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher - One of my goals for 2022 is to read more books off my keeper shelf to verify that they deserve their place.  This is the next Rosamunde Pilcher on my list.

What books are you hoping to read this month?

TBR Bingo Reading List

Last year was all about the series and while I really enjoyed that I felt like I was neglecting some other areas of my TBR.  So I decided to widen my focus a bit and came up with 4 different lists to read from. I tried using a random number generator on my Goodreads TBR last year and discovered that a lot of the books that I ended up with were either impossible to get or just didn't end up interesting me that much.  So I'm being a bit more ruthless here and if the book is hard to track down or doesn't grab me it's off the list.  Also if the book is part of a series and isn't the first one I automatically substitute the first book in its place.  Here are the 10 I picked.

1.  The Great Pearl Heist: London's Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard's Hunt for the World's Most Valuable Necklace by Molly Caldwell Crosby - I love documentaries about famous jewel thefts so reading about jewel thefts sounds pretty entertaining. 

2.  Staging is Murder by Grace Topping - This is a cozy series that I've never read but sounds so fun!

3.  The Gardiner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser - basically ditto #1.

4.  Dead in Bloodhound Red by Virginia Lanier - This is the first book in the Beth Sidden mystery series.  I don't know much about it but someone recommended it to me quite some time ago and it does sound interesting.

5.  Jell-O Girls: A Family History by Allie Rowbottom - I remember nothing about why this book ended up on my TBR but it does look interesting.

6.  Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojurn at Shakespeare and Co by Jeremy Mercer - In college I went through a big Hemingway/Fitzgerald/ Paris in the 20s phase and this book looks interesting.

7.  The Good Widow by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke - This is an author I've been wanting to read for ages and this sounds like an intriguing fast paced read. 

8.  The Girl from Savoy by Hazel Gaynor - I have absolutely adored every book I've read by Hazel Gaynor and while I've heard that this isn't her best it still looks interesting and my library has the audio version.

9.  Submerged: Adventures of America's Most Elite Underwater Archealogy Team by Daniel Lenihan - I'm fascinated by what my husband calls "barnacle shows".  Anytime anyone is looking at a shipwreck I'm hooked so I'm curious about this one.

10. Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood - I've read quite a bit of historical fiction involving women during wartime and would love to read more true stories.

Year of the Projects - Clear Off My Shelf Project List

 

Last year was all about the series and while I really enjoyed that I felt like I was neglecting some other areas of my TBR.  So I decided to widen my focus a bit and came up with 4 different lists to read from.  This is the 10 books that make up my Clear Off My Shelves Challenge.

1.  The French House: An American Family, A Ruined Maison and the Village That Restored Them All by Don Wallace - I feel like I'm either going to absolutely love this one or DNF it.  I tend to not have any kind of in between on this kind of book.  

2.  The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan - Jenny Colgan is always a good read for me and this one sounds delightful.

3.  A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable - I love the sound of this premise but I read a book by this author in 2021 and didn't love it so I'm a little nervous going into this one.

4.  The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home by Denise Kiernan - We visited the Biltmore years and years ago and I was absolutely fascinated by it.  I would love to learn more about the the people who lived there.  I know a bit about the Vanderbilts but not this specific part of it.

5.  The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis - This looks wonderful and really all of her books do so I'm excited to try this one.  I'm hoping I love it so I can pick up the rest of her books.  

6. Agatha Christie's Scecret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran - I have had this one on my shelf for far too long and it is time for me to read it.

7.  Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams - This one has been on my TBR for years.  I love Douglas Adams' sense of humor and this book looks like madness.

8.  Too Bad to Die by Francine Matthews - This is a mystery series involving Ian Fleming.  I love the James Bond books so I'm curious about this one.  

9. The Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor - I know nothing about this book but came across it at my used bookstore and thought it looked lovely.  When I saw it was the first in a series I couldn't resist it.

10. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - This book has been on my TBR since it came out and has been taking up a place on my shelf since around that same time.  I'm so excited to read it this year.

What books are on your shelf that you're hoping to read this year?

Top Ten Tuesday - Most Anticipated Releases For the First Half of 2022

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is the Releases I'm Most Looking Forward to For the First Half of 2022.  

1.  An Impossible Imposter by Deanna Raybourn - This is one of my favorite historical mystery series and this one sounds amazing.

2.  Peril at Pennington Manor by Tracy Gardner - I read and liked the first book in this series involving an appraiser and am curious to see where it goes.  

3.  The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont - I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan and love historical fiction so this one looks amazing.  

4.  The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry - I have really enjoyed two previous books in this series and am looking forward to this one.  

5.  Evil in Emerald by A.M. Stuart - This historical mystery series set in Singapore has been a favorite since the first book so of course I have to get the next book in the series.

6.  Murder on Madison Square by Victoria Thompson - This list is full of historical mysteries and this is another one!  This is another series I always enjoy and another one I'm really looking forward to reading.

7.  Strawberried Alive by Jenn McKinlay - I always enjoy McKinlay's books and I read the teaser in the last book in this series and it really intrigued me!

8.  When the Crow's Away by Auralee Wallace - I liked the first book in this series and am so curious to see how it develops.

9.  The Paris Showroom by Juliet Blackwell - I enjoy Blackwell's mysteries but have really come to love her fiction and this one looks fantastic.  

10. Heiresses: The Life of the Million Dollar Babies by Laura Thompson - I'm fascinated by the American Heiresses that ended up marrying British aristocrats so I really want to pick this book up.

What releases are you looking forward to picking up?

My Reading Goals for 2022

1.  Read 200 Books - I read more than 200 in 2021 so I'm hoping to keep that streak going.  

2.  Read the books on my TBR Bingo List - I made a list of 10 books randomly selected off my Goodreads TBR and I want to read all the books on the list.

3.  Read the books on my Clear Off My Shelf List - This is a list of 10 books that have been sitting on my shelf for far too long and now seems like the time to read them.

4.  Read the books on my Library List - I have a wishlist on my library account and I picked 10 books at random to read from that list.  

5.  Read the books on my Classic Mystery List - I did this last year nad really enjoyed the mix of mysteries I ended up reading.

6.  Catch Up/Finish 10 Series - This is a continuation of 2021's Year of the Series project.

7.  Read the Agatha Christie short stories and adapted plays - I finished the Miss Marple books in 2021 and now have her short story collections as well as plays that have been turned into novels.  

8.  Finish Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver books - I have 14 Miss Silver books left to read and I want to finish them this year.

9.  Read 5 Overdue Review Books - We aren't going to even talk about how many overdue review books I have but I want to make progress on whittling that number down and 5 seems like a good number to start with.

10.  Read 10 Books on My Keeper Shelf - I have a shelf of books I keep for reread and I'd like to read 10 books off that list to see if they still deserve the place on that shelf.

Life with Leukemia (And Some Reading) - January 2

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Another week of nothing!  This probably won't last much longer.

Currently:

Reading:  Anna, Where Are You? by Patricia Wentworth and The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate

Listening:  Under Currents by Nora Roberts

This week was a big deal for two reasons.  The first is that the Comet and Rover were within feet of each other for minutes and the second is that it was Will's 12th birthday and he was feeling well enough that we were able to go out to eat and he was able to open presents.  It's so nice to see him acting like a regular kid and he had such a good time.  They upped his chemo last week which has made him really tired but thankfully he's feeling pretty good other then that.  This week will be a steroid week which is never a good time but hopefully it won't be too bad.

Rover is now officially 11 weeks old and very enthusiastic about life.  He is pretty sure that every single new person and animal he sees is his newest best friend and he has yet to give up on being BFFs with the cat.  The cat is still decidely unimpressed.

I hope everyone had a happy New Year's and has a wonderful week!

First Book of the Year - 2022

 

For the 9th year in a row Sheila over at Book Journey is hosting First Book of the Year.  I didn't get my act together in time to send her a picture and really participate but be sure to visit her here to see what book everyone is starting the year off with.  Here are my choices:

Print Book:

Anna, Where Are You? by Patricia Wentworth - This is the next book in the Miss Silver series and just happens to be one I haven't read which is a special treat.  

Ebook:

The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate - This is a series I've been enjoying and the first review book I have for the year.

Audio Book:

Under Currents by Nora Roberts - I listened to two Nora Roberts books in 2021 and really enjoyed them.  This is one that's been on my Audible shelf for quite some time and seems like a fun choice for a first listen.  

2022 Reading Project:

2021 was the Year of the Series.  It went really well and I either finished or caught up on a ton of series that have been on my TBR for ages.  This was a lot of fun and I got a number of books cleared off my shelf and TBR.  The only negative is that almost all of the series I tackled were cozy mysteries.  While cozy mysteries are my favorite genre it didn't make for that much variety in my reading and a number of my categories didn't get touched.  So I have decided that 2022 will be The Year of the Projects.  Here are the projects I'm planning on tackling.

1.  Series - I'm going to continue reading and catching up on series it just won't be my total focus.

2. TBR Bingo - This is to clean off my Goodreads TBR.  I picked 10 books using a random number generator and if I found myself hesitating to add it to my list I removed it from my list.  The same if I wasn't able to easy acquire a copy.  I only have first books in series on my TBR so that helps quite a bit as well.

3.  Library List - Basically the same premise as above except I'm using my TBR from my library.

4.  Clear Off My Shelves - Exactly what it sounds like.  I picked 10 books that are actually sitting on my shelf that I've been wanting to read but for some reason never get around to reading.