The Wings of the Sphinx

Finished January 5
The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri

This continues the series featuring Inspector Montalbano in Sicily. In his personal life, Montalbano's relationship with his long-term girlfriend Livia is uncertain. They haven't spoken in a while and she isn't answering her phone when he tries to reach her.
When he is called to a nearby garbage dump where a body is discovered, he finds himself involved in a case of an unidentified young woman with a distinctive tattoo, of a sphinx moth. As he discovers the existence of other girls with the same tattoo, he finds the case may involve human trafficking, and the sex trade.
As usual, there is much good food being eaten, interesting interactions with his coworkers, and the sense of getting older that Montalbano is beginning to feel more and more.

The Half Brother

Finished January 4
The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen, translated by Kenneth Steven

I've been reading this one for a while and finally finished it. It's a long book, and it took me a while to really get into it. The book starts with a prologue, an interaction between the narrator and his older half brother Fred. This shows us a bit of the relationship between the two and where the power lies. The narrator's name is Barnum, and they live in Oslo.
As the main part of the book opens, we are a long ways into the future from the prologue. Barnum is now an adult and is at a festival in Berlin with his friend Peder where they are meeting with film executives. Barnum receives a message from home that causes him to end his visit early.
The novel now moves further into the past, to 1945, when Barnum's moths is busy with chores as she revels in the end of the war, looking to celebrate with her mother Boletta, and grandmother, The Old One, when she is attacked. This part of the book is about these three women in the family, their loves and their losses. It is from this attack that Fred is born.
Barnum's father is from Rost, a northern island off the coast. But he did not fit the life there and he left as soon as he could. It is only with Barnum's baptism that he and his family return there.
As the book follows the lives of Fred, Barnum, and their family, we see the strange relationship between the brothers, the women that wait for things to happen, and the man who is the father to Barnum.
We also see Barnum begin to develop a life of his own, to find friends and a talent and to grow into a man.
This is a book about the characters more than the action. Slow-moving, but I became more and more interested in them all as I read. More than one character retreats into silence at times, and alcohol also plays a role in many ways, as does film. Fascinating read.

52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge

Hosted here. this challenge has a number of interesting prompts.

Here are the rules:

* The challenge runs January 1 to December 31
* Book weeks begin on Sunday
* The first week runs January 1 to January 11
* You can join anytime
* All books are acceptable except childrens books.
* Rereads are acceptable
* Overlaps of other challenges are allowed.
* For those who blog, create an entry post linking to the host and signup in the sidebar
* There will be a link widget for each week.

There is also a Bingo associated with the Challenge:

Another part of this one is the Ladies of Fiction Bookology. This one is definitely a challenge, but sounds interesting, but I'm not sure which option I'm looking at for tackling it. 

Here are the details: 

Each month you'll have the opportunity to explore different authors, characters, countries, and genres.  There are a number of ways to complete the challenge, including but not limited to:  

• Spell out the author's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover.
• Read one or more books written by the author. 
• Read a book written in the country or time period of the author.

Have fun exploring

Ladies of Fiction
Hosted by Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks
Month	Author	Genre
January	Banana Yoshimoto	Literary Fiction
February	Mary Stewart	Mystery, Romantic Suspense, and Arthurian Fantasy
March	Deborah Crombie	Crime Fiction
April	Elizabeth Hunter	Romance, Contemporary fantasy, and Paranormal mystery
May	Sharon Kay Penman	Historical Fiction
June	N.K. Jemisin	Science Fiction / fantasy
July	M.M. Kaye	Historical Fiction and Mystery
August	Nalini Singh	Paranormal Romance
September	Sarah Dunant	Renaissance historical fiction and Thrillers
October	Jayne Ann Krentz aka Amanda Quick aka Jayne Castle	Romantic Suspense, Historical and Paranormal
November	Cherie Priest	Steampunk, Horror and Mystery
December	Rumer Godden	Literary Fiction

Another subcategory of this challenge that I'm considering is the Nobel Prize Winners. Here is the information for that:

The Nobel Prize Winners in Literature  

In 2010, I took a Nobel Literature class and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was a lot of work, I read several books that probably normally would never have considered reading including Jean Paul Sartre's Nausea, Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude,and Kenzaburo Oe's The Silent Cry.  After reading these books, it made me want to read more selections from the literature prize list. Since then, I've read books by one or two authors from the list each year. Join me in reading the authors who won the Nobel Prize for Literature.  

Baby Steps:  2 Books

Toddler:  4 books

Adolescent:  6 Books

Teenager:  8 or more Books

I'm thinking of going for adolescent on this one as I know I have some of these authors on my shelf, plus my book club has a Doris Lessing book picked for the year. 

I'm also going to commit to the Dusty and Chunky subchallenge

I won't stop buying books (I know myself too well to even consider that, plus I have some subscriptions I want to continue), but I will commit to levels for both Dusty and Chunky.
For Dusty, I'll commit to Beyond the Sea level at 8 books, and for Chunky, I'll commit to Down to the Water Line to get some of those behemoths moving off my TBR shelf. 

Dusty and/or Chunky Mini Challenge

The dusty books are the ones that have been sitting on your shelves for a while - you know which ones.

The chunky books are more than 500 pages long and will take a bit more time, but oh so worth it. 

Dusty Books

 

Safe in the Harbor - 2 Books

Sail on Sweet Sister - 4 Books

Life in the Dark Water  - 6 Books

Beyond the Sea  - 8 Books

The Voyage  - 10 Books or more

Chunky Books - Come Sail Away 

The Tide is High  - 2 books

Down to the Water Line  - 4 books

Big Boat  - 6 books

 Big Ship Sailing  - 8 books

Mother Ocean  - 10 books or more

I'm also going for the Feed the Muse challenge: 

Feed Your Muse 

For Writers and Readers

Read 52 poems, essays, and short stories 

Other options for this wide-ranging challenge that have appeal are the Sounds of Silence, The Well-Educated Mind,  

20 in 20 Reading Challenge Commitment

This is a challenge that sounds fun.

It's hosted here.

There are 20 categories that have you reading 10 fiction and 10 nonfiction books. This sounds quite doable, so we'll see how I do.

Reading Summary for 2019

Here's my look back at my reading for 2019.
It was definitely a year where I read less. I also completed less challenges than previously. I've been thinking about it and realize that I try to look at the books on my shelves and fit them into the challenges that I'm doing, which sometimes just doesn't work. Also, my shelves have become less organized over the last couple years, which makes books harder to locate. So I'll work on that over the next few months.
I read 141 books over the year.

Here are my stats:

Audience:
Adult: 124
Children's: 14
Teen: 3

Source and Fate
42 of the books I read were library books
84 of the books I read I owned (38 were advance copies)
3 were read for Netgalley
The rest were borrowed from others

78 of those I owned left my possession after I read them. (I also went through my mystery bookcase and gave away any that earned less than 4 stars)


Author Gender
28 books were written by men
109 were written by women
3 were written by teams that included both men and women
1 was written by an author under a pseudonym that didn't identify their genre

Category and Genre:
There are a couple of overlaps here with collections where they included both fiction and nonfiction in one book.
Fiction: 118. There are some genre overlaps where books fell into multiple genres
    2 of these were short stories or included short stories
    35 were mysteries or thrillers
    21 were historical fiction
    6 were fantasy
    1 was science fiction
    33 were romance
    1 was horror
    None were westerns this year.
    27 books were part of a series
   
Nonfiction: 24
    3 of these were poetry or included poetry
    3 of these were essays or included essays
    7 were history books
    1 was a science book
    9 were biographies or memoirs

8 Translated works:
    Italian               3
    Afrikaans          1
    Dutch                1
    French               1
    Japanese           1
    Norwegian        1

Setting:
25 were set in Canada
66 were set in the U.S.
39 were set in Europe
3 were set in Africa

Format:
3 were graphic novels
22 were audiobooks
3 were ebooks
The rest were print books

Wrap-Up of Goodreads Challenge for 2019

I hadn't done this one before, but it was posted in a group on Facebook and I thought it sounded interesting. I didn't do too badly, missing 18 out of 52. 

1. A book that was nominated for or won an award in a genre you enjoy
    NOT COMPLETED

2. A book with one of the 5 Ws in the title (Who, What, Where, When, or Why)
    Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht. Finished June 9

3. A book where the author's name contains A, T, and Y
    My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Finished January 1

4. A book with a criminal character
    The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti. Finished July 25

5. A book by Shakespeare or inspired by Shakespeare
    NOT COMPLETED

6. A book with a dual timeline
     Ghost Riders by Sharon McCrumb. Finished January 16

7. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: book 1
    NOT COMPLETED
8. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: book 2
    NOT COMPLETED

9. A book from one of the top money-making genres (romance/erotica, crime/mystery, religious/inspirational, science fiction/fantasy, or horror)
     Misadventures of a City Girl by Meredith Wild and Chelle Bliss. Finished January 4

10. A book featuring an historical figure
     Montaigne in Barn Boots by Michael Perry. Finished April 1

11. A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese Animals (title, cover, or subject)
    NOT COMPLETED

12. A book about reading, books, or an author
    NOT COMPLETED

13. A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list
    NOT COMPLETED

14. A book with a title, subtitle, or cover relating to an astronomical term
     Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke. Finished April 19

15. A book by an author from a Mediterranean country or set in a Mediterranean country
     A Chill in the Air by Iris Origo. Finished February 12

16. A book told from multiple perspectives
     Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg, Finished February 20

17. A book of speculative fiction (fantasy, scifi, horror, dystopian)
     Half Spent Was the Night by Ami McKay. Finished January 2

18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table
    NOT COMPLETED

19. A book by an author who has more than one book on your TBR list
     Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon. Finished June 10

20. A book featuring indigenous people of a country
     Sugar Falls by David Alexander Robertson and Scott B. Henderson. Finished December 26

21. A book from one of the polarizing or close call votes
  The Castle in the Sea by Mardi McConnochie. Finished October 9
  from here. Poll 8, polarizing

22. A book with a number in the title or on the cover
     Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell. Finished July 2

23. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Old
    NOT COMPLETED

24. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something New
    The Gown by Jennifer Robson. Finished August 24

25. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Borrowed
    NOT COMPLETED

26. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Blue
    NOT COMPLETED

27. A book off of the 1001 books to read before you die list
    NOT COMPLETED

28. A book related to something cold
    NOT COMPLETED

29. A book published before 1950
     The King's General by Daphne du Maurier. Finished September 13

30. A book featuring an elderly character
     The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am by Kjersti A. Skomsvold. Finished September 11

31. A children's classic you've never read
    NOT COMPLETED

32. A book with more than 500 pages
    The Portable Dorothy Parker. Finished December 31

33. A book you have owned for at least a year, but have not read yet
     Redemption Road by John Hart. Finished December 5

34. A book with a person's name in the title
     Waiting for Tom Hanks by KerryWinfrey. Finished June 15

35. A psychological thriller
     Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. Finished February 22

36. A book featured on an NPR Best Books of the Year list
    NOT COMPLETED

37. A book set in a school or a university
    What Happens Next by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Carey Sookocheff. Finished July 1

38. A book not written in traditional novel format (poetry, essay, epistolary, graphic novel)
    NOT COMPLETED

39. A book with a strong sense of place or where the author brings the location/setting to life
     Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais. Finished March 16

40. A book you stumbled upon
     Last Things by Marissa Moss. Finished April 20

41. A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards
    NOT COMPLETED

42. A book with a monster or "monstrous" character
    Lirael by Garth Nix. Finished December 30

43. A book related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
    NOT COMPLETED

44. A book related in some way to a tv show/series or movie you enjoyed
    The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King. Finished September 10

45. A multi-generational saga
    Golden Age by Jane Smiley. Finished November 5

46. A book with a (mostly) black cover
     Not to Disturb by Muriel Spark. Finished September 8

47. A book related to food (title, cover, plot)
     That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay. Finished January 22

48. A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year
     Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien. Finished October 27

49. A book written by a Far East Asian author or set in a Far East Asian country
     The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns. Finished June 8

50. A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or spiritual)
     Don't Let My Baby Do Rodeo by Boris Fishman. Finished January 10

51. A book published in 2019
     The Light over London by Julia Kelly. Finished February 5

52. A book with a weird or intriguing title

     The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg. Finished March 2

Wrap-Up of 2019 PopSugar Challenge

I didn't complete all the books for the challenge, but didn't do too badly, missing 18 out of 50.

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  1. A book being made into a movie in 2019.
      NOT COMPLETED
  2. A book that makes you nostalgic
      The Map That Leads to You by J.P. Monninger. Finished May 22
  
  3. A book written by a musician
      NOT COMPLETED
  4. A book you think should be turned into a movie
       Need to Know by Karen Cleveland. Finished January 25
  
  5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
      NOT COMPLETED
  6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
      Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly. Finished May 20
  
  7. A reread of a favourite book
      NOT COMPLETED
  8. A book about a hobby
      Stitches in Time by Hilda Kassell. Finished July 14
  
  9. A book you meant to read in 2018
      The Gown by Jennifer Robson. Finished August 24
  
  10. A book with "pop," "sugar," or "challenge" in the title
      Sugar Falls by David Alexander Robertson and Scott B. Henderson. Finished December 26
  
  11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover|
       Murder, Magic and What We Wore by Kelly Jones. Finished January 7
  
  12. A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore
       NOT COMPLETED
  13. A book published posthumously
      A Chill in the Air by Iris Origo. Finished February 12
  
  14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
       NOT COMPLETED
  15. A retelling of a classic
       NOT COMPLETED
  16. A book with a question in the title
      Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht. Finished June 9
  
  17. A book set on a college or university campus
       NOT COMPLETED
  18. A book about someone with a superpower

     Lirael by Garth Nix. Finished December 30
  19. A book told from multiple character POVs
       Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg. Finished February 20
  
  20. A book set in space
      NOT COMPLETED
  21. A book by two female authors
       Misadventures of a City Girl by Meredith Wild and Chelle Bliss. Finished January 4
  
  22. A book with a title that contains "salty," "sweet," "bitter," or "spicy"
       My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Ashe. Finished June 20
  
  23. A book set in Scandinavia
       The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am by Kjersti A. Skomsvold. Finished September 11
  
  24. A book that takes place in a single day
        The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone
  25. A debut novel
       Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. Finished February 22
  
  26. A book that's published in 2019
       The Light over London by Julia Kelly. Finished February 5
  
  27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary character
       If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura. Finished April 16
  
  28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
       NOT COMPLETED
  29. A book with "love" in the title
       Love Letters to Baruch by Margaret Lawrence Greene, Finished June 29
  
  30. A book featuring an amateur detective
       NOT COMPLETED
  31. A book about a family
        The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader
  32. A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America
       My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Finished January 1
  
  33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title
       Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke. Finished April 19
  
  34. A book that includes a wedding
        Penguin Days by Sara Leach. Finished January 1
  
  35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
       Come From Away by Genevieve Graham. Finished January 21
  36. A ghost story
       Ghost Riders by Sharon McCrumb. Finished January 16
  
  37. A book with a two-word title
        Last Things by Marissa Moss. Finished April 20
  38. A novel based on a true story
       The Red Daughter by John Burnham Schwartz. Finished May 7
  
  39. A book revolving around a puzzle or a game
       NOT COMPLETED
  40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
     Liz and Nellie by Shonna Slayton. Finished December 13 (past challenge was reading a book by an author with the same first or last name as me, not an easy task)
  
  ADVANCED
  41. A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book
    The Castle in the Sea by Mardi McConnochie. Finished October 9
  
  42. A "choose-your-own-adventure" book
       NOT COMPLETED
  43. An "own voices" book
      Girl of the Southern Sea by Michelle Kadarusman. Finished July 18
  
  44. Read a book during the season it is set in
      August Heat by Andrea Camilleri. Finished July 3
  
  45. A LitRPG book
       NOT COMPLETED
  46. A book with no chapters, unusual chapter headings, or unconventionally numbered chapters
      NOT COMPLETED
  47. Two books that share the same title (1)
      NOT COMPLETED
  48. Two books that share the same title (2)
      NOT COMPLETED
  49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom (e.g. Big Brother from 1984)
      NOT COMPLETED
  50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent
    The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner. Finished October 6
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