Darth Heather's 2020 Tracker

I'm ready to start a fresh assault on my TBR shelf, with help from some group reading challenges that encourage me to dig deep for the ones that have been patiently waiting their turn for a long time.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
413 pages
ATW #5

Tehanu by Ursula K Leguin
212 pages
Passport "moon", ATW #4

Where Have All The Boys Gone? by Jenny Colgan
350 pages
ATW#7

Silent Death by Ron RIpley
153 pages
Passport "rich", ATW#6

Deranged Souls by Ron Ripley
188 pages
ATW #9, Horizons "end series"

Whisper of the Moon Moth by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
352 pages
ATW #8

The Complete FODMAP Diet by Sue Shepherd
288 pages
Letter T on cover, ATW #2

Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock
325 pages
Letter T author, ATW #1

>2 Darth-Heather: And, what did you think of Boneshaker, Darth??

>3 threadnsong: actually it was better than I expected. I've been put off of steampunk fantasy by a few other forays into that genre, notably The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt. Some of them just drone on and on about inventions and mechanical doodads, which is the same thing I dislike about certain other types of SFF that spend far too much time on world building details at the expense of plot and character interaction. I'm sure there are readers who delight in that level of minutiae but I get bored after too long.

I was glad to find that Boneshaker was more accessible, and I think I will like to seek out a few others of hers. A trusted friend recommended it, and I'm pleased to see that she was right :)

>4 Darth-Heather: Heather you might like her Family Plot. I don't care for the vampire books but I did like this one alot.

>4 Darth-Heather: I, too, found Court of the Air to be too into world-building and gadgets and sadly lacking in plot. It appears that such is Hunt's pull towards his audience, but after 300+ pages (I'm a big stubborn) I decided not to be in his audience.

And I liked the alternate history part of Boneshaker. I'm very glad you liked it and listened to your trusted friend :-)

January Totals:

sadly, only 8 books this month... I had two others lined up to fit challenge categories, but time got away from me. On the plus side I finally found time to watch the Good Omens miniseries, and thought it was really well done.

2281 pages.

February Reads:

Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford
522 pages
Passport 'contest', ATW#8

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Leguin
286 pages
Letter U in author name, ATW #2

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
567 pages
Letter U in title, Passport 'flower on cover', ATW#3

Devil Water by Anya Seton
526 pages
Passport 'Maggie', ATW #9

Blue Gold by Clive Cussler
446 pages
Passport 'Venezuela', ATW #1

The Beggar King by Oliver Potzsch
466 pages
Letter U 'undertaker on cover', ATW#7

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
104 pages
ATW #4

February Totals:
7 books
2917 pages

March Reads:

Speaks the Nightbird: Judgement of the Witch by Robert McCammon
257 pages
New Friend, Passport "hospitality", ATW#4

Speaks the Nightbird: Evil Unveiled by Robert McCammon
296 pages
Passport "not who they say", ATW#8

The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy
312 pages
Letter V author, Passport "hobby", ATW#2

Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi
300 pages
Letter V title, ATW#9

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
576 pages
Letter V - vine on cover, ATW #6

Quarantine by John Smolens
336 pages
ATW #10

Stiff by Mary Roach
300 pages
ATW#5

Big LIttle Lies by Liane Moriarty
460 pages
ATW #7

Where The Desert Meets The Sea by Werner Sonne
256 pages
Passport to Palestine, ATW#1

Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque
496 pages
ATW #3

March total:
10 books
3589 pages

top read of the month: Speaks the Nightbird. I plan to take on more of this series soon.

April Reads:

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
285 pages
ATW #3

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
246 pages
Letter W in title, ATW #7

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
987 pages
ATW#4

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
308 pages
Letter W author, ATW #2

Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die by Willie Nelson
173 pages
Letter W - Willie Nelson on cover, Passport 'performer', ATW #6

Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart
212 pages
Passport 'flowers on cover', ATW #1

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
231 pages
Passport 'village', ATW#8

Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi
198 pages
ATW#9

The Girl In The Tower by Katherine Arden
384 pages
Passport 'Russia', ATW#5

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
494 pages
ATW#10

April summary:
10 books
3518 pages

May reads:

The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson
340 pages
Passport 'Hungary', ATW #7

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
782 pages
New Friend, ATW #3

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
234 pages
ATW #7

The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart
446 pages
Letter X 'Excalibur on cover', ATW #10

The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
335 pages
Letter X 'author name', ATW#2

Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry
383 pages
Passport 'author named Steve', ATW#4

The Uncanny XMen by Chris Claremont
157 pages
Letter X in title, ATW#6

The Stormy Petrel by Mary Stewart
221 pages
Passport 'crime', ATW#9

The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
425 pages
Horizons 'South America', ATW #8

The Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy
189 pages
ATW #1

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
512 pages

May totals:
11 books
4024 pages

Several good ones this month, the best being Starless Sea. I loved it every bit as much as The Night Circus, especially since it is about the nature of stories themselves. Her writing style is so graceful. Small Spaces was also quite good; it is YA and very well done and creepy.

June Reads:

Alien Taste by Wen Spencer
312 pages
New Friend, ATW#4

Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
385 pages
ATW#3

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
495 pages
Letter Y title, ATW#2

The Green Man's Heir by Juliet McKenna
368 pages
Passport 'green', ATW#8

The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane by Kelly Harms
304 pages
Passport 'beach house', Letter Y 'yacht on cover', ATW#6

The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart
480 pages
Passport 'king', ATW#5

Stories of Norway by John Yilek
124 pages
Letter Y author, ATW#1

Bread Upon The Waters by Irwin Shaw
438 pages
ATW #10

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
434 pages
ATW#7

The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille
677 pages
Passport 'Libya', ATW #9

June totals:
10 books
4017 pages

top read of the month: Winter of the Witch - this completes the Winternight trilogy and I'm sorry it's over but it does end very well. The characters develop in believable and interesting ways and I grew very attached to them.

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
672 pages
New Friend, ATW #9

The Stolen Throne by David Gaider
400 pages
ATW #2

The Calling by David Gaider
366 pages
ATW#3

THe Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
340 pages
Letter Z 'zoo on cover', Passport 'bicycle', ATW#7

Zone One by Colson Whitehead
321 pages
Letter Z in title, ATW#1

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
154 pages
Letter Z author, ATW#10

The Great Stink by Clare Clark
374 pages
Passport 'great' in title, ATW#8

The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy
265 pages
Passport 'childrens', ATW #6

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson
384 pages
ATW #4

Wildfire At Midnight by Mary Stewart
222 pages
ATW# 5

July totals:
10 books
3498 pages

August reads:

Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
368 pages
New Friend, ATW#6

Lost Nation by Jeffrey Lent
384 pages
Passport 'bear', ATW#10

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
256 pages
Passport 'chef', ATW#8

Treasure by Clive Cussler
671 pages
August '8th in series', ATW#X

Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
224 pages
August 'wwII', ATW#5

the Green Man's Foe by Juliet McKenna
330 pages
Passport 'builder', ATW#3

City of Brass by SA Chakraborty
560 pages
August 'Egypt', Passport 'desert', ATW#7

A Transcontinental Affair by Jodi Daynard
341 pages
ATW#2

Loser Takes All by Graham Greene
121 pages
ATW#1

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey
390 pages
ATW#4

Aug total: 10 books
3645 pages

Sept reads:

Catwings Return by Ursula K Leguin
57 pages
Sept 'childrens', ATW#1

Children of Earth and Sky
592 pages
Passport 'river', ATW#5

Kingdom of Copper by SA Chakraborty
645 pages
Sept 'fire', ATW#8

Empire of Gold by SA Chakraborty
598 pages
Sept 'medical', ATW #10

Green Man's Silence by Juliet McKenna
331 pages
Passport 'builder', ATW#7

Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman
265 pages
Passport 'party', ATW#9

The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning
374 pages
Passport 'SAmerica', ATW#6

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
212 pages
Passport '1970s', ATW#4

A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym
313 pages
ATW#3

Sept totals:
9 books
3387 pages

not as bad as I feared, considering this month started my classes to finish my bachelor degree.

Oct reads:

Railsea by China Mieville
24 pages (DNF)
New Friend, October 'transportation', ATW#4

The Girl In The Castle by Santa Montefiore
532 pages
ATW#10

Asunder by David Gaider
496 pages
Passport 'mountain', ATW# 3

The Haunting by Margaret Mahy
106 pages
ATW #6

The October Country by Ray Bradbury
306 pages
October 'supernatural', Passport 'vampire', ATW#5

The Devil You Know by Mike Carey
413 pages
ATW #2

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet by Richard Matheson
337 pages
Passport 'initials', ATW#7

Tales of the Bounty Hunters by Kevin Anderson
98 pages (DNF)
ATW#9

The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes
369 pages
Passport 'evil ruler', ATW#3

I'm calling it a month. I have a bunch of school projects due this week so won't be able to fit in another October book.

9 books
2681 pages

I had a couple DNFs this month, most likely because I'm preoccupied and just didn't get into them properly. I might give the Star Wars one another try someday so its back in the pile, but I think I give up on China Mieville. I've tried three of his so far and all were DNFs. Just not for me, I guess. I like his concepts but not his writing style.

Nov Reads:

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
336 pages
Passport 'island', ATW#3

The Potting Shed by Graham Greene
185 pages
Horizons 'play', ATW#8

Dodger by Terry Pratchett
368 pages
New Friend, November 'treason', ATW#5

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
315 pages
November 'Massachusetts', ATW#9

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
302 pages
November 'treason', ATW6

We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
617 pages
November 'scientist', Passport 'gambles', ATW#1

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
280 pages
Passport 'french, pirates, ship', ATW#4

November totals:
7 books
2403 pages

Dec reads:

Imagica The Reconciliation by Clive Barker
544 pages
New Friend, ATW#8

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
325 pages
Passport 'blue cover', ATW#3

Brewster's Millions by George McCutcheon
256 pages
Dec 'prize', ATW#1

One Week In December by Holly Chamberlin
323 pages
Dec 'holiday', Passport 'Christmas', ATW#4

If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss
320 pages
ATW#6

Meadowlands by Elizabeth Jeffrey
238 pages
Passport 'garden', ATW#9

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
160 pages
Passport 'computer', ATW#7

King Rat by James Clavell
608 pages
ATW#12

September by Rosamund Pilcher
609 pages
Passport 'language', ATW# 5

December total:
9 books
3383 pages

2020 Roundup:

39,343 pages read

Top Five Reads:
Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
The Green Man's Heir (trilogy) by Juliet McKenna
City of Brass (trilogy) by SA Chakraborty
The Devil You Know by Mike Carey

All in all, a pretty good year for reading. I found my way to several new series' that I intend to continue.