This-n-That Reads More ROOTs in 21

After a bumpy ride of 2020 reading, I am trying for another year of ROOTing. Since I only completed 11 ROOTs in 2020, I didn't want to be overly ambitious in 2021. 14 books for this year, sounded like an achievable goal. In January, I'm looking forward to snuggling up in a warm blanket and tackling some books that have been languishing on my shelves.

As per my usual rules, any books, ebooks or audiobooks purchased prior to the last day of January Valentine's Day, are eligible for my ROOTs challenge. Rereads are allowed, as long as I still own the book.

Wishing everyone here a wonderful year of reading!

ROOTs Read in 2021

1. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor ★★★½
2. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn ★★★★
3. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, narrated by Andy Serkis ★★★★★
4 The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow ★★★
5 All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot ★★★★★
6 All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot ★★★★
7 The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons ★★
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

reserved for planning

✔️
½
★
★★
★★★
★★★★
★★★★★
✔️

New Book Purchases Prior to the (updated) February 14th 2021 ROOTs cut-off:

All Things Wise and Wonderful (Kindle sale)
The Lord God Made Them All (Kindle sale)
Every Living Thing (Kindle sale)

Hardbound:
A Promised Land
Caste : The Origins of Our Discontents
The Four Winds

Glad you're back! Happy reading in 2021!

Welcome back! I love that cozy blanket in your first post. Have a great reading year!

>6 cyderry: >7 rabbitprincess: Thanks so much. I am happy to be back.

Hi TnT, good to see you are going to try for another year. 14 sounds very doable and we will be ROOTing for you.

Good luck with your 2021 reading! Good to see you again :)

Good luck with your Roots in 2021 :)

Happy ROOTing in 2021, This-n-That!

Ah, the 2020 bumpy ride and fewer ROOTs than intended - ditto!

Happy New Year and better luck with your 2021 reading goals! ;)

Happy and healthy ROOTing in 2021, This-N-That

>9 connie53: >10 Jackie_K: >11 beach85: >12 FAMeulstee: >13 floremolla: >14 Robertgreaves: Thanks so much for stopping by and cheering me on. Happy ROOTing all!

Hi This-n-That, and Happy New Year to you.

>1 This-n-That: I love that photo – the colors are scrumptious.

Good luck with your ROOTing goal.

Happy new year, and best of luck with your ROOT goal!

Thanks so much Karen and Elizabeth.

We're are officially off and into the reading zone, with two ROOTs to report. (Well, technically, I got a head start on these in December but just completed them.)

1. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor ★★★½
I was on the fence on how to rate this one. It was well written and the author obviously did a lot of research, yet much of the information was based on the author's personal experiences and causal observations. Still, there is a lot of substance to this book. Based on paleontological evidence, it does seem the anatomical structure of the human face has changed and those changes have negatively impacted nasal breathing. (That might partially account for the prevalence of sleep apnea or susceptibility to nasal infections in humans.) Also, the assertion that mouth breathing is unhealthy sounds reasonable. The book included an appendix, describing various breathing techniques in detail which I appreciated. (I have used some of those techniques myself during various yoga classes. I cannot attest to any health benefits but it definitely increases the feeling of relaxation.)

2. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn ★★★★
Another novel I was debating how to rate. The Rose Code is yet another historical fiction novel set during WWII but with a rather unique storyline. Although from completely different backgrounds, Osla, Mab and Beth befriend each other and end up 'doing their bit' at Bletchley Park. There is a second storyline occurring directly after the war, involving a secret coded letter sent in a moment of desperation and a possible traitor. The majority of the novel revolves around these three young women and their top secret jobs at BP, although it often seemed less focused on detailed historical information and more focused on the day to day drama. Just to spice things up a bit there is also an appearance made by Prince Philip, albeit in a semi-fictional role. Mystery, intrigue, history, romance and girl-power, are all rolled up into one story.

If anyone is interested in
learning more on the subject, coincidentally PBS will be airing Codebreakers: Bletchley Park's Lost Heroes on 01/11/21 (in the US). Perfect timing!
Link to preview:
https://www.pbs.org/video/extended-trailer-codebreaker-american-experience/

I like your reviews, TnT. So much better than mine.

>19 This-n-That: Ooh thanks for the tip on the Bletchley Park documentary!

>20 connie53: Thank you so much, Connie. How kind of you. :-)

>21 rabbitprincess: You are so welcome. I just happened to come across the preview trailer for that last night and am looking forward to watching it.

In the mid to late 1960s, I lived a couple of hundred yards from Bletchley Park and often went past it. I was aged 8 to 11 at the time and I certainly didn't know what had been going on there. I asked my parents recently and they said they didn't know when we were there either - just that some government agency or other was using it.

>24 Robertgreaves: Wow! That is really interesting. Then it really was that secretive.

Happy reading this year!

Happy New Year and Happy ROOTing! You're already off to a great start. Good luck!

>19 This-n-That: Thanks for flagging the Bletchley Park documentary! Over the last year, I ended up rewatching The Bletchley Circle and kept wishing there were more scenes of their previous lives at Bletchley as that seemed so fascinating.

>28 Caramellunacy: You are welcome. :-) I also enjoyed watching The Bletchley Circle last year.

ROOT #3:
The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien (Author), Andy Serkis (Narrator) ★★★★★+

This was technically a reread for me. I couldn't resist listening to the new audio version with Andy Serkis narrating. (If you've watched the LORs movies, you know who he is.) What a treat to listen in anticipation of him uttering the words,"my precious."

ROOT #4

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow ★★★

First, allow me to confess that I am a fan of Pride and Prejudice.

This Regency styled retelling started out well, with the story centered around Mary, who could be considered the least understood Bennet sister. I was enjoying seeing things through the eyes of Mary when events started paralleling those found in Pride and Prejudice. It was at that point, I started to lose interest. Things did pick up again as it moved beyond P & P, with an unattached Mary moving around from household to household. Seeing Mary's growth and personal observations was worthwhile but I must say the book never completely recaptured my interest and the ending was predictable.

3 stars for a decent fanfiction story based on a classic novel.

>31 This-n-That: I've heard generally good things of The Other Bennet Sister. I may or may not get around to it. I suspect my reaction would be similar to yours in terms of okay fanfic but not wow material.

Adding ROOT #5 All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot ★★★★★

This is the third time I have read this and I enjoyed it just as much as the first (and second) time around. The latest Masterpiece Theatre TV series piqued my interest in reading all the books in Herriot's series. In the past, I never made it past All Things Bright and Beautiful mainly due to other book distractions.

Adding ROOT #6:
All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot ★★★★
Another feel good type of story but with a partial shift in focus to the author's time spent in the RAF during WWII. There are still plenty of animal stories to enjoy but the overall tone of this book is more mature, and perhaps a little darker.

Adding ROOT #7:
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons ★★
I've had this historical fiction novel on my shelf for years. I wish I had enjoyed the story more but I didn't. The book was too long. I felt it got bogged down in dialogue and the inclusion of too many trivial thoughts and details.

Hi TnT. You are doing pretty well with ROOTing. Keep it up.

Just popping in to wish you and yours a Happy Easter, TnT.