PaperbackPirate reads 44 in 2020!

I met my goal in 2019 and read 43 books! For the past few years I based my goal on my age so I'm going to do the same again and try for 44 .

Previous threads in case you're interested:

2019 (43 books)
2018 (44 books)
2017 (41 books)
2016 (43 books)
2015 (35 books)
2014 (33 books)
2013 (50 books)
2012 (43 books)
2011 (43 books)
2010 (42 books)

I hope you stop by!

January-March
1. Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin - finished 1/10
2. The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman - finished 1/23
3. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King - finished 1/23
4. The Grandest Ride by Tom Brownold - finished 2/8
5. All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy - finished 2/22
6. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly - finished 2/28
7. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - finished 3/7
8. In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde - finished 3/17
9. Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind: Practical Strategies for Raising Achievement by Eric Jensen - finished 3/21
10. The Power by Naomi Alderman - finished 3/22

April-June
11. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - finished 4/5
12. The Sisters Grimm by Menna Van Praag - finished 4/12
13. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - finished 4/19
14. Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon - finished 4/28
15. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness - finished 5/16
16. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - finished 5/21
17. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - finished 5/29
18. Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters Volume 2 by Eric Powell - finished 5/30
19. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen - finished 5/31
20. Overground Railroad: The Green Book & Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor - finished 6/7
21. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - finished 6/12
22. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman - finished 6/20
23. Blue Rodeo by Jo-Ann Mapson - finished 6/29
24. The Walking Dead, Vol. 7: The Calm Before by Robert Kirkman - finished 6/29
25. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009 by Elizabeth Kolbert - finished 6/30

July-September
26. The Walking Dead, Vol. 8: Made to Suffer by Robert Kirkman - finished 7/1
27. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - finished 7/8
28. The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues by Angela Y. Davis - finished 7/11
29. Different Seasons by Stephen King - finished 7/17
30. Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper - finished 7/20
31. Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter - finished 7/27
32. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - finished 7/28
33. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman - finished 8/7
34. Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin - finished 8/15
35. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar - finished 8/28
36. High Cotton by Kristie Robin Johnson - finished 9/5
37. The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan - finished 9/18
38. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite - finished 9/27
39. Ban This Book by Alan Gratz - finished 9/29

October-December
40. The Baltimore Book of the Dead by Marion Winik - finished 10/2
41. A Burning by Megha Majumdar - finished 10/24
42. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón - finished 11/11
43. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes - finished 11/22
44. The Imaginaries by Emily Winfield Martin - finished 11/25
45. Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
46. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan - finished 12/19
47. Breakfast Of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut - finished 12/23
48. Noir: A Novel by Christopher Moore - finished 12/27
49. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe - finished 12/29
50. The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis - finished 12/31

Oh, the places I'll go in my reading this year.

USA
Arizona: The Grandest Ride by Tom Brownold
In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde
California: Noir: A Novel by Christopher Moore
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Georgia: High Cotton by Kristie Robin Johnson
Kentucky: The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Maine: Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
Maryland: The Baltimore Book of the Dead by Marion Winik
Massachusetts: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
New Mexico: Blue Rodeo by Jo-Ann Mapson
New York: The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman
Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter
North Carolina: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Ohio: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Breakfast Of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut - finished 12/23
South Carolina: The Power by Naomi Alderman

Countries
Aregentina: The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis
Canada: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
England: The Sisters Grimm by Menna Van Praag
Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
France: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
India: All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy
A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Ireland: Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
Mexico: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin
Nigeria: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
South Korea: Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
Spain: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Sweden: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge 2020: COMPLETED!
(read a book with one of these words in the title)

JAN- Water, This, Sun, New: The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman
FEB- Girl, Any, Love, Red, Note, Throne: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
MAR- Dream, Day, In, House, Friend: In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde
APR- Lost, City, Night, My: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
MAY- Sky, Blue, Book, Enchant, Is: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
JUN- And, Number, Word: The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009 by Elizabeth Kolbert
JUL- Boy, Last, Day, Into, Summer: Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper
AUG- Flower, Happy: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin
SEP- Star, Cry, She, Eye: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
OCT- Haunt, Shadow, Murder, Deep: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
NOV- Out, Now: Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
DEC- Magic, Of, Crown: Breakfast Of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

What’s in a Name 2020 Challenge: COMPLETED!
Here are the categories:

An ampersand: Marley & Me by John Grogan
An antonym: Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
4 letters or less: Noir by Christopher Moore
A given/first name: Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
Reference to children: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
One of the 4 natural elements: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

>6 frahealee: Thank you! I look forward to your vocality! Happy Reading in 2020 and good luck reaching 55 ;-)

Here you are! Happy New Year! I just left a message on your 2019 thread but now I have this one starred.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

I'll be following along with you, too. Cheers for 2020!

>8 Copperskye: Thank you for Starring me! My reading year is off to a good start!

>9 rocketjk: Thanks for following along! Happy 2020 to you too!

Finally found you. Happy reading in 2020.

>12 Ameise1: Thank you! So far I've read a lot of good books!

What were your 5 favorite books from January-March? I read 2 books that will take all the quarantine worries away:

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

12. My review is semi-spoilery because I don't know how to talk about The Sisters Grimm without sharing some vague details.

I really wanted to like this book. It has the components of a good girl power story mixed with the supernatural, but unfortunately most of the story is spent in the natural. I wanted the bulk of the story to be about the sisters bonding and exploring their superpowers, however most of time the sisters were apart in the real world doing real world things. I expected there to be a big payoff at the end, but the climax was brief and unoriginal.
I'm thankful to have received this book as an Early Reviewer, so I wish I could have written a nicer review, nevertheless I have to be honest and suggest you pass.

2. I read The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman for the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. The January key word was Water. I like participating in this challenge because it helps me move books off my tbr that I've had for a long time. This book has been on my shelf since 2017.

Carol Goodman is one of my favorite mystery authors and did not disappoint with this story. It's about an author, Iris Greenfede, who decides to solve a mystery about her mom. Her mom was also an author who wrote a hit story, but died before the sequel was published. Iris has to go back to the hotel where her parents worked and she grew up to do some sleuthing and writing. Add in the beauty of the Catskills, a dash of romance, and a helping of art community and you have the joy of this riddle.

It wasn't my favorite by Carol Goodman but I still enjoyed myself very much while escaping to the busy, intense summer of Iris.

11. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin lived up to the hype. I'm glad I already watched the show because it helped me sort the characters out. It was fun revisiting favorite characters, and it helped me put some pieces of the show together that I missed while watching. It will be on my favorite list for the year!

Another quarter and half the year is over! I can't believe I'm on track to make it to 50! What were your 5 favorites you read from April-June?

Here are my favorites from this quarter in the order I read them:

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (will definitely make my top 10 for the year list)
Overground Railroad: The Green Book & Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman (even though it stressed me out!)

15. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness was a good continuation of the series, but could have used some editing. Some of the scenes didn't add much to the story other than length. It was good enough to finish the series though.

16. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman is going to be on my favorite list for the year! I laughed and I cried.

Another quarter of the year done! What were your 5 favorite books read from July-September?

In the order I read them, and oops, I have 6:
Different Seasons by Stephen King
Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

From the final quarter of the year, I had a lot of good 4 star books, but only had 3 that rose above:

A Burning by Megha Majumdar
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis

What were your favorites from October-December?

These are my favorite books of 2020 in the order I read them:

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Overground Railroad: The Green Book & Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Different Seasons by Stephen King
Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis

What were your favorites?

Time for end of the year book games! Yay! I found this one on carlym's thread a long time ago. To play along just answer the questions with titles of books you read in 2020. Think of it as Cards Against Humanity with book titles.

Describe yourself: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
How do you feel? Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Describe where you currently live: Little Fires Everywhere
If you could go anywhere...? In the Heart of the Canyon
Favorite form of transportation: Overground Railroad
Your best friend is: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
You and your friends are: The Gods of Tango
What's the weather like? The Shadow of the Wind
Your favorite time of day is: Shadow of Night
What is life for you? A Game of Thrones
You fear: Something in the Water
Best advice: Please Look After Mom
Thought for the day: Love Saves the Day
How you would like to die: My Sister, the Serial Killer

Want to play?