Five Star Reads and Farewell 2020

Talking about books and reading is one of my favorite things to do. So, to end this year on a positive page (ha! get it?!), I'd like to share with you all my Five Star Reads for 2020: 

 

KIND OF COPING: AN ILLUSTRATED LOOK AT LIFE WITH ANXIETY by Maureen Marzi Wilson (graphic novel/comics) - Love her comics!

 

ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT by Stephen King (nonfiction/writing) - I've lost count of how many times I've read this and/or just picked it up for inspiration.

 

THE OTHER PEOPLE by C. J. Tudor (thriller/mystery) - My favorite of this author's books!

 

WHEN YOU SEE ME (Detective DD Warren #11) by Lisa Gardner (mystery/thriller) - This series just keeps getting better and better.

 

ALONE IN THE WILD (Rockton #5) by Kelley Armstrong (mystery/thriller) - My favorite series by Armstrong.

 

BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN by Diane Chamberlain (historical fiction) - This makes three Five Star Reads in a row for me by Chamberlain.

 

HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS by Katherine Center (fiction/romance) - So glad I stepped outside my usual genres and gave this a try!

 

THE CLOSER YOU GET by Mary Torjussen (thriller/mystery) - Whew!

 

THEY WENT LEFT by Monica Hesse (historical fiction, young adult) - Wow. Just wow.

 

DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE RAINIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE by Max Brooks (horror) - This was like reading one of those found-footage horror movies I so enjoy.

 

THE SHADOWS by Alex North (horror/thriller) - Another winner by the author of THE WHISPER MAN.

 

WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN THE DARK by Julia Heaberlin (mystery/thriller) - Get ready to be thoroughly absorbed in and by this slow burn story.

 

PLAYING NICE by J P Delaney (thriller/mystery) - Couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

 

DON'T LOOK FOR ME by Wendy Walker (thriller/mystery) - Hang on tight for this ride!

 

THE BRILLIANT LIFE OF EUDORA HONEYSETT by Annie Lyons (fiction/contemporary) - Loved it. Just loved it. 

 

FIGHTING WORDS by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (realistic fiction, middle grade) -This is an important read and should be available to all children. 

 

HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney (thriller/mystery) - Will keep you guessing!

 

THE DEVIL AND THE DARK WATER by Stuart Turton (mystery/historical fiction) - I keep describing this to people as Game of Thrones meets The Terror.

 

THE CANYON'S EDGE by Dusti Bowling (adventure/survival, middle grade) - Another well-worth-it step outside of my comfort zone for this (mostly) novel-in-verse. 

 

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig (fiction/fantasy/contemporary) - This won the Goodreads Choice in Fiction for 2020 and deservedly so. I plan on re-reading and marking many, many passages. 

 

(I didn't receive any kind of compensation for these reviews. I just enjoy sharing the book love!)

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Dusti Bowling's THE CANYON'S EDGE, mentioned above, doesn't really have anything to do with 2020, but the following passage brought to mind this past year and the one to come: 

 

"I've survived this last year.

I've gone half as long as the creosote bush.

I can go another year.

But I want this year to be different.

I don't want to survive the next year

as I did the last year.

I want to live the next year.

 

I can come back."

 

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Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Any fantastic reads you want to share? Have any reading goals for 2021? (I'm planning to keep my usual goal of 80 books for the next Goodreads Challenge. It's a stretch but definitely doable!) 

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All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption 

wish all of you out there 

a new year 

full of happiness, 

health and hope!!! 

Wrapping Up! 2019's Five Star Books and Reading Challenge

Now that the year is coming to a close, it's time to put a bow on the box of great reads of 2019. Back in August, I posted about my favorite books of the summer, and now let's pick up where we left off. Here are my five star reads from mid-August until mid-December:  

THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North – forget whispering, I am shouting about how much I loved this book. Billed as a mystery/suspense/thriller, it is all of those things but to me, it's also got elements of horror. Certain scenes will continue to creep up on you long after you put the book down. 

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NINTH HOUSE (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo – fantasy is not my usual genre, but this sounded so intriguing and Ms. Bardugo is a hugely popular author, I thought I'd give it a whirl. The result? Loved. It. Dark, gritty and mesmerizing. 

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THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell – sometimes Ms. Jewell's books are hit or miss for me. This one? A definite grand slam out of the ballpark hit. The ending was one of my favorite parts. 

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DARLING ROSE GOLD by Stephanie Wrobel – I received this as an ARC through a giveaway on Goodreads and it doesn't come out until March 2020, but you might want it on your radar now. I loved absolutely every minute of this warped and wild ride. 

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I surpassed my 2019 Reading Challenge goal of 80 books, and I'm excited to set a new one for next year and to get my greedy little hands on some more amazing reads. Here are a handful of books – and this is just in the first half of 2020!– I'm looking forward to:

WHEN YOU SEE ME (#11) by Lisa Gardner (1/20)

DEAD TO HER by Sarah Pinborough (2/20)

BE NOT FAR FROM ME (YA) by Mindy McGinnis (3/20)

EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson (3/20)

HE STARTED IT by Samantha Downing (4/20)

IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (5/20)

THE DILEMMA by B. A. Paris (6/20}

THE SUICIDE HOUSE by Charlie Donlea (7/20)

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Have you read any of my five star faves? Plan on adding them to your TBR list? Did you read anything that blew your mind? Any upcoming titles in 2020 you're excited about? If you had a reading goal for 2019, how did it go? Plan on setting one for 2020? And if we're not already Friends over on Goodreads - and you'd like to be! - please join me over there. 

Goodbye, Sleep!

In celebration of Halloween month and all things that go bump in the night, I've got a few treats - no tricks! - for you:

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My flash fiction collection, Garden of Lost Souls, is FREE this week (Monday - Friday.) Think of these creepy tiny tales like those miniature candy bars - some are full of nuts, none are particularly good for you, yet they're so small, so yummy, they keep you coming back for just . . . one . . . more.

Available on Amazon

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I've opened up the Ask the Author feature on Goodreads, so if you're a member over there and have questions about my stories, my writing or how I sleep at night with all those creepy-crawlies lurking in my imagination, please stop by. I'll keep my eyes peeled for your questions. (Peeled eyes. Sleep? What sleep?) 

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And so I won't be the only one around here not sleeping . . . . Back in September, I entered one of lit agent Janet Reid's flash fiction contests. (Some of the rules include keeping the word count to 100 or fewer and using the required words, which in this case were - snap, gator, ask, tie, iron.) My story didn't win or place, but it did receive one of my favorite mentions ever by the Shark herself -

"THE START OF A STORY (OR NOVEL) THAT I'D BE TOO CHICKEN TO READ"

Mwahahaha! Enjoy!

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Beneath a sky the color of iron, through air as heavy, Lily paddles her kayak. Spanish moss, gray and tangled, hangs like the hair of bent old women.

The river is blocked. Gnarled fingers of branches reach, twine across the water.

Gators watch with hooded eyes. Their silence ties her nerves in knots. Lily focuses on one task – leaving.

No breeze caresses Lily's skin yet the Spanish moss shivers. A rattling rips through the silence. She looks up. Hanging bones judder, collide. Lily's sanity snaps. She screams as a creature older, deeper than the dark, creeps down toward her. 

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Lists Gone Wild!

It's no secret that I am a reader. I love books. I also love lists. So it's no surprise that I actually keep book-related lists. Books I've read. Books I think other people might like. Books I want to read.

My confession to you all is that my Books To Read list is over 20 pages long. Typed, single-spaced pages. With separate sections including Young Adult, Fiction, and Nonfiction. With notations, like asterisks for books I'm dying to read. With words like "Buy" or "Request from Library."

Is that weird?

In my defense, my husband has books on the list, too. But . . . his Books To Read titles might total one page.

And I do go through the list regularly. But . . . I usually add more books than I subtract.

Sigh. I know I will never, ever be able to read all the books I want to in my lifetime. In the words of Lemony Snicket:

"It is most likely that I will die next to a pile of books 

I was meaning to read."

Well, if that's the case then I better make the most of the time I've got and get reading!

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Do you have a Books To Read list? How many pages is it? How do you organize it (Please don't tell me I'm alone on this!) Do you set reading goals? Participating in the 2017 Reading Challenge over on Goodreads? If we're not already "friends" over there, let's fix that asap! 

Finally on GoodReads!

Don't ask why it took me so long to join GoodReads. I have no idea. It might have to do with the fact that I - so foolishly! - believed I didn't need any more ways or encouragement to find and read and talk about books.

But, as you can see on the side bar, not only did I join, but I signed up for the 2013 Reading Challenge, broadcasting that I will indeed read a minimum of 100 books this year (whoo hoo, 2 read, 98 to go!)  

Since I'm relatively new on there, I'd love for you all to give me any tips and pointers in the comments on how to use it best. I'm still exploring the site and filling out my profile, but if you want to "friend" me (is that what it's called?), please feel free!