Happy New Year to All!!!!

for all my friends merry christmas and a happy new year xx xaxa pictures

The Friday 56

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.


It's that simple.

This week I'm reading...

Monthly and Year Wrap Ups - 2015

It's hard to believe but we say goodbye to 2015 and welcome 2016. It really went fast and wasn't a particularly good year for me and my family.  I lost my beloved father.  I still think about him all the time and it's hard to believe he's not still with us.  Hopefully 2016 will be a better year.

Now to wrap up my reading and blogging year.

I'm going to start with my monthly reads for November and December. Then, I'll wrap up the whole year. Here we go...

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2016 - Sign Up

I started this one many years ago and 2015 was my last year to host it.  I'm so thankful Bea agreed to take it over for me.  I couldn't resist joining.  I still love series books even if I never seem to complete any. If you'd like to join, sign up at Bea's Book Nook.

The details:

All books that are part of a continuing series qualify (i.e. Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, James Patterson's Alex Cross, etc.)

It doesn't matter if you have 1 book or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies (i.e. if you only need to read one more Mercy Thompson book to complete the goal, that's fine) The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book.

The qualification period is January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. Books must be read during this time frame to count. Sign up is now until December 1, 2016.

Take the button above and post about it on your blog. Use the link below to sign up and make sure you link it directly to your post about this challenge, not to the home page of your blog.

If you don't have a blog, that's fine. Just leave a comment to sign up and tell us which series you are reading. Or you can join the Goodreads group for this challenge by clicking here.

Each month there will be a post where you can link up your reviews. Write a review - 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences. Not sure what to write? How about something like, "The characters were a delight but the story was slow and confusing. It was disappointing."

Any format and length of book counts - print, audio, ebook, etc.

You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it isn't necessary. It's fine to change series during the year - as long as you complete whichever series it is.

Choose a level below.

Level 1 (Novice series reader) - Complete 1 series.
Level 2 (Testing the waters) - Complete 2 -4 series.
Level 3 (Experienced) - Complete 3 - 6 series.
Level 4 (Expert series reader) - Complete 7 or more series.

I'm going to go with Level 2. I'll list my progress here and these are the series I want to complete...

These are three series I want to complete. Hopefully I can complete at least 2 of them...

Cat in the Stacks by Miranda James - 5 books behind

#3  File M For Murder
#4  Out of Circulation
#5  The Silence of the Library
#6  Arsenic and Old Books
#7  No Cats Allowed by Miranda James (Click here to read my review.)

Pizza Lovers by Chris Cavender - 5 books behind

#2  Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder
#3  A Pizza To Die For
#4  Rest In Pizza
#5  Killer Crust
#6  The Missing Dough
#7  Thin Crust Killers

Klepto Cat by Patricia Fry - 13 books behind

#3  Sleight of Paw by Patricia Fry (Click here to read my review.)
#4  Undercover Cat
#5  The Colony Cat Caper
#6  The Celebrity Cat Caper
#7  The Corral Cat Caper
#8  The Gallery Cat Caper
#9   Mansion of Meows
#10  PAWtners in Crime
#11  PAWsitively Sinister
#12  The Purrfect Lie
#13   A Picture-Purrect Christmas

I Love Libraries Reading Challenge 2016 - Sign Up

I wasn't going to sign up for anymore 2016 reading challenges, but I always participate in this one so I couldn't resist :)  It used to be hosted by Book Dragon's Lair, but it is now hosted by Bea at Bea's Book Nook.

The details:

1. Put a sign up post on your blog and link it below.

2. If you don't have a blog, make a dedicated goodreads shelf (or LibraryThing), make sure it's public, and link it below.

3. Any reading material that can be checked out of your library counts - print books, audio books, digital books, magazines, etc.

4. As part of your sign up post, briefly write why you like using your library - free books, internet access, a quiet place to work, whatever draws you to the library. If you don't have a blog platform, post it in the comments below.

5. Write a review - 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences. Not sure what to write? How about something like, "The characters were a delight but the story was slow and confusing. It was disappointing."

6. There will be a post each month where you can link your reviews. Each linky will run for the calendar year.

7. Pick a level from the list below. You can move up as needed but you can't move down.

8. Books may overlap with other reading challenges.

9. ETA Dec. 17: There's a goodreads group for anyone interested in discussing libraries or books or for tracking your challenge. The group was an outgrowth of yet another library reading challenge that has since ended but the group is still active. The challenge host, The Geeky Blogger, added me as a mod to the goodreads group, come check us out!

Levels:
board book - 3
picture book - 6
early reader - 9
chapter book - 12
middle grades - 18
Young adult - 24
adult - 36
just insert IV - 50

I'm going to sign up for the chapter book level for 12 books. I love my library as I can get e-books from them and audio books. I also get DVDs. My library is wonderful and has so many great services.

I'll be listing my 12 books here...

1.  Pros and Cons by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (Click here to read my review.)

2.  Booked for Trouble by Eva Gates (Click here to read my review.)

3.  A Sheetcake Named Desire by Jacklyn Brady (Click here to read my review.)

4.  Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman (Click here to read my review.)

5.  The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton (Click here to read my review.)

6.  Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle (Click here to read my review.)

7.  The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarity (Click here to read my review.)

8.  The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand (Click here to read my review.)

9.  The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand (Click here to read my review.)

10. The Inn At Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods (Click here to read my review.)

11.  Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body by M.C. Beaton (Click here to read my review.)

12.  Leonard:  My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner (Click here to read my review.)