mathgirl40's 2024 BC Challenge

My goals are similar to last year's:
1. Read any ABC books that arrive in a reasonable amount of time and if possible, end the year with zero ABC books.
2. Read books from my own shelves and then register and release them.

ABC books:

1. An Astronaut's Guide to Life by Chris Hadfield (BC link) -- to be read
2. State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny (BC link) -- to be read
3. The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner (BC link) -- finished and released
4. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (BC link) -- finished and released
5. Kiki Man Ray by Mark Braude (BC link) -- finished and released
6. Bellweather by Connie Willis (BC link) -- finished and released
7. Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge (BC link) -- finished and released
8. The Sheep's Tale by John Lewis-Stempel (BC link) -- finished and released
9. The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting (BC link) -- finished and released
10. The Foundling by Stacey Halls (BC link) -- finished and released
11. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier (BC link) -- finished and released
12. Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (BC link) -- finished and released
13. Honor by Thrity Umrigar (BC link) -- finished and released

Books from my shelves for release:

1. The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb (BC link) -- released
2. Death at Sea by Andrea Camilleri (BC link) -- released
3. The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin (BC link) -- released
4. Eternity Ring by Patricia Wentworth (BC link) -- released
5. Verdict in Blood by Gail Bowen (BC link) -- released
6. Sovereign by C. J. Sansom (BC link) -- released
7. Into the Black Nowhere by Meg Gardiner (BC link) -- released
8. Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin (BC link) -- released
9. Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton (BC link) -- released
10. The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey (BC link) -- released
11. A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin (BC link) -- released

Welcome to my 2024 thread! I start the year with 3 ABC books. I also have a large number of unregistered books on my shelves that I hope to read, register and release this year.

I already have one book in my "released" list, The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, that I sent out as my choice for the Favourite Book of 2023 roundabout. However, I'd bought that one specifically for the roundabout so it doesn't really count as reducing MTBR. :)

I finished a book that's been sitting on my shelves for a while, Death At Sea by Andrea Camilleri, and released it to a BookCrossing friend. This is a collection of short stories featuring Inspector Montalbano in Sicily.

I also finished the final book of the Favourite Book of 2023 roundabout, The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner. It was a rather slow and contemplative book but had a good exploration of the theme of aging.

I finished a couple more books since my last update, both from the Favourite Book of 2023 roundabout.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher is a cosmic-horror fantasy novel about a woman who finds a portal to a strange and dangerous place in her uncle's shop of curiosities. It was inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Willows.

Kiki Man Ray by Mark Braude is a biography of model and artist Kiki Man Ray. The book gives a lot of interesting information about the development of visual and other arts in Paris (specifically the Montparnasse area) in the 1920's.

I finished Bellwether by Connie Willis, a book sent to me via the Favourite Book of 2023 roundabout. It's about a woman who researches how fads come about and it was quite enjoyable, but one of the few Connie Willis stories I'd read with no speculative element.

>5 mathgirl40: I read that book years ago and enjoyed it a lot. I still think about her character taking books out of the library because they hadn't had many readers and she was afraid they would be culled.

>6 gypsysmom: I loved that passage too, and I even wondered if I should make a habit of doing that myself at my local library! 😄

I have some catching up to do! Here are books I'd finished since my last update.

These are from the Favourite Book of 2023 Roundabout:

Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge -- A small nonfiction book with thoughts on the pleasures and benefits of silence.

The Sheep's Tale by John Lewis-Stempel -- A charming and informative book all about sheep, as the title suggests.

The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting -- A beautiful and absorbing historical fiction story about a German architect who is sent to a remote Norwegian village to dismantle and bring back an old stave church.

The Foundling by Stacey Halls -- A historical novel set in London about a woman who gives up a baby to an orphanage and her efforts, fraught with unexpected twists, to retrieve her.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier -- A classic gothic thriller set in Cornwall, featuring smugglers, a remote location and elements of romance.

I also finished a book off my shelves and will be releasing it soon:

The Hanging Gardens by Ian Rankin -- A good installment in the Inspector Rebus series, but not among my favourites.

>8 mathgirl40: I think I'd like that book about silence. One of the pleasures for me of camping is just being away from all the noises of the city which seem to get worse every year.

I keep picking up The Foundling - they were pushing it as gothic in my local bookshop, would you agree?

>9 gypsysmom: I live in a medium-sized city in a neighbourhood that's fairly quiet, but when I visit my parents who live in a busy Montreal suburb, it takes me a while to adjust to the noise again.

>10 soffitta1: TBH, I never associated the word "gothic" with The Foundling. It does have mystery and suspense, but not the kind of atmospheric spookiness I usually associate with gothic novels.

My most recent book from the Favourite Book of 2023 roundabout was Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson. This is a historical fiction novel set in 1920's London about a nightclub owner and the unsavory world in which she lived.

I finally got around to reading a large number of books off my shelves and registering them. I'll try to catch up with the reviews.

Eternity Ring by Patricia Wentworth – A good installment in the Miss Silver cosy mystery series. Miss Silver is like a tougher Miss Marple.

Verdict in Blood by Gail Bowen – This is the first Joanne Kilbourn mystery book I've read and I enjoyed it very much. I particularly like the Saskatchewan setting, as I've not read many books set in that area.

Sovereign by C. J. Samson -- The third book in the Matthew Shardlake series, set in Tudor England. It's an excellent mystery set during King Henry VIII's Royal Progress of 1541, and it features terrific characters both real and fictional.

Into the Black Nowhere by Meg Gardiner -- This was a fast-paced thriller about an FBI agent on the hunt for a serial killer. It kept me reading way too late into the night.

Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin -- A good installment in the Inspector Rebus series, with Rebus going undercover in an unexpected situation. My only complaint is that the pacing was a bit slow at times.

>13 mathgirl40: You read books by two of my favourite authors, C.J. Sansom and Ian Rankin. I've read both of those but Resurrection Men was a long time ago so I don't remember anything about the plot.

>14 gypsysmom: I've loved all 3 of the C.J. Samson books I've read so far. I find the Rankin books hit-or-miss but I really love the Inspector Rebus character (as well as D. S. Siobhan Clarke) so I keep reading the series!

My most recent Favourite Book of 2023 roundabout book was Honor by Thrity Umrigar, about an Indian American journalist who returns to India to cover a story about a Hindu woman burned by her family for marrying a Muslim man. It's a good story, but with some very disturbing scenes.

I finished a couple of cozy mysteries from my shelves and released them to another local BookCrosser.

Aunt Dimity's Christmas -- A woman solves a mystery concerning a homeless person who appears on her doorstop with the help of her ghostly friend. The mystery was a bit weak but this was a nice heartwarming Christmas story.

The Singing Sands -- The 6th and final Inspector Grant mystery from Josephine Tey, this installment has Grant encountering a dead body on a train while travelling to Scotland for a vacation.

My final BC book for 2024 was Ian Rankin's A Question of Blood, a very good installment of the series in which Inspector Rebus investigates a deadly shooting at a private school.

2024 was a pretty good year for me in terms of BC activities. There are still 2 ABC books languishing on my shelves, but the numbers have certainly been much worse in previous years. Also, I managed to read and release 11 older books. Now on to 2025!