BW52: 2020 Year End Wrap UP

 

The year is almost over and our cups may be running low, but they aren't empty yet.  Now's the time to brew another pot of words to fill them up again. So gather all the ingredients you need to make a whole new batch.  Fill your carafe with a mix of history, science fiction, math, romance, essays, mysteries, art, and folklore. Spice it up with a little bit of myth, accompanied by a splash of adventure.  And while you wait for your books to brew, let's take a moment to reflect. 

Tell us about your reading year? What were your goals this year? Did you have a plan, and/or follow rabbit trails or just wing it?

• How many books did you read?  
• Which were your favorite stories and which ones had the biggest impact on you.   
• Which one made you giggle, weep, dance, or sing?   
• Made you want to dive in and live in their world? 
• Which book would you like to revisit? 
• One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 
• Which book would you recommend everyone read?
• Did you discover any new to authors or genres?
• Share your thoughts, opinions,  reading stats, favorite characters, covers or quotes.

****

Maureen Doallas: “Reading Goodnight Moon”

Do you remember reading it?

*

Reading Goodnight Moon

is not like stopping

at McDonald’s

for your favorite double-shot latte.

You don’t drive through.

You take each word

in a languishing slide off the tongue,

naming what is named

that you never saw before.

Looking, finding, pointing delighted

in the room the moon the light

the red balloon that lifts

Darkness even as sleep

falls fast

and clock’s hands change

What you see changing

before a child’s eyes.

If you slow long enough

to take in what your child sees

with eyes that

Refuse to be moved

to a new page before

the first page is exhausted.

The last page you turn

holds the dream

you thought would never last:

A snuggling close closer still

beneath moon’s shadows.

****

As Stephen King says "Books are a uniquely portable magic," and I hope your reads inspired and enlightened, transformed and transported you, and filled your life with knowledge, imagination, and pleasure. Thank you for joining me in another reading adventure and I'm looking forward to more bookish adventures.   Cheers to a happy reading new year!

****

Link to your reviews. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading. 

BW51: December Solstice

 

Josephine Wall Snow Angel

Winter is coming in our neck of the woods with rain and snow on the horizon and all kinds of adjectives are coming to mind such as chilly, frosty, icy, foggy, rainy, frozen and so on and so forth.  Whatever shall we do?  

Go forth and brave the brisk, biting weather or cozy up with books about winter  or with winter in the title, while curled up on the couch, drinking cocoa by the fire.  Dip into feel good must reads or dance into the past with a winter romance.  

Maybe read about nippy arctic winds and frozen travelers exploring the North Pole in the Arctic or the South Pole in Antarctica.  Explore the polar regions or take an imaginary polar cruise and delve into one of  12 Must Read Books About Antarctica.  Don't forget to visit Iceland or Greenland during your armchair travels.  

Since Christmas is on our minds this week, dive into books about that which is just about everyone's favorite holiday with old St. Nick, Debbie Macomber's Christmas Angels, or Festive Christmas Books to Get You in the Holiday Spirit.  

Meanwhile I'll leave you with one of my favorite poems which puts me in a wintery, festive mood.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening

by

Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here  

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer 

To stop without a farmhouse near  

Between the woods and frozen lake 

 The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,  

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

~~~~Cheers~~~~~

******

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

2021 Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks

 

Courtesy of Jen Campbell

Are you ready to explore the world with another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks?  The goal is simple - read 52 books. How you get there is up to you.  I'm in a follow my muse, clocks and corsets, dragon flying, explore the magical and mystical as well as the historical,  swashbuckling, take me out of this world mood.   What are you in the mood for? Whether you read fiction or nonfiction, like to spread your reading wings and read outside your comfort zone or stick with the tried and true, join me aboard The Roving Pum Deg Dau o Lygrau airship for a fun filled reading adventure.  

We have three new challenges to tease your reading palates in 2021.  An updated 52 Books Bingo with 20 bonus squares that will take us deep underground to the outer edges of space.  The Daughters of Mnemosyne  will fill us with creativity, wisdom and insight, and last but not least, the Fictional Librarians Bookology, will lead us to our author of the month and spelling challenge. 

We also have a variety of weekly, monthly mini challenges and perpetual challenges  including: 

Well Educated Mind --  Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. 

Agatha Christie  --  read at least three of her books per year.  Read the books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. 

Brit Tripping --- A year long mystery read traveling the Roman Roads through England reading reading a book from each of the 45 counties with a few extra trips to London. 

Plus Alphabet Soup, Dusty and Chunky, Feed Your Muse, Mind Voyages, Nobel Prize Winners and Sounds of Silence.

The mini and perpetual challenges are all optional, Mix them up anyway you like or follow your own path in the quest to read.  

• The challenge runs January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 
• Our book weeks begin on Sunday
• Week one begins Friday, January 1st and ends Saturday January 9th. 
• Participants may join at any time. 
• All books are acceptable except children books.** 
• All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc. 
• Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2021
• Books may overlap other challenges. 
• If you have an blog, create an entry post linking to this blog. 
• Sign up in the "I'm participating post" in the sidebar
• If you don't have a blog or social media account, post about your reads in the comments section of each weekly post. 
• The link widget will be added to the bottom of each weekly post to link to reviews of your reads. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

I'm participating in 2021

 

I'm participating in 2021

BW50: Thirteen things

 

Happy Sunday dear hearts!  Today is the 13th which reminds me that 2021 will be our thirteenth year of 52 books in 52 weeks. I'm excited for the new year and I'll post more about it later in the week.  

So what is it about the number 13?  Do you think of it as lucky, unlucky, or just a number? Well! 

13 is a prime number as well as a emirp, a happy number, a star number, one of the three Wilson primes, as well as a Fibonacci number. You and your kids may appreciate these 13 fun books about math and numbers.

Zeus was the thirteenth and most powerful of the Greek Gods.  Hmm! Makes me wonder who is the 13th Major Roman God.   Perhaps we need to move forward to explore any year xx13 or delve into the 13th Century.

How about reading a story with 13 in the title or is the 13th book in a series.  Check off another book in your TBR pile by reading the 13th book on one of your physical, virtual, or goodreads shelves.

Remember what it was like to become a teenager? Oh, the teenage angst!

There are approximately 13 moon cycles in the year as well as 13 weeks in each season – “Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yes I will."  Whoops, say hello James Taylor. 

In a deck of 52 cards, there are 13 cards in each suit of hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs.

Numerology wise, 13 is a number of focus and pragmatism.

 And for those who love Doctor Who, 13 Doctor Who Books to get you through 2020!

 

Have fun exploring! Rabbit trails are a must! 

 

 

 

Link to week 49

 

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as share your book reviews with other readers  around the globe.

*********************

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

BW49: This is my Life by Willian Stanley Braithwaite

This is My Life

By

William Stanley Braithwaite 

(December 6, 1878- June 8, 1962)

To feed my soul with beauty till I die;

To give my hands a pleasant task to do;

To keep my heart forever filled anew

With dreams and wonders which the days supply;

To love all conscious living, and thereby

Respect the brute who renders up its due,

And know the world as planned is good and true—

And thus —because there chanced to be an I!

This is my life since things are as they are:

One half akin to flowers and the grass:

The rest a law unto the changeless star.

And I believe when I shall come to pass

Within the Door His hand shall hold ajar

I'll leave no echoing whisper of Alas!

Who is William Stanley Braithwaite, his poetry, and electronic text of House of Falling Leaves poetry collection. 

**********************************

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.