I went on a bit of a Christmas binge yesterday, and put a bunch of books on hold at the library for the season! 

If I don't like 'em, I can just return 'em. Libraries are awesome!

The end of Snakes and Ladders and BoB helped me push past my usual number of books read. COYER Summer starts tomorrow and BL-opoly is off to a good start, so I am looking at upping my BL/GR goal. I really need to write reviews at least once a week instead of writing all the reviews at the end of the month.

Goals:

BL/GR: 61/75 (80% completed)

Nixon Reading List: DNF the book this month

Challenges:

BoB Cycle 25 - 4 books finished and 3 IG photos

Snakes and Ladders - Finished

BL-opoly: earned $14.00

May Reading List

1. We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time by Jose Andres and Richard Wolffe - 5 stars

2. Better Off Wed (Annabelle Archer Wedding Planner Mystery #1) by Laura Durham - 3 stars

3. Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Dr. Damon Tweedy - 5 stars

4. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis - 4.5 stars

5. Are You There Coffee? It's Me, Mom by Kianna Alexander - 3 stars

6. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Olsen and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim - 5 stars

7. Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro - 2.5 stars

8. Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro - 2.5 stars

9. Bombshells: United, Volume 1: American Soil by Marguerite Bennett and Marguerite Sauvage - 2 stars

10. Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton - 4 stars

11. American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson - 3.5 stars

12. The Making of the President 1972 by Theodore White - DNF

13. A Change of Fortune (Ladies of Distinction #1) by Jen Turano - 4 stars

14. On Distant Shores (Wings of the Nightingale #2) by Sarah Sundin - 5 stars

15. Summerset Abbey (Summerset Abbey #1) by T.J. Brown - DNF

16. Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction #0.5) by Jen Turano - 2 stars

17. Then Came You (Bradford Sisters #0.5) by Becky Wade - 0 stars

Stats

Non-Fiction: 6 (5 read, 1 attempted)

Fiction: 11 (10 read, 1 attempted)

Print: 7

Ebook: 9

Audio: 1

Male Authors: 5

Female Authors: 12

AoC/LGBT: 3 (all AoCs)

Date Published: September 25, 2015

Format: Print

Source: Library

Date Read: May 16, 2019

Read for BoB Cycle 25

Blurb

Cartoonist Kate Beaton returns with all-new sidesplitting comics that showcase her irreverent love of history, pop culture, and literature. Collected from her wildly popular website, readers will guffaw over “Strong Female Characters,” the wicked yet chivalrous Black Prince, “Straw Feminists in the Closet,” and a disgruntled Heathcliff. Delight in what the internet has long known—Beaton’s humor is as sharp and dangerous as a velocipedestrienne, so watch out!

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Review

I had a lot of fun reading this collection of comics. I have never heard of Kate Beaton or her work before, but now I am a fan and looking forward to what she does in the future. Snarky, a little silly, but never dumb or punching down, the humor was pitch-perfect.

Woohoo!  I finally landed on a ladder! Tossing two dice gave me a nine which took me to square #68. I was a little fuzzy about how the ladders work, so I just went ahead and chose books to meet the prompts for both the bottom and top squares. I couldn't find a cover on my TBR that had something related to weddings, though, so I perused my library's Hoopla offerings and selected "There Goes the Bride" by M.C. Beaton. This is the 20th book in Beaton's long running Agatha Raisin series, and while I've only read a half dozen or so of the early titles, I've also watched the recent TV adaptation and didn't have a problem slipping back into the setting and characters.  Unfortunately it wasn't a strong entry in the series.  The story felt really disjointed, and a lot of filler had also been added. Penelope Keith's narration was the only bright spot. 

Roll #11

68. Something related to weddings on the cover: There Goes the Bride by M.C.

      Beaton

Progress to Date:

 1. Author is a woman / start: Their Lost Daughters by Joy Ellis

     Roll #1 - Two Dice Roll:  3 + 3 = 6

     Timestamp: 2019-02-24 21:59:09 UTC 

 7. Author's last name begins with the letters A, B, C, or D: The Mysterious Affair

     At Styles by Agatha Christie 

     Roll #2 - Two Dice Roll:  5 + 5 = 10

     Timestamp: 2019-02-26 07:26:51 UTC

17. Genre - horror: The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters (skipping horror)

      Roll #3 - One Die Roll:  4

     Timestamp: 2019-03-04 02:36:31 UTC

21. Set in Europe: My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

      Roll #4 - Two Dice Roll:  6 + 5 = 11

      Timestamp: 2019-03-09 23:41:41 UTC

32. Genre: thriller: The Dry by Jane Harper

      Roll #5 - Two Dice Roll:  4 + 4 = 8

      Timestamp: 2019-03-14 20:42:23 UTC

40. Characters involved in the entertainment industry: Queen of Hearts by Rhys 

      Bowen.

      Roll #6 - Two Dice Roll:  5 + 1 = 6

      Timestamp: 2019-03-19 20:34:27 UTC 

46. A book that has been on your tbr for more than two years: The Devil's Novice

      by Ellis Peters

      Roll #7 - Two Dice Roll:  4 + 5 = 9

      Timestamp: 2019-03-26 22:06:20 UTC

55. Is more than 500 pages long: A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire (skipping

      500 pg. book)

      Roll #8 - One Die Roll:  4

      Timestamp: 2019-04-03 05:53:32 UTC

59. Was published more than 10 years ago: Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry

      Kemelman

      Roll #9 - Two Dice Roll:  2 + 4 = 6

      Timestamp: 2019-04-08 04:22:51 UTC

65. Snake - go back to 52: (Zap!)

52. Has a tree or flower on the cover: Open Season by C.J. Box

      Roll #10 - Two Dice Roll:  6 + 1 = 7

      Timestamp: 2019-04-11 04:58:21 UTC

59. Was published more than 10 years ago: Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

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