For Friday Reads! -

1. Major Conflict by Jeffrey McGowan.

2. Three Fearful Days by Malcolm Barker. .

3. Moneyball by Michael Lewis.

Friday Followings -

Honestly, I have just followed a bunch of new people here on BL that others have posted links to via the discussion board. So this week, I want to persuade people to check out that discussion (pages 32-34 especially) and check out the new accounts to see if anyone's reading interested them.

It feels really good to feel upbeat about BL's chances of staying a viable long-term social media that I can even look at the discussion boards again, let alone add new readers.

Finally -

March Madness has begun!! GOOOOO UCONN Lady Huskies - go get your next championship!

This month I am focusing mostly on my physical TBR and library borrows. Some of the library borrows were books I "rescued" - they were about to be pulled from the shelves, deleted from the system, and boxed up for return. By borrowing these books, I extended their shelf life another 2 years.

1. Polio: An American Story by David Oshinksy (Pop Sugar prompt - On the TBR a long time)

2. 3 Fearful Days: San Francisco Memoirs of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire by Malcolm E. Barker (Diseases and Disasters; Pop Sugar prompt - Subtitle)

3. The Girl's Guide to Homelessness: A Memoir by Brianna Karp (Pop Sugar prompt - Difficult Topic) (Library Love Challenge)

4. Battlefield Angels: Saving Lives Under Enemy Fire from Valley Forge to Afghanistan by Scott McGaugh (Pop Sugar prompt - set in wartime) (Library Love Challenge)

5. Major Conflict: One Gay Man's Life in the Don't - Ask - Don't - Tell Military by Jeffrey McGowan (Library Love Challenge)

6. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler (Library Love Challenge)

7. Cat Trick (A Magical Cats Mystery)  by Sofie Kelly (Pop Sugar prompt - Cat on the cover) (Library Love Challenge)

8. Elegy for a Disease: A Personal and Cultural History of Polio by Anne Finger (Pop Sugar prompt - Disability) (Library Love Challenge)

9. In the Midst of Life by Jennifer Worth (Pop Sugar prompt - Interesting Woman)

10. Travel is a Political Act by Rick Steves (Pop Sugar prompt - Involves Travel) (Library Love Challenge)

11. The Idle Parent by Tom Hodgkinson (Pop Sugar prompt - Career Advice) (Library Love Challenge)

12. Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan (Pop Sugar prompt - Set in a Hotel)

13. Echoes in Death (...In Death #44) by J.D. Robb (Pop Sugar prompt - published in 2017) (Library Love Challenge)

14. Moneyball by Michael Lewis (Library Love Challenge)

My NOOK and Kindle got quite a work out this month. I am so glad to have participated in the Romance Bingo, as I was given an incentive to read a lot of books from the very bottom of my TBR.

Highlights, Lowlights, and Challenges

Best books of the month: The Just Desserts set from D.F. Mello were great. Highly recommend. Really loved To Defy a Sheikh by Maisey Yates as well.

Worst books of the month: Celtic Viking - Danish Celtic Viking having coffee before plundering a barely formed England in 876 AD...and puts the "mis" in "mishistorical romance". His Ring Is Not Enough by Maisey Yates was just a waste of time.

Disappointment of the month: Key of Knowledge - Nora why did you put me through that?

Romance Bingo: 10/25

Library Love Challenge: 1 - but will be making it up come March

Diseases and Disasters: 0 this month, as I concentrated on bingo

BL/GR Reading Challenge: 32/150

Pop Sugar Challenge: 4 this month

Re-cap 

1. To Defy a Sheikh by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Secret Billionaire) - 4 stars

2. Dangerous Allies by Renee Ryan (Romance Bingo - Rogue) - 2.5 stars

3. His Ring is Not Enough by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Virgin) - 0 stars

4. The Sweetest Thing (Just Desserts #1) by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Romance Bingo - Free Space; Pop Sugar Challenge - Author is POC) - 4.5 stars

5. Craving Temptation (Just Desserts #2) by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Romance Bingo - Eyeshadow and Bosom; Pop Sugar Challenge - MC is different ethnicity than reader) - 4.5 stars

6. Beauty and the Rake by Erica Monroe (Romance Bingo - Fairy Tale Re-telling) - DNF

7. Key of Knowledge (Key Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts (Romance Bingo - Key to the heart; Library Love) - 1.5 stars

8. Lighting the Flames by Sarah Wendell (Romance Bingo - Guy/Girl Next Door; Pop Sugar Challenge - holiday setting other than Christmas) - 2.5 stars

9. A Lady Dares by Bronwyn Scott (Romance Bingo - Pirates) 2.5 stars

10. Celtic Viking by Lexie Timms (Romance Bingo - Man in Kilt) - .5 star

11. Courting His Countess by CJ Archer (Romance Bingo - Gothic) - 3 stars

Halfway through Romance Bingo and I am behind in my goal to black out the card. Time to prioritize romance over any other challenge until the card is complete. Luckily, some romance will satisfy other challenges, so I can kill birds with not as many stones.

1. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough (Diseases and Disasters challenge)

2. To Defy a Sheikh by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Secret Billionaire)

3. Dangerous Allies by Renee Ryan (Romance Bingo - Rogue)

4. By Starlight by Dorothy Garlock (physical TBR)

5. His Ring is Not Enough by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Virgin)

6. The Sweetest Thing (Just Desserts #1) by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Romance Bingo - Free Space; Pop Sugar Challenge - Author is POC)

7. Craving Temptation (Just Desserts #2) by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Romance Bingo - Eyeshadow and Bosom; Pop Sugar Challenge - MC is different ethnicity than reader)

8. Beauty and the Rake by Erica Monroe (Romance Bingo - Fairy Tale Re-telling)

9. Key of Knowledge (Key Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts (Romance Bingo - Key to the heart; Library Love)

10. Lighting the Flames by Sarah Wendell (Romance Bingo - Guy/Girl Next Door; Pop Sugar Challenge - holiday setting other than Christmas)

11. A Lady Dares by Bronwyn Scott (Romance Bingo - Pirates)

12. Celtic Viking by Lexie Timms (Romance Bingo - Man in Kilt)

13. Courting His Countess by CJ Archer (Romance Bingo - Gothic)

Started the Romance Bingo and Pop Sugar Reading Challenges this month. Participated in Bout of Books cycle 18. Participated in #24in48 read-a--thon.

1. My Writing Professor by Nicolette Dane (Romance Bingo - New Adult square) - 1 star

2. My Friend the Bride by Nicolette Dane (Romance Bingo - Wedding Bells square) - 1 star

3. Sarah Sunshine (Montana Romances series) by Merry Farmer (Romance Bingo - TSTL square) - 1 star

4. A Bit of Bite by Cynthia Eden (Romance Bingo - Urban Fantasy square) - 3.5 stars

5. Heir to a Desert Legacy by Maisey Yates (Romance Bingo - Interracial couple square) - 1 star

6. Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala (Diseases and Disasters Challenge) - 4 stars

7. Apprentice in Death by JD Robb (Pop Sugar Challenge) -  4 stars

8. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling - 3 stars

9. The Lady's Scandalous Night by Jeannie Lin (Romance Bingo - Insta Love) - 3 stars

10. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo - 2.5 stars

11. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan - 4 stars

12. Long Gone Girl (Romance Bingo - Second Chances square) by Amy Rose Bennett - 2.5 stars

13. Lowcountry Bordello (Liz Talbot #4) (Romance Bingo - Love is Murder square) by Susan M. Boyer - 4.5 stars

14. March Book 2 by John Lewis et al - 5 stars

15. Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg (Romance Bingo - YA) - 3 stars

16. Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan - 5 stars

17. Switched by HelenKay Dimon (Romance Bingo - Blown Away square) - 3.5 stars

18. Sweetheart in High Heels by Gemma Halliday (Romance Bingo - Headless Woman) - 2 stars

19. An Illicit Temptation by Jeannie Lin (Romance Bingo -Historical) - 3.5 stars

20. Double Love by Francine Pascal (Romance Bingo - Twins) - 1 star

21. A Sport of Baronets (Romance Bingo - Regency) - 3.5 stars

22. The Secret of Yellow Death by Suzanne Jurmain - 2.5 stars

Challenges Update:

GR/BL Reading Challenge: 22/150

Library Love Challenge: 10/36

Romance Bingo: 14/25

Pop Sugar Challenge: 8/50

Ratings Breakdown:

Avg Star Rating: 2.9 stars

Avg Non-Fiction Rating: 4.25

Avg Fiction Rating: 2.65

Final Thoughts:

I am enjoying the bingo and getting a lot of short books off my electronic TBR. The beginning of the month featured A LOT of 1 star books, mostly freebies from the NOOK store.

Pop Sugar challenge is kind of on the back burner for now. The fact I knocked out 8 out of the 50 prompts was more than I had hoped for (5 being the goal). Not as hard as I thought it would be, plus I am learning to like audiobooks!

Library Love challenge is going great; thinking I should have gone for the top level (50+ books), but may stay at the current level (36+ books) for now. I also got in 11 hours of volunteer time at the library, despite a constantly changing school schedule that saw my son out of school more than in school.

I picked my top five books to add to the post.