Darth Heather's 2019 Tracker

Hoping to start off the new year with some great selections.

One of my new year resolutions is to reduce the size of my toppling TBR by culling out the ones that I always seem to pass over; there are some that have been in the pile for years and just never seem to make it to the top. It might be more humane to move them along to a new home where they can get the attention they deserve :)

January Reads:

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
463 pages
Letter 'H' In title, Passport 'published 2012', ATW# 6

The One In A Million Boy by Monica Wood
326 pages
Blind Date, ATW #10

Hunting Badger by Tony Hillerman
275 pages
Letter H "author initial", ATW# 7

Relative Strangers by Allie Cresswell
532 pages
Passport "set in England", ATW#3

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
417 pages
Passport "computer", ATW#5

Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
202 pages
ATW# 9

Courtney's War by Wilbur Smith
447 pages
ATW #1

Little House On The Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
222 pages
Passport "House on cover", ATW# 2

The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams
360 pages
ATW #7

January Totals:
10 books, 3244 pages

Feb is off to a slow start... too much life getting the way of reading time!

Feb totals

Seeking The Dead by Kate Ellis
330 pages
Blind Date, Passport "cemetary", ATW #3

I Suck At Girls by Justin Halpern
177 pages
Letter "I" in title, Passport "red cover", ATW #6

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
385 pages
ATW #5

On The Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
239 pages
Letter I 'author initial', ATW #2

Worthe's Village by Ron Ripley
210 pages
Passport "kidnapped", ATW#10

Forever by Judy Blume
175 pages
ATW#1

Hell's Hammer by Ron RIpley
257 pages
Letter I "icepick", ATW #4

Last Detail by Darryl Poniscan
202 pages
ATW #7

The Element of Fire by Martha Wells
412 pages
ATW #9

>4 Darth-Heather: I loved The Joe Plantagenet Series and think they only get better.

Hello Heather;
The Dark is Rising Sequence series by Susan Cooper goes like this:
Over Sea, Under Stone 1
The Dark is Rising 2
Greenwitch 3
The Grey King 4
Silver on the Tree 5
They seem to run on an average of about 250 pages each. I am 71 and still find good Young Adult books fascinating. These are fascinating fantasy fiction. If you try the series I hope you enjoy the first as much as I did.

>4 Darth-Heather: >6 rainpebble: The Susan Cooper Dark Is Rising Series has a great reputation.

>6 rainpebble: and >7 Andrew-theQM: Seconding rainpebble and Andrew. I read these in my early teens and have the entire collection ready to re-read. Again.

Would love to hear your thoughts on them. And glad to see you're re-reading the Little House. I read them over and over and loved their reality of life on the prairie.

I just finished Last Detail by Darryl Poniscan. I added it to my kindle list because it involves the navy yard here in Portsmouth NH. It's been on my TBR for awhile and finally got it's turn.

Until just now when I looked it up I had no idea that there was a movie version made in the 70's with an amazing stellar cast: Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, Michael Moriarty and Carol Kane.

I'm definitely going to have to watch it!

>9 Darth-Heather: You can get rid of some of your TBR list with our new Pick A Winner...Make A friend.... on Dusty's Treasure Trove.

>10 Carol420: yep, that's the plan! I just need to make my list. I finally finished my state certification audit at work, which consumes all of my attention for several weeks. Now I can finally get back to the important things :D

>11 Darth-Heather: You have plenty of time.

February Totals:
9 books
2387 pages

Didn't make it to the last category in the ATW challenge, but still not bad considering the short month, and at work we had our state certification audit which consumes all of my attention for a solid week.

>6 rainpebble: Hi Rainy! Thanks for this info. I have ordered a volume that contains all five books, and am looking forward to it!

>8 threadnsong: I credit Little House books with my lifelong love for historical fiction. I read them in elementary school, and loved them dearly. I recently picked up a nice complete set of paperbacks and am pleased to visit that world again.

I didn't get to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum on my trip to Minnesota, but maybe someday I will get there.

March Reads:

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
378 pages
ATW#2

The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay
268 pages
ATW#10

The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay
424 pages
ATW #1

Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
312 pages
Passport "author Christopher", ATW# 6

The Poisoner's Enemy by Jeff Wheeler
323 pages
Letter J "jewelry on cover", ATW #8

The Jedi Apprentice by Dave Wolverton
165 pages
ATW#7

Los Nefilim by Teresa Frohock
464 pages
Passport 'blue cover', ATW# 4

Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant
288 pages
Passport 'beach', ATW #3

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
384 pages
Letter J 'author name", Passport 'british author', ATW #9

Lottery by Patricia Wood
336 pages
ATW #5

March Totals:
10 books
3342 pages

March was a really good reading month. The three Fionavar books from GG Kay were excellent, and Los Nefilim was a nice find from Kindle Unlimited.

April Reads

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
241 pages
New Friend, ATW #4

Katherine by Anya Seton
495 pages
Letter K title, ATW #9

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane by Laird Koenig
295 pages
Letter K author, ATW #8

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
678 pages
Letter K 'knife on cover', ATW #7

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
230 pages
Passport 'farm animals', ATW#2

Butcher's Hands by Ron Ripley
197 pages
ATW #10

The Woman On The Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
256 pages
Passport "train", ATW #1

The Ivory and the Horn by Charles deLint
336 pages
Passport "fire", ATW #6

Soul Harvest by Ron Ripley
212 pages
ATW #3

The Empty House by Rosamund Pilcher
150 pages
ATW #5

April Totals:

10 books
3090 pages

May Reads

Elric Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock
445 pages
New Friend, ATW#3

By The Shores of SIlver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
260 pages
Letter L title word, Passport 'body of water', ATW#9

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
235 pages
ATW#2

Death Comes As The End by Agatha Christie
171 pages
Passport 'white cover', ATW#4

Spirits In The Wires by Charles deLint
437 pages
ATW #5

The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis
187 pages
Atw#8

Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis
142 pages
ATW# 6

The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher
540 pages
Letter L 'lilacs on cover', Passport WWII, ATW# 1

Plague Ship by Clive Cussler
578 pages
Passport "Oregon Files", ATW #10

May totals:
9 books
2996 pages

June Reads:

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr.
273 pages
New Friend, Letter M author name, ATW #4

The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez Reverte
368 pages
ATW #2, Letter M 'manuscript on cover'

Poisonous Whispers by Ron Ripley
289 pages
ATW#3

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
303 pages
Passport 'party', ATW #6

Daughter of the House by Catherine Gaskin
276 pages
ATW#7

Investing Quickstart Guide by Ted Snow
203 pages
ATW#9

The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris
442 pages
Passport 'multilingual', ATW#8

The Mill On The Floss by George Eliot
704 pages
Passport 'green cover', Letter M in title, ATW# 5

June Totals:
8 books
2858 pages

July Reads:

Thieves World by Robert Asprin
305 pages
New Friend, Passport 'crime', ATW#3

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
300 pages
Atw#7

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
310 pages
Passport 'ancient', ATW #5

The Other Side of the Sun by Madeline L'Engle
360 pages
Passport 'forest', ATW#9

Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute
272 pages
Letter N author name, ATW#10

The Bear And The Nightingale by Katherine Arden
313 pages
Letter N in title, ATW#6

The Hypnotists Love Story by Liane Moriarty
543 pages
ATW#8

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
287 pages
ATW#4

The Force Unleashed II by Sean Williams
293 pages
ATW #2

The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman
240 pages
ATW#1

July totals:

10 books
3223 pages

August Reads:

Dune by Frank Herbert
517 pages
New Friend, ATW #1

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
305 pages
Letter O - orange on cover, ATW #9

The House by the Fjord by Rosalind Laker
218 pages
Passport "set in Norway", ATW#8

Oliver The cat Who Saved Christmas by Shelia Norton
309 pages
Letter O in title, Passport "christmas", ATW#6

Hard In Hightown by Varric Tethras
72 pages
Passport "jail", ATW#4

The Dark Monk by Oliver Potzsch
486 pages
Letter O author name, ATW #2

The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
160 pages
Passport 'new father', ATW#3

Girl In The Arena by Lise Haines
324 pages
ATW #10

Brutal Lessons by Ron Ripley
289 pages
ATW #5

August Totals:
9 books
2680 pages

with three days left to this month I have completed my August challenges and will get a head start on a very lengthy tome intended for a September challenge category.

September Reads:

Shogun by James Clavell
1210 pages
Passport "island", ATW #3

I Will Fear No Evil by Robert Heinlein
509 pages
New Friend, ATW #10

Darkwater by Dorothy Eden
267 pages
ATW #2

Daughter of the Loom by Tracie Peterson
294 pages
Letter P author name, Passport published 2002, ATW #1

Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
303 pages
ATW #8

Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift
176 pages
ATW #9

Going East by Matthew D'Anconia
287 pages
ATW#6

Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
62 pages
Passport 'mountain', ATW #5

The Red Knight by Miles Cameron
672 pages
Letter P 'pommel on cover', ATW #4

The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince
156 pages
Letter P in title, Passport "musician", ATW #7

September totals:
10 books
3936 pages

October Reads:
Ilium by Dan Simmons
57 pages (DNF)
New Friend

Horizon by Helen MacInnes
184 pages
Passport "captured", Horizons 'my initials", ATW #1

The Bar Harbor Retirement Home For Famous Writers by Terri-Lynne DeFino
312 pages
Passport "contains poem", ATW#3

The Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin
123 pages (DNF)
Passport 'Middle Eastern', ATW #7

Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell
247 pages
ATW#6

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
295 pages
Letter Q author initial, ATW#2

Servant of the Underworld by ALiette de Bodard
427 pages
Letter Q on cover, ATW #5

Hungry As The Sea by Wilbur Smith
491 pages
Passport 'game', Horizons 'Antarctica', ATW#9

The Maid's War by Jeff Wheeler
302 pages
ATW#4

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
250 pages
ATW #8

October Totals:
10 books
2721 pages

two books were DNF, not a great month, but Servant of the Underworld was pretty good and i will probably continue with the series.

November Reads:

To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver Ravenwolf
344 pages
Letter "R" initials, ATW#10

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
457 pages
New Friend, ATW #5

The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
178 pages
ATW #1

A Guide To Middle Earth by Robert Foster
573 pages
Letter R 'ring on cover', ATW#6

Fantasy Stories by Dianna Wynne-Jones
280 pages
Passport 'initials', ATW#8

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan
410 pages
Passport 'Scotland', ATW#9

Trumpet of the Swan by EB White
272 pages
Passport 'animal', ATW#7

Dodge City by Hank MItchum
187 pages
ATW #2

Dino Hunt by Max Devine
448 pages
ATW #4

The Olive Grove At The Edge of the World by Jared Gulian
364 pages
Passport "New Zealand", ATW #3

Goblin Reservation by Clifford Simak
204 pages
Letter R in title

November Totals:
11 books
3717 pages

December reads:

Wisdom's Daughter by India Edghill
406 pages
Passport "Iran", ATW#3

The Third Twin by CJ Omololu
336 pages
Horizons "antonym", ATW #9

CHristopher's Blade by Ron Ripley
285 pages
ATW #8

The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Over Sea, Under Stone Letter S on cover, ATW #10
The Dark Is Rising Author S, ATW #2
Greenwitch Passport 'green', ATW#4
The Grey King ATW#5
Silver On The Tree Letter S in title, ATW#7
1048 pages

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
263 pages
ATW #1

Fables Vol 1 by Bill Willingham
97 pages
Passport 'under 100 pages', ATW #6

December Totals
10 books
2435 pages

2019 Totals:
116 books
36,629 pages