Reading Updates - A Look Back at 2020 and Forward to 2021 continued

Well, here it is... New Year's Eve 2020. It's been an interesting year to say the least. So many lives have been drastically by the Covid Pandemic. Ways of living have also been transformed, from basic things like wearing masks when you go out to isolation, less travelling, etc. Let's hope 2021 is a much better year. I'm looking forward to getting the vaccine when it reaches my level (after the elderly, medical people, etc)

Anyway... over the past few days I've looked back at my reading challenges of 2020. Besides my 12 + 4 challenge and my Individual Challenges I also did a monthly Focus challenge where I 'focused' on various genres and / or authors. Today I'll look at my monthly focus from January - June.

1. January - Canadian Content (completed 1)

a. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler (5 stars)

2. February - Margaret Millar (completed 4)

a. Wall of Eyes (5 stars)

b. Taste of Fears (4.5 stars)

c. The Fiend (4 stars)

d. Beyond This Point Are Monsters (3.5 stars)

3. March - C.S. Forester (completed 3)

a. Death to the French (3 stars)

b. The Pursued (4 stars)

c. The Captain from Connecticut (4 stars)

4. April - Minette Walters (completed 2)

a. The Sculptress (4 stars)

b. The Echo (4.5 stars)

5. May - Dennis Wheatley (completed 2)

a. The Devil Rides Out (3.5 stars)

b. The Secret War (3 stars)

6. June - George Orwell (completed 2)

a. A Clergyman's Daughter (4 stars)

b. Coming up for Air (3.5 stars)

I'll provide the final 6 months tomorrow.

Individual 2021 Reading Challenge - Monthly Focus

I'm going to continue with a monthly focus, this time focusing on authors of series where I've got the most unread books on my shelf. Let's see what authors I'll be looking at from Jan - Jun.

1. January - Simon Brett

(Brett has created a number of series. I'll be looking at his Fettering books, Mrs. Pargeter and Charles Paris)

a. The Torso in the Town (Fettering #3) 

"Amateur sleuths Jude and Carole take on their third case when a terrible discovery is made in the cellar of a grand old house. Grant and Kim Roxby had hoped that their first dinner party at Pelling House would make an impression with their new neighbors. And the next day it's certainly the talk of the town of Fedborough. For their guests - including the couple's old friend Jude - had been enjoying a pleasant meal before they were rudely interrupted by a gruesome discovery. A human torso hidden in the cellar. Jude races home to Fethering and her friend Carole with the news. And soon the pair are back in Fedborough, questioning the locals. But they can't help but wonder why a town so notoriously distrustful of outsiders is proving so terribly amenable to their enquiries..."

2. February - M.C. Beaton

(Beaton created the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth mystery series. I'll pick the first book when I get to Feb)

3. March - Agatha Christie

(Christie has written so many books and so many series, esp Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.)

4. April - George Simenon

(Simenon created the Inspector Maigret, including standalone novels)

5. May - John D. MacDonald

(MacDonald created the Travis McGee mystery series and many standalone novels)

6. June - George MacDonald Fraser

(Fraser created the Flashman adventure series)

There you go, some reading / author ideas for your 2021. Happy New Year's Eve!

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