A to Z Reading Challenge 2020

Jo Linsdell   07:00:00

A to Z Reading Challenge 2020 

A Round Up of All the Books I Read for This Challenge

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

In 2020  I decided to take part in the A to Z Reading Challenge organised by Bookstacks and Golden Moms.

Here's a round up of all the books I read throughout the year as part of the A to Z Reading Challenge:

January

• W- What Would It Take by EL Dubois - My Review
• T- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - My Review
• A- A Rare Book of Cunning Device By Ben Aaronovitch - My Review
• T- The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri - My Review
• M- Mayan Mendacity by L.J.M. Owen - My Review
• H- Hidden Pearl by J.E. Laufer - My Review

February

• S - Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear - My Review
• K- Killing Me Softly by Bianca Sloane - My Review
• U- Us, In Pieces by Tasha Cotter and Christopher Green - My Review

March

• N- Nobody's Perfect by Douglas Clark - My Review

April

• D- Down in the Belly of the Whale by Kelley Kay Bowles - My Review
• P- Poison Orchids by Sarah A. Denzil - My Review

May

• B- Breakup Boot Camp by Beth Merlin - My Review
• E- Even Good Girls by Nicholas Jordan - My Review
• T- The Never Have I Ever Club by Mary Jayne Baker - My Review

June

• N/A

July

• N/A

August

• H- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling - My Review

September

• R-  Reality Girl by Jessica Hildreth - My Review

October

• C- Chocolat by Joanne Harris - My Review

November

• O- On the Rocks by Sawyer Bennett - My Review
• F- Finding Amish by Grace Given - My Review
• Q- Queen of the Two Lands by Laura Greenwood  - My Review

December

• N/A

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Did you take part in this reading challenge? How did you do? What reading challenges are you planning on doing in 2021?

Best Reads of 2020

Jo Linsdell   07:00:00

Best Reads of 2020

My highest rated reads from 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

I don't know about you but I find it's always nice to look back over the past year to see all the books I read. I do this at the start of every new year. 

I use Goodreads to help me keep track of what I read, when, and what rating I gave it.  It's always interesting to see how many books I gave each rating.

2020 was not an easy reading year... It wasn't easy really in any sense. In fact, it was just plain hard for the most part. I struggled at times to be in the right frame of mind to read. I just couldn't concentrate on any kind of book. Even when my mind was in the right place to be able to read I still struggled as having the kids and my husband home all the time made it hard to find quiet time for myself without distractions or interruptions. 

Whilst I might not have read as much as I would have liked, I am happy to see that I enjoyed a lot of the books I read over the course of 2020. 

For the purpose of this post I'm going to be looking at the top reads of 2020. My highest rated reads from the year. 

5 star reads

Poison Orchids by Sarah A. Denzil  - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Hidden Pearl by JE Laufer - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

What Would It Take by EL Dubois - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

4 stars reads

Assassin's Creed Renaissance by Oliver Bowden - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Chocolat by Joanne Harris - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Break Up Boot Camp by  Beth Merlin- My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Down in the Belly of the Whale by Kelley Kay Bowles - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

1996 by Kirsty McManus - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

Killing Me Softly by Bianca Sloane - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri - My Review - Goodreads - Amazon Affiliate Link

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What were your favourite books from 2020? Do make a "best of" list of the books you read each year? How do you keep track of the books you read and how you rated them? 

Book Spotlight: The Unadjusteds By Marissa Noelle

Book Spotlight: The Unadjusteds By Marissa Noelle

Jo Linsdell   07:30:00

The Unadjusteds By Marissa Noelle

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

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Today I'm part of a virtual book tour organised by The Write Reads for The Unadjusteds by Marissa Noelle. The tour for ‘The Unadjusteds’ will run from January 11^th to January 22^nd. 

New to virtual book tours? Check out my book Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From The Comfort Of Your Own Home.

Genre: YA SFF

Page count: 414 

Sixteen-year-old Silver Melody lives in a world where 80% of the population has modified their DNA. Known as the altereds, those people now possess enhancements like wings, tails, and increased strength or intelligence. Although Silver’s parents created the nanite pill used to deliver these genetic modifications, Silver is proud of her unadjusted state.

However, when the president declares all unadjusteds must take a nanite, Silver has no choice but to flee the city with her father and some friends to prevent the extinction of the unadjusteds.

With Silver’s mother in prison for treason, Silver’s father is the unadjusteds’ only hope at finding a cure. But time is running out as Silver’s father is captured by the president’s almost immortal army. Vicious hellhounds are on Silver’s trail, and her only chance to recover her father involves teaming up with a new group of unlikely friends before all humanity is lost.

 Amazon affiliate link

Goodreads

Author Bio (from http://marisanoelle.com/ )

MARISA NOELLE is a writer of young adult and middle grade novels. She leans towards grounded science-fiction, urban fantasy and paranormal but mental health issues are important to her writing too.  Published books include: The Shadow Keepers, The Unadjusteds, and The Mermaid Chronicles – Secrets of the Deep. You can find out more about them in the books section.

Growing up, Marisa had plenty of ideas for career and still regrets not moving to Hawaii to train dolphins and pretend the real world didn’t exist. Struggling with anxiety and anorexia lead her to the field of psychology. Heavily influenced by underdog movies such as The Karate Kid she realised her mission in life was to help other people, through any medium. Embarking on a psychology degree, she wanted to emulate her hero, Jodie Foster, from Silence of the Lambs and actually tried to secure work experience at Broadmoor. Thankfully she left the idea of criminal profiling behind, but uses many of these aspects in her novels.

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My 2021 Reading Challenges

My 2021 Reading Challenges

Jo Linsdell   07:00:00

My 2021 Reading Challenges

Challenges to help motivate my reading in 2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

I find that taking part in challenges helps keep me inspired and motivated. In fact, I take part in a lot of challenges throughout the year. For example, I'm doing a different fitness challenge for each month of the year during 2021 (January is the squats challenge). 

Challenges help keep me focused and so I always try to take part in at least a couple reading challenges throughout the year too. 

For 2021 I've picked two reading challenges to participate in.

The Clock Reading Challenge

Hosted by me! #ClockReadingChallenge

Info Link: https://www.jolinsdell.com/2021/01/the-clock-reading-challenge.html

I've decided to create my own reading challenge this year just for fun. The goal is to read 12 books, each with a number from 1 to 12 in the title.

I got the inspiration from this Pin I saw on Pinterest:

The A to Z Reading Challenge

Hosted by Bookstacks n Golden Moms

Info Link: https://bookstacksngoldenmoms.com/2021-atoz-reading-challenge/

I've tried doing this reading challenge multiple times over the years and although I've come close several times I've yet to complete the challenge in full. I also want to get better about my participation in the challenge (not just the reading goals). This year I'm going to try and remember to upload my links to the monthly check ins and maybe try to conquer the mini challenges too.

Last year I tracked my progress with a list of the titles I read, up dating it on the graphic each month. This year I'm doing the same thing but instead of writing out the titles and author names I thought I'd post the book covers over the letters.

Maybe if I only have space for one book cover per letter I won't end up reading multiple books for the same letter like I have in the past... at least not until I have a book for all the letters. Worth a try. Also I think the collection of book covers will look much cooler ;)

If you're still looking for reading challenges to fit into your goals for 2021 I suggest checking out this awesome 2021 master list of reading challenges by GirlXOXO

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What reading challenges are you planning on participating in this year?