50 Book Challenge: 2021

 How can it be 2021 already?
Well, I was lucky enough to spend the very first day of 2021 reading....the latest "Lincoln Lawyer" story..... Good luck to you who love to read! I am always open to suggestions!

1. The Law of Innocence--Michael Connelly
2. Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays -- R. Eric Thomas
3. Girl Underwater--Claire Kells
4. The Vacation --T.M. Logan

5. The Chelsea Girls --Fiona Davis

6.  The Address --Fiona Davis

7. Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice Not To Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol--Holly Whitaker

8. Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life -- Christie Tate

9. Deep Into The Dark -- P. J. Tracy

10.  Outsider: A Novel of Suspense-- Linda Castillo

11.  The Midnight Library--Matt Haig

12. Before She Disappeared --Lisa Gardner

13. Feels Like Falling --Kristy Woodson Harvey

14. The Dollhouse--Fiona Davis

15. Better Luck Next Time --Julia Claiborne Johnson

16. The Four Winds --Kristin Hannah

17. 29 Seconds --T.M. Logan

18.  Everything After --Jill Santopolo

19. Slightly South of Simple --Kristy Woodson Harvey

20. The Secret To Southern Charm --Kristy Woodson Harvey

21. The Southern Side of Paradise --Kristy Woodson Harvey

22. Bloodline--Jess Loury

23. Concrete Rose --Angie Thomas

24.  More Than Words --Jill Santopolo

25. The Ladies of the Secret Circus --Constance Sayers

26. The Cold Millions --Jess Walter 

27. A Witch in Time --Constance Sayers

28. Every Vow You Break --Peter Swanson

29. The Good Sister--Sally Hepworth

30. People We Meet On Vacation --Emily Henry

31. Mother May I? -- Joshilyn Jackson 

32. The Almost Sisters--Joshilyn Jackson

33. Malibu Rising--Taylor Jenkins Reid

34. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming --Joshilyn Jackson

35. Last Seen --Rick Mofina

36. Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir --Ashley C. Ford

37. Dance Away With Me --Susan Elizabeth Phillips

38.  A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty--Joshilyn Jackson

39. With or Without You--Caroline Leavitt

40. The Opposite of Everyone --Joshilyn Jackson

41. First Star I See Tonight--Susan Elizabeth Phillips

42. The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano --Donna Freitas

43. Three Women --Lisa Taddeo

44.  Never Have I --Joshilyn Jackson

45. Fallen --Linda Castillo

46. Pack Up the Moon--Kristan Higgens

47. Want: A Novel --Lynn Steger Strong

48. Choose Me--Tess Gerritsen & Gary Braver

49. That's Not a Thing--Jacqueline Friedland

50. The Newcomer --Mary Kay Andrews

51. When Stars Collide--Susan Elizabeth Phillips

52.  Finlay Donovan is Killing It-- Elle Cosimano

53. The Soulmate Equation --Christina Lauren

54. Are We There Yet? -- Kathleen West

55. False Witness --Karin Slaughter

56.  That Summer --Jennifer Weiner 

57. Golden Girl --Elin Hilderbrand

58. The Last Thing He Told Me --Laura Dave

59. The Forest of Vanishing Stars--Kristin Harmel

60. Lovely Bravely: Twenty Lessons of Self-Discovery to Help You Get the Love you Want -- Alexandra Solomon

61. The Turnout --Megan Abbott

62. The Story of a Beautiful Girl--Rachel Simon*

63. A Slow Fire Burning --Paula Hawkins

64. Apples Never Fall --Liane Moriarty

65. Blush--Jamie Brenner

66. The Damage--Caitlin Wahrer

67. The Ugly Cry: A Memoir--Danielle Henderson

68. The Saturday Night Ghost Club --Craig Davidson

69. Last Girl Ghosted--Lisa Unger

70. We Are the Brennans--Tracey Lange

71. The Dark Hours--Michael Connelly

72. The Midnight Lock-- Jeffery Deaver

73. Falling: A Novel--T.J. Newman

74. The Sweetness of Water --Nathan Harris

*Re-read

50 Book Challenge: 2020

1:  Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years --Julie Andrews, with Emma Walton Hamilton
2. Know My Name: A Memoir -- Chanel Miller
3. The Secrets We Kept --Lara Prescott
4. The Wives --Tarryn Fisher
5.  Last Day --Luanne Rice
6. Where or When --Anita Shreve
7. When You See Me --Lisa Gardner
8. The Better Liar: A Novel --Tanen Jones
9. Open Book-- Jessica Simpson
10. Big Lies in a Small Town --Diane Chamberlain
11. The Giver of Stars --Jojo Moyes
12. The Wife and the Widow --Christian White
13. Regretting You--Colleen Hoover
14. Eight Perfect Murders--Peter Swanson
15. Untamed--Glennon Doyle
16. The Nowhere Child --Christian White
17. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird--Josie Silver
18. Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy,  Paternity, and Love --Dani Shapiro
19. You are Not Alone--Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
20. Faithless--Karin Slaughter
21. Maid: Hard Word, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive--Stephanie Land
22.  The Lookalike -- Erica Spindler
23.  Today Will Be Different --Maria Semple
24. The Last Romantics--Tara Conklin
25. Stories We Never Told -- Sonya Yoerg  (**kindle**)
26. The Red Lotus--Chris Bohjalian
27. Holding Up the Universe--Jennifer Niven
28. The House Girl--Tara Conklin
29.  The Honey Don't List --Christina Lauren
30. Long Bright River --Liz Moor
31. Children of the Land--Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
32. A Woman is No Man --Etaf Rum
33.  American Dirt--Jeanine Cummins
34.  All I Ask--Corinne Michaels
35. I'd Give Anything --Marisa de los Santos
36. Blood Orange--Harriet Tyce
37. My Kind of You (Trillium Bay #1) --Kindle--Tracy Brogan
38. The Lies That Bind--Emily Giffin
39.  The Wife Stalker--Liv Constantine
40. Such a Fun Age--Kiley Reid
41. Always The Last To Know --Kristan Higgins
42. Dear Edward -- Ann Napolitano
43. Big Summer --Jennifer Weiner
44. In Five Years -- Rebecca Serle
45. Party of Two-- Jasmine Guillory
46. What You Wish For -- Katherine Center

47. The Knockout Queen--Rufi Thorpe

48. Fair Warning--Michael Connelly

49. Friends and Strangers --J. Courtney Sullivan

50. The Daughters of Erietown--Connie Schultz

51. Cleaning the Gold --Short Story --Karin Slaughter/Lee Child

52. The Night Swim --Megan Goldin

53. The Other Mrs. --Mary Kubica

54. He Started It --Samantha Downing

55. We Are All The Same In the Dark --Julia Heaberlin

56. High Achiever: the Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life --Tiffany Jenkins

57. The Swap --Robyn Harding 

58. Valentine --Elizabeth Wetmore

59. The Silent Wife --Karin Slaughter

60. One To Watch--Kate Stayman-London

61. The Book of Two Ways: A Novel--Jodi Picoult

62.  The Exiles--Christina Baker Kline

63. The Sweetness of Forgetting--Kristin Harmel

64. The Apple of My Eye: Trusting God's Guidance When We Can't See--Amy Beth Pederson

65. The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes: A Novel --Elissa R. Sloan

66. Lisa Murphy on Play: The Foundation of Children's Learning --Lisa Murphy

67. 28 Summers --Elin Hilderbrand

68. In a Holidaze--Christina Lauren

69. Confessions on the 7:45 --Lisa Unger

70. Black-Eyed Susans--Julia Heaberlin

71. Paper Ghosts--Julia Heaberlin

72. Where the Crawdads Sing--Delia Owens

73. Somewhere in the Dark --R.J. Jacobs

74. Layla--Colleen Hoover

75. Troubles in Paradise --Elin Hilderbrand

76. How Lulu Lost Her Mind --Rachel Gibson

77. One by One --Ruth Ware

78. Sweet Mess--Jayci Lee

79. Luster: A Novel -- Raven Leilani

80. The Lions of Fifth Avenue -Fiona Davis

81. Wolfpack--Abby Wambach

50 Book Challenge: 2019

1. The Guilty Dead-- P.J.  Tracy
2.  The Wife--Alafair Burke
3. The Life Intended -- Kristin Harmel
4. The Sea of Tranquility -- Katja Millay
5. The Woman Inside -- E.G. Scott
6. Verity --Colleen Hoover
7. Watching You-- Lisa Jewell
8. The Guy Who Died Twice -*(Kindle Eshort Story)--Lisa Gardner
9. Dark Sacred Night--Michael Connelly
10. One Day in December --Josie Silver
11. Sold on a Monday --Kristina McMorris
12. The Boy--Tami Hoag
13. Daisy Jones & the Six--Taylor Jenkins Reid
14. The Crooked Street-- Brian Freeman
15. The Accidental Beauty Queen --Teri Wilson
16. Before She Knew Him --Peter Swanson
17. Love and Other Words--Christina Lauren
18. Everything You Want Me To Be --Mindy Mejia
19. Mrs. Fletcher -- Tom Perrotta
20. My Lovely Wife--Samantha Downing
21. Wolfhunter River--Rachel Caine
22. The Proposal --Jasmine Guillory
23. Queenie--Candice Carty-Williams
24. Intercepted--Alexa Martin
25. Never Tell-- Lisa Gardner
26. I Know Who You Are--Alice Feeney
27. When Katie Met Cassidy -- Camille Perri
28. The Unhoneymooners --Christina Lauren
29. Stay Up With Hugo Best--Erin Somers
30. The Better Sister--Alafair Burke
31. The Friends We Keep --Jane Green
32. The Hate U Give--Angie Thomas
33. City of Girls--Elizabeth Gilbert
34. Howard Stern Comes Again--Howard Stern
35. Dear Wife--Kimberly Belle
36. If You Only Knew--Kristan Higgins
37. Recursion: A Novel --Blake Crouch
38. Now That You Mention It--Kristan Higgins
39. Good Luck With That --Kristan Higgins
40. The Night Window--Dean Koontz
41. From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home --Tembi Locke
42. On Second Thought --Kristan Higgins
43. All American Boys-- Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
44. The Nickel Boys--Colson Whitehead
45. Summer of '69 --Elin Hilderbrand
46. Summer People--Elin Hilderbrand
47. The Last Resort--Marissa Stapley
48. The Mother-In-Law--Sally Hepworth
49. Mrs. Everything--Jennifer Weiner
50. Life and Other Inconveniences --Kristan Higgins
51. The Escape Room--Megan Goldin
52. The Last Widow--Karin Slaughter
53. Surfside Sisters--Nancy Thayer
54. Whisper Network--Chandler Baker
55. Shamed--Linda Castillo
56. Things You Save in a Fire--Katherine Center
57. The Wildlands --Abby Geni
58. The Perfect Son--Lauren North
59. Ask Again, Yes --Mary Beth Keane
60. The Murder List--Hank Phillippi Ryan
61. Twice in a Blue Moon-- Christina Lauren
62. The Stranger Inside--Lisa Unger
63. Catch and Kill -- Ronan Farrow
64. Inside out: A Memoir --Demi Moore
65. What Happens in Paradise--Elin Hilderbrand
66.  The Night Olivia Fell -- Christine McDonald
67.  The Night Fire --Michael Connelly
68. Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? --Pete Wilson

50 Book Challenge: 2018

1.  Little Fires Everywhere --Celeste Ng
2. Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn --Melanie Shankle
3. The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond ""the Wall"" --Matt Fitzgerald
4. Before We Were Yours--Lisa Wingate
5. The Black Book--James Patterson & David Ellis
6. A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back--Kevin Hazzard
7.  Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret --Judy Blume
8. Church of the Small Things: The Million Little Pieces that Make Up a Life--Melanie Shankle
9. The Deep Freeze--John Sanford
10. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane--Lisa See
11. Night Road-- Kristin Hannah
12. An American Marriage--Tayari Jones
13. The Wife Between Us --Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
14. The Woman in the Window-- A.J. Finn
15. Just What Kind of Mother Are you? -- Paula Daly
16.  Seven Days of Us --Francesca Hornak
17. Look For Me--Lisa Gardner
18. White Houses- Amy Bloom
19. Surprise Ending --Kindle Single--Jeffery Deaver
20. Breaking the Silence --Diane Chamberlain
21. Everything Here is Beautiful--Mira T. Lee
22. Sometimes I lie--Alice Feeney
23. All The Beautiful Lies--Peter Swanson
24. Catalina: A Novel--Liska Jacobs
25. The Light We Lost--Jill Santopolo
26. The Great Alone--Kristin Hannah
27. You Think It, I'll Say It: Stories --Curtis Sittenfeld
28. Happiness For Beginners--Katherine Center
29. I'll Be Your Blue Sky--Marisa de los Santos
30. Educated: A Memoir--Tara Westover
31. The Lost Husband --Katherine Center
32. Then She Was Gone --Lisa Jewell
33. The Outsider --Stephen King
34. The Flight Attendant--Chris Bohjalian
35. The Crooked Staircase--Dean Koontz
36.  Florida--Lauren Groff
37. Girl Last Seen--Nina Laurin
38. All We Ever Wanted--Emily Giffin
39. How To Walk Away --Katherine Center
40. The Female Persuasion --Meg Wolitzer
41. Three Days Missing--Kimberly Belle
42. The Perfect Couple --Elin Hilderbrand
43. Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of American's Guilty Pleasure--Amy Kaufman
44. Alter Ego-- Brian Freeman
45. Give Me Your Hand--Megan Abbott
46. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer--Michelle McNamara
47. A Gathering of Secrets --Linda Castillo
48. The Summer Wives--Beatriz Williams
49. Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You are so you can Become Who you are Meant To Be --Rachel Hollis
50. Pieces of Her: A Novel --Karin Slaughter
51. The Perfect Mother--Aimee Molloy
52. The Last Cruise --Kate Christensen
53. The Dream Daughter --Diane Chamberlain
54. The Shortest Way Home--Miriam Parker
55. The Forbidden Door--Dean Koontz
56. A Spark of Light -- Jodi Picoult
57. Our Little Secret --Roz Nay
58. Nine Perfect Strangers--Liane Moriarty
59.  Ghosted--Rosie Walsh
60. Girls Night Out--Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
61. Bird Box --Josh Malerman
62. Vox--Christina Dalcher
63. Winter in Paradise--Elin Hilderbrand
64. The Marriage Pact --Michelle Richmond
65. Under My Skin --Lisa Unger
66. We all Love the Beautiful Girls -- Joanne Proulx
67. Holy Ghost--John Sandford

50 Book Challenge: 2016

1. Sleep Tight --Rachel Abbott (Kindle)
2. Eyes on You --Kate White
3. Playing with Fire --Tess Gerritsen
4. It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History --Jennifer Wright
5. Hush--Kate White
6. The Crossing - Michael Connelly
7.  Esther: A Novel -- Rebecca Kanner
8. Corrupted: A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel--Lisa Scottoline
9. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology --Leah Remini
10.  The Quality of Silence --Rosamund Lupton
11. Maybe in Another Life--Taylor Jenkins Reid
12. Wildflower --Drew Barrymore
13. Fates and Furies --Lauren Groff
14. The Guest Room --Chris Bohjalian
15. The Bitter Season--Tami Hoag
16. Find Her --Lisa Gardner
17. After I Do-Taylor Jenkins Reid
18. Forever, Interrupted: A Novel --Taylor Jenkins Reid
19. The Ex--Alafair Burke
20.  What Alice Forgot --Liane Moriarty  ** Rereading**
21.  The Stranger --Harlan Coben
22. Eligible -- Curtis Sittenfeld
23.  The Steel Kiss- Jeffery Deaver
24. Scar Tissue --Anthony Kiedis & Larry Sloman
25. Spitting Devil (Jonathan Stride Novella)(Kindle) -- Brian Freeman
26. Fool Me Once -- Harlan Coben
27. Turn to Stone --Jonathan Stride short (Kindle) --Brian Freeman
28. Missing You --Harlan Coben
29. Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes --Karin Slaughter (Kindle Single)
30. Sweetbitter --Stephanie Danler
31. Finders Keepers--Stephen King
32. The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir-- Ruth Wariner
33. Don't You Cry-- Mary Kubica
34.  End of Watch --Stephen King
35. Goodbye to the Dead -- Brian Freeman
36. Ink and Bone --Lisa Unger
37. First Comes Love-- Emily Giffin
38. One True Loves --Taylor Jenkins Reid
39. Among the Wicked --Linda Castillo
40. The Passage --Justin Cronin  **(Kindle; Reread)**
41.  Here's to Us --Elin Hilderbrand
42. Wilde Lake --Laura Lippman
43. In Twenty Years-Allison Winn Scotch (Kindle)
44. The Singles Game --Lauren Weisberger (Kindle)
45. Truly Madly Guilty-- Liane Moriarty
46.  Dark Matter --Blake Crouch
47. The Underground Railroad --Colson Whitehead
48.  Falling --Jane Green
49. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness--Susannah Cahalan
50. You Will Know Me-- Megan Abbott
51. Why Not Me? --Mindy Kaling
52.  The Twelve --Justin Cronin (**Kindle; Reread**) (prepping for "City of Mirrors")
53. The Wonder --Emma Donoghue
54. The Evidence Room --Cameron Harvey
55. Winter Storms --Elin Hilderbrand
56. The Trespasser: A Novel-- Tana French
57.  The Kept Woman --Karin Slaughter
58. The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo --Amy Schumer
59. Home--Harlan Coben
60.  A Little Thing Called Love: On Loving Elvis Presley, Bruce Jenner, and Songs in Between -- Linda Thompson
61.  The City of Mirrors--Justin Cronin (Kindle)
62.  The Wrong Side of Goodbye --Michael Connelly
63.  The Status of All Things --Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
64. Small Great Things--Jodi Picoult
65. Monkeewrench--P.J. Tracy (finished as the New Year 2017 started!)

50 Book Challenge: 2015

1.  Best to Laugh-- Lorna Landvik
2. Die Again--Tess Gerritsen
3. Crash and Burn --Lisa Gardner
4. Crazy Love You --Lisa Unger
5. Cold, Cold Heart --Tami Hoag
6. Single, Carefree, Mellow --Katherine Heiny
7. Hush --Laura Lippman
8. The Kind Worth Killing --Peter Swanson
9. The Girl on the Train --Paula Hawkins
10. The Rosie Effect --Graeme Simsion
11. Yes, Please --Amy Poehler
12. Love Me, Sweet -- Tracy Brogan (Kindle)
13. Season of Fear -- Brian Freeman
14.  In the Unlikely Event --Judy Blume
15. Who Do You Love? --Jennifer Weiner
16.  Movie Star By Lizzie Pepper -- Hilary Liftin
17. The Magician's Lie -- Greer Macallister
18. Jingle Bell Harbor -- Tracy Brogan (Kindle)
19. The One That Got Away --Bethany Chase
20. Days of Awe--Lauren Fox
21. The Grownup: A story by the Author of Gone Girl --Gillian Flynn
22. Tell No One -- Harlan Coben
23. Winter Stroll --Elin Hilderbrand
24. Remember Me This Way -- Sabine Durrant
25. Pretty Girls -- Karin Slaughter
26. Beautiful Day --Elin Hilderbrand
27. The Courtship of the Cake -- Jessica Topper
28. Second Life -- S.J. Watson
29. What She Knew--Gilly Macmillan
30. The Blue Bistro --Elin Hilderbrand
31. Silver Girl --Elin Hilderbrand
32.  Everything Bitter is Sweet-- Sara Hagerty
33.  Summerland -- Elin Hilderbrand
34. The Wrong Man--Kate White
35. A Summer Affair --Elin Hilderbrand

Dandelions and notes

I am so excited that Keifer LOVES to write. She sits and writes notes to me, CJ, her Papa and Nana, her friends, and ABOUT anything.  Last week, she was insistent that she was going to write some jokes. She painstakingly sat on the love seat next to me, and asked me how to spell certain words, and wrote out the most ridiculous "jokes". I do that in " " because they were honestly awful. I made the mistake of laughing out loud at how dumb they were (sorry, honey) and made her cry. I apologized profusely and got her back on the writing circuit.
I love that she does this, because I USED to do this. Somewhere (I need to find!) I have little mini-books and pictures that I used to make- I'd draw the pictures and my Mom or Grandma would write the story for me. I have always loved to read, and this was something (writing) that I continued to do my whole life.  I remember writing about the "Heart Family" and the story is in my Grandma's writing. That's it; tonight I'm digging that out of the basement to show the girls!

I love that Keifer loves to write, and she loves to read. It comes and goes in spurts of when she'll actually sit down to read, but she is doing so more and more lately. One time, after a play date, she was feeling neglected by the friends: she thought they were paying more attention to her sissy.  So she (independently) took out a note pad, asked me how to spell a few things, and gave me a note that I've kept, saying: "I am sad. Why? Because ___ and ___ like Kyla better than me"

K1 also loves to read each and every morning to her sissy! Most days, Kyla will allow it, but it's usually ME who has to put the kibosh on it because she is so damn ADD and can't get into her actual bedroom after her shower to get dressed, etc., so we can get out the door!  I'm so impressed that she is reading and writing and doing so much more than I even did in Kindergarten (the new 1st grade, I call it).  *Bliss*.  Kyla doesn't even realize how lucky she is to have her older sissy devoting so much attention on her (Lord knows I wasn't this kind to my little brother growing up, hee hee)

Last night, when K2 and I went to pick our sissy girl K1 up at Kid Zone, she made us take a detour while exiting. She had picked a pile of dandelions and placed them near the back door, by the playground, so she could bring them home to me and CJ.  The minute we walked in, she had a mission: she was going to find the mini tea-cups from K2's set in the basement play area, and she filled each and every little one you see up with water.  She carefully pieced out the dandelions into the cups/bowls, and then wrote the note out. The picture was the one for CJ. I went to Zumba last night (shaky shaky!) and when I got home, I had my very own note and flowers as well (smile).  Except mine had an added, "I missed you" and "I love you" on it. She is the sweetest damn girl, when she wants to be!

Do you remember when YOU were little and picking dandelions was the coolest thing ever to give to your parents?

Pre-reading?

This was up at Papa Jim & Nana Margie's over the holiday weekend. Keifer was hiding out in the new "fort" that Papa Jim got for the girls (to keep them busy!).Here, she had no idea I snuck up behind her to tape her reading to herself. She sat in the fort, reading to herself, for at least 20 minutes prior to that, while I kept peeking at her. *sigh*


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

And I read, read, read, and I look, look, look.....

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing