Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read soon.
Books Read in 2021
- Home
- About Me
- Fur Babies
- Review Policy
- Favorite Audiobooks
- Favorite Books - 2001 - 2009
- Favorite Books of 2010 - 2020
- Books Read - 2012
- Books Read in 2013
- Books Read in 2014
- Books Read in 2015
- Books Read in 2016
- Books Read in 2017
- Books Read in 2018
- Books Read in 2019
- Books Read in 2020
- Books Read in 2021

Tuesday, January 12, 2021
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - My Grandmother's Braid; Alina Bronsky and The Push; Ashley Audrain
Saturday, January 9, 2021
2021 - Book #3 - Fifty Words for Rain; Asha Lemmie
TITLE/AUTHOR: Fifty Words for Rain; Asha Lemmie
PUBLISHER: Dutton
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2020
GENRE: Fiction Historical
FORMAT: Print/LENGTH: 463 pp.
SOURCE: Library
SETTING(s): Japan
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: A touching coming of age story about a biracial girl growing up in post WWII Japan.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
2021 - Book #2 -Those People; Louise Candlish
TITLE/AUTHOR: Those People; Louise Candlish
PUBLISHER: Berkley
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2019
GENRE: Fiction / Domestic Suspense
FORMAT: eGalley PP/LENGTH: 370 pp.
SOURCE: Net Galley
SETTING(s): An upscale neighborhood in South London, U.K.
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: What's a neighborhood of seemingly peaceful people to do when the new people on the block disrupt that friendly mix?
MEMORABLE QUOTES: “It was in her hand, as everyone’s was these days, as if phones were dialysis machines that could not be out of reach without life-threatening consequences.”
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Fifty Words for Rain; Asha Lemmie
Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read soon.
Fifty Words for Rain; Asha Lemmie
Dutton - 2020
PRELUDE
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Summer 1948
"The first real memory Nori had was pulling up to that house. For many years afterward, she would try to stretch the boundaries of her mind further, to what came before that day. Time and time again, she'd lie on her back in the stillness of the night and try to recall. Sometimes she'd catch a glimpse in her head of a tiny apartment with lurid yellow walls. But the image would disappear as quickly as it came, leaving no sense of satisfaction in its wake. And so if you asked her, Nori would say that her life had officially begun the day she laid eyes on that imposing estate that rested serenely between the crests of two green hills. It was a stunningly beautiful place--there was no denying it--and yet, despite this beauty, Nori felt her stomach clench and her gut churn at the sight of it. Her mother rarely took her anywhere, and somehow she knew that something was waiting for her there that she would not like."
What do you think pass or read more? I loved the sound of this from the first time I read about it on Judy's Blog, Keep the Wisdom. I'm enjoying this one so far.
Sunday, January 3, 2021
2021 - Book #1 - Sleepless Nights; Elizabeth Hardwick
TITLE/AUTHOR: Sleepless Nights; Elizabeth Hardwick
PUBLISHER: New York Review Book Classics
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1979 (reprint - 2001)
GENRE: Fiction (partially autobiographical)
FORMAT: print/trade paperback PP/LENGTH: 128 pp.
SOURCE: my shelves/purchased
SETTING(s): US: Kentucky, NY, Maine, Vermont, CT and Europe
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: An elderly woman writes the story of her life through memories.
Friday, January 1, 2021
Happy New Year - 2021 Reading Goals / Challenges
I've been thinking a lot about 2021 reading. The past (2) years I've read between (135-142 books). This year's goal will be (125) so i won't feel any pressure.
It seems like we will still be spending a lot of time home, at least for the first half of 2021 so I wanted to have more focus with on what I'm reading. I want to read more books that I "purchased" over the years: physical books, eBooks and audio books. I really enjoy mysteries and thrillers so I'll try to read more of those in 2021 as well which will include some vintage mysteries as well. I alway start out with good intentions but, then plans fall apart or become less important LOL.
When I first started blogging in 2008, I joined loads of reading challenges each year but, have gotten away from that in recent years. Below are (3) challenges that seem to fit my goals which I decided to do informally:
(2-3 per month from my purchased books)2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois
14. Indiana
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Louisiana
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico
32. New York
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio
36. Oklahoma
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming
(Visit 20+ different countries)
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Favorite Reads of 2020
Books Read in 2020 - 135 and (9 that I abandoned) GoodReads Goal was 125
- (22) NF (113) FICTION
- (34) MALE authors (101) FEMALE
- (19) CHILDREN'S books
- (51) AUDIO books
- (38) PRINT books - (25) of these were print books off my shelves
- (46) eBOOKS
- (43) library borrows (print or library audio downloads)
- (37,867) pages (GoodReads tracker)
- Although I started out tracking the locales from the books I read early on, I didn't keep up the list. I'd love to look back and see the different places where my reading took me. I know it's still doable but, don't have the patience so, "note to self, keep a list of settings in 2021".
- Read more books from my shelves - sadly only (25) print books moved off my shelves in 2020 and were given away or donated. I only purchased about (5) print books in 2020 but about (20) eBooks and (13) audiobooks. "note to self, buy fewer books and read what I already have - borrow the rest from the library."
- Join a couple of new challenges to help me meet my goals and make reading even more fun (more about that in a few days). When I first started blogging I joined lots of challenges but, the last (8) years or so I've mostly done only the RIP in the fall.
- Another thing I noticed that makes me kind of sad is that ALL of my favorite books were published in 2019 or 2020. Why? Because, I'm drawn to new releases yet, there are so many older books that I want to read. "Note to self - read the favorites from years gone by that are still on my TBR list."
- Anatomicum; Jennifer Paxton - 5/5 (print/Dec)
- Ghostology; Curtle & Steel - 5/5 (print/October)
- Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of John Lewis; Jabari Asim - 5/5 (print/August)
- Grow: The Secret of Our DNA; Nicola Davies - 5/5 (print/ September)
- The Nest that Wren Built; Sosenshine - 5/5 (print/May)
- A Promised Land; Barack Obama - memoir - 4.5/5 - (audio/Dec)
- Conversations with RBG; Jeffrey Rosen - 5/5 - (audio/library/Dec)
- Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery; Catherine Gildiner - 5/5 - (eGalley/Nov)
- His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis & the Power of Hope; Jon Meacham -5/5 (eGalley/Oct
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone; Lori Gottlieb - 5/5 (library/print/January)
- Our Fathers; Rebecca Wait - 5/5 (print/library/July)
- Eight Perfect Murders; Peter Swanson - 5/5 (eGalley/audio combo/April)
- My Dark Vanessa; Kate Elizabeth Russell - 5/5 - (eGalley/May)
- The Vanishing Half; Brit Bennett - 5/5 - (eBook/September)
- Olive Again; Elizabeth Strout - 5/5 (audio/January)
- I Was You; Amber Garza - 5/5 - (eGalley/August)
- Nothing More Dangerous; Allen Eskens - 5/5 (library/print/audio/March)
- The Sun Down Motel; Simone St. James - 5/5 - (eGalley/May)
- The Giver of Stars; Jo Jo Moyes - 5/5 - (audio/library/August)
- This Little Family; Ines Bayard - 4.5/5 - (ARC/July)