Roses and Rot by Kat Howard

Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book up for bookclub. It’s not really a genre that I read regularly, so I was a little bit worried that I might not like it. I loved it! It took a chapter or two for me to get into, but I got to the point where I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted to know what happened to the characters.

It was a lot darker than the books that I usually read, but I am glad that I read it. I would recommend it to those who enjoy darker fantasy books.

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The movie was better

I have been trying to find a bookclub that is a perfect fit for me. I have found two, but I stopped going to others because of a variety of reasons. There were a couple of bookclubs that made me feel this way. They did not like my take on the book, or they loved it and I hated it. No actual bouncer, though.

Must Read Bookclub Books, 2020

Must read bookclub reads 2020

The above linked article lists books that would be great for 2020 bookclubs. I left the update for American Dirt in, because it has some interesting links associated with it. The list is great, and I have heard of several of these.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Followers by Megan Angelo

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Update: when I first recommended American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, I was not aware of the whole context behind the story. I urge you all to read this Buzzfeed article as it breaks down the controversy.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin

Mysteries/Thrillers

The God Game by Danny Tobey

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung

The Herd by Andrea Bartz

Historical Fiction

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict

All The Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

The Girl In White Gloves by Kerri Maher

And They Called It Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

The Queen’s Secret by Karen Harper

How to Start a Successful Bookclub

Successful bookclub

The above linked article talks about 4 simple steps to start a successful bookclub. They sound simple enough, but some aren’t so easy. Finding like-minded friends is difficult, and sometimes it’s difficult to agree on a book. Meeting times and places are always difficult, too.

I have been lucky enough to find a few bookclubs where I fit in, and they understand my chaotic schedule. I have been thinking about dropping out of those that do not “spark joy” in my life. I am not thinking of starting up a new one. I’ll just continue on with the ones that make me happy.

So, what are you reading

Again, I missed Wednesday’s post, so Friday will have to do.

I am finishing up Magic for Liars which was for bookclub last week. It’s on audiobook, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I am finishing up my Kindle book, Enchanted Ever After. It’s the latest in the Enchanted, Inc series, and I have loved every one of the books so far, including this one.

I am still working on the library book about Alcatraz. I may finish it this weekend.

I have to choose a book stack book to get done. They are starting to take over. It kind of reminds me of The Blob.

1 book ahead of schedule

I started out with a bang with my annual reading challenge. I spent most of the year being many, many books ahead, but I just haven’t been reading as quickly this Fall.

I adjusted my reading goal twice. I started out with 75 books as my goal, but with the children’s books I easily met that goal. So, I adjusted it to 100. Again, I met that easily. I finally settled on 120, taking the children’s books into consideration, and adding a couple of extra adult books to add the 40 ish children’s books to the original 75, plus a couple.

Yesterday, I finished book 105/120. I should be finishing book 106 today. I have several other books that are mostly finished, but a few have to be read in order, because of bookclub deadlines. I have about 6 weeks to go to finish 14 books. I am positive I can do it.

Online Bookclubs

Online bookclubs

The above linked article talks about online bookclubs. These are the ones listed and linked, but the article talks more about them.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Followers by Megan Angelo

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin

Mysteries/Thrillers

The God Game by Danny Tobey

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung

The Herd by Andrea Bartz

Historical Fiction

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict

All The Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

The Girl In White Gloves by Kerri Maher

And They Called It Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

The Queen’s Secret by Karen Harper

Our Shared Shelf

Oprah’s Book Club 2.0

The Rumpus Book Club

Free Minds Book Club

Action Book Club

Books at Work

Reese’s Book Club

The History Book Club

WIRED Book Club

Between Two Books

Belletrist

13. Andrew Luck Book Club

New Adult Book Club

Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club