What I Read And Rejected in 2018

What I read = 137 books total, which includes:
Shakespeare = 6,  Other Drama = 4, Cozy Mysteries = 24, Other Mysteries = 32
Fantasy = 6, MG = 4, Paranormal = 9, Steampunk =2, Other Sci-Fi = 1
Poetry = 1, Historical Fiction (not mystery) = 5, YA Realistic = 1
Non-Fiction History = 5, Non-Fiction Biography = 6, Non-Fiction Travel = 7,
Non-Fiction Cookbooks = 4, Other Non-Fiction = 12

I believe we can safely say that I read mostly mysteries.

2018
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien (again) ***** fantasy  1/13/18
 Mountain States Foraging by Breanna Wiles **** non-fiction 1/15/18
Betty Crocker Lost Recipes **** non-fiction, cookbook 1/17/18
The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien (again) ***** fantasy 1/19/18
The Great and Only Barnum by Candace Fleming ***** YA non-fiction, biography 1/20/18
The Cat Owner’s Manual by Dr. David Brunner  **** non-fiction 1/24/18
The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien (again) ***** fantasy 1/16/18
 Dangerous Days in Elizabethan England by Terry Deary ***** non-fiction, history 2/2/18
Gruesome Guide: Edinburgh by Terry Deary **** MG non-fiction, travel 2/4/18
 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (3rd time) ***** 2/6/18
The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley (3rd time) ***** 2/7/18
 A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (3rd time) ***** mystery 2/9/18
 I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (3rd time) ***** mystery 2/11/18
 Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (3rd time) ***** mystery 2/12/18
 The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley (3rd time) ***** mystery 2/15/18
 As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust by Alan Bradley (2nd time) ***** mystery 2/17/18
 American Circus Posters in Full Color edited by Charles Philip Fox **** non-fiction 2/17/18
 Thrice The Brindled Cat Hath Mewed  by Alan Bradley (2nd time) ***** mystery 2/17/18
 The Grave’s a Fine And Private Place by Alan Bradley (1st time) ***** mystery 2/18/18
 The Art of the Affair by Catherine Lacey and Forsyth Harmon *** non-fiction 2/19/18
 The Life of PT Barnum Written by Himself. **** autobiography 3/3/18
 The Radium Girls by Kate Moore *** non-fiction, history 3/9/18
 The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill (again) *** MG animals 3/11/18
 These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas (2nd time) *****  3/16/18
 These Ruthless Deeds by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas (2nd time) ***** 3/18/18
 Food Fights and Culture Wars by Tom Nealon *** non-fiction 3/27/18
 The Devil in White City by Erik Larson (2nd time)**** history, non-fiction 4/4/18
 The Case of the Counterfeit Coin by George Wyatt *** MG mystery 4/8/18
 The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene *** MG mystery 4/9/18
 Annie Pat and Eddie by Carolyn Haywood (again) ***** MG realistic 4/10/18
 A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn **** new adult or older YA mystery 4/13/18
 Victoria: Portrait of a Queen by Catherine Reef **** YA biography 4/16/18
 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (2B) ***** 4/24/18
 Venturess by  Betsy Cornwell *** YA steampunk 4/24/18
 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (1A) ***** 4/27/18
 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (3A) ***** 4/27/18
 Stop The Press by James W. Ure *** non-fiction, history 4/29/18
 The Wicked Deep by Shea Ermshaw *** YA paranormal witchcraft 5/3/18
 MacBeth (4B) by Shakespeare ***** drama 5/4/18
 MacBeth (1B) by Shakespeare ***** drama 5/7/18
 Twelfth Night by Shakespeare (4A) drama 5/7/18
 Patently Absurd by Bradley Schenck *** sci-fi, humor 5/19/18
 Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey ***** historical (regency period) YA 5/23/18
 These Vengeful Souls by Shanker and Zekas ** YA paranormal 5/25/18
 Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath ** “non-fiction” health 5/25/18
 Dewey by Vicki Myron **** memoir 5/26/18
 Fiction Can Be Murder by Becky Clark **** cozy 5/31/18
 Jane and the 12 Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron historical cozy *** 6/6/18
 Three Square: The Invention of the American Meal by Abigail Carroll non-fiction  **** 6/8/18
 Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey ***** historical cozy romance YA 6/8/18
 Bloody Jack by LA Meyer **** YA historical A/A 6/9/18
 London by Terry Deary **** MG non-fiction, history 6/11/18
 Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan *****YA realistic 6/12/18
 York by English Heritage Society **** non-fiction 6/12/18
 Ginger Snapped by Gail Oust **** cozy 6/14/18
 Murder in the Dog Days by PM Carlson ***** crime 6/15/18
 Murder Misread by PM Carlson **** crime 6/16/18
 Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie ***** mystery 6/17/18
 And A Puzzle To Die On by Parenell Hall *** cozy 6/18/18
 Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) *** crime 6/21/18
 The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos YA mystery *** 6/23/18
 Plum Tea Crazy by Laura Childs cozy *** 6/28/18
 Pumpkin Roll by Josi S. Kilpack *** cozy 6/29/18
 The Beatles’ Liverpool by Ron Jones ***** non-fiction 7/3/18
 Mendips by the National Trust ***** non-fiction 7/4/18
 20 Forthlin Road by the National Trust ***** non-fiction 7/4/18
 Whitby Abbey by the National Trust **** non-fiction 7/8/18
 Old World Murder by Kathleen Ernst *** cozy 7/16/18
 Rebels Magisters by Shanna Swendon **** YA steampunk 7/19/18
 Ask The Cat Keeper by Marc Marrone **** non-fiction 7/21/18
 Confessions of an Average Half-Vampire by Lisa Shafer ***** YA paranormal 7/24/18
 All in the Half-Vampire Family by Lisa Shafer ***** YA paranormal 7/25/18
 Daisies For Innocence by Bailey Cattrell **** cozy 7/26/18
 Nightshade for Warning by Bailey Cattrell **** cozy 7/26/18
 Fit Cat by Arden Moore **** non-fiction 7/27/18
 The Beatles in 100 Objects by Brian Southall ***** non-fiction 7/29/18
 The Legend of Sleepy Harlow by Kylie Logan *** cozy 7/31/18
 My Plain Jane by Hand, Ashton, & Meadow *** YA Jane Eyre paranormal 8/5/18
 Blame Montezuma: An Assortment Of Chocolate Poems **** poetry 8/9/18
 Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie  (2nd time)***** short stories, mystery 8/12/18
 Visualizing the Beatles by John Pring and Rob Thomas **** non-fiction, history 8/14/18
 Christopher Robin: the Novelization *** MG fantasy 8/14/18
 Chocolate: the British Chocolate Industry by Paul Chrystal *** non-fiction 8/15/18
 Inseparable by Yunte Huang *** non-fiction, biography 8/16/18
 Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winsper **** historical cozy 8/19/18
 PreFab! by Colin Hanton and Colin Hall **** memoir 8/25/18
 Deadly Proof by M. Louisa Locke **** historical cozy 9/1/18
 Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear •••• historical cozy 9/7/18
 Violet Vanquishes a Villain by M. Louisa Locke **** historical cozy 9/7/18
 Pilfered Promises by M. Louisa Locke *** historical cozy 9/8/18
 Deadly Threads by Jane Cleland **** cozy mystery 9/10/18
 Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear **** historical mystery 9/14/18
 Death of a Poison Pen by MC Beaton *** cozy 9/15/18
 Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne  *** cozy 9/16/18
 12 Angry Men by Rose and Mamet ***** 1B 9/16/18
 12 Angry Men by Rose and Mamet ***** 4B 9/16/18
 Wychwood: Hallowdene by George Mann **** paranormal mystery 9/20/18
 An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear ***** historical cozy 9/22/18
 The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss cozy **** 9/23/18
 Among The Mad by Jacqueline Winspear historical mystery **** 9/30/18
 The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear **** 10/1/18
 12 Angry Men by Rose and Mamet ***** 3A 10/3/18
 A Lesson In Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear **** historical mystery 10/3/18
 Elegy For Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear **** historical mystery 10/5/18
 Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear **** historical mystery 10/6/18
 A Dangerous Place  by Jacqueline Winspear *** historical mystery 10/7/18
 A Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by MacKenzie Lee ***** YA A/A/fantasy 10/12/18
 Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear *** historical mystery 10/13/18
 In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear **** historical mystery 10/20/18
 To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear **** historical mystery 10/21/18
 Carols and Chaos by Cindy Anstey **** YA historical mystery/romance 10/25/18
 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling (15th time) ***** YA fantasy 10/28/18
 The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell **** YA fantasy 10/28/18
 Fantastic Beasts: Screenplay by JK Rowling (2nd time) ***** YA fantasy/drama 11/2/18
 1491 by Charles C Mann **** non-fiction, history 11/8/18
 Damsel by Elana K. Arnold *** YA fantasy 11/11/18
 Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth Duncan 11/17/18
 Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker cozy mystery **** 11/20/18
 Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chen cozy mystery *** 11/21/18
 A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon cozy mystery **** 11/24/18
 Fatality by Firelight  by Lynn Cahoon cozy mystery **** 11/25/18
 The Crimes of Grindelwald by JK Rowling screenplay ***** 11/25/18
 Air Fry Genius by Meredith Laurence **** cookbook 11/26/18
 Bayou Cuisine: Its Tradition and Transition by St. Stephen’s Church (1970) *** cookbook 11/29/18
 Live Alone and Like It by Marjorie Hillis *** non-fiction, self-help 12/1/18
 The Healthy Air Fry Cookbook by Linda Larsen **** cookbook 12/10/18
 Not of This Fold by Mette Ivie Harrison ***** mystery 12/12/18
  The Art of Secrets by James Klise **** YA contemporary mystery 12/16/18
 Santa Claus by Rod Green ***** picture book 12/22/18
 Vampires in the Temple by Mette Ivie Harrison paranormal mystery *** 12/23/18
 Women in the Material World by Peter Menzel (again) ***** non-fiction 12/26/18
 What the Dead Leave Behind by Rosemary Simpson **** historical mystery 12/26/18
  Lies That Comfort and Betray by Rosemary Simpson **** historical mystery 12/28/18
 Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets by Rosemary Simpson **** historical mystery 12/29/18
 Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones by Kaitlyn Dunnett *** cozy mystery 12/29/18
 Ho, Ho, Homicide by Kaitlyn Dunnett **** cozy mystery 12/30/18
 Kilt At The Highland Games by Kaitlyn Dunnett *** cozy mystery 12/31/18


What I Rejected = 14 total

2018
Murder At Westminster Abbey by Amanda Carmack. The setting was good and the plot was not bad, but I cannot abide stupid protagonists. 143 pages. Gave up sometime in January of 2018.
London Rain by Nicola Upson.  This was described as a mystery, but in the first 50 pages, there was no mystery to solve.  Instead, there was a lesbian love triangle.  I don’t like lesbian romance, and the book was boring.  4/12/18. 
Bunk by Kevin Young.  This is supposed to be a history of hoaxes.  What it actually is is a history of hoaxes which hurt Black people, punctuated by long digressions about Black history which have nothing to do with the topic, written by a man who hates PT Barnum because of his early career involving a “rented” slave.  There is nothing wrong with writing Black history, but the book is mis-titled and mis-represented.  I stopped after 53 pages because I had wanted to read the book this claimed to be, not the book it actually is. 4/20/18.
Eat, Move, Sleep by Tom Rath.  Rath is a self-proclaimed “expert” who cannot organize by topic nor cite his sources.  While much of the advice in the book is standard, Rath uses anecdotal evidence and mentions “scientific studies” without names or dates to back up his claims.  Also, some of his claims -- such as that coffee is good for you and that the body needs no carbohydrates whatsoever -- sound rather fishy.  I forced myself through 155 pages before tossing it aside in disgust. 5/25/18
The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman   In five pages, we had time travel, the Fae, a secret society, and vampires.  Whoa.  Clearly Cogman thinks she’s “crossing genre boundaries,” when what she’s really doing is making a mess. 6/12/18
Dark Dawn Over Steep House by MRC Kasasian. Every chapter appeared to have a different plot. The characters are unlikeable, and the book pretends not to be a Holmes wannabe, all the while throwing in Holmes reference after Holmes reference.  Also, it treats rape very lightly. About five chapters. 7/25/18
The Witches’ Tree by MC Beaton. The writing was so bad!  So many missing commas!  Such choppy sentences!  And so much of it is TOLD instead of SHOWN!  I made it through 1 1/2 chapters.  ugh. 8/26/18
Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams.  Clearly this author believes she is writing MG.  The dialogue was like reading Dick and Jane, and the cheesy puns and literary references were beyond the pale, even for a cozy.  An entire town with book-themed names is .... well, Disneyfied.   I stopped on page 60. 9/1318
An Act of Villainy by Ashley Weaver.  I’ve been reading the Maisie Dobbs mysteries, and this is likewise set in 1930s London, but Maisie Dobbs is an independent woman, and Amory Ames is a rich housewife who accepts the fact that her husband cheats on her.  It is likely true to the time period, but I cannot stand reading a whole book wherein the wives just accept that the men will cheat.  24 pages was all I could stand.  9/15/18
 The Cats Came Back by Sofie Kelly.  I read one page and discovered that it was a cozy mystery with invisible, magical cats.  Nope. Nopety-nope, nope. 9/25/18
 Th eLost Queen by Signe Pike.   So much hype for this book!  And it’s set in Scotland!  But, 65 pages in, it’s bleak and a sad attempt to re-do The Crystal Cave.... only, without anything all that interesting.  It has so many, many names!  Ugh.  It was work to read it.  I stopped at chapter 7 and picked up something else. 9/27/18
 The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White. I read about two chapters before deciding I really didn’t want to waste my time by reading about a girl who manipulates people in order to survive and then falls victim to domestic abuse. 10/24/18
  The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris    This is about medical practices in the Victorian era.  While it was fascinating, it just wasn’t the right book to read at Christmastime....or while eating.  It’s a bit too detailed for that.  Maybe later.....   about 50 pages. 12/12/18
 1776  by David MucCullough sometime in October I gave up, about halfway through the book.  I love history, but this was so boring I simply could not finish it.