PennyT's monthly themes for 2020

pennyt
Administrator

Posts: 3,289

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Dec 18, 2019 17:24:21 GMT janetandjohn and adelynechan like this

Quote

Post by pennyt on Dec 18, 2019 17:24:21 GMT

I've just sorted out my themes for next year in case anyone else would like to join in again. Some are repeats (I always enjoy the short books month and the 'next in series') and some overlap with some of the 40BC which might be helpful!!

Jan The Female of the Species
- books about women!! Or written by a woman if that's easier...

Or both, as most of the books I've chosen for this just happen to be!

Feb      Raining Cats and Dogs
- books with cat/dog (or tiger, wolf etc!) in the title or in the book

Mar     Fly Me to the Moon
- books about flying and/or space

Apr     The Travelling Book
- journeys! The longer the better...

May     Oh to Be in England…
- yes, that's right - books set in England!

Jun     We’ve All Gone to Look for America
- and this one's quite obvious too...

Jul It’s Raining Men!
- books about or by men. NOT about very weird weather!

Aug     Short books month
- I class as 'short' anything under 250 pages

Sep     Flora and fauna
- nature books, novels with plants/trees/animals in the title... etc

Oct     River Deep, Mountain High
- and you can probably work this one out!

Nov     Next in series

Dec     Ones that got away
- books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!

Last Edit: Jun 6, 2020 21:20:26 GMT by janetandjohn

adelynechan
Epic Fantasy Series

Posts: 4,328

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Dec 18, 2019 21:18:13 GMT pennyt likes this

Quote

Post by adelynechan on Dec 18, 2019 21:18:13 GMT

I will try this again (3 themed reads per month, same as for this year and last)! Didn't make this two years running now, but it's fun to think ahead and also still have a challenge towards the end of the year when I've pretty much finished the others. Am particularly liking the theme for next December too

Jan The Female of the Species

- books about women!! Or written by a woman if that's easier...

Or both, as most of the books I've chosen for this just happen to be!

After the Party by Cressida Connolly (09/01/2020)

Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella (10/01/2020)

In Mozart's Shadow: His Sister's Story by Caroline Meyer (12/01/2020)

Bossypants by Tina Fey (12/01/2020)

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (17/01/2020)
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict (31/01/2020)

Feb Raining Cats and Dogs
- books with cat/dog (or tiger, wolf etc!) in the title or in the book

Lie Down with Lions by Ken Follett (15/02/2020)
The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort (15/02/2020) DNF
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (20/02/2020)

Karpal Singh: Tiger of Jelutong by Tim Donoghue (28/02/2020)

Mar Fly Me to the Moon

- books about flying and/or space

The House on Half Moon Street by Alex Reeve (10/03/2020)
Looking at the Stars by Lewis Hine (23/03/2020)

Radical Simplicity by Ken Allen (28/03/2020) about the becoming of DHL, which flies parcels across the globe...

Apr The Travelling Book
- journeys! The longer the better...

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall-Smith (04/04/2020)

The Children on Platform One (06/04/2020)
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick (09/04/2020)

The Stationery Shop of Tehran (18/04/2020)
Washington Square by Henry James (24/04/2020)
Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern (30/04/2020) Boston-Dublin-Boston-Dublin...

May Oh to Be in England…
- yes, that's right - books set in England!

Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton (05/05/2020)

The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby (08/05/2020)

The Terrorist by Caroline B. Cooney (13/05/2020)

The Perfectly Imperfect Woman by Milly Johnson (16/05/2020)
The Best Boomerville Hotel by Caroline James (20/05/2020)
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (22/05/2020)

Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe (23/05/2020)
The Switch by Beth O'Leary (29/05/2020)

Jun We’ve All Gone to Look for America
- and this one's quite obvious too...

Lawyer for the Cat by Lee Robinson (02/06/2020)
If You Go Down to the Woods by Seth C. Adams (06/06/2020)
Kiss the Girls by James Patterson (16/06/2020)

Jul It’s Raining Men!
- books about or by men. NOT about very weird weather!

The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks (02/07/2020)
Give and Take by Adam Grant (07/07/2020)

The Devil in the Valley by Castle Freeman Jr (08/07/2020)

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane (09/07/2020)
The Gifted, The Talented and Me by William Sutcliffe (11/07/2020)

The Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum (13/07/2020)
Hard Choices by Donald Low and Sudhir Vadaketh (24/07/2020)
Unfree Speech by Joshua Wong (30/07/2020)

Aug Short books month
- I class as 'short' anything under 250 pages

A River in the Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa (05/08/2020)

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (10/08/2020)

The Donor by Clare Mackintosh (12/08/2020)

The Disappearance of Signora Giulia (23/08/2020)

Sep Flora and fauna
- nature books, novels with plants/trees/animals in the title... etc

When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman (13/09/2020)

The Tiger That Isn't by Michael Blastland & Andrew Dilmot (25/09/2020)

Tall Oaks by Chris Whitaker (27/09/2020)

Oct River Deep, Mountain High
- and you can probably work this one out!

Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman (21/10/2020)

The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg (27/10/2020) for lack of TBR options I'm counting this one... as the River Hudson features quite prominently!

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (29/10/2020)

Nov Next in series
The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop by Caroline Roberts (07/11/2020)
The Puppet Show by M.W. Craven (07/11/2020)

Black Summer by M.W. Craven (14/11/2020)

The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan (21/11/2020)

Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan (25/11/2020)
The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop by Caroline Roberts (started Nov but only finished 02/12/2020)

Dec Ones that got away
- books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!
Very few got away this year, so I'll do Christmas reads for this month's theme instead
The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft (10/12/2020)
The Curator by M.W. Craven (13/12/2020)
Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews (17/12/2020)
The Secret Santa by Trish Harnetiaux (26/12/2020)

Last Edit: Dec 26, 2020 19:26:37 GMT by adelynechan

Currently Reading (F): The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Currently Reading (NF): Post Corona by Scott Galloway
Currently Reading (buddy reads):
Currently Listening To: Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

GR: www.goodreads.com/user/show/18840302-adelyne-chan

janetandjohn
Complete Works of Shakespeare

MODeration in all things (except books!)

Posts: 6,260

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Dec 18, 2019 21:54:40 GMT pennyt likes this

Quote

Post by janetandjohn on Dec 18, 2019 21:54:40 GMT

Thanks, pennyt , I did 11 out of 12 for 2019 of your monthly themes, and that only because I did not have a book on my shelves that fitted the category for a particular month. Now raring to go again!

Jan: The Female of the Species
The Visitors - Rebecca Mascull Great read.

Feb Raining Cats and Dogs
The Art of Racing in the RAin - Garth Stein Oh! I loved this one.

Mar Fly Me to the Moon

Fly By Night - Franicis Hardinge ( not sure if anyone actually flies, but the title is OK!) This was Hardinge's first book. I've liked others better, but it had Fly in the title and could find nothing else on my shelves to fit!)

Apr The Travelling Book
- journeys! The longer the better...

Travels with Farley - Claire Mowat Rather dry reading - like a diary......

May Oh to Be in England…
- yes, that's right - books set in England!

Thirteen Guests - J Jefferson Farjeon Slow starter but perfect tie up to this GAC country house murder mystery

Jun We’ve All Gone to Look for America
- and this one's quite obvious too...

Digging to America - Anne Tyler Gentle and satisfying read

Jul It’s Raining Men!
- books about or by men. NOT about very weird weather!

The Food Taster - Peter Elbling

Aug Short books month
- I class as 'short' anything under 250 pages

Sep Flora and fauna
- nature books, novels with plants/trees/animals in the title... etc

Oct River Deep, Mountain High
- and you can probably work this one out!

Nov Next in series

Dec Ones that got away
- books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!

Last Edit: Jun 30, 2020 11:41:20 GMT by janetandjohn

mac-adventureswithbooks.blogspot.co.uk is my blog. Do drop in from time to time.

rosemary3
Book Circle Assistant

Posts: 2,298

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Dec 18, 2019 22:01:44 GMT pennyt likes this

Quote

Post by rosemary3 on Dec 18, 2019 22:01:44 GMT

I'll join in again, too! I did 10 this year, including one that was a bit late, into the next month. Let's see if I can do better in 2020...

JANUARY The Female of the Species

- books about women!! Or written by a woman if that's easier...

Or both, as most of the books I've chosen for this just happen to be!

Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay, 5/1/20 - set in a women's college

The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray, 23/1/20 - about herself drinking and stopping

FEBRUARY Raining Cats and Dogs

- books with cat/dog (or tiger, wolf etc!) in the title or in the book

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun, 24/2/20

MARCH Fly Me to the Moon

- books about flying and/or space

Maria in the Moon by Louise Beech, 31/3/20 - not actually about flying, but it has "moon" in the title

APRIL The Travelling Book

- journeys! The longer the better...

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, 17/4/20

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck, 27/4/20

The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, 28/4/20

MAY Oh to Be in England…

- yes, that's right - books set in England!

The Untouchable by John Banville, 4/5/20

Ghost Stories by M R James, 16/5/20 (mostly)

Casanova's Chinese Restaurant by Anthony Powell, 19/5/20

Trent's Last Case by E C Bentley, 21/5/20

The Misses Mallett by E H Young, 27/5/20

The Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair, 30/5/20

JUNE We’ve All Gone to Look for America

- and this one's quite obvious too...

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, 18/6/20

JULY It’s Raining Men!
- books about or by men. NOT about very weird weather!

The Yew Tree's Shade by Cyril Hare, 1/7/20
The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech, 4/7/20 (about men)

The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill, 5/7/20 (about men)

Smith of Wootton Major by J R R Tolkien, 12/7/20

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks, 22/7/20

AUGUST Short books month

- I class as 'short' anything under 250 pages

Murder Every Monday by Pamela Branch, 1/8/20, 224 pages

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov, 11/8/20, 228 pages

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, 13/8/20, 160 pages

Claudine's House by Colette, 16/8/20, 170 pages

The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela, 19/8/20, 192 pages

The Devil in the Valley by Castle Freeman Jr, 26/8/20, 192 pages

SEPTEMBER Flora and fauna

- nature books, novels with plants/trees/animals in the title... etc

The Garden of the Villa Mollini by Rose Tremain, 2/9/20

The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin, 18/9/20

The Cat Who Saw Red by Lilian Jackson Braun, 19/9/20

The Crow's Inn Tragedy by Annie Hayes, 30/9/20

OCTOBER River Deep, Mountain High
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, 24/10/20

NOVEMBER Next in series
Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin, 9/11/20
Jazz by Toni Morrison, 15/11/20
Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin, 27/11/20

DECEMBER Ones that got away

- books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!

Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders, 2/12/20 - for the 40 Books challenge

The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein, 9/12/20 - kept planning to read this and putting it off

Last Edit: Dec 12, 2020 15:22:14 GMT by rosemary3

sarita
Epic Fantasy Series

Posts: 3,492

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Dec 19, 2019 13:34:19 GMT pennyt likes this

Quote

Post by sarita on Dec 19, 2019 13:34:19 GMT

I'm going to give it a go too, combining this one with the other challenges.

JANUARY The Female of the Species
- books about women!! Or written by a woman if that's easier...

Or both, as most of the books I've chosen for this just happen to be!
De l'autre côté de la machine by Dr Aurélie Jean. Because the author is a remarkable science woman.
Muriel's Bear by Kath Middleton.

FEBRUARY Raining Cats and Dogs
- books with cat/dog (or tiger, wolf etc!) in the title or in the book
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

MARCH Fly Me to the Moon
- books about flying and/or space
Flights by Olga Tokarczuk. Read in Feb but absolutely belonging here.

APRIL The Travelling Book
- journeys! The longer the better...
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstadt
The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin

MAY Oh to Be in England…
- yes, that's right - books set in England!
Black Summer by MC Craven
An English Murder by Cyril Hare
Red Bones by Ann Cleeves
White Nights by Ann Cleeves

JUNE We’ve All Gone to Look for America
- and this one's quite obvious too...
Three Bullets by R J Ellory
Killing Mr Watson by Peter Matthiessen
We Can Build You by Philip K Dick

JULY It’s Raining Men!
- books about or by men. NOT about very weird weather!
Madrapour by Robert MERLE
C'est dur de mourir au printemps by Alfredo Noriega
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
Halgato by Feri Lainscek
and a few more

AUGUST Short books month
- I class as 'short' anything under 250 pages
Sept histoires qui reviennent de loin by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Port-Soudan by Olivier Rolin

SEPTEMBER Flora and fauna
- nature books, novels with plants/trees/animals in the title... etc
Dog on It by Spencer Quinn
Une rose seule by Muriel Barbery

OCTOBER River Deep, Mountain High
- and you can probably work this one out!
Nothing fits this month.

NOVEMBER Next in series
The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris last in the Chocolat series.

DECEMBER Ones that got away
- books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!

Last Edit: Nov 30, 2020 19:29:09 GMT by sarita

windysisters
Administrator

Posts: 5,717

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Jan 2, 2020 13:41:24 GMT

Quote

Post by windysisters on Jan 2, 2020 13:41:24 GMT

I'll be attempting this again but, as before, just one book per month for each category:

Jan The Female of the Species (books about women or written by a woman)
The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse (author and two main characters are female)

Feb Raining Cats and Dogs (books with cat/dog in the title or in the book)
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lilian Jackson Braun
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (wolf is a significant character)

Mar Fly Me to the Moon (books about flying and/or space)
Bird by Jane Adams

Apr The Travelling Book (journeys!)
The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

May Oh to Be in England (books set in England)
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Jun We’ve All Gone to Look for America (books set in America)
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Jul It’s Raining Men! (books about or by men)
Any Man's Death by Hazel Holt

Aug Short books month (anything under 250 pages)
Blood Underground by Dan Waddell

Sep Flora and fauna (novels with plants/trees/animals)
Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley

Oct River Deep, Mountain High

Nov Next in series

Dec Ones that got away (books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!)

Last Edit: Oct 19, 2020 8:40:05 GMT by windysisters

Currently reading: Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
Currently listening to: Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo

elliej84 War and Peace Posts: 1,997	PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Jan 2, 2020 20:33:03 GMT janetandjohn and peppercricket like this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by elliej84 on Jan 2, 2020 20:33:03 GMT All of the books I am reading this month just happen to be by women about women - go me!
	Wishlist: www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/aCrLKgY or search Ellie Barlow or Eleanor Barlow on GR Books read 2018: 115/90 Books read 2017: 129/78 Books read 2016: 90/52

geminii
Administrator

Posts: 6,269

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Jan 4, 2020 14:51:43 GMT

Quote

Post by geminii on Jan 4, 2020 14:51:43 GMT

You always come up with some great themes, pennyt, but I don't think I'll be able to fit in more Challenges to join in every month .. however, where the Book fits, and all that ..

January - The Female of the Species

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Suzanne xx

Currently Reading :

Books Read 2024 : 59
Books Read 2023 : 145
Books Read 2022 : 147 Books Read 2021 : 132
Books Read 2020 : 116 Books Read 2019 : 105
Books Read 2018 : 214 Books Read 2017 : 203

littlereader
War and Peace

Posts: 1,301

PennyT's monthly themes for 2020 Jan 8, 2020 14:07:14 GMT

Quote

Post by littlereader on Jan 8, 2020 14:07:14 GMT

Jan: The Female of the Species
- books about women!! Or written by a woman if that's easier...

Or both
The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware
Ask Again, Yes - Mary Beth Keane
The Cut Out Girl - Bart van Es
Long Bright River - Liz Moore
The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes
Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

Feb Raining Cats and Dogs
- books with cat/dog (or tiger, wolf etc!) in the title or in the book
Dog Town - Luīze Pastore
Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing story of the Wizard of Oz - Michael Morpurgo

Mar Fly Me to the Moon
- books about flying and/or space
Turbulence - David Szalay
Skyward: The Story of Female Pilots in WWII - Sally Deng

Apr The Travelling Book
- journeys! The longer the better...

May Oh to Be in England…
- yes, that's right - books set in England!

Jun We’ve All Gone to Look for America
- and this one's quite obvious too...

Jul It’s Raining Men!
- books about or by men. NOT about very weird weather!

Aug Short books month
- I class as 'short' anything under 250 pages

Sep Flora and fauna
- nature books, novels with plants/trees/animals in the title... etc

Oct River Deep, Mountain High
- and you can probably work this one out!

Nov Next in series

Dec Ones that got away
- books that you'd like to have fitted in earlier in the year to fill in certain categories etc, but just didn't get around to!

Last Edit: Mar 10, 2020 9:09:16 GMT by littlereader

My Book Reviews

Post by pennyt on Dec 18, 2019 17:24:21 GMT

Post by adelynechan on Dec 18, 2019 21:18:13 GMT

Post by janetandjohn on Dec 18, 2019 21:54:40 GMT

Post by rosemary3 on Dec 18, 2019 22:01:44 GMT

Post by sarita on Dec 19, 2019 13:34:19 GMT

Post by windysisters on Jan 2, 2020 13:41:24 GMT

Post by elliej84 on Jan 2, 2020 20:33:03 GMT

Post by geminii on Jan 4, 2020 14:51:43 GMT

Post by littlereader on Jan 8, 2020 14:07:14 GMT

Quick Reply