2016 Reading Challenge

Auntie's 2016 Challenge:

* A book published in 2016: Death of a Nurse: M.C. Beaton

* A book you can finish in 1 day: World Food: Italy, Linda Doesser

* A book you've been meaning to read: Chomp, Carl Hiaasen  ★ ★ ★ ★

* A book recommended to you by a Librarian or Bookseller (not an online bookseller)

* A book you should have read in school, but didn't: The Little Prince,

* A book recommended by a spouse, partner, friend, relative, child, or sibling: French for Cats,

* A book published before you were born: Three Blind Mice & Other Stories, Christie

* A book that was banned at some point
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* A book you put down & have never finished:

Shroud for a Nightingale: P.D. James ★ ★

Now I remember why I put this book down...  The opening was boring and I just didn't care but I needed a book for the challenge.....

Two young nursing students are murdered...  They were not particularly well liked and one was a self-righteous petty blackmailer.  Called in to  investigate Inspector Dagliesh has his work cut out for him..... for there are many other victims besides the two poisoned nurses and many people jousting for positions of power.

I couldn't keep the characters straight as many were on the peripheral and mentioned in passing and for the most part, I didn't care about the rest. They were not nice or likable people and I found Inspector Dagliesh tedious as well.

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* A book  you've been meaning to read:

Chomp, Carl Hiaasen  ★ ★ ★ ★

What an enchanting read.....

I ♥ most all of Hiaasen's work: he's honest, irreverent, funny, and takes a look at real environmental issues.

Wahoo & his father have a wildlife rescue center in their backyard....  His father has recently suffered a concussion from a frozen iguana that fell out of a tree, and now has headaches & sees double.....

They are approached by a reality t.v. show that wants  to hire them & their alligator for an Everglades episode.

The star of the t.v. show is a total egotistical fake with ideas of grandeur.  While filming w/ Alice the tame alligator, the star decides to hop on Alice's back and ends up going for a wild ride...

Soon all are on their way to an Everglades tour site, with the addition of Tuna, a run-away schoolmate of Wahoo's whose father has blackened her eye.

When her father shows up, even more  madcap madness abounds.

Well written, fast  paced , and entertaining... a good read for pre-teens.
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* A book you own but have yet to read

* A book that intimidates you

* A book you're already read at least onceA

I Read 91 Books This Year:

My Shelfari goal was to read 50, then 75 books this year... I 'm up to 91!

Goal Completed (11/11/15)

1: Peril at End House
2: The Secret of Chimneys
3: The Seven Dials Mystery
4: The Sittaford Mystery
5: Murder on the Links
6: Murder in the Mews
7: The Moving Finger
8: They Do It with Mirrors
9: Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
10: The Mysterious Affair at Styles
11: Meetings with the Archangel: A Comedy of the Spirit
12: The Bell Jar
13: The Secret Adversary
14: Ghostwalk
15: Season of the Dragonflies: A Novel
16: The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
17: The Rosie Effect
18: Cards on the Table
19: First Frost
20: Poirot Investigates
21: Three Blind Mice and Other Stories
22: The Regatta Mystery
23: Double Sin and Other Stories
24: The Underdog and Other Stories
25: To Say Nothing of the Dog
26: The Murder at the Vicarage
27: The Essential Seafood Cookbook
28: Hallowe'en Party
29: Partners in Crime
30: Witness for the Prosecution
31: Sprout
32: Arranged Marriage
33: The Mysterious Mr. Quin
34: Death Comes As the End
35: Rebel Belle
36: Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle)
37: Towards Zero
38: Sparkling Cyanide
39: Death of a Liar
40: Wicked Craving
41: Artists in Crime
42: The Laws of Murder
43: The Queen's Governess
44: Mrs. Jeffries Holds the Trump
45: Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away (Victorian Mystery) by Emily Brightwell (3-Feb-2015) Mass Market Paperback
46: The Golden Book of Chocolate: Over 300 Great Recipes
47: Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead
48: Wicked Charms: A Lizzy and Diesel Novel (Lizzy & Diesel)
49: The quotable stoner
50: Mrs. Jeffries and the Best Laid Plans
51: Pasta
52: Mistress of Mourning
53: CUPCAKES: 39 IRRESISTIBLE RECIPES [WITH 9 SILICONE CUPCAKE MOLDS] BY Thunder Bay Press (Author) Thunder Bay Press (publisher) Paperback
54: Beef & Veal (Williams-Sonoma Mastering) Hardcover - November 7, 2005
55: Spellcasting in Silk
56: The Great Train Robbery
57: Mexican Calendar Girls: Chicas de calendarios Mexicanos Paperback - August 17, 2006
58: The Levy Caper
59: Frida Kahlo 1907-1954: Pain and Passion
60: Malice at the Palace (A Royal Spyness Mystery)
61: Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones (Liss MacCrimmon Mystery)
62: Night Watch
63: Secondhand Souls
64: The Caliph's House
65: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana
66: The Poisoning in the Pub
67: Mrs Pargeter's Principle (A Mrs Pargeter Mystery)
68: Dead and Kicking
69: By Simon Brett - Blotto, Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess: Blotto, Twinks #2 (Reprint) (2012-01-31) [Paperback]
70: The Taming of the Queen
71: The Marvels
72: Murder on Amsterdam Avenue
73: The Lady Elizabeth
74: I'll Never Write My Memoirs
75: Trouble in Mudbug
76: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
77: Showdown in Mudbug
78: The Silver Locomotive Mystery
79: The Iron Horse
80: Resurrection in Mudbug
81: The Stationmaster's Farewell
82: The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories
83: Taken at the Flood
84: Third Girl
85: Railway to the grave
86: Peril on the royal train
87: They Came to Baghdad
88: Wives Behaving Badly
89: Tricky Twenty-Two: A Stephanie Plum Novel
90: The Inconvenient Indian
91: Three Act Tragedy

http://mentalfloss.com/article/61083/15-gorgeous-little-free-libraries

15 Gorgeous Little Free Libraries

Virginia C McGuire

filed under: architecture, libraries

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Photo courtesy of Flickr user David Silver.

The Little Free Library movement began in Wisconsin in 2009, and gained momentum quickly. Little free libraries sprung up all over the world—outside cafes, in parks, beside full-sized libraries and bookstores, and even in people’s front yards. They have books inside for anyone to borrow, with signs inviting users to donate books. By January 2015, the number of mini libraries registered with the Little Free Library organization had grown to 22,000. 

We’ve gathered some of the best photos of Little Free Libraries we could find, everything from the classic house-like structures for sale on the organization’s website to a series of little libraries in New York City sponsored by the PEN World Voices Festival and The Architectural League of New York.

1. I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR

Fourth Arts Block, Extra Place with stpmj, photo courtesy of stpmj.

This little library at Fourth Arts Block is clad in mirrors that reflect the street art on a nearby brick wall. 

2. REPURPOSED NEWSPAPER BOX

Photo credit Flickr user Josh Larios.

The slow decline of traditional news media does not, fortunately, mean the end of reading. 

3. INSPIRED BY ANDREW CARNEGIE

Photo courtesy of Alexandra Hay, The Architectural League of New York. 

The Little Free Library project has drawn much of its inspiration from Andrew Carnegie, the great funder of American libraries. This library was placed outside New York City’s University Settlement by Mark Rakatansky Studio with Aaron White. 

4. BRITISH PHONE BOOTH STYLE

Photo by Christine Modey.

American phone booths were never this pretty. 

5. NOOK AND CRANNY

Photo courtesy of Alexandra Hay, The Architectural League of New York.

This inventive library is set between two pillars outside Cooper Union in New York City. It was designed by the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture’s Design III Studio with Maja Hjertsén Knutson and Christopher Taleff, designer leaders and Michael Young, David Allin and Lydia Kallipoliti, faculty team. 

6. THE A-FRAME

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Mark Turnauckas.

This little library in Ohio is adorably triangular. 

7. PARTICLEBOARD THAT LOOKS LIKE PAPER

Photo courtesy of Alexandra Hay, The Architectural League of New York.

This Little Free Library doubles as a bench. It’s located at the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council in New York City, and was designed with Chat Travieso. 

8. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Mark McClure. 

The Little Free Library organization encourages people to build libraries out of reclaimed materials, like this repurposed window. 

9. SUNSHINE ON A CLOUDY DAY

Photo courtesy of Beowulf Sheehan/PEN American Center. 

This cheerful Little Free library at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral School was designed by The They Co. with Stereotank. 

10. THE DOCTOR IS IN

Photo by @EugeneTardisLFL. 

Many LFLs have been designed to look like the Tardis from Dr. Who. 

11. THE WALL-E OF LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES

Photo by Carolyn Kellogg.

This LFL in Joshua Tree looks like a pair of robot eyes. 

12. THE BOOK IN THE BUBBLE

New York University with Matter Practice, photo courtesy of Beowulf Sheehan/PEN American Center. 

Some Little Free Libraries are small enough that they only hold one book, like this one at New York University that’s attracting the attention of a passing child. 

13. THE BIRD HOUSE

Photo courtesy of Mallorn Imagery. 

This library in Moscow looks like it could hold bird seed as well as books. 

14. THE TRANSPARENT LIBRARY

Photo courtesy of Beowulf Sheehan/PEN American Center.

This installation at La MaMa in New York City, designed with Davies Tang + Toews, has a clear compartment for each book. 

15. PARK IT HERE

Created by the Hester Street Collaborative with Shannon Harvey, Adam Michaels and Levi Murphy, photo courtesy of Shannon Harvey.

This library on Hester Street in New York transforms an ordinary cement lot into a refuge. 

Is there a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? Show us a picture in the comments! If you don’t have one near you yet, check out the Little Free Library website for information on how to buy or build your own little library.