Beat the Backlist 2021: 01/01/21

Hosted by Austine of Novel Knight.

I'm starting off the new year by thinking about my reading goals. Once again I completed by GoodReads reading challenge of reading 300 or more books. I plan to do the same this year.

The Beat the Backlist goal, though, is focused on books published in previous years. My most basic goal for this challenge is to have half my reading be backlist. Numerically that would be a minimum of 150 books. Last year I surpassed that goal with more than 171.

My focus, though, will be on the remaining books purchased in 2020 and 2019 that I've yet to read. While I won't limit myself to these books only, I'm posting my current list of TBR books and their release months for the last two years. I do have older books on hand I'd like to read but they are primarily in storage. Getting them out of storage, read, and weeded is another longer term goal.

My 2020 purchases weren't as numerous as 2019, but I still have some left overs. For 2021, I plan to purchase fewer books. I know now from three years of doing this challenge how many new books I can easily read and review in a timely manner. I will do my best to keep my purchase numbers closer to that ceiling.

Below is my list of unread books from 2020 and 2019. I will cross them out as I read them. I will also add other books to the list as I read them, and will bold them.

TBR from 2020

December

1. Ascender, Volume 3: The Digital Mage by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen
2. The Ballad of Ami Miles by Kristy Dallas Alley
3. Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez
4. A Deadly Edition by Victoria Gilbert
5. Tin by Candace Robinson and Amber R. Duell

   November

6. Gideon Falls, Volume 5: Wicked Worlds by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Illustrator)
7. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Volume 1 by Sumito Oowara
8. The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage by Jeff Lemire, Denys Cowan (Illustrator)
9. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
10. Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story by Lauren Myracle and Isaac Goodhart

    October

11. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
12. Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
13. Death by French Roast by Alex Erickson
14. How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay and Matt Ottley (Illustrator)
15. Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella
16. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
17. Muffled by Jennifer Gennari
18. One Way or Another by Kara McDowell
19. Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker
20. Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
21. A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong
22. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater and Morgan Beem (illustrator)
23. Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright (Illustrations)

    September

24. The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling
25. Checked Out for Murder by Allison Brook
26. Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds
27. Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh
28. Hatch by Kenneth Oppel and Sophie Amoss (Narrator)
29. Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn and Christa Lewis (Narrator)
30. Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
31. My Life in the Fish Tank by Barbara Dee
32. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi
33. Smash It! by Francina Simone
34. To Know You're Alive by Dakota McFadzean
35. Tune It Out by Jamie Sumner
36. Turning Point by Paula Chase
37. Well Played by Jen DeLuca
38. The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen

    August

39. Chili Cauldron Curse by Lynn Cahoon
40. Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

    July

41. Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany
42. War Stories by Gordon Korman
43. Witches and Wedding Cake by Bailey Cates

    June

44. Ascender, Volume 2: The Dead Sea by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen
45. Gideon Falls, Volume 4: The Pentoculus by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Illustrator)
46. Nightschool: The Weirn Books Collector's Edition, Volume 2 by Svetlana Chmakova

    May

47. Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen
48. Julieta and the Diamond Enigma by Luisana Duarte Armendáriz
49. Read or Alive by Nora Page
50. A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison and Emily Durante (Narrator)
51. A Study in Murder by Callie Hutton
52. This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling

    April

53. This Spell Can't Last by Isabel Sterling

    January

54. Samantha Spinner and the Boy in the Ball by Russell Ginns

TBR from 2019

December

1. A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
2. Reverie by Ryan La Sala

   November

3. Color Outside the Lines by Sangu Mandanna
4. A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo
5. Coral by Sara Ella
6. Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson
7. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

   October

8. The Burning Queen by Kathryn Lasky
9. Bury the Lede by Gaby Dunn
10. Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie and Rachel Dulude (Narrator)
11. Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
12. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
13. The House of Brides by Jane Cockram
14. Jackpot by Nic Stone
15. Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire
16. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (Artist)
17. Muffin But Trouble by Victoria Hamilton and Margaret Strom (Narrator)
18. On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young and Dina Pearlman (Narrator)

    September

19. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams
20. Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo
21. The Big Shrink by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins
22. Buried in the Stacks by Allison Brook
23. Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron and Amy Melissa Bentley (Narrator)
24. How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters
25. It's a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories by Katherine Locke
26. Just Because by Mac Barnett and Isabelle Arsenault
27. Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
28. More to the Story by Hena Khan
29. No Judgments by Meg Cabot
30. Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
31. Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson
32. The Tea Dragon Festival by Kay O'Neill
33. Well Met by Jen DeLuca

    August

34. Cookies and Clairvoyance by Bailey Cates
35. Dough Boys by Paula Chase
36. Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
37. The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey

    July

38. Blastaway by Melissa Landers
39. The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess

    June

40. The Tell Tail Heart by Cate Conte

    May

41. The Secret Starling by Judith Eagle

    March

42. Samantha Spinner and the Spectacular Specs by Russell Ginns

Older books

1. Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron (2018)
2. How to Lie with Maps by Mark Monmonier (2018)
3. A Problematic Paradox by Eliot Sappingfield (2018)
4. Purrder She Wrote by Cate Conte and Amy Melissa Bentley (2018)
5. Read and Gone by Allison Brook (2018)
6. Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans by Russell Ginns (2018)
7. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher (2018)
8. A Witch's Printing Office, Volume 2 by Mochinchi and Yasuhiro Miyama (2018)
9. Yule Be Dead by Lorraine Bartlett and Gayle Leeson (2018)
10. Finding Mighty by Sheela Chari (2017)
11. The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill (2017)
12. A Cajun Christmas Killing by Ellen Byron (2017)
13. Cat About Town by Cate Conte and Amy Melissa Bentley (Narrator) (2017)
14. Feast: Recipes and Stories from a Canadian Road Trip by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller (2017)
15. Moriarty the Patriot, Volume 3 by Ryōsuke Takeuchi (2017)
16. Muffin to Fear by Victoria Hamilton (2017)
17. Potions and Pastries by Bailey Cates (2017)
18. Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older (2017)
19. When the Grits Hit the Fan by Maddie Day and Laural Merlington (Narrator) (2017)
20. Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron (2016)
21. Dead, Bath, and Beyond by Lorraine Bartlett and Laurie Cass (Narrator) (2016)
22. Ghosts from Our Past by Erin Gilbert, Abby L. Yates, and Andrew Shaffer (2016)
23. Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day (2016)
24. Grilled for Murder by Maddie Day (2016)
25. March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Illustrator) (2016)
26. Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton (2016)
27. Restaurant to Another World Volume 3 by Junpei Inuzuka and Katsumi Enami (Illustrations) (2016)
28. Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) by Lauren Graham (2016)
29. The White Cat's Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King's Lap: Volume 1 by Kureha (2016)
30. Better Homes and Corpses by Kathleen Bridge (2015)
31. Death of an English Muffin by Victoria Hamilton (2015)
32. Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella (2015)
33. To Brew or Not to Brew by Joyce Tremel (2015)
34. Toured to Death by Hy Conrad (2015)
35. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (2014)
36. A High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle (2014)
37. House of Cards by Michael Dobbs (2014)
38. Muffin But Murder by Victoria Hamilton (2014)
39. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier (2014)
40. Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson (2014)
41. Sugar and Iced by Jenn McKinlay (2014)
42. Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz (2013)
43. Going, Going, Ganache by Jenn McKinlay (2013)
44. One Hot Murder by Lorraine Bartlett (2013)
45. An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette (2012)
46. Copycat Killing by Sofie Kelly (2012)
47. Foul Play at the Fair by Shelley Freydont (2012)
48. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (2012)
49. Red Velvet Revenge by Jenn McKinlay (2012)
50. Revenge of the Horned Bunnies by Ursula Vernon (2012)
51. Stray Bullets by Robert Rotenberg (2012)
52. The Walled Flower by Lorraine Bartlett (2012)
53. When Fairies Go Bad by Ursula Vernon (2012)
54. Among the Departed by Vicki Delany (2011)
55. Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay (2011)
56. A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett (2011)
57. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly (2011)
58. Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay (2011)
59. Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly (2011)
60. Lips Unsealed by Belinda Carlisle (2011)
61. Cut to the Corpse by Lucy Lawrence (2010)
62. Negative Image by Vicki Delany (2010)
63. Ghastly Glass by Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene (2009)
64. Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (2009)
65. Signspotting III: Lost and Loster in Translation by Doug Lansky (2009)
66. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (2009)
67. The Ghost and the Femme Fatale by Alice Kimberly (2008)
68. State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy (2008)
69. Rockridge by Robin Wolf and Tom Wolf (2007)
70. The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library by Alice Kimberly (2006)
71. The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly (2005)
72. A Dilly of a Death by Susan Wittig Albert (2004)
73. The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly (2004)
74. Death Gets A Time-Out by Ayelet Waldman (2003)
75. Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, Volume 2 by Hinowa Kouzuki (2003)
76. The Last Treasure by Janet S. Anderson (2003)
77. Made You Look by Diane Roberts (2003)
78. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2003)
79. A Playdate With Death by Ayelet Waldman (2002)
80. Bloodroot by Susan Wittig Albert (2001)
81. Friendship Cake by Lynne Hinton (2000)
82. Chocolat by Joanne Harris (1999)
83. Funky Chickens by Benjamin Zephaniah (1996)
84. Tippy Toe Murder by Leslie Meier (1994)
85. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (1990)
86. The Drastic Dragon of Draco, Texas by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1986)
87. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (1984)
88. Marmalade's Nap by Cindy Wheeler (1983)
89. Hearts by Hilma Wolitzer (1980)
90. This is Munich by Miroslav Sasek (1961)
91. This Is Venice by Miroslav Sasek (1961)
92. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (1959)
93. The Air-Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller (1945)
94. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome (1900)
95. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1898)