2020 Mommy Mannegren 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge

Each year, I take on different reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. This year in addition to doing the 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge, I also added the Mommy  Mannegren 2020 52 Books in 52 Weeks which contains a total of 52 books. 

Below is a list of all the books I have read for the 2020 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge along with their reading prompt. After I finish each reading prompt, I will update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year, you can check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.

Completed 12/4/20

2020 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge:

1. A book with the letter "W" in the title: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy
2. A hardcover: Where the Light Enters by Jill Biden 
3. By an indigenous writer: An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
4. Set in winter: Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
5. A character who is a senior: Out of Warranty by Haywood Smith
6. Written in the 1970's: Cruel Shoes (1979) by Steve Martin
7. An author local to you: Hands of Fire by Richard Thomas Banegas
8. Orange on the cover: The Reason Why by Vickie M. Stringer
9. Set in Space: Redshirts by John Scalzi
10. A bestseller: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
11. A book that leaves you thinking: The Memo by Minda Harts
12. A "guilty pleasure": Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer
13. Written by a female author: More Myself by Alicia Keys
14. Boo in a series: Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans
15. Book with romance: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
16. Borrowed from a friend: Beauty and the Beast by May Sage
17. Written by more than one author: What We Keep by Bill Shapiro and Naomi Wax
18. Published in 2020: Fate by Helen Hardt 
19. A Stephen King novel: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
20. An author whose last name starts with the same initial as yours: Jim the Boy by Tony Earley 
21. Written by a blogger or journalist: I'm So Proud of You by Tim Madigan
22. A character that frustrates you: Love Dungeon by Criss Carr
23. Title beginning with A: All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
24. Title beginning with B: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
25. Title beginning with C: Church Boy by Kirk Franklin
26. A strong "friendship" theme: Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
27. A comic book: Sleepless Volume 1 by Sarah Vaughn
28. Literary Fiction: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi 
29. An award-winning novel: Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (winner of Edgar Award 2014)
30. A book with recipes inside: Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw
31. A book featuring royalty: Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud
32. A spy novel: The Quiet American by Graham Greene
33. A book containing poetry: Green Grapes Black Hands by Jackie Joice
34. A book with illustrations: Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm
35. An author's debut book: H20 by Virginia Bergin
36. Written in first person: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
37. A book featuring the medical profession: This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries from a Medical Resident by Adam Kay
38. Set in the future: Unwind by Neal Shusterman
39. A book used in a celebrity book club: Chop Wood Carry Water (Andrew Luck Book Club)
40. A book on the Mensa reading list for grades 9-12: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
41. Published when you were 20: The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
42. Reuse a prompt from a past year: (2018 - first book in a trilogy) Though I Stumble by Kim Cash Tate
43. Set in a country you've never visited before: The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
44. "Recommended" to you by Amazon: Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton
45. A book that cost you less than $5: His To Claim by Brenda Jackson
46. By an author used in an earlier category: The Storm by Virginia Bergin (used in author's debut book category)  
47. Story takes place on a form of transportation: The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel
48. Character who wears glasses: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
49. About a world leader: This Child Will Be Great by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 
50. An author you previously disliked: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
51. A genre you don't normally care for: Shadow Touch by Majorie Liu (paranormal romance)
52. A book with a Foreword: Push the button by Feminista Jones

2020 Popsugar Reading Challegne

Each year, I take one reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. For the past couple of years, I've been sticking with the Popsugar Reading Challenge which contains a total 50 books.

Below is a list of all the books I read for the 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge along with their reading prompt. After I finish each reading prompt, I will update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year, you can check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.

Challenged completed 12/3/20!

2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge:

1. A book that's published in 2020: Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey 
2. A book by a trans or nonbinary author: Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
3. A book with a great first line: If a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
4. A book about a book club: The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
5. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics: The Awakening by Shakir Rashaan (Atlanta)
6. A bildungsroman: Space Invaders by Nona Fernandez
7. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed: How To Say No Without Feeling Guilty by Patti Breitman
8. A book with an upside-down image on the cover: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
9. A book with a map: The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
10. A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club: I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays by Michael Arceneaux (recommended on Gettin' Grown podcast)
11. An anthology: Running, Eating, Thinking: A Vegan Anthology by Martin Rowe
12. A book that passes the Bechdel test: Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
13.  A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it: Humans by Brandon Stanton
14. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
15. A book published the month of your birthday: Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead (April)
16. A book about or by a woman in STEM: Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
17. A book that won an award in 2019: Bring Out the Dog by Will Mackin (winner of PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize) 
18. A book on a subject you know nothing about: Left Out in America: The State of Homelessness in the United States by Pat LaMarche
19. A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics: The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace
20. A book with a pun in the title: Ruff Around the Edges by Roxanne St. Claire
21. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
22. A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character: Cog by Greg Van Eekhout
23. A book with a bird on the cover: Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
24. A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader: A Full Life by Jimmy Carter
25. A book with "gold," "silver," or "bronze" in the title: Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
26. A book by a WOC (woman of color): Citizen by Claudia Rankine
27. A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads: T is for Transformation by Shaun T
28. A book you meant to read in 2019: Ravenous by Helen Hardt
29. A book about or involving social media: Dot Complicated by Randi Zuckerberg
30. A book that has a book on the cover: Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim
31. A medical thriller: The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer
32. A book with a made-up language: The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine
33. A book set in a country beginning with "C": I've Been Meaning To Tell You by David Chariandy (set in Canada) 
34. A book you picked because the title caught your attention: When Food is Your Drug by Kristin Jones
35. A book with a three-word title: Desired or Dominated by Criss Carr
36. A book with a pink cover: Food Junkies by Vera Tarman
37. A western: Red Dirt Riders by Kristen Swann Porter
38. A book by or about a journalist: Never in my Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman's Life in Journalism by Belva Davis
39. Read a banned book during Banned Books Week: 
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge (2018- next book in a series you started:) The Road to Grace by Richard Paul Evans 
41. A book written by an author in their 20s: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
42. A book with "20" or "twenty" in the title: Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
43. A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision): Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
44. A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics: American Fuji by Sara Backer
45. A book set in the 1920s: Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker
46. A book by an author who has written more than 20 books: The Pearl by John Steinbeck
47. A book with more than 20 letters in its the title: By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept by Paulo Coelho
48. A book published in the 20th century: Tambourines to Glory by Langston Hughes (1958) 
49. A book from a series with more that 20 books: Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter)
50. A book with a main character in their 20s: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

Quarantine Life On Hold Heading Back to Work

    On Friday evening, my boss called me and asked my to meet with her and my colleagues on Saturday regarding reopening the library to staff. During the meeting with my boss, she said that the library shouldn't sit and so nothing during this crisis. To that end, she directed me and my colleagues to be back at work starting on Monday. Although we will still be closed tentatively until Monday, April 13, we will be open to staff starting Monday.After the meeting on Saturday, I had to call the two employees I supervise and inform them that they are expected to be at work Monday morning.

     At this point, according to our county health department website, there have been 88 samples collected, 77 negative tests received, 10 people are being monitored, and 2 confirmed cases.Since the reality of things is that I'm going back to work, I'm praying daily that no one at my job is sick and asymptomatic and that when I get COVID-19, it will be mild and I'll recover.

     On the exercise front, I'm been really enjoying virtual runs on YouTube. Since the half marathon I was planning to do today has been postponed, I decided to complete a virtual half marathon at home and below is a photo from the race route. Since there's not a large place for me to run, this is a nice alternative.

          In other news, I've been making some headway in reference to completing the two books challenges I'm doing for the year. This is the latest book that I've read for the 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge which is a wonderful read since it focuses on black women, the importance of seeing yourself reflected in books and the desire to create your own story when you don't see it represented in literature. I enjoyed this book so much, I'm planning to buy my own personal copy and plan to use this to create my own reading challenge for next year. I plan to create two new blog pages with the two 2020 reading challenge I'm currently doing so this can help others discover new books to read.

       

      Lastly, I had a nice convo with my mom today and was happy to hear her voice on the phone. It's comforting to know that even though I'm living on the other side of the country, my mom still thinks about me and prays for me, hubby and his family. Our conversation was good and mom said that she's using this current time as an opportunity to strengthen her relationship with God. I couldn't agree with her more and am also using this time to look back at the past by reading my old journals as well as reorganize home and throw old junk away. During this crisis, it's important to focus on today and not try to look too far into the future since it's uncertain. Stay safe & well!

Update during COVID-19 California Lockdown

     I have decided to no attempt to update my blog everyday but to instead provide updates as I get new information. Since COVID-19 has gotten more widespread, I've been checking our local county health department website for updates on how many samples have been collected, negative test received, how many people are being monitored and have many cases have been confirmed. Up until yesterday, our county and one other county (Mariposa County) has had no confirmed cases. Unfortunately, as of today, our county how has two confirmed case of COVID-19. According to the local ABC news website, one patient is a Kings County resident and is quarantining at how and the second patient is a non-resident but they're being treated in Kings County. Me and hubby were not really surprised by this news in that given the global reach of COVID-19, it's not a matter of if your county gets it but when it will get it.


     In reference to work, my boss has requested than me and co-workers send her a weekly write up of any work from home things we do (regular duties as well as covid related duties.) Luckily, I have been writing down everything I've been doing so this will definitely make writing the report easier. I am still scheduling social media posts for our seven Facebook accounts and one Twitter account. To create a better work/life balance, I have decided to do work during the usual hours when I would be at work during the week.In addition, I am still sticking to eating at my normal work lunchtime as well as taking a walk break everyday.

     Life wise, I have been doing well by keeping up a daily routine by exercising daily, writing in my journal then reading a daily bible devotional before starting my workday. Working out everyday has been a surprising godsend and have been extremely helpful with stress relief. While being quarantined at home, my and hubby have been taking daily walks to a nearby park or around the neighborhood. I have also discovered and rediscovered my love of YouTube exercise workouts. Below are three of my favorite Youtube workouts I have done lately from Jessica Smith TV, City Walks virtual walks and Phala B Fitness. Stay safe & well!

Day 5 of COVID-19 California Lockdown

     Yesterday was day 5 of statewide self isolation and me working from home. Started the day with doing a workout followed by getting a phone call from my dad calling in Alabama to check on me and hubby. It was nice to hear from him and how he's holding up given the current circumstances. He talked about how much he misses sports and he's annoyed cause he can't walk his dog due to rain.He's planning to have a family reunion in Texas in June and after talking to him yesterday, it seems as though he's still planning to make that happen.

     In reference to working at home, since I work as digital services librarian, I'm still working and my boss is keeping me busy by sending me things to post to our social media accounts in addition to posts I've already pre-scheduled.I'm working hard to balance working from home and not feeling stressed by all things my boss wants from me. Being candid, The stress from working at home has led me to revert back to stress eating as a coping mechanism. Although I have still been following a daily fasting schedule (14 hours fasting and 10 hours eating,) today I am recommitting myself to taking each day as it comes, taking breaks during the day and remembering that I can only do one thing at a time to the best of my ability. 

     Initially I was planning to write a blog post each day but since I haven't figured out the best time to do write posts or I feel like I'm not sharing anything new, I'm seriously considering reducing blog posts to once a week which doing the time that I'm quarantined but we shall see. Stay safe & well! 

Day 4 of COVID-19 California Lockdown

     Today, starts my first full week of state imposed quarantine and I am working towards maintaining a regular daily routine as well as creating a work from home schedule similar to my regular work schedule. I started my daily by doing execrise and since it was raining outside this morning, I decided to do a strength training video from the HasFit YouTube channel.

     After doing my workout, I have took a shower and got dressed for the day. I have decided the best way to establish a regular work at home routine with simple steps such as moving my laptop from my couch to the kitchen table as a way to change my mindset. In addition, I am also having my hubby help with establishing a regular work from home routine by having him make lunch at the normal time when I would have lunch. I think by making this two changes, this will assist with changing my mindset when it comes to working at home as well as provide some sort of normalcy in this abnormal times. Stay safe & well!

 

Day 3 of COVID-19 California Lockdown

     Today has started out well in that I'm treating this life a normal day. This year, I decided to make Sundays "self-care Sunday" and to this end, I got up and discovered some new YouTube channels like Fordy Runs which provide me with way to get a run in without having to leave home through turning treadmill virtual run videos into a running workout. Today I did an hour virtual run through the streets of London and was surprised how sweaty I got as well as how much I enjoyed seeing different scenery versus what I see everyday when hubby and I take an afternoon walk around our nearby park.

     In other news, I've been plugging away with reading books for the two reading challenges I'm doing this year which are the 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge and the the 2020 Mommy Mannegren 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge. I just finished reading "Food Junkies" by Dr. Vera Tarman. This book is insightful in that it talks about food addiction as well as overeating, obesity, and eating disorders.

We went out briefly yesterday to get medicine and were surprised that there we no thermometers to be found. I tried to buy a thermometer on Amazon and although I found a low cost thermometer, I felt uncomfortable paying $55.98 for shipping and also having to wait until May for the thermometer to arrive. In addition, although some people were practicing social distancing, most people were not so we made sure to self distance ourselves from others. As time progresses, I think that people are going to wish that they had taken this pandemic more seriously but all I can do is work to protect me and hubby. 

Another issue I'm having is COVID-19 information overload and feeling emotionally drained by all the social media posts and online articles. I'm working towards finding a balance between being informed and not feeling overwhelmed.Self care is important no matter if it's 5 minutes or an hour so make sure if you're reading this to take some time to disconnect from all the pandemic news and reconnect with yourself. Stay safe & well!

Day 2 of COVID-19 California Lockdown

     Continuing to keep calm by doing regular daily routines of exercising first thing in the morning as well as bi-weekly washing of hair. Due to Rona and the whole social distancing situation, I told Den that I didn't feel comfortable going to church since it's a gathering of older people and every Saturday after church services, we have group lunch and everyone sits next to eat other and talk. I have a feeling we're going to stay home from church for the foreseeable future to protect ourselves.

     Another way we've decided to protect ourselves from Rona is to start wearing disposable gloves and a mask when we go to public places such as grocery stores, restaurants, and pharmacies. Although there haven't been any confirmed cases of Rona in Kings County, we feel it's smart to protect our hands, nose, and mouths from any germs that may be out in public spaces. Having said all this, I was surprised when we received a somewhat hostile reaction from two men as we were paying for medicine at CVS yesterday. The men noticed we were wearing gloves and a face mask and asked why were we wearing those since there were no confirmed cases in our county. My hubby responded that we're protecting ourselves from germs and the many responded that we were being silly and he didn't believe that the virus is that serious. Hubby responded "ok" and we got our items and left the store. During the car ride home, hubby commented "so this is what Noah must've felt like when he was building the ark; people are laughing at him for what he's doing. Once the flood started, those that laughed at him in the past were now the people begging to be let on the ark."

      On to a new topic, yesterday was my first day of working from home and by this, I mean posting things to the library's social media accounts, checking my work email and voicemail for the library's reference desk phone. While I thought it would be easy to create a separation between work and home life, I now realize this is harder than I thought it would be. Mainly I realize that when I'm doing work, I need to do it at a separate space such as our kitchen table so I can focus on the task at hand without any distractions.

     Well, this is my update for the day. Stay safe & well!

Day 1 of COVID-19 California Lockdown

    With the arrival of COVID-19 (coronavirus) aka "Rona" to the United States and growing numbers of people being diagnosed, this has caused panic and pandemonium as well as anxiety and stress among everyone. Grocery stores shelves are empty of bread, toilet tissue, water and oddly enough, female hygiene products. Luckily, there have been no confirmed cases of Rona in my county so far. In response to Rona, my library system is now closed from today with a tentative return date of Monday, April 13th. Although  the library is closed, all staff are on call and are expected to act as disaster workers if called upon by our county CAO office.

     Last night, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a state wide shelter in place for everyone in the state. This means that we need to stay indoors with the exception of going to work (if you fit in an essential job category,) the grocery story, pharmacies, banks, doctor appointments or exercise.In addition to the order to stay inside, we have also been told to not have any gathering with more than 10 people as well as to practice social distancing which is to stay six feet apart from each other when out in public places.

     I'm attempting to stay stress-free by continuing my daily routine of getting up early and exercising daily as well as reading my daily bible devotional. Although I've kept a journal since I was in elementary school through middle school, high school and college, as of late, I have not been writing as often as I used to. Given the current state of the world, I feel it's vital to keep a record of how the world handles this global pandemic. I also plan to relieve stress by reading books for my two reading challenges, binge watching funny movies and Tv shows as well as play three new Kinect video games I recently purchased which are Disney: Fantasia Evolved, Minute to Win It, and Puss in Boots.

     In reference to my running events, all of these (Las Vegas Women's Half Marathon, Havasu Half Marathon, and Star Wars Half Marathon) have been cancelled. While I'm sad that the races have been cancelled, in most cases, the races have been rescheduled or my race fees have been refunded. At this point, I'd much rather be healthy than put myself in danger for a medal.Once the world returns to some sort of normal and it is safe to travel, I'll run again.

     My main goals right now is to stay safe and sane during this crisis and keep stress levels low. I'm also going to make it a goal to blog everyday during this lockdown as a way to record my mindset during this pandemic as a form of therapy as well as for stress relief. Stay safe & well!