Bloggin' 'bout Books: 01/01/14

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- Arizona

- Arkansas

- ~~California~~ (1)

- Colorado

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- Florida

- Georgia

- Hawaii

- Idaho

- ~~Illinois~~ (1)

- ~~Indiana~~ (1)

- Iowa

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- ~~Maine~~ (1)

- Maryland

- Massachusetts

- Michigan

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- Montana

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (2)

- North Carolina

- North Dakota

- Ohio

- Oklahoma

- Oregon

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- South Carolina

- South Dakota

- Tennessee

- Texas

- Utah

- Vermont

- ~~Virginia~~ (1)

- Washington

- West Virginia

- Wisconsin

- Wyoming

- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- England (2)

Oh, 2013, Where in the World Have You Gone?

7:22 PM

So, it's New Year's Day, 2014. Wait a minute. What? How in the heck did that happen? Honestly, these last few weeks have flown by in a haze of travelling and recovering from travelling. I've been reading (I never really stop), but I just haven't had time to tackle the long list of reviews I need to write nor the pile of books I need to read. I need to catch up. A lot. For now, though, I'm going to pretend I'm still sitting in front of that gorgeous view above, with my feet up and a book on my knee. Serene, isn't it? Believe it or not, this is a scene I got to enjoy just about every day for the first 18 years of my life. I don't get to see it much these days, but when I do return to the Motherland (the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon/Washington), it still takes my breath away. Just because I love it so much, here's another shot (taken on a clearer day):

Ahhh, my happy place. Why did I ever come back to reality?

Since I'm here, how about a little year-end recap? The stats are a bit pathetic (I blame games that end in With Friends), but here you go:

Total Books Read: 136 (*cringe*—my goal was 200)

Number of Fiction Books Read: 125 (92%)
Number of Non-Fiction Books Read: 11 (8%)
Number of Adult Books Read: 58 (43%)
Number of YA Books Read: 55 (40%)
Number of Middle Grade Books Read: 23 (17%)
Number of Books Read by Female Authors: 113 (83%)
Number of Books Read by Male Authors: 23 (17%)
Number of Books Read by LDS Authors: 20 (15%)
Number of Books Read from personal collection: 25 (18%)
Number of Books Read, review copies: 80 (59%)
Number of Books Read from library: 31 (23%)
Reading Challenges Joined in 2013: 2
Reading Challenges Completed in 2013: O (ahem)

What does it all mean? Well, I read 21 fewer books than last year (21!), but I did read some really good ones. Also, I need to enjoy more non-fiction. My goal in 2014 will be (once again) to read 200 books. We'll see if I can do it this year. Other than that, I'm just planning to catch up on reviews, read more good books and keep on doing what I do. Simple, right? I hope so!

Thank you to all my readers for your generous support in 2013. I love talking books with you—those conversations are what make book blogging so much fun for me. I'm looking forward to a lot more of them in 2014. Happy New Year!