Bloggin' 'bout Books: 01/07/14

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- ~~Arizona~~ (1)

- Arkansas

- ~~California~~ (5)

- ~~Colorado~~ (3)

- Connecticut

- ~~Delaware~~ (1)

- ~~Florida~~ (1)

- ~~Georgia~~ (1)

- ~~Hawaii~~ (1)

- Idaho

- ~~Illinois~~ (1)

- ~~Indiana~~ (1)

- ~~Iowa~~ (2)

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- ~~Maine~~ (2)

- Maryland

- ~~Massachusetts~~ (1)

- ~~Michigan~~ (2)

- ~~Minnesota~~ (1)

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- ~~Montana~~ (1)

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- ~~New Jersey~~ (1)

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (6)

- ~~North Carolina~~ (3)

- ~~North Dakota~~ (1)

- ~~Ohio~~ (1)

- ~~Oklahoma~~ (2)

- ~~Oregon~~ (2)

- ~~Pennsylvania~~ (1)

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- ~~South Carolina~~ (1)

- South Dakota

- ~~Tennessee~~ (1)

- ~~Texas~~ (1)

- ~~Utah~~ (1)

- ~~Vermont~~ (3)

- ~~Virginia~~ (2)

- ~~Washington~~ (3)

- West Virginia

- ~~Wisconsin~~ (1)

- ~~Wyoming~~ (1)

- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

- Australia (3)

- Canada (2)

- England (12)

- France (2)

- Italy (1)

- Norway (1)

- Puerto Rico (1)

- Scotland (1)

TTT: My Reading Resolution

1:00 AM

It's been a little while since I participated in my favorite bookish meme, Top Ten Tuesday, so I decided to start 2014 off right by joining in the fun. As always, this list-y event is hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish. Click on over there to get all the juicy details on how to get in on the good time!

This week's prompt is oh-so-appropriate for the New Year: Top Ten Goals/Resolutions for the New Year (Bookish, Non-Bookish, or a Combination of the Two)

So, I've realized over the years that I'm a much better goal setter than I am a goal reacher. Anyone relate? I love the excitement of thinking about ways I can improve myself and making grandiose plans of action guaranteed to change me into a smarter, kinder, thinner, more organized/spiritual/creative/successful, etc. person. It's just the follow-through with which I have a problem. Sticking with a goal is a cinch—for a day. The rest of the year? Not so much. Lately, I haven't even bothered making resolutions since I never keep them anyway. However, I do want to encourage myself to make some progress this year, so here's what I'm hoping to accomplish on the reading/blogging front:

1. Read 200 books before January 1, 2015.  Yeah, yeah, I realize that finishing 200 books has been my goal for the last few years and that lately I've been falling very, very short of that number. But, that doesn't mean I can't do it in 2014. In fact, I think this is going to be my year. I've already read 2 1/2 books this month, so who knows? Anything can happen!

2. Nope, there's no Number 2. Or Number 3. Or Number 10.  Other than catching up and keeping up with reviews, that's all the pressure I'm going to put on myself. That way, I can look back at 2014 and be proud of what I did accomplish while not beating myself up over what I didn't. Unless I don't reach 200 books. Then, I'll be in trouble ...

How about you? Are you making resolutions this year? If yes, please tell me how you keep yourself motivated to keep working on them when the going gets tough. I need all the help I can get! Oh, and which books do you think should be on my TBR list this year?

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)
25. To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
26. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (Feb)
27. A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
28. If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell (Feb)
29. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano [audio] (Feb)
30. Wool by Hugh Howey (Feb)
31. Shift by Hugh Howey (Feb)
32. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
33. The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan (Mar)
34. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (Mar)
35. Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber (Mar)
36. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Mar)
37. The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Mar)
38. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor [audio] (Mar)
39. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (Mar)
40. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (Mar)
41. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth* [audio] (Mar)
42. Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks With Monks and Amish Farmers helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker (Mar)
43. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (Mar)
44. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto* (Apr)
45. Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams (Apr)
46. The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (Apr)
47. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Apr)
48. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth [audio] (Apr)
49. That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Apr)
50. A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue (Apr)
51. The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Apr)
52. The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes (Apr)
53. Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Apr)
54. Murder Runs in the Family by Tamara Berry (Apr)
55. The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (Apr)
56. Petals and Poison by Jess Dylan [audio] (Apr)
57. It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson (Apr)
58. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* [re-read] (May)
59. Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (May)
60. You Are Here: Connecting Flights by various authors, edited by Ellen Oh (May)
61. The Silver Shooter by Erin Lindsey* (May)
62. The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry* (May)
63. The Secret Room by Jane Casey* (May)
64. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson (May)
65. The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson (May)

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Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)