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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


30 / 30 books. 100% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (11)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (4)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (4)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (2)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (5)
- Austria (1)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (25)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (2)
- Russia (2)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 50 books. 104% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


51 / 52 books. 98% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


37 / 40 books. 93% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 cozies. 100% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


5 / 26.2 miles (4th lap). 19% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


48 / 50 books. 96% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


98 / 109 books. 90% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


137 / 165 books. 83% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


88 / 100 names. 88% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


32 / 80 skills. 40% done!
Tuesday, January 01, 2019

Another Year Over, A New One Just Begun ...


Happy New Year!  I always love the freshness of January 1, even when the previous year has been good to me, like 2018 was.  Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to a new year full of promise and potential.  I'm not going to make any blogging resolutions except that I'm going to try to read 200 books, which is a goal I would really like to fulfill one of these days.  Wish me luck!  What are your blogging/reading resolutions for 2019?  I'd love to know.

As far as my reading for 2018 went, I didn't discover a lot of really amazing books.  I read some good ones and I found several new authors to love, but 2018 still felt like kind of a humdrum reading year. Here's hoping 2019 brings some better reads my way.

2018 broke down this way:

Total Books Read:  149 (9 less than 2017; 37 fewer than my highest of 186 in 2011; 34 more than my lowest of 115 in 2008)

Number of fiction books read:  137 (92%) 
Number of non-fiction books read:  12 (8%)
Number of adult books read:  116 (78%)
Number of young adult books read:  12 (8%)
Number of middle grade/chapter books read:  21 (14%)
Number of books by female authors:  128 (86%) 
Number of books by male authors:  12 (8%)
Number of books by multiple authors, female and male:  9 (6%)
Number of books by Latter-day Saint authors:  38 (26%)
Number of books read, personal collection:  41 (26%)
Number of books read, review copies:  63 (42%)
Number of books read, borrowed from library:  45 (30%)
Number of reading challenges joined:  3
Number of reading challenges completed:  0 (although I got closer than I ever have on reading a book from every state + Washington, D.C.)

Speaking of tracking where the books I read are set, here are the Top 3 states and the Top 3 countries I "visited" this year:

1.  New York (9)
2.  California (7)
3.  Massachusetts (5)

1.  The United States (85 + some that were in U.S. but didn't specify a state)
2.  England (21)
3.  Canada (4), Italy (4)

Observations:

- I'm reading fewer and fewer YA books every year.  I read mostly adult books in 2018, with a sprinkling of YA and more MG than usual.

- I'm doing better about reading books from the library, even though I feel like I spent A LOT more on books this year than I have in the past.  It's an addiction!

- I need to read more books by male authors.

How did your reading year turn out?

Thanks for making 2018 another great blogging year for me!  I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy lives to visit my little corner of the book blogosphere, leave comments, and give me reading recommendations.  Chatting with like-minded people about my love of books/reading just makes me happy.  I hope you'll come by BBB even more often in 2019.  Here's to an awesome reading year ahead!

Just for my records, here are the books I read in 2018:

  • 149. THE BOOK OF MORMON BY VARIOUS AUTHORS* (DEC)
  • 148. HOPE WAS HERE BY JOAN BAUER (DEC)
  • 147. THE LIBRARY BOOK BY SUSAN ORLEAN (DEC)
  • 146. FREEFALL BY JESSICA BARRY (DEC)
  • 145. THE MIDWIFE OF HOPE RIVER BY PATRICIA HARMAN (DEC)
  • 144. THE PINT OF NO RETURN BY ELLIE ALEXANDER (DEC)
  • 143. THE INVITED BY JENNIFER MCMAHON (DEC)
  • 142. CARRIED BY MICHELLE SCHMIDT (NOV)
  • 141. THE GOOD LIAR BY CATHERINE MCKENZIE (NOV)
  • 140. CHRISTMAS BY ACCIDENT BY CAMRON WRIGHT (NOV)
  • 139. HEART LAND BY KIMBERLY STUART (NOV)
  • 138. NINE PERFECT STRANGERS BY LIANE MORIARTY (NOV)
  • 137. I REMEMBER YOU BY HOLLY SCHINDLER (NOV)
  • 136. LITTLE PRETTY THINGS BY LORI RADER-DAY (NOV)
  • 135. THE DAY I DIED BY LORI RADER-DAY (NOV)
  • 134. THE POACHER'S SON BY PAUL DOIRON (NOV)
  • 133. THE TRUTH ABOUT MISS ASHBOURNE BY JOANNA BARKER* (NOV)
  • 132. UNDER A DARK SKY BY LORI RADER-DAY (NOV)
  • 131. WEDDING BELLES BY MELANIE JACOBSON, BECCA WILHITE, BRITTANY LARSON, AND JENNY PROCTOR (NOV)
  • 130. A BORROWING OF BONES BY PAULA MUNIER (NOV)
  • 129. THE RUIN BY DERVLA MCTIERNAN* (NOV)
  • 128. THE GLASS OCEAN BY BEATRIZ WILLIAMS, LAUREN WILLIG, AND KAREN WHITE* (OCT)
  • 127. FRONT DESK BY KELLY YANG (OCT)
  • 126. BURYING THE HONEYSUCKLE GIRLS BY EMILY CARPENTER (OCT)
  • 125. A CHRISTMAS COURTING BY VARIOUS AUTHORS (OCT)
  • 124. SOLD ON A MONDAY BY KRISTINA MCMORRIS* (OCT)
  • 123. THE STABLE MASTER'S DAUGHTER BY SARA CARDON (OCT)
  • 122. THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL BY HESTER FOX* (OCT)
  • 121. THE COLLECTOR'S APPRENTICE BY B.A. SHAPIRO (OCT)
  • 120. SQUINT BY CHAD MORRIS AND SHELLY BROWN (OCT)
  • 119. THE GIRL WITH SEVEN NAMES: ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA BY HYEONSEO LEE (OCT)
  • 118. SEVEN DAYS OF US BY FRANCESCA HORNAK (OCT)
  • 117. I AM STILL ALIVE BY KATE ALICE MARSHALL (OCT)
  • 116. LEAVE NO TRACE BY MINDY MEJIA* (SEP)
  • 115. PROMISES AND PRIMROSES BY JOSI S. KILPACK (SEP)
  • 114. LOVE UNSCRIPTED BY TIFFANY ODEKIRK (SEP)
  • 113. RAPTURE OF THE DEEP BY L.A. MEYER* (SEP)
  • 112. THE WEIGHT OF LIES BY EMILY CARPENTER (SEP)
  • 111. EVERY SINGLE SECRET BY EMILY CARPENTER (SEP)
  • 110. PROMISE TO RETURN BY ELIZABETH BYLER YOUNTS (SEP)
  • 109. IN THE SHADOW OF LAKECREST BY ELIZABETH BLACKWELL (SEP)
  • 108. SAINTS BY VARIOUS AUTHORS* (SEP)
  • 107. RESISTANCE BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (SEP)
  • 106. THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE BY LAURIE R. KING (SEP)
  • 105. SLAVE STEALERS BY TIMOTHY BALLARD (SEP)
  • 104. MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE BY VICTORIA THOMPSON (SEP)
  • 103. SADIE BY COURTNEY SUMMERS (AUG)
  • 102. THE LOST GIRLS BY HEATHER YOUNG (AUG)
  • 101. THE HOUSE ON PRIMROSE POND BY YONA ZELDIS MCDONOUGH (AUG)
  • 100. PLAIN GIRL BY VIRGINIA SORENSEN (AUG)
  • 99. A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE BY SHARI LAPENA (AUG)
  • 98. THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR BY SHARI LAPENA (AUG)
  • 97. I KNOW YOU KNOW BY GILLY MACMILLAN (AUG)
  • 96. WOMEN OF THE BLUE & GRAY BY MARIANNE MONSON (AUG)
  • 95. TILT-A-WHIRL BY CHRIS GRABENSTEIN (AUG)
  • 94. FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER BY E.L. KONIGSBURG (AUG)
  • 93. FIND NAMES FOR THE TEMPLE BY NICOLE DYER (JUL)
  • 92. SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE BY LAURA BATES (JUL)
  • 91. THE SOLACE OF WATER BY ELIZABETH BYLER YOUNTS* (JUL)
  • 90. ON A COLD DARK SEA BY ELIZABETH BLACKWELL* (JUL)
  • 89. THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME BY HAZEL GAYNOR (JUL)
  • 88. AND SHE WAS BY ALISON GAYLIN (JUL)
  • 87. THE FRENCH GIRL BY LEXIE ELLIOTT (JUL)
  • 86. IF I DIE TONIGHT BY ALISON GAYLIN (JUL)
  • 85. WITH YOU ALWAYS BY JODY HEDLUND (JUL)
  • 84. THE WITCH ELM BY TANA FRENCH (JUL)
  • 83. THE WINTER OVER BY MATTHEW IDEN (JUL)
  • 82. THE CRAFTSMAN BY SHARON BOLTON* (JUN)
  • 81. THE BOOK OF ESSIE BY MEGHAN MACLEAN WEIR (JUN)
  • 80. OUR HOUSE BY LOUISE CANDLISH (JUN)
  • 79. UNSHATTERED CAROL J. DECKER (JUN)
  • 78. MISSING BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (JUN)
  • 77. DREAMS OF FALLING BY KAREN WHITE (JUN)
  • 76. AFTERMATH BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (JUN)
  • 75. THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY BY RUTH WARE* (JUN)
  • 74. THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS BY CRISTINA HENRIQUEZ (JUN)
  • 73. THE ELIZAS BY SARA SHEPARD (JUN)
  • 72. LITTLE BLOG ON THE PRAIRIE BY CATHLEEN DAVITT BELL (JUN)
  • 71. LOVING LIEUTENANT LANCASTER BY SARAH M. EDEN (JUN)
  • 70. SCANDAL ABOVE STAIRS BY JENNIFER ASHLEY (MAY)
  • 69. DEVILS UNTO DUST BY EMMA BERQUIST* (MAY)
  • 68. THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER BY KATE MORTON (MAY)
  • 67. PERFECT SET BY MELANIE JACOBSON (MAY)
  • 66. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY BY AMANDA SKENANDORE (MAY)
  • 65. BONE ON BONE BY JULIA KELLER (MAY)
  • 64. UNFORGETTABLE BY RONDA GIBB HINRICHSEN (MAY)
  • 63. THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD BY DAVID LASKIN (MAY)
  • 62. IF YOU FIND ME BY EMILY MURDOCH (MAY)
  • 61. ABSOLUTE DARKNESS BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (MAY)
  • 60. BEYOND THE GREEN BY SHARLEE GLENN (MAY)
  • 59. AL CAPONE THROWS ME A CURVE BY GENNIFER CHOLDENKO* (MAY)
  • 58. CITY OF THE LOST BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (MAY)
  • 57. SCARLET BY JEN GEIGLE JOHNSON (MAY)
  • 56. BLAME BY JEFF ABBOTT (MAY)
  • 55. SUBMERGED BY DANI PETTREY (MAY)
  • 54. A DEATH OF NO IMPORTANCE BY MARIA FREDERICKS (APR)
  • 53. THE PATCHWORK BRIDE BY SANDRA DALLAS (APR)
  • 52. STILL MINE BY AMY STUART (APR)
  • 51. I LIKED MY LIFE BY ABBY FABIASCHI (APR)
  • 50. THE SILVER SIX BY A.J. LIEBERMAN AND DARREN RAWLINGS (APR)
  • 49. CLOSE TO HOME BY CARA HUNTER (APR)
  • 48. NEVER THAT FAR BY CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS (APR)
  • 47. MY DEAREST ENEMY BY JENNIFER MOORE (APR)
  • 46. THE DOLL FUNERAL BY KATE HAMER (APR)
  • 45. THE GIRL IN THE RED COAT BY KATE HAMER (APR)
  • 44. WORTH BY WENDY ELLISON (APR)
  • 43. FLIGHT PATTERNS BY KAREN WHITE (APR)
  • 42. THE WHOLE WORLD BY EMILY WINSLOW (MAR)
  • 41. FINGERPRINTS OF PREVIOUS OWNERS BY REBECCA ENTEL (MAR)
  • 40. THE OTHER MOTHER BY CAROL GOODMAN (MAR)
  • 39. DREAD NATION BY JUSTINA IRELAND* (MAR)
  • 38. OUTSHINE BY NICHOLE VAN (MAR)
  • 37. BRUSH WITH LOVE BY LISA MCKENDRICK (MAR)
  • 36. LIES JANE AUSTEN TOLD ME BY JULIE WRIGHT (MAR)
  • 35. MY SISTER'S BONES BY NUALA ELLWOOD (MAR)
  • 34. MEET YOUR BAKER BY ELLIE ALEXANDER (MAR)
  • 33. SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY BY JOSHILYN JACKSON (MAR)
  • 32. ISLAND OF SWEET PIES AND SOLDIERS BY SARA ACKERMAN (MAR)
  • 31. IN A BLINK BY KIKI THORPE (MAR)
  • 30. A SOUND AMONG THE TREES BY SUSAN MEISSNER (MAR)
  • 29. THE BROKEN GIRLS BY SIMONE ST. JAMES (MAR)
  • 28. FORCE OF NATURE BY JANE HARPER (FEB)
  • 27. STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD BY SUSAN MEISSNER (FEB)
  • 26. CHECK ME OUT BY BECCA WILHITE* (FEB)
  • 25. THE MEMORY THIEF BY BRYCE MOORE (FEB)
  • 24. WRATH OF THE STORM BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (FEB)
  • 23. RISE OF THE WOLF BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (FEB)
  • 22. MARK OF THE THIEF BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (FEB)
  • 21. THE QUEEN OF HEARTS BY KIMMERY MARTIN (FEB)
  • 20. A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY BY JOSHILYN JACKSON (FEB)
  • 19. MUTANT BUNNY ISLAND BY OBERT SKYE (FEB)
  • 18. UNDER LOCKER AND KEY BY ALLISON K. HYMAS (FEB)
  • 17. MUSTACHES FOR MADDIE BY CHAD MORRIS AND SHELLY BROWN* (FEB)
  • 16. TRULY DEVIOUS BY MAUREEN JOHNSON* (FEB)
  • 15. THE DUMBEST IDEA EVER BY JIMMY GOWNLEY (FEB)
  • 14. DEATH ON TAP BY ELLIE ALEXANDER (FEB)
  • 13. THE FISHERMAN'S DAUGHTER BY MELINDA SUE SANCHEZ (JAN)
  • 12. THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL BY SHANNON AND DEAN HALE (JAN)
  • 11. JUST BETWEEN US BY REBECCA DRAKE (JAN)
  • 10. I SHALL BE NEAR TO YOU BY ERIN LINDSAY MCCABE (JAN)
  • 9. KILLER LIBRARIAN BY MARY LOU KIRWIN (JAN)
  • 8. THE EMPEROR'S OSTRICH BY JULIE BERRY (JAN)
  • 7. PAPER CHAINS BY ELAINE VICKERS (JAN)
  • 6. A PIECE OF THE WORLD BY CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE (JAN)
  • 5. THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW BY A.J. FINN* (JAN)
  • 4. HEART OF THE WEST BY CAROLYN TWEDE FRANK (JAN)
  • 3. THE WOLVES OF WINTER BY TYRELL JOHNSON (JAN)
  • 2. DEATH BELOW STAIRS BY JENNIFER ASHLEY* (JAN)
  • 1. THE HOUSE BETWEEN TIDES BY SARAH MAINE* (JAN)

13 comments:

  1. Wow you read a lot!! Sorry it was just a humdrum year with the books though. Love all the stats. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't get through as many books as I wanted to, but I didn't do too badly either :)

      Happy New Year to you, too!

      Delete
  2. I was tracking the settings for my books too! I read over 400 books, and could hardly get off the coasts. NY, OR, TX, WA, CA, MA all dominated my list. Interesting stats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 400?? How in the world did you do that? Wow! The middle states are definitely the hardest ones for me to get. There are tons set in New York, Massachusetts, etc. but hardly any set in South Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, etc. At least that's how it seems to me!

      Delete
  3. Susan, you read an amazing amount of books! You're a busy mother and still...Happy New Year to you and your family! Let's have a great 2019 in the reading department!

    By the way, I see you've been catching up on your reviews. Ha! I'm reading them, but won't be commenting on many probably. Good job catching up - ha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kay! I didn't read as many books as I wanted to in 2018, but I did do a ton of genealogy as well as some other personal projects, so it's all good.

      Ha ha. My blogging resolution for 2019 really should be to keep up with reviews so I don't feel like I have to review ALL the books I read all year in the last weeks of the end of the year. LOL.

      Happy New Year!

      Delete
  4. You had a great year! I got to 134 books- my record is 254 (I think it was), but that was years ago, and I was reading a lot of YA back then. All the nonfiction I've been reading lately is a bit slower, plus I have another kiddo these days, so, you know, less time and all that. ;)

    I love that you track where all your fiction is set! I always had the plan to read something set in every state, and then every country, but I haven't gotten around to that quite yet. Maybe one day. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've tracked my reading stats since 2008, which was my slowest reading year. Guess why? I adopted a baby that year and was a *little* busy with her :) LOL. Little kids definitely make reading more difficult! So do my teens sometimes ...

      Delete
  5. Looks like you had a great reading year in 2018. Here's hoping 2019 is even better. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lark! I can't wait to see what you recommend this year :)

      Delete
  6. What a wonderful post, I love seeing everyone's end of the year lists and thoughts. I'm also excited to see that we're doing two of the same challenges: Motif and Literary Escapes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually learned about the Motif challenge from your blog. I enjoy prompt-type challenges, so thanks for the heads-up! It will be a fun one.

      Delete
  7. My reading didn't go quite how I wanted it this year but it was a good year overall. I'm hoping to increase my reading this year and maybe focus more on older books instead of getting overwhelmed by review books.

    ReplyDelete

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