My Reading Life Ahead of Me, 2020

Hi, guys!  Have you made your reading goals for 2020?  I have a couple of things I’d like to accomplish.  I seem to do well at the “2 books a month rate” and I have particular reason to change it, so I’ll just leave it at that.  Of course that doesn’t prevent my TBR to increase at an alarming exponential rate!  Sometimes I think I like collecting TBRs than I do actually reading.  Am I the only one like this, and what is the reason do you think?

I’ve made out my annual fiction list weeks ago, and some of the highlights I’m hoping to get to are as follows:

It looks like I have a lot of vintage mysteries in store for me!

Then, I have some non-fiction books I really want to get to this year:

My Word of the Year 2020 is ‘DWELL’, so a lot of the books I want to read has to do with being in the moment.  Another aspect of that is journaling, which I have made a renewed resolution to do.  My journaling life the last few years has felt rather blah.  I feel the desire to do things differently, and so I have checked a stack of books out of the library, as well as peruse my own home library, on books pertaining to the subject.  Something in line with art journaling is the direction I want to go in.  Right now, I’m reading “A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place,”  by Hannah Hinchman and am really enjoying it!  I’m also having fun with a cute little coffee table read, “Cosy: The British Art of Comfort,” by Laura Weir.

What will be new on the blog?  At this point, I don’t foresee any changes on the horizon.  The good news is that I read a lot of books last year (for me, anyway), so there will be more book reviews coming.  Since I want to spend more time reading and journaling, I might spend less time blogging so there might be less of other types of posts, such as movie reviews.  I do love me a good movie, but I can’t do everything I’d like and some things need paring down.

One thing that has been helping me celebrate the completion of a good book is sharing via goodreads book groups.  There are a few games I partake in, and am currently playing my first team challenge reading game.  That means, I’d best get off the www and crack open the book on my nightstand!  Excuse me!

 

 

2019 Year in Review + Favorites Awards!

I guess I have myself pretty well pegged by now, as I completed exactly the amount of books I set out for myself in 2019, which was 24 books.  That was more than I had read in the previous 4 years, so hooray for me! 😀  Do you reach any reading milestones?

I read some great Christian living non-fiction books this year, tried a lot of new-to-me authors, did some rereading and even stepped out into the cozy mystery genre a few times.  I also decided to quit my third-party book selling on Amazon, and haven’t been attending as many used book sales.  That freed up more space around here for my ever-growing home library.  I now have two half shelves of space (but not for long)!

This is the part of the show where I say “This is the part of the show where I answer silly questions with silly titles from silly (or not so silly) books…”  I play this every year and it’s a real blast!  This year, there’s a few more questions thrown in.  I will try not to repeat:

Describe yourself:  “This Is My Body,” by Ragan Sutterfield

Describe where you currently live:  “Uncle Sam’s Plantation,” by Star Parker

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:  “Ashenden,” by Elizabeth Wilhide

Your favourite form of transportation: “Slow,” by Brooke McAlary

What’s the weather like:  “Rhythms of Rest,” by Shelly Miller

You and your friends are: “Between Us Girls,” by Sally John

You fear:  “The End of Law,” by Therese Down

What is the best advice you have to give: “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success,” by Wayne Breitbarth

Thought for the day: “Distinctly You,” by Cheryl Martin

My soul’s present condition: “Seated with Christ,” by Heather Holleman

How I would like to die:  “Love’s Awakening,” by Laura Frantz

2019 can be summed up as: “Respect for Acting,” by Uta Hagen

If you looked under my couch you would see: “The Shape of Sand,” by Marjorie Eccles

At a party you’d find me (with/in etc.): “The Country Beyond,” by James Oliver Curwood

At the end of a long day I need: “The Enchanted Hour,” by Meghan Cox Gurdon

My fantasy job is (to be): “Million Dollar Baby,” by Amy Patricia Meade

To fight zombies, I’d arm myself with: “The Woman in White,” by Wilkie Collins

A happy day includes: —-

On my bucket list is/are: “The Fortunes of Captain Blood,” by Rafael Sabatini

If I was competing in the 2020 Japan Olympics/Paralympics, my chosen sport would be: “Rooted,” by Banning Liebscher

Almost filled in all the blanks!  It’s more fun when you have a longer list of titles to work with.  What would your answers be?

Arranged by category, my 2019 Favorites Awards are as follows:

2019 Best Non-Fiction- It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to an audiobook, and the author was well directed in her reading. I listened like it was a podcast and took scads of notes because her research and facts were so interesting.

2019 Most Resonated With- All my life I have spent comparing myself to others and wanting perfection. I needed such an encouraging read.

2019 Best Drama; 2019 Most Admirable Hero; 2019 Best Villain; 2019 Best Story Plot; 2019 Most Fun Read- There’s so much contained in this masterpiece. The characters were memorable; the suspense fantastic! Walter Hartright wins as hero of the year, sacrificing his immediate happiness for the love of his heart. On the flip side, Count Fosco gets my vote for best villain. The psychological thrills are plenty!

2019 Most Beautifully Written; 2019 Best Atmosphere- Mervyn Peake is simply the best. Settings and characters, sometimes seemingly without a reason for their existence but simply for the beauty of the idea of the thing and the words used to describe them.

2019 Best Humor- Sigmund Brouwer got my funny bone when I read his books as a kid and continues to strike me funny. Although a little weak in plot, the characters and witty banter was very entertaining!

2019 Most Admirable Heroine- The best thing is that this book was based on the true life story of Elizabeth Keckly, who served as fashion seamstress to many of Washington D.C.’s elite, and the official dressmaker of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Her story doesn’t stop at the White House, though. As she faces many trials throughout her life, she exudes loyalty, resourcefulness, independence and strength.

2019 Most Thought-Provoking- I read this early on in the year, but the ramifications were far-reaching because I’m still making a weekly effort to rest, adjusting and readjusting the details to do it well. I also have followed up the book by subscribing to the author’s newsletters.

2019 Best Romance- A girl, a lawbreaker, and a dog… Will love or justice win?

What fiction book won my heart this year?…

#2 in the Gormenghast Series was just so much fun to read and though some books may come and go, not many leave such an impression as the world Mervyn Peake created, on the edge of insanity and pure bliss.

Here’s to another wonderful year of reading; may it be informative and full of wonder and imagination!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Recommended Holiday Reading

This is a “Top Ten Tuesday” exercise…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  (Do you remember what that was?)

I don’t reread books too often, however if I were to recommend books to read around the holiday season, I would go with these atmospheric classics:

 

Book Review: “The Loved One,” by Catherine Palmer, Peggy Stoks

Genre: novella; contemporary Inspirational

Plot Summary: Meg Chilton is proud of her son who is about to graduate from high school and leave for college.  But as his graduation draws nigh, Taylor announces to his parents his decision to join the military.  Devastated, Meg loses herself in her genealogical research—and learns of family’s courage and sacrifice stemming from great love.

My Book Review: I have a few books by Catherine Palmer on my TBR and this is the first I’ve read of her, co-authored with Peggy Stoks.  Actually, this was more of a novella and I zipped through it pretty quickly.  Published in 2007, it is a little dated but the content and story is still good.

The story has a strong, patriotic bent. But by the time I got to Chapter 2, I could see where the story was going and it was predictable.  However, the book flips back and forth between present day and the story of the Chilton forbears and it is the historical fictions that are the most interesting even if the contemporary scenes were repetitive.  I appreciated that the stories from the Chilton past were not wrapped up with nice little bows at the end.  Rather, the characters sacrificed family, emotional well-being and physical safety in order to do what they knew needed to be done: defend their country.

If you are interested in family history, or are looking for something patriotic to read this season, this short book will probably be just for you!

 

Looking Forward in 2019

New Year’s resolutions, check! First though, I want to do a rundown of what did and didn’t work for me last year in the world of books. I know I usually do that in my annual year-in-review posts, but I forgot a few things…

I tried to join a couple of reading challenge groups on goodreads last year. The first one was a type of ‘Read a Book that Contains These Certain Elements’ type groups. Except, they had really stringent checklists. I really didn’t make it past one book. The reason was not that finding books was so difficult (I mean, I have 2500+ to choose from on my TBR!), but that I’m just too much of a list-lover and have always curated my yearly to-read schedule in such a way that I couldn’t let go of it. I tried, several times but it just wasn’t as much fun doing it any other way. So then I tried a group that has lists(!) of words you look for in whatever book you happen to choose to read. That’s working a bit better for me, and it’s fun to compare my findings with my mom at the end of the month as we work from the same scavenger hunt words.

But at the same time, I feel like I’m hunting for more, something different. I don’t know what it is yet but I think I’ll keep scouting around. Maybe I will decide to post my word lists every once in a while on the blog, if you’re interested.

Something I’ve been having LOADS of fun doing the past year, is creating playlists inspired by the books I read! Maybe I’m not the first person who’s thought of doing this, but I’m enjoying it so much and plan on sharing my music with all of you as I publish my book reviews. All you need is a free Spotify account to listen and I will have the link above my Plot Summaries to click on. I have over a dozen playlists built now, and I am starting to arrange them by mood genre.

As far as reading quantity goes, I don’t expect it will change much this year. Aiming for two books a month seems to be a realistic speed at this time in my life. And I am learning to be okay with that.

I have a couple of books I really, really want to read in particular sometime during this year. They are as follows:

“Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic,” by Jennifer L. Scott

“Relearning to See,” by Thomas Quackenbush (I’m getting progressively myopic and suffering bad eye strain.)

books by Richard Swenson

books on spiritual disciplines

Do you have any goals you would like to achieve in the books this year? Share them with me!

 

2018 Year in Review + Favorites Awards!

I hope everyone reading this had a very good Christmas season over the past several weeks!  There’s still more to celebrate: the end of this year and a new one to come!  Do you have any book reading goals to celebrate?  Perhaps you made a goal to read a certain # or to stretch yourself to try new authors or genres.  Or maybe some organization was in order and you had to pare down your collection.  This post will be where I recap my own reading journey from 2018.  I still have two more books to finish up, but I think I will easily manage that.  I will still count them in my total here.

In January, I wanted to read at least 2 books a month.  I fell just shy (-1) of that goal but since I worked hard reading two very long fiction books and completed them, I feel that makes up for it.  🙂  I’m proud of myself.  Typically I read one fiction and one non-fiction a month.  As always, I wish it could be more but that is where I am in my life.  My TBR list continues to grow and I know I will never be able to finish what I currently have on it, let alone all the new ones I add almost daily.  But my poor, obsessive brain can’t help craving the promise of new plot summaries, almost more than reading the books themselves.  Is anyone else like this?

2018 was the year I sort of came out of my reading slump, so HOORAY!  I read two very long fiction novels: “Doctor Thorne,” by Anthony Trollope (500+ pages), and “The Cloister and the Hearth,” by Charles Reade (102 chapters; 700+ pages).  I read an equal amount of fiction and nonfiction, with fiction consisting of some old classics and adventure.  I also went to so many book sales that I lost count, and ended up having to resort to putting some of my books in storage and also doing some weeding:

So it’s time to play my end of the year game where I answer ordinary questions using the titles of books I’ve read in 2018!  You’re welcome to play along in the comment section below!  Here we go…

Describe yourself:  “Curious Faith,” by Logan Wolfram

Describe where you currently live:  “The Cloister and the Hearth,” by Charles Reade

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:  “King Solomon’s Mines,” by H. Rider Haggard

Your favourite form of transportation: —-

What’s the weather like: —-

You and your friends are:  “What You Do Best in the Body of Christ,” by Bruce Bugbee

You fear:  “1984,” by George Orwell

What is the best advice you have to give:  “It’s a Matter of Trust,” by James Callner

Thought for the day:  “The Aisles Have Eyes,” by Joseph Turow

My soul’s present condition:  “Beginnings,” by Steve Stephens

How I would like to die:  “The Valiant Papers,” by Calvin Miller

It’s interesting to me that some things never seem to change from one year to the next, but other things I thought would never change are starting to!  That’s exciting!

Are you ready for my favorite reads from 2018, arranged by category?  (Be sure to share your favorites, too!)  Click on each award to see the slideshow:

2018 Most Beautifully Written ~ Don’t overlook the simplicity of these stories. I’m finding it inspiring to my imagination.

2018 Most Resonated With ~ I loved the spiritual discipline section the author includes at the end of each chapter. It made the interpretation so much more personal to me, between my Lord and I.

2018 Most Admirable Hero (Bill White) ~ This book is filled with heroes; it was hard to choose. Best of all, the stories are true.

2018 Best Atmosphere ~ The crashing Scottish coastline; dense, dark forest; remote manors in the autumn; a mysterious locked door in the attic…

2018 Best Story Plot ~ Didn’t see that coming!

2018 Best Romance; 2018 Best Drama ~ Bawled my eyes out.

2018 Favorite Fun Read ~ I haven’t had so much fun reading in a long time!

2018 Most Thought-Provoking; 2018 Best Non-Fiction ~ I spent countless hours reading and rereading this, but honestly it was hard to choose a favorite non-f this year.

2018 Most Admirable Heroine (Mary Thorne) ~ This little, demure damsel has a lot of inner strength and dignity.

2018 Best Humor ~ Lord Peter and Harriet Vane keep a very British stiff upper lip in the midst of trying circumstances, by their sense of humor.

And now I will reveal to you my All-Time Favorite Read of 2018.  (As a side note, I do not include non-fiction in this award.)  It is…

Stay tuned during the upcoming year for my review on why I loved this book!

 

 

Audio Dramas for Easter!

Happy Easter!  Do you remember your earliest Easter memories from when you were a kid?  I remember one of mine is listening to a dramatized version of the death, burial, and resurrection story of Christ being played on the radio on Good Friday.  It was a departure from the norm (usually it was a music station).  The solemnity of the event came across very clear to my mind.  It felt like I was actually listening in on the true events as they were happening.  I couldn’t have been more than 6 at the time.

Audio dramatizations can have such an impact on our lives, especially children.  I came across this blog post from Audio Theatre Central listing a bunch of religious, Easter-themed audio dramas for families to enjoy and links to be able to purchase them from Amazon.  I have listened to a couple of them and I have to say that Ben-Hur is my favorite!  Do you have any others you would add to the list?

Enjoy your weekend!

 

New Reading Year- Looking Ahead 2018

I’m pretty excited about the new year and what lies ahead, especially in the area of reading!  I’ve been feeling pretty psyched since I wound up 2017 with more books read than expected, and I’m off to a good start already.  I’ve already finished one book, I have another half read, and another one awaits me at the library after coming in on the interlibrary loan system.

This year my reading resolution is simple: read 24 books (2 books per month).  I’m pretty sure I can accomplish that one.  To some that may not seem very ambitious but it is a challenging, yet doable number for me.  Especially considering I have some other major projects in the works this year.

I have made up my usual reading list for this year, and can’t wait to start on it.  I wrote in a post a long time ago how I do this the week after Christmas.  However, I’m also trying something a little different.  I joined a reading challenge group on goodreads!  I’ve been mulling over joining one for a while and perused several before making up my mind to join The Seasonal Reading Challenge.  This group appealed to me for several reasons.  For one, I liked the idea that it is seasonal and goes by themes.  There many different tasks of varying difficulties and allows for a broad range of reading.  So, I made up a second reading list (did I say I love lists?) planning out titles to read that qualify under the challenges required, only it basically incorporates most of the books from my first list that I’d been planning on reading anyway.  I’m not sure how I will like this change.  You may laugh, but I’m very serious about my lists and what order I read books in.  I love rules, but only the ones I make up for myself.  Ha!  So we’ll see how I do with a reading group.

I will strive to get my reviews ‘caught up’ this year.  This is actually a little relative in my definition of being caught up.  Ever since the start of this blog I have posted reviews at least a year after having read the book and this is because the margin gives me a feeling of distance and control.  It also gives me the ability to change certain comments I make so that I don’t end up writing something I will regret later.  Of course, I sometimes still do regret things I’ve written.  But time to go back much later with hindsight is better for me.  So my goal is to ‘get caught up’ to within a year’s past reviews, if that makes any sense.

I would like to start up my ‘Character Reflections Series’ again; I miss writing them!  Also, I have had an idea for years that I would like to start adding music somehow to my blog, but have not quite figured out how to do it in a way that is not annoying.  I’ve been looking into it and playing around, so don’t be surprised if you find that appearing on booklearned!

Do you have any different reading goals this year?  Share below!

 

 

 

2017 Year in Review

I just spent a happy day yesterday planning out my new reading list for the next year.  This is always an event which I look forward to!  But before I delve into my plans in an upcoming post, I like to take a look back at what the last 12 months has looked like for me in terms of reading.

Finishing up the year, I feel pretty pleased with myself.  This is because I was able to read more than in recent years and have a longer list of total books read than I’ve had in a long while.  Especially the last couple months– by rearranging my evening plans [i.e., mainly quitting work and shutting off my computer!], I’ve had more time to read, which means more books accomplished.  Well, as soon as one title gets added to my ‘done’ list, it lights a fire in my belly to consume more… and on it snowballs!  So lately I’ve had an increased interest in reading fiction.

My total for this year is 23 titles (14 fiction; 9 non-fiction), and I don’t think I’ll be adding anymore to the list in the next couple of days.  As always, I’ve actually sat down with a lot more non-fiction that what appears on my official list, but those were mostly skim read and I don’t count them as actual books read.  You can view my complete 2017 reading list here.  I’m a little behind in where I want to be on this blog […okay– a lot], but book reviews are coming on most of them.

Here is a little exercise that has now become traditional on this blog, where I do a fun Q&A answering with titles of books read during the past year.  I’m usually limited as to what I can answer with, but this year I have a little more to work with!  Here we go…

Describe yourself:  Just Jane, by Nancy Moser

Describe where you currently live: Escape from Colditz, by P. R. Reid

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Blue Castle, by L. M. Montgomery

Your favourite form of transportation: The Long Walk, by Slavomir Rawicz

What’s the weather like: Secrets on the Wind, by Stephanie Grace Whitson

You and your friends are: Wish You Were Here, by Beth Vogt

You fear: John Jago’s Ghost, by Wilkie Collins

What is the best advice you have to give: The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning

Thought for the day: Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman

My soul’s present condition: Fight Back with Joy, by Margaret Feinberg

How I would like to die: The Loved One, by Catherine Palmer and Peggs Stoks

What about you?  Can you answer these questions with book titles you’ve read?  I’d love to read them in the comments below!  Some can be pretty humorous!

Okay, now time for my Year in Review Awards!  These are so much fun, as I “award” different books I’ve read in different categories.  There’s been a mish mash of Christian contemporary, shorter-sized books, mysteries and romances.  In some of these categories, I’ve had to split hairs and make some close calls because there were several that could easily have won ‘best of’.  Click on the pictures to read more info…

2017 Best Non-Fiction; 2017 Most Beautifully Written

2017 Best Drama

2017 Favorite Fun Read

2017 Best Romance; 2017 Best Story Plot; 2017 Most Admirable Heroine (Laina Gray)

2017 Most Resonated With

2017 Best Humor; 2017 Best Atmosphere; 2017 Most Thought-Provoking

2017 Most Admirable Hero (Captain Peter Blood)

So out of these, which was my all-time, highest ranking favorite of 2017?…

🙂

 

2017 Favorite Book of the Year!

L. M. Montgomery– one of my favorite authors since I was a teenager– has done it again!  An altogether very different novel than her Anne books, The Blue Castle completely surprised me, made me laugh, sigh, and cozy up with in the evenings to read.  I highly recommend it, if you think you’ve tried everything out there.

Well, that’s it for this year.  What a great one it’s been for reading, for growing, and for learning!  And that’s one of the main things life’s all about.

What has your year in reading looked like?

 

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS (stories)!

I hope everyone has themselves a merry little Christmas!  It doesn’t have to big, it doesn’t have to bright, it doesn’t have to be loud.  But I do hope it is merry, and that we ponder it in our hearts.

Chris Fabry did a recent program with past recordings of Christmas stories narrated by Mike Kellogg.  I thought I’d post it here for us to enjoy together.