The year is almost over (I’m already hearing fireworks) but I still have one post I must get out before end of the year. I promised you a list of favorite reads and my annual year in review so here it is.

My favorites of 2011 were:
Fiction: Someone At A Distance by Dorothy Whipple, One Day by David Nicholls, Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and The Observations by Jane Harris

Mystery: The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Highasino and The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olson.

The numbers:
Total books read in 2011: 55
Books by women: 39
Books by men: 16
Fiction: 29
Mystery: 21
Young Adult: 2
Romance: 1
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 1
Non-Fiction: 1
Books in translation: 10 (Swedish, German, Japanese, Norwegian, and Danish)
Books from the library: 11
Kindle reads: 8

While I read some great books this year I can say that it was not as great a reading year as others. I had a lot of DNFs and this is perhaps the least amount of books I’ve read in a long time. I also didn’t get a chance to read any classics, no short story collections, and no graphic novels.

But with 2012 almost here I’m feeling quite hopeful about the books I’ll read next year. I’m not one to make resolutions but I do like to say I have good intentions and I have plenty of those for the coming year. I like the idea of a fresh start. Returning to my blog, to my studio and to all of those things that lift my spirits.

I wish you all a very happy 2012. May you find your life bursting with health, happiness and heaps of good books!

Hugs,
Iliana

I am hoping all of you are enjoying the holiday season with your family and friends. I am very lucky to be sharing this Christmas with my Abuelita and some of my other family members.

I also want to say thank you for all the sweet comments you’ve left me in my previous posts. The book blogging community is really the best isn’t it?

Anyway, I hope to come back to this space before the year is over as I really want to do my favorite books of the year post and of course do a reading year in review post. Looking forward to it.

I keep thinking I’ll blog tomorrow, no, I’ll blog on the weekend, and the days just keep passing by. I have had a lot of good intentions to come here and tell you about new books I’ve checked out of the library, about book finds at the bookstore and all that but somehow I end up not hitting publish on the blog.

I think it just becomes harder to get back online after a long break. I’m not quite ready to give up on my blog though so my postings may still be a bit sporadic but I’m hoping to get my blogging mojo back one of these days.

In the meantime what can I tell you? I’ve been resting when not working. I am totally into my restorative yoga classes. I think there was a time I felt a slight sense of them not being enough because I wasn’t doing much. Hello, that’s the point. Learning to relax.

Also, as my mom gets older I realize she needs more of my time. So I’ve been watching shows with her, going out with her and trying to juggle that with my often demanding job, regular chores, and of course spending time with my husband.

With regards to my reading this year has just been so odd. I’m not ready to do a end of year wrap up just yet but already I know this will be one of the years with the least amount of books read. I’ve also had a lot of DNFs.

So while I don’t do New Year’s resolutions this year I’m sort of drawn to the idea of planning. Setting good intentions which will hopefully translate to lots of exciting good reads, reconnecting with friends, finding my way into the studio and the big one, re-learning time management. Big dreams but why not right?

Thank you dear bookish friends for not giving up on me.