Happy New Year everyone! Did you stay up late to ring in the New Year? We barely did but the fireworks went on for a while longer so I read a bit more before finally going to sleep. Such party animals aren’t we? Ha.

I almost didn’t start a new book in honor of the New Year because I’m carrying over about eight books from 2018 but I couldn’t resist. So after spending a bit of time at my bookshelves I decided a poetry book would be the best choice and promptly settled on Picnic, Lightning by Billy Collins.

I’ve had this book for quite a while and I know I’ve dipped into it here and there but I don’t think I’ve read it all the way through. So I’m looking forward to finally doing so.

We also welcomed the year by going out for a trail walk after lunch. We explored a new  path and must have walked for about 45 minutes. I told my husband that we really need to make more of an effort to go out for trail walks. He is an avid cyclist so he’s always out and about but I need to be outdoors more often. I enjoy looking at the trees, hearing the birds and the soft crunch of the gravel. It definitely puts you in a great frame of mind.

I’ve really enjoyed having some days off from work. We’ve been watching House Hunters International and are already making plans for our travels this year. And, I’ve been having fun with a new crafty project. I’ll tell you more about it soon.

Wishing you all the best in the New Year and lots of great books!

It’s always so interesting to look back over my reading year. I enjoy thinking back on books that I loved, the new authors I may have discovered and of course any surprises I had in my reading. This year, was going great until about mid-Summer when I started a new job and my reading fell off quite a bit. So let’s see exactly how I did.

Here are my stats for 2018:

My favorites in Fiction: Shelter by Jung Yun, Good Evening, Mrs. Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes, This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff, and The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddon

My favorites in Mystery: City of Lies by Victoria Thompson, Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo, and To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear

Other Genre Favorites: How To Travel Without Seeing by Andres Neuman, The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs and Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

The Numbers:
Total books read in 2018: 50
Books by women: 42
Books by men: 8
Fiction: 15
Mystery: 25
Non-fiction: 4
Romance: 2
Short Story Collection: 1
Graphic Novel: 1
Poetry Collections: 2
Books in translation: 6 (Spanish, Arabic, Norwegian, Italian, Slovak and Swedish)
Audiobooks: 5
Challenges participated in: 6
Challenges completed: 0

This year was not quite as good as last in that I read 15 fewer books but I still managed to read across several genres with mysteries still being way ahead of the other genres. I was very happy to see two works in translation from languages that I think are probably less represented in the world of books in translation.

The biggest surprise for me were the audiobooks. I listened to five! I’ve always had a commute of about 30 minutes at least but I feel like I finally have found a way to make audiobooks work for me. I typically choose mysteries or “lighter” fare to listen to in case I miss something I don’t feel lost. I don’t listen to books on my commute exclusively. Sometimes I want to hear NPR or listen to music but I’m very excited about having something else I can rely on for my drive.

Let’s talk about challenges for a minute. This is the second year in a row that I participate in that many challenges and don’t complete them. I don’t feel bad but at the same time I’m thinking of taking a break. I think I’ll still join in reading events like Nonfiction November and German Literature Month but no year-long commitments.

How about you? Did your year turnout like you thought it would or any big reading goals for 2019?

Thank you for sharing the book love with me. I always enjoy your comments and visiting with you via our blogs. I hope you have a fabulous year ahead! Happy New Year!

Smiles,
Iliana