I was pretty happy with my 2019 reading year and have no plans to make any drastic changes. Actually the biggest change is that our older son now reads books to me but I also still read him lots of picture books because there are just so many fantastic ones. Otherwise, my goal is to hit 175 books finished again, about 15% of those to be rereads, and about 25% to be non-fiction. Basically, what I did last year but with mostly different books! And my sister and I plan to reread the Harry Potter series this fall so that will be fun!
I am on Goodreads here and Instagram here, and linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy.
Two other book posts in the past month:
And now everything I've read in the past 31ish days!
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina LaurenThis is the first book I've read by this best friend writing duo and found it pretty much exactly what I expected it to be! An 18 year old girl is on a vacation to London with her Grandmother when she meets a boy, the connect over a few days and then he disappears, seemingly revealing her biggest secret to the world's press in his wake (and the world press cares because she is the daughter of a famous actor and the daughter hasn't been seen publicly in over 10 years). This opens a whole can of worms and the story picks up again about 10 years later, when the young girl is now an actress herself and about to be in a movie with her famous father. I liked that there was greater depth to it than just girl meets boy, boy disappears, but it was also pretty light and enjoyable. 3.5 Stars
Finding Father Christmas, Engaging Father Christmas, Kissing Father Christmas by Robin Jones GunnI wrote a whole post about this series last month, I reread them all every December and have for a few years now. They are sweet novellas about finding your family (actually has more in common with Twice in a Blue Moon than I'd expect) and making your own family. Plus, it's set in England which just sounds dreamy at Christmas even though I expect it's not horribly different than our Christmas here. 4.25 Stars
Winter Street, Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, Winter Solstice by Elin HilderbrandI also just wrote a post about this series, another one I have reread every December since they were released (that's 6 years in a row I've read the first in the series!). I really enjoy my time with the Quinns every December and reading about Christmas on Nantucket. I was prepping this post and thought about how I'm a little sad I won't get to read about them for another 11 months, which is crazy because I just spent around 1000 pages with them. It wouldn't feel fully like Christmas without reading these. 4.5 Stars
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
I read this book at least once as a kid, probably multiple times, and remember watching a tv movie based on it. I had read my son the Halloween one in October so he was familiar with the Herdmanns and I was delighted to revisit this book. It's short, under 100 pages, but packs in a lot of emotions, I almost cried in the end! So good and one I hope to read with him for years to come. 5 Stars
The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp
This has been my Christmas season devotional for many years now. It breaks down the Nativity story mostly using the Jesse tree, with Bible stories and a reflection for each day. With the craziness of December, this helps me focus on the most important part of our celebrating. 4.5 Stars
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
This was a perfect book to read in that lazy week between Christmas and New Years when you can't even pretend to know what day of the week it is. It reminded me of The Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo in that it's an older woman telling the story of her more wild youth and all the things that lead her to where she is now. Some of her turns of phrase in it were just wonderful and I kept finding time to pick it up again. One of my favorite reads of the year! 4 Stars
Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by Sarah Young
This was my second year through this daily devotional but it had been a few years so was like reading it for the first time, besides the various parts I underlined. It's the perfect short reflection to start the day with a couple Bible verses to look up (which I do on my phone). I'll probably revisit it in another few years. 5 Stars
A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams
I have read this book 6 times and it remains among my all-time favorites. I've made a tradition of rereading it every year around New Years because, even with Summer in the title, a good portion of the story actually takes place around New Years. It goes between two time lines, 1931 and 1938, as the story of what happened between then and now slowly being revealed. I always find myself equally sucked in by both timelines, even though I know exactly how it ends. I really enjoy this book. 5 Stars
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
This was my 3rd romance set in New York City in a row which was not planned but kinda nice. This one also takes place between two timelines, but both in this millennium, with characters pretty close to my same age. Two college student meet on 9/11 as they watch the destruction from miles away and their lives remain intertwined for years to come. It was a compelling love story but I have THOUGHTS on some decisions made by the characters. It's hard to just let that go. 2.75 Stars
Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen
This is the second book in the Molly Murphy series, which I intend to try to get through this year. It's a mystery series set around 1901 with an amateur detective named Molly Murphy. In the first book she is on her way to the US from Ireland, stopping at Ellis Island and getting caught up in a murder investigation along the way. In this book she is in New York, trying to make her way in a time when it was hard for women to do so. She's a compelling character and 1901 New York is not a period I've previously read about! I'm not much for mystery but these aren't real suspenseful and Molly gets herself out of trouble just in the nick of time, many times. 3.5 Stars
Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews EdwardsI had read Julie Andrew's first memoir, Home, at years ago and in reading this I guess I had read an earlier biography of her because some of her story seemed a little familiar. The Sound of Music is my all-time favorite movie and so I was interested in picking this up to hear a little more about her Hollywood life. And it was interesting. A lot of moving, chasing roles for money, raising kids all over the place (I did not know she adopted two daughters!). It was fascinating but also made me very glad for my very normal, quiet life. 3.5 Stars
What have YOU been reading lately? Any reading goals for 2020?
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