Which book should I read for 1993?
OR
For more background on what this is all about, click here.
To vote on Goodreads, click here.
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Monday, January 12, 2026
Let's Bust a Recap : David Copperfield
Um, you guys? I snapped this photo on a sunny fall day in November...of 2023.
David Copperfield first made an appearance on my annual book lists in 2019 when I was trying out my first reading challenge. I put him in the category of a book published before you were born. (1850 for those wondering. A solid 137 years before I was born.) He then took up residency on my book lists in 2020, 2022, and 2023 at which point I did finally pick him up to start reading. In February. I was so determined to finally read this doorstop that year. But, if memory serves, I only got about ten chapters under my belt, and then left him largely ignored in my book cart for 2024.
As you now know if you read my end-of-year recap on New Years Day, my secret goal for 2025 was to finish David Copperfield. And despite picking up the book several times throughout the year to try to start a streak of reading a chapter a day until I finished, I barely scraped by, finishing on the very last day of 2025 reading the final four chapters. I can only attribute my difficulty with David Copperfield to psychological warfare because it wasn't a particularly challenging novel to read. I enjoyed it every time I picked it up. But the sheer length (64 chapters, 877 pages) meant that every time I finished a chapter, it seemed like I hadn't made a lick of progress. And for whatever reason, that made it feel like a slog. On top of that, I wouldn't call David Copperfield a plot-driven novel so there was no big impetus to keep picking him up. I could pop in and out of old Trot's life story whenever I wanted and didn't feel any big drive to stick with him. I think by the time I got to December last year, I still had about half the book left to finish. Crazy.
David Copperfield is famously known as Charles Dickens' "favourite child" which is how he described it himself in his second preface to the completed novel. It just goes to show you there's no accounting for personal taste because of the three Dickens I've read, David Copperfield has been my least favorite. I loved Great Expectations and I was fully blown away by the masterful storytelling in A Tale of Two Cities. David Copperfield is the life story of the titular character who is telling us the story himself. The first chapter is literally titled "I am born" and we just go on from there as David recounts the death of his little mother, the harsh treatment he endures from his stepfather and stepfather's sister, running away to find his aunt Betsey Trotwood, the girls he falls in and out of love with, his friendships—ill-fated or otherwise, his rise to fame as an author, and so on and so forth. It's not what I'd call compelling, but it is known to be Dickens' most autobiographical work so it makes sense that Copperfield is his favorite.
Dickens' greatest strength in David Copperfield (in this reader's opinion, anyway) is his character sketches. I can't tell you how much I loved, loved, loved Betsey Trotwood. Definitely a new all-time favorite literary character. I loathed Uriah Heep. I rooted for Mr. Peggotty. I admired Tommy Traddles. My heart went out to Martha and Little Em'ly. I wanted to smack the smug "respectability" off of Littimer and wring Steerforth's worthless neck. I couldn't roll my eyes hard enough at ridiculous Mr. Micawber or his wife. And poor little Dora. As far as I'm concerned, she and Doady deserved each other and Agnes really could have done better. I could go on but suffice it to say, Dickens is a master at giving us fully fleshed out characters who feel real and timeless 175 years later.
As for David Copperfield himself—Davy, Trot, Doady; whatever you prefer to call him—he was a bit insufferable, very much like Victor Frankenstein. I don't know if it's the device of having the character narrate their own story that takes away a measure of their likability for me, but at times I was groaning for old Trot to just get on with it already or to grow up for Heavens' sake. Which he ultimately did, but with all of Dickens' colorful cast of characters, Davy himself was the one I could have done without. I'm not sure what that says about me, but there you have it.
Just this past February (probably during one of my hapless attempts to get back on the Copperfield wagon), I stumbled across this 2024 Forbes article which, among other things, posits Dickens' ten greatest books and ranks them in order. I found that I had unknowingly started my own Dickens journey in the correct order (according to the article) and so I plan to keep working my way down that list in future. It may be a few years before I pick up another Dickens, but when I do, it'll be Oliver Twist which is what comes next on the list. (Although I may have to sneak A Christmas Carol in somewhere because it doesn't make the top ten since it's not a full-length novel and I've never actually read it. I know. The horror.)
All said, it feels good to finally close the loop on David Copperfield. He has without question shown up on more book lists than any other book I own and finishing him feels like a small kind of accomplishment.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
1992 : My Life In Books
Which book should I read for 1992?
OR
For more background on what this is all about, click here.
To vote on Goodreads, click here.
Sunday, January 4, 2026
My Life In Books
Okay guys, I mentioned on Friday when I shared my 2026 book list that I have the next several years of book lists already mapped out. Well, today we're diving deep into my book nerd-dom and I'm going to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about my plans for reading in 2027. I know it's probably way too early for me to be talking about it, but the fact of the matter is: I need your input. And I wanted to give you plenty of time (a whole year!) to participate. So here we go. The unfortunate truth is...
Can you believe it? Because I'm trying not to. 2027 will be the year I achieve four decades of living. Hang on while I go throw up. I'm not one of those people who embraces aging. You won't catch me out here talking about how 40 is the new 20. 40 is 40 and I dread the new ways my body will find to rebel against me.
Okay Drama Queen, but what does this have to do with your book lists and reading goals?
I'm so glad you asked.
For many years now, I've thought it would be really cool to read a book from every year of my life. But how do I frame that? Do I make it an ongoing project? Or try to do it in a year? Do I choose best sellers? Or Pulitzer prize winners? Or the most popular book of each year? Suffice it to say, putting all the pieces together to make this idea happen seemed a tad overwhelming. But a few weeks ago, Modern Mrs Darcy asked about niche reading projects on her blog, and I got to thinking about this idea again. And because I have been thinking about a couple other goals I have for myself that I'd like to accomplish before turning 40—goals that are going to take some specific planning ahead if I want to achieve them—one of the pieces for this book project fell into place. The year I turn 40 will be the year I try to read a book from every year of my life so far.
But how will you ever choose which books to read?
Again, thanks for asking. Here's where we crank the nerdiness up another notch. I started to wonder if I already own books that have been published every year of my life. And could there possibly be some easier way to figure that out other than pulling every single book off my shelf to check the copyright? As it turns out: yes and yes. There is a way to sort your books on Goodreads by publication year. And since 2021, I've been pretty consistent about keeping my unread shelf updated over there. (And not that we need to dwell on this or anything but I'm sitting at over 700 unread books in our home library. I know.) So I popped over to Goodreads, sorted all my books by publication year, and just like that, I found out I not only have books from every single year of my life: I have options.
Great, Hannah, so make your list and get on with it. Why are you telling us all this?
Right. This is my favorite part. As I started to compile my list, there were several years where the winner was obvious. I knew exactly which book I would read and there wasn't really any contest. But there were just as many years where I had no idea which book to choose. I want to read them all. And I thought to myself, "Self, how can we narrow this down and make it as fun as possible?" Light bulb. Have people vote. So I proceeded to create a Goodreads poll for every single year that I couldn't decide which book to read. I made them public on January 1st and I'm leaving them open until December 1st.
Now, the one drawback to all this is that you do have to have a Goodreads account to see (or vote on) Goodreads polls. Goodreads is free and it's super easy to set up an account, but if you have no interest in doing that, I have another solution. I will also be posting a poll weekly on the blog until all the polls are available here too. If you have trouble commenting, never fear. I'll take your response by text or e-mail; heck, I'll take it by postcard or carrier pigeon if it comes to that. I would just love to get as many responses as possible. So—along with voting yourself—feel free to share this with anyone you think would have fun participating.
There you have it. Is this fun and creative? Or ridiculous and insane? Will you vote? It's all I want for my birthday.
If you have a Goodreads account and you want to vote now, click here.
If not, the first poll will go live this Thursday and like I said, if you have trouble commenting, don't hesitate to text or e-mail your response instead. It will make my day.
Friday, January 2, 2026
2026 Book List
(I wouldn't make any bets on that if I were you, but if we can't be optimistic at the beginning of a new year, when can we really?)
Listen you guys, I have like, my next four years of book lists mapped out. Ridiculous? Maybe, but I just have so many ideas for book lists and I can only put them into action one year at a time. This year's plan is to round up every book I ever put on a book list and make a new list out of all the ones I never got around to reading. Everything added up, that came out to twenty-one books, plus I added five more including the Shakespearean plays I want to read this year and, of course, a presidential biography. (Technically, the biography could be considered part of the round-up of books from past lists, but I'm not trying to put that kind of pressure on myself with the presidents. I know you probably don't care about this kind of nerdy minutiae or the inner workings of my mind, but this blog isn't just for you, okay? It's for me too.)
Anyways, when all is said and done, I have a starting list of twenty-six books for 2026, and you guys, I just realized it as I typed it out: 26 in '26! Truly a coincidence, but how serendipitous.
Here's the stack:
Walking with God Day by Day : Martyn Lloyd-Jones
President James Buchanan : Philip Shriver Klein
Merry Wives of Windsor : William Shakespeare
Titus Andronicus : William Shakespeare
A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears : Jules Feiffer
from my 2015 book list
When God Writes Your Life Story : Eric & Leslie Ludy
The Quiet Little Woman : Louisa May Alcott
The Red Badge of Courage : Stephen Crane
Adopted for Life : Russell Moore
from my 2019 book list
Crime and Punishment : Fyodor Dostoevsky
1984 : George Orwell
from my 2020 book list
The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland : Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking-Glass : Lewis Carroll
from my 2022 book list
Housekeeping : Marilynne Robinson
from my 2023 book list
The Case for a Creator : Lee Strobel
As I Lay Dying : William Faulkner
A Gentleman in Moscow : Amor Towles
Carry On, Jeeves : P.G. Wodehouse
The Chosen : Chaim Potok
The Starless Sea : Erin Morgenstern
A Red Herring Without Mustard : Alan Bradley
from my 2025 book list
Living Life Backward : David Gibson
Hannah Coulter : Wendell Berry
Brideshead Revisited : Evelyn Waugh
A Farewell to Arms : Ernest Hemingway
I'm really excited with how this list turned out, but it does feel a little daunting too. (Although can we all breathe a sigh of relief that David Copperfield didn't carry over into another new year?) With working full-time outside my home again, I've had to get really intentional with my reading time and there was definitely a period of adjustment with that, but I'm excited to tackle this list and finally check these books off my unread shelf.
Are you optimistic about fresh resolutions at the beginning of a new year? Or is it just another day? Any books you're especially excited to get to this year? Would you like to read any from my list with me?
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Let's Bust a Recap : 2025
Well, here we are at the start of another brand new year. To be completely honest with you, I am not sad to see 2025 go. There were a lot of crummy, hard, sad things this year. It was maybe even worse than 2020 for me. But like I did in 2020, I want to thank God for some of the blessings that made 2025 a little more bearable.
Like marking year 13 of life together with the best guy ever.
Like welcoming a new niece and a new nephew into the family and getting to have all my Hancock chicks together at my favorite place: the beach.
Like honoring my amazing parents' 40th anniversary by surprising my mom with all her kids in the same place at the same time.
Like trying our hand at growing some things and seeing the tomatoes go gangbusters.
Like having my best friends visit me this summer and going to baseball games galore.
Like getting a full-time job at Walmart which is exhausting but also great for my mental health.
Like fun little surprises in the mail, and going to the lake, and the leaves changing color, and late night movie dates, and Christmas lights, and little hands helping decorate the tree.
And, of course, always having books, books, and more books to read. Especially on the front porch with something cold—or hot, as the case may be—at hand to drink and my husband reading his book beside me.
Yes, there have been hard things. Yes, there are things I wish I could change about this past year. But God is faithful, He has given me strength and protected me from the evil one.
Okay, now back to all those books. This year, I made a starting list for myself of twenty books....and I read thirteen of them. Whomp whomp. But let's talk about my secret goal. This year, my secret goal was to actually finish David Copperfield. Which has been on and off my book lists since 2019. Which I started reading back in February of 2023. Which I kept picking up all year but didn't ultimately finish it till last night at 8:18 PM, and yes I did in fact mark the exact time I read the words "The End." Another down-to-the-wire finish, but I'm just super-jazzed I did it.
Overall, I finished the year with a nice round total of 40 books read. And you know the drill: here they all are with my quick thoughts on a bunch of them.
January
A Separate Peace by John Knowles : completed 1/25
Broke my heart. A masterpiece.
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (re-read; read aloud) : completed 1/30
I've been bugging Cody to read Little Men ever since he finished Little Women and he finally just let me read it aloud to him. Great way to start the year.
February
Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare : completed 2/23
Silvia the GOAT!
Open Your Heart by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 2/28
Can't go a year without some Robin Jones Gunn.
March
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah : completed 3/7
Definitely lived up to the hype.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) :
completed 3/13
Cody and I read the whole Harry Potter series together this year!
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (re-read; partial read aloud) : completed 3/16
I started reading the Lunar Chronicles to Cody but it proved to be too YA and girly for him, so we switched to Harry Potter instead. (I still had to finish my re-read of Cinder though.)
April
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) :
completed 4/9
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand : completed 4/27
Phenomenal. Please give us a collection of Laura Hillenbrand's freelance work, Publishing People.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) :
completed 4/29
May
Fervent by Priscilla Shirer : completed 5/14
Still planning to recap this one, but suffice it to say: I needed this book this year.
Tales of Peter Rabbit and His Friends by Beatrix Potter (read aloud) : completed 5/22
You can never have enough Beatrix Potter.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : completed 5/28
Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt : completed 5/31
Still s l o w l y working my way through my presidential biographies goal.
June
Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr (library book) : completed 6/9
Completely without guile. Loved this sweet Norwegian book.
Animal Farm by George Orwell : completed 6/29
Oof.
 |
| -David Copperfield still hanging over my head halfway through the year- |
July
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (re-read; read aloud) : completed 7/25
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han : completed 7/26
Meh.
Desiring God by John Piper : completed 7/30
Helpful but wouldn't necessarily recommend.
August
It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han : completed 8/12
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate : completed 8/23
Did not live up to the hype. Recap coming.
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han : completed 8/25
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) :
completed 8/28
This was the point in the series that Cody had not previously read by himself so I really enjoyed reading the last three books with him.
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare : completed 8/30
Going into another new year behind on my Shakespeare recaps. Will definitely be writing one soon!
September
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp : completed 9/6
One of my favorite books of the year. This was so good.
Home by Julie Andrews : completed 9/14
Home Work by Julie Andrews : completed 9/18
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter : completed 9/22
Instantly achieved All-Time Favorite status.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) :
completed 9/23
Cody said this was his favorite book of the series.
Time Will Tell by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 9/29
October
The World's Best Fairy Tales edited by Belle Becker Sideman (read aloud) :
completed 10/3
Not planning to do a full recap on this so I'm going to do a mini one here. Starting in July of 2024 I read all 69 fairy tales aloud—we couldn't find one more story to make it an even 70??—to various people in my life, including nieces, nephews, my husband, my best friends, and kids I babysit. It was a wild ride. Probably the craziest story was The Bronze Ring which I read with my nephew. I don't even know how to describe how crazy that story is to you. Right when we thought it couldn't possibly get zanier, we were wrong. You should look it up and read it sometime. It's by Henri Carnoy.
The Poetry of Robert Frost : completed 10/28
Also not planning to do a recap on this. How do you even recap poetry? Some of it I loved, some of it went over my head, some of it I don't care if I ever read again, some of it I bookmarked to read over and over. I loved incorporating poetry more consistently into my overall reading.
November
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) : completed 11/8
When I started working at Walmart, Anne Shirley went with me to keep me company on my breaks. I'll never get tired of Avonlea.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson : completed 11/14
Still waiting for someone to explain how this became so mainstream.
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) : completed 11/25
December
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley : completed 12/2
"How dare you sport thus with life?" So good.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) :
completed 12/21
NEVILLE!!! I'll never get over him chopping off Nagini's head. I actually lost my voice reading this one to Cody with all the screaming at the end. I put my all into it.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (re-read) : completed 12/24
Did I or did I not say you will catch me reading this every Christmas for the rest of my life?
Morning and Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon : completed 12/31
They don't call him the "Prince of Preachers" for nothing.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens : completed 12/31
It felt so good to check this one off. Recap coming so soon, I promise.
So many good books read, and so many more to read. I hope your 2026 is better than your 2025. Even if you had a great 2025, I hope 2026 is still better. May we all be as unbothered as Colonel when little hands are decorating him for Christmas. You know what I'm going to say...
...keep reading the best books first.
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