2019 is almost history, and it's time for the yearly roundup of my reading successes and failures. If you don't mind, I'm going to reflect for just a bit and then we'll get down to what I actually read.
2019 was my fifth year creating an annual book list for myself, and this year I structured it quite a bit differently than I have in the past. Instead of just making a straightforward list to work through, I decided to incorporate Modern Mrs. Darcy's Annual Reading Challenge, and I also put a bunch of random titles (not from my list) in a little jar to pull throughout the year.
I kindof bombed. I only completed 6 of the 12 categories for the reading challenge (one of those categories being "three books by the same author"), and I pretty much ignored the jar altogether only pulling one slip from it all year.
To sum up:
from my Base List I read: 10/14
from the Reading Challenge I read: 8/12
from the jar I read: 1 book
So what I've learned is: reading challenges and mystery jars just aren't for me. While I was the one who chose all of the books to read for the challenge and to put in the jar and I was initially excited about both ideas, they completely fizzled for me. I ended up feeling obligated to draw from the jar whenever I needed a pick me up and when I finally did draw one (halfway through the year) it wasn't a pick-me-up kinda book. I didn't buck my own system and re-read something just because I wanted to until October. Y'all. That's not how I operate. I've done a comfortable re-read right out of the gate every other year of making these book lists and you better believe that's how I intend to start 2020. After the amazing reading year I had in 2018, 2019 felt very slow and long and like there were a lot of slumps.
Long story long: 2019 wasn't my greatest reading year, but I learned a lot about myself and the way that I like to read, and that will definitely help me as we move into the next decade. All said, I ended up reading 32 books this year and that ain't bad. Here's what they were.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling : completed 1/11
Finally decided to join the rest of the known universe in reading about The Boy Who Lived.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling : completed 1/19
This book turned out to be my second favorite of the series.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling : completed 1/29
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling : completed 2/12
I couldn't put this one down, but the ending was very upsetting for me. Also, Rowling can really write an ending. I was always up way too late finishing these books even if the book had initially been slow for me.
As You Like It by William Shakespeare : completed 2/18
Really weird to read this in the midst of the Harry Potter series. Not my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling : completed 3/11
The book that wouldn't end.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling : completed 3/23
Did not even want to finish the series when I got to the end of this one. Ugh.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling : completed 3/30
Best book. Would have started over again immediately. Will definitely read all seven again.
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis : completed 4/19
Not what I was expecting, but I still appreciated it. Par for the course with Lewis.
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline : completed 4/23
Some hard content but great payoff.
Sisterchicks on the Loose! by Robin Jones Gunn : completed 4/29
Always a pleasure.
The Last Founding Father by Harlow Giles Unger : completed 5/23
Worst presidential biography I've read to date. By a longshot.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier : completed 6/26
The one book I read out of the jar!
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis : completed 6/30
My Bedtime Anytime Storybook by V. Gilbert Beers (read aloud) : completed 7/25
Not great.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein : completed 7/29
Worst book I read this year, by far.
Humility by C.J. Mahaney : completed 7/31
King Lear by William Shakespeare : completed 9/1
No recap on this one yet (haven't decided if I'm still going to try to eke one out or not) but the best bit of name calling I've seen from Shakespeare yet. I really enjoyed my Shakespearean tragedy this year.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas : completed 9/30
No recap of this yet either. (My blogging definitely fell off this year. I blame the Instagram.) Four months well spent.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi : completed 10/24
The one book not pictured because a friend lent it to me.
Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 10/28
Finally got over my mental block and just read something I wanted to! Definite turning point in the year.
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul : completed 10/29
Again, no recap for this one yet. This one was weighty and so good.
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (re-read; read aloud) : completed 11/12
My husband and I have been talking about reading these aloud together for a long time and we finally dove in. The best!
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (re-read; read aloud) : completed 11/15
It's just always a good idea to visit Narnia.
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) : completed 11/18
Needed this on my birthday weekend.
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (re-read; read aloud) : completed 11/19
The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne (read aloud) : completed 11/30
So lovely.
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (re-read; read aloud) : completed 12/15
We watched the most recent movie adaptation after reading this and I have to say, after really hitting a homerun with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe adaptation, Disney really struck out with Prince Caspian.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith : completed 12/21
Another one I haven't recapped. I enjoyed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn but not as much as I expected to. It was good, but not a new favorite or anything. *shrugs*
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (re-read; read aloud) : completed 12/26
I started reading this one aloud to my nieces last year, and today I started Farmer Boy aloud with my oldest niece. My mother read these books to me and my siblings and it's really sweet reading them with my nieces.
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers : completed 12/28
Overall, this was a helpful devotional, but I will say there were some days I didn't agree with what Oswald was saying and some days that just seemed to go over my head. Definitely a devotional worth re-visiting in the future.
Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn : completed 12/28
This was the first Robin Jones Gunn novel I have ever been hesitant to read and the first one in several years I didn't preorder as soon as that option was open to me. My sweet husband got it for me for my birthday and when I read it, I discovered I had nothing to be worried about it. Robin Jones Gunn never disappoints.
So there you have it. I'd love to know if you're interested in recaps on any of the ones I haven't gotten around to writing about yet. I want to get back into a better blogging rhythm next year. This year I was definitely trying to figure out the blogging/Instagram balance and I'm not sure if I've found it yet, but I plan to keep working on it. In the meantime, I'd love to hear about what you read in 2019 and what works and doesn't work for you as a reader. Thanks for sticking with me!
Happy New Year & Keep Reading the Best Books First!
It's good to learn! :) I generally don't hop onto others' reading challenges or join "official" book clubs for this reason - I'm a deep mood reader, so I prefer to pick a book when I know it's the right "moment" for it in my life. So, you're not alone! And I've loved following along your recaps and write ups this year, I think you did a cracking job ;) I'd love to hear what you think of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, I'm hoping to get to that one in 2020 myself. Happy new year, doll! x
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheree! I'll see what I can do about a recap on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn soon. :)
DeleteI like how you include “re-read” and/or “read aloud”. It’s the little things.
ReplyDeleteVery much looking forward to your Count of Monte Cristo recap. I am almost done re-reading it.
Listening to mom read Laura Ingles Wilder in the car on road trips = nostalgia.
I've decided I'm going to try to get recaps of The Count of Monte Cristo, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and King Lear all done this month. Sorry the commenting is so weird for you!
DeleteGonna do ANOTHER super long comment BECAUSE I CAN, okay?! lol Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - I'm so glad you read these! I feel like we still haven't talked through them enough. Also, would love to marathon the movies with you one day.
As You Like It by William Shakespeare - which movie is a remake of this? I can't remember...
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis - I can't remember if we've talked about this one yet.
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - sounds super intense.
Sisterchicks on the Loose! by Robin Jones Gunn - I can't believe I still haven't read a Sisterchicks book!
The Last Founding Father by Harlow Giles Unger - yeah, no thanks.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - this one MIGHT be the first fiction I read when my fast breaks!!! Can't wait!
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis - this one is definitely on my life list.
My Bedtime Anytime Storybook by V. Gilbert Beers - who did you read aloud to? And was it so bad that you struggled to finish it?
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - Yeesh.
Humility by C.J. Mahaney - OOOO! Never heard of this one, but just based on the title, I want to borrow it!
King Lear by William Shakespeare - PLEASE do a recap. Your Shakespeare recaps are THE BEST!
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - girl, you BLAME that Insta!!!! Is a recap forthcoming?
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - what did you think? And what friend lent it to you?
Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn - Which one is this? I love these books :D
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul - are you going to recap it? Also, how long does a book like this normally take you to get through? And are there other books you're reading at the same time?
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis - so how does this work? Do y'all take turns reading them aloud to each other?
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - so good :D
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery - I just need to read this series straight through!
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis - I don't remember much about this book. I don't think I liked it as much as the rest of the series.
The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne - who did you read these aloud to?
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis - I actually am not a fan of any of the new movies from this book series. I still like the BBC movies that came out in the 80's or 90's. I have them on VHS. lol Did you ever see them?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - so the books that you didn't recap (like this one), are you planning to recap? Or were they so unimpressive that you just don't feel like it?
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder - I've never read any of the Little House books, but they sound heart-warming.
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers - it's such an interesting thing to me, as I get older and more into studying Scripture and what I believe, to disagree with spiritual giants like Oswald Chambers. I'd be very interested to discuss with you some of the points you disagreed with him. I have a feeling that we're getting to a new stage in our lives and in our friendship where we can have more conversations on topics we don't see eye-to-eye on, and it's actually a really nice and beneficial thing, at least for me. Hope I'm not the only one that feels that way. lol
Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn - why were you so hesitant to read this? Was this a standalone or part of a series?
Aaaaaand there you go. Love you, best friend!!!
I don't know of any modern remakes of As You Like It that aren't actual word for word adaptations.
DeleteI'm planning to recap King Lear, The Count of Monte Cristo, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Hopefully. Someday. LOL!
I am usually reading 3-5 books at any given time. A couple read alouds, a theological non-fiction and/or historical non-fiction (like a presidential bio), and a novel. For example, right now I'm reading Lies Women Believe (with you!), a biography of JQAdams, A Little Princess, and then a Narnia book and Farmer Boy both out loud (Narnia with Cody and Farmer Boy with whatever little people are in the house on any given day).
Speaking of which, I read books out loud to whatever little people are in my house on any given day. Haha! Usually that just means C, but also my nieces or whoever I might be babysitting.
Kathy Lisby lent me Homegoing. I wrote a recap on it.
Clouds is the one about Shelly and Jonathan and you would LOVE the Sisterchicks books. As for Becoming Us, I was hesitant to read it because it was marketed like it was a book FOR young moms ABOUT a club of young moms and I just had reservations. But it was really more about friendship and I LOVED IT! It's the first in a new series. Second one coming out in April. Already pre-ordered!
I can't wait to hear what you think of Rebecca!
And yeah, you definitely need to read Anne and you're welcome to borrow Humility (or any other book you want!) anytime!
And yes!! I've seen all the old Narnia adaptions but it's been a loooong time!
DeleteAnd for the Narnia books, mostly it's me reading out loud although Cody has read a couple chapters here and there.
DeleteGirl, thanks for replying to all that mess! You're a beast! Can't wait to read your recaps (when you write them lol). Also how are you liking The Little Princess so far? And Becoming Us sounds like a book I would like. I can't wait to read Rebecca! I'm almost done with 2 Samuel!!
ReplyDeleteDelicious, you are WELCOME! lol
DeleteI'm loving A Little Princess. As far as I remember, it seems like the movies stayed very faithful to the story. Hopefully I'll be finishing up the book soon so we can watch the movies. =)
Go you! I'm in the middle of Numbers right now.