Well, it's the end of 2018, and despite working significantly more hours than last year (my department is slowly collapsing like a flan in a cupboard - bonus points if you remember that as a reference to the Austro-Hungarian Empire), I managed to beat my Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge goals, and actually read more books and more pages than I have since I started keeping track on Goodreads in 2012. My stats for the year were 37 books and 13,985 pages. I attribute to my seeming success to the fact that I quit Facebook in late January (I say "seeming success" because, in retrospect, maybe those numbers are a little sad. Like, maybe I should have been off having actual adventures, instead of reading. However, I made somewhere around $8,000 in overtime this year and I am counting the fact that I was able to spend any time at all not working as a victory). I actually suspended my Facebook account because of reading. I always bitched and moaned that I didn't have enough time to read, and then thought "but I spend a whole lotta time on Facebook, which never makes me happier. Maybe I should re-prioritize." Truly, my only regret about giving up Facebook has been losing the ability to heckle the Patriots online with my fellow Steelers fans.
While I exceeded the quantity of books in my Goodreads Challenge, I did not fully meet the PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge, and I fell ever further behind on my Our Shared Shelf (OSS) book list. Here's what I read this year, along with the relevant PopSugar prompt, if applicable:
1. A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin (reread, because I foolishly believed that Winds of Winter would be out this year. Hope springs eternal...)
2. Girl Waits With Gun, by Amy Stewart (True crime)
3. Reincarnation Blues, by Michael Poore (A book with your favorite color in the title)
4. Death of Kings, by Bernard Cornwell (The next book in a series you started)
5. Hunger, a Memoir of (My) Body, by Roxane Gay (A book about mental health, and also an OSS read)
6. Certain Dark Things, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you)
7. Waste Free Kitchen Handbook, by Dana Gunders
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by JK Rowling (a reread, obviously, and my answer to the "A book that involves a bookstore or library" prompt)
9. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, by James Finn Garner (something stupid my husband put on my Kindle. The best thing I can say about it is that it was very short)
10. Clariel, by Garth Nix (a reread. We had just adopted an 8-week old puppy, and my husband and I took turns sitting with him every second while he recovered from being fixed and while we made sure he didn't pee on or eat everything. We failed in those last two respects. He's 11 months now, and much more likeable.)
11. Stalin and His Hangmen: The Tyrant and Those Who Killed for Him, by Donald Rayfield (we get it, Stalin was a bad dude. I was not, however, prepared for how shockingly incompetent he turned out to be.)
12. Grief is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter (A book that is also a stage play or musical)
13. Heart Berries, A Memoir, by Therese-Marie Mailhot (A book published in 2018, and also an OSS read)
14. Jade City, by Fonda Lee
15. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
16. Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, by Alison Weir (Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges: A book about an interesting woman)
17. The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro (A book set in a country that fascinates you)
18. The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, by Douglas Adams (A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling (A book with characters who are twins)
20. The Madam, by Julianna Baggot (A novel based on a real person)
21. Blood on Snow, by Jo Nesbo (Nordic noir)
22. House of Meetings, by Martin Amis (A book about a villain or antihero)
23. Guns of the Dawn, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (A book with a time of day in the title)
24. The Night Manager, by John Le Carré (A book made into a movie you've already seen. Well, it was a miniseries on Netflix, so I'm counting it)
25. The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith (A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym)
26. The Burning Gates, by Parker Bilal
27. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner)
28. Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach (A book about death or grief)
29. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (A book from a celebrity book club, and also an OSS read)
30. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving (A book about or set on Halloween. I don't believe that, technically The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is either about or set on Halloween, but I read it every year in October, and it is so indelibly associated in my mind with Halloween that I am counting it.)
31. Hag-Seed, by Margaret Atwood (A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift)
32. The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry (A book with an animal in the title, and, incidentally, the most beautiful book cover I've ever seen.)
33. Luna: New Moon, by Ian McDonald (A book set on a different planet. I'm counting the moon as a planet.
34. What Made Maddy Run, by Kate Fagan (A book about or involving a sport)
35. The Secret Lives of Color, by Kasia St. Clair
36. Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance, by Mark Whitaker (A book by a local author)
37. Time's Convert, by Deborah Harkness (A book about time travel. Not technically time travel, but definitely time.)
And that's it. Happy New Year!
While I exceeded the quantity of books in my Goodreads Challenge, I did not fully meet the PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge, and I fell ever further behind on my Our Shared Shelf (OSS) book list. Here's what I read this year, along with the relevant PopSugar prompt, if applicable:
1. A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin (reread, because I foolishly believed that Winds of Winter would be out this year. Hope springs eternal...)
2. Girl Waits With Gun, by Amy Stewart (True crime)
3. Reincarnation Blues, by Michael Poore (A book with your favorite color in the title)
4. Death of Kings, by Bernard Cornwell (The next book in a series you started)
5. Hunger, a Memoir of (My) Body, by Roxane Gay (A book about mental health, and also an OSS read)
6. Certain Dark Things, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you)
7. Waste Free Kitchen Handbook, by Dana Gunders
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by JK Rowling (a reread, obviously, and my answer to the "A book that involves a bookstore or library" prompt)
9. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, by James Finn Garner (something stupid my husband put on my Kindle. The best thing I can say about it is that it was very short)
10. Clariel, by Garth Nix (a reread. We had just adopted an 8-week old puppy, and my husband and I took turns sitting with him every second while he recovered from being fixed and while we made sure he didn't pee on or eat everything. We failed in those last two respects. He's 11 months now, and much more likeable.)
11. Stalin and His Hangmen: The Tyrant and Those Who Killed for Him, by Donald Rayfield (we get it, Stalin was a bad dude. I was not, however, prepared for how shockingly incompetent he turned out to be.)
12. Grief is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter (A book that is also a stage play or musical)
13. Heart Berries, A Memoir, by Therese-Marie Mailhot (A book published in 2018, and also an OSS read)
14. Jade City, by Fonda Lee
15. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
16. Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, by Alison Weir (Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges: A book about an interesting woman)
17. The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro (A book set in a country that fascinates you)
18. The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, by Douglas Adams (A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling (A book with characters who are twins)
20. The Madam, by Julianna Baggot (A novel based on a real person)
21. Blood on Snow, by Jo Nesbo (Nordic noir)
22. House of Meetings, by Martin Amis (A book about a villain or antihero)
23. Guns of the Dawn, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (A book with a time of day in the title)
24. The Night Manager, by John Le Carré (A book made into a movie you've already seen. Well, it was a miniseries on Netflix, so I'm counting it)
25. The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith (A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym)
26. The Burning Gates, by Parker Bilal
27. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner)
28. Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach (A book about death or grief)
29. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (A book from a celebrity book club, and also an OSS read)
30. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving (A book about or set on Halloween. I don't believe that, technically The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is either about or set on Halloween, but I read it every year in October, and it is so indelibly associated in my mind with Halloween that I am counting it.)
31. Hag-Seed, by Margaret Atwood (A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift)
32. The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry (A book with an animal in the title, and, incidentally, the most beautiful book cover I've ever seen.)
33. Luna: New Moon, by Ian McDonald (A book set on a different planet. I'm counting the moon as a planet.
34. What Made Maddy Run, by Kate Fagan (A book about or involving a sport)
35. The Secret Lives of Color, by Kasia St. Clair
36. Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance, by Mark Whitaker (A book by a local author)
37. Time's Convert, by Deborah Harkness (A book about time travel. Not technically time travel, but definitely time.)
And that's it. Happy New Year!
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