New Year. New Me. New Books.

Well, I kind of failed at writing regularly this year. Part of that is due to the fact that I really hate spoilers. Because of that, when I did try to write reviews, I felt like I wasn’t writing anything of substance in order to not give anything away. Then, since I wasn’t writing anything substantial, I didn’t feel like writing at all. So for 2019, I’m going to try a new format. First of all, I may not write about every book I read, focusing instead on the ones I can really dissect and write a significant amount. I’ll also write a short summary at the beginning and then tell whether or not I recommend it for anyone looking for reading ideas but no spoilers. Then I’ll get down to the nitty gritty in the rest of the post. I may also do book and movie comparisons and other similar things that aren’t just straight up reviews. Mainly, my goal is to write much more frequently while also providing better content.

For this post, I’d like to talk about reading resolutions. I’m one of those weird people who LOVES making new year’s resolutions. I don’t usually do those reading challenges where you find a book with a color in the title, etc (though I do have some on my pinterest board if anyone’s interested: https://pin.it/wemzpx2gcb2fpr), since I already have a long “to read” list. Instead, my goal for 2019 is to read at least 52 books (approximately one a week) and to try to broaden my horizons. For me, that means reading something besides fantasy, dystopian, or period romances! Two years ago, I started keeping track of every book I read each month. This started out as a fun way to see how much I actually read, as well as a way to not reread the same series so often (looking at you Harry Potter!). An unintended outcome was that it actually did help me branch out. Seeing everything in a list helped me see patterns and I could say “ok, I’ve been reading lots of fantasy, let’s find a memoir.” I’m not saying I’m now an incredibly well-rounded reader, but it is helping! So without further ado, here’s a list of all the books I read in 2018:

*Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine

*Zero Day, Jan Gangsei

**The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series, Greg Keyes

The Earl’s Betrothal, Karen Tuft

*Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert

*Psych’s Guide to Crime Fighting for the Totally Unqualified, Shawn Spencer

*Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, Nancy Campbell Allen

*Harry Potter series, JK Rowling

The Girls Next Door, Cheri J. Crane

The Husband’s Secret, Liane Moriarty

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

*A Cry in the Night, Mary Higgins Clark

Just Take my Heart, Mary Higgins Clark

A Stranger is Watching, Mary Higgins Clark

*No Place Like Home, Mary Higgins Clark

*The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, Phaedra Patrick

Rise and Shine Benedict Stone, Phaedra Patrick

A Heart Revealed, Josi S. Kilpack

*The Runaway Jury, John Grisham

The Vicar’s Daughter, Josi S. Kilpack

*The Help, Kathryn Stockett

*Ladies of the Manor series, Roseanna M. White

Keturah and Lord Death, Martine Leavitt

**Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

*The Book of Mormon

*Escaping Utopia, Janja Lalich and Karla McLaren

* = books I definitely recommend

** = I did really like the story but they do have strong language and/or sexual themes

So that was 2018! Looking forward to a new year and new books. Happy reading!