Thursday, January 23, 2020

A Year of Reading: 2019


Dear fellow booklover,

Each year we receive 52 weeks to tackle our to-be-read pile. That can sound like a lot of time at first. Then I eye the stacks of unread books on my shelf. Yes, you read that right. Stacks. As in more than one. But surely I’m not the only one with that problem?

Anyway, to some, those mounds (mountains?) of books could seem daunting. I prefer to view it as a…challenge. To see how many books I can enjoy in a year. To see if I can actually cause the mound to shrink.

It turns out that 2019 was a pretty good year for me: 75 books. Not record-setting year by any stretch, but definitely my above average for the past several years. Perhaps more impressive was the variety I managed. At least a couple of books from every major reading level. Genres covered from historical to space opera. And seven—count them, seven!—nonfiction books. Considering I’m usually lucky if I read two, that felt pretty impressive to me.J


Of course, that still didn’t make much of a dent in my mounds of unread books, but hey, I’ll take whatever I can get. And maybe, just maybe, I can do it again this year.

How about you? How did you do on your reading last year?

Dreaming bigger, growing deeper,
Chawna

P.S. Curious about those 75 books I read this past year? Here’s this year’s list, with some of my favorites marked by an asterisk:

Picture Book
Anatole by Eve Titus, ill. by Paul Galdone
Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky
Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer, ill. By Karen Ritz
Casey at Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, ill. By Christopher Bing
Rapunzel the Hairbrained by Sarah E. Morin, ill. By Taylor Lucas
Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer

Beginning Reader
Jem Strikes Gold (Goldtown Beginnings #1) by Susan K. Marlow
Jem’s Frog Fiasco (Goldtown Beginnings #2) by Susan K. Marlow

Middle Grade
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
Dragon’s Lair (Matterhorn the Brave #5) by Mike Hamel
Rylan the Renegade (Matterhorn the Brave #6) by Mike Hamel
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch by Donald J. Sobol
Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues by Donal J. Sobol
Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds by David A. Adler
Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones by David A. Adler
Cam Jansen: The Mystery at the Monkey House by David A Adler
Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery by David A. Adler
Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Haunted House by David A. Adler
Cam Jansen and the Tennis Trophy Mystery by David A. Adler
The Case of the Christmas Snowman (Jigsaw Jones #2) by James Preller
Magic Kitten: A Christmas Surprise by Sue Bentley
On Your Mark (Byways #1) by C. J. Milbrandt
Magical Melons by Carol Ryrie Brinks
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World (Wanted: Superheroes #1) by Bryan Davis
Tunguska Event (Matterhorn the Brave #7) by Mike Hamel
The Book of Stories (Matterhorn the Brave #8) by Mike Hamel
*Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz
Hertz to be a Hero (Wanted: Superheroes #2) by Bryan Davis
*The Fire, the Revelation, and the Fall (Epic Order of the Seven) by Jenny L. Cote
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Jotham’s Journey: A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide
The Beginning (The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls #1) by M.J. Thomas
Race to the Ark (The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls #2) by M.J. Thomas
The Great Escape (The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls #1) by M.J. Thomas
The Prince Warriors and the Swords of Rhema (Prince Warriors #3) by Priscilla Shirer and Gina Detwiler

Tween
*Swift by R.J. Anderson
*Nomad by R.J. Anderson
*Torch by R.J. Anderson

Teen
Project Gemini (Mission League #2) by Jill Williamson
Ambushed (Mission League #2.5) by Jill Williamson
Broken Trust (Mission League #3) by Jill Williamson
The Eighth Ransom by Given Hoffman
*Profile Match (Mission League #4) by Jill Williamson
The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson

Young Adult
Scarlet Moon (Children of the Blood Moon #1) by S. D. Grimm
A Loyal Heart by Jody Hedlund
*A Worthy Rebel by Jody Hedlund
*Fawkes by Nadine Brandes
Siren’s Fury (Storm Siren #2) by Mary Weber
Siren’s Song (Storm Siren #3) by Mary Weber

Adult
*The Princess by Lori Wick
*Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson
*Edge of Oblivion (The Chronicles of Sarco #1) by Joshua A. Johnston
A Christian’s Carol by Wayne Thomas Batson
The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen
*Mark of the Raven (Ravenwood Saga #1) by Morgan L. Busse
*Flight of the Raven (Ravenwood Saga #2) by Morgan L. Busse
*Into the Void (Chronicles of Sarco #2) by Joshua A. Johnston
*Through Chaos (Chronicles of Sarco #3) by Joshua A. Johnston
The Killing Tide (Coastal Guardians #1) by Dani Pettrey
*The Number of Love (Codebreakers #1) by Roseanna M. White
*The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
*Forsaken Island (The Dancing Realms #2) by Sharon Hinck
*Windward Shore (The Dancing Realms #3) by Sharon Hinck
The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright

Nonfiction
Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande & Kevin Johnson
Writing from the Trenches by various contributing novelists
*Saying It Well: Touching Others with Your Words by Charles R. Swindoll
The Musical World of Walt Disney by David Tietyen
What Every Body Is Saying by Joe Navarro
*Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Principles by Lee Cockerell
*Preparing to Teach by Hall, Humphrey, Green, Patton & Tyler

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