Books Read in December

Closing out 2024!  I read about 20 fewer books this year than last, but I don't think it was a function of longer books or spending time doing more "living."  I have to admit that I was probably spending too much of that extra time on screens.  There are certainly things I do need to take more time for in 2025 - like meal prep and exercise, but I think I can/should be more mindful about the amount of time just scrolling in the evenings and mornings is taking up!  Let's see if I can make 2025 a little more productive - and a little less zombie!

And to close out the year, here are the books I read in December:

1. The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers (Romance/Library)
2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (YA Fiction/Library/Book Club)
3. Subtle Acts of Exclusion by Tiffany Jana and Michael Baran (Nonfiction/Library/Book Club)
4. The Comfort Book by Matt Haig (Nonfiction/Audiobook)
5. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Mystery/Library)
6. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood (YA Romance/Shelves)
7. The Women by Kristin Hannah (Fiction/Shelves)

Here's to clearing more of my shelves in 2025!

Happy Reading,

Anne

Books Read in November

 

Books I read in November:

1. I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel (Non-Fiction/Library)
2. Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan (Fiction/Borrowed)
3. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (Short Stories/Library/Audio)
4. All Fours by Miranda July (Fiction/Library)
5. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (Short Stories/Library)
6. Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior (Romance/Shelves)
7. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir (YA Fiction/Library)
8. The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones (Anthology/Library)
9. The Mystery Guest  by Nita Prose (Thriller/Library)
10. The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson (YA Fiction/Library)

With 73 books read so far in 2024, I won't read the 100 books I did last year ,but I'm looking forward to finishing out the year strong.

October Review and Ten Before the End!

 

Books Read in October

1. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout by Cal Newport (Self-Help/Library)
2. The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley (Fiction/Library)
3. Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann (Fiction/Library)
4. The Housemaid is Watching (Thriller/Library)

Ten Before the End: I have read 60 books so far this year.  I read some thing where people are trying to read 10 more books before the end of the year, so I thought I might as well jump in and get organized!

1. I'd Rather be Reading by Anne Bogel (Non-Fiction/Library)
2. Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan (Romance/Borrowed)
3. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (Short Stories/Library)
4. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (Short Stories/Library)
5. 1619 by Nikole Hannah Jones (Non-Fiction/Library/Book Club)
6. Not Even the Dead by Juan Gomez Barcena (Fiction/Library/Book Club)
7. Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (YA/Library/Book Club)
8. All Fours by Miranda July (Fiction/Library)
9. Weyward by Emilia Hart (Fiction/Library/Book Club)
10. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir (YA/Library)

Looking forward to closing out the year with lots of quiet reading time!

September Review

Books Read in September:

• The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (Mystery/Library)
• Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant (Non-fiction/Library/Book Club)
• The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley (Mystery/Library)
• The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (Fiction/Library)
• The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Mystery/Library)

August Review

The weeks are flying by - and while the heat is still around in these parts through October, I'm still starting to feel like the lazy summer reading days have passed...and maybe it's time to move into the cozy reading evenings of fall!  

Books Read in August:

• Funny Story by Emily Henry (Romance/Shelves)
• The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen (Nonfiction/Library/Book Club)
• After Annie by Anna Quindlen (Fiction/Library)
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Fiction/Library)
• Real Americans by Rachel Khong (Fiction/Borrowed)
• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (Nonfiction/Library)

Books I Hope to Read in September:

• Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan (Romance/Shelves)
• You Like it Darker by Stephen King (Horror Short Stories/Shelves)
• Chemistry by Weike Wang (Fiction/Library)
• An Unnecessary Woman by Rabith Alameddine (Fiction/Library)

Work has seemed to piling up and the school/sports schedules are so time-consuming, but I am hoping that a little hibernation will set in and I'll be able to get through the growing stacks on my shelves over the next couple months.

Happy Reading!

July Review

 It is August - my birthday month!  I am excited to celebrate all month long, which hopefully means a lot of reading.  As I look ahead to my schedule for the month, it looks like I have two work trips on the horizon and an overnight soccer tournament with one of my kids - that means a few hotel nights, which usually means time to read!!  I am excited and want to be a little bit more organized about my reading this month.  We will see.

In the meantime, here are the books I finished in July:

1. The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd (Fiction/Library)

2. The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker (Non-Fiction/Library/Book Club)

3. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (YA Mystery/Shelves)

4. Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (Short Stories/Library)

5. Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford (Memoir/Library/Book Club)

Happy Reading,

Anne

June Review

 

Spending two weeks in Italy this month did allow for some good reading time - on the plane, by the pool, on the beach, in many cafes!  But, still I didn't finish that many books. It made me realize that perhaps I am becoming a slower reader in my old age, or maybe reading a couple longer books!  But, it was a good month for reading books I enjoyed, so I am trying to focus more on quality versus quality!  

In July, I seem to have a lot of book club books to get through and I'm finding that I need to plan my reading time to ensure that I get it all done!  I will have to evaluated whether I like that approach, or whether the "requirements" of book club are feeling too stressful.  But, I do like the idea of setting aside time to read that allows me to really dive into a book instead of just catching snippets here and there.  We'll see how it all goes!

Books read in June

1. Class by Stephanie Land (Memoir/Book Club/Library)

2. Zero Days by Ruth Ware (Mystery/Shelf)

3. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Fiction/Shelves/Book Club)

4. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware (Mystery/Shelves)

5. James by Percival Everett (Fiction/Borrowed)

I have a lot of book club reading to do this month, so hoping that will motivate me to get through a few and keep my reading up for the summer!

~ Anne