I read 89 books plus reading through the Bible again for a total of 90. That seems like a good number for me. I love to read but don't want to rush. There is all too much hurry in our world today.
I must share with you that I read that if the average person stopped social media they could read 200 books a year! I do spend quite a bit of time blogging, reading blogs and commenting, and on FaceBook. What about you?
Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell.
This is the fifth book I've read by Thirkell, they are romances and jolly good fun.
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn
This book is a delightful discovery for me. Queen Elizabeth, in this novel, goes walkabout and has some nice adventures.
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson. A single lady in rural England needs an income and writes a novel using local villagers and her neighbors as models for the characters in her book. This causes big problems for her in the village. I have read 3 of her novels and they are all entertaining. I am now a DESsie, which is how the Facebook group that I joined calls D.E. Stevenson enthusiasts.
A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates.
I share some similarities with Oates, including that our marriages were more than 40 years and that our husbands died suddenly. Oates writes very brilliantly of her journey, and I understood when she wrote “My discovery is each day is livable if divided into segments. More accurately each day is livable ONLY if divided into segments … (it is not possible to endure an entire day).”She survived without some of the support I have: children, church and seeing a counselor. Oates is a strong woman.
Three memoirs by Abigail Thomas. These are quickly read and I bought one after the other, they are so good. "A Three Dog Life", "What Comes Next and How to Like It" which chronicles her decades long platonic friendship with Chuck, and ""Safekeeping: True Stories from a Life." In "A Three Dog Life" Thomas shares that her husband was hit by a car and lives in a brain damaged state of now. He has no memory of recent or long term events and lives in assisted care.
"9 Dragons" by Michael Connelly. I am reading this detective series in order and in this recent book Harry Bosch, retired detective, tries to protect his teenage daughter and his ex-wife from extreme danger, as they live in Hongkong.
"When I Lay My Isaac Down" by Carol Kent. Wow, if your life is tough (or easy) read this book to learn how a Christian husband and wife deal with their only child's arrest for murder. He is now in prison for many years. All three of them rise to be strong and help others. They started a prison ministry where they give black tee shirts to prison visitors, since in Florida visitors often do not know the rules about what to wear and are turned away.
"Cruelest Month" by Louise Penny. This is number 3 in the Gamache police series which is set in a city south of Quebec. I signed up for Penny's newsletter. Her husband died close to when my husband died and I find it comforting to read her letters where she talks about widowhood.
"Can Your Forgive Her?" by Anthony Trollope, the first in the Palliser series of novels. Wonderful.
It begins the stories of three strong women, their courtships, marriages and choices in life. Alice, Lady Glencora and Arabella have very different stations in life yet their stories sometimes intertwine. I already read the second in the series and look forward to the third. These are set in the 1870s when Anthony Trollope wrote. Since I fell in love with his novels three years ago I have read about 20 of the 47 he has written and look forward to reading the other 27.
22 comments:
Thanks for the list! Some I will check out for sure--A Three Dog Life sounds interesting to me. I can hardly believe you read 90 books last year. It really makes me realize how much time I spend on social media! I need to do better this year.
Thank you Terra. I have never read Trollope and remember you have enjoyed his writings. I need to find one to read.
Some of your selections are enticing.
YOu read a lot, my Dear!!!!
No Face Book here. I blog, when I have something to blog. No set schedule.<--That is tooooo much like a job! I do daily check the few blogs I follow, and comment in them.
I Instagram rather randomly.
And yet I still seem to spend a lot of time, on line. -sigh- Am trying to work on this.
I used to keep track of books-read in a year. Even had a Page(s) on my blog(s), for this. But now, I am feeling that for me, counting up books read, makes it more *like a job.* Meaning, for me, it takes the leisurely fun, out of reading.
We each do, what feels best, for each of us. :-)
I read "Miss Buncle's Book."
And am enjoying an "Inspector Gamache" book right now.
Always love to find a list of possible reading suggestions.
I am so happy to have found your blog! I've read quite a few of the books on your favorite list for this year. Good summaries of each! So nice to find a like-minded reader. I, too, am a DESSie and have been for a long time. We lived in LA for 9 years but recently returned to our roots in rural Illinois.
You have a diverse selection here. Sadly, I can barely remember what I read last much less months ago. Guess I need to make better choices. I do read a lot of first time authors and many of those have gone on the great success. Also like you, I do a lot of blog reading daily.
So many of these look really, really good and very diverse, too. I love the Louise Penny books. Every single one gets better (read in order if you aren't already!). I don't know how she does it. I'm saving this list. Looks like we have somewhat similar tastes in books!
I met Carole Kent after reading her book "When I Lay My Isaac Down". She speaks in many places, at least she used to. They do have a prison ministry. It is quite a story. I started reading DE Stevenson books after you introduced them here. Our local library had a few, but not all. I really can't afford to buy them, but I may check some other resources. I really enjoyed them! You are quite a prolific reader! I do read quite a lot as well, from the library. I haven't counted how many, however! Maybe I should keep count. God bless you dear friend. Have a wonderful weekend.
The last few years I counted my books. I do a combination of Kindle and Audio book 'reading'. In 2017 my goal was to read 45 books - or 3 more 2016. I was on track until November when I discovered that I was way behind on listening to my pod casts - a year's worth. I started listening to those and never got around to reaching my 2017 goal. Oh well. I have decided not to count my books for 2018 - but I assure you - I would not reach 90! You are a prolific reader. And you are probably correct. If we just cut out social media - the numbers of books read would soar.
Thanks for the suggestions.
All of those books look like they would be great ones. One of the things I told myself this year was that I would read more. So far that has not happened. I don’t think I spend an over abundance of time on social media, but I do like utube podcasts especially about knitting and camping. I watch those while I knit, so at least I’m being productive!
Blessings always, Betsy
What? No non fiction? Ask me for recommendations! LOL!
Do you read the Bible straight through or in one of the ...what do you call it..in segments? Anyway, the Bible, THE best book!
I enjoy reading all your comments. I don't keep track of the number of books I am reading during the year, I just count in January. I do write down each title I read, which I started doing since I read many series in order and don't want to skip ahead and it is too much to remember. So I write them down.
Kay G. mentioned nonfiction, and I see that 5 of the 11 on my list are nonfiction.
Kay also asked about my Bible reading, I read the ESV Daily Reading Bible which is the M'Cheyne method, so each day I read some OT and some NT. In 20 minutes a day this is an enjoyable way to read the entire Bible in a year. M'Cheyne was a Scottish pastor who died at the age of 30 in 1843. What a legacy he left us.
I'm definitely interested in your list because we like so many of the same books. I read 70 books last year....just keep a book or two going all the time. Happy weekend sweet lady! Hugs!
I really need to get those first three books. I'd much rather read a book than anything else more and more, so thanks for the recommendation.
That makes my list look little.
I don't think I read any of these. I usually land on around one book per week and did so again for 2017. Because of a combination of neck and eye problems I tend to listen mostly to audio books nowadays (but spend quite a bit of time on various web stuff + DVD/TV series too). Quite a few of the books I listened to last year were also really long ones.
I love to read and each year keep track of the books. Last year I read over 80 books. I'm always looking for new authors!
90 books! That's impressive. I start and end my day with reading. Just finished Ken Follett's The Century Trilogy - historical fiction that follows 5 families from World War 1 through to 2008. Can't say enough about it. Another book that impressed me was Feeding My Mother by Jann Arden - Canadian singer/songwriter who writes of her experience managing her mother's dementia. The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley was a great read - set in the 14th century. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, the story of a blind girl & a radio expert in WW2.These are the books that impressed me in 2017. The book that disappointed was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, a neurosurgeon's experience with brain cancer. It left me wanting more.
Wow! that is great to read 90 books! Congrats I could never read that much
I totally agree that 80-90 books is a good target that you can read comfortably in a year. There’s nothing worse than feeling you have to finish a book for the numbers game. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment - I love visitors and I’ll be back to check yours out - interesting book choices.
I've read almost all of Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire books, I particularly love her wartime books. I've also read a lot of A. Trollope's books and love that Thirkell based her books around the same fictional county using descendants of his characters in her books.
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