2019 Reading & Blogging Goals Wrap-Up

Every year I say this, but it's still true - this year just flew by!  I read more books than I ever thought possible and had a great reading year - here's some stats and highlights:

• I read 191 books this year! (At the time I'm writing this post - I will probably finish one more!)
• 59 of those were 2019 releases.
•  I listened to 26 audiobooks for a total of 294 hours.
• My average rating this year was 3.8.
• I read my first ebook and also started using the Libby app to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from my library.

And how did I do on my goals?

1. Keep track of where I'm finding books. I think I did a pretty good job of doing shoutouts, either in a review or a monthly recap, when I read a book that I've added because of someone else.
2. Participate in at least two challenges.  I participated in three challenges, recapped below!
3. Read at least 12 nonfiction books.  I ended up reading 27 nonfiction books during the year - pass!
4. Bring back my "Try It, You Might Like It" feature.  I did two Try It posts this year, so not a ton, but I have an idea for at least one more in the coming months.
5. Host a giveaway.  I did it!  I celebrated my blog's third blogoversary by hosting a giveaway.  Thanks, everyone, for your tips and advice when I first announced this goal.
6. Read the unread physical books on my shelves. I definitely read a lot of the unread books from my shelves, but I also acquired/borrowed a lot of books this year, so this is a goal that will always be ongoing!
7. Reorganize my book shelves. I was able to purge 70 books from my shelves and reorganize a little.  However, #bookstagram really did a number on my shelves!  Pulling books for pictures, rearranging to take some snaps - they are a mess right now.  So, kinda pass-ish? 

As for the challenges I participated in...

For Beat the Backlist, hosted by Austine at NovelKnight, I chose 24 backlist books and I ended up reading 19 of those (and DNFing one).  However, I read a total of 118 backlist books during the year (over 60% of my reading total), so I don't feel too bad about not finishing my initial TBR!

The 2019 Retellings Reading Challenge was hosted by Tracy at Cornerfolds.  I read 8 of the 9 books I originally chose, and 18 retellings in all.  I loved this challenge and have so many more retellings I'd like to get to for next year's!  Here's my final BINGO board:

The last challenge I did was the Royal Reading Challenge hosted by Adriana at She's Got Books on Her Mind.  I read 9 of the 10 books I originally chose and ended up reading 14 royal-related books in all.

How did you do on your 2019 reading goals?

 

Fiction/Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: The American Duchess Edition

American Duchess by Karen Harper (2019)

Consuelo Vanderbilt, of the famous Vanderbilt family, is forced into a marriage with an English duke by her mother - however, she won't let an unhappy marriage define her.

I am fascinated by the families of the Gilded Age - the wealth beyond belief, the spectacular homes, the extravagant parties - and Consuelo is the perfect example of daughters of the time period.  Even though her marriage to the Duke of Marlborough wasn't a love match, Consuelo found ways to enrich her life.   I admired her charitable spirit and how she helped, often hands-on, the people of her husband's estate and neighboring village.  She also wasn't afraid to divorce her husband, knowing that it might wreck her socially, although it took over 20 years of marriage, more than half of them separated, to do so.  After that, it really seemed that Consuelo started her second act, much happier and finally marrying for love.

The book was an easy, quick read, although the language and dialogue didn't feel particularly indicative of the era; at times it almost felt thoroughly modern.  While it was interesting to learn about Consuelo's life, it wasn't altogether riveting, although the last section of the book, set during World War II, did ramp up the action.  Apparently, Consuelo was on the Nazi ransom list and had to continue moving about to avoid kidnapping!  4 stars

The Husband Hunters: Social Climbing in London and New York by Anne de Courcy (2017)

At the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, an interesting social phenomena was occurring - American heiresses began marrying into the British upper class at a high rate.  Who were these women, and why was the British aristocracy opening itself up to an American invasion?

Anne de Courcy tackles this interesting subject in The Husband Hunters, but I can't say it was a total success for me, unfortunately.  I enjoyed learning about the individual American women, and I thought de Courcy did a great job delving into the reasons why these marriages occurred.  Some were love matches, but more were marriages of convenience.  Some American women wanted a title and others used the marriages to raise the social status of their families.  For the British men, the money these women brought to the unions helped save family estates, but there was also the allure of these "foreign" brides, so different from the women they had grown up with.  However, there were a lot of names to keep track of and the non-linear structure of the book was often hard to follow.  Also, for a short book, there was a lot of extraneous material.  I wanted more about the lives of these "American Duchesses" in England and less about their families in America and how much money they were spending on things such as lavish parties.  3.5 stars

Nonfiction November 2019: New To My TBR!

I can't believe it's already the last week of Nonfiction November!  I've had a fantastic month of reading - I've finished seven nonfiction books and still have a couple more going!  This final week is hosted by Rennie at What's Nonfiction? and it's a good one - a recap of all the new books we've added to our TBRs.  I managed to add 13 books to my TBR, which is wonderful because my list was getting a little light on nonfiction.  Here are the books I've added and the bloggers I got the recommendations from:

Orange County Readers

 

The Book Stop

 

Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs

 

Book'd Out

Words and Peace

 Never Enough Novels

 JulzReads

Sincerely Stacie

 

Readerbuzz

Thanks, everyone!

 

Nonfiction November 2019: Nonfiction Favorites

It's Week 4 of Nonfiction November - this week is hosted by Leann from Shelf Aware and it's all about our nonfiction favorites!  What makes a book one of your favorites - the subject matter, the writing style, the tone? 

For me, I generally like reading about people, places, and history.  Some of my recent favorite nonfiction books have been about women, particularly women that history has kind of ignored or we just don't really know about.

 

As a former historian with a focus on architectural history, I'm also drawn to books about iconic buildings.  I love nonfiction books that are able to bring a place to life through its stories.

I generally enjoy narrative nonfiction as opposed to more technical or academic writing.  It's not dry, it has more of a story-telling feel and reads like a fiction book.  I like to be entertained when I'm reading!  Erik Larson's books are perfect examples of narrative nonfiction.

Even in school I was never really interested in science; however, if the tone is light and the author is able to make the subject matter understandable, I can get on board!

What are some of your favorite nonfiction books?

 

Mini-Reviews: 2019 Releases

The Babysitter's Coven by Kate Williams (2019)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Babysitter's Club in this fun story about two teenage girls who realize they're witches that need to protect the world from danger.

Esme and her best friend Janis formed a babysitter's club years ago, and now the new girl in school, Cassandra, wants to join.  Strange things seem to be happening around Esme, but maybe Cassandra can help explain them.  The girls discover that they are witches, and they'll have to learn quick because something evil is coming.

I wanted to like this book more, although it was a fun and cute story.  At the beginning, I was a little thrown off by Esme's "voice" - I'll admit, I haven't been a teenager in a long time, but I felt like the author didn't really capture the teenage feel very well.  It felt like how an adult thinks teenagers talk - or maybe kids today really do just talk in acronyms?  It smoothed out as the book went on, though.  The pacing was a little off, too.  It took a long time for the action to start, and then there wasn't really enough of it.   However, this is the first book in a series, and I'm interested to see where the story goes next, because there were some good threads that were introduced - the potential is definitely there.  I especially liked the storyline with Esme's mother.  It was also fun seeing the girls learn to use their powers and perform spells.  3.5 stars

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig (2019)

 A retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," House of Salt and Sorrows tells the story of Annaleigh, one of twelve daughters of a duke of an island in the sea.   When we meet Annaleigh, four of her sisters have died, and she begins to wonder if something sinister is at work.

This book was the creepy story I was looking for this fall.  At turns gory, eerie, and spooky, it didn't shy away from the darkness, but rather embraced it and made it a part of the story.  I appreciated that the author wasn't afraid to push boundaries.  Annaleigh was a bit of unreliable narrator - she was haunted by ghostly visions and seemed convinced that at least one of her sisters had been murdered, although no one else seems to believe her.  The sheer amount of sister characters was overwhelming at times and only a couple of them really stood out to me, but I thought the author did a good job of creating a sense of unease and fear in the girls, especially as they are convinced that they're cursed and doomed to die early deaths.  As the story goes on, a few twists are revealed, and although I didn't really expect the religious aspects, I liked the way the story played out.  If you're looking for an atmospheric retelling, this is it!  4 stars

Nonfiction November: Be The Expert - The Nature Edition

Week 3 of Nonfiction November is hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey, and this week's theme is Be the Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert.  In the past, I've mostly asked for recommendations during this week of #NonficNov - this year, I'm going to try being the expert! 

If you peruse my blog a little, you can see that I love the outdoors, so that's where I'm going to take inspiration from.  Nature can be a wonderful, beautiful thing - but it can also be terrifying and dangerous.  This collection of books touches on the dual nature of... well, nature!

   

The Ledge: Two friends are climbing Mount Rainier when they fall into a crevasse, leaving one fatally injured and one struggling to survive.

Dead Mountain: The author tries to piece together what happened to a group of hikers who mysteriously died in the Ural Mountains.

The Perfect Storm: A nor'easter tears through the Atlantic, leaving death and destruction in its wake.

Into Thin Air: A journalist describes his first-hand account of a devastating climbing expedition on Mt. Everest.

 

Braving It: A father guides his daughter through the Alaskan wilderness.

Isaac's Storm: The author pieces together a deadly hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900.

In Harm's Way: A story of survival after the USS Indianapolis is torpedoed in the South Pacific during WWII.

Have you read any of these?

 

Nonfiction November 2019: Fiction/Nonfiction Pairings

It's Week 2 of Nonfiction November and this week's topic is hosted by Sarah at Sarah's Book Shelves!  I think this week is my favorite of all the themes of Nonfiction November - fiction/nonfiction book pairings!  I was so inspired by this topic during my first time doing #NonficNov that I now regularly try to incorporate it into my blogging and book reviews during the rest of the year.  So, here are the pairings I came up with!

The Wallis Simpson Edition

The Tudor Edition

The Parisian Edition

A Storm is Coming

The Foodie Edition

Have you read any of these?