Reading Wrap-Ups
Mental Multivitamin has posted her annual reading review, a post I always look forward to. In it, she mentions the 52 Books in 52 Weeks site, on which I’m a longtime lurker. I’ve never officially participated in that reading challenge but I’ve played along quietly from home. 🙂 Here’s the Mr. Linky for 2014’s participants: 52 Books in 52 Weeks: 2014 Year End Wrap Up.
I like the questions posed by 52 Weeks hostess, Robin McCormack:
How many books did you read and did you meet your own personal goal?
Most thrilling, oh my goodness, I want to read it again, unputdownable book?
Top 5 favorite stories?
Least favorite book?
New author discovery? New genre discovery?
What countries or centuries did you explore?
Share a favorite character, story, quote or cover
One book that touched you – made you laugh, cry, sing or dance.
Are you ready to do it all over again?
Do you have any goals to check out different genres or authors, read translated books or stories in another language for 2015?
I may take a stab at answering these myself, but I think I’ll wait until after the first of the year when the Cybils shortlists have been announced. Some of my answers might be too revealing. 🙂
Another kind of book report I always look forward to is Julia Sweeney’s monthly recap. (She discusses movies as well.) Here’s her most recent. Like Mental Multivitamin, Julia’s blog poses a threat to the structural integrity of my shelves. (And my wallet.)
Another book challenge I quietly participated in this year was the 20th Century Reading Project. My ongoing list is here. Green entries were read in 2013; black in 2014. I haven’t updated it in a while, having spent the past two months exclusively reading young adult realistic fiction published between Oct 15, 2013 and Oct 14, 2015. (How’s that for specific?) When I get a chance, I’ll bring the list up to date and pick a new color for 2015 entries. I plan to continue this challenge at a casual pace until I’ve read a book for every year, no matter how long it takes. I’m enjoying seeing the clusters of books, such as the three (very different) novels published in 1963 I read in 2013, quite by chance.
Bonus book report: What Charlotte’s kids got for Christmas! Her kids and mine have kindred tastes in books, so it’s always fun to see what she came up with.
If you’ve got a reading recap to share (yours or anyone’s), please leave the link in the comments. I’m a junkie for these things—and coming off the Cybils, I’m way behind on blog-reading!
Related: My 2014 booklog. (Titles only, for now. Notes to follow.)
kortney says:
Those ARE delicious questions.
It looks like the link from Charlotte isn’t working…but here it is…
http://www.waltzingm.com/2014/12/books-for-christmas.html
On December 28, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Thanks, Kortney! Fixed the broken link. Also–odd–I have suddenly stopped receiving email notifications for comments. That’s why this comment of yours was held up in the queue for days. I didn’t know it was waiting! 🙂
On December 31, 2014 at 2:44 pm
Leah H says:
Ooh I love this post. Going to go follow all those links in a minute, but here’s my 2014 list of books I read in 2014. Sorry, I don’t have a blog. The number represents the number of stars I gave the book. I read 50 books with a total of 12,729 pages. I also listened to 8 of the Little House books and all of the Narnia books on audiobook.
Morning Star of the Reformation by Andy Thomson 5
The Island Queen by R.M. Ballantyne 4
The Way of Duty by Joy Day Buel 5
Miss Hickory by Corolyn Sherwin Bailey 4
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson 3
Ink on His Fingers by Louise A. Vernon 4
The Little Silver House by Jennie D. Lindquist 5
Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley 5
The Crystal Tree by Jennie D. Lindquist 5
The Titanic’s Last Hero by Moody Adams 3
Crimson Roses by Grace Livingston Hill 3
84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff 5
The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge 5
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 3 (writing deserved 5 but I was mad about the ending)
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine 5
Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer 5
Laddie by Gene Stratton Porter 5
Cultured Food for Life by Donna Schwenk 5
Beautiful Girlhood by Karen Andreola 3
Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange 5
The Fairy’s Mistake by Gail Carson Levine 5
Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange 5
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine 5
Looking at Pictures by Joy Richardson 5
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy 4
Colonel Brandon’s Diary by Amanda Grange 5
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 5
Harry Potter books #1-7 by J. K. Rowling 5
Amos Fortune by Elizabeth Yates 5
Nature Drawing by Barry Stebbing 5
The Secret Wish of Nannerl Mozart by Barbara Nickel 3
Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge 5
I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge 5
To Knit or Not to Knit by Elvira Woodruff 5
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo 3
The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery 5
A Wreath of Snow by Liz Curtis Higgs 3
On December 29, 2014 at 8:12 am
Leah H says:
I wrote reviews for all of those on goodreads. My username is Leah H if you want to check them out sometime.
On December 29, 2014 at 8:20 am
Sherry says:
Melissa, my Sturday Review this was a link for book lists, end of the year, beginning of the year, what I read, what I’m hoping to read, all sorts of book lists. Check it out: http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=23709 But don’t get so lost in all the lists that you forget to make your own list.
On December 29, 2014 at 11:03 am
Robin says:
Always happy to meet a lurker of 52 books. 🙂 Melissa at MM is one of my favorite as well. Glad you discovered 52 books through her. Look forward to hearing about your cybil’s shortlist thoughts. Happy Reading and Happy New Year!
On December 31, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Robin, lovely to see you here! 🙂
Thanks for the links and lists, Leah and Sherry. MOAR BOOKS!
On December 31, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Susan T. says:
Lissa, I decided to compile my favorites from 2014. I do enjoy making a list! http://chickenspaghetti.typepad.com/chicken_spaghetti/2015/01/my-favorite-books-of-2014.html
On January 1, 2015 at 1:12 pm