Yellow Wallpaper

I've never set specific reading goals before, but I feel like last year I didn't read as many of the books I wanted to, and I read too many books that were fun but not satisfying. I also tend to read too many similar books and want to branch out and challenge myself a bit. I've seen a few reading challenges around on the internet, but would rather create my own. Here are some of the goals I have in mind: At least three books in Spanish Five books in translation from other languages Three Mormon nonfiction books Two books of poetry One nonfiction book every month Read all the Whitney finalists in the adult categories I don't think I'll set any goals in relation to movies, other than to watch more of them. Also, in the past I haven't blogged about movies I watch with the kids, but I'm going to change that and start listing them. When they were younger and I was at home, we watched and re-watched a lot of shows, but now that they're older we do...

(Previous years: 2015 , 2014 , 2013 , 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2008 , 2007 ) This year I read a total of 89 books this year--it felt like I had read more books than previous years, but that's actually right around my annual average. I read 69 fiction books and 20 nonfiction books, which is right around my average as well. Every year when I add things up, I'm surprised I don't read more nonfiction. Nonfiction books usually take longer to read than much of the fiction I read, so that's probably part of the problem. Once again, one of my goals for this coming year is to change the ratio and up the number of nonfiction books I read. This year's ratio of author genders also holds no surprises: 61 books by women and 28 books by men. I think the type of fiction I enjoy tends to be female-dominated, and this explains much of this ratio. I am going to write another post about my reading goals for this coming year, since I'm going to try creating my own personal...

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley This was a quick, romantic read that made me want to spend time in Cornwall. Without giving too much away, there is a time travel element that I wasn't expecting and at first didn't like, but after deciding to just go along with it, I really enjoyed the book. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor I read this for a book club and we haven't had a chance to discuss it yet. I'm looking forward to talking about it with other people who have a love for O'Connor so I can perhaps learn to appreciate her writing and stop feeling guilty that I just don't get it. Girl at War by Sara Novic One of the things I found most disconcerting about this book was that it felt historical in the sense that books about the first or second world war feel. However, the events in it took place during my lifetime and I remember clearly when they were part of the daily news cycle. It's a sobering reminder that violence and war are still happ...