Great news! I have just joined The Paper Funday Challenge Design Team!
I am excited to share my first project on March 1st.
In the meantime, feel free to check out this month’s challenge-Anything Goes with an Optional Twist: Lots of Layers.
You have until February 26th to play along!
Today I am sharing my 2023 reading goals, and the books I read in January.
Here are my reading goals for 2023:
1. Read 250 books. This includes the books I read to the kids, audiobooks, and anything I read for myself. 28 DONE
2. Read twelve (new to me) classics/award-winners. 2 DONE (I listened to my first Sherlock Holmes stories-A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four!)
3. Read twelve self-help/education books. 2 DONE (The Shift, The Gratitude Diaries)
4. Re-read thirty books. There are so many good books I have been meaning to re-read, so this is my goal to help with that! 3 DONE (How To Steal a Dragon’s Jewel, Little House in the Big Woods, The Bodyguard)
A few formatting notes:
1. I have inserted pictures as well as Amazon links to some of the books I enjoyed most for the month so that it is easier to read more about each book if you are interested. Hopefully, your local library system will carry most of these.
2. If I completed a more detailed review of any of these books, I included a review link after my comments.
3. If a book is not available yet, you will see the publication date in parenthesis after my comments.
4. I have rated each book using a bold numbered star after each comment.
The rating system is as follows:
*5-This book was so good, I either bought it, or think it is worth buying. I am pretty picky about the books I buy, so this is as good as it gets!
*4-This book was worth reading, but not necessarily worth buying-look for these books at your local library
*3-This book was just OK. I wouldn’t need to read it again.
*2-Don’t bother
*1-There probably won’t be any of these, because if it was THIS bad, I wouldn’t finish it. 🙂
I listened to several audiobooks this month, which is unusual for me, but I liked the change of pace!
Here is what I read in January:
1. But Knot For Me (Yarn Retreat Mystery #8) by Betty Hechtman (audiobook)-OK, but it wasn’t my favorite, and really repeats things from previous books *3
2. Knot a Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery #9) by Betty Hechtman-too much of the story is a repeat from previous books. I found myself just reading to finish off the series *3
3. A Second Chance for the Cowboy (Walker Ranch #2) by Tess Thornton-nice, clean romance-very good! *4
4. The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Weight Loss by Gary Foster (audiobook)-this was good with lots of helpful tips! *4
5. How to Steal a Dragon’s Jewel (How to Train Your Dragon #9) by Cressida Cowell (audiobook)-I am re-listening to these with Hubby-they are SO good! *5
6. And Then There Were Crumbs (A Cookie House Mystery #1) by Eve Calder (audiobook)-I really liked this! Clean, fun, good mystery with a twist! *5
7. The Miracle of You by Cleere Cheery Reaves-the words are OK, but the pictures are really beautiful. *3
8. Destined to Be by Dionne Grace-good, but the ending was rushed a bit and it was too short-I needed more! *4 REVIEW
9. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder-read aloud to the kids for History-so good as always! *5
10. The Unwanteds (The Unwanteds #1) by Lisa McMann-good! It really is a twist on Harry Potter meets Hunger Games *4
11. The Hot Cross Bunny by Carys Bexington-cute story! *4
12. Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens-I highly recommend this one! Very fun! *5
13. Locomotive by Brian Floca-educational, and really nice pictures *4
14. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart-a sweet story *4
15. Honey…Honey…Lion! by Jan Brett-OK story, very detailed pictures! *3
16. Island of Silence (The Unwanteds #2) by Lisa McMann (audiobook)-kind of depressing-anything that could go wrong, does go wrong. I needed a little more light to this one. *3
17. Island of Fire (The Unwanteds #3) by Lisa McMann (audiobook)-had to read this just to see if things got any better. It took about an hour for any sign of something good. *3
18. Sugar and Vice (A Cookie House Mystery #2) by Eve Calder (audiobook)-really good-I am enjoying this series! *4
19. A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1) by Arthur Conan Doyle (audiobook)-Hubby and I are listening through this series together. The first part was fine, there was a very weird break in the middle with zero transition to part two which was confusing, and then the second part was absolutely riveting. *4
20. Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle-read aloud to The Girlio for History-it was OK, but I wouldn’t read it again *3
21. A Tale of Two Cookies (A Cookie House Mystery #3) by Eve Calder (audiobook)-there is a pretty good mystery to this one! I really hope there are going to be more to this series! *4
22. Corrie Ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den by Janet and Geoff Benge-I read this aloud to the kids for History. It’s excellent and riveting-just as much as the others in the series! *5
23. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (audiobook)-just as good the second time around! This is one of my favorites! *5 REVIEW
24. Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler-wonderful story I’ve read before-so good! *5
25. The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett-silly and funny-love Mac Barnett! *4
26. The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan-very good! I learned a lot! *5
27. Under Fire (Defend and Protect #3) by Lynn H. Blackburn-pretty good *4
28. The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes #2) by Arthur Conan Doyle (audiobook)-very interesting and enjoyable! *4
This month I read three books to the kids, and I read/listened to seventeen books just for me. I also read eight picture books to myself for review. That’s 28 books, and great start to the year.
That’s it for today. I will share my February books the first Tuesday in March!
Slow Down, Enjoy, and Create Part 2 