Books I’ve Read This Year- My 2018 Reading Challenge

I set myself a target at the beginning of the year to read 12 books. A book a month. It didn’t seem like a huge task but, with three children, the farm and the blog, by August, I was only on five and wondered if 12 could be reached at all.

Thankfully I got my reading mojo back and on November 29th, I read (what I thought was) my eleventh book. The Tattooist of Auschwitz was so amazing that I had finished it by the 30th and I smugly thought I had just one more to go.

A counting error meant that my smugness didn’t last long and I frantically searched for either a very short book or one which I would read quickly as family life really does come first at Christmas and, with three children, there are a lot of Christmas fairs and Nativities to attend.

In the end, my final score was 13 for the year. Who would have thought it?

Some of them seem like I read them years ago. I am not going to lie, there is the odd one that I can’t remember at all but I am so pleased I reached my target. Here is the list:

I began the year by reading The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. This is one of the ones that I cannot remember but I know that I enjoyed it.

 

My mum gave me Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. Some of it is set on a farm so I imagine that is why she gave it to me. I finished it but I did not enjoy it at all. I kept thinking something was going to happen but it never did.

The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange was really good. It was recommended to me by a Facebook reading group and I think (if my memory serves me right) that is is young adult fiction but I really enjoyed it.




I read three non-fiction books which I loved. Till the Cows Come Home by Lorna Sixsmith, Falling for a Farmer by Maura McElhone and Paul O’Grady’s Country Life. I reviewed these on the blog and enjoyed each one.

Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope was just a quick read I found on my book shelf and I liked it a lot. I used to read Trollope a lot when I was younger and may revisit some in 2019.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman was un-put-downable. I didn’t guess the twist at all and I still think about it which I think is always a good sign.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig was the same. Absolutely brilliant idea and I loved every paragraph.

As I mentioned earlier, the Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is also up there in the top books I have read and even though it was harrowing and terrible, it was utterly compelling and I am so glad that I read it.

I enjoyed Girl On the Train so Tina Seskis’ One Step Too Far was billed as similar which attracted me. It was another one with a big twist at the end which I didn’t guess and I did enjoy reading it.

The Year that Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly was an easy read and, my twelfth. I really enjoyed it. So much so that it inspired me to read another book.

My final book of the year was A Day in December by Josie Silver and I choose it in the book shop because it I thought it would be a pleasant Christmassy read. It was okay. You could tell what was going to happen from the end of the first or second chapter which spotted it a bit for me. Nevertheless, I did finish it.

I am so pleased I exceeded my target and will have to set 14 as my 2019 one.

*Please note there are some affiliate links on this post. If you click on them and buy a book, I get a few pennies to go towards more books goats.

What has been your favourite book this year?

111 Comments

  1. My favourite book of 2019 is Together by Julie Cohen and Three Things About Elise by Joanna Cannon xx

  2. Oooo and Letters from the Lighthouse be Emma Carroll (this is a junior fiction book but woukd recommend reading it) .. working for a library service has one or two perks

  3. I’ve not read any of the books you’ve mentioned but may search out some of them now. I met Joanne Trollop once, although I didn’t know who she was (it was on a dog walk as she lived near to me). Later on I read A Village Affair and some of her descriptions fitted the village we lived in … plus there is a minor character in the book with my full name in it. I have no idea if she had maybe heard my name in the village and liked it or if it was just pure coincidence.

  4. I couldn’t even tell you wh0at my favourite book of the year was. I read a lot of trash, plus crime books and the occasional more heavy going thoughtful one. I recall a really good psychological thriller but can’t remember much.more. I find unless I have a really good Christmas where I read about 5 books in 2 weeks I stand no chance of reading my targets because I get to august/September and it takes me 2 m9nths to read 1 bok. That’s when I get lazy and start reading mills and boon trash to catch back up again. I like to read enjoyable easy happy books because I’ve read some must haves over the years that I’ve found so dull.

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