Three R's of 2019

In 2019, I:
Ran 1307 miles
Read 88 books (49 new, 39 re-reads)
Wrote 193,092 words on this blog

It's satisfying to see my stats and know that I was able to do so much of what I love last year. Running, reading, and writing are three of my favorite activities. They aren't my only favorite activities, but they are my favorite everyday hobbies.

Here is the list of books I read during 2019. I never got into Goodreads, so I just keep my own list. An asterisk (*) means a book I have read before, and a dash (-) means audiobook. The list comes out to 89 books, but I did not finish #25 The Silk Roads because it was just SO LONG and SO BORING. I guess that means I technically read 88.5 books in 2019...


Books I read in 2019:

1. -The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
   (audiobook--LOVED it. So clever and funky and well written.)
2. Loving Lieutenant Lancaster by Sarah Eden (gag, I'm surprised I survived this book--it was rather cheesy!)
3. -Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
   (awesome and inspiring and surprising. Loved the window into an earlier time, and the altruism of an icon in the business world.)
4. -Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury-- so glad I finally read this classic. Like thousands before me, I found it very profound. It is one of the literary staples that I somehow have never read until now. I really liked the message about the value of learning, reading, and knowledge vs. the modern tendency to only consume popular junk. I think I would like to read the physical book too, and underline all the interesting quotes about reading.
5. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde: such a fun creative intelligent fictional escape for book lovers.
6. -When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (audiobook) Absolutely beautiful thoughts and uplifting perspective. Best memoir I've ever read-full of so much poignant, resonant truth. I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to after reading this, but that whatever I choose to do it will be enough, as long as it makes my life more worth living.
7. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde: clever, creative, and fun
8. -My Story by Elizabeth Smart (audiobook): she read her own story on audiobook, and it was an absolutely harrowing and horrific account of her 9 month abduction and abuse, punctuated with beautiful tragic moments of faith and hope, finishing with a happy ending. I had the worst nightmare of my life the night before I finished this book, I turned on lights and made sure my kids were all alive and safe. I still can't believe Elizabeth Smart didn't need official therapy to recover! And she loves horses and served a mission in Paris--bonus points! I love love loved her positive, practical, no-nonsense outlook on life: choose to be happy, live life to the fullest, and don't let anyone steal even one more minute of your life. YES!
9. *Gladly Beyond by Nichole Van: Nichole Van writes my favorite bubblegum clean love stories
10. *Lightning Struck by Nichole Van
11. *Love's Shadow by Nichole Van
12. *A Madness Most Discreet by Nichole Van
13. *Intertwine by Nichole Van
14. *Divine by Nichole Van
15. -The Man on the Mountain by Susan Trott (audiobook) -- very thought provoking; a happy sweet story about living more simply and serving more often.
16. *Clandestine by Nichole Van
17. -I Am Malala by Malala Yusafi (audiobook)-- She is an inspiration. I felt happy, sad, hopeful, and discouraged all at once after this book ended.
18. *Refine by Nichole Van
19. *Outshine by Nichole Van
20. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman: LOVED THIS sweet, hilarious book
21. Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde: another fun literary romp
22. Rose by Holly Wells --weird but fun unexpectedly magical realistic fantasy. I checked it out from the library solely based on the title. I like Roses.
23. Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
24. The Royal Rabbits of London by Santa Montefiore and Simon Montefiore: Silly talking-bunny adventure story
25. -The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan (audiobook; listened to almost half of it-- 10 hours out of 24-- and felt too bored to continue. Good information and review of world history, but so dull I dreaded listening to it, haha)
26. Suffering the Scot by Nichole Van: a new Nichole Van book! Yes, please! I enjoyed the Scottish history she infused into the tale.
27. -Becoming by Michelle Obama (excellent audiobook, read by the author. I related to Michelle way more than I would have thought! She is so cool and I feel like we're BFFs after hearing her story.)
28. *Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson--always a fluffy happy feel-good fave.
29. *Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer--one of my favorite Heyers. SO WITTY!
30. The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery --always a favorite comfort read
31. The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson: meh. A bit too awkwardly religious for a fairy tale with magic.
32. *An Arrangement of Sorts by Rebecca Connolly
33. One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
34. My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, & Brodi Ashton: FUN FUN FUN. I loved it. Jane Eyre with ghosts! 
35. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, & Brodi Ashton: just as FUN as the other Jane book they wrote. I loved how I could TELL that they were having fun while writing it.
36. Married to the Marquess by Rebecca Connolly --this series was fun and cozy, if not particularly stellar writing. I couldn't stop reading them, even after the dozenth time a character "quirked his brow."
37. Ashes on the Moor by Sarah Eden-- This was one of Sarah Eden's better books. Sarah Eden is perfectly fine, but her writing doesn't grab me as much as other historical romances.
38. The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson: not amazing, not horrible, but definitely cringe-worthy with the heavy-handed religion overload. I don't like religion in fiction. Religion is real.
39. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson
40. The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson
41. Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson --Somehow I read three more of Melanie Dickerson's medieval fantasies. She did do a good job of setting the scene and I did enjoy the very 1300s feel in the world she created, and how all of the fairy tales take place in the same country so the characters are all contemporaries of each other, more or less. 
42. Secrets of a Spinster by Rebecca Connolly
43. Dangers of Doing Good by Rebecca Connolly
44. Burdens of a Bachelor by Rebecca Connolly
45. A Bride Worth Taking by Rebecca Connolly --can't help it, I enjoyed these books because in spite of the sometimes repetitive language used (stop quirking those brows, EVERYONE!) the characters are lovable and their friendships with each other create such a cozy happy family feeling that kept me coming back for more. This Arrangements of Sorts series had 7 books, and I gobbled them up while we gallivanted around France in the  summertime. They were the perfect vacation reads.
46. A Wager Worth Making by Rebecca Connolly
47. Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright-- This one was FUN and clean. I enjoyed it thoroughly. 
48. -Life on Air by David Attenborough: FASCINATING MEMOIR! I love David Attenborough! A delightful blend of natural history, film and TV history, humor, and wilderness adventure tales of exploration.
49. *The Selection by Kiera Cass-- the most realistic dystopia I have ever read. Conniving millionaire businessman crowns himself king over what's left of the USA, then stages a bachelor competition to find a wife!? It is FUN and silly but just possible enough to keep me coming back to read it again in fascinated horror.
50. *The Elite by Kiera Cass
51. *The One by Kiera Cass
52. *The Heir by Kiera Cass 
53. *The Crown by Kiera Cass
54. Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale-- clever but also kind of bland for a Shannon Hale book. She's written so many better than this one.
55. *Suffering the Scot by Nichole Van --I had to repeat it.
56. Knights vs. Dinosaurs by M. Phelan--silly and short.
57. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty: LOVED it!!! Funny, real, clever, and somehow still poignant. I laughed aloud over and over while I read. A total delight of a middle school book!
58. *Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary by Wendelin Van Draanen: I started at book six in the Sammy series because I haven't read the last dozen as many times as the first six. I love these books so much. They get better and better and better, with more depth in each subsequent book. The characters grow and change so subtly and realistically in each book and across the series. It is excellent.
59. *Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy by W. V. D.
60. *Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes by W. V. D.
61. *Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception by W. V. D.
62. *Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen by WVD
63. *Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveway by WVD
64. -*Emma by Jane Austen (Audible full cast recording with Emma Thompson: a treat)
65. *Sammy Keyes and the wild things by WVD
66. *Sammy Keyes and the cold hard cash by WVD
67. *Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher by WVD
68. *Sammy Keyes and the night of skulls by WVD
69. *Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack by WVD
70. *Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City by WVD
71. *Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise by WVD
72. *Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye by WVD
73. Captain Superlative by J. S. Puller--sweet, poignant, and hopeful.
74. Witch Wars by Sibéal Pounder-- silly but creative enough to hold my attention. There's a sequel but I didn't feel like reading it, maybe because Halloween ended, maybe because the first book was enough.
75. *Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: ALWAYS and FOREVER.
76. -*Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
77. Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss-- sweet, if unbelievable, cross country biking/personal journey story about friendship.
78. -*Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery
79. The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty-- a bit stressful and preteen angsty, but still a good adolescent journey story.
80. The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon: well-written fairy tale type story
81. -*Anne's House of Dreams by LMM
82. The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon: sequel to the Bird and the Sword--didn't love it as much as the first one because the romance was a bit heavy and happened before the marriage and the conflict which was weird and uncomfy for me. But the story itself was compelling.
83. What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon: heartwrenching time travel story but a fascinating read. Amy Harmon takes the romance scenes to the very edge of my comfort zone though.
84. Lucky You by Holly Stevenson-- after What the Wind Knows I needed a safer more Hallmark-type fluffy book to read, and on a whim I tried Holly Stevenson. It read exactly like a Hallmark movie and I gobbled it up happily and went back for seconds.
85. Back to You  by Holly Stevenson --my least favorite of this series. It was so short and didn't have much plot. The decisions all seemed to be made right at the beginning and there was nothing left to write about after that!
86. When Sparks Fly by Holly Stevenson-- this was my favorite of the Pine Ridge series by Holly Stevenson. It's about a flight attendant (the author has worked as a flight attendant) and that unfamiliar world intrigued me. The characters also had way more depth to them than the previous book in the series (Back to You).
87. Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick-- a well-written random library shelf find, about a witty 6 foot tall 12 year old who solves a cute mystery in a darling New England town. I loved it. 
88. Yours Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick-- equally charming sequel to Absolutely Truly. In fact, I like this one even better than the first.
89. Making Faces by Amy Harmon: the most unique Beauty and the Beast story I have ever read. Very compelling, modern, and emotional. I can't read Amy Harmon every day. She is intense and my heart gets all wrung out!

I could say I read too much romantic fluff, but I have stopped feeling guilty about what I "should" be reading. I read for FUN and relaxation. I did get more nonfiction books in during 2019 than ever before, which was informative and good, but I prefer to listen to those types of books during the day on audiobook rather than snuggle up and read them before bedtime.

A good book is like a good view: soul-satisfying and worth the effort. 

[photo from the top of Mt. Si, taken in April 2019]