Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Book Date and Good Read's disgrace!

My Good Reads performance last year was despicable as I pledged to read 75 books and only read 37.  This year I have pledged the same but I am determined not to end 2018 in disgrace!
 I know it's Tuesday but ever since the holidays I can't seem to keep track of what day it is! LOL!
My word this year is FINISH and I finished a book yesterday. another ornament and a square on my Cozy Memories Blanket so I'm off to a good start!
The book I finished was this one and it was one of my Christmas reads.  I gave it 4 **** as I really enjoyed it.  It was a romance too but it wasn't too 'mushy' like some of them can be.
Amazon states: "
The perfect recipe for hygge this autumn: make a hot chocolate, draw the curtains, snuggle under a blanket and read your way to happiness!

It's autumn in Yulethorpe and everyone is gloomy. It's cold, drizzly and the skies are permagrey. The last shop on the high street - an adorable little toy shop - has just shut its doors. Everything is going wrong for Yulethorpe this autumn. Until Clara Kristensen arrives.
Clara is on holiday but she can see the potential in the pretty town, so she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work. Things are looking up until Joe comes to Yulethorpe to find out exactly what is going on with his mother's shop. Joe is Very Busy and Important in the City and very sure that Clara is up to no good. Surely no one would work this hard just for the fun of it?
Can a man who answers emails at 3 a. m. learn to appreciate the slower, happier, hygge things in life - naps, candles, good friends and maybe even falling in love?"
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 I picked my first read for 2018 and it is this one.  I know I'm probably the last one on the block to read or watch this series but I've has so many of my pod casters recommend it that I thought I would try it.  I ordered it from Thrift Books and it came today!  I read the first 4 chapters and I had a hard time putting it down!  Little housework got done today!
 Amazon states:"From Book 1: Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another... In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon—when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743. Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives."

It looks like there are 8 books in the series so I may be ordering more!  We shall see.
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 I haven't finished my annual read of this book yet.  It seems that over the holidays I start lots of books and projects of all kinds....so fun!  It's my Christmas present to myself.
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I've been staying true to reading the Bible and I'm in the book of Samuel 1 right now...........moving right along...........the New Living Translation makes it read like a 'good book'...lol!  Great pun, huh?
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I'm still slogging through this one.........never try reading a book written back in the 1700's......I will finish it though on the slight chance that it gets better.  After all, it must be good as it's still around!
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This is the magazine I am reading but actually it is more like a book as it is thick but there are individual articles like a magazine.....more like a journal, I guess, and written about Iowa and the Midwest........a little bit of home.........
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When I was going through my books I ran across this one that seemed very timely for the beginning of the New Year so I am reading a chapter a night................
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Last but not least this one was sitting on my shelf and I thought I could put it to some practical use!  It is a compendium of advice from readers of Yankee magazine....who can't use a little Yankee ingenuity!
So, as you can see I have my reading cut out for me!  But then 75 books in a year is more than 1 book per week so I should probably take a speed reading course too! LOL!
Happy Trails!!!



14 comments:

  1. I think you did great considering all the beautiful things you made! And you read a nice variety of books too. I need to broaden my choices this year! Happy reading...and sewing! Hugs, Diane

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    1. Thank you, maybe my word this year should have been BALANCE?

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  3. I did terrible at reading this year. I made a grand start, but the same novel still sits, and with all the scarf orders I had, I am still crocheting. I have one scarf order left for a birthday present. I hope to have a post soon. Thanks for the book suggestions.

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    1. Good for you with the orders though....that's money in your pocket!

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  4. My book dates lately are all with me at the front end, i.e. computer trying to get my writing done before my deadline! I always like your book ideas, however, so I'll have to save some of them up for when I can become a reader again.

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    1. I think that is so wonderful though that you author books! Quite an accomplishment I would say! You go girl!

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  5. Funny that I came across this post today. I just did my annual wrap up of books read and exceeded my Goodreads challenge, but just barely! You have lots of interesting books listed, good luck on reaching your goal and Happy New Year!

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    1. Oh, I have to check your Goodreads! One can never have too many book recommendations!

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  6. While you didn't reach your reading goal, Sandra, you are productive taking care of your property, you are busy having to drive to get your meds and go to your appointments, and you are wonderfully crafting for your grandsons.

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    1. Thank you, Stefanie.....can I adopt you to be my daughter....I have a wonderful one but 2 wonderful daughters would really be special!

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  7. Hi Sam :)) I think 37 books read is fabulous!! I think I finished two, yeah TWO. :) That's okay though, I read blogs and web sites so I don't feel too illiterate! One of my goals is to try to read every night before bed, but it's often been a sleeping pill for me and I have to go and re-read what I thought I read the night before...thus TWO books read lol! I think you're doing great!!!

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  8. You may have only read 2 books but your accomplishments this past year have been phenomenal! You had a garden and you made cheeses...lots of them!!! And the dinners and dishes you cooked were amazing! I may have to start reading during the day as it has been having the same affect on me...dozing off after a few pages.

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  9. Oh 'Outlander'!! It's quite a phenomenon over here. I think you will be able to get the series on Netflix too. It gets very interesting leading up to 1745, the start of the Jacobite Rebellion and then 1746, the Battle of Culloden. I like the look of your 'Living on a Shoestring' book. Happy Reading to you.

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