Another Year Over, A New One Just Begun ...

Happy New Year!  I always love the freshness of January 1, even when the previous year has been good to me, like 2018 was.  Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to a new year full of promise and potential.  I'm not going to make any blogging resolutions except that I'm going to try to read 200 books, which is a goal I would really like to fulfill one of these days.  Wish me luck!  What are your blogging/reading resolutions for 2019?  I'd love to know.

As far as my reading for 2018 went, I didn't discover a lot of really amazing books.  I read some good ones and I found several new authors to love, but 2018 still felt like kind of a humdrum reading year. Here's hoping 2019 brings some better reads my way.

2018 broke down this way:

Total Books Read:  149 (9 less than 2017; 37 fewer than my highest of 186 in 2011; 34 more than my lowest of 115 in 2008)

Number of fiction books read:  137 (92%) 

Number of non-fiction books read:  12 (8%)

Number of adult books read:  116 (78%)

Number of young adult books read:  12 (8%)

Number of middle grade/chapter books read:  21 (14%)

Number of books by female authors:  128 (86%) 

Number of books by male authors:  12 (8%)
Number of books by multiple authors, female and male:  9 (6%)
Number of books by Latter-day Saint authors:  38 (26%)
Number of books read, personal collection:  41 (26%)
Number of books read, review copies:  63 (42%)
Number of books read, borrowed from library:  45 (30%)
Number of reading challenges joined:  3
Number of reading challenges completed:  0 (although I got closer than I ever have on reading a book from every state + Washington, D.C.)

Speaking of tracking where the books I read are set, here are the Top 3 states and the Top 3 countries I "visited" this year:

1.  New York (9)
2.  California (7)
3.  Massachusetts (5)

1.  The United States (85 + some that were in U.S. but didn't specify a state)
2.  England (21)
3.  Canada (4), Italy (4)

Observations:

- I'm reading fewer and fewer YA books every year.  I read mostly adult books in 2018, with a sprinkling of YA and more MG than usual.

- I'm doing better about reading books from the library, even though I feel like I spent A LOT more on books this year than I have in the past.  It's an addiction!

- I need to read more books by male authors.

How did your reading year turn out?

Thanks for making 2018 another great blogging year for me!  I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy lives to visit my little corner of the book blogosphere, leave comments, and give me reading recommendations.  Chatting with like-minded people about my love of books/reading just makes me happy.  I hope you'll come by BBB even more often in 2019.  Here's to an awesome reading year ahead!

Just for my records, here are the books I read in 2018:

• 149. THE BOOK OF MORMON BY VARIOUS AUTHORS* (DEC)
• 148. HOPE WAS HERE BY JOAN BAUER (DEC)
• 147. THE LIBRARY BOOK BY SUSAN ORLEAN (DEC)
• 146. FREEFALL BY JESSICA BARRY (DEC)
• 145. THE MIDWIFE OF HOPE RIVER BY PATRICIA HARMAN (DEC)
• 144. THE PINT OF NO RETURN BY ELLIE ALEXANDER (DEC)
• 143. THE INVITED BY JENNIFER MCMAHON (DEC)
• 142. CARRIED BY MICHELLE SCHMIDT (NOV)
• 141. THE GOOD LIAR BY CATHERINE MCKENZIE (NOV)
• 140. CHRISTMAS BY ACCIDENT BY CAMRON WRIGHT (NOV)
• 139. HEART LAND BY KIMBERLY STUART (NOV)
• 138. NINE PERFECT STRANGERS BY LIANE MORIARTY (NOV)
• 137. I REMEMBER YOU BY HOLLY SCHINDLER (NOV)
• 136. LITTLE PRETTY THINGS BY LORI RADER-DAY (NOV)
• 135. THE DAY I DIED BY LORI RADER-DAY (NOV)
• 134. THE POACHER'S SON BY PAUL DOIRON (NOV)
• 133. THE TRUTH ABOUT MISS ASHBOURNE BY JOANNA BARKER* (NOV)
• 132. UNDER A DARK SKY BY LORI RADER-DAY (NOV)
• 131. WEDDING BELLES BY MELANIE JACOBSON, BECCA WILHITE, BRITTANY LARSON, AND JENNY PROCTOR (NOV)
• 130. A BORROWING OF BONES BY PAULA MUNIER (NOV)
• 129. THE RUIN BY DERVLA MCTIERNAN* (NOV)
• 128. THE GLASS OCEAN BY BEATRIZ WILLIAMS, LAUREN WILLIG, AND KAREN WHITE* (OCT)
• 127. FRONT DESK BY KELLY YANG (OCT)
• 126. BURYING THE HONEYSUCKLE GIRLS BY EMILY CARPENTER (OCT)
• 125. A CHRISTMAS COURTING BY VARIOUS AUTHORS (OCT)
• 124. SOLD ON A MONDAY BY KRISTINA MCMORRIS* (OCT)
• 123. THE STABLE MASTER'S DAUGHTER BY SARA CARDON (OCT)
• 122. THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL BY HESTER FOX* (OCT)
• 121. THE COLLECTOR'S APPRENTICE BY B.A. SHAPIRO (OCT)
• 120. SQUINT BY CHAD MORRIS AND SHELLY BROWN (OCT)
• 119. THE GIRL WITH SEVEN NAMES: ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA BY HYEONSEO LEE (OCT)
• 118. SEVEN DAYS OF US BY FRANCESCA HORNAK (OCT)
• 117. I AM STILL ALIVE BY KATE ALICE MARSHALL (OCT)
• 116. LEAVE NO TRACE BY MINDY MEJIA* (SEP)
• 115. PROMISES AND PRIMROSES BY JOSI S. KILPACK (SEP)
• 114. LOVE UNSCRIPTED BY TIFFANY ODEKIRK (SEP)
• 113. RAPTURE OF THE DEEP BY L.A. MEYER* (SEP)
• 112. THE WEIGHT OF LIES BY EMILY CARPENTER (SEP)
• 111. EVERY SINGLE SECRET BY EMILY CARPENTER (SEP)
• 110. PROMISE TO RETURN BY ELIZABETH BYLER YOUNTS (SEP)
• 109. IN THE SHADOW OF LAKECREST BY ELIZABETH BLACKWELL (SEP)
• 108. SAINTS BY VARIOUS AUTHORS* (SEP)
• 107. RESISTANCE BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (SEP)
• 106. THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE BY LAURIE R. KING (SEP)
• 105. SLAVE STEALERS BY TIMOTHY BALLARD (SEP)
• 104. MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE BY VICTORIA THOMPSON (SEP)
• 103. SADIE BY COURTNEY SUMMERS (AUG)
• 102. THE LOST GIRLS BY HEATHER YOUNG (AUG)
• 101. THE HOUSE ON PRIMROSE POND BY YONA ZELDIS MCDONOUGH (AUG)
• 100. PLAIN GIRL BY VIRGINIA SORENSEN (AUG)
• 99. A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE BY SHARI LAPENA (AUG)
• 98. THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR BY SHARI LAPENA (AUG)
• 97. I KNOW YOU KNOW BY GILLY MACMILLAN (AUG)
• 96. WOMEN OF THE BLUE & GRAY BY MARIANNE MONSON (AUG)
• 95. TILT-A-WHIRL BY CHRIS GRABENSTEIN (AUG)
• 94. FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER BY E.L. KONIGSBURG (AUG)
• 93. FIND NAMES FOR THE TEMPLE BY NICOLE DYER (JUL)
• 92. SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE BY LAURA BATES (JUL)
• 91. THE SOLACE OF WATER BY ELIZABETH BYLER YOUNTS* (JUL)
• 90. ON A COLD DARK SEA BY ELIZABETH BLACKWELL* (JUL)
• 89. THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME BY HAZEL GAYNOR (JUL)
• 88. AND SHE WAS BY ALISON GAYLIN (JUL)
• 87. THE FRENCH GIRL BY LEXIE ELLIOTT (JUL)
• 86. IF I DIE TONIGHT BY ALISON GAYLIN (JUL)
• 85. WITH YOU ALWAYS BY JODY HEDLUND (JUL)
• 84. THE WITCH ELM BY TANA FRENCH (JUL)
• 83. THE WINTER OVER BY MATTHEW IDEN (JUL)
• 82. THE CRAFTSMAN BY SHARON BOLTON* (JUN)
• 81. THE BOOK OF ESSIE BY MEGHAN MACLEAN WEIR (JUN)
• 80. OUR HOUSE BY LOUISE CANDLISH (JUN)
• 79. UNSHATTERED CAROL J. DECKER (JUN)
• 78. MISSING BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (JUN)
• 77. DREAMS OF FALLING BY KAREN WHITE (JUN)
• 76. AFTERMATH BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (JUN)
• 75. THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY BY RUTH WARE* (JUN)
• 74. THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS BY CRISTINA HENRIQUEZ (JUN)
• 73. THE ELIZAS BY SARA SHEPARD (JUN)
• 72. LITTLE BLOG ON THE PRAIRIE BY CATHLEEN DAVITT BELL (JUN)
• 71. LOVING LIEUTENANT LANCASTER BY SARAH M. EDEN (JUN)
• 70. SCANDAL ABOVE STAIRS BY JENNIFER ASHLEY (MAY)
• 69. DEVILS UNTO DUST BY EMMA BERQUIST* (MAY)
• 68. THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER BY KATE MORTON (MAY)
• 67. PERFECT SET BY MELANIE JACOBSON (MAY)
• 66. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY BY AMANDA SKENANDORE (MAY)
• 65. BONE ON BONE BY JULIA KELLER (MAY)
• 64. UNFORGETTABLE BY RONDA GIBB HINRICHSEN (MAY)
• 63. THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD BY DAVID LASKIN (MAY)
• 62. IF YOU FIND ME BY EMILY MURDOCH (MAY)
• 61. ABSOLUTE DARKNESS BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (MAY)
• 60. BEYOND THE GREEN BY SHARLEE GLENN (MAY)
• 59. AL CAPONE THROWS ME A CURVE BY GENNIFER CHOLDENKO* (MAY)
• 58. CITY OF THE LOST BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG (MAY)
• 57. SCARLET BY JEN GEIGLE JOHNSON (MAY)
• 56. BLAME BY JEFF ABBOTT (MAY)
• 55. SUBMERGED BY DANI PETTREY (MAY)
• 54. A DEATH OF NO IMPORTANCE BY MARIA FREDERICKS (APR)
• 53. THE PATCHWORK BRIDE BY SANDRA DALLAS (APR)
• 52. STILL MINE BY AMY STUART (APR)
• 51. I LIKED MY LIFE BY ABBY FABIASCHI (APR)
• 50. THE SILVER SIX BY A.J. LIEBERMAN AND DARREN RAWLINGS (APR)
• 49. CLOSE TO HOME BY CARA HUNTER (APR)
• 48. NEVER THAT FAR BY CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS (APR)
• 47. MY DEAREST ENEMY BY JENNIFER MOORE (APR)
• 46. THE DOLL FUNERAL BY KATE HAMER (APR)
• 45. THE GIRL IN THE RED COAT BY KATE HAMER (APR)
• 44. WORTH BY WENDY ELLISON (APR)
• 43. FLIGHT PATTERNS BY KAREN WHITE (APR)
• 42. THE WHOLE WORLD BY EMILY WINSLOW (MAR)
• 41. FINGERPRINTS OF PREVIOUS OWNERS BY REBECCA ENTEL (MAR)
• 40. THE OTHER MOTHER BY CAROL GOODMAN (MAR)
• 39. DREAD NATION BY JUSTINA IRELAND* (MAR)
• 38. OUTSHINE BY NICHOLE VAN (MAR)
• 37. BRUSH WITH LOVE BY LISA MCKENDRICK (MAR)
• 36. LIES JANE AUSTEN TOLD ME BY JULIE WRIGHT (MAR)
• 35. MY SISTER'S BONES BY NUALA ELLWOOD (MAR)
• 34. MEET YOUR BAKER BY ELLIE ALEXANDER (MAR)
• 33. SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY BY JOSHILYN JACKSON (MAR)
• 32. ISLAND OF SWEET PIES AND SOLDIERS BY SARA ACKERMAN (MAR)
• 31. IN A BLINK BY KIKI THORPE (MAR)
• 30. A SOUND AMONG THE TREES BY SUSAN MEISSNER (MAR)
• 29. THE BROKEN GIRLS BY SIMONE ST. JAMES (MAR)
• 28. FORCE OF NATURE BY JANE HARPER (FEB)
• 27. STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD BY SUSAN MEISSNER (FEB)
• 26. CHECK ME OUT BY BECCA WILHITE* (FEB)
• 25. THE MEMORY THIEF BY BRYCE MOORE (FEB)
• 24. WRATH OF THE STORM BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (FEB)
• 23. RISE OF THE WOLF BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (FEB)
• 22. MARK OF THE THIEF BY JENNIFER A. NIELSEN (FEB)
• 21. THE QUEEN OF HEARTS BY KIMMERY MARTIN (FEB)
• 20. A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY BY JOSHILYN JACKSON (FEB)
• 19. MUTANT BUNNY ISLAND BY OBERT SKYE (FEB)
• 18. UNDER LOCKER AND KEY BY ALLISON K. HYMAS (FEB)
• 17. MUSTACHES FOR MADDIE BY CHAD MORRIS AND SHELLY BROWN* (FEB)
• 16. TRULY DEVIOUS BY MAUREEN JOHNSON* (FEB)
• 15. THE DUMBEST IDEA EVER BY JIMMY GOWNLEY (FEB)
• 14. DEATH ON TAP BY ELLIE ALEXANDER (FEB)
• 13. THE FISHERMAN'S DAUGHTER BY MELINDA SUE SANCHEZ (JAN)
• 12. THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL BY SHANNON AND DEAN HALE (JAN)
• 11. JUST BETWEEN US BY REBECCA DRAKE (JAN)
• 10. I SHALL BE NEAR TO YOU BY ERIN LINDSAY MCCABE (JAN)
• 9. KILLER LIBRARIAN BY MARY LOU KIRWIN (JAN)
• 8. THE EMPEROR'S OSTRICH BY JULIE BERRY (JAN)
• 7. PAPER CHAINS BY ELAINE VICKERS (JAN)
• 6. A PIECE OF THE WORLD BY CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE (JAN)
• 5. THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW BY A.J. FINN* (JAN)
• 4. HEART OF THE WEST BY CAROLYN TWEDE FRANK (JAN)
• 3. THE WOLVES OF WINTER BY TYRELL JOHNSON (JAN)
• 2. DEATH BELOW STAIRS BY JENNIFER ASHLEY* (JAN)
• 1. THE HOUSE BETWEEN TIDES BY SARAH MAINE* (JAN)