So Long, 2018

I was reminded today that this blog still exists so I thought I should swing by to let you all know that I am okay (nothing happened ... just a trip to California, a couple of colds, and some malaise) and that I am mentally making my way back here. I also couldn't miss the opportunity to write up an end of the year summary, especially as I noticed last night that I had finished my *120th* book of the year! Whoa! So, no, it is not my reading that has fallen to the wayside, just my blogging.

In 2018 I ...

• Read/listened to just over 40,000 pages in 120 books
• Found time for 20 rereads
• Enjoyed 11 non-fiction books
• Journeyed through 7 books in translation (French, Japanese, Spanish x4, German)
• Listened to 18 audiobooks

My favorite books of the year (in no particular order)

• The four books of Martha Wells' Murderbot series - All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy
• The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (and fabulous rereads of the previous three books in the series)
• The Broken Lands and The Kairos Mechanism by Kate Milford
• Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
• The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller
• Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
• The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
• The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland
• March, Books 1-3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
• Early Riser by Jasper Fforde (not out yet in the U.S.!)
• Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson
• The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin (again, not out in the U.S.)
• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (yes! I finally started this series!!)
• The Book of Dust, Book One: The Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
• All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

I don't know if I'm going to do catch-up posts for any of the books I read over the past two months or if I'll just give myself permission to start with a clean slate. It will probably be the latter. No need to start the new year with a stack of stress!

These are the books I got for Christmas this year and, as you can imagine, some of my most anticipated reads of the new year! I might even reread Persuasion since I have this lovely new edition to replace my old Signet Classics paperback. I'll be starting the year with Kage Baker in print (The Machine's Child) and Michelle Obama (Becoming) on audio. My goals for 2019? I'm not going to make any. I am just going to work through as much of my home TBR (161 books) and my library list (58 books) as I can, choosing whatever I want to along the way and sprinkling in some rereads. I will still host DWJMarch/MarchMagics this spring but will probably have a rather generic topic. As for blogging, I may switch to a more journal-like format for a while, until this malaise and general inability to get my thoughts to coalesce passes. If I stay out of the habit of writing for much longer, this blog is toast!

Anyway, I hope that all of you had a satisfactory reading year and that you have great books to look forward to in 2019! Tell me something you are looking forward to in the comments (if they work for you. I know there are some issues and I can't figure out what is wrong.)

With confetti,

K