Welcome to 2025!! While I had planned to take a winter blog break, I also had planned to do a couple of more posts before the break. Alas, time got away from me and I was busy living life instead of writing blog posts. But I am now getting back to it and we’ll just move on from here. Today, I’m going to wrap up my reading goal for 2024 and introduce my goal for 2025.
My last book post was in November.That post covered the books that I had read through September.
Today I will cover the remainder of my 2024 reading-October/November/December. And then, we’ll see if where I landed in terms of meeting my yearly goal of reading 65 books.
OCTOBER BOOKS
I read the first book by this author and really loved it-Olga Dies Dreaming. A friend recommended reading this one. I will admit that I didn’t love it as much but as I stuck with it, the story grew on me. It has a bit of a fantastical element which I typically am not a fan of but it worked in this story and helped to carry the plot along.
Another book with fantastical elements and again, I didn’t hate it. And again, the other worldliness in the story is not the main purpose of the story and doesn’t overtake the story. This is a book about relationships, thinking we know what we want, what we settle for and what it takes to be honest with ourselves. Many years ago, I read In Five Years by this author. I liked it but didn’t care for the fantastical elements of the story.
I loved this book and look forward to watching the Apple TV series. This is an epic story of a family from the great grandmother to current generation. This book has everything that epic stories have including great love, great sorrow, great success, tremendous life circumstances. It’s another book that I read for a book club and would not have read were it not for the club.
This book is crazy is all many ways and all of them good. This is a more light weight read-another psychological thriller that does not disappoint. I did not see the major twists that came toward the end of the book. This book is definitely captivating and keeps you guessing. You can’t really tell who the good guys and the bad guys are and when you think you know you later find out that you were wrong!
Another good psychological thriller that keeps you guessing. This mystery is layered and deep and once the details are known the suspense ramps up! This book is currently very popular and it’s with good reason.
In full disclosure, I read this book earlier in the year and forgot to add it to the list. This is a very good book with an interesting and intriguing story about 2 missing girls-one of whom gets a ton of attention and one who doesn’t. And it’s no surprise but their stories are connected.
NOVEMBER BOOKS
I came to this thriller through a recommendation from Prime reading. Amazon knows what I like to read and recommended this thriller. It is definitely suspenseful and a thriller but it was more disturbing than I anticipated. Disturbing does not necessarily bother me but this book had children as the protagonists and that was hard to swallow. The story was good and flowed well.
This book is historical fiction about a teenage girl in the late 1700’s tasked with holding the family farms (and their enslaved members) together while her father goes off to war. She has to figure out how to make money because her father has mortgaged their properties to the hilt and they will lose them unless she can figure something out. The story itself is interesting and intriguing and I did enjoy learning this story. However, the book mentions the enslaved persons as an afterthought and gives them absolutely zero credit for helping to lift the family out of their dire circumstances. Definitely an example of white washing history or just denying credit where it is due.
One of my bookclubs had a goal of reading a “classic” and this was one of those chosen. This is one of my favorite books and the characters stick with me. I am a sucker for stories about relationships and families and this book has that in spades.
I have read so many books by this author and I’m going to keep reading them until I’ve read them all. They are psychological thrillers that move quickly and have good, realistic murder stories. I also like that occasionally characters in one book show up briefly in another. I never figure out the twist and this one ends with such a start that I hope he writes a continuation of the story and the characters.
Yep, same author as above. These books are like a treat for me after I’ve my “homework” of reading my bookclub books. They are easy to follow, keep me interested, and are intriguing and suspenseful.
DECEMBER BOOKS
This was a really good novel and a great story. The main character was a bit annoying but the other stories made up for it. This is a book that goes back and forth between current day and long ago. I like these types of stories when it involves just a few people and not a ton of stories. I did not see the ending coming at all; I thought I knew what happened but I didn’t.
I read this book for another bookclub. I watched the movie earlier this year and I’m glad that I saw the movie before listening to this book. The book was interesting but the story telling was rather dull. I’m glad that I had to pictures from the movie to help me follow along with the story. I think the book does a better job describing how the FBI was formed from this case than the movie does. I would imagine that there is way more to this story than either the movie or the book delves in to.
In addition to my current obsession with this author, one of the main reasons I chose this book is because it’s book 1 of 2! The killings in this book are also much darker than in this author’s other stories but it works. There are so many connections in this story and once again you think you know only to find out that you don’t. After finishing this book. I was excited to book 2!
Another intriguing story that does not disappoint and takes you on a journey that you didn’t expect. There is not yet but I hope that the future holds a book 3 for this duo.
2024 Reading Journey
In 2023, my goal was to read 70 books and I read 60 books. I was not disappointed in that result. This year, 2024, my goal was to read 65 books.
October: 6 books read; 12 left to read; 53 total read
November: 5 books read; 7 left to read; 58 total read
December: 4 books read; 3 left to read: 62 total books read
I didn’t quite make my goal of 65 books read but again I am not disappointed. I also did not count the 3 books that I started and didn’t finish. I know that those 3 would put me at my goal but it really doesn’t matter. The goal is to keep reading and to be consistent and that’s what’s important to me.
It’s fun to set a goal though. So, for 2025 my goal will be to read 70 books!!! Why such a ambitious goal? Because this year, I will include books that I start but don’t finish. Just for clarification, books that I don’t finish it’s because I don’t like them and just can’t get through them.
So there we are for 2024 and ready to go for 2025. What say you? Do you have a reading goal? Are you consistent with reading even if you don’t have a goal? Share in the comments.
