January 2019
Well, what a start to the new year! I’m not sure everything went to plan for me in January but I had a lot of changes this past month and it’s no surprise that my read reflects that.
I recently moved closer to work–which has been fantastic with the weather of late (I shovelled more snow in 5 days than I did all of last year). But with a shorter drive, that means I don’t listen to as many audiobooks anymore. Audiobooks really maintained my reading numbers last year because I could listen to 2+ hours a day with my drive. I still listen to them (because I really do love audiobooks!) but only a little bit at a time so they take me longer to finish.
The other reason my reading is so abysmal is that I’ve been so busy readying my new place while working full time that I can only manage a chapter (if I’m lucky) of my book before sleep calls my name. I’m nearly there putting the finishing touches on my new place so I’m hoping I can churn out a few more books this month.
Total for January 2019: 10 Books Read + 1 Novellas Read
DNF’d: 0 Books
Last January: 25 Books Read + 0 Novellas Read + 3 DNFs
Standout Read (★★★★)
I love thrillers/suspsense novels but I’ve never had a great experience with romantic suspense–until I started K A Tucker’s Burying Water Series. This was a fantastic follow-up to the first novel!
Biggest Let Down (★★)
In theory, this novel should have been a knock out of the park for me but boy, did it sure not work for me. It took me nearly two months to finish (a sign I should have DNF’d it ages ago).
For Black Friday this year, Kindle had a promotion for new Kindle Unlimited Subscribers where you got 3 months of reading for only $0.99!!! Usually, we don’t get these deals in Canada so I made sure I locked in ASAP. I started my subscription at the start of December and it will end the first week of March. I wanted to keep track of what books I read to see if what I read is worth the monthly fee just like I did when completing the free trial.
- NONE
Despite stocking my Kindle with many books, I didn’t get to any! This month is all about the sequels so I hope to get a few in before my subscription stops.
Every quarter I take a look at my Kobo stats to see how I’m doing. My Kobo is my main reading device, used for personal and library books. My Kindle is used for ARCs but it lacks the statistic features of my Kobo.
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As of: |
January 31, 2019 |
January 31, 2018 |
| Total % of Library Complete |
25% |
23% |
| Total # of Books Finished |
296 |
270 |
| Total # of Reading Hours |
2598 |
2511 |
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Most Viewed Post
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Most Viewed Review
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Previously posted series reviews that got updates:
You can always get the full details on all my challenges on my dedicated page but here is a quick update:
5 Year 5 Book Challenge: 1 book added | 1 of 25 Titles Read – Slightly Behind!
Goodreads Challenge: 11 books added | 11/200 Books – 5 Books Behind!
Tackling the TBR Challenge: 3 books added | /36 Books – On Track!
View my Challenge Progress Here!
My main mission for 2018 was bringing my “Want to Read” shelf (new to me books) on Goodreads to a number below 500—and I totally did that! So this year, I’m aiming for a “Want to Read” shelf that is less than 400 titles. I’ve also set a goal to get my “Sequel” shelf below 250 titles.
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Currently |
December 31, 2018 |
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Want to Read (New) |
473 |
472 |
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To Read (Sequels) |
267 |
263 |
I used to do a big Goodreads Purge twice a year but I like the idea of doing a little bit at a time and had great success last year doing this on a monthly basis. The idea is to go through 5-10 books on your Goodreads TBR list chronologically and decide if they should stay or go. My 10 titles consist of 7 “new to me” titles and 3 “previously started series” titles.
This month:
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Pass: 2 | Keep: 8
Grand Total YTD: Pass: 2 | Keep: 8
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
While this is a monthly meme hosted by Avalinah’s Books, I usually only update every quarter.
My Progress for January 2019:
ARCs Read: 5 | ARCs Overdue: 1+2* | Upcoming: 3
(December State: ARCs Overdue: 2+1* | Upcoming: 4)
*Titles given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.
Going Forward:
I probably bit off more than I could chew for January all things considered but I made do. I’ve decided not to do any promotional reads in March so I can catch up and start fresh in April.
You can still join in on these discussions:
Each month I have a list of 6 books I’ve selected to read for that particular month. These books include review copies and reading challenge picks. This year, I’ve decided to make 4 months throughout the year sequel only months (excluding ARCs and 5Y5BC picks). Here are some of the books I have ready to go for February:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month? Have you broken any resolutions yet?
Leave a comment below!
