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I don't think I'll be reading nearly as many comics as I did this year, so I'm going with a more conservative goal for 2020: 60 books, or 5 per month.

I have a feeling I'll end up raising that goal, but I really want to feel less pressure... not to mention, stop using reading as a procrastination tool (or at least not as much of one).

EDIT 7/1 - Bumping my goal to 80.
EDIT 11/6 - Bumping my goal to 88.

Charleen, I don't know why you don't think you will have plenty of time to read with your beautiful babies :)

Andrea wrote: "Charleen, I don't know why you don't think you will have plenty of time to read with your beautiful babies :)"

I do lots of reading with my babies... it's trying to read withOUT them that's the challenge!

Although "baby" #1 is starting Kindergarten next year and will be reading on his own before we know it, so who knows what changes that will bring.

1. Paper Girls, Vol. 2
(re-read)

First book of the year down! I still remembered this story pretty well, but I have no clue what happens next (even though I know I've read through Vol 4).

2. Little Women
3 stars

I have a hard time connecting with older books. I'd say that I enjoy having read it more than I enjoyed actually reading it. I did like it, but there was very little chance I was going to love it.

3. Paper Girls, Vol. 3
(re-read)

4. Paper Girls, Vol. 4
(re-read)

I must have been really distracted when I first read Vol 4. Most of these two came back to me as I was reading, but by the last issue, it no longer seemed familiar, even though my spreadsheet tells me I definitely read it. Heading into new territory now, and can't wait to see how the series ends!

Charleen wrote: "3. Paper Girls, Vol. 3
(re-read)

4. Paper Girls, Vol. 4
(re-read)

I must have been really distracted when I first read Vol 4. Most of these two came back to me as ..."

haha that's funny. Onward and upward!

5. The Bromance Book Club
3 stars

I loved the premise, wasn't sure I'd stick with it after the first few chapters, but it won me over... mostly. There were a few things I wished had a little more wrap up at the end that would have bumped it up to a 4-star for me. But I still liked it and will probably look for the next in the series when it comes out.

6. Paper Girls, Vol. 5
7. Paper Girls, Vol. 6

Phew! Blew through these last two volumes in one reading session. Man, this is a great series. I'm a little bit let down by the conclusion. I feel like it came so close but didn't quite stick the landing as far as bringing all the crazy plot elements together. Emotionally, though, it ends on a great note.

I don't give ratings to comics (mostly because I feel differently about individual issues than I do about collected volumes than I do about entire story arcs and it's not worth trying to quantify) but this series as a whole is one of my favorites. I'll definitely be re-reading the whole thing again in the future.

I went and got Paper Girls 1-3 from Hoopla yesterday. :) Re-reading 1 now.

Elyse wrote: "I went and got Paper Girls 1-3 from Hoopla yesterday. :) Re-reading 1 now."

Yay! Enjoy!

8. James and the Giant Peach
3 stars

This is a cute little adventure but there's not much to it. Least favorite of the Dahl books I've read so far (which, to be fair, is only three).

9. Dragon Wing
4 stars (re-read)

This is one of my husband's favorite series, and I read it years ago at his suggestion, but didn't remember much. They're the ONLY books on my read shelf that don't have reviews, which was my main reason for finally re-reading them.

This book lays a bit of the groundwork for the rest of the series, but (minus the prologue and epilogue) it also works well as a stand-alone adventure, which is exactly what I want from the first book in a series.

10. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
4 stars

This was really fun. I didn't care much about the plot, but the characters were great. Plus, I always enjoy seeing an inveterate playboy have to deal with real feelings.

11. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
(audio)

Eh. I appreciate the practical advice without all the new agey stuff, but it still felt like I'd heard it all before, and I noticed myself tuning out the longer it went on.

12. Elven Star
4 stars (re-read)

Taken on its own, this story isn't as strong as the first book, but it introduces another unique world, as well as an interesting, genre-savvy, kinda-sorta-fourth-wall-breaking duo. The elves/humans/dwarves stuff, on the other hand, is all pretty familiar. I'm not sorry to move on to the next world, especially knowing that the best parts of this book will be back.

13. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
4 stars

While Monty may be the more fun point-of-view character, I feel much more at home inside Felicity's head. I liked the plot of this story a bit better than the first, and even though Monty and Percy's scenes left me wanting more from them, I so loved everything about Felicity's new trio.

14. Fire Sea
4 stars (re-read)

This is where the series really picks up. On the one hand, we're just exploring the third of the four elemental worlds. But we also get more backstory of the Sartan and Patryns, and a good chunk of character development for two of the main characters of the series. Definitely my favorite book so far, and if I'm remembering correctly, this might be my favorite in the entire series.

15. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
4 stars

This was a really fun story. I really felt for Charlie in the beginning, and then once they get into the factory, it's just one zany setup after another. Very enjoyable, if a bit abrupt at the end.

16. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
(audio)

This book had a lot of interesting advice that I'm eager to try. I've known for years that the best goals are ones you have direct control over (i.e. - "workout 3x a week," not "lose 10 pounds"), but tying it into identity ("I am the type of person who doesn't skip a workout") is new to me.

17. Serpent Mage
4 stars (re-read)

This story grows so organically out of the third book. Haplo and Alfred are still developing, dealing with crises of faith and identity. We've finally seen all four worlds, and the native characters of this one are more compelling than any since the first book. I basically have no recollection of how the series unfolds from here, so I'm really looking forward to the last three books.

18. Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book

This has so many little truth bombs wrapped up in such a cute package.

Charleen wrote: "18. Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book

This has so many little truth bombs wrapped up in such a cute package..."

Exactly! I just adored it!

19. Verses for the Dead
4 stars

Not my favorite Pendergast book, but it's pretty solid. Florida made for a good setting, and I enjoyed the various threads of the mystery. The series felt like it was in a bit of a slump a few books ago, so it's nice to get further removed from that.

20. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
4 stars (audio re-read)

I was looking for something short and light in between my other reads, and while this isn't "light" in subject matter, the familiarity turned out to be more what I needed.

21. The Hand of Chaos
3 stars (re-read)

This is my least favorite in the series so far. There are bits in it that are very good, and I know the events here matter, but I'm much more eager to see what's happening elsewhere.

22. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
2 stars

Wow, what a disappointment. This book pretty much has two parts, both wacky and fun(ish?) but not connected at all. Neither story is as good as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I think either one filled out into a full book would have been better than what we got.

23. The Body: A Guide for Occupants
(audio)

I was in the middle of this when all this social distancing stuff ramped up. I was just getting to the part about diseases, so... that was fun.

Charleen wrote: "23. The Body: A Guide for Occupants
(audio)

I was in the middle of this when all this social distancing stuff ramped up. I was just getting to the part about diseases, so... that w..."

Eeeep!

Elyse wrote: "Eeeep!"

Yeah. Whenever I delve into stuff like this, I'm always amazed at how our bodies can be so resilient and so fragile at the same time. With so much we don't know (in general but especially right now), we just do our best and hope resilience wins out.

24. Into the Labyrinth
4 stars (re-read)

The beginning of this book is a lot like the previous one for me, lots of important stuff to get through, but it's not all that compelling, at least not for me. But the second half really ramps up. I have no memory of how the series ends, so I'm really looking forward to the final book. I've been spacing out this re-read with other books, but this time I think I'm just going to forge ahead.

Charleen wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Eeeep!"

Yeah. Whenever I delve into stuff like this, I'm always amazed at how our bodies can be so resilient and so fragile at the same time. With so much we don't know (in general b..."

Our bodies are fascinating, you're so right.

25. The Princess Saves Herself in This One

I don't read poetry. Not at all. So this was an interesting experience. There were bits that I really liked and thought were really effective, but for a lot of it I was distracted by the formatting choices. And this is a lot of my issue with poetry.

I'd like to listen to the author read some of these, to see if she intends the (to me) awkward emphasis that the line breaks imply. And if she just reads it more "normally," then why did she put some of these line breaks where she did?

Charleen wrote: "25. The Princess Saves Herself in This One

I don't read poetry. Not at all. So this was an interesting experience. There were bits that I really liked and thought were really effec..."

I think the line breaks are intentional. I always read them with a pause in mind.

26. The Seventh Gate
4 stars (re-read)

I really loved a lot of this. As a final book to the series, it came so close. But the ending of this book itself was so rushed. The final few chapters keep this from being a 5-star conclusion, which is really disappointing. There was so much more that could have been developed (and I'm not saying that all of it should have been, but there was plenty to draw from). But on the whole this was a great series, and the epic bromance at the heart of the story was everything I wanted it to be.

27. Instant Mom
(audio)

I really enjoyed this. Nia Vardalos is a fun writer with a great perspective on life in Hollywood (and life in general), and I think it's wonderful that she chose to share her experiences with infertility and adoption. It might just be a diversion to me, but I have no doubt there are many people who have or will benefit from her story.

Charleen wrote: "27. Instant Mom
(audio)

I really enjoyed this. Nia Vardalos is a fun writer with a great perspective on life in Hollywood (and life in general), and I think it's wonderful that she..."

Thank you for pointing that out, now it's of more interest to me than it was before!

Charleen wrote: "27. Instant Mom
(audio)

I really enjoyed this. Nia Vardalos is a fun writer with a great perspective on life in Hollywood (and life in general), and I think it's wonderful that she..."

I didn't even have this on the radar! This sounds great! Thanks!

Juli wrote: "Charleen wrote: "27. Instant Mom
(audio)

I really enjoyed this. Nia Vardalos is a fun writer with a great perspective on life in Hollywood (and life in general), and I think it's w..."

I'd heard of it a couple years ago, but my library didn't have it on audio. I finally got to it thanks to the Scribd free month.

28. Dawn
4 stars

This has been on my TBR for a while and I'm so glad I finally got to it. Wow. It's some serious science fiction. I loved reading about the alien-ness of the aliens. I was a lot more interested in the story of this one human character immersed in their world, and less so in the whole cast of humans who show up later. Definitely going to continue with the trilogy.

29. Adulthood Rites
4 stars

Humans can be awful, and we don't need to see ourselves through alien eyes to know that. I didn't personally like spending so much time with the resisters. I know it's what the story requires, but I'm so much more interested in the humans who do choose to live with Oankali and in the construct children.

30. Imago
5 stars

This was definitely the most compelling book of the series for me. My only complaint is that I want more! Well, that and... this whole series has some really problematic lack of consent issues, as well as it's own alien version of heteronormativity. I would have loved to see these issues explored. As is, still some great science fiction.

31. Fantastic Mr. Fox
2 stars

There's not much to this story. I mean, kids love anthropomorphic animals, so it's got that going for it. Otherwise... meh.

32. The Colorado Kid
2 stars

This is just pointless. I mean, the point is that real life doesn't happen the way it does in a story, but there are more interesting ways to explore that. This is the one King book I haven't read that neither of my local libraries has, so I jumped on the chance to read it on Scribd. At least it's off my TBR.

33. Eye of the Needle
5 stars (audio re-read)

I've been wanting to re-read this for a while. It's a classic spy thriller that completely lives up to its reputation.

34. Severance
3 stars

I almost DNF'd several times in the beginning. It just wasn't doing anything for me. But (not unlike one of the Fevered) I kept going. And I gotta say, watching this world disintegrate while our real world is in a holding pattern was a surreal reading experience. It's that experience, and not the story itself, that I would have missed out on if I'd stopped.

Charleen wrote: "32. The Colorado Kid
2 stars

This is just pointless. I mean, the point is that real life doesn't happen the way it does in a story, but there are more interesting ways to explore that..."

Well, that's disappointing! I sought this one out on thriftbooks.com a couple months ago. Luckily it was only a couple bucks and I got free shipping.

Charleen wrote: "33. Eye of the Needle
5 stars (audio re-read)

I've been wanting to re-read this for a while. It's a classic spy thriller that completely lives up to its reputation."

I did not know he also wrote spy thrillers!!

Elyse wrote: "Charleen wrote: "33. Eye of the Needle
5 stars (audio re-read)

I've been wanting to re-read this for a while. It's a classic spy thriller that completely lives up to its reputation."

I did not know he also wrote spy thrillers!!"

See, and I had heard of him as a thriller writer first, and then realized he's mostly known as a historical fiction writer. This one at least is pretty steeped in history, but I have yet to pick up any of his straight historicals. (The fact that they're all MASSIVE probably has a bit to do with it.)

Charleen wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Charleen wrote: "33. Eye of the Needle
5 stars (audio re-read)

I've been wanting to re-read this for a while. It's a classic spy thriller that completely lives up to its..."

They are massive and I haven't picked them up either. lol. My SIL loves Pillars of the Earth!

35. The Starless Sea
5 stars

I have a feeling this will be a love it or hate it kind of book. For me, after a few less-than-satisfying reads, it was exactly what I wanted. I just let the words and stories wash over me and take me where they would. I'm really excited to read it again (I usually wait at least a year to re-read a book but this might be a rare exception). Hopefully after things settle down and I have some nice chunks of uninterrupted time to sink into it.