Reading Challenges 2018 - Wrap-Up

Blogging just hasn't been a priority for me this year. I haven't had books to review, and really I haven't felt like posting.

So for now this will be my last post - until I decide the direction I want this blog to take in the future, or if I even want it to continue.

I managed to get to 100 books (there's still one that doesn't show up on my Goodreads total), and I'm still reading.

As for the Bethany House Challenge, that is finished too!

These are the ones I had already done:

• With a car on the cover - A New Name by Grace Livingston Hill
• Whose protagonist has a fascinating career - True Honor by Dee Henderson
• Set in a place you've visited - Life's Adventures by Arthur Barton (this is the one that doesn't appear on Goodreads) - There is a photo in the book of the author in almost exactly the same spot as a photo of me was taken!
• Inspired by a literary classic - Possibilities by Debra White Smith (based on Persuasion by Jane Austen)
• With a child as a narrator - Once Upon a Summer by Janette Oke
• Written by an author with your initials - A Girl to Love by Betty Neels (I had a struggle finding a book by an author with my initials and even more trouble finding one that I was actually willing to read. There was another book I initially tried by couldn't even finish the 1st chapter because of the swearing.)
• Containing letters or diary entries - True Valor by Dee Henderson
• A librarian recommends to you - From Desk to Dugout by Robyn Youl & Keith Hallett
• That shares a title with a song - Sweet Home Alabama by Paige Winship Dooly, Pamela Griffin, Lisa Harris & Pamela Kaye Tracy

And these are the final three:

• That takes place in the month you are reading it - The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh
• Whose  protagonist is a different race/ethnicity than you - A Time to Stand by Robert Whitlow
• Without words (picture-only kids' book) - I Can't Sleep by Philippe Duspasquier

And so that is that.

Happy reading!

Book Review - Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

I picked this up for 20 cents when my local library was deleting it from their collection recently and I'm so glad I did. 

This is such a powerful story. 

It made me cry and as I got closer to the end I just couldn't put it down until I was finished. 

It covers topics of autism, bullying, family relationships, friendships and more. 

It's not a romantic love story, but rather looking at the love shown by friends and members of families to each other. It's also about reconnecting.

Autism can be such a tough topic to talk about, particularly when you talk about what might have caused it, how a diagnosis affects family and friends, and the demands of the ongoing care of an autistic child. This book looks at all of these elements in a variety of ways and perspectives.

(This review was not sponsored. I just wanted to share the book.)

Reading Challenges 2018 - Update 1

Hi everyone!
By now you're probably wondering what's happened to me and where I am in the progress on my reading challenges.

Well, by the end of January I had started a new full time job (YAY!! - it's been something I'd wanted for a while)! So I haven't had as much time for reading. I've also read more non-fiction books this year, and they take me longer to read.

For this reason, I have dropped my Goodreads goal to 100 books for the year. My current total says 25, but I have actually read 2 more than that - one that I mentioned in my last post that doesn't appear on Goodreads and another that I finished this morning, but haven't added to my Goodreads total.

As for the Bethany House Challenge, I'm actually doing extremely well, with 3/4 of the books read for the challenge.

So here's what I've read for each one:

• With a car on the cover - A New Name by Grace Livingston Hill
• Whose protagonist has a fascinating career - True Honor by Dee Henderson
• Set in a place you've visited - Life's Adventures by Arthur Barton (this is the one that doesn't appear on Goodreads) - There is a photo in the book of the author in almost exactly the same spot as a photo of me was taken!
• Inspired by a literary classic - Possibilities by Debra White Smith (based on Persuasion by Jane Austen)
• With a child as a narrator - Once Upon a Summer by Janette Oke
• Written by an author with your initials - A Girl to Love by Betty Neels (I had a struggle finding a book by an author with my initials and even more trouble finding one that I was actually willing to read. There was another book I initially tried by couldn't even finish the 1st chapter because of the swearing.)
• Containing letters or diary entries - True Valor by Dee Henderson
• A librarian recommends to you - From Desk to Dugout by Robyn Youl & Keith Hallett
• That shares a title with a song - Sweet Home Alabama by Paige Winship Dooly, Pamela Griffin, Lisa Harris & Pamela Kaye Tracy

Book News

Hi everyone! Welcome to 2018.
Blogging took a back burner last year, partly because there weren't as many books to review, partly because I wasn't doing any reading challenges and partly because my heart just wasn't in it.

At this stage, there won't be any book reviews this year because the Australian Christian Reader's Blog Alliance (ACRBA) will not be continuing for a variety of reasons. Plus although I am still interested in reviewing books, the only options are to get e-books and I just don't read e-books. I have some sitting on my computer waiting to be read, but I really don't like reading on a screen, and you can't curl up in bed with a computer (I don't have a tablet, smart phone or e-reader).

Good news, however, I am once again doing a reading challenge this year.

In 2017 I did the Goodreads Challenge and ended up smashing my goal. I aimed for 120 books and made that by October, ending up reading 150 books for the year! (This was my biggest reading year since 2010.)

For 2018 I am again aiming for 120 books in the Goodreads Challenge. You'll be able to see a button for it on my side bar, but there is actually one more book that I have read, but I can't put it on the Goodreads total because the book can't be found.

The Goodreads Challenge will not be the only challenge that I am doing this year. I'm joining the Bethany House 2018 Reading Challenge!

It will be fun to see what I find for this challenge and I may have read something this year already!
The only rule is that a book can only be used for one category!

Would you like to join in?
Do you have any ideas for books that might work for any of these categories?