#theunreadshelfproject2018 - January update

Wednesday, January 31, 2018
One of my reading goals this year is to read more books from my shelves, whether they be my physical shelves, the shelves on my Kindle or Nook, or the shelves on my Goodreads account. To help keep me accountable, I will be loosely joining in with #theunreadshelfproject2018 on Bookstagram and checking in here, on my blog, monthly to see how I am progressing with my goal.

I crossed two books off my shelves in January, one off my physical shelf and one off my Goodreads shelf. 

PHYSICAL (14)
Between Shades of Gray 
Salt to the Sea
The Alice Network
Reading People
The Chemistry of Calm
Jane and the Wandering Eye
Kristin Lavransdatter
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Gilead
A Share in Death
The Five Love Languages
How to Hug a Hedgehog
I am Malala
For Times of Trouble

KINDLE (5)
Brideshead Revisited
Whose Body
Cloud of Witness
Unnatural Death
Angelfall

NOOK (2)
A Timeless Romance Anthology - Mail Order Bride collection
Murder on the Orient Express 

GOODREADS (161)
The Book Thief
The Thorn Birds
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Jayber Crow
An Ember in Ashes
The Once and Future King
The Wednesday Wars
The Beekeepers Apprentice
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery
I Capture the Castle
Sense and Sensibility (The Austen Project #1)
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
Flight of the Sparrow
The Gilded Years
Dead Wake
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Amy Snow
Hannah Coulter
The Sea of Tranquility
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
The Girl in the Castle
The Time in Between
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
The Eyre Affair
Gift from the Sea
Poison Study
Northanger Abbey (The Austen Project #2)
Emma (The Austen Project #3)
My Brilliant Friend
The Year of Living Danishly
The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap
The Penderwicks
Honeymoon Hotel
The Night Circus
Home
Lila
Code Name Verity
The Marvels
Moon Over Manifest
Enchanted Islands
At Home in Mitford
The Sweetness of Forgetting
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Into Thin Air
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper 
My Life in France
My Berlin Kitchen
The Professor and the Madman
Quartet in Autumn
The Muse
A Clearing in the Distance
Winter Solstice
Wolf Hall
Gods in Alabama
The Historian
The Winds of War
Team of Rivals
One True Loves
Atonement
The Tea Rose
The Night Watch
Night
Life After Life
Saint Maybe
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Mindset
Walk on Earth a Stranger
The Anatomist's Wife
A Portrait of Emily Price
Grave Mercy
Death at La Fenice
A Study in Charlotte
A Beautiful Blue Death
Flight of Dreams
From Doon with Death
The Coroner's Lunch
Raven Black
A Test of Wills
The Cater Street Hangman
The Crossing Places
Whispers Beyond the Veil
The Mangle Street Murders
The Kitchen House
First Impressions
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Legendary
Another Day in the Death of America
The Essex Serpent
Caroline
The Other Alcott
Big Stone Gap
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Name of the Wind
Possession
The Atlas of Forgotten Places
Uncharted
Birds of a Feather
The Likeness
Loving Lucianna
Terms of Endearment
Three Wishes
Still Me
The Horse Dancer
The Dark Inquiry
A Perilous Undertaking
The Austen Escape
The Precious One
A Fall of Marigolds
Margarettown
Lady Crenshaw's Christmas
Origin
The Dollhouse
The Secret of the India Orchid
The Lady of Bolton Hill
The Fairest Beauty
The Silent Songbird
My Cousin Rachel
The Goose Girl
The Suspect's Daughter
Jane Austen's First Love
Prodigal Summer
Orphan Train
Dawn at Emberwilde
The Hearts We Mend
44 Scotland Street
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window
The Forgetting Time
The Sea House
A Conspiracy in Belgravia
Magpie Murders
The Secret Garden
Hum if You Don't Know the Words
Caleb's Crossing
For Darkness Shows the Stars
The Moonstone
The Day the Angels Fell
Six of Crows 
The Princess Bride
Rules of Murder
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Hate U Give
Eleanor Oliphant is Just Fine
The Mountain Between Us
This Must be the Place
Luck, Love and Lemon Pie
The Madwoman Upstairs
The Bean Trees
The Aviator's Wife
East of Eden 
In Dubious Battle
Britt Marie was Here
The Seven Sisters
Jane of Austin
Unequal Affections
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
A Wilder Rose
Everything I Never Told You
The Great Halifax Explosion
Emma in the Night
The Railway Children

2018 Reading Goals - January update

January was a great month for my reading goals. Here is how I did.

READ MORE CLASSIC LITERATURE
  • I read one classic book - War and Peace
READ MORE NONFICTION
  • I read two non fiction books - Deep Work and Daily Rituals
READ MORE FROM MY SHELVES (PHYSICAL/KINDLE/NOOK/GOODREADS)
  • I read two books from my shelves - Jane and the Wandering Eye and The Secret of the India Orchid

What I've Been Reading - January 2018

Welcome to What I've Been Reading, where I share my (quick and personal) thoughts on what I've been reading this past month. For specifics (plot summary, etc.) about each book, click on the provided links or book images.

Jane and the Wandering Eye by Stephanie Baron (3 stars)
I've really come to enjoy this cozy mystery series. Jane and the Wandering Eye is the third in the Jane Austen Mystery series and was the perfect book to pick up before settling in with some deeper reading later this month. It was a fun read.

The Secret of the India Orchid by Nancy Campbell Allen (3.5 stars)
I can't seem to get enough of this Proper Romance series. I saw The Secret of the India Orchid on one of my local library's book shelves and immediately picked it up. I figured it wouldn't hurt to fit in another light read before going deep. It was a read that didn't disappoint.

Daily Rituals by Mason Currey (2.5 stars)
I thought this would be an interesting read, but it ended up being not for me. Daily Rituals contains small snippets of artists daily rituals or routines, giving readers a peak into how they worked at their craft. I definitely enjoyed learning about artists I knew, but too many of the artists featured I didn't know. I just couldn't get interested in their specific lives, especially when so many were fueled by drugs and alcohol. Again, this read just wasn't for me.

Deep Work by Cal Newport (3 stars)
This was another case of an interesting book that just wasn't quite for me. Deep Work teaches readers how to focus in order to create deep or great work. I loved the concept, but the execution did not work for me. First off, its tone rubbed me the wrong way. Secondly, it felt too focused on the business man or woman. As I am not immersed in the business world, many of the examples used in the book were difficult to personally connect with. Thankfully, I was able to pull some advice out of this book. Overall, it was a fine read, but one I could have skipped.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (No rating)
I don't know how to rate this book. I didn't love it. I didn't even really like it. Why? First, it had many, many characters. Personally, the characters were hard to identify with. Second, it didn't seem to have a plot. What plot was there was never resolved. Third, and finally, it leaped constantly from fiction to history, from narration to philosophizing. All that would normally lead to a 2-star rating from me, but I just can't do that to a book that is loved by many and considered such a great piece of literature. Since finishing it, I've done a little research on Tolstoy and War and Peace itself. I can definitely see and appreciate its merits. However, its merits don't resonate with what I am looking for in a book. Perhaps it deserves five stars as others have given it, but I can't personally give it those. (Though I feel I deserve five stars for finishing it.) But neither can I give it two stars. So, for now, I will leave it unrated.

A few things I'm loving these days

Monday, January 15, 2018
I follow quite a few bloggers that periodically share things they are loving, things that are making them happy. I love these types of lists. Does anyone else? I love that they give me a peek into some of my favorite blogger's personal lives and I almost always find something new to love myself. So, today, I'm sharing a few things I'm loving these days.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
I love goal setting and fresh starts, so January is always an exciting time for me. This year is no different. I've set five goals for myself this year, in the areas of reading, health, finances, home and journaling. I haven't gotten brave enough to publish all of those goals here, but maybe I will one day.

CHATBOOKS
My daughter recently ordered her first Chatbook, a book created from her photos and captions on Instagram. I fell in love with it and knew that I needed to order my own. I've already set up an account and have edited my first five books. They are being shipped as I type. I can't wait to get them in my hands and to continue ordering them as I post more on Instagram.

BLURB
I have been blogging (personally and publicly) for quite a while. I started as a way to keep in touch with my family and friends that are spread all over the country. I don't blog as often now, thanks to Instagram and Chatbooks, so I've thought about deleting my blog altogether. Yet, I can't imagine losing all of the journaling I've done over the past ten years. So, I've decided to take my blog and turn it into a book. Blurb, a company made to do such a thing, is helping me do so. I've already set up an account and have started my first book. It isn't quite as easy as Chatbooks. It's going to require quite a few more hours, but I know I am going to love the books when they are finally done and are in my hand. Once they are done, I may delete my personal blog. We will see.

MY READING JOURNAL
Last year was the first year I kept a reading journal and I loved it. It's been so fun to look back on all I read last year. I've decided to keep another reading journal this year. It is all set up and ready to go. One day I may share just what I record in my reading journal.

BOOKSTAGRAM
I joined the Bookstagram community just over a year ago and have absolutely loved it. I've met some beautiful people and have been introduced to some amazing books. I began to involve myself a bit more in the community over the past few months and hope to continue to do so in the future. It has only been good for my reading life.

#theunreadshelfproject2018

Monday, January 1, 2018
One of my reading goals this year is to read more books from my shelves, whether they be my physical shelves, the shelves on my Kindle or Nook, or the shelves on my Goodreads account. To help keep me accountable, I will be loosely joining in with #theunreadshelfproject2018 on Bookstagram and checking in here, on my blog, monthly to see how I am progressing with my goal. Here's how my shelves look today.

PHYSICAL (14)
Between Shades of Gray 
Salt to the Sea
The Alice Network
Reading People
The Chemistry of Calm
Jane and the Wandering Eye
Kristin Lavransdatter
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Gilead
A Share in Death
The Five Love Languages
How to Hug a Hedgehog
I am Malala
For Times of Trouble

KINDLE (5)
Brideshead Revisited
Whose Body
Cloud of Witness
Unnatural Death
Angelfall

NOOK (2)
A Timeless Romance Anthology - Mail Order Bride collection
Murder on the Orient Express 

GOODREADS (161)
The Book Thief
The Thorn Birds
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Jayber Crow
An Ember in Ashes
The Once and Future King
The Wednesday Wars
The Beekeepers Apprentice
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery
I Capture the Castle
Sense and Sensibility (The Austen Project #1)
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
Flight of the Sparrow
The Gilded Years
Dead Wake
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Amy Snow
Hannah Coulter
The Sea of Tranquility
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
The Girl in the Castle
The Time in Between
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
The Eyre Affair
Gift from the Sea
Poison Study
Northanger Abbey (The Austen Project #2)
Emma (The Austen Project #3)
My Brilliant Friend
The Year of Living Danishly
The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap
The Penderwicks
Honeymoon Hotel
The Night Circus
Home
Lila
Code Name Verity
The Marvels
Moon Over Manifest
Enchanted Islands
At Home in Mitford
The Sweetness of Forgetting
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Into Thin Air
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper 
My Life in France
My Berlin Kitchen
The Professor and the Madman
Quartet in Autumn
The Muse
A Clearing in the Distance
Winter Solstice
Wolf Hall
Gods in Alabama
The Historian
The Winds of War
Team of Rivals
One True Loves
Atonement
The Tea Rose
The Night Watch
Night
Life After Life
Saint Maybe
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Mindset
Walk on Earth a Stranger
The Anatomist's Wife
A Portrait of Emily Price
Grave Mercy
Death at La Fenice
A Study in Charlotte
A Beautiful Blue Death
Flight of Dreams
From Doon with Death
The Coroner's Lunch
Raven Black
A Test of Wills
The Cater Street Hangman
The Crossing Places
Whispers Beyond the Veil
The Mangle Street Murders
The Kitchen House
First Impressions
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Legendary
Another Day in the Death of America
The Essex Serpent
Caroline
The Other Alcott
Big Stone Gap
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Name of the Wind
Possession
The Atlas of Forgotten Places
Uncharted
Force of Nature
Birds of a Feather
The Likeness
Loving Lucianna
Terms of Endearment
Three Wishes
Still Me
The Horse Dancer
The Dark Inquiry
A Perilous Undertaking
The Austen Escape
The Precious One
A Fall of Marigolds
Margarettown
Lady Crenshaw's Christmas
Origin
The Dollhouse
The Secret of the India Orchid
The Lady of Bolton Hill
The Fairest Beauty
The Silent Songbird
My Cousin Rachel
The Goose Girl
The Suspect's Daughter
Jane Austen's First Love
Prodigal Summer
Orphan Train
Dawn at Emberwilde
The Hearts We Mend
44 Scotland Street
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window
The Forgetting Time
The Sea House
A Conspiracy in Belgravia
Magpie Murders
The Secret Garden
Hum if You Don't Know the Words
Caleb's Crossing
For Darkness Shows the Stars
The Moonstone
The Day the Angels Fell
Six of Crows 
The Princess Bride
Rules of Murder
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Hate U Give
Eleanor Oliphant is Just Fine
The Mountain Between Us
This Must be the Place
Luck, Love and Lemon Pie
The Madwoman Upstairs
The Bean Trees
The Aviator's Wife
East of Eden 
In Dubious Battle
Britt Marie was Here
The Seven Sisters
Jane of Austin
Unequal Affections
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
A Wilder Rose
Everything I Never Told You
The Great Halifax Explosion
Emma in the Night
The Railway Children

2018 Reading Goals

I read 94 books in 2017. 94! I think that is amazing, but I'm also not happy with that number. There is nothing wrong with that number, but when I look over the actual books I read, I am disappointed to see so few classic books on that list, as well as so few works of nonfiction, two categories of books I love but seem to ignore when I am reading such a high quantity of books in a year. I want to read more of them both. I also want to read more from my shelves. With all of that in mind, here are my goals.

READ MORE CLASSIC LITERATURE

READ MORE NONFICTION

READ MORE FROM MY SHELVES (PHYSICAL/KINDLE/NOOK/GOODREADS)


How am I going to accomplish these goals? My plan is to choose one book for each of these three categories at the beginning of every month and then read them that month. Pretty simple. I typically read four to eight books a month, so I am hoping this leaves plenty of room every month for spontaneous reading, which I love.

Are you setting reading goals for 2018? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!