Fashion & Fiction: January 2018

#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.

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

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.