The first monthly review of the new year! And I’m off to a good start.
January goal:
I’m going to set a goal of three books for January.
What I read: (Link to my Goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge)

Zen and the Art of Happiness
Chris Prentiss
5* (Jan 1)
Review

The Second Mrs. Hockaday
Susan Rivers
4* (Jan 6)
Review

The Sadness of Beautiful Things
Simon Van Booy
5* (Jan 12)
Review

Help for the Haunted
John Searles
3.5* (Jan 28)
Review
Excuse(s) for Not Reading More: Considering I started a new job, spent a week at Disney, and had several sick days (the bad kind of sick – when you can’t even read due to a sinus headache), I’m quite pleased with myself.
Diversity? Historical fiction, short story collection, paranormal/mystery, personal development (sounds SO much better than self-help, right?).
Star Ratings: I base this on the flat stars Goodreads displays in list-view, not the quarter-star system I assign in my reviews.
- 5 stars: 2 books
- 4 stars: 1 book
- 3 stars: 1 book
- 2 stars: 0 books
- 1 star: 0 books
- 0 stars: 0 books
- Abandoned: 0 books
- Not rated: 0 books
Pages Read: (does not include abandoned books or Coffin Bell)
- January – 993
Coffin Bell Submissions: (I’m going to include this because it takes so much of my time)
- January
- 20 short stories
Reading Goals:
1. Read 40 books – I may have to revisit this goal. My husband has set a goal of 52 and I refuse to be out-read by my husband… But I’m currently 1 ahead of schedule.
2. Decrease my TBR –
- Jan 1 – 73 physical / 21 Kindle
- Feb 1 – 71 / 22
3. Read 6 short story/essay collections – I’d really like to read double that number.
January was kind of crazy, but I made reading a priority, which I want to continue. I only have one quick trip planned. Otherwise, I feel like “regular” 2019 (the kind without a big vacation or new job starting) is just starting now. I’ll set a goal of 4 books as I’m already well into one and the following selection will be a quick read.