2020 Book Log

This begins my 10th year of doing the 100-book reading challenge. My rules? Books must be chapter books (or long books of plays, poetry, short stories, etc.), and my list may not include any books I read in 2019.

In addition to the 100-book challenge, I have 4 lists of books I wish to read this year. One list is my own TBR list. The other 3 are monthly challenges put out by facebook groups I am a part of. I will keep a log of all books read, followed by logs of books I have read for these challenges.

2020 Book Log
1.  A Daughter's Devotion (George MacDonald/Michael Phillips)
2.  Exit Betty (Grace Livingston Hill)
3.  Christmas Love & Joy (Alexa Verde)
4.  Remembering Dresden (Dan Walsh)
5.  Cloudy Jewel (Grace Livingston Hill)
6.  A Distance Too Grand (Regina Scott)
7.  A Heart Most Worthy (Siri Mitchell)
8.  Diamond in the Rough (Jen Turano)
9.  The Tryst (Grace Livingston Hill)
10.  The City of Fire (Grace Livingston Hill)
11.  The Bride of Ivy Green (Julie Klassen)
12.  Duplicate Death (Georgette Heyer)
13.  The Merchant's Daughter (Melanie Dickerson)
14.  Tomorrow About This Time (Grace Livingston Hill)
15.  Pearl Maiden (H. Rider Haggard)
16.  The Big Blue Soldier (Grace Livingston Hill)
17.  The Bridge to Belle Island (Julie Klassen)
18.  In Good Company (Jen Turano)
19.  Among the Fair Magnolias (Tamera Alexander, Shelley Gray, Dorothy Love, Elizabeth Musser)
20.  Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Agatha Christie)
21.  Forevermore (Cathy Marie Hake)
22.  Peril at End House (Agatha Christie)
23.  A Most Inconvenient Marriage (Regina Jennings)

24.  A Lady of Esteem (Kristi Ann Hunter)
25.  A Noble Masquerade (Kristi Ann Hunter)
26.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows)
27.  Re-Creations (Grace Livingston Hill)
28.  Not Under the Law (Grace Livingston Hill)
29.  Waterfall: A Novel (Lisa T. Bergren)
30.  Raiders from the Sea (Lois Walfrid Johnson)
31.  Mystery of the Lost Coins (Lois Walfrid Johnson)

32.  A Woman's High Calling (Elizabeth George)

33.  The Invisible Friend (Lois Walfrid Johnson)

34.  Ariel Custer (Grace Livingston Hill)

35.  The Hiding Place (Corrie ten Boom)

36.  A New Name (Grace Livingston Hill)

37.  Heart of Courage (Lois Walfrid Johnson)

38.  Always Green (Patti Hill)

39.  The Raider's Promise (Lois Walfrid Johnson)

40.  Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O'Brien)

41.  The Lost Lieutenant (Erica Vetsch)

42.  Winning Miss Winthrop (Carolyn Miller)

43.  The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Emmuska Orczy)

44.  An Awakened Heart (Jody Hedlund)

45.  Where the Stars Meet the Sea (Heidi Kimball)

46.  Storing Up Trouble (Jen Turano)

47.  The House at the End of the Moor (Michelle Griep)

48.  The Number of Love (Roseanna M. White)

49.  Coming Through the Rye (Grace Livingston Hill)

50.  Nightshade (Anthony Horowitz)

51.  The Beloved Stranger (Grace Livingston Hill)

52.  Stealing Adda (Tamara Leigh)

53.  At Love's Command (Karen Witemeyer)

54.  The Thief of Lanwyn Manor (Sarah E. Ladd)

55.  The Honor Girl (Grace Livingston Hill)

56.  A Gilded Lady (Elizabeth Camden)

57.  The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

58.  Catching Katie (Robin Lee Hatcher)

59.  A Life Once Dreamed (Rachel Fordham)

60.  Serving Up Love (Tracie Peterson, Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, Jen Turano)

61.  The Peasant's Dream (Melanie Dickerson)

62.  Out of the Ordinary (Jen Turano)

63.  A Work in Progress (Staci Stallings)

64.  A Talent for Trouble (Jen Turano)

65.  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Suzanne Collins)

66.  To Wager Her Heart (Tamera Alexander)

67.  Easy to Kill (Agatha Christie)

68.  The Major's Daughter (Regina Jennings)

69.  Revival Fire (Wesley Duewel)

70.  The Centurion's Wife (Davis Bunn and Janette Oke)

71.  Cat Among Pigeons (Agatha Christie)

72.  Aiming for Love (Mary Connealy)

73.  Above the Fold (Rachel Scott McDaniel)

74.  Crimson Roses (Grace Livingston Hill)

75.  Brand of Light (Ronie Kendig)

76.  The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus (Jaime Jo Wright)  

77.  The House on Foster Hill (Jaime Jo Wright)

78.  The White Flower (Grace Livingston Hill)

79.  Found Treasure (Grace Livingston Hill)

80.  The Gentleman Spy (Erica Vetsch)

81.  Les Misérables (Victor Hugo)

82.  Blue Ruin (Grace Livingston Hill)

83.  An Ivy Hill Christmas (Julie Klassen)

84.  Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen)

85.  Christmas at Whitefriars (Elizabeth Camden)

86.  Duskin (Grace Livingston Hill)

87.  Rules of Murder (Julianna Deering)

88.  Death in the Air (Agatha Christie)

89.  Out of the Storm (Grace Livingston Hill)

90.  Brentwood (Grace Livingston Hill)

91.  The Prodigal Girl (Grace Livingston Hill)

92.  The Printed Letter Bookshop (Katherine Reay)

93.  The Magician's Nephew (C.S. Lewis)

94.  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

95.  The Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis)

96.  The Laird's Inheritance (George MacDonald/Michael Phillips)

97.  Job's Niece (Grace Livingston Hill)

Avid Readers of Christian Fiction 2020 Challenge
1.  January: Indie published author you have never read before: Christmas Love & Joy (Alexa Verde)
2.  February: A book with hearts on the cover or in the title: A Heart Most Worthy (Siri Mitchell)
3.  March: An author that has a last name that starts with the first letter of your first name: The Merchant's Daughter (Melanie Dickerson)
4.  April: A book with water (of any form) in the title: Waterfall: A Novel (Lisa T. Bergren)
5.  May: A book that features a garden, planting, bulbs, or flowers: Always Green (Patti Hill)

6.  June: Wedding-themed story: The Beloved Stranger (Grace Livingston Hill)

7.  July: A book that features the making of a nation, political change or reformation: Catching Katie (Robin Lee Hatcher)

8.  August: An independently published book that features college students or students: A Work in Progress (Staci Stallings)

9.  September: Biblical fiction that is about a lesser-known biblical character: The Centurion's Wife (Davis Bunn and Janette Oke)

10. October: CF with speculative elements: Brand of Light (Ronie Kendig)

11. November: Story told from a male point of view as the main character: The Laird's Inheritance (George MacDonald/Michael Phillips)

12. December: Christmas historical fiction set before the 1950s: An Ivy Hill Christmas (Julie Klassen)

The Posse 2020 Challenge (Karen Witemeyer)
1.  January: A book written by an author with the same first name initial as you: Remembering Dresden (Dan Walsh)
2.  February: A book you own but have never read: A Heart Most Worthy (Siri Mitchell)
3.  March: A book set outside the United States: The Bridge to Belle Island (Julie Klassen)
4.  April: A young adult or children's book: Waterfall: A Novel (Lisa T. Bergren)
5.  May: A book published the year you were born: The Hiding Place (Corrie ten Boom) AND Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O'Brien)

6.  June: A book with a cowboy on the cover: At Love's Command (Karen Witemeyer)

7.  July: A nonfiction book on a topic of interest to you: Revival Fire (Wesley Duewel)

8.  August: A book with a verb in the title: To Wager Her Heart (Tamera Alexander)

9.  September: A book with a main character who has the same last-name initial as you: Aiming for Love (Mary Connealy), Character is Jo Nordegren

10.  October: A classic novel you've never read: Les Misérables (Victor Hugo)

11.  November: A book published in 2020: The Gentleman Spy (Erica Vetsch)

12.  December: A book with a Christmas theme: Christmas at Whitefriars (Elizabeth Camden)

Grace Livingston Hill 2020 Challenge
1.  January: Exit Betty
2.  January: Cloudy Jewel
3.  February: The Tryst
4.  February: The City of Fire
5.  March: Tomorrow About This Time
6.  March: The Big Blue Soldier
7.  April: Re-Creations
8.  April: Not Under the Law 

9.  May: Ariel Custer 

10. May: A New Name

11. June: Coming Through the Rye

12. July: The Honor Girl

13. August: Job's Niece

14. September: The White Flower 

15. September: Found Treasure 

16. October: Crimson Roses 

17. October: Blue Ruin

18. November: Duskin

19. November: Out of the Storm 

20. December: The Prodigal Girl

21. December: Brentwood

Favorite Authors of 2019

It's that time of year again, when I look back over my reading log to see what I read most, which authors I read a lot of, which new authors I've discovered, and so on. I like doing this so I can get ready for a new year of reading! I like to think about what books I want to read and to challenge myself to read authors and genres I have read very little or not at all. So, I'm going to tally up this year's results, list my favorite authors of the year, and make comments as I go.

To start off, which authors did I read the most this year?

Agatha Christie wins! I read 21 Agatha Christie murder mysteries this year. This is, I think, very unusual for me, considering my normal reading habits. I'm an enormous fan of historical romance, and here I am gorging myself with murder mysteries of all things! I first read Christie when I found one of her books left in a house my parents bought--I was a young teen at the time. Years later, I went through stages of checking Christie's books out of the library where we lived in England. This year, I have become addicted. Agatha Christie paperbacks, and I like vintage ones the best, are very easy to find at used bookstores and thrift stores, and they are very cheap to buy. I have started collecting them...because that's the sort of thing I do...collect books. I can't say I've enjoyed all her books. A few I've found very depressing, but generally, I like them very much...almost like a guilty pleasure. And, to be honest, they're not so far off my normal genres. They're historical in the sense that she wrote them during a period which is now historical--the early 1920s-early 1970s (I personally prefer the earlier books). Many of them even have a little romance, so they fit quite well with what I like.

Second place in the "author I read the most" contest is a tie between Sarah E. Ladd and Elizabeth Camden, two of my favorite authors. I have now read every book those two authors have written, with the exception of a novella Elizabeth Camden JUST published (and Sarah has a new one coming out in about a week). I read 4 of each author's books this year.

Third place goes to Jen Turano, an author I discovered last year. I intend to read all of her books as I am able to acquire them. Set during the Gilded Age, they are laugh-out-loud historical romances. Seriously, they are so hilarious...I really do laugh out loud. I must have more! I read 3 of Jen's books this year.

Have my favorite authors changed? No, but I have added some. A few favorite authors only got 0-2 books read by me this year, but that's simply because I'd already read all but one or two of their books, or I have some saved for next year because I simply didn't get to them this year.

I did discover a few new favorites. One is Rachel Fordham. Rachel is a fairly new author, with 2 books published and a third in the works. After hearing about her first book repeatedly on my favorite Christian fiction facebook page (Avid Readers of Christian Fiction), I finally decided to try it. The Hope of Azure Springs has earned top spot on my favorite reads of the year...I loved it THAT much! Not long afterward, I read her second book Yours Truly, Thomas. Rachel is from my state (my new home state), which is really cool. Her books are mostly set in Iowa in the 1800s.

The second new-to-me author is Becky Wade. Becky writes contemporary Christian romance. I am not normally a fan of contemporary. I will read one and find it either disappointing or just okay, nothing that makes me want to read more. I read one Becky Wade book this year, after having her recommended to me on the same facebook page I mentioned previously. True to You was enjoyable enough that I want to read all of her books...maybe next year! I will now put Becky Wade as my favorite author of contemporary romance.

I mentioned that Rachel Fordham's book The Hope of Azure Springs is #1 on my favorite books read this year. Second place goes to She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell. I highly recommend both books!

I impressed myself this year by reading 3 nonfiction books and 3 classics. The nonfiction were all Christian books, and I really enjoyed them (I'm not normally a nonfiction reader). These were Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge, Jesus Revolution by Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn, and The Blessed Life by Robert Morris. The classics were Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens), and Ben Hur (Lew Wallace). I'm surprised how much I enjoyed Frankenstein. I had never read it before. It's a very tragic story, but well-written and interesting...in a very tragic sort of way.

So, here are my top 10 favorite books that I read this year:
1. The Hope of Azure Springs (Rachel Fordham)
2. She Walks in Beauty (Siri Mitchell)
3. A Daring Venture (Elizabeth Camden)
4. Flights of Fancy (Jen Turano)
5. The Spice King (Elizabeth Camden)
6. The Noble Guardian (Michelle Griep)
7. The Weaver's Daughter (Sarah E. Ladd)
8. The Piper's Pursuit (Melanie Dickerson)
9. Yours Truly, Thomas (Rachel Fordham)
10. The Princess (Lori Wick)

Current favorite Christian authors:
1. Melanie Dickerson
2. Elizabeth Camden
3. Karen Witemeyer
4. Jen Turano
5. Julie Klassen
6. Sarah Ladd
7. Michelle Griep
8. Rachel Fordham
9. Tamara Leigh
10. Tamera Alexander

I also still love Grace Livingston Hill, so she has to fit in that list somewhere. The only differences between her and the others is that she's not current, and her books are shorter.

Favorite...how do I put this...no-long-living authors of clean fiction that is not specifically Christian:
1. Georgette Heyer
2. Emilie Loring
3. Jane Austen
4. Agatha Christie
5. Clare Darcy
6. JRR Tolkien


What do I have ahead for 2020? Well, I have a to-be-read pile and also a to-be-bought list. My to-be-read pile has several books by Tamara Leigh, one by Tamera Alexander, another one by Siri Mitchell, and several new-to-me authors, including Carolyn Miller and Kristi Ann Hunter. My to-be-bought list includes new books by almost all of my favorite authors, either recently released or to-be-released in 2020, as well as some books I've been wanting for years...and I'm sure some more Agatha Christie!