2023 Book List Commentary

This will be short. Because since 2011, this has been my shortest book list. I took a new job directing a Classical Conversations class, which is the homeschool program my youngest is in. It's only one day a week, but the prep and business aspects keep me very busy. I've had little time for any of my hobbies, including reading. So, I did not make my 100 books goal. I read only 33. I also participated in the same two reading challenges I always do, but I only finished one, so I'm not doing any in 2024.

My list includes 2 nonfiction books and 3 children's books. The rest were fiction. I read two books by Julianna Deering and two by Grace Livingston Hill. The author I read the most was Jaime Jo Wright. I read 4 of her books, meaning I'm all caught up on Jaime's books and look forward to her next!

My favorite book of the year was by far All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes. I've rarely read a more beautifully-written book! It's like a work of art! Here are my 5 favorites and 3 honorable mentions:

1. All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes

2. Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

3. The Legacy of Longdale Manor by Carrie Turansky

4. Hearts of Steel by Elizabeth Camden

5. Man of Shadow & Mist by Michelle Griep

HMs:

1. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

2. The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond by Jaime Jo Wright 

3. Christy by Catherine Marshall

Hoping I read more in 2024!

2024 Book Log

2024 Book Log

Goal: 100 books

I'm not participating in any book challenges this year. 

January (didn't read) 

February

1. In Spotlight and Shadow (Rachel Scott McDaniel)

2. Cloak of Scarlet (Melanie Dickerson)

3. The Letter Tree (Rachel Fordham)

March 

4. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass)

5. The Mermaid's Tale (L.E. Richmond)

April

6. To Spark a Match (Jen Turano)

7. Children of the Shadows (Erica Vetsch)

8. Forged in Love (Mary Connealy)

9. Detection Unlimited (Georgette Heyer)

May

10. Night Falls on Predicament Avenue (Jaime Jo Wright)

11. While the City Sleeps (Elizabeth Camden)

12. The Metropolitan Affair (Jocelyn Green)

13. If the Boot Fits (Karen Witemeyer)

June

14. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

15. A Rumored Fortune (Joanna Davidson Politano)

16. The Looking Glass Illusion (Sara Ella)

17. Beneath His Silence (Hannah Linder) 

18. The Starlet Spy (Rachel Scott McDaniel)

19. Death at Thorburn Hall (Julianna Deering)

July

20. The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple (Joanna Davidson Politano)

21. The Hudson Collection (Jocelyn Green) 

22. The Juliet Code (Pepper Basham)

23. Lady of Disguise (Melanie Dickerson)

August

24. A Winter by the Sea (Julie Klassen)

25. The Big Four (Agatha Christie)

26. In Her Sights (Karen Witemeyer)

27. Born of Gilded Mountains (Amanda Dykes)

September (read but didn't finish any)

October

28. Meeting Her Match (Jen Turano)

29. Of Gold and Shadows (Michelle Griep)

30. Beyond Ivy Walls (Rachel Fordham)

November

31. Specters in the Glass House (Jaime Jo Wright)

32. The Burning of Rosemont Abbey (Naomi Stephens)

33. Summerlin Groves (Elizabeth Camden)

34. Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)

December

35. Thriving in Love and Money (Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn)

36. Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)

37. Christmas at Sugarplum Manor (Roseanna M. White)

38. Hallowe'en Party (Agatha Christie) (My book edition is ridiculously and erroneously titled A Haunting in Venice from the movie loosely based on the book, which has nothing to do with a haunting or Venice, so I'm using the book's original and real title for this list.)