My 2025 year in reading

I met my goal of 50 last year so I raised my goal by 10 to 60 for 2025 and I did it...I read 60 books last year! 

My top 12 favorite books (well, eleven...I didn't have a favorite in November for some reason):

1. Holly, Stephen King (this was my favorite book of 2025)
2. Horseman, Christina Henry
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
4. The Hacienda, Isabel Canas
5. The Eulogist, Terry Gamble
6. The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
7. The March, E.L. Doctorow
8. Diavola, Jennifer Thorne
9. The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard
10. John Adams, David McCullough
11. All the Fiends of Hell, Adam Nevill

You can see the list of books I read last year on Goodreads here.

I did okay on reading challenges, completing most of my own challenges, and one (a twice a year challenge) not my own. My final update on 2025 reading challenges can be found here.

I didn't make a list of resolutions, just have a few goals in mind...

• Survive whatever 2026 throws at me
• Write my novel (I'm starting this weekend)
• Read 65 books

My word for 2026 is DETERMINED. I am going to need every ounce of determination I can muster.

Stay tuned for my 2026 reading challenges post.

Happy New Year and happy reading all year long!

Never miss a post!

* indicates required

Email Address *

My 2024 year in reading

I'm so proud of myself! I reached my goal of reading 50 books in 2024!

My top favorite of 2024: 

Medusa's Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear 

Other standouts: 

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

The Reddening by Adam Nevill. 

It's really hard for me to narrow it down because I really loved (or at least liked) everything I read.

I did fairly well on reading challenges this year.

10 out of 10 for Book Challenge by Erin 20.0

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward January 29
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid March 2024
They Lurk by Ronald Malfi January 11
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins April 21
A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons January 14
Out There Screaming - Jordan Peele, Editor February 25
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo February 14
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten March 2024
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia April 14
Inspection by Josh Malerman March 2024

4 out of 10 for Book Challenge by Erin 21.0

Animal Kingdom, Iain Rob Writght August 26
The Reddening, Adam Nevill July 19

I Was A Teenage Slasher, Stephen Graham Jones July 27

Gollitok, Andrew Najberg  October 27

12 out of 12 for I Read Horror Year-Round

Children of the Dark, Jonathan Janz April 16
Animal Kingdom, Iain Rob Wright August 26
Cunning Folk, Adam Nevill December 13
Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror December 23
Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele, editor February 25
Mischief Night Massacre: Ten Tales of Halloween, Jason Parent October 24
A Winter Haunting, Dan Simmons January 14
I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid March 2024
Lone Women, Victor LaValle August 24
The Necromancers, Robert Hugh Benson October 30
Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo February 14
The Dismembered, Jonathan Janz April 28

1 book for the main level of Book to Movie

The Watchers, A.M. Shine June 24

2 for the Living in the Past level (Book to Movie)

I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid March 2024

Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens October 9

And I watched three movies for the movie/series level of the challenge

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2022)
The Watchers (2024)
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

I read 15 books for the Read Your Shelf challenge (up from 5 last year)!

Universal Harvester, John Darnielle July 13

Fairy Tale, Stephen King November 2
I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid March 2024
Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo February 14
Lone Women, Victor LaValle August 24
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia April 14
Deeper (Descent 2), Jeff Long June 21
Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele (editor) February 25
Inspection, Josh Malerman March 2024
The Watchers, A.M. Shine June 24
The Lost Village, Camilla Sten March 2024
Awake in the Night, Shauna McEleney May 6
Medusa's Sisters, Lauren J.A. Bear May 29
The Last House of Needless Street, Catriona Ward January 29
Cunning Folk, Adam Nevill December 13

All my 2024 challenge details are here

Stay tuned for my 2025 Reading Challenges post!

How did your 2024 reading year go?

Never miss a post!

* indicates required

Email Address *

My 2023 year in reading

I did not do too badly. My goal was 50 and I ended up reading 45. All 45 books read are in the graphic.

My top favorite of 2023: Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker

Runner-Up: Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

I didn't complete any of my challenges, though I came close on some of them.

8 out of 12 on the TBR challenge

The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley (2015) finished February 23
The Maidens, Alex Michaelides (2021) finished March 12
Red Queen, Victoria Aveyard (2015) finished May 4
Dracul, Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker (2018) July 2023
Subhuman, Michael McBride (2005) finished June 15
The Green Man, Kingsley Amis (1969) finished April 2
The Princes in the Tower, Alison Weir (1994) finished February 17
The Last Duel, Eric Jager (2004) finished May 29

8 out of 10 on Book Challenge by Erin 18.0

The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir February 17
The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin April 29
The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley February 23
Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi April 21
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard May 4
The Green Man by Kingsley Amis April 2
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones January 15
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides March 12

4 out of 10 on Book Challenge by Erin 19.0

The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
Devil’s Day, Andrew Michael Hurley
Geist, Philippa Ballantine
Dracul, Dacre Stoker & J.D. Barker

9 out of 12 for I Read Horror Year-Round

Dracul, Dacre Stoker July 2023
My Heart is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones - finished January 15
The Dead Path, Stephen M. Irwin finished April 29
The Fall of the House of Usher October 2023
The Greeen Man, Kingsley Amis - finished April 2
The Vessel, Adam Nevill finished June 29
The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley - finished February 23
Subhuman, Michael McBride - finished June 15
Black, red, or white cover Black Mouth, Ronald Malfi finished April 21

1 out of 4 for the Main Level of Book to Movie

The Fall of the House of Usher October 2023

5 for the Living in the Past level (Book to Movie)

The Green Man, Kingsley Amis April 2
The Last Duel, Eric Jager finished May 29
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende October 2023
Beloved, Toni Morrison December 2023
If It Bleeds (Mr Harrigan's Phone), Stephen King November 2023

And I watched one movie and one series for the movie/series level of the challenge: The Last Duel and The Fall of the House of Usher (series)

I did not do great on my Read Your Shelf Challenge, only reading five books from my hold shelf. Hopefully, I will do better this year.

All my 2023 challenge details here

Stay tuned for my 2024 Reading Challenges post!

How did your 2023 reading year go?

Never miss a post!

* indicates required

Email Address *

#TuesBookTalk November Selection: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

TuesBookTalk Read-a-Longs on Twitter (@tuesbooktalk #tuesbooktalk) and on Goodreads will be reading, The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, in November. Our first discussion will be on Tuesday, November 5. Our chats take place on Twitter at 9:30pm ET/8:30pm CT on Tuesday nights (see hashtag above). If you can't join us on Twitter, feel free to share your thoughts in the Goodreads group. The reading schedule will be posted in the group. Hope you will join us!

TuesBookTalk June Selection: Middlemarch by George Eliot

TuesBookTalk Read-a-longs on Twitter (@tuesbooktalk  #tuesbooktalk) and on Goodreads chose Classics for June's genre.  Our discussion starts Tuesday, June 5 on Twitter at 9:30pm EST/8:30pm CST.  You do not have to join us on Twitter.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the Goodreads group if you can't make the chat on Twitter.  Get the full reading schedule HERE.  June's selection:

Independent Book Blogger Awards on Goodreads

If you haven't already heard, The True Book Addict is up for the vote in the Goodreads Independent Book Blogger Awards under the adult fiction (historical fiction) category.  If you enjoy my blog, please vote for me...or vote for another blog you enjoy.  There are four categories:  adult fiction, adult non-fiction, young adult/children's, and publishing industry.  You can vote once in each category.  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to vote.

Click HERE to vote.

Goodreads Catch-Up Read-a-Thon

FINAL WRAP-UP--not much of a success.  I finished The Color Purple and read some from other books.  Having the flu did not help...at all! Total pages read:  380

Thanks again to Once Upon a Chapter for hosting.  Wish I could have done better.


Yes, I know...another read-a-thon. But, as I was getting ready to have another self-imposed read-a-thon anyway, this couldn't come at a better time. Stephanie at Once Upon a Chapter is hosting this one.  Here are the details from her blog:

*Will run from 2/24 (12:01 AM) to 3/1 (11:59 PM).

*If you are a blogger, please do a post announcing your participation. If you want to do all of your updating from one post, that is completely fine by me. (You can also grab the smaller button below.)

*I will be having mini-challenges throughout the week. Two for US residents and one for my international friends!

*I can’t stress this enough: HAVE FUN with the read-a-thon!

To sign up, visit her BLOG


What will I be reading...hmmm?


Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (yes, I'm still trying to catch up for the read-a-long)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Oleanna by Julia K. Rose
Macbeth by Shakespeare
The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (finish on Tuesday for TuesBookTalk)

I'm going to use this post for all my updates and I will make it a sticky post.

*******

So clearly the update template didn't work since I haven't been updating because I've been sick with the flu.  Yuck! I'm still sick...not as bad as I was, but still not 100%.  I did a little bit of reading though.

I read:
The Color Purple by Alice Walker....87 pages, finished
The Secret History by Donna Tartt....23 pages
The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose....53 pages
Oleanna by Julia K. Rose...currently reading, on page 23

I'm still reading and will continue through the end of the read-a-thon tomorrow night!

TuesBookTalk March Selection: House of Leaves

TuesBookTalk Read Alongs on Twitter (@tuesbooktalk  #tuesbooktalk) and on Goodreads chose fantasy (epic, steampunk, dystopian, fairy tales retold, etc.) for March's genre.  Our discussion starts Tuesday, March 6 on Twitter at 10:30pm ET/9:30pm CT.  You do not have to join us on Twitter.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the Goodreads group if you can't make the chat on Twitter.  Get the full reading schedule HERE.  This month we are reading:

NOVEL GLIMPSES (5)--THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, AUTHENTICITY ACCELERATOR

Novel Glimpses is my feature for mini-reviews...really just a fancy name for them! The only difference than with my traditional mini-reviews is that I will include my Goodreads rating, something I do not do with my regular reviews. Feel free to participate...just credit me and link back if you do. (want to read a book description?  Clicking the book covers will take you to the book's page on Amazon).

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber


My Goodreads rating: 5 stars
The glimpse:  Crimson Petal is a magnificent portrayal of life in Victorian England.  The book is so visual that the reader almost feels present in the action.  And the characters! Sugar is not your typical prostitute with a heart of gold.  Yes, she aspires to be good and she is good to a certain extent.  Only the history of her upbringing interferes with her ever achieving true goodness.  In the end, she does seem to receive some redemption, but we never really know for sure.  William is a man born to privilege, but with no desire to work to keep that privilege...until he meets Sugar.  An excellent display of a man who starts achieving due to the yearnings of his nether regions.  This, in and of itself, gives us a true idea of the kind of person William is.  And he really is not a likable person.  As with most men of this nature, when your usefulness is gone, he no longer needs you.  This holds true with his wife, Agnes, and with his concubine, Sugar.  In all, Crimson Petal gives us an excellent overview of the class structures in Victorian times and the subjugation of women that was so prevalent.  A truly excellent book that I highly recommend, with one warning.  There are some explicit sex scenes so if you are easily offended, you may wish to skip this one.

Challenges:
Alphabet Challenge
Monthly Mix-Up Mania 
Historical Fiction 2011
Chunkster
Outdo Yourself


Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

The glimpse:  What can I say about this wonderful book which I knew would be wonderful before I even read it! I'm really not going to say too much, because haven't we all read it anyway?  Oh, you haven't?  Well, what are you waiting for?  Jane Austen had such a knack with her characters and settings.  Even as much as I love the films based on the books, the book really is a literary masterpiece.  These people and their stories never get old because, although set in a different era, they are just like us.  They hurt, love, hate, jest, and experience joy in every day things, just as we do.  Such simple stories really, but how can we not identify with them when they could very well be happening to us.  This is why I think Jane endures.  Not just for her beautiful settings and her pretty and sometimes funny characters, but for her true insight into the workings of the human heart.  Well done, Jane!

Challenges:
Classics 2011
Monthly Mix-Up Mania
Chunkster
2011 Book Blogger Recommendation
1001 Books you must read before you die
Outdo Yourself


Authenticity Accelerator: How to Live an Authentic Life in Ten Words by Robert Rabbin

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars
The glimpse:  There are two reasons I like this book.  1) It's short and to the point and 2) it make sense.  I much prefer self-help/empowerment books that are not too long.  I mean, you're trying to help yourself.  Who wants it to take five years to read a book, right?  And I want said book to make sense.  I don't know how many times I've read a book like this and ended up scratching my head wondering what the hell it is the author is talking about.  Robert succeeds in making sense by talking about ten words (or five principles) to finding your authentic self.  After he describes the process, he then goes on to apply them to certain questions people have about aspects of their lives, such as:  fear, regret, right and wrong, self, success, and others.  What he says about the past is to learn from it and let it go.  You are not the person you were so move on.  Pretty simple, huh?  Sometimes we have to be told it or read it again and again for it to sink in.  And what does he say about success (and this is my favorite new quote)?  "Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing.  How can you succeed or fail at that?"  My new mantra! I really liked this book.  If you're looking for some authenticity in your life, I recommend you check it out.

Challenges:
Monthly Mix-Up Mania 
The Dewey Decimal Challenge
Outdo Yourself

THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH READ ALONG

Many of you may not know that I have another group on Goodreads.  It's a group I started for Tennessee Book Bloggers and my goal is to eventually start having group meet-ups or events periodically.  I am hoping to get something together for the Southern Festival of Books this Fall.  In the meantime, I decided to start hosting quarterly read alongs (lasting 2 to 3 months, depending on the length of the book) of books by Tennessee authors.  Our first read along starts on June 15th (next Wednesday).  The schedule can be found in the group.  You do not have to be a Tennessee Book Blogger (or author) to join the group and participate in the read along.  So, if you've had this book on your TBR pile for awhile (like I have), why not join us?

Click the widget to visit the group, to join and/or to view the reading schedule

Tennessee Book Bloggers's June/July Read Along

19 members
Book bloggers who read, write, review, publish...a gathering place for bloggers in Tennessee that lo...

Our upcoming shelf

The Widow of the South

by Robert Hicks

Start date: June 15, 2011

View this group on Goodreads »

ANOTHER READ-A-THON!

UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST

Okay, don't roll your eyes! I'm attempting to participate in a read-a-thon this week hosted by the Cover to Cover Challenge group over on Goodreads.  Their May Read-A-Thon runs from May 21 Saturday 10 am US Pacific time to May 28 Saturday 10 am US Pacific time. The one day readathon will be held on Saturday May 21. The timings for the 24 hour reading spree are left to your convenience. You can start whenever it fits your schedule and stop when you wish to (this is from their group thread).  The 24 hour reading spree is today and then the read-a-thon continues for a week, where you read at your convenience (around work, school, life, etc.).  They have several mini-challenges set up and it sounds like a lot of fun.  Not sure how well I'll do, but it's a read-a-thon and I always have to try!


Here's what my reading plans are:


1. The Trial of Elizabeth Cree aka Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem Peter Ackroyd(challenge #7)
2. The Half-Made World Felix Gilman(challenge #1) review book
3. Finish A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin
4. Catch up on read along reading for John Adams David McCullough
5. Water for Elephants Sara Gruen
6. On Tuesday, read section for read along of The Crimson Petal and the White Michel Faber
7. Promised Valley Rebellion Ron Fritsch review book
8. other review books in my stack****
9. ****
10.****


Challenge #7 was to randomly select a book from your TBR stacks/shelves.
Challenge #1 was to read a not-so-chunkster book, 400+ pages.


I'm starting at 12 noon (or thereabouts).  Wish me luck!


Official start time: 4pm CT

Starting on page 232 of Johh Adams (will read through page 385)


Update: 5/22/11

Well, my 24 hours did not go as I had planned. Started at 4pm CT. Began with page 232 of John Adams. I am now only on page 279. Ugh! Only 47 pages read. I just could not stay awake last night.

Continuing with the week long read-a-thon, tonight I am planning on reading through page 385 of John Adams and then I will finish A Game of Thrones...hopefully!

TUESBOOKTALK READ ALONGS: MAY 2011 BOOK SELECTION

TuesBookTalk Read Alongs on Twitter (@tuesbooktalk #tuesbooktalk) and on Goodreads chose historical fiction for May's genre.  Our discussion starts Tuesday, May 10 on Twitter at 10:30pm ET/9:30pm CT or you can always share your thought in the Goodreads group if you can't make the chat on Twitter.  Get the full reading schedule HERE.  This month we are reading: