2018: A Year in Review

How in the heck is it 2019? I swear that 2018 flew by and that it should still be September. This past year was definitely a rollercoaster. I was down quite a bit with health issues and lost a couple of jobs because of it, but the time off really gave me more time to focus on my jewelry business (Shameless business plug... Find my jewelry at jewelrybylinzb.) I also got to read quite a bit more than I usually do, which was definitely needed. The biggest joy of 2018 is the addition of my husband and I's first nephew. The little guy was born in October, and I'm loving getting to know him. I'm also continually grateful that I can give him back to his parents when he wants nothing to do with his Aunt Lindsey.

Blogwise 2018 has been an incredible year. I branched out into product reviews, which I thoroughly loved being able to do. The 2018 reading challenge was a massive success, which you can find here. I'm so incredibly excited and amazed at how many of you have chimed in and done the challenge! I never expected that something I put together with one of my dearest friends would have gotten so much attention. I'm really excited to see where the 2019 challenge (which can be found here) goes.

I read 35 books in total. I had set a goal on Goodreads of 30 books for the year. This is the first year in a while that I not only met my goal but also surpassed it.  Here's a list of what I read last year and any corresponding reviews. I jumped around a lot on the challenge list and most likely did not complete a full level. I also read a lot of books where I had no place to put the book.

2018 Reading Challenge

Level 1: Book of the Month Club:

1.) A book from Project Gutenberg- Peter Pan by J.M Review

2.) A book that costs less than $5- Fate's Mistress by Laura Du Pre Review

3.) A Cozy Mystery- Curse the Day by Annabel Chase Review

4.) A comedy or Satire book- The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes Review

5.) Read a book by Nora Roberts- Blood Brothers  Review

6.) A book that has been turned into a Movie/TV show- 

7.) A book on a best seller list

8.) A book under 300 pages- Lady of the Court by Laura Du Pre Review

9.) A book that takes place around a holiday

10.) A book with a one-word title- Limelight by Emily Organ Review

11.) A book you first read when you were a teenager

12.) A children's book

Total books read for level 1: 7/12

Level 2: Casual Reader Club:

13.) A book by a new author

14.) Reread a favorite book- A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez Review

15.) A book with a cover that's in your favorite color- The Inventor by Emily Organ Review

16.) A book published in 1993

17.) A book recommended to you on social media or by a friend

18.) A book with a number in the title

19.) A book with pictures in it

20.) A retelling of a fairy tale

21.) A book that involves a mythical creature- Fool Moon by Jim Butcher Review

22.) A book about witches- Black Sanction Magic by Kim Harrison Review

23.) A book by an author named Chris or Christopher- Fool by Christopher Moore Review

24.) A book you got from a used bookshop/site

Total books read for level 2: 5/12

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club:

25.) A book about space travel, aliens, or other planets

26.) A book with an animal in the title

27.) First in a series you've wanted to start- A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray Review

28.) A book with music or song in the title

29.) A book with a purple cover- The Maid's Secret by Emily Organ Review

30.) A cult classic

31.) A book about a Teacher

32.) An action adventure book

33.) A book that takes place before 1900- Rookery by Emily Organ Review

34.) A book about friendship

35.) A book by Michael Crichton

36.) A book about a Queen

Total books read for level 3: 3/12

Level 4: Speed-Reader Club

37.) A book by Agatha Christie

38.) A book that takes place in Australia- Aaru: Halls of Hel by David Meredith Review

39.) A book that has a title starting with the letter Y.

40.) Read a compilation of Short Stories - Six Scary Stories, Various Authors selected by Stephen King Review

41.) Read a book from the Guardian's 100 greatest Novel list

42.) A book with the word thief in the title

43.) A banned book

44.) A book published in 1968

45.) A book about a doctor

46.) A book involving food

47.) A book with a male main character- Grave Peril by Jim Butcher Review

48.) A book by two or more authors

Total books read for level 4: 3/12

Level 5: Overachiever Club

49.) A book published the year one of your parents was born

50.) A book over 500 pages- Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon Review

51.) A book about traveling

52.) A book with a flower on the cover- Curse of the Poppy by Emily Organ Review

53.) A Non-fiction book

54.) A book that takes place during a war

55.) A book involving a culture different than your own

56.) A book that takes place in Canada

57.) A book that was originally published in a foreign language- The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas Review

58.) A book about a character who has your dream job

59.) A book with a woman or girl in the title

60.) A book about a main character that has the same hair color as you- Pale Demon by Kim Harrison Review

Total books read for level 5: 4/12

Total books read for the challenge: 22/60

Honestly, even though I met my Goodreads challenge, I'm not impressed with my progress on the challenge Tress and I created. There's a lot on this list I could have easily checked off if I hadn't allowed myself to get sucked into so many series that didn't fit with the challenge. Here's looking at you Penny Green series and Spellbound series. I also noticed while creating this post that I was terrible at updating my master list of reviews that I try to keep going. I'm calling 2018 the year of the slacker. 

Here is a list of the books I read that I didn't put on the challenge above. Links to the reviews included as well. This is in no particular order. I'm just going down my list on Goodreads.

1.) The Bermondsey Poisoner by Emily Organ - Review

2.)  Crazy for Brew by Annabel Chase- Review

3-9.) All Spell Breaks Loose, Hemlocked and Loaded, A Drop in the Potion, A Touch of Magic, Cast Away, Better than Hex, Lucky Charm, Spell's Bells, Doom and Broom by Annabel Chase Find the series reviews here, here, and here

10.) Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman- Review

11.) The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg- Review

So 35 books in total. 22 that made their way to the challenge, 13 that did not. I definitely need to do better in 2019. I think that the adjustments that Tress and I have made for this year will undoubtedly help. Next year I'm hoping to get 50 books read. We'll see how I do! Best of luck with the challenge if you're joining in, and Happy New Year!