Checking in on my 2018 reading goals

It is that time of year! With just a couple more reading days left in 2018, I decided to review how I did on my reading goals.

2018 goals	Status
Read 100 books	Completed. I read 111 books this year. However, I also listened to a lot of audiobooks and was able to meet this goal only because of listening to books during my commute to and from work.
Read mostly the books I already own	Completed. 61 books out of 111 were from my own shelves/e-reader. The rest were borrowed from my local library.
Read 10 classics I've never read before	I only read 6.
Re-read 10 books	I only re-read 6 books.
Finish off 5 series I had started prior to 2018	Completed.
Read and review 7 ARCs	I read and reviewed 12 ARCs, so significantly exceeded this one.
Read 5 non-fiction books	This year was definitely a year of non-fiction for me. I read 14 non-fiction books. For someone who used to read none, this is a great accomplishment.

So, no big surprises. I did very well overall. As in previous years, the one area where I struggle is reading classics. I did read 10 classics overall in 2018, but only 6 were new to me, the other 4 were re-reads. Here is the snapshot of my year in books from Goodreads. I do like this feature and always look forward to reviewing it at the end of each year.

"An Anonymous Girl" by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

I received an e-ARC of An Anonymous Girl from NetGalley. The book is officially coming out in the US on January 8, 2019. This is a psychological thriller focused on love, guilt, jealousy, obsession as well as the issues of honesty and deceit. Since a big part of reading a psychological thriller is experiencing the sense of suspense, I cannot summarize the plot without revealing too much.

However, here are a few essentials: the main character - Jessica Farris - is a 28-year old make-up artist living in New York who decides to earn a quick $500 by participating in a morality and ethics study conducted by a psychotherapist at NYU. We slowly learn more about Jessica, as well as the guilt and secrets she harbors.

The other voice in the book is that of the psychotherapist conducting the study. The chapters alternate the points of view between the subject and the researcher. Jessica's chapters are written in the first person, whereas the researcher's are constructed in the second person - you - addressing the subject.  All the actions performed by the psychotherapist are described in clipped passive voice sentences that sound clinical and precise (e.g. "a beverage is offered" instead of "I offered her a beverage").

I devoured the book in two days, which is an impressive feat for me (I am not a fast reader). In the beginning, I had doubts about whether the book would be able to pull me in. Mostly, this was due to the fact that I did not like the main character. She immediately struck me as someone who makes questionable moral choices and I could not easily relate to her. On the other hand, such emotional divesting allowed me to focus on the plot and not feel anxious while reading. (I do feel anxiety when I read thrillers if the character seems like someone I could really relate to).

A couple of warnings: the books is focused heavily on cheating, jealousy and romantic obsession. If those are the topics you'd rather not read about, I would pass this book. 4 out 5 stars overall. A good choice to read over a weekend or on a long airplane ride.

Christmas Readings

Every December I try to read a book that is either set during Christmas or has something to do with the holiday season. This year, I picked up a non-fiction title, Christmas: a biography by Judith Flanders. Overall, this was a very interesting read and I learned a lot about the history of various Christmas time rituals and traditions observed in the Western world. The book is fairly short (245 pages) and is very easy to get through. I did have a couple minor issues with it:

1 - the book is almost entirely focused on Northern European traditions: English, German, Dutch Scandinavian and then by extension, North American.

2 - even though the book is divided into 13 chapters, the chapters have no titles and it is thus sometimes difficult to figure out the theme/subject of every chapter. The book is written in a roughly chronological order starting from the earliest known pre-Christian celebrations of the winter solstice to the present day. However, the author does not always follow a strictly linear timeline which makes it confusing. In addition, some chapters have a very clear theme: Christmas trees, Santa Claus or caroling. Thus, I do feel this book would benefit from chapter headings that would outline a clear structure of the book.

Overall, the book started out a bit slow, but then got markedly more interesting and entertaining. By the end, I was sure I will be keeping it in my home library and will probably revisit it at some later day.

I also recommend reading it alongside A Literary Christmas by British Library which is an anthology of poems, short stories and excerpts from famous literary classics. Flanders refers to many of them in her book, and I found this combination highly informative. A Literary Christmas also has beautiful illustrations that make the stories come alive for the reader. I highly enjoyed both books. 4 out of 5 stars.

Favorite Reads of 2018

It is the end of December and I am looking back at what I read in 2018. I must say I read a lot of books that were kind of middle of the way for me: neither great nor terrible. Here are five that stood out (in no particular order):

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman
I was not a big fan of the original Golden Compass trilogy. It dragged and I struggled to get through the books. Pullman's newest release The Book of Dust was a complete opposite. I flew through the book. It is very engaging and has a likable main character. I highly recommend this book.

At the Water's Edge by Sarah Gruen
This was the first book by Sarah Gruen that I read and I fell in love with her writing. This book in particular had all the elements I like: it is historical fiction, set in Scotland near Loch Ness, there is a bit of a mystery, a forbidden romance, and a likable female character in search of redemption.

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
I did not appreciate this book when I first read it at the age of 18. You have to have had a bit more life experience to understand the plot and characters. This time around I was completely blown away by the story and Maugham's writing. His books seemed boring when I had to read them for school. Now, I cannot wait to revisit more of his novels.

Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers
This is a Soviet sci-fi classic that was the basis for Tarkovsky's film Stalker. A must read for any sci-fi lover, this short novella packs quite a punch and tackles deep philosophical issues. I loved it.

Evicted by Matthew Desmond
This is the only non-fiction on the list. Evicted changed the way I look at homelessness and poverty in America. It had a huge emotional impact on me and gave me new insights into issues I never thought about before. A must read for all Americans.

"Shadow of the Fox" by Julie Kagawa

Shadow of the Fox is book 1 in a new YA fantasy series inspired by Japanese folklore and culture. I enjoyed this book much more than I initially thought I would. It is basically a quest story. A young girl who is a half shape-shifter (she can turn into a fox) and was was raised in a remote monastery, embarks on a mission to deliver a piece of an ancient and very valuable scroll to another monastery whose location no one seems to know. On the way, she makes new friends, encounters dangerous situations, and learns about the outside world.

The book reads like a fairy tale. There are supernatural creatures, and magicians. There are also skillful shinobi, samurai, and ronins. I had a great time reading this book. I think what makes it different is the Japanese inspired setting. I felt immersed in a different culture and the world, and will definitely be reading book 2 when it comes out next year. 4 out of 5 stars.