I've noticed my reading slowing down since my birthday in September when Mick bought me an iPad. I often take it up to bed with me and watch a podcast before I go to sleep rather than reading, a habit I really need to get out of.
I'm still working my way through Agatha Christie's murder mystery books in chronological order. I started this challenge back in 2015 and I read one of her books each month. I've now read 48 and as there's 66 of them, I've still got another 18 to read. If I continue in this way I should finish this challenge in June 2020.
This year I've managed to read 39 books. As well as Agatha Christie, other authors such as Amanda Prowse, Jojo Moyes and Donna Douglas continue to feature on the list. Other authors I'm really enjoying are Charity Norman and Philippa Gregory and I can see me reading more of their books in the future.
2012
The Illustrated Lark Rise to Candleford - Flora Thompson
The Other Side of the Dale - Gervase Phinn
Forever Liesl - Charmaine Carr
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
Sister - Rosamund Lupton
Tears of the Giraffe - Alexander McCall Smith
Over Hill and Dale - Gervase Phinn
Morality For Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith
The Kalahari Typing School For Men - Alexander McCall Smith
The Full Cupboard of Life - Alexander McCall Smith
Meredith - John Kercher
Head Over Heels in the Dales - Gervase Phinn
Fifty Shades of Grey - E L James
Fifty Shades Darker - E L James
Fifty Shades Freed - E L James
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies - Alexander McCall Smith
Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
The Miracle at Speedy Motors - Alexander McCall Smith
Tea Time For the Traditionally Built - Alexander McCall Smith
The Double Comfort Safari Club - Alexander McCall Smith
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party - Alexander McCall Smith
2013
The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Up and Down in the Dales - Gervase Phinn
The Heart of the Dales - Gervase Phinn
In the Pleasure Groove - John Taylor
Somewhere Behind the Morning- Frances McNeil
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
The Night Rainbow - Claire King
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection - Alexander McCall Smith
A Street Cat Named Bob - James Bowen
2014
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith
The Nightingale Girls - Donna Douglas
The Nightingale Sisters - Donna Douglas
The World According to Bob - James Bowen
The Nightingale Nurses - Donna Douglas
Nightingales on Call - Donna Douglas
The List of My Desires - Gregoire Delacourt
Call the Midwife - Jennifer Worth
Shadows of the Workhouse - Jennifer Worth
Farewell to the East End - Jennifer Worth
Cider With Rosie - Laurie Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Midwives - Chris Bohjalian
One Day - David Nicholls
Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
On the Banks of Plum Creek - Laura Ingalls Wilder
2015
A Nightingale Christmas Wish - Donna Douglas
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie
The Yorkshire Shepherdess - Amanda Owen
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie
The Inn at the Top - Neil Hanson
The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty
The Murder on the Links - Agatha Christie
The Debt & The Doormat - Laura Barnard
A Mother's Story - Amanda Prowse
Snowfall in Burracombe - Lilian Harry
The Man in the Brown Suit - Agatha Christie
The Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler
Yellow Crocus - Laila Ibrahim
Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party - Alexander McCall Smith
Poppy Day - Amanda Prowse
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
The Highway - C J Box
The Rose Garden - Susanna Kearsley
The Big Four - Agatha Christie
Footsteps in an Empty Room - Lilly Sommers
What Have I Done - Amanda Prowse
Now Is Good - Jenny Downham
Clover's Child - Amanda Prowse
A Little Love - Amanda Prowse
The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie
The Lie of You - Jane Lythell
The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie
I Let You Go - Clare Mackintosh
Will You Remember Me? - Amanda Prowse
The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie
The New Woman - Charity Norman
Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates - Kerry Greenwood
The Sittaford Mystery - Agatha Christie
Christmas For One - Amanda Prowse
Ross Poldark - Winston Graham
Peril at End House - Agatha Christie
The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty
2016
Lord Edgware Dies - Agatha Christie
Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
Liberty Silk - Kate Beaufoy
Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
In the Midst of Life - Jennifer Worth
There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You - Lynda Bellingham
Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey
The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes - Anna McPartlin
Why Didn't They Ask Evans - Agatha Christie
Perfect Daughter - Amanda Prowse
Me Before You - Jojo Moyes
Grey - E L James
Three Act Tragedy - Agatha Christie
The Liar's Chair - Rebecca Whitney
The Ice Twins - S K Tremayne
The Christmas Cafe - Amanda Prowse
Another Love - Amanda Prowse
Death in the Clouds - Agatha Christie
Nightingales at War - Donna Douglas
The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe - Alexander McCall Smith
After the Crash - Michel Bussi
The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie
Us - David Nicholls
Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
Nightingales Under the Mistletoe - Donna Douglas
Murder in Mesopotamia - Agatha Christie
A Song For Issy Bradley - Carys Bray
While My Eyes Were Closed - Linda Green
Follow You Home - Mark Edwards
The One Plus One - Jojo Moyes
The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine - Alexander McCall Smith
Cards on the Table - Agatha Christie
Sleigh Bells in the Snow - Sarah Morgan
Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
Dumb Witness - Agatha Christie
I See You - Clare Mackintosh
Walking Ollie - Stephen Foster
Somewhere Inside of Happy - Anna McPartlin
Paris For One - Jojo Moyes
Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie
Letters to the Midwife - Jennifer Worth
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop of Dreams - Jenny Colgan
Appointment With Death - Agatha Christie
Suddenly Last Summer - Sarah Morgan
Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie
Christmas at Battersea - Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop - Jenny Colgan
2017
Murder is Easy - Agatha Christie
Mum's List - St John Greene
Precious and Grace - Alexander McCall Smith
My Husband's Wife - Amanda Prowse
Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs - Monty Don
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
Death of a Dentist - M C Beaton
After You - Jojo Moyes
Silver Bay - Jojo Moyes
Sad Cypress - Agatha Christie
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J K Rowling
Three Wishes - Liane Moriarty
One Two, Buckle My Shoe - Agatha Christie
When God Was a Rabbit - Sarah Winman
Everything Love Is - Claire King
Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J K Rowling
The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty
N or M? - Agatha Christie
The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes
The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie
Sophia's Secret - Susanna Kearsley
The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory
Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
The Girl You Left Behind - Jojo Moyes
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J K Rowling
The Moving Finger - Agatha Christie
See You in September - Charity Norman
The Firebird - Susanna Kearsley
Towards Zero - Agatha Christie
Death Comes as the End - Agatha Christie
The Great Christmas Knit Off - Alexandra Brown
Christmas Wishes - Katie Flynn
Sparkling Cyanide - Agatha Christie
2018
An East End Christmas - Elizabeth Waite
The Hollow - Agatha Christie
Maybe This Christmas - Sarah Morgan
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J K Rowling
I Won't Be Home For Christmas - Amanda Prowse
Taken at the Flood - Agatha Christie
The Food of Love - Amanda Prowse
The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories - P D James
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J K Rowling
The Idea of You - Amanda Prowse
Crooked House - Agatha Christie
The Story of Beatrix Potter - Sarah Gristwood
Four Sisters - Helen Rappaport
A Murder is Announced - Agatha Christie
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling
The Son-In-Law - Charity Norman
The Knitting Circle - Ann Hood
They Came to Baghdad - Agatha Christie
After the Fall - Charity Norman
Mrs McGinty's Dead - Agatha Christie
They Do It With Mirrors - Agatha Christie
The Christmas Surprise - Jenny Colgan
A Nightingale Christmas Carol - Donna Douglas
The Nightingale Christmas Show - Donna Douglas
The Art of Hiding - Amanda Prowse
The Letter - Kathryn Hughes
The Ballroom - Anna Hope
Three Sisters, Three Queens - Philippa Gregory
After the Funeral - Agatha Christie
A Pocket Full of Rye - Agatha Christie
Destination Unknown - Agatha Christie
Anna - Amanda Prowse
Theo - Amanda Prowse
Night Music - Jojo Moyes
Let Me Lie - Clare Mackintosh
How To Fall In Love Again - Amanda Prowse
Hickory Dickory Dock - Agatha Christie
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
Dead Man's Folly - Agatha Christie
My reading aims for 2019 are to continue reading one Agatha Christie book per month and to clear the books I've got waiting on my Kindle. I also popped a couple of books I've been wanting to read on my Christmas list and Santa was very kind so I've got those to read too.
I keep my list of books on a separate page (see the tabs at the top of my blog). I've set my goal as 80 books for 2019 but wonder if I am being too ambitious! Looking through your lists we seem to share the same taste in books.
ReplyDeleteI never thought to add a page for my book lists but now I've put them in a post I've got somewhere to refer back to if I need to. Good look getting 80 books read this year, that's some going, a target I wouldn't have a hope of reaching.
DeleteEnjoyed your lists, didn't know that Monty Don had written a book about his dogs. I reread Agatha Christie on a regular basis and I've been reading my Georgette Beyer books too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs by Monty Don, you can read my post about it here:- http://jo-throughthekeyhole.blogspot.com/2017/02/nigel-my-family-and-other-dogs.html?showComment=1486634531308
DeleteI read some Agatha Christie books in my teens but I can't remember them at all now so I'm enjoying the challenge I've set myself to read all 66 books.
You are really cracking on with the Agatha Chtistie's. I wonder if you'll remember who did it for all of them. I always get them muddled up!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not, there are some which have faded from my memory already. I'm enjoying reading them though, they're all very different from each other.
DeleteThat's pretty darn good. Only 36 for me. My goal for 2019 is to improve on that number. We shall see.
ReplyDelete36 is three books each month and that's a good number. I find that I read more some months than others, I suppose it depends whether I'm hooked on a particular book or not.
DeleteWow you really love to read! I only read a few books this year. Most time was spent knitting instead. Fun to see your list
ReplyDeleteI do love to read, I read a lot as a child and then my reading dropped off when I started a family. It's only as my children have grown up that my love of reading has returned.
DeleteVery impressives list for each year, quite a few I have read on there.
ReplyDeleteI've read 50 this year, I was really pleased with that total.
50 is a good total, I don't think I've ever reached that many in a single year.
DeleteI have just finished my last book on Kindle but gave a list waiting to be ordered
ReplyDeleteI keep adding to the books I have on Kindle, their daily deals are too tempting.
DeleteWow, what lists. I also read a lot growing up, but only read occasionally now, as I worry that I'm being lazy. Instilled in me by my mother, that I should always be busy. I read for a little bit before I go to sleep. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI don't class reading as being lazy, there's always something to learn from books and it's good for the mind to have some down time. I mainly read in bed, a little each night soon adds up.
DeleteImpressive list. I'm enjoying the ABC Murders this Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI haven't started watching the ABC Murders but I've taped the programmes to watch later. I enjoyed the book so I expect good things from it.
DeleteWell done with the books, especially the Agatha Christie ones. I'm pretty sure that I've read them all, and reread quite a lot as well.
ReplyDeleteI generally average over 100 books a years. Happy reading. xx
That's a lot of reading. It's surprising how quickly you can get through a book though, especially if it's one of those that you can't put down.
DeleteI have a Kindle, but it's the original just for reading type. John offered to buy me one of the computer type ones, but I said I'd never read if I got one of those. I have my laptop for internetty stuff and a tablet for my JW.org and that's enough for me. All my Kindle downloads are free, chosen from the classics ( I'm currently re-reading Vanity Fair ) John likes to get audio books from the library. I do enjoy reading and studying. Best, Jane x
ReplyDeleteMy Kindle is a Paperwhite, it's nice and light for reading in bed and it's got a built in light so it's ideal when I wake up in the night, I can read without having to turn on the light. Mick bought me an iPad for my birthday but it's much heavier than the Kindle so I still prefer to read on that. I still use my laptop for most internet based things but the iPad is brilliant for watching podcasts and great if I just want to look at something on the internet without having to go through the rigmarole of turning on my laptop. I've never listened to an audio book but I should give them a try as I hear so many people say how much they enjoy them.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your vhoces and I have read many of them too. I have a Kindle Paperwhite but am very guilty if taking the ipad to bed and then being distracted by blogs etc. I have a huge backlog of books on my kindle and am not downloading any more until I clear some. Happy reading in 2019. I now photograph the covers/ screenshot from Amazon and store what I’ve read that way.,
ReplyDeleteWe sound very alike. My reading has definitely suffered since I've had an iPad. I'm hoping to read some of the books I've already got before buying more this year, though I got a couple of books I've wanted for Christmas so that's bumped the total up a bit too.
DeleteVery well done on your books and list - very impressive.
ReplyDeleteHave you been watching the ABC Murders on BBC1, last episode later tonight, we've enjoyed it so far …
Happy Weekend Wishes
All the best Jan
I haven't watched the ABC Murders yet but I've taped the programmes, I'll probably watch them over new year at some point. I did enjoy the book though so I'm looking forward to watching it.
DeleteThat's an impressive list, Jo. I really don't read as often as I should. X
ReplyDeleteI didn't pick up many books when my kids were little, I just didn't have the time and I was always so tired that I went to sleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. I do a lot of my reading in bed these days, I find it a good way to wind down before I go to sleep.
DeleteI'm always amazed by how much reading you do! Even in my pre-children days I probably only read 2 per month at the most. Nowadays, I'm lucky to get through even one book in a month these days.
ReplyDeleteI read very little during the day, most of my reading is done in bed before I go to sleep or if I wake up during the night, which happens some times more than others. It's surprising how reading a little each night soon adds up.
DeleteImpressive book lists! I think I may start a book list, I want to challenge myself to read different genres this year and include at least 1 classic.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to read a wider variety of genres too. My mum always kept a book marked a to z and she wrote all the books she'd read in there under the author's name. She was a prolific reader and could never remember which books she'd read and which she hadn't so it was helpful to her. She's suffering from dementia now so the only reading she does is the newspaper, she'll read a small paragraph over and over again because she just doesn't remember what she's already read, it's very sad.
DeleteThat is an impressive list of books. I haven't read many this year as once I pick a book up I can't put it down so nothing ever gets done.I am reading The tattooist of Auschwitz at the moment, it's a hard read given it's a true story.xxx
ReplyDeleteI can imagine. I read books even though they'll upset me, I know that some people avoid reading them.
DeleteGreat list of books. My reading has slowed down such a lot the latter part of the year, like you I have been watching podcasts before going to sleep, it's a habit I want to get out of too!
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you join Goodreads? You can keep a record of everything you have read or are reading much easier. Look for me there if you join. x
I don't think I'd have kept up with all the Vlogmas videos if I didn't watch them in bed but now they're finished I really must get back to my reading. I've never looked at Goodreads, I'll have to investigate.
DeleteWhen you read this much you need to keep a list, how would you remember them all otherwise?
ReplyDeleteI'm pondering another reading challenge this year, I enjoyed reading a book each month with the month in the title.
This year I really need to clear the shelves of my to-be-reads. Father Christmas was very generous and added to my already huge pile.
Happy reading!
xx
There's just so many great books and not enough time to read them all. I really want to clear my Kindle this year but I've just noticed some good books in their deals so I may be adding to the titles before I even start.
Delete