Hi Friends, as I was working on my new post for this week, I discovered that this post somehow got stuck as a scheduled post and never went live. Since I spent the time working on it, I decided to post it even though it’s late. I hope you enjoy this bonus, very late, fall wrap up. I will see you with my December wrap up on Thursday!
Hello Lovely Readers! I am a bit behind with this post (can you believe next week is Christmas?!), but I still wanted to take the time to review my fall reading. For those of you that are new, I am terrible at following reading lists and reading goals, but I still like to set myself seasonal challenges and goals to work towards. I try to keep them broad and include many categories so that I don’t get bored or discouraged.
This Fall, I set myself a number of reading goals that I shared with you all here, and now it is time to see how I did. I decided that the easiest way to review my goals was to list them below alongside the discussion of whether I met the goal or not. I set myself 4 main goals each of which had either specific books listed along with them or sub-goals.
I read a total of 23 books, 9 of which were audiobooks. I DNF’d 2 books and my average rating was 3.5 Stars.
Goal #1: Fantasy
My focus for this goal was to read more fantasy overall and focus on those that were atmospheric or had “fall vibes.” Of the specific books that I listed for this category, I read only one – Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab. Though I didn’t do well with reading the specific books that I chose, I am going to mark this goal as successful. Overall this Fall I read 8 Fantasy novels and 5 or 6 of them were atmospheric. My fantasy game was on point this season.
My favourite book from this goal was probably Dead Beat by Jim butcher, but almost any of the books I read from the Dresden Files would fit.
Goal # 2: Fright
This category included more than just your typical scary books; it also included some mysteries and thrillers and some fantasy. When I first reviewed this goal, I thought that I was unsuccessful, but when I looked a bit further, I did not too bad. I would say that I had mid-level success in this category.
I read Home Before Dark by Riley Sager and The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, which were both on the list. I did not read We Have Always Lived in the Castle but I started it and, hopefully, I can finish it this month. If I didn’t slip into a bit of a reading slump, I would have finished it since it is short. I also read a couple of miscellaneous thrillers, with mixed success, as I didn’t love any of them.
My favourite book from this goal was definitely Home Before Dark, which I think was also my only 5 Star read this season. If you have not picked this one up yet, and enjoy books that are ghostly and creepy but not too scary, then I would highly recommend this one.
Goal #3: Cozy and Chic
This goal was intended to be a mixture of cozy, and less intense, mysteries as well as chick-lit. It’s an odd combination, but it worked for me. There was one sub-goal in this category that I did not meet (reading a Murder She Wrote novel), but overall I did very well. It was probably the most successful category this season. In addition to the specific sub-goals below, I also read 3 additional books in this category.
I) Read at least 2 Leslie Meier books – I read all 3 of Meier’s Halloween themed mysteries. I still have mixed opinions about this series, but I don’t regret reading any of them, so that is a bonus. I am going to continue reading this series.
II) At least 1 Agatha Christie – Though I successfully met this goal, the book I chose was my most disappointing read this season. I read Hallowe’en Party and I did not enjoy it. You can see more of my thoughts here, but I would not recommend this one if you are looking to get into Agatha Christie.
III) Start a new series by Samantha Chase – I started the Shaugnessy Brothers series this fall, and I am really excited to continue reading it. The book I read, Made for Us, wasn’t my favourite by Chase, but it was a solid read and exactly what I was looking for out of this type of romance novel.
My favourite book from this goal was A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore, which I talked about last week.
Goal #4: Miscellaneous
I had a few more general reading goals for the fall and a few books that didn’t fit into the other categories that I wanted to share as well. When I set these goals, I suspected that they would be the ones I was least likely to accomplish, and I was only partially correct in that prediction.
I) Make some progress on my “Book Lists” – I didn’t do all that well with this category, though I did read one book off my “must reads list” for this year. After putting it off for so long, I finally picked up An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green, and I am so glad that I did.
II) One or Two Non-fiction books – I actually managed to read one non-fiction book this season. I wasn’t going to count it, because it was a book I had to read as part of a weekly Bible study I joined. But then I decided that I chose to join the study, and I chose to read the book each week, so it should count. Baby steps.
III) Graphic Novels – I read one book for this category, and though I really enjoyed it, I would say that I was not successful in meeting this goal. The primary reason for setting this goal was to read The Lumberjanes and I did not do that. This goal will continue into the winter season.
IV) Something Mermaid – I am so disappointed that I did not accomplish this goal. I had a book for this category out from the e-library for at least a month, maybe two, and I just never picked it up. Perhaps I’ll read it in the next few months.
V) Start a ‘Walking Book’– I did not meet this goal even a little bit. Though I was doing well at walking most days during the week during September, I didn’t manage to keep up with that habit, and when I did walk, I was either with someone or listening to music. I do still want to work towards walking more, so maybe this will be a goal I revisit next year, but we shall see.
Though there were a few sub-goals and books on this list that I did not read or accomplish, I think that overall I had a successful reading season. I met many of my goals, and though I didn’t read as many books as I would have liked in November, I read a lot of books this fall that I really enjoyed. Depending on how you do with goals, you may think that my results are disappointing, but knowing me as I do, I would say this is a resounding success. I am looking forward to seeing how I do with my Winter Reading Goals that I shared last week.
How would you rate your fall reading? Did you accomplish your reading goals or read all the books you hoped to read? What was your favourite book that you read this fall? Let me know in the comments!
Until Next Time,
