One Word

I love to set goals.

A goal I have set for several years now is to choose one word for the year. 

There is a website for it: My One Word. 

There is a nice list of inspirational words others have chosen.

I tend to be a serious person.

Too serious. 

I plan too much.

Here's a good word for me for 2020: Play.

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” 

― Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

“It’s dark because you are trying too hard. 

Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. 

Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. 

Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.” 

― Aldous Huxley

"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."
--- Michael Jordan

Best Books of the Decade

My favorite reads of the decade that were published during the decade....

Adult Fiction

The Night Circus 2011
Me Before You 2012
Tenth of December 2013
The Rosie Project 2013
The Goldfinch 2013
The Narrow Road to the Deep North 2013
All the Light I Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 2014
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 2015
A Gentleman in Moscow 2016
Lincoln in the Bardo 2017
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk 2017
Pachinko 2017
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine 2017
The Heart's Invisible Furies 2017
The Overstory 2018
Unsheltered 2018
Henry Himself 2019
The Testaments 2019

Adult Nonfiction

The Warmth of Other Suns 2010
Unbroken 2010
And the Pursuit of Happiness 2010
Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers 2012
Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France 2012
Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder 2012
Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience 2013
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania 2015
Winter by Karl Ove Knausgaard 2015
Atlas Obscura 2016
Lab Girl 2016
Art of the Pie 2016
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World 2017
The Radium Girls 2017
American Wolf 2017
Leonardo da Vinci 2017
The Library Book 2018
God Save Texas 2018
Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas 2019
Nanaville 2019
The Only Plane in the Sky 2019
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson 2019
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone 2019

Children's Fiction

Press Here 2010
I Want My Hat Back 2011
Blackout 2011
The Fault in Our Stars 2012
Wonder 2012
Eleanor & Park 2012
Penny and Her Marble 2013
A Big Guy Took My Ball 2013
Hug Machine 2014
The Little Barbarian 2015
There's a Bear on My Chair 2015
Mother Bruce 2015
A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals 2016
Ida, Always 2016
They All Saw a Cat 2016
I'll Wait, Mr. Panda 2016
Ghost by Jason Reynolds 2016
Salt to the Sea 2016
The Hate U Give 2017
Wolf in the Snow 2017
A Different Pond 2017
All the Way to Havana 2017
Long Way Down 2017
Mercy Suarez Changes Gears 2018
Why the Face? 2018
The Day You Begin 2018
Alma and How She Got Her Name 2018
A Place to Belong 2019

Children's Nonfiction

Bon Appetit: The Delicious Life of Julia Child 2012
Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why 2012
Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman 2012
Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings 2015
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville 2016
My Book of Birds by Geraldo Valerio 2016
March: Book One 2013 Book Two 2015 Book Three 2016
Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White 2016
Ella: Queen of Jazz 2017
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers 2017
Paul Writes 2018
Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything 2018
1000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List 2018
Carter Reads the Newspaper 2019


Join this year’s hosts  Girlxoxo and Traveling with T for our annual #AMonthofFaves blog event – a fun way to recap the year that was (Estella’s Revenge is taking a hiatus for this year). We have a schedule of topics planned out, so feel free to join in anytime for some or all of the topics. There will also be a link-up on our blogs so that we can all stop by each other’s posts to leave comments, high fives, good vibes and well wishes.

Perpetual Page Turner's 10th Annual End-of-the-Year Reading Survey

It's time for one of my favorite events of the year.... 

It's Perpetual Page Turner's 10th Annual End-of-the-Year Reading Survey!

**2019 READING STATS**

Number Of Books You Read: 415 books
Number of Pages: 74,204 pages
Genre You Read The Most From: Children's Picture Books

1. Best book you read in 2019?

Moby Dick. Moby Dick and I spent a wonderful month together last year, and I will never forget it.

2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t?

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone 

4. Book you “pushed” the most people to read (and they did)?

The Body by Bill Bryson

5. Best book in a series you read in 2019? 

The Wicked King

6. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read and greatly enjoyed?

Moby Dick Classics Illustrated Comics

7. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys

18. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?

The Goldfinch

9. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?

The Night Circus

10. Most thought-provoking / life-changing book of 2019?

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel

11. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read? 

The Night Circus and The Goldfinch

12. Shortest & longest book you read in 2019?

Shortest book: Where Birdie Lives (14 pages)

Longest book: Don Quixote (1,076 pages)

13. Book that shocked you the most?

Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life

14. Favorite book you read in 2019 from an author you’ve read previously?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

15. Best book you read in 2019 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure/bookstagram, etc.?

Pachinko

16. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read?

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

17. Book that made you cry in 2019?

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

18. Hidden gem of the year?

Poldark by Winston Graham

19. Most unique book you read in 2019?

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate

1. Favorite post you wrote in 2019?

This year I became the host of Sunday Salon. I look forward to the weekend each week, seeing who stops by and links up and leaves a comment, and I love to visit all the blogs I can to see what others are up to. I know there are many other wonderful blogging link-ups out there, and I feel so happy when you choose to stop by and join in the conversation.

2. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2019?

The All-New Readerbuzz

3. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?

No way to choose a favorite! I loved Paris in July, the Moby Dick Readalong, Inprint Margaret Root Brown Reading Series, My Own Books Reading Challenge, Dewey's 24-Hour Readathons, Women in Translation Month, Summer #bookaday Challenge, Texas Book Festival, Multicultural Children's Book Day, the Cybils Awards, Texas Library Association Conference, 24 in 48 Readathon, Thankfully Reading Weekend, and Nonfiction November.

4. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2019?

25 Outrageous Things I've Done for Love of Books

5. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I've read good books.
I haven't read many great books.
I want to read more great books.

6. Most popular post this year on your blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

What Happened to My America? And How Can We Fix Things? 

Thoughts About Our Towns, Alienated America, and Love Your Enemies

7. Posts you wished got a little more love?

Here are some of my favorites:

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10!: Book Titles with Numbers in Them

Paris + Food: A Love Story

But What is Moby Dick About? Why Everyone Should Read Moby Dick...

Moby Dick: What I Am Taking Away from My Experience Reading This Book

8. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I found many, many fun book events this year. (See #3 above).

9.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I made progress on my challenges.

1. One book you didn’t get to in 2019 but will be your number one priority in 2020?

War and Peace.

Oh dear.

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2020 (non-debut)?

Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever

3. 2020 debut you are most anticipating?

I'm still waiting for The Queen of Nothing. Sigh.

5. What do you hope to accomplish in your reading/blogging life in 2020?

Read and review everything I read in 2020.
Read mood-boosting books.
Read (eek) War and Peace over the course of a year.
Invite more thoughtful readers/bloggers to join Sunday Salon.

Join this year’s hosts  Girlxoxo and Traveling with T for our annual #AMonthofFaves blog event – a fun way to recap the year that was (Estella’s Revenge is taking a hiatus for this year). We have a schedule of topics planned out, so feel free to join in anytime for some or all of the topics. There will also be a link-up on our blogs so that we can all stop by each other’s posts to leave comments, high fives, good vibes and well wishes.

Best Books I Read in 2019

This year, 2019, was a year I read a lot of books. 415 books. It was difficult to decide on my top ten.

#10  Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes

I know it says it's for young people, and, no, I haven't read the original version for adults, but this book is mesmerizing.

#9  Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas by Stephen Harrigan

When you grow up in Texas, you are forced to do Texas history in fourth grade and seventh grade and in high school. So I've read a ridiculous amount of Texas history. Nevertheless, Stephen Harrigan looked at the old stories with fresh eyes and found lots and lots of new stories for all of us who are forced by birth or choice, exacerbated by a strange sense of deep pride, to love this crazy part of the world.

#8  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I was so afraid of being disappointed by this book (I so love Secret History) that I waited years and years and years to finally read it. Don't wait. It's magnificent.

#7  Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Another book I was sure was overhyped. I was wrong.

#6  The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

Load yourself up with boxes of Kleenex before you read this one. The Kleenex will come in handy for the horrifying break with ordinary life that many in this book experience, but it will also be needed for the almost unbelievable acts of deep heroism that are shared in this book.

#5  The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Classics are classics for a reason: classics speak to people across time. Age of Innocence speaks to us across time.

#4  Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Stories of people in deep pain. A therapist who listens and can share a strategy or insight in a way that provokes positive action. 

#3  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace is one of my few failures; a few years ago I tried and gave up on it. People told me to try Anna Karenina first. Excellent recommendation. Now I'll try War and Peace again.

#2  Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel

Bonnie of Bonnie's Books led me to spend my Thanksgiving weekend simultaneously reading Justice and watching the online Justice course. It was almost enough for me to try enrolling in Harvard at 63.

#1  Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Irony. Moby Dick is one of the books I always said I'd never read. When Bronwyn of Brona's Books announced a Moby Dick readalong, I couldn't help myself...I joined in. And then Moby Dick turns out to be my favorite read of the year. 

And, just because I couldn't bear to leave out lots of my other favorites, here are some favorites by category:

Did you read any of these last year?
What were your favorite reads of 2019?

Mon. | Dec. 30 – Favorite Books Read This Year #AMonthofFaves Join this year’s hosts  Girlxoxo and Traveling with T for our annual #AMonthofFaves blog event – a fun way to recap the year that was (Estella’s Revenge is taking a hiatus for this year). We have a schedule of topics planned out, so feel free to join in anytime for some or all of the topics. There will also be a link-up on our blogs so that we can all stop by each other’s posts to leave comments, high fives, good vibes and well wishes.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.