May many blessings and joys come your way this new year. What goals do you have for 2018? I am aiming to learn a lot more about grace (my One Word for this year), but I’m also diving back into a couple of different writing projects. Firstly, there’s the fictional story I began during last November’s NaNoWriMo. I want to finish the first draft this month and tackle my first round of edits during February and March. Secondly, I’m jumping back into a Bible study I began writing about a year or so ago. (The time frame eludes me, quite honestly; it’s been on my heart for a long time now, I know that!)
Here’s a little more about both projects (both copyrighted by me):
When a young boy is put on a transplant list, the mother who raised him confronts the one who birthed him in order to save the child of her heart.
A study on Caleb provides insight into having positive-minded faith and building up a legacy of positivity.
Now for the reading challenge I promised you last month.
This year, instead of a list of things to find in a book or on a book’s cover, I thought I’d try something different. Every month, I will share a theme or genre. There won’t be a set number of books to read, so that part is completely up to you. It will be fun to see how many books we each read during the course of each month and the entire year. I will also add a handy button on the right-hand side of my blog, so that you may easily find your way back to the month’s challenge page to update us all on which books you’ve read.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots and lots of books shoved into your bookcases, stacked on the floor or any flat surface, and even tucked between other stacks of books. I love starting off a new year by reading as many of these already-owned-but-not-yet-read books as I can. This month, let’s see how many to-be-read (TBR) books we can clear off our “shelves”!
January’s TBR Extravaganza Challenge: Read books from your TBR stacks or shelves.
Rules:
1. The books must have been owned by you prior to 2018.
2. Both physical copies and electronic (Kindle, Nook, etc.) count.
3. There is no page limit, so anything from short stories to epics count.
4. Rereads do not count for this one.
5. Update us about which books you read for this challenge in the comment section of this article.
Andrea,I'm excited about the reading challenge for 2018! I'm not sure which books I'll read in January, but I have many to choose from. Thanks for challenging me and helping me to get some read.Dawn
Mom, whichever books you decide on, I hope you enjoy them. It's my pleasure to give you a bit of a nudge on the piles of books waiting for you. My friends do the same for me all the time by choosing books for me to read. It's fun to be in this reading journey together.
Here are my first three books for this challenge:1. Love at First Bark by Dana Mentink 1/1/18 4 stars2. Remembering You by Tricia Goyer 1/2/18 4 stars3. Love on the Mend by Karen Witemeyer 1/4/18 4 stars
I have read two Sherlock Holmes stories: A Study in Scarlet and A Scandal in Bohemia. Also A Song Unheard by Roseanna White and Surgeon’s Choice by Richard Mabry. And A Mackinac Island Christmas by Gail Martin and 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep. All owned by me. Reading one from the library now. Up next is Across the Blue by Carrie Turansky.
You have had a busy reading month! Well done, Paula! I'm also looking forward to Turansky's new book. Isn't that cover scrumptious?
4. Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette 1/7/18 4 stars5. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate 1/15/18 4 stars6. The Promise of Breeze Hill by Pam Hillman 1/16/18 1 star (French and English profanities)
I just got one book read this month: Time Pieces by Virginia Hamilton. Looking forward to February's challenge.
Great job, Mom! It's one less book in your to-be-read stacks. Well done!
Update: My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley by Andrea Boeshaar.
Great job! Think you'll get another one or two done before the month is out? I'm trying to squeeze another one in myself.
7. A March Bride by Rachel Hauck 1/20/18 3 stars8. The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma 1/22/18 4 stars9. Isaiah 1/23/18 5 stars10. The Silver Shawl by Elisabeth Grace Foley 1/23/18 4 stars11. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by JoAnn Durgin 1/24/18 3 stars12. The Protector by Dee Henderson 1/24/18 5 stars13. Waiting for His Return by Carrie Turansky 1/28/18 5 stars
I kept forgetting to get on here and find out what the category for January was. Whew! I actually did read quite a few for it that also worked for my own reading challenge. I ended up reading 12 books that were on my TBR pile! And some had been there for many years! Here's the list:1. Bob & Arty – The Case of the Skeptic Doctor2. Homeland's Hope3. 2000 to 10,0004. Stories of Swiss Children (Quite a few years it's waited.)5. I Know . . . I Was There (I'm guessing I've had this one waiting for 8-10 years!)6. Treading the Winepress (This had been waiting for about 2 years.)7. Andi Lassos Trouble8. Life in America (only a few years of waiting to read this one.)9. Mother Pioneered at Montreat10. Amira's Secret11. Rosie and Scamper12. Blizzard! (Another one that has waited many years.)Now I'm heading off to look at February's category.
Oops, I just realized that 3 of those books were read in February. 😛 They were numbers 5. 8. and 12. But the others did get read in January.
Well done, Rebekah! Looks like you had a very busy January.