JANUARY WRAP-UP
2019 is starting very interestingly, with a bunch of readalongs:
- Don Quijote, with Nick at One Catholic Life and Silvia at Silvia Cachia, this will extend into May.
- Les Misérables, with one of my French students (re-read). No idea how long it will take
- And I DNFed Berlin Alexanderplatz, by Doblin, that I was trying to read with the NYRB Goodreads Book club
So I actually read much more than it looks right now, as I only count a book when it’s finished. I have listened to another long classic, see below, and otherwise read an interesting variety of books.
Apart from that, I’m very happy for all the reviews I have recently posted, catching up quite a bit.
And of course, at the beginning of the month, I took part in the wonderful Boutofbooks event
And I launched a new meme! Did you check it out?
Now, I’m considering launching a French Book Box. Does this sound interesting to you? Any thought on that?
So here is what I read in January:
7 books:
6 in print
= with 1,248 pages, an average of 40 pages/day
1 in audio
= with 22H28, an average of 43 mn/day
2 in nonfiction:
- Are We French Yet? by Keith Van Sickle – for review, on 2/6
- Prayers by the Lake, by Nikolai Velimirovich
2 in mystery:
- The Plotters, by Un-Su Kim – ebook, for review
- The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins – audio
1 in literary fiction:
- Hear Our Defeats, by Laurent Gaudé – ebook, for review
2 in children books:
- The Trumpet of the Swan, by E. B. White
- Bear and Wolf, by Daniel Salmieri – picture book
MY FAVORITES IN JANUARY
READING CHALLENGES & RECAP
Classics Club: 26/50 (until end of 2020) or 41/65!
2019 Calendar of Crime Challenge 1/12
Where Are You Reading?: 21/50 – to be finished in ??
Total of books read in 2019= 7/100
Number of books added to my TBR this past month= an insane 54…
MOST POPULAR BOOK REVIEW THIS PAST MONTH
click on the cover to access my review
MOST POPULAR POST THIS PAST MONTH
– NON BOOK REVIEW –
Born a Crime chapter 9-14:
read along at Book Bloggers International
BOOK BLOG THAT BROUGHT ME MOST TRAFFIC THIS PAST MONTH
Modern Mrs Darcy
please go visit
TOP COMMENTERS OF THE MONTH
Judy at Keep the Wisdom
Karen at Booker Talk
Angela at Musings of a Literary Wanderer
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Be sure to check the giveaways posted on my homepage!
Come back on Monday
to see the books I plan to read in February
and my other plans!
How was YOUR month of January?
Kathryn at The Book Date
has created a Month In Review meme
where you can link your monthly recap posts
Thanks Kathryn, great idea!
Words And Peace 
Calendar of crime sounds like such a fun challenge. I thought about joining but didn’t want to overextend myself.
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I know, it’s always a tricky balance to find
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Well done! Happy February!
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thanks, to you too! What was your best read in Jan?
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7 books is a great start to the year!
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Not too bad, considering the fact that I’m in the middle of many more!
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Looks like a good month of reading! It felt like my reading in January was really slow, but I haven’t gone to tally it all up just yet.
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looking forward to it, when you get to to it
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Looks like you had a satisfying month of reading. I have loved some of E. B. White’s books – a while ago now but still have fond memories.
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so now I need to read his other famous one
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I am getting more like you, reading more than one book at a time. One of my reading friends even remarked on it. It is a bit of a feat keeping track of multiple story lines. But in your case, a richness of reading is what you got.
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If the books are very different in genre and content, that should work. And sometimes, interesting parallels come up
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It looks like you had a great January in books. I forget sometimes that I am reading a rather long classic in between my other reading, which means less books finished. I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. Thank you for the reminder! The French book box sounds like fun. I love book boxes, but just don’t have the money. 😦 I hope you have a wonderful week!
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Actually, once you finish your long classic, it will show a nice number of pages read at the end of the year. Number of books is important for me stats, but also number of pages. You could be reading tons of children books or picture books 50 pages long….
I personally don’t buy book box, for the same reason as yours, lol, but I see that many book bloggers do have such a subscription, and I could do something affordable. We’ll see
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You had a great month! Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.
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You are welcome, always nice to see what others are reading
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What a great month January has proven to be – I wish you much the same for February! Happy reading!
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Thanks, to you too!
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I tried to read Les Mis last year and sadly failed miserably when I got too busy. I’m impressed that you plan to read it again! 🙂
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Victor Hugo’s style is so amazing, well, at least in the original French! And if you read just one or two chapters a day, eventually you’ll get there
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Oh my, Les Mis! I’ve never made it past page 400-something (although I’ve read The Hunchback of Notre Dame (in English) and some of Hugo’s poetry (in French). His long, drawn-out descriptions are always what do me in. My daughter goes to full-time school next year, though, and I might just start reading a chapter a day like you said. I would love to finally truly tackle this book!
I’m going to check out more of your reviews. Are We French Yet? sounds really good and I might have to get a copy of that. My husband is Belgian and speaks French with our daughter; I understand it better than I speak it (I need to practice more!), but I adore the language. 🙂
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Ah, but that’s his descriptions that are so fascinating. Some authors (Proust is certainly the best example) you don’t read for the plot, you read for the writing itself.
Hugos’ poems are very powerful too. You should also try his plays. Yes, he was such a complete writer, in all these genres.
And yes, you can read so many books even with a chapter a day.
In a totally different style and genre, I think you would love Are We French Yet?!
So glad your daughter is exposed to 2 languages, I think it’s so important for brain development and culture.
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Sounds like a good month, Emma! I have heard praise for Laurent Gaudé’s books before, so I checked your review of Hear Our Defeats and am very intrigued. Glad I discovered your site 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by! We don’t have enough male book bloggers, I am glad you are one. Laurent Gaudé’s writing is amazing. Hell’s Gate was so hauntingly powerful. Though I have not read it The House of Scorta. He won Prix Goncourt with it in 2004
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Oh I love how eclectic your taste in books is! I read Don Quijote many times when I was little. It was a “mandatory” reading at home because my family is from Spain. 😊
I should resd it again! Hope you are enjoying it!
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So many scenes sound familiar, so I may have read it as well when I was very young – I’m from France, your neighbor, and I think we had to read it as well.
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I hope to visit France soon!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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Good for you, though these are not the most peaceful times in France!
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I know it makes me so sad 😔 still a beautiful country ❤️
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Yes, to visit as a tourist, it certainly is. But I would never consider going back to live there
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I also only count books when I finish them and sometimes I’m reading several at once and making slow progress, so it looks like I’m not really doing much!
Right now I’m thinking of reading Part II of Don Quixote, a chapter a day. I loved doing that last year with Les Miserables – but doing a whole year again was a bit much. I will see if I can coordinate with the readalong.
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Yes, reading a chapter a day, you can cover big books more easily
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I guess I need to read dates or because I’m currently reading a time travel novel, it’s physically affecting me! Here and Then and Now is an amazing book so far. Thanks for the heads up to find your current post because February is almost over already!
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lol, watch out, you may enter a time warp zone! Talking about this, I am reading an awesome manga that I finally really love. It’s called Orange, by Ichigo Takano: this teenager receives a letter written by her 10-year-older self! It’s actually very interesting, as she tries to undo a catastrophe that is supposed to have happened
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