Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Books Read in 2019 and My Reduced Interest in Reading

I have already written at length about my reading experience in 2019.

In April in "Upcoming Reviews and Motivation Struggles," I mentioned my struggle with finishing the Wildfire Romance books and beginning the Sweet Dreams series.  I mentioned stress and how I wasn't that motivated to do reviews due to lack of response to reviews of popular series like Judy Bolton.

In June in "2019 Mid-Year Reading Update," I detailed how my stress worsened and how sick I was in May and June.  I continued to be disinterested in reading and writing reviews.

In the middle of November in "My Reading Pace Slowdown or What Has Led Me Astray," I came clean about my Hashimoto's thyroiditis and how it affects me.  I mentioned how I was more interested in watching YouTube videos of Queen + Adam Lambert and Adam Lambert than in reading books.

In late November in "Reading, Reviews, Medication, and Books Listed on eBay," I gave further information about my autoimmune condition and stated that my reading pace was still very slow.

In December, I was annoyed about unsolicited advice about what I was reading.  In "Reducing My 'To Be Read' Books," I explained that in August, I decided to read straight through my TBR ("to be read") books, one after another.  Here, I explain further about my reasoning.  Much of what follows was actually written before I wrote the post mentioned in this paragraph.  I was so annoyed about the judgmental comments that I wrote out two lengthy responses separate from each other in order to get over my annoyance.

I was disinterested in reading for reasons already detailed in "My Reading Pace Slowdown or What Has Led Me Astray."  Since I had no reading goal for 2019, was distracted by CW Nancy Drew and the new Nancy Drew game, kept watching Queen + Adam Lambert and Adam Lambert videos on YouTube, and as a result would read fewer than 200 books by year's end, I seized the opportunity to work on a problem I have, which most all of us have.  There are books that I had purchased that I had never read.  I had a feeling that reading them would not be very satisfying but I had to try the books at some point in time.  A time with no reading goal and no strong interest in reading seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Some readers might not understand my reasoning, but it made sense to me.  I wasn't going to read much, so I figured that I should just make a task out of it and force myself to read certain books kind of like I was reading them as part of a job.  Does that help?  If not, don't worry about why.  It worked for me.

So I proceeded through one book after another.  I had to decide whether I could read the books, as in whether I could ever in my entire life manage to read the books.  If I couldn't force myself to read them at a time when I didn't care if I enjoyed what I read, then I would never be able to read them.  I wanted to list the books for sale if I couldn't read them.  I didn't want to sell them and regret it later, wondering if I would have enjoyed the books if I had tried them.  I had to try.  And try I did.

For those who think that I shouldn't be reading books that I don't enjoy... I didn't read all of them.  I read a couple dozen books partway through and quit.  Some books were read halfway.  Some books were read for only a few chapters.  The very first page or two of some books scared me off.  Never worry about me wasting my time and energy on bad books.  I know when to stop.

I must have between 8,000 and 10,000 books in my house.  I am very satisfied that I have cleared out books that took up a length of at least six feet on my shelves.  Some books have already been listed and sold.  I am very pleased to have made headway with books that were taking up place and had never been read.  That is why I forced myself to try all of those books that I found boring.

Also, some of you might be wondering why I purchased a bunch of boring books.  At the time I purchased the books, they wouldn't have been boring.  I already explained in my previous post that my taste in books has changed in the last 10 years.  If I had read the books 10 years ago, I might have enjoyed most of them.  Reading lots of boys' series books since 2014 has changed me as a reader.

I am in communication with several collectors via private message.  I have been told by more than one collector that they do not participate in the Facebook groups due to the critical comments made by various people.  I have also been told that some other people have never participated in the groups because they feel intimidated.

There are so many people who now hold back and do not participate, and this has been caused by other people who make critical comments and offer unsolicited advice.  The recent advice I received reminded me that perhaps I should be less open.  I have pulled back at times in the past, but I keep going with most of what I want to share.  It would be a shame for me to quit altogether.

I am the only series book collector who has a blog that has had at least one post per every seven days (usually once every two or three days) for every consecutive seven day period for the entire last decade.  I did actually check through all of the blog posts in December to verify this statement.  It is true.  This is not bragging; this is a simple statement that I have been very consistent in maintaining this blog.  When I get critical comments or unwanted advice, I wonder why I continue.

As I remarked in early 2019, the reviews will stop at some point.  I will exhaust my supply of books that interest me that I have not yet reviewed.  Once that happens, I will have no more reviews for this blog, and that will likely happen within the next year or so.  I actually believe it could happen in 2020.  I see the end of the reviews coming possibly very soon.  For instance, I want to read the Beverly Gray series again.  I have already reviewed those, so what would I write?

Just let me do my thing, even if you don't understand.  Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

My previous yearly totals for books read are as follows.

2014:  262 books
2015:  231 books
2016:  355 books
2017:  403 books
2018:  315 books

I ended up reading 185 books in 2019, which is pretty incredible considering how distracted I was.  This total is on par with what I believe I read per year leading up to 2014.  I did not keep track of my totals for those years, but I tended to read around 130 to 180 books per year in the years immediately preceding 2014.  

In the below list, the books in blue are books that I had read before.  You will notice that some titles were skipped over when I read certain series.  Those titles are ones that I did not read enough of to count on my list of books read in 2019.  I read dozens of books partway through in 2019 that ended up not making the list.

January:  22 books

Judy Bolton #31 The Discovery at the Dragon's Mouth
Judy Bolton #33 The Secret Quest
Judy Bolton #34 The Puzzle in the Pond
Judy Bolton #35 The Hidden Clue
Judy Bolton #36 The Pledge of the Twin Knights
Judy Bolton #37 The Search for the Glowing Hand
Judy Bolton #38 The Secret of the Sand Castle
Judy Bolton #39, The Strange Likeness
Judy Bolton, The Whispering Belltower
Wildfire #53 Little Lies
Wildfire #51 Blind Date
Wildfire #34 Good-bye, Pretty One
Nancy Drew Diaries #17 Famous Mistakes
Wildfire #24 Lisa
Wildfire #13 One Day You'll Go
Wildfire #39 Write Every Day
Wildfire #29 Cindy
Wildfire #43 The Boy for Me
Wildfire #4 Beautiful Girl
Wildfire #5 Superflirt
Wildfire #6 A Funny Girl Like Me
Wildfire #7 Just Sixteen

As I began reading the Wildfire books in January, I read the lowest-numbered book in my possession.  I was in progress reading the series as the books were arriving in the mail.  As additional books arrived, I read whichever book was earliest in the set, gradually moving towards the beginning of the set until I was able to proceed in order.

February:  17 books

Wildfire #9 Dreams Can Come True
Wildfire #8 Suzy Who?
Wildfire #10 I've Got a Crush on You
Wildfire #11 An April Love Story
Wildfire #12 Dance with Me
Wildfire #14 Yours Truly, Love, Janie
Wildfire #2 I'm Christy
Wildfire #40 Christy's Choice
Wildfire #59 Christy's Love
Wildfire #61 Christy's Senior Year
Wildfire #16 I Want to Be Me
Wildfire #18 The Voices of Julie
Wildfire #19 Second Best
Wildfire #20 A Kiss for Tomorrow
Hardy Boys Adventures #18 The Disappearance
Wildfire #21 A Place for Me
Wildfire #17 The Best of Friends

The four Wildfire Christy books were read consecutively by choice as soon as I had all four of them in my possession.

March:  20 books

Wildfire #22 Sixteen Can Be Sweet
Wildfire #23 Take Care of My Girl
Wildfire #25 Secret Love
Wildfire #26 Nancy and Nick
Wildfire #28 Senior Class
Wildfire #31 Saturday Night Date
Wildfire #32 Junior Prom
Wildfire #33 He Loves Me Not
Wildfire #35 Just a Summer Girl
Sweet Dreams #1 P.S. I Love You
Sweet Dreams #5 Little Sister
Wildfire #36 The Impossible Love
Wildfire #37 Sing About Us
Wildfire #41 The Wrong Boy
Wildfire #42 Make a Wish
Wildfire #44 Class Ring
Wildfire #45 Phone Calls
Wildfire #46 Just You and Me
Wildfire #47 Homecoming Queen
Wildfire #49 Spring Love

April:  19 books

Wildfire #50 No Boys?
Wildfire #54 Broken Dreams
Wildfire #56 Call Me
Wildfire #60 Nice Girls Don't
Wildfire #62 Kiss and Tell
Wildfire #64 Angel
Wildfire #65 Out of Bounds
Wildfire #67 Loving That O'Connor Boy
Wildfire #69 My Summer Love
Wildfire #77 Dating Blues
Wildfire #82 The Wrong Love
Wildfire #80 Recipe for Romance
Wildfire #75 Love to the Rescue
Wildfire #76 Senior Prom
Wildfire #78 Brian's Girl
Wildfire #81 The Ten Cupcake Romance
Wildfire #79 A Girl Named Summer
Sweet Dreams #3 Laurie's Song
Sweet Dreams #4 Princess Amy

I struggled as I finished reading the Wildfire books in April.  I did not like many of the high-numbered books.  I quit reading the Wildfire books in order and grabbed whichever book seemed the most appealing of the books left to read.  That's why the order is a bit random for the final books in the set.

May:  19 books

Sweet Dreams #6 California Girl
Sweet Dreams #9 Cover Girl
Sweet Dreams #10 Love Match
Sweet Dreams #11 The Problem with Love
Sweet Dreams #12 Night of the Prom
Sweet Dreams #17 Ask Annie
Sweet Dreams #19 Love Song
Sweet Dreams #21 All's Fair in Love
Dana Girls #1 By the Light of the Study Lamp
Dana Girls #2 The Secret at Lone Tree Cottage
Dana Girls #3 In the Shadow of the Tower
Dana Girls #4 A Three-Cornered Mystery
Dana Girls #5 The Secret at the Hermitage
Dana Girls #6 The Circle of Footprints
Dana Girls #7 The Mystery of the Locked Room
Dana Girls #8 The Clue in the Cobweb
Dana Girls #9 The Secret at the Gatehouse
Dana Girls #10 The Mysterious Fireplace
Dana Girls #11 The Clue of the Rusty Key

My reading of the early part of the Sweet Dreams set did not go well.  Notice how many of the books I had to skip.  I bailed on Sweet Dreams and read the Dana Girls series instead.

June:  16 books

Dana Girls #12 The Portrait in the Sand
Dana Girls #13 The Secret in the Old Well
Dana Girls #14 The Clue in the Ivy
Dana Girls #15 The Secret of the Jade Ring
Dana Girls #16 Mystery at the Crossroads
The Culling Series #1, The Culling
Days of Want Series #1 Turbulent
Davy of Want Series #2 Hunted
Dark Inside Series #1 Dark Inside
Dark Inside Series #2 Rage Within
Dark Inside Series #3 Fury Rising
Days of Want Series #3 Turmoil
Darkest Minds Series #1 Darkest Minds
Darkest Minds Series #2 Never Fade
Darkest Minds Series #3 In the Afterlight
Dana Girls #18 The Clue of the Black Flower

Dana Girls #17, The Ghost in the Gallery, just about did me in.  I did not read enough of it to count it as a book read.  During the time that I was in progress with Dana Girls #17, I took a break and read 10 young adult dystopian novels.  It was rather hard to resume reading the Dana Girls series, but I managed to do so.  Books written by Harriet Adams can be a bit hard to stomach, but I persevered.  It should be noted, however, that I did not manage to read all of the Dana Girls books this time around.

July: 18 books

Dana Girls #21 The Haunted Lagoon
Dana Girls #22 The Mystery of the Bamboo Bird
Dana Girls #24 The Secret of Lost Lake
Dana Girls #25 The Mystery of the Stone Tiger
Tom Swift Inventors' Academy #1 The Drone Pursuit
Tom Swift Inventors' Academy #2 The Sonic Breach
Dana Girls #26 The Riddle of the Frozen Fountain
Dana Girls #27 The Secret of the Silver Dolphin
Dana Girls #28 Mystery of the Wax Queen
Dana Girls #30 The Phantom Surfer
Dana Girls #14 The Curious Coronation
Dana Girls #15 The Hundred-Year Mystery
Dana Girls #16 Mountain-Peak Mystery
Dana Girls #17 The Witch's Omen

Unpublished Dana Girls #18 Strange Identities
Nancy Drew picture book, Mystery of the Lost Dogs
Nancy Pembroke #1 Nancy Pembroke, College Maid
Nancy Pembroke #3 Nancy Pembroke, Sophomore at Roxford

From August through to the end of the year, I went straight through my TBR books, with a few other scattered books mixed in.

August:  10 books

Nancy Pembroke #5 Nancy Pembroke, Junior
Nancy Pembroke #6 Nancy Pembroke in Nova Scotia
Nancy Pembroke #7 Nancy Pembroke, Senior
Marjorie Dean High School Series #1 Marjorie Dean, High School Freshman
Marjorie Dean High School Series #2 Marjorie Dean, High School Sophomore
Marjorie Dean High School Series #3 Marjorie Dean, High School Junior
Marjorie Dean High School Series #4 Marjorie Dean, High School Senior
Marjorie Dean College Series #1 Marjorie Dean, College Freshman
Marjorie Dean College Series #2 Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 by Stan Hoig

September:  17 books

The Fur Person by May Sarton
Marjorie Dean College Series #3 Marjorie Dean, College Junior
Marjorie Dean College Series #4 Marjorie Dean, College Senior
Marjorie Dean Post-Graduate Series #1 Marjorie Dean, Post-Graduate
Marjorie Dean Post-Graduate Series #2 Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager
Marjorie Dean Post-Graduate Series #3 Marjorie Dean at Hamilton Arms
Marjorie Dean Post-Graduate Series #4 Marjorie Dean's Romance
Marjorie Dean Post-Graduate Series #5 Marjorie Dean Macy
Marjorie Dean Post-Graduate Series #6 Marjorie Dean Macy's Hamilton Colony
Grace Harlowe Overseas Series #1 Grace Harlowe Overseas
Grace Harlowe Overseas Series #2 Grace Harlowe with the Red Cross in France
The Mark of the Red Diamond by Josephine Chase
The Golden Imp by Josephine Chase
The Green Jade Necklace by Josephine Chase
Behind the Purple Mask by Josephine Chase
The Blue Shadow Mystery by Josephine Chase
The Girl from Sunset Ranch by Amy Bell Marlowe

October:  7 books

Nancy Drew Diaries #18 The Stolen Show
The Girls of Rivercliff School by Amy Bell Marlowe
A Little Miss Nobody by Amy Bell Marlowe
The Great Library Series #1 Ink and Bone
The Great Library Series #2 Paper and Fire
The Great Library Series #3 Ash and Quill
The Great Library Series #4 Smoke and Iron

November:  7 books

Hardy Boys Adventures #19 Dungeons and Detectives
Tom Swift Inventors' Academy #3 Restricted Access
Felicity Way by Helen Girvan
The Hidden Treasure by Helen Girvan
The Missing Masterpiece by Helen Girvan
Those Who Remain Series #1 Those Who Remain by Priscila Santa Rosa
The Light in the Mill by Helen Girvan

December:  13 books

Sweet Dreams #24 The Trouble with Charlie
Sweet Dreams #25 Her Secret Self
Sweet Dreams #27 Too Young for Love
Sweet Dreams #28 Trusting Hearts
Sweet Dreams #31 Too Close for Comfort
Sweet Dreams #32 Daydreamer
Sweet Dreams #34 Country Girl
End Times Series #1 by Shane Carrow
Sweet Dreams #36 Summer Dreams
Sweet Dreams #39 First Love
Swept Away #2 Woodstock Magic
Sweet Dreams #41 The Truth about Me and Bobby V.
Sweet Dreams #43 Tender Loving Care

For now, I will continue with my TBR books.  Any Sweet Dreams book that I do not like will be immediately put up for sale.  I want to reduce the amount of space taken up by the Sweet Dreams books, and I have made a good start.

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