Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Has it Really been THAT Long??


Has it really been 5 months since we've talked?! This year has been a busy one for me and I took a little break from writing the blog. I'm retired now, but instead of a 9-5 job, I've started a small business called Shawl Y'all, where I sell my handmade shawls, ponchos and other wearables. Here's a photo of me wearing a couple of my winter creations. But I haven't forgotten about reading and books! How could I?! Books and talking about them has been a big part of my life for many years, and even though I took a little break from here, I've still been reading and participating in my reading group that is 800 plus miles away. Now I go to Book Club via Skype. It's great to be able to still meet with the book club and talk about books.

Being busy with Shawl Y'all, which also includes participating in shows, I miss sharing with y'all all my bookish talk. SO, I plan to make sure in 2020 I put some time aside to get back to the business of books! Great reads, great authors, news of things happening and of course book reviews! And it looks like there are plenty of books to talk about too! I already have a stack of books to start reading in the new year! INCLUDING my pick for First Book of the Year 2000! But you'll have to stop by January 1st to see what I chose!

First thing this year I will be participating in The First Book of the Year 2020, hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. This will be Sheila's 7th year hosting, and I think it's also my 7th year of participating. If you're interested, you have until Dec. 31st to pick out that first book you'll be reading for the start of 2020, take a photo of you and the book, and send it along to Sheila, who makes a collage of all the participants. It's fun to see what everyone else has chosen and it's fun to find that first book too! You can read all about it on her blog here.Will your book define your reading year?

So while I've been busy, knitting and crocheting, what have you been doing?! What great books have you been reading?! You can share that and any other bookish thing in the comments below!

Question... I've found my First Book of 2020, but help me find some other great reads!  
What is the BEST book you read this year?!

In the meantime, Chanukah begins tonight and Christmas is in 3 days, so Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas! I wish you all wonderful and happy times spent with family and friends! I will see you right back here next Sunday to talk about... what else? BOOKS!

Happy Reading... Suzanne


10 comments:

Carla said...

Good to see you! I've been checking back every now and then to see you.

I've been thinking of starting out 2020 with a reread of Little Women. Maybe then Little Men and Jo's Boys. Or maybe Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse about a horse used in the Korean War. Or maybe something totally different...

One of my favorite books from this year was kind of a surprise: "Whole Hog: Exploring the Extraordinary Potential of Pigs". Also, I enjoyed Fredrik Backman's "And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella". Right now I am reading the Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. I enjoy a mixture of hard copy and audio.

Have a great weekend!

shelleyrae @ book'd out said...

I should probably give some thought to that first book of the year

Wishing you a great reading week, and a happy holiday!

Bryan G. Robinson said...

Glad to see you back. It has been a while, hasn't it?

My best book? I had a few, but I guess for now I'd go with Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen, because it hit at just the right moment.

I think I'm also doing the first book of the year event too. And if last year's book is any indication, I think this year's book definitely will help define my reading year.

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

So glad you are back. We have all missed you.

I haven't figured up which books I liked best this year yet, but I strongly recommend four wonderful classics: Anna Karenina, Age of Innocence, North and South, and Moby Dick. Both were big and rich reads. Other books I read for the first time this year and loved are Night Circus, Salt to the Sea, Pachinko, The Heart's Invisible Furies, and Henry Himself.

Have a great week. Hope to see you next weekend.

pussreboots said...

I never know what my first book will be until I get to January 1st. It's part of the fun for me. My weekly update

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Carla!
Thanks for being a faithful blogging friend! Little Women is such a classic! Just the mention of it makes me want to reread it too! I read that so many years ago, but I still have so many sweet memories of it. I think I will do just that. Thanks for sharing that! Whole Hog sounds interesting! And I just took out of the library, that Fredrick Backman novella! I was going to read that as my first book of the year, but changed my mind and will save it for after the first anyway.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing! And nice to hear from you too!

Suzanne Yester said...

Yes, Shellyrae, you have a wonderful Holiday too and let me know what becomes that first book!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Bryan!
Nice to hear from you too! You always read interesting books! I like memoirs and such, I'm going to check out Bruce's Born to Run now. Sometimes I get tired of seeing all the "celebrity" memoirs, but I shouldn't discount them just because of that. I also have enjoyed a number of them. Thanks for sharing! And I look forward to seeing what your first book of the year is going to be!

Happy Holidays!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Deb! Thanks for the warm welcome back into the fray! And congratulations on taking over The Sunday Salon! It's such a great group and you are the perfect person to be our leader!

You also always have wonderful reading suggestions! One of my favorite books is Anna Karenina. Although I had my reading group read it and I don't think some of them have forgiven me yet! And I have been meaning to read Night Circus even before it was published! I guess it's about time for that one! Thanks for sharing!

Happy Holidays!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Pussreboots! Yes, It's always fun to just pick up some book that inspires you and start reading! And if it happens to be the first book of the year, it's fun to note what started it all "this year". Thanks for stopping by and sharing your weekly update!

Happy Holidays!

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