All the books I meant to read – 2024 edition

Posted in Bookish Thoughts by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for my annual end-of-year tradition — all the books I meant to read! Here’s a look back at all the books I purchased in 2024, but just didn’t get around to reading for one reason or another.

I do think I’m getting much better at keeping my purchased hard copy books under control. More and more, I’ve been leaning toward mainly buying either (a) new books by authors or in series that I know I want to own, or (b) buying hard copy books for my shelves after discovering (either through an ARC or the library) a book that I love.

Of course, I still do give in to temptation when I happen to walk into a brick-and-mortar bookstore, especially a used book store! Then all restraint goes out the window.

When it comes to physical books, I seem to have improved my track record during this past year! I bought fewer hard copies overall, and many of the hardcovers and paperbacks I purchased were copies of books I’d already read, loved, and then decided to add to my bookshelves.

In terms of e-books, there are many, many more of those purchased in 2024 but not yet read. I tend to grab copies of ebooks when I see a good deal, not necessarily when I have an immediate intention of reading them right away. So, you’ll see lots and lots of new Kindle books added in 2024… and most of them still to be read.

Let’s get to it. Here’s a salute to my unread books of 2024!

First, the hardcovers and paperbacks:

Note: I’m reading The Spellshop right now… so maybe I’ll actually finish before the end of the year!

As for the ebooks added to my Kindle library in 2024:

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Yes, that’s a ton of e-books! Keep in mind, almost all of these were purchased when their prices dropped to a dollar or two… but still, that’s way more than I really should be adding to my library, when I still have so many books yet to read. I’ll try to do better in 2025 (but also, I acknowledge that I say this every year!)

End note:

While I’m talking about “meant to read” books, I thought I’d take a look at my quarterly Top Ten Tuesday TBR posts of 2024, to see if I actually read the books I listed as my priorities each season. And guess what? I did pretty well this year! Apparently I did a good job naming books that I was truly interested in, and ended up reading all but four of the 39 books I named! (Yes, 39 is correct — one book was listed two quarters in a row, but I did finally read it!). My unread TTT/TBR books are:

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow: Still plan to read
The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood: Still plan to read
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins: DNFd — just not for me
On Her Own by Lihi Lapid: Still plan to read

Have you read (and loved) any of my 2024 “meant-to-read” books? Please let me know if you see any you’d consider best of the bunch!

Onward to 2025! Happy New Year!Save

29Dec2023

All the books I meant to read – 2023 edition

Posted in Bookish Thoughts by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for my annual end-of-year tradition — all the books I meant to read! Here’s a look back at all the books I purchased in 2023, but just didn’t get around to reading for one reason or another.

In terms of e-books, there are many, many more of those purchased in 2023 but not yet read. I tend to grab copies of ebooks when I see a good deal, not necessarily when I have an immediate intention of reading them right away. So, you’ll see lots and lots of new Kindle books added in 2023… and most of them still to be read.

Let’s get to it. Here’s a salute to my unread books of 2023!

First, the hardcovers and paperbacks. Several of these are illustrated/artsy versions of books I’ve already read (Tolkien-related and Harry Potter, among others)… but I’m including them here because I have yet to spend any time even looking through them.

As for the ebook added to my Kindle library in 2023:

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Whew, that’s a lot! I’ll do my best to get through my already-owned books and cut back on adding to my library in 2024… but I seem to have said that at the start of each of the past several years, and we see how well that’s worked out for me. Still, on the bright side — I have a lot of great reading to look forward to!

Have you read (and loved) any of my 2023 “meant-to-read” books? Please let me know if you see any you’d consider best of the bunch!

Onward to 2024! Happy New Year!Save

27Dec2022

All the books I meant to read – 2022 edition

Posted in Bookish Thoughts by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for my annual end-of-year tradition — all the books I meant to read! Here’s a look back at all the books I purchased in 2022, but just didn’t get around to reading for one reason or another.

And… oops… I did manage to order a few more that are set to arrive later this week, but I’ll just go ahead and consider them 2023 purchases!

When it comes to physical books, I seem to have improved my track record during this past year! I bought fewer hard copies overall, and of the ones I did buy, I actually read quite a few (so they’re not included in this post).

In past years, this round-up post only included physical books (hardcovers and paperbacks), but I thought it might be fun (or embarrassing or daunting or overwhelming…) to also include all the e-books I added to my Kindle library but haven’t read yet.

Here’s a salute to my unread books of 2022!

First, the hardcovers and paperbacks:

And now, the Kindle books purchased in 2022. (In my defense, I tend to grab books I’m interested in when I see a good price drop… so most of these were deals that I snatched up, not necessarily books that I intended to read immediately and then just didn’t get to). My 2022 e-books:

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So, if I prioritized reading all of these 2022 book purchases in 2023… that would take up most of the year! I’ll give it a fair shot — and will try to stick to just buying the books I know I’ll read right away.

Have you read (and loved) any of my 2022 “meant-to-read” books? Please let me know if you see any you’d consider best of the bunch!

Onward to 2023! Happy New Year!Save

31Dec2021

All the books I meant to read – 2021 edition

Posted in Bookish Thoughts by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for my annual end-of-year tradition — all the books I meant to read! Here’s a look back at all the books I purchased in 2021, but just didn’t get around to reading for one reason or another.

To keep things simple, I’m focusing here on new physical books I bought or received as gifts — no ARCs, no e-books, no $1 books from the library sale or used copies picked up along the way.

Here’s a salute to my unread books of 2021!

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Onward to 2022 — when I hope to get through all of these 2021 books that I’ve neglected so far.

Happy New Year!Save

14Nov2021

Book Bounty: My big batch of new books

Posted in Books & Authors by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I don’t typically do book haul posts, but this week’s book-buying activity calls for an exception! I stumbled across Amazon’s 3-for-2 book sale purely by accident. (Sneaky Amazon — I didn’t see an actual promotion for the sale, but came across it while looking up a book that happened to be included).

I started small — just 3 books added to my cart. But then I saw more that I wanted… and more… and more. Some of these books have been on my wish list for quite some time, some are new releases that caught my eye, and some are books that I’d read as either e-books or library books, but really wanted my own copies.

I think I’m in serious need of a book buying ban from here on out (but who am I kidding? that’ll never happen!).

So, for those counting, that’s 20 new books! I believe there were six sets of 3 for the price of 2, plus one set of buy one, get one 50% off. My credit card is very tired now.

As you can see, I got a mix of contemporary, sci fi, fantasy, romance, and even a couple of non-fiction new releases.

Here’s a closer look at the covers of all my new preciouses:

Now for the hard part… what to read first?

19Aug2019

The Monday Check-In ~ 8/19/2019

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

Well, my hand surgery went well, but now I’m in this big, bulky splint for about ten days,,, following which I’ll be in a hard cast for a month. And typing is just as slow and awkward and frustrating as you might guess, so after I finish this post, I probably won’t do much else online for a while.

Ugh, so many typos! This may not be worth the effort, gonna keep things really brief,,, reviews will (probably) follow once I have better use of my fingers.

What did I read during the last week?

Fresh Catch:

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Now playing via audiobook:

Ongoing reads:

Two ongoing book group read right now:

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens — our current classic selection, reading and discussing two chapters per week.
Virgins by Diana Gabaldon: Our newest group read — a novella set during Jamie Fraser’s teen years.

So many books, so little time…

12Aug2019

The Monday Check-In ~ 8/12/2019

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

Later this week, I’m going under the knife! Nothing too dramatic — I’m having orthopedic surgery on my left hand. It should be a quick in-and-out procedure, home the same day, and then in a cast or splint for several weeks. I’ve been assured that I’ll still be able to type afterward, so yay for that. Still, I imagine that I’ll be less active than usual online for about a week or two, so if I’m not around much, now you know why!

What did I read during the last week?

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han: Enjoyable YA, but not nearly as captivating as the Lara Jean books. I liked it enough to want to read the rest of the trilogy, for sure.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center: A lovely, powerful story. My review is here.

Pop Culture:

I spent the weekend binge-watching season 4 of Veronica Mars on Hulu. As I write this, I’m about to watch the season finale, and I’m terrified that something very bad is going to happen to one of the characters I love. Speaking of love… man, do I love this show. I’m highly tempted (meaning I’m not even going to fight the urge) to go back and start again from season 1. VMars for the win!

Fresh Catch:

A couple of used book orders arrived this week:

Plus, the eagerly awaited 4th and final book in the Custard Protocol series was released this week — and yes, I bought myself a brand-new hardcover edition, even though I’ll probably end up listening to the audiobook (since that’s how I enjoyed the other three books in the series).

What will I be reading during the coming week?