Sunday Post/Mailbox Monday 12/30/18: Happy New Year and the Bookish Best of 2018

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog…

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists….

 

“Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but the ability to start over.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

Hello everyone, the last Sunday of 2018 is here, can you believe it? I hope you are enjoying the holidays. I want to wish you all a Happy, Healthy New Year and all good things for 2019. Thank you for your blogging friendships. I always enjoy reading the comments and visiting your blogs, the book recommendations, the updates and discussion posts…the book blogging community is wonderful.

Recently on the blog:

I posted my thoughts on Delicate Crochet: 23 Light and Pretty Designs for Shawls, Tops and More and Starry Night by Debbie Macomber.

Watching:

I’ve been watching all the things on Netflix these few weeks and my favorites have been Bird Box and The Haunting of Hill House. Both fantastic.

In my Mailbox:

My daughter gave me a copy of The Sun and Her Flowers for Christmas and we’ve been reading it together. We read Milk and Honey last year and we are enjoying this one also.

Other :

I’ve also been baking and finally got around to making my sugar cookies for Christmas. Hmmm sugar cookies.

My last Christmas crochet for the year was a little stuffed tree.

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Onto my bookish 2018 wrapup….

2018 book stats:

I read 27 books in 2018 which is a new record for me. (9 romance, 1 memoir, 3 horror,  10 mystery/thrillers, 1 poetry book, 3 general fiction)

Reading Goals for 2019:

My goal is to hit 35 books next year, I think it is do-able.

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My Favorite Books of 2018 

Favorite Romances:

The Duchess Deal: Girl Meets Duke 1 , Lord of Scoundrels and A Precious Jewel were all amazing. I will never get over Lord of Scoundrels and I see myself re-reading that one in the future for sure. These three authors have easily become my top favorites for historical romance.

Nights in Rodanthe was a favorite re-read and I ugly cried (again) the second time around. Nicholas Sparks just loves to break your heart. <-that should be the blurb for all his novels.

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Favorite Horror:

Pet Sematary by Stephen King was a re-read and it was fantastic and terrifying and sad. This remains my favorite King novel.

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Favorite Cozy Mystery:

I read just one cozy mystery in 2018 and it was fantastic so I had to include it here . The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

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Favorite Mystery/Thrillers:

I discovered Gillian Flynn in 2018 and she became an favorite.  Sharp Objects and Dark Places blew me away.

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I discovered the Alex Cross series in 2018 and James Patterson became an instant favorite also. Also, I almost fainted when the author re-tweeted and re-Instagrammed my book pics.

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Most shocking read:

Oh how I loved reading The Pisces by Melissa Broder. This book, my goodness. I wish I could read it for the first time again. It was wonderfully shocking and crazy good.

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Most mesmerizing read:

Thank you Neil Gaiman for The Ocean at the End of the Lane. So beautiful and magical and dreamlike.

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Favorite book quotes of 2018:
“Here was a bit of magic that could happen in my life. After all the nothingness, maybe this fantasy was worth living for.” –The Pisces by Melissa Broder (twitter)

“Most of the time, a girl needed to rescue herself.”
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

“His eyes betrayed such longing that she thought her heart might stop beating all together.”-  In Places Hidden by Tracie Peterson

“I couldn’t force him to respect me, but I did make a choice not to be disrespected.” –
Louisiana Catch by Sweta Srivastava Vikram 

“The greater the love, the greater the tragedy when it’s over. Those two elements always go together.”–  Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

“He wanted it that way, because it was love that mastered him, happiness that shackled him. She was passionate chatelaine of his body, loving mistress of his heart.” – Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

“I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.”- Dark Places
by Gillian Flynn

“It’s all right to put the weight of the world on your shoulders sometimes, if you know how to take it off.” – Along Came A Spider by James Patterson(Twitter)

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That covers my end of year wrap up. Again, wishing you a Happy Healthy 2019! Thank you for stopping in. What are some of your favorite books of 2018?

I will be blog hopping the next couple of days to see what everyone has been up to. Enjoy your weekend xo.

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disclaimer:
Some of the links in the post are affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. The photos in this post are my own and not to be removed from here.