Goodreads Reading Challenge 2019

I've always been an avid reader, but in recent years, I've not read as much as I could have. Ever since I got my first laptop sometime around 2006/7, I've spent far too much time online, when I could've and probably should've been using my downtime to do something more productive like learning a new craft or reading a book. 

I wasn't proud of how much time I was spending online, or how little I was reading, so, last year, I decided to make a conscious effort to read more, and set myself the challenge of reading 25 books before 2019 was through, using Goodreads to track my progress. 25 seemed like a reasonable number as I'd managed to read 17 books the year before, and I thought I could probably achieve it by New Year's Eve if I put the effort in. Maybe.

I bought a stack of new books and began reading on January 1st. And I kept reading and reading, day after day, almost every single day, finding so many good books that I just couldn't put down. I set aside an hour or so to read every evening that I could, and tried to read before bed as often as possible, too. Some days, I'd also read as soon as I woke up, and in the afternoon, too. By August, I'd completed my reading challenge of 25 books with over four months to go, so I decided to increase my goal to 40 books to keep myself on my toes until the New Year. Then, by October, I'd smashed my second goal as well! I thought about increasing it to 52 books, one for each week of the year, but I wasn't confident I'd make it as I knew my reading would slow down with Christmas approaching, so I left the challenge there but continued to read. By New Year's Eve night, I'd ended the year with 47 books (and 200 pages of a 48th) under my belt for 2019, and it's an achievement I'm pretty darn proud of! I mean, I wasn't really expecting to reach my original goal and I read almost double the amount of books I'd hoped to. I think that's something I should be proud of. I haven't read so many books in a year since I was in primary school! (And it's been a long time since I was in primary school!)

Here is an infographic from Goodreads to show you my year in books, including what I read in 2019: 

16,046 pages read across 47 books. (Plus 200 of a 48th).

Shortest Book:

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman with 118 pages.

Longest Book:

The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver with 550 pages.

Average Length:

341 Pages

Most Popular Book I Read:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins with 2,868,784 readers.

Least Popular Book I Read:

Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein with just 182 readers.

I have to say, I'm really surprised that Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein was the least popular book I read on Goodreads in 2019, with only 182 readers, as it was such a fantastic piece of young adult fiction. It's a harrowing tale of a fourteen year old girl struggling to deal with a life-changing chronic illness diagnosis (arthritis), daily agonising pain and stiffness, the loss of her friends because of her illness, difficulties at school, and her parents' separation. I had to read this book as I also struggled with arthritis as a young teenager (although mine started at age thirteen, went undiagnosed until my twenties, and wasn't quite as debilitating as hers back then). This is the first book I've read that accurately describes what it's like to live with arthritis as a young person, and that doesn't just made arthritis sound like mild aches and pains. I found it so relatable, from the struggles with pain to the lack of support from friends, peers and doctors, and urge everyone to read it. It will help you understand the condition a little better, and if you have had arthritis from a young age yourself, you'll likely find it relatable and inspiring.

My Average Rating For 2019:

4.1 stars.

Highest Rated Book On Goodreads:

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris with 4.38 stars.

I'm not surprised at all that Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris, the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz,  was the highest ratest book on Goodreads (from the 47 I read). It was one of my favourite reads of 2019, but holy crap, it broke my heart. It's been two months but I haven't quite recovered emotionally. It's a novel based on the true story of a Cilka Klein, a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkeneau and Vorkuta. As a young teenager, she spent three years in Auschwitz being raped by Nazis because she was pretty, and doing what she had to do to survive. On liberation, aged just sixteen, the Soviets marked her as a Nazi collaborator and accused her of being a spy because she spoke multiple languages, and sentenced her to fifteen years in a brutal Siberian work camp in the Arctic circle. For simply surviving the holocaust. Imprisoned again, she faced a daily fight for survival in horrendous conditions, once again being raped, starved, and forced to do heavy labour while enduring bitterly cold temperatures. After a time, she  befriended a female doctor, and was given the job of nursing the sick back to health, where she began to thrive and help others, but if you think her life got much better then, you'd be wrong. Her story breaks your heart, but it's also so inspiring and powerful, and well worth reading.

What I Read In 2019

1. Bird Box by Josh Malerman.
2. VOX by Christina Dalcher.
3. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
4. A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman.
5. The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom.
6. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Morgan.
7. The Extinction Trials Rebel by S. M. Wilson.
8. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott.
9. An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim.
10. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.
11. The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe.
12. The Amateurs by Liz Harmer.
13. The Giver by Lois Lowry.

14. The Passengers by John Marrs.
15. The Next Together by Lauren James.
16. The One by John Marrs.
17. The Last Beginning by Lauren James.
18. The Good Samaritan by John Marrs.

19. When You Disappeared by John Marrs.
20. Welcome to Wherever You Are by John Marrs.
21. Don't Wake Up by Liz Lawler.
22. Her Last Move by John Marrs.
23. I'll Find You by Liz Lawler.

24. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James.
25. The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz.
26. Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein.
27. Before Her Eyes by Jack Jordan.

28. Night by Night by Jack Jordan.
29. My Girl by Jack Jordan.
30. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
31. Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh.
32. I See You by Clare Mackintosh.

33. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh.
34. On My Life by Angela Clarke.
35. In to the Water by Paula Hawkins.
36. After the End by Clare Mackintosh.

37. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell.
38. Disclaimer by Renee Knight.
39. You Were Gone by Tim Weaver.
40. Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews.
41. Under the Water by Paul Pen.

42. Chasing the Dead by Tim Weaver.
43. Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris.
44. The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver.
45. Vanished by Tim Weaver.
46. Never Coming Back by Tim Weaver.
47. A Literary Christmas: An Anthology by The British Library.

It was a great year for reading, and I'm so glad I found my reading mojo again. I read some amazing books in 2019, discovered some fantastic new-to-me authors (like John Marrs and Clare Mackintosh), and particularly fell back in love with psychological thrillers, which I read more than any other genre last year. What can I say? I love a good murder, stalker, or missing persons story. They're so addictive! 

I know I could've read a little more variety, and turned to different authors and genres much more- which I hope to do more of this year- but I thoroughly enjoyed the vast majority of books I did read, so I don't have any regrets about my choices.

Favourite Books I Read:

(In no particular order).

♥ The One by John Marrs

♥ The Passengers by John Marrs.

♥ Bird Box by Josh Malerman.

♥ The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Morgan.

♥ An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim.

♥ Before Her Eyes by Jack Jordan.

♥ I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh.
♥ After You'd Gone by Clare Mackintosh.

♥ Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein

♥ You Were Gone by Tim Weaver.

♥ Don't Wake Up by Liz Lawler.

♥ I'll Find You by Liz Lawler.

♥ The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

♥ Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris.

♥ VOX by Christina Dalcher.

Least Favourite Book I Read:

The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz. (So cheesy and badly written).

New Authors Discovered:

V.C. Andrews, Angela Clarke, Christina Dalcher, Liz Harmer, Paula Hawkins, Antonio Iturbe, Lauren James, Lisa Jewell, Jack Jordan, Renee Knight, Liz Lawler, Thea Lim, Rachael Lippincott, Lois Lowry, Clare Mackintosh, Josh Malerman, John Marrs, Karol Ruth Silverstein, and Tim Weaver.

Favourite New Authors Discovered: 

John Marrs, Clare Mackintosh, Tim Weaver, Jack Jordan.

Books I Started But Never Managed To Finish

The Martian by Andy Weir.
The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder by Sarah J. Harris.
The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (reread a few chapters).
Fall From Grace by Tim Weaver (200 pages read by NYE- finished last night).

I enjoyed reading so much in 2019 that I've decided to do the Goodreads Reading Challenge again this year. It wouldn't be a challenge unless I upped the stakes, though, so this year I'm aiming to read at least 52 books- one for each week of the year. I'm confident that I can do it if I can keep reading at a similar pace to 2019 (or better!), and keep using Goodreads to keep track of what I've read. I finished my first (600 page) book of the year last night, so I'm off to a good start, and I've just treated myself to a stack of new books that I can't wait to read, so I'm on track and I'm sure I'll be racing ahead in no time.

If you'd like to keep up with what I'm reading this year, you can find me on Goodreads here.

Did you take part in a reading challenge in 2019, and have you set yourself a reading challenge for 2020?

Looking Back On 2019

Hello 2020, goodbye 2019!

I can't believe another year has come and passed, and it's already time to look back on another year of my life with a mix of nostalgia and regret.  It only feels like a minute since I was reflecting on 2018. Where has the time gone?? I swear 2019 was the shortest year yet.

I wish I could say that 2019 was the best year of my life; a year full of achievements, fun experiences, milestones, wealth, health, and romance, but if I did I would be lying through my teeth. In all honesty, 2019 was a pretty boring and uneventful year for me. I achieved very little, I didn't reach any big milestones, I didn't have many fun experiences, my health was crap, and there was certainly no wealth or romance in my life during the past twelve months.

I can count on two hands with fingers to spare how many times I even left the house last year, and apart from a trip to the zoo in July, and two fun trips away in February and October to see Boyzone live again before they split, my only ventures out of the house were for medical appointments or unnoteworthy visits to the shops with my Mum or sister. That's literally it. I'm not even kidding. I'm beginning to wonder if I actually lived the last year of my life at all.

It's not that I didn't want or try to live my life to the full last year- I didn't want to do anything more- but my health had other ideas, and decided to hold me hostage for another year. Nobody came to rescue me; I'm quite disappointed. Without droning on about my health too much, basically some of my conditions degenerated further in 2019. My Fibromyalgia pains and flares were more intense; my Arthritis inflicted a lot more pain, stiffness, and swelling in all my bones and joints; my chronic spinal pain was a daily challenge; and fatigue zapped the life out of me. I also managed to do some further damage to my spine in August, thanks to my existing Degenerative Disc Disease, and knocked one of the facets in my neck out of place. I spent the last third of 2019 with intense pain in the back of my head and reduced mobility in my neck, doing daily physio stretches to try to help myself heal. I'm still not back to normal. With all these physical challenges kicking my ass, I couldn't get out and about much, and 2019 was more about getting from one day to the next than having fun, making memories, and achieving goals. C'est la vie. On the plus side, I survived my eighth year housebound with chronic pain and illness and managed to stay upbeat most of the time, so go me!

While I didn't do anything exciting or achieve anything noteworthy last year, I did find plenty of ways to keep myself occupied at home, and made some small victories. I crafted, I cross stitched, I watched movies, I listened to a lot of music, I took a bunch of photos, I spent time with my dog and my family, I kept two plants alive, I found solace online, I collected a lot of Erstwilder brooches, I spent more hours playing Animal Crossing New Leaf every day than I'd care to admit, and I rekindled my love of reading. 

I set myself the goal of reading 25 books in 2019, and totally smashed my expectations by reading 47 books by New Year's Eve, which is something I'm really proud of. I haven't read so much in a year since I was in primary school! I guess being unable to move, and too brain-fogged to blog have their advantages- it left me more time to read! I read almost every day and lapped up books like there was no tomorrow, discovered new authors and particularly fell back in love with psychological thrillers. I loved getting lost in so many new books, and I'm happy that I at least achieved something worthwhile last year. I'm hoping to read even more in 2020, but I'll talk more about that when I share my goals for the year ahead later this week.

So what else happened in 2019?

♥ I saw Boyzone live with Marie in February.

♥ I celebrated my blog's 7th birthday.

♥ I came in as a runner up in a Hobbycraft competition with one of my cross stitches.

♥ I turned 34.

♥ I spent my birthday visiting The Cotswold Wildlife Park for the millionth time.

♥ I spent a few nights in London in October seeing Boyzone live for the final time with Marie.

♥ We did some shopping in Westfield.

♥ We discovered Doughnut Time doughnuts and Crème cookies and oh my God, they were the best discoveries ever!

♥ My dog, Rosie, turned 4 and I made her pupcakes for the first time.

And that's about as exciting as my life gets these days.

Fingers crossed I can get out and about and have more experiences in 2020, because 2019 was kinda pathetic. It wasn't a bad year- I've had worse- it was just kinda dull.

I also blogged less in 2019 than any year since I began Polka Spots and Freckle Dots in 2012. It wasn't for lack of trying; I sat at my laptop almost every day and attempted to write for hours, but more often than not, the words just wouldn't come. I was so brain fogged most of the year (another wonderful side-effect of my Fibromyalgia) that I had the worst time recalling words and stringing coherent sentences together, which was not only frustrating as hell, but meant that my blog suffered for it and had to take a back seat. Sometimes it took me a fortnight to put one post together, and other times I couldn't create at all. Or when I could write, I couldn't take the photos I needed to finish a post because of the pain and injury to my neck. It wasn't the year I'd hoped for my blog, but I did still blog a little, worked with some fantastic brands, celebrated my 7th blog birthday, and managed to get back in to the swing of things in December. 

Some of my favourite posts from 2019 include:

♥ Snow Day
♥ Vendula London La Bicyclette de Vendula Box Bag Review
♥ Polka Spots and Freckle Dots Turns Seven
♥ Mal Paper Daily Goal Setter Planner Review
♥ Erstwilder Endangered Animals Brooches
♥ Turning Thirty Four and What I Got For My Birthday
♥ Erstwilder Halloween Jewellery
♥ Essie Nail Polish Advent Calendar Review
♥ Ciate Mini Mani Month Nail Polish Advent Calendar Review
♥ Christmas Bedroom Tour 2018
♥ What I Got For Christmas Last Year (2018)
♥ 50 Things To Do This Christmas If You Have a Chronic Illness
♥ IWOOT Christmas Jumpers Review
♥ My Christmas Cross Stitch Makes
♥ A Literary Christmas: An Anthology Book Review
♥ Erstwilder All Wrapped Up Christmas Brooches
♥ What's In My Christmas Eve Box 2019

I just want to say a big heart-felt "thank you" to everyone who continued to read my blog posts, follow me on social media, and leave me lovely comments and messages in 2019, even though my posting was sparse and my content not the most interesting. I can't believe that you were still  interested in reading what I had to say when I did make an appearance, and your support means the world. Thank you!

I really enjoyed blogging regularly again over Christmas and I'm hoping I can find my groove again this year, and health allowing, create more quality content on a regular basis in 2020. I'm going to try my best for you guys, but I won't make any promises in case I can't keep them, and I guess we shall see what happens. Fingers crossed for a better year!

I hope that 2020 is a bright year for all of us, filled with happiness, good health (or as good as it can be for those of us with chronic illnesses), fun times, great experiences, wonderful people, and all the things you're hoping for this year. Happy New Year, everyone! Let's make it the best one yet!

What was your greatest achievement in 2019?