Happy Holidays!!! 🎅🤶
Happy reading!!! 📚
Dorothea 💜
Thursday, December 21, 2023
booksbydorothea - 2023 Year End Wrap-up
Hello, all!
This
is my first year-end book blog wrap-up for booksbydorothea!!!
Some
history of the blog - I started this blog in August of 2019 to keep track of my
books. It was a very simple blog with updates of the book that I was reading
and then the review (cut and pasted) from Goodreads.
Unfortunately,
the pandemic intervened in my developing the blog further. I had to take a
hiatus in March 2020 as I was unable to read, period.
Then
in April 2023, I was beginning to read again so I restarted the blog and now it has grown
to where it is now. I look forward to continuing to develop this blog even
more! Thank you for your support!
One
last housekeeping item, as of today, I am closing out the booksbydorothea
reading blog for 2023. Also, I will be off social media from December 20, 2023, to January 2, 2024. So be ready to see me again on January 3, 2024!!!
Now onto the MAIN EVENT:
booksbydorothea BEST BOOKS OF 2023 (5-star reviews)
THIRTEEN books vied for the Inaugural booksbydorothea
Book of 2023.
- The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (May)
- Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See (June)
- How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair (July)
- A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (August)
- The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (August)
- Evergreen (Japantown Mystery #2) by Naomi Hirahara (August)
- The Women by Kristin Hannah (September)
- After Annie by Anna Quindlen (September)
- Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki (October)
- The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (October)
- Making It So by Patrick Stewart (October) audiobook
- Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner (November)
- Being Henry by Henry Winkler (November) audiobook
Interestingly, some months had a LOT of great books that were 5-star (like August and October). But every month except January and December had a 5-star book.
As you may have read previously in the
blog, the booksbydorothea INAUGURAL Book of the Year 2023 is:
How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair REVIEW
GOODREADS BEST BOOKS OF
2023 FINALISTS
Congratulations to Henry
Winkler for being awarded Best Humor. It was a great audiobook and Henry is a
great narrator! Unfortunately, it is the only book that I read that was a Goodreads Best Books of 2023 Finalist.
Being Henry by Henry Winkler REVIEW
2023 MONTHLY BEST BOOK
This is my VERY best book in each
month, period. These are some great books that are worth exploring and
reading other than the 5-star books. PLEASE NOTE: there were no blog reviews until May 2023.
Surrender by Bono (January 2023)
Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein (February 2023)
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (March 2023)
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin (April 2023)
The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (May 2023) REVIEW
Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (June 2023) REVIEW
How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair (July 2023) REVIEW
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (August 2023) REVIEW
The Women by Kristin Hannah (September 2023) REVIEW
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (October 2023) REVIEW
Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner (November 2023) REVIEW
Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis (December 2023) REVIEW
2023 GOODREADS STATISTICS
This continuous updating of the book goal
became tedious in 2023; in 2024, it will be 100 books from the start!
2023 Goodreads Book Goal:
48
books – set January 1, 2023
60
books – set May 15, 2023
80
books – set September 23, 2023
100
books – set October 28, 2023 (serious stretch goal):
2023 Goodreads Book Total: 94 physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks!! I think that I did a great job and enjoyed reading such fantastic books!
2023 MONTHLY WRAP-UPS
As I restarted this blog in April 2023, there are no monthly wrap-ups for January-April 2023. The monthly wrap-ups were started in May 2023 and are linked below.
May Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
June Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
July Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
August Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
September Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
October Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
November Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
December Monthly Wrap-up: LINK
HELPFUL LINKS
Glossary: LINK
Book Ratings: LINK
2023 TOTAL STATISTICS:
Now for all of the statistics of 2023!
It is all so fascinating to me, but you may find it boring so feel free to skip
this! Next year, I plan to do some analysis!
2023 total books (ALL book types)
TOTAL: 94 physical,
ebooks, and audiobooks
2023 eBooks
TOTAL: 57 ebooks
2023 Audiobooks
TOTAL: 34 audiobooks
2023 Personal Physical Books
TOTAL: 2 personal physical books
2023 Library books (ebooks)
TOTAL: 23 library ebooks
2023 Library books (audiobooks)
TOTAL: 35 library audiobooks
2023 Amazon Prime First Reads books
(First Reads) (part of ebooks)
TOTAL: 3 First Reads ebooks
2023 ARCs (Advance Reader Copy) (part
of ebooks)
TOTAL: 29 ARCs
2023 Total Listening Time (audiobooks)
TOTAL: 358 hours, 20 minutes listening time
2023 Pages Read (physical and ebooks)
TOTAL: 19,974 pages read (very different from Goodreads, hmm???)
2023 TOTAL BOOK RATINGS
5.0-star books
4.5-star books
TOTAL: 29 books
4.0-star books
TOTAL: 23 books
3.5-star books
TOTAL: 8 books
3.0-star books
Thank you for coming along with me on
my book blog journey in 2023! I hope that you join me in 2024 for more
adventures in reading!!
Happy Holidays 🎅🎄 and Happy Reading📚!
Dorothea 💜
December 2023 - Monthly Wrap-up
Hi, everyone!
What a typical December!!
Lots of activities, visits, and family time. As expected, my reading was down. I
always TRY to remember that it is not a contest or a chore, but personal reading
is for joy and pleasure!
So as of today, I am closing
out my reading blog for 2023. Also, I will be off social media from December 20, 2023, to January 2, 2024. I will be back on January 3, 2024, trying to remember to write 2024 not 2023 on my checks AND reading new books!!
INAUGURAL BEST BOOK OF
2023
THIRTEEN books were vying for booksbydorothea Best Book of 2023.
- The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (May)
- Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See (June)
- How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair (July)
- A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (August)
- The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (August)
- Evergreen (Japantown Mystery #2) by Naomi Hirahara (August)
- The Women by Kristin Hannah (September)
- After Annie by Anna Quindlen (September)
- Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki (October)
- The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (October)
- Making It So by Patrick Stewart (October) audiobook
- Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner (November)
- Being Henry by Henry Winkler (November) audiobook
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a Best Book of 2023 candidate in December. Hopefully, 2024 will be another fantastic book year!!
As you may have read
previously in my blog, my booksbydorothea INAUGURAL Book of the Year 2023 is:
How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair REVIEW
Of these thirteen BEST books, only one made it to the Goodreads Choice Awards 2023. Congratulations to Henry Winkler, who was awarded Best Humor. It was a great audiobook and Henry is a great narrator!
Being Henry by Henry Winkler REVIEW
GOODREADS READING GOAL:
My Goodreads reading goal
kept increasing in 2023! In May, it increased from 50 to 60 books; in
September, it increased from 60 to 80 books; and in October, it increased from
80 to 100 books! T
The final number: 94 books
out of 100 books GOAL. Only 6 shy of my
yearly goal which I increased THREE times!! Yeah, ME!!
For 2024, my goal will be 100
from the very start!!!
DECEMBER STATISTICS:
4 total books
1 e-books; 3 audiobooks
0 books were an ARC
(Advance Reader Copy)
3 books were library books
(0 ebooks; 3 audiobooks)
0 books were purchased
ebooks
1 book was an Amazon First
Reads
0 books were a gifted
physical book
Audio listening time in December:
25 hours, 35 minutes
Pages read in December: 31
pages
DECEMBER BOOK RATINGS with BOOK COVERS:
5.0-star books (0)
4.5-star books (0)
4.0-star books (3)
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe audiobook REVIEW
Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis audiobook REVIEW
Two Women Walk Into A Bar by Cheryl Stayed ebook REVIEW
3.5-star book (0)
3.0-star books (1)
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry audiobook REVIEW
If you want to read my
full review of any of these books, there are individual review posts for each
e-book or audiobook below the picture of the book. You can click on the
specific book link to get to that book review!!
Happy holidays 🎅 and Happy reading 📚,
Dorothea 💜
P.S. For more information
about my book ratings, you can find out more HERE.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
LAPL Best Books of 2023
I am thrilled that FIVE books I have read or listened to this year were selected for the LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) Best Books of 2023. The LAPL is my personal, fabulous, and PUBLIC library!!
Congratulations to Marie Benedict, Lisa See, Luis Alberto Urrea, Naomi Hirahara, and Henry Winkler for making this amazing list of books!
All five were ebooks except for Harry Winker's memoir which was an audiobook. Below is the LAPL write-up scan, my rating, and a link to my review! (NOTE: all of these books were rated 4.5 stars or 5.0 stars)!
The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict (4.5 stars REVIEW)
Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (5.0 stars REVIEW)
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea (4.5 star REVIEW)
Evergreen (Japantown Mystery #2) by Naomi Hirahara (4.5 stars REVIEW)
Being Henry by Henry Winkler (5.0 stars REVIEW)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
P.S. I am not sure how many more books that I can get in before the end of the year - maybe one or two more. I am at 94 with a goal of 100!
Sunday, December 17, 2023
UPDATED (1/2/2024) My next ebook is...
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang (ebook)
Updating this post to reflect that I am starting this book TODAY, the explanation is that I took a Holiday break and then another ARC became available with a shorter read time!
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - Dying of Politeness audiobook
Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis
OVERVIEW
This was a great book by Geena Davis - well-written, well-narrated, and interesting! It definitely held my interest.
Geena was fantastic at not being salacious or obnoxious about her intimate and Hollywood relationships. She also talked very little about her kids protecting their privacy.
The biggest achievements that she has in her life are her three kids AND her Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Foundation. I love her hope for her future granddaughter someday comes true for my future granddaughter too.
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars
Writing: 4.0 stars
It was beautifully written - Geena comes across as warm, kind, and real. She seems very authentic and a true New Englander, especially with politeness as a personal issue.
Narration: 4.5 stars
Geena is a beautiful narrator. She was engaging, personal, and emotional when discussing her family.
Character Arc: 4.0 stars
It was written in a fairly chronological order, but it did diverge at times. However, it was not difficult to follow.
Memorable: 4.0 stars
I loved how Geena talked about the gender disparity in television and movies. Hopefully, her foundation will help end this type of disparity.
Entertaining: 4.0 stars
Geena was very entertaining and fun. However, if you want a typical gossipy Hollywood tell-all, this is NOT it!
Book cover: 3.0 stars
I thought it was a little too quirky.
Book title: 4.0 stars
It was very appropriate.
DEFINITE recommend
STATISTICS
Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis
7 hours, 36 minutes
Listened to as an audiobook from the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)
Release date of 10/11/2022
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
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