New year, new blog link up? I’ve had good intentions about joining the Ultimate Coffee Date for I don’t know how long, so I’m finally linking up with Deborah and Coco.
If we were having coffee… I’d be drinking ginger tea, my preferred beverage for the last couple days because I brought a head cold home from our holiday visiting. I also caught a mild stomach bug while we were there and then there was that month-long sinus infection not that long ago…so either 1) I’ve had my quota of illness for a while or 2) it’s one of those seasons where I catch every bug that goes around. Fingers crossed for #1.
If we were having coffee… I’d confess I don’t even want to think about New Year’s resolutions this year. Not in a negative way, but because I have plenty (maybe more than plenty) of goals/projects currently in progress. I won’t be starting any new ones just because it’s January!
If we were having coffee… Maybe you’d like to chat about books? I recently browsed my Goodreads year in books, so my favorite reads from last year are fresh in my mind. I was a bit surprised that I only gave four 5-star ratings, but I am pretty picky (and maybe a bit capricious) about that. I read quite a few books that were almost 5-stars, so I’ll give you my 4.5-star books too, just for fun.
5-star books
Exhalation: stories, by Ted Chiang.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers.
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, by Jamil Zaki.
Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery, by Christie Aschwanden.
4.5-star books/series
The Steerswoman, by Rosemary Kirstein.
The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon.
The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie. The narrator is a rock, and also a god.
Arrive at Easterwine: The Autobiography of a Ktistec Machine, by R.A. Lafferty. In the running for strangest book I have ever read.
The Terra Ignota series, by Ada Palmer.
The Queen’s Thief series, by Megan Whalen Turner.
Range: How Generalists Thrive in a Specialized World, by David Epstein.
Training for the Uphill Athlete: A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers, by Steve House. (I’ll probably be blogging about this one soon…)
User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play, by Cliff Kuang. I was thoroughly creeped out by the end of this one (the author is more optimistic than I).
The Undying, by Anne Boyer.
I’m so glad you joined the coffee date — that’s a new habit to keep for 2020 😉 That User Friendly book sounds intriguing. My reading tends towards fiction, but I haven’t read anything in a while. Sorry you’ve caught a lot of bugs – hopefully this is the last of it.
Coco recently posted…Hosting The First Ultimate Coffee Date Of 2020
I tend more to fiction too – I was surprised so much non-fiction made the list.
Ginger tea is definitely one of my favorite things to have when I’m sick. I hope it’s #1 for you too!
I don’t think I rated too many books last year but I’m hoping I’ll get to read some more this year! I’ll have to check out some of your 4.5-5 star ones and maybe add em’ to my never-ending to-read list! :]
Yes, ginger tea is the best!
I’m so glad you’ve joined the coffee date! As far as books go, I’ve read a ton this year and my favorite is still Where the Crawdads Go. It’s fiction but it’s written by an environmentalist and so it’s got that element too. Really an amazing book. Coming up I have 2 interesting running books and a couple of good fiction books. How am I going to fit it all in?
Happy New Year!!
Wendy recently posted…Coffee Talk
I’ve heard so much about that one! I should add it to my list.
I am so glad you joined the coffee date! It’s a fun link up. I agree w you on the resolution thing. Wow that’s a lot of books! I mostly read fiction legal thriller type books. I managed to get through 2 of them on vacation last month. Happy New year!
I am too much of a wimp for any type of thriller!
I’ve actually been more into reading than running this past year, so I appreciated your list of books! -M
Hope you find something you like!
I will have to peruse your book list at some future time! I spent a lot of time reading about yoga last year . . .
I do love a new year, I have to admit it. I’m always setting goals, though, so I don’t really consider the new year anything special in that department. But I love a fresh start!
I hope that you’re feeling better soon, yes, you’ve definitely had more than your fair share.
Oh, I love fresh starts too, but currently I need to finish rather than start!
YAY!!! So glad to see you over tea 🙂 I don’t have any grandiose goals for 2020…I have plenty of “in progress” things, too LOL
Here’s to finishing the in progress things!
I love ginger tea! my current fave is ginger + mandarin orange!
also I’m not doing any goals or resolutions. not right now. maybe at some point.
I hardly read. I wish I did. I just don’t know how you all read so much, work, sport and blog. I kind of suck at managing my time that way!
That sounds really good! I read before bed almost every night – it isn’t really my ideal reading time, but that’s where it fits in.
You have some good books there! No changes for me in January, as usual. I have a sort of running goal of managing 2020 km this year but I won’t beat myself up if I don’t make that. Happy 2020!
Liz Dexter recently posted…Book review – D.E. Stevenson – “Vittoria Cottage” @DeanStPress #FurrowedMiddlebrow
Happy 2020!
[…] missed the rundown last week, but I did post, if you want to hear about New Year’s resolutions and books. So that leaves me with 3 weeks to recap – I’ll do the earlier two very briefly and a […]