In the beginning of the year, I set out to complete the POPSUGAR 2018 Reading Challenge. I did not…do well. The prompts were a nice idea, but I had a lot of books already on my shelf or that I needed to read for contests and whatnot that didn’t fit the categories. I found myself shoehorning the books in, like, sure The Frontrunner counts as a “celebrity book club” pick because the guys on Pod Save America promoted it.

There’s still a week-and-a-half left of 2018, so I hope to add a book or two, but this is the list, for the most part. 31 books. 9 (or so, depending on how the next 11 days go) short of my goal to read 40. In 2019, I’m planning on adding more daytime reading to my routine. Part of the reason my count is so low is because I can’t read for more than ten minutes at night without passing out. Reading Outlander–that beast of a book–took me a whole month, is what I’m saying.

I’d like to read more widely in the new year. For me, reading is part of my job. I’d like to read more outside my genre and really enjoy reading again, for reading’s sake.

Here are, by genre, the books I read in 2018–presented without shame. I am not a high-brow reader, but you probably knew that.

Which books did you read this year? Which were your favorites?

Romance

1. Break Point by Rachel Blaufeld
2. A Family of Convenience by Amy Ayres
3. Full Court Seduction by Synithia Williams
4. Raw Deal by Cherrie Lynn
5. Snapdragon by Kilby Blades
6. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
7. Butterface by Avery Flynn
8. Muffin Top by Avery Flynn
9. The Eyewitness by Nancy C. Weeks

General Fiction

1. The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
2. Big Sexy Love by Kirsty Greenwood
3. Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
4. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
6. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
7. The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory

YA

1. Raise the Curtain by Kirby Hall
2. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
3. Fat Girl on a Plane by Kelly DeVos (kind of YA, kind of NA–either way, you should read it!)
4. About Last Summer by Patricia Tighe

Non-Fiction

1. The Daily Show by Chris Smith
2. Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello
3. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
4. This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps
5. The Frontrunner by Matt Bai

Self-Help

1. Mini Habits for Weight Loss by Stephen Guise

2. Book Launch Blueprint by Tim Grahl

3. Feng Shui That Makes Sense by Cathleen McCandless
4. Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life by Karen Rauch Carter
5. Feel the Fear…and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
6. The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

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I’m in “get ready for the new year” mode.

I understand that time is a construct and January 1 is no different than December 1, but it certainly feels different.

On January 1 (or 2), the holiday festivities are over–or they should be. (Events keep creeping into November and January because nobody has time for anything in December, and this introvert can’t stand it. But that’s another post.)

Between all the parties and obligations to others, I like to engage in an obligation to myself–cleaning house before the new year.

A few years ago, I forced my family to Kon-Mari with me, so we cleaned out a lot of stuff. This past May, we moved into a new house, so most of my drawers and closets are still fairly tidy. I’m going to do a deep physical clean of the house in the next few weeks, but again that’s not what this post is about.

It’s about cleaning up my digital life.

Two years ago in December I declared “email bankruptcy.” I have about five email addresses (for REASONS), and all of my inboxes were about a mile long. I deleted everything. Since then, I’ve made a habit of cleaning out my inboxes every week, dealing with what needed to be dealt with (more or less).

So this year, between now and January, I’m going to continue clearing my digital clutter. I’m going to:

1. Continue my quest to Kon-Mari my photos. I completed all Kon-Mari steps except the last. Before January 1, I will have gone through all of the photos on my computer and in my phone, saving and printing the ones I want and deleting the ones I don’t.

2. Clear out the files on my laptop. My downloads folder is a hot mess. I’m going to save what I need and want, and then empty the trash on the rest.

3. Clean out my email folders and unsubscribe to the newsletters I don’t read.

4. Delete samples I haven’t read from my Kindle.

I think all of this will put me on pace to start 2019 with a clearer head and more free gigabytes.

How can you get your digital life in order before the new year?

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