Last evening I attended my first book event in thirteen years, and after all is said and done, I am glad I attended. There is a bookstore here in San Diego County — Meet Cute Romance Bookshop — and they regularly host book events. However, this particular event is the only one so far that I have felt strongly enough about attending to deal with my anxiety and depression to get myself to. The fact that it was hosted only about a half-hour from home and had free outdoor parking helped a lot. (These are critical when you drive a high-profile large vehicle and rarely drive at night!)
Meet Cute hosted the book party off-site at the lovely California Center for the Arts in Escondido, which I hadn't been to before.
At check-in, each person received a signed copy of the new-release book, Free Fallingby Lyla Sage, and a letter grouping for the photo line. The large conference room accommodated about two hundred attendees, with an elevated front stage area. After a welcome and information from Becca Title, the owner of Meet Cute Bookshop, the other attending author, Lauren Okie, sat with and interviewed Lyla Sage and answered submitted questions for about an hour. Then the photo opportunity with Lyla began, while readers could get books signed and personalized and take a photo with Lauren Okie at another table.
I was in the last group to meet Lyla. She is talented, young, personable, and beautiful. I had only a minute or so with her, but I was able to give her a personal letter to further express what I wanted to say.
Meet Cute also had a table set up with previously signed copies of all six of Lyla’s books. The Rebel Blue Ranch Series
I was clearly the oldest person there and extremely introverted, so besides Lyla, I spoke only with event employees. It would have been nice to have someone attend with me, but I don’t have a local like-minded reading friend.
Even though Meet Cute promoted the event hours as 7:00 to 10:00, most of us had left by 8:30 after the photo op. It was quite a walk back to my vehicle, and after the rather treacherous drive home, I happily and thankfully settled in to look at these photos and my new signed book. Yay!
The stage before the interview
Lyla Sage and Lauren Okie during the interview
Lauren Okie at her table for signing and photographs
"Reading gives us somewhere to go when we have to stay where we are." ~ Mason Cooley
I don't know about you, but I really needed the distraction and escape that reading offers me this year. What a year of adversity 2025 was! I’m naturally a homebody, but even my reclusive tendencies have been tested as I rarely left home the last half of the year. I’ve found that there’s nothing so enjoyable, portable, and affordable as reading. And even though my recall of what I read is dismal, my favorite books featured here left quite an impression. Several of them were the unrivaled choices in multiple categories. I feel fortunate to have discovered them and have them give me so many “WOW” moments.
As I haven't discovered a better way of expressing the following, I shall repeat what I said in previous years...
To
all the authors whose stories entertained me this year, and especially
those who wrote my favorites below, you've earned my highest esteem,
gratitude, and adoration. Thank you!
The
books I select as my favorites each year are those that: I get lost in;
the ones that while reading, I lose all track of time; the ones that
evoke the strongest emotions; the ones that make me laugh, cry, blush,
gasp, and sigh. Yeah, those books!
Each year I meticulously
review my database and online shelves to select my favorites. Even
though I arbitrarily decide upon the categories, I am careful in
considering which books deserve each designation.
Sadly, no
matter how much I love a book, I am unable to recall details. In other
words, although my devotion is clear, my memory is not. I would, indeed,
like to attempt to explain my choices to anyone who may be interested.
There are several
books that were published this year that I wanted to read but was unable
to, some of which were published late in the year. I may have to make
an exception for some of them and include them in a future list.
I'll be starting out 2026 with about 100 books
on my to-be-read shelves—Kindle and Audible—and my library wish list. I will again set my StoryGraph Reading Challenge goal at 150
books.
My database total was 143 (first readsof individual formats only) (Note:
I receive no monetary compensation. I only wish to show my
appreciation. The book links below open up to the corresponding Webpages
on Amazon.com or Audible.com.)
Most Surprising Plot Twist - Blackthorn by J.T. Geissinger Most Devastating Blow Delivered - Blackthorn by J.T. Geissinger Most Pleasant Surprise - Soul Searching (a) by Lyla Sage
Most Striking Cover - Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows #1) by Devney Perry
Book Bundles I Read in 2025
Since
my book database counts a multi-book bundle as a single book, the
following is a list of the individual books from within the book bundles I
read this year.
Individual First Time Reads of 2025 (The
(a) following a book's title designates an audiobook, a (p) denotes
the paperback or signed paperback (*p) of a book that I previously read
via Kindle, and the (h) denotes the hardcover version. The table is best viewed in landscape mode on mobile
devices.)
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” - Stephen King
The year 2024 was a doozy and because of some rather momentous events, I only just reached my reading goal of 200+ books for the first time since 2012. And because I felt I needed the reassurance of the familiar, most of my reading this year was revisiting many of my comfort titles. By setting such an astronomical goal each year, I have added unhealthful pressure to the activity I enjoy the most—reading. So, beginning in 2025, I will reduce my previous goal of 200 by 25% to take the pressure off and allow time to see to my own well-being.
This month brought me my single most significant source of joy for the year—the Passionflix movie, LICK, from the novel by Kylie Scott. Lick (Stage Dive #1) was a favorite book in 2013 (my review), and its main male character, David Ferris, has been a major crush since. The movie has surpassed all other romances for me and with it being utterly unique, I predict it will remain that way indefinitely. You can check out my review of the movie here. 😍
Travis Burns as David Ferris in LICK
2024 was also the year I discovered Abby Jimenez books. Since I seem to have difficulty keeping up with my existing authors, adding new authors to my reading mix isn't something I strive to do. However, deciding to read her book, Yours Truly, last April influenced my intention to read all of her existing works this year. Six novels and two short stories later I feel that I've found my ideal style of writing. I experience all of the emotions I hope for in her books. Her character interactions are genuinely meaningful, whether clever and witty or sincere and loving. Her books are marketed as rom-coms, but each one also features a theme dealing with tragedy that's induced epic crying. And because her books are all categorized as romance they all end happily. The joy I have gotten from these books cannot be qualified.
As I haven't discovered a better way of expressing the following, I shall repeat what I said in previous years...
To
all the authors whose stories entertained me this year, and especially
those who wrote my favorites below, you've earned my highest esteem,
gratitude, and adoration. Thank you!
The
books I select as my favorites each year are those that: I get lost in;
the ones that while reading, I lose all track of time; the ones that
evoke the strongest emotions; the ones that make me laugh, cry, blush,
gasp, and sigh. Yeah, those books!
Each year I meticulously
review my database and online shelves to select my favorites. Even
though I arbitrarily decide upon the categories, I am careful in
considering which books deserve each designation.
Sadly, no
matter how much I love a book, I am unable to recall details. In other
words, although my devotion is clear, my memory is not. I would, indeed,
like to attempt to explain my choices to anyone who may be interested.
There are several
books that were published this year that I wanted to read but was unable
to, some of which were published late in the year. I may have to make
an exception for some of them and include them in a future list, just as
I made an exception this year for one "Special Mention" book* that was
first published in 2020 and one book* from a favorite series that was published in 2023.
I'll be starting out 2025 with about 200 books
on my to-be-read shelves—Kindle and Audible—and the 35 or so books on my
library wish list. I will set my StoryGraph Reading Challenge goal at 150
books. Even though I mostly read library and Kindle Unlimited books on my Kindle Paperwhite, 2024 was the first year I purchased eBooks and audiobooks directly from several different authors' online stores.
My 2024 Stats
My StoryGraph Challenge total was 201 (first reads and rereads of single titles) - My 2024 StoryGraph Wrap-Up My database total was 149 (first readsof individual formats only) (Note:
I receive no monetary compensation. I only wish to show my
appreciation. The book links below open up to the corresponding Webpages
on Amazon.com or Audible.com.)
My Favorites Published in 2024
(alphabetical by author)
Single Titles
The Waiting (Ballard and Bosch #6) by Michael Connelly
Most Surprising Plot Twist - The Unraveling by Vi Keeland Most Devastating Blow Delivered - Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson Most Pleasant Surprise -*Yours Truly (Part of Your World #2) by Abby Jimenez
Since
my book database counts a multi-book bundle as a single book, the
following is a list of the individual books from within the book bundles I
read this year. The remainder of my 2024 database total reads follows.
Individual First Time Reads of 2024 (The
(a) following a book's title designates an audiobook, a (p) denotes
the paperback or signed paperback (*p) of a book that I previously read
via Kindle, and the (h) denotes the hardcover version. The table is best viewed in landscape mode on mobile
devices.)
