Friday, January 1, 2016

First Book - 2016

Once again I'm participating in Sheila from Book Journey's Fist Book of the Year.  I participated last year and it was so fun to see what everyone was starting their year with.  I can't wait to see all the choices this year!

The first book of the year is always a tough choice for me.  I tend to overthink it because I don't want to start the year out with a bad book but at the same time picking a reread seems too safe.  This year I decided to tackle a book that's been on my Nonfiction bookshelf for far too long AND it has an Agatha Christie tie-n so I'm figuring it's a safe bet.  So drum roll please...

The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames!  This is an older book (pub. 2004) and it's been sitting on my shelf for literally years even though I was so excited when I finally tracked it down!  One of my goals this year is to doing some clearing out of my own shelves so I'm hoping this sets the right tone!

Other Firsts:

Ebook: On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander - This was one of my favorite cozy mystery series that I discovered this year and I'm thrilled to be reading this for an upcoming blog tour.

Audiobook: While I really discovered and enjoyed audio books in 2015 I didn't track them because it didn't feel like reading the book even though I was definitely putting the time in. This year I'm over that little hangup and am going to start tacking what I listen to.  I'm planning to start listening to Casino Royale by Ian Fleming for 2 reason.  The first is that I listened to and loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which made me really curious about the Bond books.  The 2nd is that J and I watched all the James Bond movies with Daniel Craig this past week and I want to see how the movie compares to the book.

Read Aloud Book: This year I've started reading chapter books to the Tornado at bedtime.  I've been pleased with how much he's enjoyed them and how well he's keeping up with the story.  Right now his favorites are the Geronimo Stilton books.  Starting in 2016 we're going to tackle Geronimo Stilton and the Mummy with No Name.

What books are you starting your year with?


70 comments:

  1. I tend to overthink my 1st book choice as well! Like you, I like to pick a book from my shelves - not a review book, but I book that I own and luckily I actually knew what book I wanted - it had been sitting there for a while, too! Hope you enjoy your book!!! Happy New Year Katherine!!!

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    1. So far it's interesting and I'm hoping it stays that way. I'm also hoping that I'll make some progress on my shelves!

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  2. Hope all your first books are great! I think I am going for something that has been sitting on my kindle for a while as my first. I just haven't finished the book I started in 2015!!! Happy reading!

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    1. So far I'm enjoying 2 of the books. I haven't gotten the audio yet but I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully you love your first book!

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  3. I'm not familiar with your 1st book, but I look forward to hearing what you think about it. I'm trying to read from my shelves too. We'll see how it goes. And I totally support your audiobook tracking. It's reading - just in a different manner. Love the picture! Happy New Year!

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    1. I hadn't heard of this book until I stumbled on it through paperback swap. So far I'm enjoying it! It took me awhile to get my head around audio = books.

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  4. I do tend to overthink my choices...but luckily, I found what I wanted for my First Book. Yours looks good...I'll be watching for your review.

    Here's my FIRST BOOK OF 2016 POST

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    1. I do want to start the year out on the right foot! I'm hoping to get some of my own books read this year!

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  5. I love reading non-fiction and have not read this one yet, so now I'm all curious. That's a great pic of you with the book. I hope you love it!

    Laura @ Library of Clean Reads

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    1. I love nonfiction and didn't read very much in 2015. I'm hoping 2016 is a better year for it.

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  6. Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy your first book of 2016. This is an Agatha Christie tie-in that's new to me. Now you've got me curious....will have to go take a peek at it on Goodreads.

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    1. I stumbled on it quite by accident and have high hopes for it!

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  7. It sounds like you have a great start to the New Year planned. I would definitely count audio books, (even though I don't really listen to them.) I hope you have a Very Happy New Year!

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    1. 2015 is the first year and it took me awhile to get my head around the fact that they are books even though I'm listening instead of reading.

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  8. The first book of the year is like sealing you're reading year in. I usually go with a re-read(apparently I go the safe route). But this year I have such a pile up of review books that I think it'll have to be one of those. Lol.
    I also got more into audio's in 2015. They're such a brilliant idea, why did we wait so long to enjoy them?
    I hope you have a great 2016, Katherine!

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    1. I've definitely been loving audio books! I have no idea what took us so long! There's nothing wrong with rereading! I'm hoping to do some more rereading this year. There are so many books I want to revisit!

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  9. I haven't heard of that book but doesn't it feel good to read a book that's been sitting on your shelf? I hope to get my shelves cleared off a bit this year too. Happy New Year!

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    1. Definitely good! I'm hoping to make some progress on my shelves. They're seriously out of control!

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  10. I'm not familiar with your first pick, but I'm intrigued by the Agatha Christie tie-n. Hope you enjoy, and Happy New Year!

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    1. I hadn't heard of this one until I stumbled on it a few years ago. So far it's interesting!

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  11. The Agatha link makes it sound even better! Happy New Year, Katherine :)

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  12. An Agatha Christie tie in...... I'm intrigued. Happy New Year

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  13. I hope you love your First Book. I make sure my first book is by a trusted (loved) author.

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    1. A trusted author is definitely a smart way to go!

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  14. Hau'oli Makahiki Hou. Hope you enjoy your first read.

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    1. So far I'm enjoying it! Happy New Year Stefanie!

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  15. Hope u enjoy your first book (cute pic too) Happy New Year

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  16. I still haven't picked a first book yet- isn't that awful? Um, maybe this week LOL. Your choice looks great, intriguing title! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang = good memories, I hardly remember it but loved it as a kid.

    I like to watch the Bond movies around the holidays sometimes, must be those marathons. :)

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    1. I had never read or even seen the movie for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but I thoroughly enjoyed the audio. If you can get the David Tennant narration I highly recommend it.

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  17. My kids and I haven't started reading Geronimo Stilton books yet...but we should! My daughter and I are going to go see the musical at the Oregon Children's Theater in a few weeks!

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    1. We are loving Geronimo Stilton! So far it's his favorite chapter books.

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  18. Happy New Year Katherine. Love why you picked your book. Yay for audiobooks, sometimes when narrated really well they make the book even better. Oh yes Geronimo Stilton had a huge box of them in my classroom when I was teaching! And love parents reading aloud, I used to read to my 12 / 13 yr olds when I was teaching.

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    1. Geronimo Stilton so far has been his favorite chapter books. I love reading aloud. It's fun to see the story start to click with him.

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  19. Oh it sounds like a good first year choice. I also chose a cozy mystery, I love reading cozy mystery in the winter, when the days are short and the nights are long. Have a Happy Reading 2016 Year...

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    1. I love a good cozy and winter is definitely the time for them!

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  20. I hope you enjoy your first book of 2016. And audiobooks definitely count! In my opinion, as long as you're reading the unabridged version of the book, it is the same as reading the book (or even having it read aloud to you). Happy New Year!


    Check out my first book of 2016.

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    1. I definitely agree on the audio books but it did take me awhile to get my head around the idea!

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  21. I go in to the new year the same way, not wanting a bad book. I don't pick a reread, but I do tend to pick an author I know and love.

    I hope you enjoy your read and are able to do some good cleaning through your shelves.

    Reading With Jade

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    1. My goal is to make some progress on my shelves. They're definitely getting out of control!

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  22. Love ALL of your 'first reads of the year"! Happy Reading!

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    1. I'm looking forward to them! I love Ellie Alexander's series and I can never resist anything with an Agatha Christie connection.

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  23. I am going to really try hard to tackle some of those books that have been sitting on my shelves either in my house or on my kindle this year as well. Audio-books definitely count as books read. I have been listening to a lot of them lately and love them. I hope you have a wonderful 2016!

    Carole @ Carole's Random Life

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    1. I really fell in love with audio books this past year though it did take awhile for my brain to realize they were books!

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  24. Love the cover of your book. Happy reading :)

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  25. Hope it's an awesome read!
    I'm been debating what to read next and can't decide! I don't think I've ever put a lot of thought into the first book of the year until this year, aha.

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    1. It's definitely a tough decision to pick the perfect book! I know you'll pick the perfect one!

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  26. Awesome choice. It was an easy choice for me this year. Happy New Year.

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    1. That's great you had an easy choice! I hope you loved it!

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  27. I will be starting Untamed by A.G. Howard. It is a novella compilation companion to the Splintered series, with two new novellas included. I was going to start reading it this morning, but I have been wandering around social media and playing games all day. Ha ha. I have had an idea for a while to do a weekly post on my Children's blog about books I have seen other bloggers posting or commenting about that they are reading with their kids. If you ever do any posts about your reading with The Tornado, I will link them up! Have a wonderful start to 2016. :D

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    1. The Splintered series looks good. I've been wanting to read it. I love the idea of doing a children's book post. I've been toying with a few ideas but have nothing concrete.

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  28. Definitely count the audiobooks!! They take a long time and I actually think I pay better attention to audio than print sometimes.

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    1. I definitely agree about audiobooks but it did take me awhile to get my head around the whole idea!

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  29. I'm not familiar with your book choice. I didn't decide on my first book until the last minute but I'm pretty sure it will be a winner.

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    1. I don't think the book is all that widely known. I kind of stumbled on it by accident. So far it's interesting.

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  30. It seems like a lot of people are making the choice to pull something off their shelves that's older - I think a lot of us have the goal, this year, to read more of the things we already own. Plus I'm seeing a lot of nonfiction - I wonder if we're all finding out how many great nonfiction reads there are. I used to think of nonfiction as being more dry and teach-y.

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    1. It definitely seems to be the trend. Maybe this is the year we get our TBRs under control!

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  31. Older is usually better. :)

    Great photo.

    I hope you enjoy your book.

    Happy New Year!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver’s Reviews
    My First Book Of The Year

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    1. Thanks! So far I have mixed feeling on this book but I'm hoping it improves!

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  32. Love the sound of your first read of the year - especially the Agatha Christie tie-in. Happy New Year!

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  33. What a great way to start off the year! I love your book choice, Katherine. I attempted to read a chapter book to Mouse last month, but she's not quite there yet, I think. Maybe in another year or so.

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    1. It's a new thing with the Tornado. I think we just started a few months ago and it took a few tries to find some books he really enjoyed. Try the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo if you can find them. They're kind of in between and he really loved them.

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