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My Favourite Reads of 2018

As we welcome the new year, it’s the perfect time to take a few moments to look back at our accomplishments over the past twelve months. What did we do? What did we see? And most importantly for us book-addicts, what did we read?

I, for one, set two goals for myself at the beginning of this year:

1. Have a baby. (CHECK.) 

and

2. Complete the 2018 Reading Challenge. (CHECK.) 

Over the past twelve months, I read my way through over 150 books and can happily say that I enjoyed a vast majority of them. The genres and authors were broader than usual, particularly since I participated in and completed my first reading challenge: 52 books in 52 weeks. (For a full list of said books, click here.)

And now, with January right around the corner, our 2019 Reading Challenge is set to begin in just a few days. For those planning on joining in, I am excited to share with you a few book recommendations to get you started!

In no particular order, here are FIFTEEN of my favourite reads from this past year:

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Merry Christmas 2018!

Merry Christmas!

2018 was a year of great joy in the Mannegren household as we welcomed the arrival of a baby girl, Adelaide Jean. In addition to the abundance of diapers and baby onesies filling the latter half of our year, these past twelve months have also been marked by a four-year-old’s shark birthday party, a Thailand trip for hubby, and countless ultrasound appointments for me. We bought a new vehicle, took it on a long summer road trip, and then got a bit banged up in our first accident. Gymnastics, swimming lessons, and Swedish school — this year has been full!

And so, our 2018 video is brought to you by a couple of sleep-deprived parents. To celebrate the arrival of our new little one, we decided to give you a bit of a flashback to our very first video. (If you haven’t watched the 2014 video before, or just need a refresher, be sure to do so before watching this one!)

With great love from all of us, we present to you, our 2018 Christmas video!

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52 Books In (A Little Less Than) 52 Weeks

This year I was super excited to introduce a new reading challenge on my blog! I called it “The 2018 Reading Challenge: 52 books in 52 weeks” and was blown away by the reaction. With hundreds of shares on Facebook and thousands of re-pins on Pinterest, the response to this challenge has been phenomenal and staggering at the same time. This was my most viewed post of 2018 (so far) and I’ve been super excited to see so many people passionately dive into reading!

A book a week sounds daunting to some people but the goal of this challenge was really to inspire people to read more and to read different. With fifty-two different categories, I hoped that participants would stretch out of their comfort zones and pick up books that they might not ordinarily read. Many of those who have been participating have excitedly shared new authors and new genres that they’ve discovered and were surprised by.

So far, my personal book tally for this year is hovering in the 120’s. Not all the books I read were for the challenge and I tried to limit myself to just one challenge book each week. However, with a new baby on the way, I knew that my reading time was going to be limited over the next few months and wanted to make sure I finished before October.

With that being said, I have completed my 52 challenge books for the year and wanted to share them you. There’s probably only two or three books on this list that I didn’t enjoy and wouldn’t necessarily recommend. (Cough, cough, Three Cups of Tea, cough…) But even so, this was a really fun challenge and I hope YOU ALL join me in the upcoming 2019 MommyMannegren reading challenging.

That’s right. A 2019 Reading Challenge is on it’s way! The full challenge and details will be released in NOVEMBER! So be sure to stay tuned!

I am also taking category suggestions for the new challenge. If you haven’t already joined the 2018 Reading Challenge Facebook Group, I encourage you to do so! If you have a brilliant idea for next year and want to see your category included in the 2019 challenge, the Facebook group is the place to share it!

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2018 Reading Challenge + FREE PRINTABLE

Calico skirts nestled amongst whistling prairie grasses. The warm glow of a snowy lamp post beckoning from a forest of fur coats. Red sand dunes, sweet cherry cordial, and bosom buddies. These are the memories of my childhood: countless hours cozied up under blankets, the scent of ink and paper tickling nostrils, and imagination soaring within the boundless scope of an author’s world.

The books may change as we grow older but the love doesn’t.

So for 2018, I have created a reading challenge: 52 books in 52 weeks. Fifty-two weeks of diverse genres and new reads. And I challenge YOU, my lovely readers, to participate along with me.

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