I’ve been reading since as long as I remember (my Mom taught me to read when I was 5 yo), and I have been writing about it on Gribook for the past 10 years (on and off, but still at it!) I’ve even started my own bookish business with Gribook Accessories, way back and met a lot of wonderful like-minded bookworms 🤓 📚
What maybe only some know is that I am a creative, doing UX/UI Design at the moment, passionate about what I do, and just as passionate about sharing my knowledge and expertise with new and aspiring Designers of all kinds, as well as UX-ers.
I have been speaking about UX, design and creativity at events online and offline; I have been leading workshops and small groups, mentored, coached, connected and equipped designers and I’ve loved every moment of it.
Designers want to read more
Having mentored many Designers in the last couple of years, I realised that a lot of them want to read up more on the subject and deepen their knowledge.
😕 But… they don’t know which books are good, or can’t find the time, or get stuck in the second chapter.
😇 As a proud bookworm (reading 70+ books/year) and a Senior UX/UI Designer, I am always (always, always) reading something on Design and recommending books to anyone who asks.
In the next year, I decided to take it a step further and put these three things I love together: a passion for design + love for reading + commitment to mentor and encourage Designers who want to keep growing. So I present to you…
The Design Girlies’ Book Club
An idea that’s been brewing for a while, waiting for the “right time” – but what better time than now?
This will be a place for us to meet and read great books. We’ll go through some of the books I recommended in this article: UX/UI Design: 4 Book Recommendations, but not only. There are some great books to read on Design, UX, Human Behaviour and Psychology, Marketing, Business and Leadership and other areas that help us become a better professional.
This will be a place we’ll learn and grow together, discussing as we read. More than that, it will be a place where we will connect, support, share success stories and vent over frustrations (sometimes).
My hope is that it will become a safe and encouraging community that will give us the support we need to stretch and grow further, and become world class designer and … people.
We will be reading some of the books I recommended in this article: UX/UI Design: 4 Book Recommendations, but not only. on Design, UX, Human Behaviour and Psychology, Marketing, Business and Leadership.
The details are still in the works – BUT if you’re interested, please register at the link below and I will keep you posted about dates and such.
What should you expect?
We’ll be choosing a book on Design / relevant to Design, read it and discuss it
We’ll probably meet once/month for Saturday brunch, offline or online (as agreed by the group)
We will read and discuss books in the original English (as of now, most of the best ones are written in the language of Shakespeare)
For now, the group is only open to women who do Design of any kind or are interested in it (if you’re a guy and really, really interested, do let me know, this might be subject to change)
The group will be meeting locally in Chisinau, Moldova so only those who’re currently living here are eligible (but who knows, we might go international at some point)
The group will be fairly small, in the interest of simplicity (so we will have a first come, first serve joining process)
Interested? Register for updates
If YES, then please register at the link below and I’ll get back to you with more details, in the next couple of weeks.
Besides the fact that it made for a most special gift and keepsakes, and it reminded us of all the wonderful memories and people of last year, it also made it clear that we had a phenomenal year.
A year full of exciting travels and new destinations: Mexico! Greece! As well as a year of professional growth and growing a community along with us: Promotions! Conference! Workshops! Meet-ups!
Right here however, I’m focusing on the bookish part of the year, and that too has been a blast. Partly because I read a lot of great books, in both fiction and the non-fiction department.
But another big part of it is the fact that it was a shared journey, with a growing community of readers.
More about that later, but for now let’s look at the numbers. My record so far was 2022, with 86 books and this year I came just shy of that.
This year I read a total of … 84 books!
As tradition goes (12 years and counting), I will share my list of all 84 books in this post, plus a few bookish reflections.
Those are mostly for my benefit, rather than yours, but feel free to read them and share your own thoughts in the comments!
It’s rare that I pick a non-fiction as my fave book of the year. Yet this book stood out for a number of reasons.
First of all, it is a book that speaks to a lot of the questions and doubts I hear from many of those I mentor and coach, especially when it comes to building a career. Secondly, it is chock-full of good, common-sense advice that I’ve seen being effective in my own career journey.
And lastly, and this is just as good of a reason, is because hubs and I listened to this one on our trip to Lefkada, and we kept nodding our head, stopping to discuss the finer points, and thinking of ways to share this good advice with others.
Discovery of the Year
Sujata Massey, with the Perveen Mistry Series
I’ve professed my love for a good series before, and this year I read quite a few news ones. More on that, later.
But Sujata Massey stood out with its time and setting: the story is set in 1920s India. A continent and an era I’m not very familiar with, yet it drew me right in, and helped me understand the context, the people, the history and the aspirations of a people, in its various complexities.
It always fascinates me to learn about peoples and cultures, and especially when it’s weaved through stories that are also relatable to the rest of us in the world: stories of love, of disappointment, of hope and courage.
Perveen Mistry is a brave heroine, and it reminds me of Maisie Dobbs in the best of ways. And you know I’m a big Maisie fan, so that’s a compliment.
Design Book Club
Started in December 2022, The Design Book Club for designers and aspiring designers has gone strong all through the year and it became one of the highlights of the year.
In the past year, we read 10 books with the Design Book Club – and a total of roughly 2477 pages. I’m often asked about the list, because it’s a list I’d recommend young UX/UI Designers everywhere :
1. Steal like an Artist, Austin Kleon 2. Show Your Work, Austin Kleon 3. UX for Beginners, Joel Marsh 4. Laws of UX, Jan Yablonski 5. Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug 6. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People 7. The Unicorn Project, Gene Kim 8. This is Marketing, Seth Godin 9. The User Experience Team of One, Leah Buley 10. Inspired, Marty Cagan
We have another list of great books lined up for 2024, and we’ll be looking at books on design, as well as leadership and career amongst others. We have a few fun projects in mind, too.
Our first ICF Ladies Book Club meeting happened sometime in the late summer of 2017. (I know, right?)
We used to meet every other week, at our friend’s Mary’s house and she was spoiling us with goodies. Great food and great book discussions!
The group varied in size and members ebbed and flowed, as people came to Moldova or left – but it was and still is a group of women I enjoy and learn a lot from.
When the Covid Pandemic hit, we moved the Book Club to Zoom, and we’ve kept meeting online ever since. Because of that, we had friends join from all over the world. The funny part is that I’m now the only Moldovan member, with another six wonderful ladies joining from different parts of US.
We’ve read some extraordinary books together over the years.
A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles The Chosen, by Chaim Potok; The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig; quite a few books by Fredrick Backman, and a few others by Francine Rivers, Alexander McCall Smith and Charles Martin.
We don’t stick to fiction only, either. We read quite a few memoirs, biographies and psychology books. With such a diverse group, you can imagine that choosing the next book is not an easy feat, and the discussions are very interesting.
Speaking of books, I do keep track of all the books we read in the past 6 years – yes, all! – happy to share it if interested.
Other Observations
Got a new Kindle: I resisted the thought as much as I could, as I did not want to the Kindle I’ve had since 2012. But the time came to say goodbye (I gave it to a good friend, to encourage her kids to read) and Hubs got me a new one for my birthday!
It’s a newer Paperwhite and I like it and all, although it did take me a bit of getting used to and reorganizing books to my liking. I still long for my simpler version on occassion but hey, we need to move with the times!
New series
Let’s talk more about new series I discovered this year.
A close second to Parveen Mistry was Jenny’s Colgan School by the Sea series. I found them in the Free Library at our hotel in Mexico and they proved to be the best vacation reads for the week!
It’s a series about an English boarding school, set in Cornwall. As I went to boarding school, albeit in East Anglia, and I have been to Cornwall – it was the loveliest trip down memory lane.
Fun fact: As I was reading this, it just so happened that I bumped into another Woobdridge School alumni at our Mexican hotel. A gentleman who went to the same school as I did, 40 years prior to when I was there. It was a treat to meet him and his wife and share memories about our school. Life is full of surprises, cliche as it sounds.
Speaking of vacation reads, I read The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, because one of the books is set in Greece – and I was reading them in Greece. Makes sense to anyone else but me?
Another fun, easy read was Ann B. Ross and her Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind series – it’s about a newly widowed lady, who gets herself into all sorts of hilarious predicaments and then has to wiggle out of them. I got into them when I was sick, and off I went through a few in the series. Books are the best cure, we all know that.
I have given a go to Anna Lee Huber’s Verity Kent series – and it wasn’t an instant hit with me. I might read another, to see if they get better.
I’m always on the lookout for a good series so if you know one that sounds like it would be to my liking, recommendations are welcome.
Looking ahead (and back, too)
For 2024 my goal is to read … another 80 books!
Until then, follow me on Goodreads? Here is my profile ->Elena’s Goodreads.
I’ve been documenting my reading challenges since 2011, and they’re all well documented on Goodreads, as well as in yearly retrospective posts.
Check out all about my previous Reading Challenges here:
Goodreads also has a fun little statistics page called Year in Books – here’s mine, if you want to check it out: My 2023 Year in Books.
How many books have you read this year? Any good ones you’d recommend?
RATINGS explained: ***** excellent – I would read it again! **** pretty good, I’d recommend it *** good, but wouldn’t read it again ** okay, but definitely not reading it again * why did I waste time reading this?
I’m happy to announce that this year, I set a new record for books I read in a year.
My record until now was 86 books read in 2020 – and this year I topped it by three more books!
In 2022 I read a record … 89 books!
I’m quite thrilled about it, not because of the quantity but because I feel like this has been a really good year in terms of books. I read some great non-fiction titles, mostly on Design, but also on relationships, leadership, public speaking and faith.
I also read a great number of novels that have been a delight. I read from favourite authors like Jacqueline Winspear, Alexander McCall Smith, Virginia Smith and Rhys Bowen.
But I also discovered quite a few authors that are new to me, like: Ruth Reichl, Elizabeth Berg, Phaedra Patrick, Elaine Roberts and Jenny Colgan. I know they’ve been around and popular for ages, but somehow I just got around to them. The wonderful part about it is that they’re all quite prolific, so I can look forward to more of their books!
As per tradition, I have the whole list for you, as follows:
One of the biggest reasons is because it’s a story that highlights my people: Romanians and our recent history – and yet it’s a story that is strong enough to stand on its own, if you don’t have interest in the history part.
A must read, I tell you.
A riveting story about a young man in Ceausescu’s Romania, right at the end of December, 1989. Told through the eyes of Cristian Florescu, it is an accurate and heartbreaking account of the poverty, darkness and hunger that Romanians were experiencing during the Ceausescu era.
More than anything, it captures the fear and the intimidation that regular citizens were living with, not being to able to trust anyone, not even family members. The fear that eventually erupted into the most incredible Christmas of the Romanian history, bringing down a tyrant and a horrendous regime. Sorry, spoiler alert!
Although not Romanian, Ruta Sepetys does an amazing job at weaving this part of Romanian history (little known, unfortunately) into the moving story of Cristian and his family.
We need more books like this one, shedding light onto the history of Romania, Moldova and the horrors of the former Soviet Union. Especially as at the time of writing this review, we are seeing another tyrant marching into Ukraine, into an attempt to bring down democracy and freedom. Let’s hope that history will repeat itself and another dictator will be taken down.
Praying for Ukraine and praying God gives Eastern Europe peace and LIBERTATE!
Keep reading those series
I love series!
You know that quote by C.S.Lewis that says he can never get a book long enough or a cup of tea big enough? Well, I couldn’t agree more! So series are really just a long book, that includes a set of characters, in different stories.
For my Netflix friends – it’s like watching a good TV Show, where you’re getting hooked onto the characters, and the stories in each episode not only keep you engaged, but they keep you coming back for more.
I started my first one in January and kept at it throughout the year, so I read a whole 17 of them. Some of the books in the series are better than others, truth be told, but I enjoyed the setting of the books in New York of the beginning of the century and how they were generously peppered with historical details.
My favourite book in the series, was the one set in San Francisco, however. Probably because I read it when I just got back from a couple of months stay in San Francisco.
It was so much fun to read about the great earthquake and fire, about the streets and neighbourhoods I walked and recognized: the Golden Gate Park, Nob Hill, Mission and of course Market, Powell, Geary and all those other streets. I know the Pacific Heights pretty well too and that was just starting to be built.
What was even more fun is that we actually stayed at Funston House, in Presidio. It is now part of Inn at the Presidio and we stayed there for a week, and got to know that area and its history pretty well.
Imagining Molly and Daniel in the same house, having dinner with the Funstons and staying the night, was quite a treat!
I tried the Constable Evans series by the same author, but that didn’t get me quite as hooked. She does have good standalone novels, and I have a few of them on my To-Read List for 2023.
I kept reading new books from other favourite authors and series: Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs #17, Alexander McCall Smith’s No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency #22 and a few other stand alones by both of them. I’m so grateful these two fave writers are both quite prolific!
In 2023, I have a few ideas for new series to start, the one I’m most excited about being Anna Lee Huber’s Verity Kent series. The reason being that her covers are very similar to the Maisie Dobbs ones – I doubt they’ll be quite as good, but hopefully close enough.
The Design Girlies’ Book Club
This was also the year I finally started a Book Club for designers and aspiring designers!
As I got very intentional about reading books on Design, UX and related fields, I also got requests for recommendations and people asking me how I manage to read. I was also looking for a way to keep in touch with some of the girlies I mentor and voila, it all worked out nicely!
We already had our first meeting and it was a blast!
Other Observations
Books on cooking: Not cooking books, mind you. But stories that weave cooking and food and restaurants and potluck into the story, and make the food or the cooking process one of its main, and quite beloved characters.
The problem with these is that they often make me hungry and I just wish I lived closer to my friend Mary, who makes it a habit to try at least one of the recipes in the books we read. She’s a phenomenal cook too, I must add.
ICF Ladies Book Club going strong: we read 16 books together, this past year. It’s at the recommendation of these wonderful ladies that we read what turned out to be the book of the year for me.
I love that about Book Club: we challenge each other to read books we might not have picked up otherwise and while we stumble into a meh book every now and then, most of our reads are delightful. We enjoy discussing them just as much as reading them, too!
Book Travellers: We traveled quite a bit this past year. We were in Romania and the US for a couple of months each, then Bulgaria for vacay – and books were trusted friends. I enjoyed the Free Libraries book swaps in California, as well as the cheap books in Thrift stores and Libraries. We bought way too many books, I can tell you.
Run out of Kindle space: So grateful for my Kindle, so all of those books can travel with us. This year, the surprise was that I almost ran out of space on my 10 year old Paperwhite. Had to delete a bunch of oldies, but I’m a bit sad that I’ll have to keep doing that, so I clean up space for new ones.
Looking ahead (and back, too)
For 2022 my goal is to read … 80 books!
Until then, follow me on Goodreads? Here is my profile ->Elena’s Goodreads.
I’ve been documenting my reading challenges since 2011, and they’re all well documented on Goodreads, as well as in yearly retrospective posts. Check them out here:
Goodreads also has a fun little statistics page called Year in Books – here’s mine, if you want to check it out: My 2022 Year in Books.
How many books have you read this year? Any good ones you’d recommend?
RATINGS explained: ***** excellent – I would read it again! **** pretty good, I’d recommend it *** good, but wouldn’t read it again ** okay, but definitely not reading it again * why did I waste time reading this?
The discipline of design is constantly changing. Especially when we look at digital design, from UX/UI to Product, and everything in between, the trends, the tools and the technology keep evolving.
Thankfully, there are many ways to keep up with the changes — blogs, videos, courses. And of course: books!
Even for an area as new as design for web & mobile, there’s already an overwhelming number of titles out there. To help you start with the best, I put together a list of 5 Books I recommend best.
These are great books for those who’re interested in design, who’re just starting out and even those who want to brush up on some of the fundamentals.
Without further ado, here are the Books that every UX/UI Designer should read.
1. UX Design For Beginners — Joel Marsh
If you’re contemplating a career in UX design, and want to understand what it’s about, this book is a great place to start. Joel Marsh has take a lot of info about what UX Design is, and has put it into 100 lessons that are clear, practical and quite funny, at times.
What I liked about it:
The book is in itself an example of good UX — with clearly separated major topics, concise paragraphs, lots of illustrations and a relatable voice
Practical, easy-to read and understand, covering everything from the key definitions, research, information architecture, wireframes and prototyping, content and data, as well as how to get a job
It weaves quite seamlessly principles of the UX process with psychology and behavioural science, covering topics like behaviour basics, design behaviour, psychology of usability, etc.
Great book even for non-designers who want to have an understanding of UX. In fact, it’s a wonderful resource for the whole team, managers and developers and you name it.
2. Don’t Make Me Think — Steve Krug
Photo of the book: “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug
In full honesty, the cover of “Don’t Make Me Think” is not to my liking and it put me off reading it for quite a while. I do judge books by their covers, but I feel like as a Designer, you’re almost entitled to.
When I did read it, I actually ended up liking it so much that I recommend it to someone or other at least once a month or so.
What I liked about it:
It takes something that is shrouded in a cloud of complexity and and myth like usability testing and it digests it to pretty much anyone who’s in the business of building a website or app
It is easy to read and has lots of practical advice on how to start usability testing and how to argue its value to stakeholders
While it recognises the fact that usability can be costly and complex, it actually gives pointers to help you make it affordable and doable, both in finances and time
Again, a book that is useful not only to UX Designers, but PMs and Developers and pretty much anyone who wants to improve the usability of their website or product.
3. The Principles of Beautiful Web Design — Jason Beaird
Whether you did design school or are self-taught, and want to understand the way web design works or remind yourself of some basic principles — I think this book is for you. It’s one of those that you keep coming back to, now and then — and I understand why it’s on its fourth edition.
What I liked about it:
It covers pretty much all the major areas of design: layout & composition, colour, typography, texture and imagery.
Lots of real projects, as examples — which makes it a lot easier for visuals to understand complex concepts, fundamental principles, as well as do’s & don’ts.
Another easy-to read book, and the writers are both informal and professional, so you won’t even notice how you’ve gone through the whole book.
4. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People — Susan M. Weinschenk
As a UX/UI Designer, I wear a multitude of hats.
I’ve noticed that the best Designer are a bit of a jack-of-all trades. They know how to do design, but they also know a bit of marketing, a bit o psychology, a bit of business — you get the gist. And especially when it comes to UX, and the focus on User Experience, it is important that we know and learn about human nature, human behaviour, and the way to communicate effectively to people just like you and I.
What I liked about it:
It’s divided into a few areas, focusing on how people see, feel, read, remember, think, etc.
Even though it’s heavier on psychology than design, it helps you take your work to another level, where you don’t just make pretty things but you actually create products and visuals that communicate effectively and accomplish their goals (while also looking good)
I got quite a few ideas I pretty much implemented in our design process or products right away, which I always consider a sign of a good book
Extra! Extra!
Here are a few more books that are just as good, but didn’t quite make the list. For those of you who read the above titles, this is the follow-up list!
The User Experience Team of One, Leah Buley
Laws of UX, Jon Yablonski
Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon
The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer, Debbie Millman
Did I miss any great books that are must-reads?
Leave your recommendations in the comments below.
Note: A version of this article was originally posted on the Tech Women Moldova Blog, and you can read it here.
After the shock of the lockdown and the pandemic, last year seemed better but still full of surprises. For me, it was an incredibly productive and busy year, but also a year when I had quite a few health challenges including the dreaded covid.
It was, however, also a year where books were once again dear companions – in good times and bad, quite literally. I will tell you much more about the differents parts of the adventure further down, but before that let me brag a little:
In 2021 I read a total of … 74 books!
Lots of novels and quite a few series, some great new titles in a new direction (spoiler alert: design), old and beloved authors like Alexander McCall Smith, Francine Rivers and Jacqueline Winspear – as well as completely new ones like Rhys Bowen.
I am excited about sharing all the titles with you and like always, I will also give my books a personal rating. I always do need to mention that these ratings are very subjective and only reflect my own preferences so if looking for recommendations, please feel free to get inspired and / or ask me more details.
Here with my hubs and friends, selling books at Cartego, Chisinau Moldova.
One of the most fun experiences of 2021 was that I got to be a bookseller for a day!
You all know that every bookworm secretly dreams of working and spending every day in a bookshop – and I am no exception. I would love to have my own little bookshop one day, surrounded by all the wonderful books of my choosing and recommending my favourites to dearest (returning) customers.
Well, I got to do that with Cartego and had a blast! Many of our friends stopped by, and other shop customers and it was just the neatest experience.
This year has confirmed: I am officially a series-junkie.
Let me explain. It’s not like I have not read entire series of books before – I did & I do. In fact, it was The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith that actually drew me back into reading after a dry spell of a few years. My friend Joan introduced me to him and she kept sending me books as they were published and right after she read them. For years, I ket getting books by post and loved it.
Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear – my all-time favourite series – is another one where I read the books slowly, taking my time and with long pauses in between books so that I always have a book I keep looking forward to.
Well, with Rhys Bowen’s series that was not the case. Whenever I read them I read a few books at a time, so went through the entire lot in one year!
In fact this habit probably started with the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia McNeal that I went through in less than a month last year.
Anyway, I did enjoy the series and more than that, it proved to be a huge blessing during a pretty tough time, health wise: when I went down with covid. The Royal Spyness series is a lighthearted, at times ridiculously funny and at others silly. But it was that perfect blend of entertaining but not too taxing, with characters that are fun, but you’re not too emotionally attached to – you know, the kind of reads you need when your body and brain is not functioning at its full capacity.
I am very grateful to Rhys Bowen, and Georgie for being my trusted covid companions – thanks for making those days more bearable!
Building a Design Library
Elena Putina, with UX/UI Book Recommendations
This is the year when I started to intentionally built a Design and UX Design personal library. As a UX/UI Design professional, I have been constantly learning through courses, tutorials, videos and articles of all kind. All very helpful, and amazingly most of them free (thank you, internet and all of you generous designers and professionals who share your knowledge freely).
As a bookworm, at some point during the year I realised that I have very few physical books in my collection that reflect what I do and what I want to learn professionally. Despite the challenge (and cost) of having books shipped from the US, I’m slowly building quite the collection on Design, UX, Marketing, Front-End Development, Product, Creativity and Leadership.
I’m slowly reading them too and taking lots of notes – is it me, or is there a very special kind of joy in highlighting and writing notes down on book margins? Maybe it’s just me.
I also helped write an article about UX/UI Design Book Recommendations, and if you are interested in this area, you should definitely check it out.
Books Are the Best Medicine
Yes, when I am sick, books are the best medicine. After managing to avoid for over a year, in March 2021 my husband and I got sick with covid.
What was supposed to be an awful experience turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Granted, it wasn’t fun having muscle pains, treating pneumonia (I had to learn to give my hubs shots, was terrified but I did it!), and struggling with awful fatigue for weeks afterwards.
But we ended up spending a lot of time together, reading books all day, watching TV shows in the evening, and resting, breathing, taking it slowly. We were incredibly blessed with friends and family who brought us food and fruit and vitamins. Even our employers sent us care packages and gave us budgets for ordering food, which was a huge help.
It was during sickness that I read through most of Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness series, as well as finished the last books in the Isabel Dalhousie series, by Alexander McCall Smith.
I had some more health issues during the year, back pain during December and so – and guess what, books became my friends again, helping me relax, rest and recover. I did have a very scary moment when my back was uncomfortable no matter how I sat, even when I was reading – but thankfully, that didn’t last long and soon enough I got better, or at least well enough to read.
Book Club Adentures
Our ICF Book Club is still going strong – we continue to meet online and read a vast diversity of books, and we enjoy discussing them immensely.
Besides reading books, we also got to do two fun things.
One of these was reading a book by my friend Marie Suazo – and then doing a Meet the Author meeting! Let me tell you, it is so much fun to discuss a book with it’s author, especially when she’s as sweet as Marie, who wrote a memoir about life as a third-culture kid, and her experience growing up in different countries.
The second one was reading The Good Neigbour, a book about Mister Rogers’ life – then meeting someone who was actually on his show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood! It was so much fun to discuss what he was really like, what it was like to be filmed on the set with him – needless to say, we were all very curious and very excited.
My book club ladies are very dear to me, and doing extra fun things like these bring a lot of joy – so I’m hoping we’ll get to do more of these
Tech Women Ambassador 2021
Elena Putina, Tech Women Moldova Ambassador 2021
While not necessarily connected with books, last year was a very busy one in terms of work and getting involved with an initiative called Tech Women Moldova.
I had the privilege of being one of the Tech Women Ambassadors 2021. I got to be part of an amazing team of wonderful women, and together we worked on projects like the Mentoring Program, planned and organized events, conferences and workshops. I got to try myself as a podcast show and highlighted each of the inspiring Ambassadors, and I also got to build a community for UX Designers, by speaking, mentoring and highlighting designers.
I write more about it in an interview here – it’s in Romanian, and I might post an English version of it here, on the blog.
More Observations
As much as I like series, I am still picky. I started a series by M.C. Beaton that is quite popular, and has even been turned into a TV Series – but somehow, I didn’t really connect with the characters and can’t say I enjoyed it much. After the second book, when I realized this is how it’s going to keep going, I just stopped.
That is also true for Laurie R. King – I might give it another chance, because there are so many books in the series and it was quite popular. But the first one didn’t impress me as much as I expected – and this, coming from a big Sherlock Holmes fan!
I do enjoy series too, like the one by Felicity Hayes-McCoy – this one did have lovable characters, and I enjoyed each one of the books. My only complaint is that it is too short.
I have re-read quite a few books, including Francine Rivers’ The Grace Lineage series that is a powerful, moving book that I plan to reread again in the future.
Also re-read where The Note books by Angela Hunt, The War I Finally Won (I adore these two books) and The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.
The reason I gave them another read was because we picked them for Book Club and I was happy to go through them again. Most recommended.
Vacations are also fun! Whatever books in the series I haven’t read during sickness, I read during the short vacation we took in Ukraine and Egypt, where we celebrated our 10 year anniversary! Yay!
It seems that for full rest, I need a good book – make that a series of them – that take me into a world that’s fun and easy-going and where all challenges will be overcome and all will be well in the end.
And that, my friends, is a wrap. It was a good year in terms of reading, and that means it’s time to make plans for the next round.
For 2022 my goal is to read … 70 books!
Until then, follow me on Goodreads? Here is my profile ->Elena’s Goodreads.
I’ve been documenting my reading challenges since 2011, and they’re all well documented on Goodreads, as well as in yearly retrospective posts. Check them out here:
Goodreads also has a fun little statistics page called Year in Books – here’s mine, if you want to check it out: My 2022 Year in Books.
How many books have you read this year? Any good ones you’d recommend?
RATINGS explained: ***** excellent – I would read it again! **** pretty good, I’d recommend it *** good, but wouldn’t read it again ** okay, but definitely not reading it again * why did I waste time reading this?
This has undoubtedly been one of the most unusual years in my life so far. I know it’s not just me, either. This year has stretched and challenged us in different ways, but hardly anyone was left untouched.
Yet by the grace of God, I also look back at many – and I mean, lots and lots! – of wonderful memories. From getting a renewed appreciation for family, friends and community, to seizing new opportunities, starting new projects, Bible studies, rediscovering a long lost interest in photography, and finding creative ways in which to build and love in community.
It was a year when I learned to live and to love in a different way.
It was also a year when there was plenty of time to read! Which is probably why I managed to set a new record for number of books read in one year. My record so far was 2018, with 80 books.
This year I topped my 2018 record with… 86 books!
As tradition goes, I will share my list of all 86 books in this post, plus a few bookish reflections. Those are mostly for my benefit, rather than yours, but feel free to read them and share your own thoughts in the comments! Here goes.
Hands down, this was one of the most mesmerizing books I’ve read last year. There was not one of us in book club who wouldn’t say something along the same lines – it is a gem! What made it even more memorable was that we read it in our first month of lockdown, both in Moldova and the US (and pretty much most of the world). Reading about someone stuck inside a hotel, while being stuck inside the house? The coincidence was more than uncanny!
Discovery of the Year
The Magnolia Story, by Chip & Joanna Gaines.
I can’t believe it took us so long to get to know this wonder of a couple! Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that we started building a house, but let me tell you: we are hooked on Fixer Upper!
Of course, what makes the show great is Chip & Joanna, their fun and genuine relationship and their amazing skills at turning pretty much any old beat-up dwelling into a dream home.
Their memoir was a light and inspiring read, and it would probably be so even for someone who’s never seen them on the show. But I would recommend watching them on the show to – they’re probably the most lovable pair you’ve seen on TV in a long, long time.
Most Read Author:
Susan Elia McNeal
I pretty much read through her entire series in a breath, all 9 of the book I stumbled upon her in my quest to find something similar to Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series. Maggie Hope is as far from Maisie Dobbs as BBC documentaries are from Hollywood – if you get my meaning. I couldn’t muster quite the respect, admiration and even affection I have for Maisie (I’m a fan!), but I appreciated her guts and determination, which makes her a hero in her own right.
Here’s the lesson I learned: if you decide right away that you won’t expect these books to be like the Maisie Dobbs series, you’ll enjoy them a lot more!
Highlight of the Year
My ICF Ladies Book Club moved to Zoom! (Didn’t everything move to Zoom?) For our little group, that been meeting for the last 3 years, that opened a world of possibilities – literally! Our former book club members, who’re now spread in different corners of the world, were now able to join us, and we had a few more new ladies join, too!
It was incredibly encouraging to meet every two weeks, all of of us quarantined in different countries and cities, read books together, share about the books and share about our lives. Starting off our meeting with prayer has quickly become a regular things, and it’s given us an opportunity to come alongside each other through this difficult time.
Observations
~ I read quite a few great fiction titles this year, probably more than ever! I have marked them with 5 starts (*****), so feel free to browse through them and add the ones you like to your To Read List.
~ I am a big fan of Andrew Clements, who writes for middle-schoolers, and is a master of his craft. Hubs and I listened to The Losers Club, which is a longer books, and I’ve read a few of his other titles this past year. I haven’t included in my list because they are short, and i don’t necessarily want them to count towards my total. That doesn’t change the fact that they’re fun reads and I would recommend pretty much any book by Clements wholeheartedly.
~ Jacqueline Winspear continues to be a favorite author, and I look forward to the next book in her series. I like her writing so much so, that I subscribed to her newsletter. Have I ever done that before. You know I didn’t. So that’s got to tell you something!
~ Alexander McCall Smith is another author I keep coming back to. His books are a perfect blend between a lighthearted yet profound exploration of life, truths and values. His writing oozes with kindness, grace and elegance in a way that makes you look at the world with kinder, softer eyes.
~ There are certain authors I keep hearing a lot about, and I gave them a second chance this year. Only to realize that they just simply aren’t my cup of tea, even if many hail them praises. Anne Taylor is one such author, or Helen Simonson. I’m learning to accept that – they might be wonderful authors, but I just don’t connect with their writings. Personal preferences differ a great deal, and that is perfectly okay.
~ I can’t believe I gave Fredrik Backman a 3 star review! He is a phenomenal writer and Beartown was heart-wrenching and brilliant, both. His non-fiction was okay, I guess – but I’m looking forward to his new release, Anxious People!
~ I picked some titles on books/bookshops/bookworms this year. A total of 5 – can you find them?
~ There are a few funny yet purely coincidental similarities in some of my titles, like Hidden Figures / Hidden Potential / The Hiding Place, or The Year of Living Biblically / The Year of Living Danishly / The Year of Yes, the last one similar with The Best Yes. Coincidence? I don’t think so. (It was most decidedly coincidence!)
~ Another fun thing is that I finally uploaded some of my photography on Unsplash, and one of the most popular of my photos is one with books. Check out the featured photo for this post!
For 2020 my goal is to read … 70 books!
Until then, follow me on Goodreads? Here is my profile -> Elena’s Goodreads.
I’ve been documenting my reading challenges since 2011, and they’re all well documented on Goodreads, as well as in yearly retrospective posts. Check them out here:
Goodreads also has a fun little statistics page called Year in Books – here’s mine, if you want to check it out: My 2020 Year in Books.
How many books have you read this year? Any good ones you’d recommend?
RATINGS explained: ***** excellent – I would read it again! **** pretty good, I’d recommend it *** good, but wouldn’t read it again ** okay, but definitely not reading it again * why did I waste time reading this?
This is usually the kind of post I write at the end of the year.
Meaning: it was supposed to be written and published sometime close to December 31st, 2018. We are well into September 2019 as I write these words. Whoops.
It took me a while, and I have a few things that will excuse me – we were traveling for Christmas/New Year, things got busy when we got back, then we traveled some more – oh well, lots of reasons.
Let’s not dwell on that, though – shall we? The important thing is: I finally have some time* to write this post, and in time to leave some space between the retrospect for 2018 and 2019.
*Funny enough, I have this time because we are traveling again and missed our flight. We are stuck in the Vienna International Airport on a rainy day, with plenty of time on our hands! Might as well make the most of it.
Without further ado, here is the complete list of the 80 books that I read in 2018: Continue reading →
I read Ann Voskamp’s first book – One Thousand Gifts – way back in 2012. I remember not only being mesmerized by it as I read it, but carrying it in my heart months and years after. It was an inspiring book about giving thanks and finding the true and the excellent in the small moments of life. Continue reading →
I have a confession to make. I didn’t complete my 2017 Reading Challenge. And I did. Kind of.
Gribook 