As most of you know, one of my goals for 2015 was to read 30 books. I only managed 24 last year, so I thought 30 would be a good “reach” goal: a bit of a stretch but still manageable. I posted a little update in September when I’d read 26, and felt pretty good about hitting 30 by year’s end. So you can imagine my surprise when I returned from Africa, checked my Goodreads account, and saw I’d whizzed past my goal without even noticing! I’m currently up to 33, and still reading like a fiend. I’ll need to up my goal next year, but we’ll talk about that later – for now, here’s what I’ve read since that last update!

Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling: I loved Mindy’s first book of essays and I’m obsessed with her show on Hulu, so it was a given I’d love this as well! I pre-ordered it, so it was waiting for me on release day, and zipped through it in a couple days.

All The President’s Men, Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward: This was an Amazon Kindle deal of the day for $2, and as a journalist myself I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn more about how the Washington Post broke Watergate. I found it fascinating, but it’s tedious, so probably best if you have a weird obsession with journalism and/or history.

Kisses from Katie, Katie Davis: I read this in just a couple days before leaving for my own mission trip to Africa, and it left me feeling inspired, motivated, and with a realistic idea of the challenges lying ahead: both during my trip and after.

Taking Flight, Michaela DePrince: This is a memoir (favorite genre!) of a professional ballerina (once a goal of mine – decades ago) and also incorporates some interesting African history, as DePrince was adopted from war-torn Sierra Leone in the 1990s. I read the entire thing on the flight to Johannesburg and loved it!

Finding Audrey, Sophie Kinsella: I put this on my Kindle because I love Kinsella’s Shopaholic books, not realizing Finding Audrey is actually young adult. I liked it fine, and it’s a quick read (this one I did on the flight HOME from Johannesburg), but probably best to know what you’re getting into!

The Royal We, Heather Cocks: My friend Molly lent me this book since it’s been getting a lot of hype and I work for a British company – so it’s nice to have a little inside look at the royal family (though this book is fiction, it’s pretty blatantly based on Kate & Will). I enjoyed it, but thought it was entirely too long and tedious in parts.

The Ice Twins, SK Tremayne: This was a total surprise. I picked it up at the airport in Johannesburg because it was cheap and I had some leftover rand, but I read the entire thing in less than a day. It’s a thriller, which is 100% not my genre at all, but I was hooked – and completely did not see the ending coming.

I guess I’ve skewed more toward fiction than usual lately, which may explain how I got my numbers up so quickly! Overall I really haven’t read a dud in quite some time. Do you have any suggestions for me?!