THE TOP 10 BOOKS I READ IN 2019

Greetings! It’s me again, and this is the post that influenced my need for a blog. Reading is my favorite pastime, so I get through lots of books every year. I’ve been keeping track of what I read on Goodreads since 2013. That means this is the seventh consecutive year since I really got into reading. 2013 was also the year I first bought a Kindle, which allowed me to read as much as I want. I don't have a preference for ebooks, but they’re very affordable. 

This year, I’ve read 49 new books. I read fiction (mystery, romance, sci-fi) almost exclusively. I also read nonfiction, although I don’t register those. I sort of reserve Goodreads for pleasure reads rather than learning reads. Below, I’ve chosen the 10 books I liked the most. I’m starting the list from the bottom, and finish the list with my favorite book of the year. Here it is:

BOOK REVIEW: ABDUCTED BY T.R. RAGAN

Title: Abducted
Author: T.R. Ragan
Genre: Mystery, thriller
Published on: May 29, 2011, self-published

When Lizzy Gardner was only seventeen, what should have been the perfect night became the perfect nightmare. Kidnapped just blocks from home after a romantic evening with her boyfriend, Jared, she woke up to find herself at the mercy of a depraved serial killer. Imprisoned and tormented for months by the maniac she came to know as Spiderman, Lizzy narrowly escaped, the only one of his victims to survive. But Spiderman escaped too, outwitting police and cursing Lizzy to spend her life looking over her shoulder…

Fourteen years later, Lizzy is a private investigator who teaches self-defense to teenage girls in her free time. She does what she can to help others protect themselves and to forget the horror of her ordeal, yet fears she will always be known as “the one who got away.” Then she receives a phone call from Jared, now a special agent for the FBI, with grim news. The killer has resurfaced, this time with a very specific target—Lizzy. And he’s made it clear that she will not escape him again. So begins a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, a terrifying, heart-pounding hunt that only one will survive.

This book really exceeded my expectations, partly because of the average-looking cover art. You know the old adage about not judging books? Well, that really applies to Abducted. It's among the first novels I've read as an ebook, and it was so good I know I'll be re-reading it again and again in the future.

Abducted is the first novel of the Lizzy Gardner series. It takes place in Sacramento, California. The titular main character is a young private investigator with a painful past. In her teens, Lizzy was kidnapped by a serial killer known as Spiderman. She managed to escape, becoming the psychopath's only survivor. The experience changed Lizzy forever. She became a private investigator to stop people like Spiderman, and teaches self-defense classes to young women. I really felt for Lizzy as I progressed through the novel. No teen girl should have to experience what she did. As paranoid as Lizzy may seem, she's not a damsel in distress, though. Despite the constant protection of her teenage-love-turned-FBI-agent Jared Shayne, Lizzy's perfectly capable of defending herself.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Good morning, everyone! My name is Ivan, and this is Ivan’s Insights. After debating it for some time, I’ve decided to join the world of blogging. I have a few reasons for this, which I’ll go over after the jump. They’ll provide the idea of what my blog will be all about.

HELLO, WORLD!

By Ivan

Good afternoon! My name is Ivan, and this is my new blog. At the moment it's under construction. This post is here so I can see how everything looks. I'll be tweaking stuff until the page looks right. It shouldn't take long; I'm aiming for something simple. Until later!