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Last year, I filled out this survey, created by Jamie. I enjoyed filling it out so much that I decided to do it again for 2017! So here it is, my year in books!
Number Of Books You Read: 52
Number of Re-Reads: 3
Genre You Read The Most From: Probably thrillers. For the past year or so I have been going to thrillers when I want a quick easy read or don’t know what to read.
1. Best Book You Read In 2017?
(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)
Easy. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Beartown by Fredrik Backman. I adored A Man Called Ove, but Beartown just wasn’t as good.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
A Man Called Ove. I had zero interest in reading this book, but we voted to read it for Book Club so I gave it a shot. I was hooked on page 1.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
The Girls by Emma Cline. One of the best books I read this year.
5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the first of I think 4 books in the series, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. I need to read the rest!
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?
Ruth Emmie Lang came out with her debut novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
I loved All The Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood. Luckily, she has a few other books already out.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I loved The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule. I don’t typically read true crime because it just tends to freak me out, but I loved this book.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Dark Mater by Blake Crouch. So much action!!
9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Probably The Handmaid’s Tale. I think it’s a book I will read over and over again.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?
11. Most memorable character of 2017?
Ove from A Man Called Ove.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?
Hunger by Roxane Gay
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. Shameful, I know!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?
This is pretty much an impossible question, but here’s a passage I loved:
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?
Shortest book: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (64 pages)
Longest book: The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (560 pages).
How I did this: I went to https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2017/. It tells you a few stats about the books you read in 2016, including the shortest and longest book you read. You can click here to get your own Goodreads stats.
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra. It was a great thriller that I read super fast.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
Sorry to those of you who hated All The Ugly and Wonderful things, but Wavy and Kellen.
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
The relationship between the protagonist of The Girl with All The Gifts and her teacher was beautiful and added a deeper element to the book. I also loved that they were two strong women.
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. I have now read all of her books and I really hope she comes out with more.
21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?
Can I have a crush on an author instead? Neil Gaiman
23. Best 2017 debut you read?
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood. I felt she was able to tell a very complex and controversial story in a very beautiful way.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
I’m Just A Person by Tig Notaro. I think everyone should read this book.
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?
Steph the Bookworm isn’t just a book blog, but Steph is a librarian with great book reviews and great posts about life.
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?
I just wrote monthly book reviews this year, so there wasn’t really anything special. Last year, I wrote a post about my favorite dystopian books, so maybe in 2018, I’ll write most posts like that.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
On Saying No seemed to resonate a lot with people this year.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I’d say that my Hawaii book club! We have so much fun getting together to talk about books!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?
I loved being featured on Rachel’s blog as a military spouse spotlight. You can read the interview here.
I also loved the marriage collaboration that Audrey and I did. She works with her husband and pretty much sees him nonstop. I barely see mine! So, we interviewed each other about what makes our marriages work. You can read my interview here and you can read what she had to say here.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
I felt like I had a hard time finding good books this year. I put a lot of stuff down that I couldn’t get into, and I usually don’t do that.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
According to Google Analytics, my post about the marriage retreat Nick and I went on was the most popular post of 2017. You can read it here.
Thankful to be A Military Spouse was one of my posts that got the most comments.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I’m not sure. It’s interesting to see which posts get the most comments/interaction but I don’t try to push it if it’s not happening.
9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Book of the Month Club! It’s so much fun to get the latest books. Usually it takes the library a while to get new releases, so for $10 a month, I get a fun new treat.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
In the beginning of the year, I challenged myself to read 52 books. Later, I raised to 60. I should have kept it at 52 because that’s where I ended up!
1. One Book You Didn’t Get to In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?
Last year, I said Dangerous Women, edited by George RR Martin. It is a book of short stories all centered on the theme of dangerous women. Perfect. George RR Martin wrote the very last short story, which takes place in the Game of Thrones universe.
I still am only halfway through this book! I’m making that and Margaret Atwood’s book, Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing., two priorities up soon.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?
I love when the illustrated editions of Harry Potter come out!
3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I can’t think of any. I don’t pay attention to the books that are coming out as much as I should.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?
How about we get the next Game of Thrones book?!?
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?
Read as many different kinds of books that I can. I especially want to challenge myself to read things that I normally wouldn’t read.
6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
I’m not that on the ball!
What are some of your favorite books you read in 2017?! What do you think of my picks?
Thanks Jamie for such a fun survey!
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This is fun! There are some you mentioned that I haven’t heard of and want to check out now!
It’s always so much fun to look back on your year in books! I agree with you that I wasn’t really as thrilled with Beartown as everybody else, but it was still one of the best books that I read this year. And I totally read a ton of thrillers this year as well, and I really loved it!