My year in books! 2017

How many books did you read this year?
60! I EAT BOOKS FOR BREAKFAST. Wait, no, that is not an efficient use of books, as my stomach doesn’t know how to read.

What was your number one TOP FAVORITE of them?
Usually this question has me pacing in circles and wringing my hands, because to pick a single favorite of the year is literary masochism, but this year? This year I think I’ve got my winner… A Tale For the Time Being (Ozeki). BUT it’s very closely followed by The Highland Witch (Fletcher), and Some Kind of Happiness (Legrand), and ohhhh about 15 others.

Favorite new-to-you author that you discovered this year?
Oh jeez, I dunno. There were lots of new authors I read this year who I’d like to read more of.  (Cop-out answer.)

Best new-to-you book by an author you already liked?
Borne, by Jeff VanderMeer. Really liked his book Annihilation last year. (YES I’m still meaning to read the rest of that trilogy, hush.)

What book were you surprised to like?
None were surprises, because “Gosh, this sounds terrible! But maybe it won’t be!” is not a thing I say when picking books.
There WERE, however, books I expected to be great and was sorely disappointed by, but I won’t name those here. (*slides a grumpy side-eye over at one in particular*)

What was the funniest book you read this year?
How to be a Normal Person, by TJ Klune. It’s an indie novel that had me LOUDLY busting up.

What book made you cry?
Tiny Beautiful Things
A Tale for the Time Being
Some Kind of Happiness
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry

The books that make me cry are always the ones I like most.

What was the most beautifully written?
The Highland Witch – Guhhh, unnfff, hrrnnngggggg

Most thought-provoking or life-changing?
Daring Greatly, by Brene Brown. It’s all about embracing vulnerability as a deliberate way of living.

Most shocking or disturbing?
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Not the whole book, but one section in particular had me going “WHAT THE FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF”

Most imaginative?
In terms of world-building I’d say The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, both part of the same story by Patrick Rothfuss. But in terms of weirdness I’d say The Raw Shark Texts (TRIPPY AS HELL) and Borne. Or, oh! – The Fifth Season by NK Jemisen, which had a fascinating magic system.

Who was the most memorable character of the year?
The grandmother, in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. She was a hoot.

Most memorable romance or friendship?
Corrag and Alasdaire, in The Highland Witch. OH THE TRAGIC, MANY SWOONS.

What genre or subject matter did you try that you normally don’t read?
Hmmm, I guess I don’t read many graphic novels, and I read two this year. But it’s not like I NEVER read them, so… *shrug*

What book can you not believe you waited this long to get to?
I suppose I’m a bit late on the Rothfuss bandwagon. A number of fantasy fans had to yell at me before I finally read it, but once I did I agreed the yelling was warranted. It was great. 🙂

Favorite quote from this year’s reads?
“I wanted it to happen. I wanted to let my knees buckle. Let my shoulders slump, just let it all go – fall forwards, down and finally, thankfully, out. This monster river could take me away and unknot me and spread me out however it wanted and however it liked because, honestly, finally, I just felt so fucking tired of endless hours of doing my shitty best to cling my component parts together as a human being. I wanted to pile up and silt-slide, wrap around the trunks of trees, a lost nothing of unthinking debris and high watermarks. Just to be all the way empty, just be all the way gone.” – The Raw Shark Texts

I would include a quote from The Highland Witch too, but I’d end up just copying the whole book.

What books did you read based solely on recommendation or peer pressure?
Name of the Wind, but it’s not that I was opposed to it, I just didn’t know anything about it so I was indifferent. I’m glad I read it though.

Which of your reads did you recommend most to others?
I talked about The Fifth Season to a lot of my fantasy-loving friends because the magic system was so unique and cool.

Did you start or finish a series?
Yup, those two Rothfuss books are part of The Kingkiller Chronicles, which is supposed to get a third book sometime this millennium…?
Also The Fifth Season, I still need to pick up the next 2 in the trilogy.

Shortest book?
Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, by Jomny Sun. Not the shortest in page numbers, but it was a graphic novel with very little text, so it was the quickest read. ALSO IT WAS ADORABLE AND WONDERFUL which is irrelevant to its length BUT I STILL WANTED TO SHOUT THAT.

Longest?
The Wise Man’s Fear, 994 pages. Yikes. Rothfuss be wordy.

Favorite cover of the year?
The Gracekeepers. Just look at this beauty. Guhhh.

What was your favorite reading spot?
I hiked a lot this year, and always brought a book with me. My favorite spot was this cliff edge over a small canyon where I was able to descend a bit down some rocks which hid me from the main trail. I LIKE TO READ DANGEROUSLY.

Did you read anything published within the year?
Yup – The Changeling, Borne, Into the Water, The Stranger in the Woods, Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, The River at Night, Child of Nod, and Nine Parts Bluster.

Did you watch a movie based on a book you’d read?
I watched The Light Between Oceans, but that wasn’t a read from this year.

Which books were re-reads?
None. I meant to continue my re-read of Narnia (read 1 and 2 last year) but wasn’t feeling it.

What are you most excited to read next year?
Well my “priority” shelf on Goodreads has 86 books on it, out of the 413 other want-to-read books, so… this would be a long answer. 🙂

And lastly… THE LIST! All of your reads from this year, ready, go!

1. The girl with the lower back tattoo – Amy Schumer
2. The highland witch – Susan Fletcher
3. How to be a normal person – TJ Klune
4. The storied life of AJ Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin
5. Foehammer – Lorena Black (hi friend!)
6. Predictably irrational – Dan Ariely
7. Man walks into a room – Nicole Krauss
8. Uprooted – Naomi Novik
9. Tiny beautiful things – Cheryl Strayed
10. My grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry – Fredrik Backman
11. Name of the wind – Patrick Rothfuss
12. Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
13. This is a book – Demetri Martin
14. Savage spawn – Johnathan Kellerman
15. Without you, there is no us – Suki Kim
16. The woman in cabin 10 – Ruth Ware
17. Furiously happy – Jenny Lawson
18. The wise man’s fear – Patrick Rothfuss
19. The raw shark texts – Steven Hall
20. Nurtureshock – Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
21. Brain on fire – Susannah Cahalan
22. A head full of ghosts – Paul Tremblay
23. Dark matter – Blake Crouch
24. Memoirs of an imaginary friend – Matthew Dicks
25. Although of course you end up becoming yourself – David Lipsky
26. The boy who drew monsters – Keith Donohue
27. Nine parts bluster and other stories – AZ Anthony (hi friend!)
28. Summerlong – Peter S. Beagle
29. Exponential Apocalypse – Eirik Gumeny (hi friend!)
30. I am the messenger – Marcus Zusak
31. The first fifteen lives of Harry August – Claire North
32. The selected works of TS Spivet – Reif Larsen
33. Heft – Liz Moore
34. The gracekeepers – Kirsty Logan
35. The mother tongue – Bill Bryson
36. The vegetarian – Han Kang
37. The river at night – Erica Ferencik
38. All the birds in the sky – Charlie Jane Anders
39. Wolf in white van – John Darnielle
40. Daring greatly – Brene Brown
41. Into the woods – Tana French
42. Still Alice – Lisa Genova
43. Why we broke up – Daniel Handler
44. Some kind of happiness – Claire Legrand
45. The history of love – Nicole Krauss
46. A leg to stand on – Oliver Sacks
47. The shock of the fall – Nathan Filer
48. The fifth season – NK Jemisin
49. A working theory of love – Scott Hutchins
50. The changeling – Victor LaValle
51. Into the water – Paula Hawkins
52. Through the woods – Emily Carroll
53. Everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too – Jomny Sun
54. The butterfly garden – Dot Hutchison
55. Borne – Jeff VanderMeer
56. The stranger in the woods – Michael Finkel
57. Child of Nod – CW Snyder (hi friend!)
58. A tale for the time being – Ruth Ozeki
59. Wasted – Marya Hornbacher
60. Where’d you go Bernadette – Maria Semple

Feel free to answer these Q’s yourself if you want, and link me so I can read them!

Past years’ answers: 2016, 2015

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