2017 Recap

Happy New Year!! It’s already been said a million times before, but I cannot believe that it’s 2018. I wanted to post this recap sooner, but the timing never felt right. How could it be possible summarize my 2017 reading life while it was still 2017? But now that we are in our second day of 2018, it feels like a safe time to check in and chat.

My reading goals in 2017 year were to read:

• 50 books
• 6 nonfiction books
• at least 15,600 pages (or 300 pages/week)

I’m very happy to report that I met all of my goals! In 2017, I read:

• 69 books (my best reading year ever!)
• 15 nonfiction books
• 24019 pages (or 462 pages/week)

Of those 69 books, 39 were from the library (excellent!), 34 were on my kindle (which includes borrowing digital titles from the library), and 18 were on audio. How awesome is that??!

Picking my favorite reads of the year was difficult. I read and enjoyed so many books over the last year, but I want to share just a few that stand out.

Top 3 Fiction books of the year:

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – This might actually be my favorite book of all time and sadly, I never actually wrote a blog post on it! This is my favorite genre of novel, a WWII book set in France, and has the most unforgettable characters. The writing is delicious, the story is breathtaking, and the time and place are terrifying and beautiful.

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro – Here is my blog post about this one. This was my first experience with Ishiguro and it created a fervor within me to find more. It was not the type of book that I gravitate toward, and I wasn’t sure if I was enjoying it the whole way through (sounds alluring, right?!). When I got to the end, the pure beauty of the entire story sank in and it resonated with me in an unexpected way. This is NOT for everyone (see the goodreads reviews for about a bazillion reasons why), but there are plenty of people that it IS for!

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – Here’s my blog post. This was the first book that I finished in 2017 and it has stuck with me throughout the entire year. Painful and poignant, yet magical enough to take you on a journey away from the terror that the characters face.

Top 3 Nonfiction books of the year:

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott – Hilarious book on writing! Anne Lamott is so down to earth and so funny, and her advice is no exception! Here’s my blog post.

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg – another book on writing and my blog post is here, but this one is from a more Buddhist perspective. This was thought-provoking and a classic in the genre.

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting by Laura Markham – We yell a lot in my house, which is probably to be expected with a 2 and 4 year old around. But truly, I am yelling a LOT less after reading this one. It’s worth the time!!

How about you? How did your reading year go? And thank you so much for going on this blogging journey with me for another year. I truly love blogging and have appreciated all of the friendships and encouragement that I’ve experienced along the way.