This is the third year I’m participating in Jamie’s (@ The Perpetual Page-Turner) End of Year Book Survey. In 2015 I shared my bookish life in Hermione gifs, 2016 in Pevensie gifs, and this year I’ll share it through Gilmore Girls gifs! I’m looking forward to reading your 2017 book survey too.
Note: This includes all books read in 2017 – they do not have to be published in 2017.
Number of Books You Read: 57
Number of Re-reads: 0
Genre You Read the Most From: contemporary
1. Best Book You Read in 2017
I can’t stop thinking about The Alice Network. That was one of two 5-star books I read this year (the other was Outrun the Moon), but for some reason The Alice Network really stuck out for me. It’s not your usual historical fiction, let alone your usual parallel narrative, WWI/WWII historical fiction.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Caraval was a book I was very excited to read, and I was thrilled to have received a galley of it, too. But it started to crash and burn within a couple pages, and it just…continued to dig a deeper hole. I was very disappointed. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads but in hindsight my thoughts and feelings about the book could really bring it down a star or two…
3. Most Surprising (in a good way or bad way) Book You Read in 2017?
What to Say Next tops this list. Unlike most of Buxbaum’s readers, I didn’t care for Tell Me Three Things one bit, but I was pulled into What to Say Next within a few sentences. Then she had me bawling my eyes out. So in a VERY good way, Buxbaum surprised me!
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (and they did) in 2017?
I push my client’s books, obviously, and I’ve been so excited to see how well my friends and fellow bloggers love Jared Reck’s A Short History of the Girl Next Door. Outside of agent life, I’d say the book I pushed the most was The Bear and the Nightingale at the library. You can get just about anyone to read wintry Russian historicals with a dash of magic and folklore. It’s appealing across many ages!
5. Best Series You Started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?
Started: Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn (Elementals 1)
Sequel: Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier (Sevenwaters 2)
Ender: The Dire King by William Ritter (Jackaby 4)
6. Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2017?
Beatriz Williams! I don’t know why it took me so long to read The Secret Life of Violet Grant, but I’m glad I did and now I want to read more by Williams!
7. Best Book from a Genre You Don’t Typically Read/was Out of Your Comfort Zone?
I have a very hard time with nonfiction, but I thought Stiff by Mary Roach was interesting, informative, and hilarious.
8. Most Action-packed/Thrilling/Unputdownable Book of the Year?
It’s not action-packed or thrilling, but I could not put down The Map That Leads to You. It’s one of those books that’s entirely engrossing for those who have the itch to travel, the constant wanderlust, the need to find a home in a whole new place entirely our own.
9. Book You Read in 2017 That You are Most Likely to Re-Read Next Year?
I’m not sure how likely it is I’ll re-read something in the first place (LOL I thought last year I’d reread a Kinsella book and, as you can see from the top ^, I have not re-read a single book this year!), BUT I really enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi and can see myself rereading that next summer.
10. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2017?
OH GOSH, I love so many covers! I’d say Like a River Glorious probably takes the cake here. The covers for this historical fantasy are so captivating.
11. Most Memorable Character of 2017?
Eve Gardiner in The Alice Network. I can’t stop thinking about her story, and how her story is so similar to so many women from WWI.
12. Most Beautifully Written Book Read in 2017?
Hunted or The Silver Gate because both were so beautifully written in two completely different ways. Hunted is a Russian-esque fairytale retelling and twist of “Beauty and the Beast,” which I found lyrical and engrossing; The Silver Gate is about sibling dynamics, mental health, and the power of fairytales in everyday life, set in medieval-Celtic culture. Both made me catch my breath.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2017?
The most thought-provoking was probably The Miniaturist, especially after my book club held their discussion on it. I thought I had it all figured out, but then a book club member suggested a Fight Club plot that blew my mind. It’s probably too far-fetched, but it made me enjoy the novel even more for it!
14. Book You Can’t Believe You Waited UNTIL 2017 to Finally Read?
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. So many friends and colleagues said I’d adore this book about books to pieces — but honestly, they didn’t recommend it the way that would’ve made me pick up this book in the first place: it’s a gothic book. Yes, I love books about books, but some of those just turn out to be surface-level stuff, a setting rather than a passion. This book, though, was awesome.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book You Read in 2017?
A book is a companion, though. You can read it in a special place, like on a train to Amsterdam, then you carry it home and you chuck it on a shelf, and then years later you remember that feeling you had on the train when you were young. It’s like a little island in time. —The Map That Leads to You by JP Monninger
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read in 2017?
Shortest: The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals by Jordan Stratford
Longest: Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier
17. Book That Shocked You the Most
Three Dark Crowns, because nothing really happens till the last line and I couldn’t believe I wasted all that time on a book in which nothing happens. I hear the rest of the books really build up, but I’m not going to bother. It’s not for me.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Dimple and Rishi!
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of the Year
Mercy and her hate-to-friendship with Elodie in Outrun the Moon. Those two navigated some deep racial and class issues so well during this shocking moment in San Francisco history. I can only hope their friendship continued on after the book’s end. (Yes, they’re real! I firmly believe it!)
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 from an Author You’ve Read Previously
Always and Forever, Lara Jean, of course! It was so nice to see this trilogy come to an end the way it did. I loved Lara Jean’s growth and development across all of the books.
21. Best Book You Read in 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY on a Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure
The Map That Leads to You, thanks to Alyssa! I couldn’t stop fawning over her instagram pictures of it, and once I got my hands on the book I fell in love immediately.
22. Newest Fictional Crush from a Book You Read in 2017?
Um, there are no memorable men this year, so my fictional crush goes to a woman I greatly admired: Eve Gardiner in The Alice Network.
23. Best 2017 Debut You Read?
When Dimple Met Rishi is definitely a favorite debut from this year. It’s so fun!
24. Best World-building/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Hunted made me shiver with all of its excellent wintry descriptions and magical light. I especially enjoyed the formatting for the book, with the beast’s perspective on wintry paper, as if it were written in blood on snow. Design can really play into the story!
25. Book that Put a Smile on Your Face/was the Most FUN to Read?
You and Me, Always was cheesy in the best way and I couldn’t stop smiling as I was reading it. I definitely needed that kind of book in that moment of the year.
26. Book That Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2017?
The Light Between Oceans was too heart-wrenching for words. I could easily see why both women acted the way they did, and then I was torn just like the husband, and then I put myself in the child’s shoes, and…guys, this is a rollercoaster of a book.
27. Hidden Gem of The Year?
The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City, is such a great story for Charlotte’s Web fans and general contemporary fiction. It hasn’t gotten enough love and attention, and it deserves so much more!
28. Book that Crushed Your Soul?
I keep talking about The Alice Network, so I’ll change it to The Secret Life of Violet Grant. That was also covering a very crushing topic of female history.
29. Most Unique Book You Read in 2017?
Paper Menagerie, which is a collection of science fiction short stories. I wouldn’t have picked this up otherwise, but I was impressed. It was definitely the most unique book I read in 2017.
30. Book that Made You the Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Oh, a ton. A TON. I was probably most angry with (and deeply disliked) The Woman in Cabin 10.
1. New Favorite Book Blog You Discovered in 2017?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a very good blogger overall this year, and didn’t read any new ones.
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?
The Map That Leads to You, because it was entirely quotes. I hadn’t done that before, and I really wanted to review the book, but it was so hard to sum up the novel without the moving passages. I let the book review itself, haha.
3. Best Discussion/Non-review Post You had on Your Blog?
One was an agent announcement (Clarissa’s novel Impossible Saints, in fact!), and another was one of my If We Were Having Coffee posts.
4. Best Event that You Participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I was at Book Expo for lots of editorial meetings, and then went to ALA to meet my author Jared Reck and watch him sign galleys of A Short History of the Girl Next Door. Random House treated us to a very nice dinner with David Barkley, Nic Stone, and E Lockhart, too — it was a fun night.
5. Best Moment of Bookish/Blogging Life in 2017?
Oh, so many things, but my clients’ work definitely tops the list. I love seeing friends add my clients’ books to their TBRs and enjoying their reading experience. I’m bursting at the seams with two big deal announcements, but that will need to wait till January or so before it goes public.
7. Most Popular Post This Year on Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
The most popular post this year was my review of Jenny Han’s Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
8. Post You Wished Got a Little More Love?
I wasn’t a terribly good blogger this year, so I didn’t have any posts in particular I wish got more attention or love, comments or discussion. I’m pleased people even find this at all!
9. Best Bookish Discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
This is so lame, but I’m saying it anyway: how much money I saved by reading books from my library. I didn’t have the best reading year, and I saved so much by checking out books from the library instead of purchasing. If I loved what I read, of course I ran to the bookstore and purchased my own copy!
10. Did You Complete Any Reading Challenges or Goals that You had Set for Yourself at the Beginning of This Year?
I read a lot of fantasy, but I didn’t consider it part of my Marillier / Gabaldon challenge for Flights of Fantasy — I’ll change that for next year. I wanted to read more library books (which I did) and hold back on blind purchases (which I did). I didn’t read any classics or reread any books, but I did read a decent amount off my own TBR shelves. Win some, lose some, but in the end I’m quite pleased!
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To in 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?
The City of Brass and The Passion of Dolssa top my list for 2017, and they’re on my January TBR. I gotta get started on them!
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating for 2018 (non-debut)?
From Twinkle, With Love is definitely up there! Sandhya Menon has easily become an auto-buy author for me. Oh, and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik!
3. 2018 Debut You are Most Anticipating?
Hmmm…perhaps Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. It sounds exciting.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You are Most Anticipating in 2018?
The next Queens of Renthia book, The Queen of Sorrow by Sarah Beth Durst, hands down.
5. One Thing You Hope to Accomplish or Do in Your Reading/Blogging Life in 2018?
Commenting more, engaging more, and announcing more deals! (More, more, more.)
6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Impossible Saints by Clarissa Harwood. I’ve already mailed a couple copies to friends and they’ve come back to me with positive responses, so…fingers crossed!
CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING
SLEIGH BELLS ON THE ROOF
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
Scribbles & Wanderlust 