End of the Year. A year in books.

Hosted at Perpetual Page Turner

Number Of Books I Read: 156 (so far)

Number of Re-Reads: 2

Genre You Read The Most From: YA (is that a genre?)

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

This is a hard one but I guess the book I told the most people to read because I loved it so much: The One-In-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

 Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure by Ryan North. Instead of being funny, I thought it was stupid.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

 Ordinary Grace by William Krueger

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

YA Fiction: The Hate U Give

Adult Fiction: The One-In-A Million Boy

YA Nonfiction: A Dog in the Cave

Adult Nonfiction: Lab Girl  

5. Best series you in 2017?

Started: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor AND La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman; Mid series: Thick As Thieves by Megan Whelan Turner (5th book in the Queen of Attolia series)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Kent Haruf (Our Souls at Night)

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Bull by David Elliott---Greek Mythology, written in verse.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Thick As Thieves by Megan Whelan Turner. It was the first book of the year I just couldn't stop reading. The adventure and the action were tense but not over-the-top.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

It is pretty unlikely I will reread any of the books I read this year.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

Loving v. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Powell

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

The boy (un-named) in The One-In-A-Million Boy

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

16.Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2017?

Longest: The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner, 563 pages

Shortest: And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, 32 pages

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor...it left the reader on a huge cliff-hanger!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
Sarai and Lazlo Strange in Strange the Dreamer.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Charlie Dean and John Thomas in The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

YA: John Green (Turtles All the Way Down)

Adult: Sherman Alexie (You Don't Have To Say You Love Me)

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

I can't think of any books that someone pressured me to read, but I read books for book clubs which I probably wouldn't have read if not for the club. Here are few book club titles I really enjoyed
The One-In-A-Million Boy
Our Souls At Night
Ordinary Grace
The End of Your Life Book Club
Life After Life

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

Um..m---can't think of any crushes on characters this year.

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor...I could picture everything and it was wild!

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was the Most FUN to Read?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This is a reread for me. Ha ha. What fun!

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found by Martin Sandler.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Locked Up for Freedom: Civil Rights Protesters at the Leesburg Stockade by Heather Schwartz

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

The Shakespeare Timeline Wallbook by Christopher Lloyd

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

The March Against Fear by Ann Bashum, the last big march of the Civil Rights era.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?

I'm terrible of keeping track of these things.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

An announcement with the help of poetry --- how I announced my retirement
Farewell to Muffy with a look at the literature. --- Written the day we put our beloved dog down.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Cavalcade of Authors West in University Place, Washington.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?

Being asked to be a Cybils Judge because of my book blogging.  I am just finishing up on role as a round 1 judge for junior high/senior high nonfiction books.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I had a really hard time writing reviews this year. I am so far behind of where I want to be with my reviews that i get really frustrated. But then I have to do some self=talk and remind myself that I need not pressure myself. I am doing this at my own volition, so why add stress to myself?

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Saying Goodbye to a Friend ---598 views, 25 comments written after the death of my high school friend.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

The Plot Against America---a cautionary tale
Actually, this post had a lot of views, but not a lot of comments. I wish I knew what people thought when they read it. I compared Trump to Charles Lindbergh.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Once again, I didn't keep track of them.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

Yes. I finished and made progress on several challenges:

a. To Read all the YMA Winners---100% complete

b. To read all the Printz Award and Honor books of the year --- 80% complete

c. The Big Book Summer Challenge --- Read three books. 

d. Pulitzer Challenge --- read the current winner and make progress on past winners list. Read two.

e. Read Classics Club list ---- Read three classics.

1. One Book I Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be My Number 1 Priority in 2018?

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway ---- The National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?

I haven't paid attention. Sigh.

3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

See above answer.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Book of Dust series by Pullman AND the second book in the Strange the Dreamer series.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?

OK. Let's see if I can commit to reviewing at least half of the books I read. I'll try that.